Chapter 49: Staying Together
Hearing Kieu Ly's suggestion, Huong Tra nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, why didn't I think of that?"
After a pause, she asked:
"You're staying this summer to tutor that little devil?"
"Yeah."
"Why not go home for the summer? Switch to tutoring during the day instead. You can use my motorbike."
Kieu Ly's family lived in Bac Ninh, so commuting wasn't impossible. But she didn't want to borrow Tra's motorbike, and honestly, the idea of traveling back and forth every day felt exhausting.
She shook her head:
"It's only a month. I'll be fine staying here on my own. When I go abroad soon, you'll be the one here alone for nearly a whole year."
That reminder brought a new wave of sadness. Tra sighed deeply. Seeing that Kieu Ly had decided to stay in the boarding house for tutoring, she didn't want to leave her friend alone either.
"I'll stay too, keep selling clothes. Might as well take advantage of my top-tier model while I can."
Kieu Ly couldn't help but giggle at her words.
With summer break in full swing, Kieu Ly's schedule opened up. In the mornings, she modeled clothes for Tra's online store. In the afternoons, she prepared lesson plans. In the evenings, she tutored Toan Phuong.
She tutored him every day of the week. Although she could've scheduled daytime sessions too, she was afraid it would be too much—she didn't want to overwhelm him. Even now, the workload was heavy: advanced math lessons for the national academic competition.
Fortunately, Toan Phuong was smart and caught on quickly.
As usual, when Kieu Ly returned home, she saw Quang Huy sitting at the outdoor tea table while Huong Tra busily packed online orders.
Every day, Quang Huy waited for her to come back, always offering to take her out for a drink. Most of the time, Kieu Ly declined. On the rare occasions she said yes, she always invited Tra to come along. Yet still, Quang Huy patiently waited day after day.
Kieu Ly appreciated him. With the other students gone for summer break, the boarding house was now as quiet as a temple. Since she was out tutoring at night, having Quang Huy come over to keep Tra company was actually a good thing.
Lately, Tra's eyes had been lingering on Quang Huy in a different way.
When Kieu Ly got home, she exchanged a few polite words with Quang Huy before putting away her bike and grabbing her clothes to shower. Before placing her backpack on the bookshelf, she took out her phone to check her messages.
As she read, a soft smile lit up her face. The message was nothing special—just Toan Phuong checking to see if she'd gotten home safely.
Still, it had become a routine. Every night, Toan Phuong would text her the same thing: "Did you get home safely?"
After replying, Kieu Ly headed cheerfully to the bathroom for a shower.