Chapter 9 — Wind and Snow Falling, Ancient People Return

Groundbreaking Ceremony

The official groundbreaking ceremony for phase two of the Xuan Huong Old Quarter Renovation project was held on a weekend morning, right at the small square at the beginning of the street, where a large number of local people, city government representatives, along with construction units and design consultants gathered. The organizing committee set up a small stage, hung a bright red banner with the words of welcome, and surrounded it with pots of fresh flowers ordered specifically from flower shops in the area, including a significant contribution from Diep Suong shop.

Diep Khanh arrived early to arrange decorative flower baskets around the stage area, part of the job she received under a small contract with the city's event organizers. She wore a light beige wool coat, her hair tied back, and her hands quickly placed gladiolus branches into large ceramic vases placed on both sides of the walkway leading to the stage.

"Mrs. Khanh, we need two more vases of flowers at the reception area." An organizing committee member ran over, his voice urgent because the opening time was approaching.

"Okay, let me bring it over now." Diep Khanh quickly cleaned up, carried two large flower vases and moved towards the designated area, not noticing that on the stage, Bach Du was standing with a representative of the city government, preparing for a speech introducing the project overview.

When the ceremony officially began, Diep Khanh stood in the crowd watching, still holding scissors to cut branches in case the flowers needed to be edited. Bach Du stepped onto the stage in an ash gray suit, with a confident and professional demeanor, completely different from the awkward, somewhat confused image when facing her in previous private meetings.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Xuan Huong Old Quarter Renovation project not only means improving infrastructure, but also is an effort to preserve the memory and identity of this street, where each brick, each roof tile carries within it the story of many generations of Da Lat people." Bach Du's voice rang out clearly and inspiringly through the speaker system, causing the crowd below to listen quietly.

Diep Khanh stood there, listening to every word he said, her hands unconsciously tightening her grip on the handle of the pruning shears she was carrying, not knowing whether to be proud or sad. She realized that behind the cold, professional appearance that he still showed every time he met her, was a man who was truly dedicated to his work, with the desire to preserve the old values of the land that they both considered their second homeland.

Standing in the crowd, Diep Khanh was not the only one attentively listening to that speech. Many people around also nodded in approval, some even turned to each other to discuss how this young architect, even though he had just returned to the country, had such insight and respect for old values, completely different from many people's initial image of an architect studying abroad who only focused on applying strange modern models, destroying all that belonged to tradition.

"He speaks so well, and he looks handsome too." A woman standing near Diep Khanh whispered to the person next to her, making her suddenly smile, even though she felt a little confused inside when she heard someone else comment on the person she once loved so deeply.

After the speeches, the ceremony moved to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the first pilot area of the project, right in front of a row of ancient houses near the beginning of the street. According to the scenario, government representatives, sponsor representatives, and the project's chief architect will perform this ritual together. But at the last minute, the organizers announced that they needed an additional representative from business households in the area to participate in the ceremony, to show the spirit of companionship between the project and the community.

"Ms. Diep Khanh, the organizers invited you to participate in cutting the ribbon, because your shop is also located in the pilot area." The organizer from earlier ran to find her, his voice cheerful.

Diep Khanh was stunned. Before he could refuse, he was pulled by the hand and led to the front of the stage, standing right next to Bach Du in front of a large crowd of people and local media working. The two stood next to each other, each holding one end of a large pair of decorative scissors, preparing for the official ribbon cutting moment.

"Please join us in the countdown." The host shouted loudly. "Three, two, one!"

The sound of applause rang out when the red ribbon was cut, and confetti petals fell from above. In that short moment, Diep Khanh and Bach Du accidentally turned to look at each other, their eyes met each other in the bustling atmosphere around them. No words were said, but in those eyes, it seemed they both glimpsed a little bit of the old days, when everything between them was simple and clear.

"Thank you Ms. Diep Khanh for representing the business households participating in today's ceremony." The host continued, turning the microphone towards her. "Can you share a few thoughts about this project?"

Diep Khanh was a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention, but she quickly regained her composure and took the microphone. "I grew up on this street, my family's flower shop has been attached to Hem Suong for more than twenty years. I hope the beautification project will make the street more beautiful, but still retain the old soul, the warm atmosphere that generations of people here have built together."

Her sincere sharing words received applause from the crowd. Bach Du stood next to her, watching her speak. A strange sense of pride arose in his heart, mixed with nostalgia for the old days when she was a student passionately telling him about her mother's dream of developing a flower shop.

After the ceremony, while everyone gradually dispersed, Bach Du found Diep Khanh where he was packing his things. "Thank you for your speech just now, very sincere."

"I'm just saying what I think." Diep Khanh replied, her voice was less tense than the previous meetings, perhaps because the cheerful atmosphere of the ceremony had somewhat eased the defense in her heart.

"Can I buy you a cup of coffee? At the shop nearby, just to talk, nothing else." Bach Du asked, his voice was a bit hesitant, as if he was carefully considering each word before saying it.

Diep Khanh hesitated for a moment, her fingers lightly rubbing the strap of her shoulder bag. Part of her wanted to refuse immediately, wanting to maintain the distance she had been trying to build all these days. But another part, deeper, wants to take this opportunity to better understand the problems that exist between the two of them, especially after the questionable conversation about the old text messages.

"Okay, but just for a moment, I still have to pack up my things and bring them back to the shop." She replied, trying to keep her voice reserved.

The two of them walked to a small cafe hidden in an alley near the square, where the atmosphere was much quieter than the bustle of the ceremony that had just ended. They sat facing each other at a small wooden table next to the window, looking out at the courtyard filled with bright yellow wildflowers.

"Since the day I met you again, I've been thinking about what you said." Bach Du spoke first, his voice was deep and serious. "About that message, about the fact that neither of us can confirm the true origin. I think, maybe someone interfered between us, causing everything to become so confusing."

Diep Khanh looked at him, her eyes clearly showing curiosity mixed with caution. "Who do you think could do that?"

Bach Du was silent for a moment, not wanting to rush to mention Ta Bao Tram's name when the information in hand was still too vague. "I'm not sure yet. I need more time to find out. But I promise, when I have any clearer clues, I will tell you immediately."

Diep Khanh nodded. Although she still had many doubts in her heart, she felt the sincerity in his eyes, a sincerity that she no longer dared to believe in for the past five years.

They sat a while longer in comfortable silence, looking out at the courtyard planted with wild sunflowers that were gently swaying with each gentle breeze. Diep Khanh suddenly realized that this was the first time in five years that she could sit next to Bach Du without feeling the need to defend every word, without having to force herself to maintain a cold and distant appearance like the previous meetings. Perhaps, his sincere speech on stage, along with the moment their eyes met at the ribbon cutting, silently broke a part of the ice she always tried to maintain.

"Thanks for coffee today." Diep Khanh said as the two stood up to prepare to leave, her voice was much softer than her reserved attitude when she first sat down. "Even though nothing specific has been resolved, I feel much lighter."

"Me too." Bach Du smiled, his eyes followed her figure as she turned to walk away, a fragile but true hope arose in his heart, that perhaps, the road to find each other again would not be as far away as he once feared. That conversation that day didn't resolve all the problems, but it opened a small door, enough for both of them to start looking at things from a different perspective, less prejudiced, and perhaps, closer to the truth.