Chapter 4. Endless Love.

The last heavy rain of summer finally broke, washing away both the muggy heat and the memories best left forgotten. After that day, Tran Vong Tan vanished. My life settled into a rhythm so peaceful it almost felt suspicious.

Until one afternoon, just as I stepped out of the grocery store, a dark figure suddenly lunged at me. I stumbled, the glass jars inside my shopping bag colliding and shattering into pieces. Frowning, I looked up, and with a single glance, my entire body froze cold.

“Am Am… I finally found you, sweetheart.”

That voice dragged me backward in time like an unwanted flashback.

Lam Phuong Vien dropped to his knees right there on the pavement, weeping with practiced, desperate emotion. “Your old man was wrong back then… I’ve changed, I swear I have…”

Passersby began to cluster around, whispering.
“Look at how cold-hearted she is. Not even batting an eye at her own father.”
“Right? No matter what, he’s still the man who gave her life.”

I stood frozen in the middle of the crowd, mute, motionless, my face drained of all color. As a child, I had dreamed of seeing him again countless times, but every single dream ended in bloody violence. He was like a chronic disease; as long as he was breathing, I would never know peace. My gaze drifted helplessly to a razor-sharp shard of broken glass lying on the ground. Just one quick cut, a dark voice whispered inside my head. And it all finally stops.

My hands shook violently. But before I could react, a powerful grip yanked me backward, pulling me into a broad, warm chest.

“Con artists are really stepping up their game these days, huh?”

Tran Vong Tan’s familiar voice rang out above my head. He stroked my back with gentle, reassuring sweeps.

He stared down at Lam Phuong Vien, his tone deceptively calm. “My girlfriend’s father passed away not too long ago. I personally watched his body go into the incinerator at the crematorium. You coming back to life right now… defies basic science.”

The crowd flipped their script in three seconds flat.
“Oh, so he’s a scammer!”
“Poor girl, having her grief weaponized like that.”
“Call the cops!”

At the word cops, the color drained from Lam Phuong Vien’s face faster than a winter dusk. Scrambling to his feet, he bolted down the street without looking back once. The onlookers gradually dispersed.

“Are you alright?” Tran Vong Tan asked, his hand still clamped tightly around my wrist.

“What are you even doing here?” I stared at the baseball cap pulled low over his forehead, then down at his heavy leather jacket spiked with metal studs. I was entirely speechless. “What is this… look?”

He avoided my eyes, looking guilty. “Just… trying out a new vibe.”

I nodded, deciding not to press him further lest he panic and start rambling about the weather. I turned to walk away.

“That guy…” he called after me, his tone shifting. “Do you need me to take care of him for you?”

I shook my head. “It’s my baggage. I’ll handle it.”

—

I didn’t tell my mother about the encounter, not out of a lack of trust, but because I couldn’t bear to stress her out. I simply asked her to stay indoors as much as possible for a while. After that, I went to the police station.

The response I got was infuriatingly predictable: “Since no actual harm has been done yet, we can’t intervene.” They topped it off with: “Besides, he is legally your father.”

Fantastic. Bound by blood and trapped by the law.

Right on cue, my phone buzzed with a text from Lam Phuong Vien. Reading it almost made me burst out into a hysterical laugh. The same old extortion: demanding five hundred million, rounded off with a threat: You don’t want to see your old man get his hands chopped off by loan sharks, do you?

Sorry, but I knew better. A man like him never stops at one payout. If I wanted a clean cut, I had to sever it completely.

I typed out an address and hit send: [Come here tomorrow night. I’ll bring cash.]

—

Late the next evening, bundled up in a dark coat, I dragged a heavy suitcase to the mouth of a secluded alley. He was already waiting, his eyes gleaming with frantic greed.

I dropped the suitcase. Thud!

The latch popped open, spilling thick stacks of cash all over the filthy pavement. He practically fell to his knees, grabbing at the money like a madman. The dim streetlight illuminated the raw, desperate avarice etched into his face.

“I knew it… I knew you’d come through…” he muttered, stuffing bills into his jacket. “With this cash, I can win it all back…”

A bitter, mocking laugh escaped my chest. He snapped his head up, glaring at me. “What the hell are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing because you’re pathetic,” I said, my voice ice-cold. “Did you really think I’d let you hold me hostage forever? Extorting five hundred million is enough to put you away for the rest of your natural life.”

His face twisted in horror. “You little bitch! I’m your father!”

“Yeah? You can save that speech for the police in about five minutes.”

He lost whatever sanity he had left. His eyes turned wild and bloodshot. “You ruthless brat! I should have beaten you to death when you were five!”

He pulled a knife from his coat. “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!”

The blade flashed toward me. But in that split second, a heavy force shoved me violently out of the way.

Thwack.

A sick, wet sound echoed through the alley. I landed hard on the pavement, gasping as I looked up—only to see Tran Vong Tan dropping to one knee. Crimson blood rapidly bloomed across his white shirt.

Panic-stricken, Lam Phuong Vien dropped the bloodied knife and fled into the night. I didn’t care about chasing him. I scrambled across the dirt, catching Tran Vong Tan before he collapsed. “T… Tran Vong Tan!”

I grabbed his hand; it was icy cold. Holding him close with one arm, my other hand shook uncontrollably as I dialed emergency services.

Tran Vong Tan rested his head weakly against my shoulder, his breathing shallow and labored. “That rainy night… you kissed me. You always said… you don’t kiss people unless it’s real… I thought we were together. But then you just ran away. That wasn’t fair.” He gasped for air, his voice barely a whisper. “I’ve been in love with you… way longer than three years.”

Tears spilled over my lashes, choking my throat. “I love you too.”

He let out a weak, raspy laugh. “You’re not just trying to comfort a dying man, are you?”

“No! You’re not dying! Don’t you dare die!”

Weakly, he raised a hand to brush a tear from my cheek. “Then… will you kiss me again?”

This time, it was a real kiss, raw, desperate, and salty with my tears. The siren of the approaching ambulance wailed through the night as it pulled up to the alley. I stood by as they loaded him in, my legs completely turned to jelly.

Only then did Tong Le Xuyen dash into the alley to hold me up. “I’m sorry… I’m late again.”

I couldn’t hear a word he was saying; my eyes were glued to the red flashing lights of the ambulance speeding away. I wanted to follow, but the police kept me at the scene to record my statement for the official report.

—

By the time I finally rushed to the hospital, his surgery was already finished.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, my voice tight with lingering panic.

He flashed a pale, tired smile. “Not dead yet.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but the knot in my throat wouldn’t let me speak. Tran Vong Tan reached out, his thumb gently smoothing the crease between my brows. “Stop frowning. This physical pain is nothing compared to seeing you hurt.”

My ears flushed bright red at his uncharacteristic cheekiness.

Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open. A guy with brilliant, fire-engine red hair burst inside. The second he saw me, a massive grin broke across his face. “Hey there, Sister-in-law! The name’s Ly Tu.”

I forced a polite nod, but my brain immediately caught the sensitive detail. “Wait… what do you mean he’s in the hospital again?”

Ly Tu casually pulled up a chair, picked up an apple, and began peeling it. “Oh, you know. To get his family’s permission to marry whoever he wanted, he had to take over twenty lashes from the clan elders. The old man didn’t pull a single punch, split the skin right open, refused to let him use medicine, and forced him to kneel in the ancestral hall for days.”

He glanced over at Tran Vong Tan before continuing, “He even ordered me to go over and water your potted roses. Though, to be fair, I was the idiot who accidentally leaked his private address to that new secretary, which caused all that mess in the first place. My bad, truly! But his feelings for you? The guy is down astronomically.”

Tran Vong Tan shot Ly Tu a murderous glare, grabbed his pillow, and hurled it straight at his head. “You talk way too much!”

The sudden movement yanked his stitches, making him wince with a sharp groan.

“Who told you to move like that?!” I gasped, leaning over him in a panic.

Tran Vong Tan immediately sank back into the headboard, putting on his most pitiful, helpless expression. “It hurts…”

Heart in my throat, I turned to sprint out and grab a doctor. But before I could take a single step, his broad hand clamped around my wrist, pulling me right back to his bedside.

“If you kiss it better… the pain will go away automatically.”

I was completely at a loss for words, sitting down beside him with an affectionate, helpless sigh as I took his hand. “I’m not a miraculous painkiller.”

“How do you know if you don’t try?” He raised an eyebrow.

I leaned down, pressing a gentle, lingering kiss onto the tips of his fingers. His fingers stroked lightly across my lips, sending a sudden, electric shiver coursing through my body. Clearing my throat to hide my embarrassment, I deliberately changed the subject. “What Ly Tu said earlier… those flowers… were they the roses I planted?”

Tran Vong Tan let me play with his fingers, the corner of his mouth lifting into a soft smirk. “Are you still pretending not to know? Aside from your precious flower collection, what else has ever grown in our place?”

I bit my lip, speaking in a low murmur. “The day I left… I hauled them all back to my hometown. But no matter how hard I try, they never bloom as pretty as when you took care of them.” I let out a soft sigh. “I guess I’ll have to hand that duty back to you.”

He leaned down, searching my eyes with a gaze that was equal parts tender and playful. “Well… I just don’t know if there’s room for me in your hometown.”

I looked straight back into his dark eyes, turning the question around. “And what capacity are you planning on moving in as?”

Without missing a single beat, he answered instantly. “As your future husband.”

I froze dead in my tracks.

Right at that moment, something cool and smooth slid onto my ring finger. I looked down: a brilliant diamond ring was now sparkling on my hand, fitting perfectly.

“…When did you even prepare this?”

“That night,” he whispered, taking a quiet breath. “I thought you were fast asleep, so I stole a measurement of your finger.” His voice dropped, steady and absolute. “So… will you marry me?”

Without a second’s hesitation, a bright smile broke across my face. “I will.”

He let out a low laugh. And this time, it wasn’t just his fingertips touching mine, he pulled me into a deep, breathtaking kiss.

—

Lam Phuong Vien was arrested faster than I ever expected. Extortion, aggravated assault, domestic abuse, the combined charges were more than enough to keep him behind bars for a very, very long time. Tran Vong Tan adamantly refused any out-of-court settlement, and so did I. Some scars run too deep to be wiped clean by a meaningless label like “blood relation.”

The dark shadow that had haunted my entire life was finally, completely shattered. I took a deep, clean breath, feeling an extraordinary sense of lightness wash over my entire body.

“It’s such a beautiful day today,” I said, sliding my arm through his and smiling brightly. “Wanna go get hot pot to celebrate?”

He looked down at me, his eyes overflowing with his signature indulgence. “Whatever you want, boss.”

“Oh, and those grape pastries from that bakery down the street, we should swing by and grab some on the way.”

“Anything else, Mrs. Tran?”

I pondered for a moment. “Nothing right now, but if I think of something on the way, I’ll add it to the list.”

He let out a rich, warm laugh. I squeezed his hand a little tighter. His palm was always so warm, warm enough to chase away the chill of late autumn, and warm enough to melt away all the dark, lonely years of my past.

Our love wasn’t loud, nor was it wrapped in explosive drama. But it was heavy enough for me to lean on with absolute trust, and light enough to make me smile every single day.

[THE END]