Chapter 16: No Matter How Sweet, It Still Fades Like Clouds
For some reason, Hoang Anh drove her all the way to Hanoi. After a while, the car stopped in front of a five-star hotel near West Lake. Kieu Ly felt both surprised and uneasy, so she asked:
"What are we doing here?"
Hoang Anh looked at her with tender eyes.
"We only get a few chances a year to see each other. We should be a bit more... intimate."
Kieu Ly hesitantly asked:
"Intimate?"
Hoang Anh nodded firmly, with a serious expression.
Realizing what he meant, Kieu Ly shook her head and refused:
"No… I don't think we should. That kind of thing should wait until after marriage."
Hoang Anh tried to persuade her patiently:
"Okay, but... I really just want to look at you more closely. Just look, I won't do anything."
Kieu Ly swallowed hard, then shook her head again:
"No. I'm sorry."
Hearing that, Hoang Anh stopped trying to persuade her and quietly turned the car around to take her home. The whole ride back, neither of them said a word.
When they arrived at her house, he dropped her off at the gate and said:
"Let's break up."
Kieu Ly was stunned, frozen in place like a statue. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at Hoang Anh in disbelief, hoping he was just joking or that she had misheard.
But he continued in a flat, rehearsed tone, as if reading from a cold, pre-written script:
"At first, I liked you because you were smart. But over time, I realized you're just a dry person who only knows how to study. We're not compatible. I don't think we can go on. I hope you understand."
With that, he got in the car and drove away—leaving Kieu Ly standing at the gate, dazed, unable to process what had just happened.
That night, she couldn't stop thinking about what Hoang Anh had said. She couldn't sleep. People used to call her "Ly the stubborn," and she wasn't ready to accept a breakup like this. After all, he was her first love. If needed, she could change to become more compatible with him. Once she had agreed to love him, she had seriously thought about walking through life with him. If things cracked, she'd fix them. If they cooled, she'd warm them back up.
The next day, she went to Hoang Anh's house to talk. But to her shock, she saw a strange girl sitting inside, chatting with his parents. She lingered nervously at the gate, unable to walk in.
Hearing the dog bark, Hoang Anh glanced outside and saw Kieu Ly standing hesitantly by the gate. He took the other girl's hand, stood up, and walked outside—facing Kieu Ly directly.
Seeing how close they were, Kieu Ly felt the world spin. Her legs nearly gave out, and she had to grab onto the gate to steady herself.
Hoang Anh wrapped his arm around the new girl's waist, and calmly delivered the final blow:
"Ly, we've already broken up. Please don't come here again. This is my new girlfriend."