Tuan walked out of the small jewellery store with a small paper bag in his hand. He bought that "Prunus Persi" jewellery set. A piece of jewellery that suits Bich Quyen so well, he couldn't help but buy it.
The road home was crowded with people. At the end of work, people from the company poured into the street, in a hurry to get home early for the family's dinner, to swoop into the laps of their loved ones. That is everyone's wish. As Manh Tuan rode his bicycle on a busy road, the early autumn winds made his heart calm. Tomorrow, he wants to talk to Bich Quyen about the text messages that have made them strangers like this. No matter what reason she gave him, he believed it. His Bich Quyen will never lie to him. Manh Tuan is convinced!
Thinking of this, his heart swelled with indescribable pain. He remembered the times she told him about those messages. She said it wasn't her, but he didn't believe it. But now, he tries to hold on to something from Bich Quyen. He smiled to himself, a mocking smile. What qualifications does he have to hold her? He just didn't want to lose her.
However, what the future holds, no one knows.
The next morning, on a beautiful Sunday morning in Hanoi's autumn, the roads were covered with yellow leaves. The cool wind blew, bringing a little chill and the scent of ripe guava around the nose. Just a little scent like that makes people's hearts flutter.
Le Manh Tuan stands in front of Dang Bich Quyen's house. The road from his house to hers is so familiar that even if Tuan closes his eyes, he can still reach the place. But today, in his heart, it is so strange. This feeling of not being able to be named made him walk up to her house nervously and anxiously. Perhaps it was because of the thoughts in his heart that made him unable to calm down.
The doorbell rang, and the wooden door slowly opened. Mrs. Huong appeared from inside the house. Seeing Tuan, her face was filled with joy.
- I salute you, aunt. Is Quyen at home?
Entering the house, he politely bowed. Mrs. Huong pointed across the room, indicating that Bich Quyen was still sleeping. When Tuan looked up at the wall clock in the living room, how it was arranged in Bich Quyen's living room, he knew it all. After all, he had come to her house countless times. It's already seven fifty in the morning. Normally, Quyen doesn't wake up so late. She was not one to wake up late or sleep late. Especially when she has an appointment with someone else. Quyen doesn't even get up this late. Couldn't she remember that she had an appointment to go out with him today? Manh Tuan thought.
He asked Mrs. Huong's permission to go up to her room to wake Bich Quyen up. Huong's hasty preparation of the uniform led him to believe that Quyen's mother had a shift at the hospital today. Tuan didn't notice anymore. He walked up to Quyen's bedroom, a small room on the second floor, on the left-hand side of the stairs.
As he opened the door to step in, the pale yellow night light softened around the quiet room. Manh Tuan walked close to the bed, where the girl was lying with her eyes closed, not knowing anything. He walked over to her bed and heard her soft breathing. Quyen is still fast asleep.
How long had it been since he had seen her peaceful face? Tuan asked himself. It's been a long time since the misunderstanding between the two of them. He hasn't seen this face of hers in a while. At that moment, he sat quietly across from her, silently watching. Bich Quyen has lost a lot of weight already, her face is no longer the lovely roundness of the past. The dark circles under her eyes were much darker, perhaps she hadn't slept well for a while. Seeing her like that, he didn't dare to wake her up. He really wanted her to have a good night's sleep.
- Um...
Quyen's eyebrows slightly wrinkled, and she slowly opened her eyes. Manh Tuan said it was like being caught doing something dark. His cheeks flushed red. If it weren't for the weak nightlight, Quyen would have seen his embarrassed face.
- Tuan? Since when did you come?
It seems that Bich Quyen is still sleepy. She rubbed her eyes a few times, her feather-soft voice scratching his heart. Manh Tuan stood up. He did not dare sit near her any longer. When Bich Quyen looked at his actions, she stiffened slightly. Could it be that standing next to her also made him feel unhappy? She lowered her eyes, her bare feet touching the cool ground. She thought she should take a shower.
In the quiet room, only Le Manh Tuan remained. He walked over to her desk, looking at the pile of books scattered across the table. He casually picked up a notebook and looked at it. Inside, it was full of things he couldn't understand. He picked up another notebook, still things he didn't know what they were. It's not like she's writing in a foreign language, it's obviously in her native language, which he understands too. But what she wrote inside, he did not understand at all. After all, over the past year or so, she'd become so strange that he couldn't understand her anymore.
The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped. Tuan quickly put Quyen's notebooks back where they were. He sat on her bed, looking at the body of the girl who entered. After taking a shower, Quyen still had a bit of water on her skin. She stood in front of the mirror, quickly tying her hair back. Quyen's movements were very fast, and she didn't want Tuan to wait for her.
- Where are we going today?
She stood in front of the mirror, put a peach-shaped hairpin in her hair, and asked him conveniently.
- Today is your birthday. Where do you want to go?
- My birthday? Today?
Quyen's voice was a bit surprised. She looked at the calendar on the table. Today is her birthday. However, she can't remember her birthday. Tuan looked at her face in the mirror, her face clearly showing bewilderment and surprise that could not be hidden.
Suddenly, a line appeared in his head: "Depression makes the patient's memory much worse." Seeing her like that, he really felt fear rising in his heart. But Bich Quyen was not surprised for too long, she said with a smile.
- I just bought two movie tickets. Let's go see a movie. It's been a long time since you and I went to the movies together.
- That's OK.
He nodded. Seeing the smile on her face also made it a little bit more alive. Bich Quyen and Manh Tuan left the house. Ms. Huong has gone to work, Mr. Tu has also been on a business trip since yesterday. It looks like she's going to be home alone for a few days again.
The movie that the two watched was a melodrama. Bich Quyen said she had already bought a ticket, but in fact, the idea of going to the cinema just popped into her head right now. At the cinema, Quyen bought tickets and asked Tuan to help her buy some popcorn and soft drinks.
- Two medium soft drinks and one large cheese popcorn, please.
He went to the food counter and quickly ordered the food. Quyen likes to eat cheese-flavored popcorn the most. She once told him that if she buys a small portion of popcorn, she won't eat it all, so buying a large portion will be more reasonable for her and him to eat together. Since then, he has always kept the habit of buying a large portion of cheese popcorn when he goes to the movies with her.
Bich Quyen bought the tickets and saw Manh Tuan with two glasses of soft drinks and popcorn in his hand. She quickly came to hold the popcorn for him. The popcorn was still hot, and the delicious cheese smell made her a little hungry. Anyway, she hasn't had breakfast yet.
- Did you only buy a part? So you eat, I won't eat.
- I always buy popcorn like that. You and I eat together.
- Really?
She looked at the popcorn she was holding in her lap, such a large portion that one person could not eat it all. It's just that she didn't think Tuan would eat with her. She thought he didn't want anything to do with her.
Manh Tuan looked at the girl standing in front of him. In his heart, an uncomfortable feeling came. Seeing Bich Quyen like this really made him feel unhappy inside. She was like a stranger to him, like a corpse without a soul. She was afraid of everything and felt like she shouldn't do anything.