After waiting a few days for things to calm down, I finally dared to go to the garden to meet Mr. Nhật and offer a proper apology. No matter what, he was the grandson he had been longing for day and night, and I felt I shouldn’t just ignore it and let it slide.
Under the purple crape myrtle tree, Mr. Nhật sat there as usual, only now a new wrinkle seemed to have appeared on his forehead. I quietly brought him breakfast, not forgetting to bring the book he had given me the day before.
I said, “I’d like to return the book you gave me the other day.”
He silently folded the newspaper and placed it on the table, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and replied, “Have you finished reading it? Tell me, was that young man right or wrong?”
I shook my head: “I don’t know. Because he was one step too late, causing the one he loved to leave forever. But he didn’t want that to happen either…”
He smiled and said, “So you sympathize with him?”
I replied, “Not entirely, but you can’t blame him completely either. The pressure from his family was too great; perhaps that’s what killed everything.”
He asked, “Everything?”
I answered sadly, “The poor girl died under the bridge. That boy carried a dead heart for the rest of his life. And the woman who got pregnant during that drunken night. Perhaps she will also slowly die living beside a man who is always focused on someone else.”
Mr. Nhat took another sip of tea, looking satisfied. He said, “Even Truong An couldn’t think like you. If you hadn’t said it, no one would have known you’re uneducated.”
I said shyly, “You’re too kind, sir. My mother used to listen to novels on the radio. She taught me that everyone makes mistakes in their youth. We should blame those that are blameworthy and forgive those that are understandable.”
Mr. Nhat smiled, looking at me with the same expression as Truong An had when he first saw me in the photo album. I was about to turn and go inside when I remembered I hadn’t said the most important thing yet.
I turned back and said, “Sir, I apologize for what happened to Ms. Ly. I didn’t intentionally fall on her to cause her miscarriage.”
Mr. Nhat sighed and replied, “Whether a child comes into this world or not depends on their fate. If you didn’t do it intentionally, it’s understandable. You don’t need to hold onto it any longer. If possible, you should go and talk to Ly. Even if you didn’t do it intentionally, doing so will help you feel less guilty.”
Following his advice, I asked Mr. Tai to drive me to the hospital. It was obvious that he had framed me, yet in the end, I was the one who had to apologize to him.
Such a troublesome person, it’s best not to get involved with him in the first place.
I said to Tài: “Come in with me later.”
Tài asked: “Why should I?”
I replied: “What if he sets another trap for me in there? Having you as a witness is better than having no one at all.”
Hearing my request, Tài followed me into the hospital room. He was in a private, high-class room, and Nhã and Trang were always by his bedside.
Seeing me arrive, Ly didn’t yell and curse as I expected; instead, she smiled happily as if she had just been freed from shackles. Meanwhile, Nhã and Trang stood on either side of the bed like two stone lion statues. Ly cheerfully said: “A distinguished guest has arrived! A distinguished guest has arrived! Please sit down, Mr. Phúc!”
I slowly sat down on a chair about a meter away from the hospital bed and said, “I came to visit you today, and to apologize for that…”
Ly interrupted, “Oh my God, there’s no need to apologize. It was just bad luck, nobody wanted that. I heard you fell that day too, did it affect your old injury?”
I replied, “Thank you for asking. I’m fine. I’ll excuse myself now so you can rest.”
Ly said loudly, “Nha, Trang, please see Phuc off to the car for me.”
Before I even left the room, Ly was already laughing hysterically. The truth was, even though she’d lost her child, she didn’t seem to mind at all. Clearly, she was happy to be rid of that burden without losing her wealth and prestige.
But never mind, the most important thing was that I felt I had fulfilled my responsibilities completely.
While Anh Tai was driving me home, he received a call from Truong An. I didn’t know what Trường An said, but I heard Tài reply, “Yes, young master, I’ll bring Phúc over in about five minutes.”
Five minutes later, Tài’s car stopped, but not in front of the house, but at Trường An’s photography studio. Seeing me from afar, Trường An opened his arms wide to welcome me. I unconsciously smiled; I don’t know when I started feeling so strangely peaceful meeting this man.
As he led me inside, he pointed and introduced, “Take a look, what kind of setting have I prepared for you?”
I glanced around and replied, “Why does it look exactly like a public bathhouse?”
In the middle of the bathhouse was a soaking tub, and on the other side were open-air showers with overhead showerheads separated only by small partitions. In another corner were rows of wooden benches, I didn’t know what they were for. There were a few more sliding doors in the middle, just like the ones I’d seen a few times when Trường An took me to a party at a Japanese restaurant.
Trường An replied, “The theme this time is the sauna. Go change your clothes, okay?” “Today I’ll take a solo photoshoot for you first. Tomorrow we’ll do a group photoshoot with the other models.”
I turned to him, looking surprised: “Huh? A group photoshoot too? No, I’m too shy!”
Truong An leaned close to my ear and whispered: “You’re beautiful!” “They don’t mind taking pictures with you, so why should you be?”
Since I started sharing a room with Truong An, he’s whispered things like that into my ear every day. My confidence has grown accordingly. Before, I only thought about taking pictures alone; I had no experience with group photos, so I was a little nervous.
Truong An handed me a bag containing the outfit I would wear in this photoshoot. I took it out to look at it and gasped, “Oh my God, do I really have to wear this?”
It was a pair of panties as thin as filter fabric. And they were made of silk, so delicate it felt like I wasn’t wearing anything at all.
Truong An laughed and replied, “I knew you’d be shy, so I sent everyone else home.” “I’ll take your picture today.”
I hesitated: “But…”
Truong An put his hand on my shoulder and assured me confidently: “I won’t put any sensitive parts in the picture, don’t worry!”
I headed towards the changing room to prepare for the photoshoot, but Truong An pulled me back and said: “Just change here, there’s no one else around.”
I turned my back to Truong An, took off all my clothes, and put on those flimsy panties. Looking down at my lower body once, I didn’t dare look a second time. It was practically like I wasn’t wearing anything at all!
Truong An held the camera and clicked his tongue: “So sexy!” “Now open the door and come in for me.”
I approached the sliding door, kneeling down because it was quite low. Truong An called out, “Okay, open the door, gently, slowly… Okay, beautiful!”
The clicking sound of the camera echoed each time Truong An pressed the button. Perhaps because Truong An was the one taking the picture, I felt much more relaxed.
I walked to the row of wooden chairs, sat down, and took a towel as Truong An gestured, “Cover your thighs with the towel… That’s right, wait… it’s a little low, pull it up a little for me. Then hold it there…”
Truong An gestured for me to change places again: “Go over to the shower area, Phuc.” “Just walk slowly, normally, look at me, look at me…”
Seeing Truong An engrossed in his work, I found him even more attractive. His shirt and tie were soaked with sweat, but that didn’t faze him at all.
I walked to the bathtub, and Truong An said, “Strike a pose…”
I lay on my side on the edge of the tub, one hand propping up my head, looking at him. Truong An smiled and took a picture. Then he gestured again, “Give me another prone pose.” “That’s right, flex your glutes a little… So sexy!”
After I took the dry clothes photos, Chang An gestured for me to immerse myself in the water. When I returned to shore, my thin, wet pants revealed my entire body to Chang An. Because the pants were white, after getting wet, they completely turned into my skin tone. Even my crotch was clearly exposed.
Chang An swallowed a gulp of saliva and inhaled: “It’s so hot today…”
Then he took off his shirt and put it aside, and then took off his trousers as well. He was only wearing underwear, and the flesh inside was clearly hard.
Seeing him like that, I couldn’t help but get an erection myself. With the transparent underwear, I looked extremely vulgar. I covered my crotch and exclaimed: “What are you doing? It’s hard!”
Chang An chuckled gleefully: “It’s beautiful when it’s hard, what’s the big deal!” “Please understand me, who could resist seeing you like this?”
I felt relieved hearing that. Truong An moved closer to take close-up shots. He told me, “Stand in the tub, bend over and rest your hands on the edge of the tub, arch your back a little more… That’s right… I’m going to die, Phuc…”
Truong An kept reaching down to squeeze the lumps under his pants. Several small, wet spots had appeared on his pants; the fluid had clearly seeped out.
Seeing him like that made me even more aroused, and my poses became more provocative. Truong An suddenly put down his camera and warned, “Tomorrow, when we’re shooting with the other models, you’re not allowed to pose like this, okay!” “If the whole group gets aroused, we won’t be able to take any pictures at all.”
For the last photo, Truong An told me to take off my pants so he could photograph my bare butt. He stepped down into the tub to get the angle right. Truong An gestured: “Pull your butt back a little, lean forward, use your hands to spread it apart for me… That’s right…”
I did as he was told, but after spreading my butt apart for about three seconds, I realized something was wrong. I wasn’t taking a sex photo, was I?
I glanced back slightly and asked, “Hey… How are you taking pictures… Um… Don’t… It’s dirty…”
A tingling sensation ran from my backside all the way to my brain. By the time I realized what was happening, Truong An had already put his tongue between my buttocks and was vigorously licking them.
I used my remaining strength to push his head away and quickly jumped out of the tub. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I really liked it, but I felt Truong An was too noble. At least, he wasn’t suitable for it. Tell me this.
Truong An also stepped ashore with me, his soaking wet underwear revealing the head of his penis. Seeing my surprised expression… “Huang,” he said, then moved closer and said, “You don’t like it? I’m sorry, you’re too sexy today, I couldn’t control myself…”
I shook my head, “No, I like it too, but…”
In an instant, Chang An’s attitude completely changed. Just five seconds before, he had shown apologetic behavior, but now his lips curved into a mischievous smile: “As long as you like it! Other things don’t matter!”
Chang An squatted down, turned me around, and used both hands to spread my buttocks apart to insert his tongue. I tried to run away, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back, my whole body falling onto him. I continued to scramble back up, somehow ending up kneeling on top of him, my entire buttock exposed right in front of him.
Right below my face was his erect penis. Something I longed to have in my mouth every day.
Chang An whispered, “Fu, suck my dick!”
Normally, even when masturbating together, Chang An would never swear. The fact that he did now showed just how horny he was.
I didn’t run away anymore; instead, I pulled down his underwear, freeing his hard, dripping penis. Without saying another word, I put my mouth down and sucked on it, savoring every drop of lubricant that had been oozing out.
Perhaps because I liked him, I found his dick incredibly delicious. Behind me, Chang An was also sucking my ass with loud smacking sounds. I knew he was enjoying it, because even though he couldn’t speak, he was still making low moaning sounds.
I sucked his dick like someone who had been starving for decades. But who sucks the dick of the person they love without feeling hungry and craving it? Trường An was so thrilled he let go of my butt, urgently crying out, “Gently, Phúc… I’m so aroused… I’m going to cum now… Phúc… Take it slow, baby…”
Hearing that, I slowed down, but Trường An then pulled my butt onto his face and sucked even more intensely. I trembled on top of him, having to release his penis to bite and gasp as he thrust his tongue in and out.
Suddenly, he lifted my butt high, then used one hand to grasp my penis and point it downwards. He then used his mouth to take it, sucking intensely as if I were sucking his penis.
I was so surprised and overjoyed that I felt like I was about to cum. I signaled, “Anh… I’m going to cum… Let go… Mmm… Anh An… Let go… I can’t… Mmm… I can’t take it…”
Seeing that he wouldn’t stop, I retaliated by sucking his penis in my mouth. Immediately afterwards, Trường An moaned and groaned with each thrust of my mouth. Overwhelmed with pleasure, I trembled and ejaculated into Chang An’s mouth. He couldn’t take it anymore either, groaning loudly before ejaculating profusely into my mouth. My penis twitched in his mouth, his penis twitched in mine. A feeling of complete and utter satisfaction.
Afterward, Chang An helped me lie down beside him, resting my head on his arm as I breathed. I smiled unconsciously, never imagining that I could do something like this with him.
Chang An teased, “So? Like the feeling of sitting on top of your master’s head?”
I shyly buried my face in his armpit. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly, and gently kissed my hair.
At this moment, I really wanted to go see Uncle Trung to apologize. I could only hear what he said to me, but I couldn’t do it anymore.
But if loving Chang An meant suffering, I thought this pain was worth it.
The next day, I continued shooting this photo series with four other models. But instead of wearing the pants I wore today, Truong An gave me a similar pair, but the front had been “reinforced” with an extra piece of fabric to cover my private parts.
After the photoshoot, I and the other models sat down to rest for a while. One of them came over to introduce herself: “Are you Phuc Le? I’m Ha Chau. I’ve heard An mention you a long time ago, but now I finally have the chance to meet you. Wow, I didn’t expect you to be so handsome in real life!”
I replied: “You’re not any less handsome than me. Your posing experience is probably ten times better than mine. I’m new to this profession and don’t know anything yet.”
Ha Chau continued to flatter me: “You’re new to this and you’re already like this. When you’re more experienced, no one will be able to compete with you!”
We laughed and chatted happily, while on the other side, the photographer and Truong An were reviewing the photos to take additional shots if needed. The photographer clicked his tongue like a chameleon: “If this photo were on the cover, it would be a disaster. The printing house probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand.”
Trường An looked at me, excitedly replying to the photographer, “Of course! She’s someone I trained, there’s hardly anything to criticize!”
This was encouragement, just like Trường An always did.
The photographer then showed me another photo: “This one has such beautiful eyes. Those eyes are absolutely stunning! They’re beautiful in a mixed-race way; her features are Vietnamese, but her eyes are as poetic as a Frenchwoman’s…”
After a while of discussion, the photo series “Mouillé” (Wet and Adorable) was finally completed. The photographer was overjoyed: “Mr. Tô must be having a real headache this time. He’s been at the top for so long, it’s probably time to give me back my spot!”
While Trường An and the photographer were happily chatting, the sound of wooden clogs clattering came from outside. The person wasn’t visible yet, but a voice echoed: “Anh An, my parents want you to come over to my house. We have an engagement anyway.” “Well, this has to be done sooner or later.”
The other models and I jumped into the bathtub in a panic. Seeing this, she burst out laughing: “Oh my god, are you guys embarrassed to see me? Getting a glance from Miss Ly Le Tram Anh is a blessing for three generations of your lives!”
Truong An said seriously: “This is my workplace. Please go to the front and we’ll talk.”
Tram Anh hesitated: “Oh, just say whatever you want to say! You always do this and then change the subject!”
Truong An tried to be patient: “Go outside, it’s not convenient to talk here.”
Tram Anh crossed her arms angrily: “Say whatever you want to say, if not here, then don’t say it anywhere else.”
Truong An, seeing he couldn’t do otherwise, took a deep breath and said directly: “If you want to hear it, I’ll tell you. I don’t like you. I like someone else.” “Don’t bother me anymore.”
Tram Anh’s face turned to stone, her mouth curved into an O shape, and she huffed and puffed, fanning herself as if to extinguish the anger burning in her chest. She yelled, “What did you say? Why don’t you like me? Our families have an engagement, how dare you do this? Who is that girl? Tell me, who is she? If I don’t tear her into a hundred pieces, I’m not Ly Le Tram Anh anymore!”
Ha Chau whispered to me, “With that kind of personality, no man would dare like her. She’s not even a girlfriend yet, and she’s already like that. Bringing her home would only cause trouble for the family.”
Then Tram Anh stomped her feet and left. Just watching her made me sick of her behavior.
I was packing my things when Truong An came in and said, “Have you finished changing?” “Let me take you home.”
I vaguely remembered that Truong An had an event to attend this afternoon, so I asked, “Aren’t you going to the press conference for the film premiere at the Grand Theatre?”
Truong An rubbed his temples: “My father will be calling me home soon anyway.” “Every time it’s the same old script.”
As soon as Truong An finished speaking, his phone rang. Truong An answered briefly and then looked at me dejectedly: “See?”
Every time Truong An rejected her, Tram Anh would throw a tantrum, insisting that both sets of parents meet. Truong An’s mother was a close friend of Tram Anh’s mother, Mrs. Ly Le Hang, the owner of the largest gold, silver, and gemstone shop in Saigon.
And it was because of his mother’s dying wish that Truong An couldn’t bring himself to end the relationship. Ironically, fate had created him not to like girls, otherwise, he wouldn’t be in this situation.
As soon as Truong An arrived home, Nha dragged him into the living room. Mr. Nhat was sitting at the head of the table, with Mrs. Hang and Miss Ly Le Tram Anh on either side.
She protested: “I don’t know!” “Now, whatever Mom and Auntie decide!”
Mrs. Hang stroked her daughter, then looked at Mr. Nhat and said in a gentle voice, “Mr. Nhat, the matter between the two of them isn’t something that just happened recently. For eighteen years, Tram Anh hasn’t shown interest in anyone, and that’s why I told her that I’ve made an engagement promise to your family. Now that she’s old enough to get married, I sincerely hope that the two of them will become husband and wife. I’ll always remember Ms. Xuan’s entrustment; I never forget it even when I go to sleep at night…”
I stood at the door of the room, peeking out to listen. Seeing Mrs. Hang dressed so flamboyantly, adorned with gold and red from head to toe, I felt pressured for whoever was sitting opposite her. But Mr. Nhat remained calm as usual, saying, “I also hope they become a couple. But Ms. Hang, how can you force a marriage? You agree, right?” “An hasn’t finished his career yet, I think we should give them more time to get to know each other.”
Before Mrs. Hang could reply, Tram Anh jumped up: “You said he hasn’t finished his career yet, but he said he likes someone else! Now tell me, who do you like? What does she have that I don’t that you like?”
A voice suddenly rang out from behind me: “She has a penis.”
I turned around and saw Thien standing next to me. I punched him in the chest and said, “You scared the hell out of me.”
Thien whispered in my ear: “Watch out, if she finds out my brother is infatuated with you, she’ll tear you to pieces. Ly’s best friend isn’t someone to be trifled with either.”
Mrs. Hang also jumped up, her voice harsh as she asked: “So what’s going on, Mr. Nhat? My God, my daughter hasn’t paid attention to anyone for over ten years, she’s been wholeheartedly waiting for your son.” “And now she’s fallen for someone else. The engagement is known throughout Saigon already. What have I done to her? Where am I supposed to put my face now?”
I thought to myself, “Like mother, like daughter. Are you sure her daughter isn’t interested in anyone else? Or is it because Truong An is so outstanding, unmatched in Saigon in terms of looks, talent, and family background, that her daughter is so eager to see him?”
Truong An finally spoke up: “Father, Aunt, I would like to state my position. Firstly, the engagement was arranged by my mother while she was alive, not by me. Secondly, I want to live with the person I love for the rest of my life. Thirdly, if you feel your honor has been damaged, I will hold a press conference and announce it throughout Saigon. I will say that I feel I am not worthy of Tram Anh, and I will withdraw so that better people have a chance to come forward…”
Angry, Mrs. Hang stood up and slammed the table. p: “Is that how you raise your child, Mr. Nhat? Alright, don’t blame me for not showing respect to my friends or to Ms. Xuan.”
Mrs. Hang led Tram Anh away, and Nha ran after them to see them off, but she yelled at him a few times. I was relieved not only that Truong An was free from that “tail,” but also that Mr. Nhat, who always seemed indifferent to his son, was so respectful of him.
After they had all left, Truong An bowed to Mr. Nhat: “I’m sorry for making you endure such unpleasant words. Thank you for respecting my decisions.”
Mr. Nhat wasn’t angry at all; he just said: “When the time comes, you have to make a decision. I know what it feels like to live with someone you don’t love. Remember to light incense and tell your mother.”
Mr. Nhat left the table and quietly went inside. After lighting the incense, Truong Anh looked at me and giggled.