Trach Dong stood motionless by the rooftop railing, the cold night wind brushing lightly against the edge of his black vest. He said nothing, silently watching the scattered lights stretching into the distance. His hair was slightly tousled, and faint scratches marked his wrist from the chaos of the meeting earlier.
Bach Lan stepped up from behind, the soft click of her heels against the stone floor marking each slow step. She stopped beside him, silent. They stood together for a while, shoulder to shoulder.
Finally, she spoke, her voice quiet:
"Thank you... for everything you've done for me. Even the things I never saw."
Trach Dong tilted his head slightly, surprised, a hint of doubt flickering across his eyes. He didn't press for more, simply replied calmly:
"I only did what I should."
She smiled softly; a smile tinged with both sorrow and gentleness. Those "things he should do" were him standing up to protect her at the company, quietly investigating to clear her name. His presence was solid, wordless, yet always there.
She knew, and the more she knew, the more she didn't want him to remember too much. Because their past life had been a tragedy, a whirl of lies, betrayal, and blood. She didn't want Trach Dong to carry that past on his shoulders. She didn't want his eyes, once again, to be shadowed by pain that didn't belong to the present.
"You are Trach Dong. No one else. I want to keep you without a single speck of dust from our past life."
She didn't need him to remember. She didn't need him to make Trach Hien pay for what he had done. She only wanted, in this brief life among humans, to repay him with all the warmth she still had to give.
The corridor stretched endlessly under the pale light, empty and quiet. Bach Lan stood before the glass door, her hands still gripping the stack of files she had just found in the old storage room documents that could clear Trach Dong's name.
Part of her felt a sense of relief but woven through it was chaos.
What should she do now?
Trach Hien, the one she had once loved and trusted, turned out to be nothing more than a man who knew how to speak sweetly to deceive. The emotions that had once burned so fiercely now lay smoldering, ashes barely warm in her chest.
Trach Dong, on the other hand, was someone she had once misunderstood, doubted, even avoided. Yet in the moments of despair, he was the one who never spoke, never demanded, but silently sacrificed. He appeared whenever she needed him, quietly shielding her from the storm.
Could a heart truly turn so quickly because of one wound, immediately leaning toward another?
No. This heart is made of flesh and blood. She could not forget so easily, could not change its course on a whim.
She could not love him yet, not for now. But she could trust him. She could take the first tentative steps, slow and careful, yet steady, toward him.
Night had fallen.
Bach Lan knocked gently on Trach Dong's office door. He had just returned from a meeting, and for a moment he froze at the sight of her standing there. The warm yellow light spilled across her face, highlighting a maturity tempered by fragility.
"I found some old records." – She said, extending the stack of files toward him. She avoided his gaze, speaking as if she were merely handling work. – "They might help clear your name."
He didn't take them right away, just watched her quietly.
"Are you still angry with me?" – His voice was low, calm, carrying no blame.
"No..." – She shook her head, hesitant. – "I'm just... not ready to trust anyone again."
A short silence hung between them.
Then she spoke again, still averting her eyes: "You don't need to do anything. Just... give me a little time."
Just this... a little moment for her to feel that warmth still existed somewhere in her heart.
He smiled, a small, subtle curve of his lips, but it reached deep, as if touching the very bottom of his soul.
He didn't move closer, didn't say more. He simply placed his hand lightly on the files, where hers still lingered.
And there they stood, no promises made, no fiery emotions displayed, yet a peacefulness settled over them that was almost unnatural in its quiet comfort.
***
That night, she drifted again into a dream of the past.
A cold wind whispered across the snowy mountaintop. Dawn had not yet broken, and snow swirled like mist, blanketing the sky in a pale haze.
Bach Lan stood alone in the desolate expanse, her white dress fluttering, eyes vacant. A chill rising from the frozen ground made her shiver, rousing her briefly within the dream within a dream.
Before her stood Dong Ha, his armor still streaked with blood, his right shoulder wrapped in white cloth. He had just returned from the battlefield.
But instead of greeting her with warmth or a smile, he simply stood there, his gaze sharp and cold, reflecting a painful truth.
"I heard... you descended to the mortal world." – His voice carried no reproach, no anger, only a calmness as if he had always known.
Yet even so, the words left her throat tight and her heart aching.
"Sorry that I came late." – He said, his voice hoarse and tinged with regret.
Bach Lan remained silent, bowing her head, unable to meet his eyes.
After a long pause, he stepped closer, each footfall heavy and deliberate, no rush in his movements.
"I have won the battle. The borders of the spiritual realm are temporarily secure. The moment I heard the news; I immediately requested to withdraw and come find you."
He stopped before her, raising his hand gently but hesitated in midair, never touching her.
"You... have feelings for him already, haven't you?" – His voice trembled with bitterness.
"Strong enough... that you could sacrifice your own spiritual power for him."
She lowered her gaze, searching for words that could answer truthfully without wounding him. But in the end, she chose silence.
Her silence spoke more than words ever could. In that moment, it was crueller than any outright rejection.
And what could be more painful than watching with one's own eyes the one you've secretly loved for countless days, the one you've risked everything for, give her heart and devotion to another man?
Dong Ha nodded lightly, a gesture of someone who understood completely, yet had just lost his entire world.
"Don't worry. I didn't come to win you back." – He said, placing a luminous pearl into her hand. – "Only... if one day he cannot protect you, at least... use this to continue living."
"Dong Ha." – She whispered.
"I don't need your thanks." – He interrupted, his gaze hardening. – "I only ask... that you don't do anything to harm yourself."
Bach Lan gripped the pearl tightly, her hand trembling. In that instant, her heart ached with unbearable pain and sorrow. Her hand reached into the air as if to hold onto... but too late... to hold onto the boy who had loved her so completely, who had sacrificed and suffered all for her.
He turned away, his gray cloak fluttering in the wind. His steps were decisive, without a single glance back. He knew that even one look would shatter his resolve, that he would be unable to leave her behind.
If her heart was not for him, then there was no need for him to play the villain, only to stir more resentment in her.
Yet in that moment, she could feel the depth of his pain.
***
Bach Lan woke up in the pitch-dark room. The digital clock blinked 3:14 a.m.
She didn't cry, yet the pillow was already damp with tears. Her hand still gripped the edge of the blanket as if holding onto something far away. But the spirit pearl had vanished in the dream. The person who had given it to her had long since disappeared.
"Dong Ha, I'm sorry... I was so cruel back then."
"You came to find me after a life-or-death battle, hoping I would go with you, and yet..."
She buried her face in the pillow, her throat tight. Regret was no longer a word big enough to describe the flood of emotions inside her.
"Dong Ha... this time, I won't let you go alone."
The next day, the lights in the conference hall blazed like a stage set for fate.
An emergency board meeting had been called without warning. Everyone was tense, waiting for a name to be struck from the top ranks, Trach Dong, the CEO known for his cold brilliance, yet controversial for belonging to no one's side.
Bach Lan sat silently in a shadowed corner, hands tightly clasped, her heart pounding.
It's me... I have to do this.
A firm voice rang out: "Before a final decision is made, I request permission to present additional documents, directly related to the allegations against CEO Trach for data manipulation and abuse of authority in project allocation."
All eyes turned.
Bach Lan stepped into the center of the hall. Her heartbeat felt deafening, yet she walked, step by step, because there was no one else to speak for the truth.
Her voice was not loud, but clear and unnervingly calm.
"I have found several extracts from the old system, which only three people ever had access to. One of them, the technician who managed the system directly, has confirmed that the account under the name of CEO Trach did not perform any actions during that period."
A ripple of murmurs spread. The head of the technical department confirmed the documents' authenticity. Skeptical glances slowly shifted into surprise, then confusion.
One senior director forced a smile: "So... we were mistaken?"
The account in question belonged to a retired technician but had been retained by Trach Hien as a 'backup account' for emergencies. No one suspected because the system had been handed over. Yet that very account had been used to alter the data.
Trach Dong stood at the back; his gaze fixed on her. No words were spoken, only that deep, lingering look that seemed to reach straight into her chest.
So... when she wanted to protect someone, that gaze could shine so brightly.
She did not look back at him, but her tightly clenched hands loosened ever so slightly.
In a corner, Trach Hien sat still, his suit crisp, eyes dark and fixed on the doorway. He had just returned from a business trip, barely rested, when he heard about this sudden emergency meeting, and that Trach Dong might be removed over a financial scandal.
He wasn't surprised, but what unsettled him was... Bach Lan being there.
When she stepped into the center of the room, her long hair neatly tied back, eyes shining with determination mixed with a hint of nervousness, Trach Hien raised an eyebrow. He leaned forward slightly, silently watching.
As the files were opened, as the numbers began to speak for the truth, as the atmosphere shifted... Trach Hien's hands clenched the armrests.
A prickling discomfort crept into his chest. A nameless sense of betrayal, mixed with vague suspicion and jealousy.
Why was she stepping forward for him?
Why had she prepared so meticulously?
Why didn't she consult him first?
Why... was she siding with Trach Dong?
She had once been the one he held under dazzling lights.
Now she was standing against him, in front of the entire board.
His jaw twitched slightly. In front of everyone, he kept his calm, but deep in his eyes burned a quiet fire.
A turmoil of emotions, unsteady and hard to name, fear, hurt, anger, all tangled together.
When the meeting ended, Trach Hien did not approach her as he usually would. He remained at the back, his gaze darkening as he watched Trach Dong and Bach Lan hold each other's eyes for a long, lingering moment.
That evening, on the rooftop office, she leaned against the railing. The night wind was cool, tossing a few stray strands of hair across her face. The city lights blurred beneath her gaze, like a distant dream.
The sound of familiar footsteps echoed from behind. She didn't need to turn around, she knew it was him.
"You don't need to do this." – His voice came softly, carrying a hint of tremor. – "I can handle it myself."
She gave a faint smile.
"I know. But... I don't want you to be misunderstood... I don't want you to fight alone anymore."
Silence fell between them. A gentle breeze swept through, scattering the tension in the air.
Trach Dong lightly gripped the railing, then slowly stepped closer to stand beside her. He didn't touch her. Yet the space between them felt closer than anything before.
"I don't wish for anything more." – He whispered, like the night wind, like a soft wave brushing the heart.
They remained still, like twin shadows on the glass, not touching but moving in the same direction.
From that day on, not much changed. He remained cold in front of others. She remained just another employee in the world's eyes.
But sometimes, in a quiet hallway, their eyes would meet. A subtle nod, a fleeting smile, a cup of coffee quietly left on a desk.
No one spoke it aloud. No one forced anything.
Only one thing was certain: amid the shards of the past, they were quietly rebuilding something stronger, gentler, and truer.
Later, in his private office, Trach Hien stared at the screen showing the files she had provided. He smiled faintly, but there was a chill in it.
"So... she chose him." – He murmured.
Alone in the dim yellow light, he poured himself a drink and emptied it in one go.
But you won't slip from my hands so easily, Bach Lan. If I can't have you, neither will Trach Dong.
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