Chapter 8: The Lovesick Friend
We sat on a stone bench in the schoolyard, and Duyen told me her story, her voice carrying a bittersweet sorrow. Duyen and I were close friends, but she rarely shared personal matters.
"Back in high school, I had a reputation as a pretty but dumb girl."
I immediately stopped sipping my milk and listened intently to every word. Duyen's past had always been a mystery, something that made anyone curious.
**"My parents invested heavily in my education, placing high expectations on me. They even spent a fortune to get me into a specialized school. But I hated how they constantly dictated my life. I slacked off, becoming one of the worst students in that elite school. My classmates looked down on me, but I didn't care.
When I reached 11th grade, my parents asked for help from their friend, Principal Nguyen, to find me a tutor. He reached out to Chung, who was the top student at our university back then. From the moment he started tutoring me, he taught me so much—not just about academics but also about life. I realized I had been a selfish girl, ungrateful despite my privileged life. I was luckier than so many people, yet I never appreciated it. He never said it outright, but just by looking at him, I knew I had to change. From then on, I studied hard, climbed to the top ranks of my class, and earned the respect of my teachers and friends. I silently thanked him.
By the time I was in 12th grade, I realized I had fallen for him. I folded paper cranes and hearts, filled a glass jar with them, saved up money to buy him a dress shirt, but he never accepted my gifts. He just smiled gently and said, 'At your age, you should focus on studying.'
After passing the university entrance exam, I asked him to meet at a café, saying I wanted to thank him. He told me it wasn't necessary, but he still came to celebrate with me. I even went against my parents' wishes—I refused to apply for Banking University and chose this school because of him. I was elated, thinking that we would finally be at the same school. So I didn't hesitate anymore. I gathered all my courage and confessed my love to him.
He was a bit taken aback. He fell silent for a moment, then gazed out the window before speaking in a soft voice: 'I'm just a poor guy. One day, you'll realize that what you feel now is just a fleeting crush. You're still too young.'
At that moment, my voice completely failed me. I wanted to scream, 'I'm not a child!' But I didn't want to put him in a difficult position. A confident man like him—how could he not believe that he wouldn't always be 'just a poor guy'? The truth was, he looked down on me. He saw me as nothing more than a pampered, dreamy rich girl who only knew about love but had no ambition, no perseverance, and only cared about her own feelings. I refused to cry in front of him. I didn't want him to think I was a spoiled brat.
After that day, I felt like a soulless body. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my first love would be rejected so coldly. I had thrown away all my pride for him, yet he didn't care at all. I made up my mind—one day, I would make him say he loved me. I had to become the kind of woman he would admire."**
I sat there, completely dumbfounded by Duyen's story.
All this time, I had only known that Duyen disliked it when I called Aunt "Aunt." I knew she respected him, but I never suspected they had a history. Unbelievable. Duyen was truly a master at hiding her emotions. And Aunt… I never imagined he was capable of making Duyen fall so hopelessly in love. How could I have been so blind?
"I really don't know how to help him," Duyen murmured, her face lowered. A tear dropped onto her lap.
I felt uneasy. Duyen had never cried in front of me before.
Deep down, I knew I wasn't a saint. I had always secretly hoped that one day, I would find someone meant just for me—a man who wouldn't be swayed by Duyen's charm. And I was certain I would find him and love him.
But I never expected that person to be Aunt.
Yet at this moment, I found myself hoping that Aunt would return Duyen's feelings.
All those times we walked around the dormitory courtyard together, I had thought Duyen, like me, was watching Hai Anh on the volleyball court. But now, I realized—she had been secretly watching Aunt all along.
I turned to her. "Let's go visit Aunt."
Duyen nodded and stood up with me.
At Aunt's place, the first thing I did was look around. His room was simple, not very well-furnished, but neat and clean. Aunt really was someone who lived with strict discipline.
Honestly, I didn't feel sad seeing him living like this. Aunt was lying on his bed, his leg still in a cast. He put his book down on the table and invited us to sit. I caught myself occasionally covering my mouth, hiding a smirk. Aunt didn't react to my expressions at all. His face was always ice-cold—so cold that it made people hate looking at him.
Why couldn't he be a little more approachable?
"You can laugh all you want. You're not the only one," he said flatly.
Wait.
Was he saying I was being rude? And that I wasn't even special in my rudeness?
I was just curious about who would dare to make a move on someone as stone-faced as Aunt. And he was acting like he had never gone through something embarrassing or outrageous in his life.
I lost interest. But I tried to mimic Duyen's gentle concern.
"Could you tell us what happened, sir?"
I had always been proud of my ability to put on a sweet, polite face, even when I disliked someone. And honestly, Aunt didn't make me that annoyed—just enough to make my eyes itch.
Aunt's expression didn't change. He sighed and replied with an air of indifference:
"Why do you want to know?"
Well. He had a point.
But I was really curious. I wanted to know how he had been seduced, how he had resisted, and what his face looked like when he was scared or angry.
Since he wasn't going to share, I just let my imagination run wild.
I gave up on asking. Instead, I wandered over to his bookshelf, flipping through his books while Duyen continued talking to him. She peeled an orange and gently asked how he was doing.
Honestly, Duyen's words and gestures were incredibly sweet. Even as a girl, I felt like I was melting just watching her.
Yet Aunt remained as steady as a rock.
Was he even a man?
I quickly shoved that ridiculous thought out of my head.
If that were true, Duyen would be devastated.