A Girl’s Heart - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I flattered her. Her face flushed with pleasure. She lifted her beer mug, took another long sip, and continued enthusiastically.

“We were together for three years. At first, he treated me wonderfully. During the first two years, he organized a birthday dinner for me every year at a restaurant. It wasn’t particularly fancy, but it was nice enough. He invited me and my friends, and it made me very proud of him.”

She paused and gazed out at the lake, a trace of pensiveness crossing her face. Fine drizzle scattered tiny blossoms across the still surface of the water. A tiny damselfly was playfully skimming over the lake.

But only for a moment. Her expression brightened again. With her, I had the feeling that memories were like that tiny damselfly—landing briefly on a blade of grass before suddenly flying away again.

“And he was absolutely crazy about me. At the time, I worked for a construction company. The company assigned me to supervise the construction of a house. Just think about it—I had spent my entire career sitting at a drafting table designing things. I had never actually supervised construction work. Besides, I didn’t even know a single construction crew. I was completely stuck, so I asked him for help. And you know what? He immediately set up a construction company just so he could take on the project for me.”

“He was that rich?”

I interrupted.

She shook her head.

“No. He wasn’t rich either. But he had just sold his house, so he had a few hundred million dong left over.”

“He was a civil engineer like you?”

“No. He was an electrical engineer. He knew absolutely nothing about construction.”

“And yet he dared to start a construction company just because of a woman! That man was something else. Being as beautiful as you must be wonderful.”

“You don’t know the half of it. He was old and ugly, while I was as beautiful as a fairy. Whenever we went out together, everyone thought we were father and daughter. And yet, I really was crazy about him back then. I always wanted to sit beside him and listen to him talk.”

“He was that good at talking?”

She nodded, her eyes dreamily fixed on the lake. It seemed that the little damselfly had returned.

“Yes. He was extremely knowledgeable and well-read. I could sit and listen to him analyze poetry or philosophy all day without getting bored. When he got into a one-on-one conversation with a woman, he could completely captivate her.”

“So, did his first construction project for you make a huge profit?”

She laughed innocently.

“I was born in the Year of the White Ox. Wherever I go, I bring bad harvests.”

Seeing that I didn’t believe her, she looked directly at me and emphasized:

“I’m serious. I’ve worked for several construction companies, and I never stayed anywhere for very long. Everyone said working with me brought them bad luck. That first project lost money. Worried that I would feel guilty, he told me, ‘All beginnings are difficult. Losing just a little money on your first project is already a victory.’”

“So did the company go under after that?”

“No!” She shook her head. “If only it had gone under, perhaps he and I would still be together today.”

“After that, I lost my job. And it was because of him. I secretly steered one of my company’s projects toward him, without realizing that the director had discovered what I had done. I was fired on the spot.

“When he found out, he felt terribly guilty. He said to me, ‘Why don’t you come work with me? We’ll split the profits three ways—I’ll take two shares and you’ll take one. If there’s no work, there’s no salary. But I want us to take the work seriously. Work is work, and feelings are feelings. We can’t mix the two.’

“So I agreed to work for him.”

“Really?”

My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe there could be a man in this world who would go to such lengths for a woman.

“He was incredibly gallant.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Yes. He was a writer, after all. Money didn’t mean much to him.”

She paused and gazed into the distance across the lake. It seemed that the little damselfly had come back again.

And as for me, this man of hers was taking me from one surprise to another.

“Wait! He’s a writer too?”