Suddenly, I’ve been here for over three months. I only keep a few hundred of my salary; I send the rest to Mom. Mom says Hanh is doing very well in business lately. She’s expanding her business and partnering with others, so her capital is increasing.
Mom is still putting the land sale on hold. Hanh keeps urging Mom to sell it. I heard my brothers say they’re worried my sister might be cheated, that if she sells the land and gives the money to someone else, she’ll lose everything. I didn’t say anything; I thought that since my sister is so educated, she must understand the risks of business partnerships. So, I let Mom decide whether or not to sell the land, because I didn’t think that piece of land would be an asset she’d leave to me later.
Since Lui started having an affair with the managers, his pockets have always been full of money. He often wandered around the city, buying us anything delicious or unusual he found. Sometimes I’d ask him, “Hey, I heard the managers hate each other. What if they find out you’re sharing their dick?”
Lùi laughed, feigning indifference, “At most, I’ll get fired. I’ve already made a fortune. They can’t kill me, can they?”
Lùi spoke while gazing into the distance, his words revealing a certain meaning. Perhaps he was already considering leaving, though he didn’t know where he would go next. He often complained about being tired of working in the fields, going to the fields before sunrise and returning home after dark. He didn’t want to live the life his parents had lived, toiling for years without ever having any money.
On Saturday afternoon, Lùi suggested we all go to karaoke. He said it was a lot of fun, but even though I’d heard of it before, I’d never actually seen anything like it. Anh Đậu refused, saying, “You guys go ahead, I need to save money for my wedding.”
Lùi said, “Go ahead, I’ll take care of everything.”
Nhí jumped up and down excitedly, his face beaming, “Hey, are there any prostitutes in there?”
Lùi replied, “If you want more, I can handle it.”
Minh chimed in, “Anh Nhí eats prostitutes every day, aren’t you tired of it?”
I said, “This guy’s a monkey, you know, no matter how many prostitutes he eats, it’s never enough.”
Nhí winked at me, looking pleased that I understood. Anh Đậu, however, refused to go, knowing full well that going to that place wasn’t just about singing; there might be moaning and groaning all over the place. He remained completely faithful to Huong, never even considering sleeping with another woman.
In the end, only the four of us went. This was also my first time exploring the city after several months of working. We borrowed bicycles from the housing complex; Minh rode me, and Nhi rode Lui. Except for Lui, everyone else pointed and laughed whenever they saw something unfamiliar along the way. Compared to the small market where I lived, this city was a world apart.
After a while, Lui pointed us into a small alley. He said that place catered to city workers, the prices were cheap, and the girls were top-notch. Minh and I shuddered at the thought, but Nhi kept rambling on about breasts and vaginas.
Lui, sitting behind, reached out and grabbed Nhi’s penis, teasing, “Damn it, we haven’t even reached the place yet and you’re already getting hard?”
Nhi retorted, “Mom, if talking about breasts and vaginas doesn’t make you horny, then you’re gay.”
Minh and I both felt a pang of embarrassment, and Lui glanced over, teasingly laughing.
After parking, the karaoke bar’s security guard stopped me and asked, “Are you eighteen yet to be here?”
No matter what I said, he didn’t believe me until I showed him my ID.
Before I even settled into the room, Nhi pressed on, “Hey, where’s the girl?”
Lui cursed, “Mom, take it easy, are you that horny?”
Nhi took off his outer pants, revealing his erect penis under his underwear. He said, “Look, I haven’t had a round today.”
Lui turned to the waitress who was putting ice in a glass and said, “Hey, give me…” – he suddenly stopped, turned to Minh and me, and asked, “Do you two want to join?”
I replied, “No, we haven’t lost our virginity yet, we’re saving our first time for your girlfriends.”
The flight attendant suddenly said, “Oh my god, that makes me so sad. Why don’t you call someone else? I’ll personally serve you. If you don’t reach ecstasy, I won’t take your money.”
I chuckled and said, “No, this guy is actually quite picky. If you talk to him, he’ll argue and leave. Give me two girls to listen to, remember to call Tuyet for me.”
Minh and I fiddled with the song selection machine, while Nhi sat staring out the door, his hand rubbing his erection which hadn’t gone soft yet. A little later, the two flight attendants came in. One was Tuyet, fair-skinned and pretty, the other was Trinh—whether she was still a virgin or not was obvious. City girls, with a little makeup, looked even more attractive, but I preferred the simple, down-to-earth look of country girls.
Tuyết sat down next to Lùi, letting him put his arm around her waist. Lùi placed one hand right on her full, voluptuous buttocks peeking out from under her short dress. Tuyết said, “It’s been so long since you’ve visited! Luckily you brought a friend, otherwise I’d hold you accountable! And your friend is so handsome!”
Lùi cleared his throat, and Tuyết corrected him, “But how could he be as handsome as you? Ah…”
“My Tiến is the best.”
Minh wondered, “Huh, who is Tiến?”
I replied, “That’s Lùi. Kids in the countryside give themselves ugly nicknames so they’re easier to raise. Lùi’s real name is Mạnh Tiến, but we’ve been calling him Lùi so much we’ve almost forgotten his real name.”
On the cushioned chair on the other side, Trinh was stroking Nhí’s penis, and she also asked, “Handsome guy, what’s your name?”
Nhí replied, “My name is Đại. You can call me Đại Du.”
Lùi said, “You’re calling me Đại Du for only fifteen minutes?”
Nhí strained his neck, “Yeah, you can try timing it later to see how long it lasts.”
I almost forgot that Nhi’s real name is Dai. He was a terrible child, so sickly that it seemed he wouldn’t live past ten. But ever since his parents started calling him Nhi, he’s been fine and alive ever since. But maybe because of all the illness, he still hasn’t gained weight. Minh says he doesn’t get fat because he sleeps too much.
Minh and I sang solos and duets of all kinds, singing until we were tired of it, then we handed the microphone to Lui. Lui gave the microphone to Tuyet and said, “Sing a song for us, Tuyet.”
Tuyet took the microphone and confidently introduced herself: “And now, I, Minh Tuyet, would like to present to you the song ‘If You Don’t Love Me, Then Just Leave’.”
Trinh recounted that Tuyet sang this song so well that the customers nicknamed her Minh Tuyet, and that’s how she’s been known ever since. Tuyet sang passionately, her voice sweet and melodious in every note: “If you don’t love me, then so be it… um… a… a… oh, it feels so good… I’m coming, oh…”
Minh and I were staring at the karaoke lyrics scrolling across the screen, completely stunned. The music was still playing, but the lyrics were replaced by moans. While Tuyet was singing, Lui spread her legs apart and licked her vagina. I knew exactly how intoxicating that feeling was; no wonder Tuyet hadn’t even lowered the microphone from her mouth before she started moaning for everyone to hear.
Lui, on the other side, was one step ahead; he had already pulled out his penis. Trinh sat on his lap, thrusting his penis deep into her vagina and thrusting continuously. Lui placed the microphone right next to Trinh’s mouth. Trinh was thrusting and moaning loudly: “Oh… So deep, oh… So deep… So hard… Oh… Oh, squeeze my breasts… Does it feel good, oh… I’m so happy, oh…” “Oh…”
Lùi also started fucking Tuyết, making the two girls moan like singers in a duet. Minh and I crept out to the bathroom outside; the other four were in a frenzy of lust and didn’t care about anything else. As the bathroom door closed, Minh and I immediately wrapped our arms around each other. No matter what, seeing those two guys fucking girls, Minh and I were incredibly horny, but we tried to control ourselves. When we were alone, all our desires exploded.
Actually, we had been drinking beer in the room, and the drunkenness made us both more horny than usual. Every gentle act of lovemaking became hurried and forceful. Minh thrust his dick in as deep as it could. I thrust Minh’s dick in just as hard as I could. Seeing me moan loudly, Minh immediately locked his lips with mine.
That was the first time I kissed a guy, and the kiss was incredibly stimulating. Our lips and tongues intertwined tightly; I never thought kissing during sex could bring so much pleasure to both of us. After a while, I pulled my mouth away from Minh’s because I was having trouble breathing. But before I could catch my breath, Minh pulled me back in for another kiss. Our naked bodies clung together, the arousal beyond words.
Both Minh and I knew what we had missed. Making love without kissing was like burying someone without covering them with soil. This kiss was so passionate that neither of us moved our lower bodies; we focused only on inhaling each other’s breaths and sucking up every drop of saliva our aroused tongues had gathered.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that until someone knocked on the door outside. Lui’s voice rang out: “Hurry up, you two, we’re done and getting ready to go home.”
Minh kissed me while using his hand to stroke my penis, his own penis still inside my hole. I was so aroused I trembled a few times, and then ejaculated repeatedly. Minh just sat there watching me without thrusting. Once I regained my breath, Minh tensed his body and ejaculated deep inside me. Today there was more semen than usual; the scrotum was so full it looked like it was about to burst.
After about fifteen minutes, the whole group left the karaoke bar. Nhi walked away, clicking his tongue: “Damn, those girls outside are different, every thrust made me tremble with pleasure. Save up money for next month, okay?”
I said: “You act like money is just leaves or something, always wanting to go out. Just today alone cost half a million dong.”
Nhi slapped his thigh: “You worry too much, Tien will take care of everything, Tien will take care of everything!”
Lui clicked his tongue: “No need to flatter you. Hurry up and go home, it’s almost closing time.”
Nhi raised his hand like a flag salute, saying like those policemen in TVB dramas: “Sir!”
After saying that, Nhi sped up, while Minh and I went slowly, admiring the scenery.
Suddenly, a motorbike carrying two people sped up and abruptly cut in front of Lui’s bike. The guy on the back kicked, causing Nhi and Lui to lose control and fall sideways. I patted Minh on the back: “Run faster, guys, they’re being harassed!”
But as we got closer, we saw the guy on the back pull out a knife and stab Lui. Lui had just fallen and didn’t have time to run away.
He took the full force of the stab wound and screamed loudly. The other guy was about to stab Nhí too when Minh and I ran over, shouting, “Help! Robbery and murder! Help!”
Seeing several cars approaching from a distance, the two guys jumped on their bikes and sped away. Minh and I threw our bicycles aside and ran to where Nhí was helping Lùi. He was screaming, “Lùi… Are you okay… Lùi…”
I was trembling all over; I had never seen anything like this before. Lùi was covering his stomach with his hand, blood from the stab wound soaking his outer shirt. I urged, “Minh, call Dau,” while I stepped into the middle of the road, waving my arms and legs for help.
Luckily, a motorbike happened to pass by at that moment. I jumped out, blocked its path, and immediately spoke without waiting for any insults: “Sir, please give my friend a ride to the hospital. He’s been hit by a car, and he’s bleeding profusely… Please, sir…”
Before I could finish my sentence, the man on the motorbike brushed aside his annoyance and rushed over to check on him. Then Nhi helped Lui onto the motorbike, and he sat behind the man as they sped off to the hospital. Minh and I were both relieved and scared, hoping we wouldn’t encounter any further obstacles on the way.
Minh and I rode a short distance and saw Dau driving out on his motorbike. Nhi told Dau to keep an eye on things while we rode back home, and that he would handle things at the hospital and let us know if anything happened. But we couldn’t rest easy. We cycled around trying to find the address of the hospital where the man had taken Lui. We all sat on the waiting benches, racking our brains, while Dau kept reassuring Nhi so he wouldn’t rush inside.
After two hours of waiting, the doctor finally came out of the emergency room. Nhi anxiously rushed over and asked, “Doctor, how is my friend?”
The doctor replied, “He was stabbed in the intestines. Luckily, he was brought to the hospital in time. If it had been a minute or two later, we wouldn’t have been able to save him.”
While everyone was profusely thanking the doctor, a nurse came out and said, “Anyone who is a family member of the patient, please follow me to complete the admission procedures.”
Anh Dau followed the nurse, while Minh and I stayed behind to question Nhi. What I wanted to know most was who had stabbed Lui and then run away.
Nhi replied, “Damn it, it was Hoang! Even with his face covered, I could tell. He has that unmistakable scar on his forehead. If you two hadn’t yelled, he would have stabbed me too!”
My heart suddenly pounded. I couldn’t believe that Hoang’s threats weren’t just empty words. After leaving for a while, Mr. Dau returned and asked if anyone had any money left to pay for Lui’s hospital admission. He said the amount was too much, and he didn’t have enough at the moment. He asked us to give him whatever we had, saying, “Luckily, Lui is still alive.”
After paying, Mr. Dau said, “Okay, you guys go home. I’ll stay and watch over him. I’ll let you know if anything happens.”
Nhi shook his head, “You and the others go home. I’ll stay and watch over Lui. The day after tomorrow is Monday. Tell the manager that we’re both taking time off, okay?”
Nhi, usually playful, didn’t want to leave Lui’s side even if the sky were falling. He kept blaming himself for not being able to save Lui, even though everyone said he didn’t have the strength to save him. Lui was still alive; that was good enough. One person in the hospital was better than both.
Mr. Dau went back and told everyone in the room, and they were all furious. But nobody expected those two guys to be so audacious, daring to attack in the middle of a busy street.
The next day, Nhi called to say that Lui had regained consciousness. Although his wounds were still painful and he needed IV fluids constantly, he was much more alert. Dau and I didn’t wait any longer, and took Minh to the hospital to visit him.
Dau kept reminding us: “You guys shouldn’t go out late at night anymore. Those two devils are locals, they’re very bold. Why were we so unlucky to run into them at that time?”
Lui said: “It probably wasn’t bad luck, brother. For the past month, I’ve been running around the city, they probably saw me somewhere and noticed me.”
Dau sighed: “Okay, from now on, just stay in the dorm. If you go out, go in the morning, choose a crowded place. This time you were lucky your grandparents protected you, but if it happens again, who knows what might happen.”
Suddenly, Nhi burst into tears, startling me because he’d never cried before. He said, “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. If I had pushed him away that day, you wouldn’t have been hurt… I wanted to yell, but I couldn’t even manage it…”
I playfully tapped his head and replied, “Are you crazy? I didn’t blame you at all. He hated me more, so he stabbed me first. The fact that you weren’t hurt is one less thing to do. Stop crying, I’m not going to die, so why are you crying?”
It was only in times of trouble like this that I heard the two of them speak decent words. But before long, someone else burst through the door. It was none other than the manager.
She ignored everyone else, went straight to Lùi’s bedside, placed the box of porridge she had just bought on the headboard, and gently said, “Oh my God, as soon as I heard the news, I rushed out here. Those two devils are really vicious. Lùi, rest assured and recover, I’m taking their papers to the police station. Tomorrow we’ll arrest them all and lock them up to teach them a lesson!”
(Story)
Only I knew about the manager and Lùi, so the other three just stared in disbelief. Lùi didn’t dare say much, only nodding and mumbling politely.
Just then, someone brought in more porridge from outside the room. Unfortunately, it was the head manager.
Lùi’s face darkened like the thirtieth night of the lunar month. Before he could say anything, the manager spoke first: “Oh, Mr. Six, why are you here? It’s Sunday, not Monday, is it?”
Her meaning was that if it were a working day, the manager would know if an employee was absent. But Sunday is a day off, so how did he know Lùi was in trouble and come over?
He replied: “I’m the manager, I care a lot about my employees, Ms. Four. Are you going to prevent me from implementing my employee welfare policy?”
The two old women glared at each other fiercely, and Lùi knew everything was exposed. Because normally, these two never cared about anyone’s life or death. They only cared about someone when that person could satisfy their lustful desires.
Lùi’s secret was now officially exposed.
The manager was once again dealt a painful blow; two guys before, and now this one. Although she also enjoyed having affairs with many men, she couldn’t accept men doing the opposite. She said disgustedly, “Lùi, after you’re discharged from the hospital, please move out of the dorm. The dorm rules prohibit fighting and causing discord with roommates. Now that someone has stabbed you like this, it’s proof of that. I really don’t know what you did to them to end up like this.”
It’s true, “Love makes even a bitter fruit taste sweet. Hatred makes even a sweet fruit taste bitter.” She could say such illogical things. Nhí spoke up, “But my friend was stabbed, not them!”
The manager, with a cold expression, replied, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Seeing this, Đậu gestured to Nhí to keep his mouth shut, lest he inadvertently bring trouble upon himself.
After a moment of stunned silence, the manager placed the bowl of porridge on the bedside table and coldly said, “I heard you were stabbed in the intestines? I think you should reconsider your behavior. With your health like this, it will be a long time before you can work again, and the factory can’t wait for anyone. It’s a real shame, your contract is terminated due to poor health from today onwards. You won’t receive your insurance money either, as this stems from a fight.”
Lùi felt like he had fallen into a deep hole; he’d lost his job, his place of residence, and a large sum of money for medical expenses all at once. He didn’t say a word, too dejected to even look up. Seeing this, Anh Dau intervened: “Brother and sister, please be understanding towards my younger brother. He’s so young and in a difficult situation. Besides, they were the ones who started this trouble with him first, it wasn’t just a random thing to do…”
Before Anh Dau could finish speaking, the manager walked out, leaving only a short sentence: “I am the general manager.”
The other manager followed, looked at Anh Dau, and said: “Don’t get involved with this person anymore.”
I looked at Lui and sighed, finding Hoang and Tan even more hateful. Although Lui wasn’t exactly decent himself, if it weren’t for those two, things might not have turned out this way.
After the two left, Lui instructed: “Anh Dau, and you two, don’t beg for anything for me in front of them. When I’m discharged from the hospital, I’ll go straight back to my hometown. Don’t worry about the hospital bills; I’ve saved up enough money over the past few months.”
Nhi reassured him: “Okay, when you go back to your hometown, I’ll go with you.”
Lui replied, “Crazy, you stay here and work. Why are you clinging to me like that? If you feel guilty, stay here and work, earn a lot of money, and when you quit and go back to your hometown, treat me to some prostitutes.”
That’s what he said, but I knew deep down he didn’t want Nhi to return to his poor hometown. Life here was tough, but at least there were hours and a stable income year-round. He didn’t want to live an uncertain life, so he absolutely didn’t want Nhi to go back home with him.
I felt both angry and sorry for him. Angry because he was selling himself for money, and he didn’t even have a legitimate purpose like Dau. But sorry for him because he was just as poor as I was; I understood how much I craved money myself.
After three weeks in the hospital, Lui was discharged and went home. The doctor even praised its strong physique, noting that its wounds healed much faster than most people, by at least a week. That same day, we took it out for a meal and a stroll around the city, letting it enjoy its last few moments before getting into the car and leaving the bustling city.