The next morning, while I was still sleeping, Ye Yuan woke up early. Seeing me still snoring lightly, he just smiled – a warm smile – then gently covered me with the blanket, then tiptoed into the kitchen.
The fragrant smell of food quickly spread throughout the dormitory room, awakening my sense of smell. I rubbed my eyes, and dreamily walked out of the bedroom. When I got to the kitchen, I was a bit surprised at the neatly arranged and clean dining table. Ye Yuan saw me and quickly pulled out a chair, softly saying:
"Brother A Xuyen, please sit down..."
I looked at him, a bit surprised: "A Uyen, did you do everything?"
Hearing that, Ye Yuan awkwardly nodded, his eyes darting away, the rims of his ears clearly red. I laughed, patting his head:
"Next time, call me to help, I'm bothering you too much."
"It's okay..."
He quickly waved his hand, his voice soft: "As long as it's for A Xuyen, then... I want to do anything..."
I paused for a moment, my heart skipped a beat. But then I smiled gently:
"You shouldn't just live for me, you have to live for yourself too."
Hearing that, Da Uyen nodded, lowering his head. If you pay close attention, you will see that both his ears and cheeks were red - an expression so adorable that I had to pick up food for him as a way to calm myself. The meal passed by with the sound of chatting and Da Uyen's giggles when listening to the random stories I told.
While eating, my phone rang. I stood up and said:
"A Uyen, you keep eating, I'll go outside to take a call."
"Yes."
Da Uyen answered quickly, but there was a feeling of discomfort creeping in - a strange feeling that he couldn't even name.
I went out, just picked up the phone, and Zhao Keran's loud voice rang out:
"Hey! At my house! It's 9 o'clock, don't forget!!"
I jumped, took the phone away from my ear: "Oh my god, do you need to shout like that, crazy girl!?"
On the other end was a forced laugh:
"Oh well... it's because my mouth is a bit loose, please understand, please understand~"
I also cursed a few words to relieve my anger, then after a while of chatting, I said:
"Okay, I'm hanging up, I'm having breakfast."
"Okay, go ahead~"
After hanging up, I put the phone in my pocket and turned back. Ye Yuan raised her head and asked softly:
"Who...who called?"
"Oh, your best friend. Her name is Zhao Keran, very kind."
"Yes..."
Ye Yuan answered softly, didn't ask anything more, and still obediently finished her portion. But his eyes were downcast, hiding the emotions that were gently rising in his heart – an unpleasant emotion that he didn't understand why he had.
After eating, Da Uyen and I washed the dishes, changed clothes, and prepared to go to Trieu Kha Nhien's house. Before leaving the room, I held his hand and teased him:
"A Uyen, follow me closely or you'll get lost."
Da Uyen blushed and nodded: "Yes... "
I called a taxi, told him the address, and got in the car with him. On the way, while I was reading the messages, I saw him being timid, his hand tightly holding the corner of my shirt, his face lowered, looking worried. I reached out and squeezed his hand, softly saying:
"A Uyen, don't be afraid. I'm here."
He looked up at me, his eyes seemed to have something quietly melting, gentle, strangely warm. Only later, when we were already close friends, did I understand that moment... was the look of someone who felt safe for the first time.
When we arrived - a big, luxurious house - I still held Ye Yuan's hand and rang the bell. The door opened, Zhao Ke Ran stood there, arms crossed blocking the door:
"You're late!"
"Traffic jam, who wants to..." I replied.
He rolled his eyes, just as he was about to tease me more, his eyes fell on the person standing behind me. He widened his eyes:
"Huh? This is the person you said you would bring? So cute and fierce!"
He nudged my elbow and winked:
"Your taste is also really delicious~"
I frowned and tapped his head:
"Stop bragging. This is a junior, understand?"
I pulled Ye Yuan forward. He seemed hesitant, his hand clutching the hem of his shirt. But when he looked at me, he took a deep breath, then shyly introduced himself:
"I... I'm Da Uyen, very happy to meet you!"
Trieu Kha Nhien paused for a moment, repeating the name:
"Da... Uyen?"
But in just a moment, he regained his composure, grinning: "Oh my god, sorry! My name is Trieu Kha Nhien, very happy to meet you!"
After saying that, before he could react, he shook hands repeatedly, intimately like friends from a previous life. I coughed a few times to signal him to stop being so ridiculous.
"Okay, everyone here?"
"Only two of you are missing~ - he replied."
I nodded and held Da Uyen's hand and pulled him into the house. Trieu Kha Nhien looked after him, smiling as usual, but in his mind he thought:
"If my best friend said there was nothing with this kid, I would hold back my laughter and make him go hungry!"
With a calm face, he glanced at Da Uyen, his eyes seemed to say: "Don't worry, I'll take good care of your people, don't worry."
I almost glared at him until my face burned.
As soon as I entered the house, the greeting had not yet ended when a loud voice rang out from a corner:
"Hey, Ninh Xuyen! What are you bringing that guy along for? Don't you know what people are saying at school? You're bringing this poor guy along?"
I was happy but my face darkened. I turned around and saw Da Uyen standing there,He paused, lowered his head, his whole body trembling slightly. His hand squeezed mine, his eyes downcast, looking extremely pitiful.
I was about to fight back when... bang! - a glass of soda flew straight into the face of the person who had just insulted me.
"What are you doing!?"
"To make you shut up. If you don't know how to speak, don't open your mouth. Didn't you rinse your mouth when you went out today?"
Trieu Kha Nhien stood there, hands on hips, face cold as ice. Da Uyen and I were both stunned.
I looked at my friend, nodding inwardly:
"My best friend, being as cool as distilled water is real!"