Chapter 91: Tears Fall Again
That night, Huong Tra stayed over at Kieu Ly's house. After Kieu Ly finished her shower, Huong Tra went in next, while Kieu Ly lay on the bed and checked her phone to reply to Toan Phuong's message:
"You're flying home today, right? Let me know once you've arrived so I can stop worrying."
Sigh… She had gotten home by early evening, but only now, after a long, happy meal, did she notice his message. To be honest, she didn't check her phone that often. That's why she once left him waiting for hours in the freezing cold. Thinking back on it, it really was pitiful.
"I got home this evening. Just got so caught up eating I didn't see your message until now."
Toan Phuong was still online. He had been holding his phone all evening, waiting for her reply.
"You must've been so happy to eat your mom's home cooking again."
"Yeah. I only inherited my mom's looks, though. She cooks amazingly. I'm terrible at it." — Kieu Ly replied with a laughing-crying emoji.
"It's okay. I'll learn to cook. If you're not good at it, I'll cook. Or we'll just hire a maid."
"What are you saying?"
"I hope I'll get to have dinner at your family's house one day."
Kieu Ly typed a response, then erased it. She chose to stay silent instead. The day they were supposed to meet at Foreign Trade University was coming soon. She knew she had to give him a clear answer. The more time passed, the softer her heart became. Maybe it was time to step into a real relationship.
Just then, Huong Tra came out of the shower and flopped onto the bed beside her, teasing:
"Texting your little devil lover?"
Kieu Ly smiled sweetly, put her phone down, and playfully attacked Huong Tra's sides:
"You wanna stop or what?"
Huong Tra squirmed under the tickling, laughing and trying to get away. But after a while, tears began to well up in her eyes. Kieu Ly noticed and immediately stopped.
"What's wrong, Tra?"
Though the tickling had stopped, tears continued to fall from Huong Tra's eyes, and soon she burst into sobs.
"I'm just so sad, Ly. Things between me and Huy are getting worse. We don't even talk at dinner anymore."
On Tra's birthday, she had sent a photo of her hand wearing a couple ring to Kieu Ly, and Kieu Ly had thought their relationship had grown stronger through hardship. She didn't expect to see her friend crying like this tonight.
"I thought things had gotten better since your birthday."
"I thought so too. But now… I feel like I'm losing him, Ly."
"Don't spiral. Please don't."
After a pause, Kieu Ly added:
"If you lose Huy, you'll still have yourself. And you'll still have me. Don't worry. As long as we're alive and healthy, there's nothing we can't get through."