Chapter 20: The Storm Hasn't Passed Yet
After the Lunar New Year break, Kieu Ly threw herself into studying, helping Huong Tra with modeling for her online store, and working part-time jobs. Keeping busy helped her forget—at least for a while—the person she needed to forget and the love that didn't deserve to be remembered.
But trouble still found her.
When she arrived at Toan Phuong's house for their usual tutoring session, his mother invited her to sit down for a talk.
Thu Thao placed her son's test papers on the table, her tone calm but firm.
"I had such high hopes for you. But the more you tutor Phuong, the worse his results have become. I'm very disappointed. I don't think we can continue working together."
Kieu Ly felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. She knew Phuong had been studying seriously—it just didn't make sense for his grades to have dropped. But when she picked up the test papers, it was like getting hit over the head—so sharp, it left her dizzy.
Thu Thao continued gently:
"I actually meant to talk to you before Tet, but I didn't want to ruin your holiday. That's why I waited until now."
Kieu Ly was so ashamed she couldn't even look Thu Thao in the eye. Before Tet, the woman had paid her in full—and even given her a New Year's gift to take home. Kieu Ly had thought Phuong was making real progress. She never expected it to turn out like this.
She had always taken pride in her work. Whenever she gave her all—whether in studying or working—she always got the results she hoped for. Maybe she'd been unlucky in love, but she believed hard work would never betray her.
And now, even that belief had been shattered.
Kieu Ly lowered her head, her voice barely audible.
"Yes… I'll go say goodbye to Phuong."
Upstairs in the study room, Phuong was lying on the bed, playing games on his phone. When Kieu Ly saw him, it felt like she was staring straight into the face of her own failure. It was a hard moment—but she had to face it.
She sat down at the desk, blinking back tears, then spoke:
"Come here. I need to talk to you."
Phuong put his phone away and walked over casually.
"I'm here."
Kieu Ly gently placed his test papers on the desk and asked:
"You promised you were studying seriously. So how did your test end up like this?"
Phuong glanced at the papers and immediately understood that his mother must have had a word with Kieu Ly downstairs. He was secretly delighted.
He shrugged, raised both hands in mock surrender, and replied with a cocky grin:
"I promised I'd study seriously. I never promised I'd take the tests seriously.
In the end, you lost, didn't you?"