13
Đàm Tranh was reading in the study. When I walked in, he hurriedly set his book down.
“I just made some sweets. Try one.”
I set the plate down, pointed to the hearing aid in my ear, and gestured that I could hear him now.
Not wanting to disappoint me, he took one and popped it into his mouth.
I pressed my lips together, trying not to smile, but when I saw the scars on his arm hidden beneath his tattoos, I frowned.
He still didn't know that Secretary Triệu had told me all about his past.
I hadn't told him about the time I'd secretly gone to his company, either.
After a long while, I finally decided to speak up:
“Đàm Tranh, let me see your back.”
He was about to tease me, but seeing the hearing aid on me, he swallowed the words.
His eyes clearly showed his embarrassment, but he didn't refuse.
The last button came undone.
Before me was a vivid blue dragon tattoo across his back.
Through the large tattoo, I could see countless scars.
Without thinking, I gently reached out and laid my hand on them.
The man shivered slightly but said nothing.
The room fell silent.
Until my tears fell onto his back.
In that moment, he and I felt the same pain.
“It hurt a lot, didn't it?”
Đàm Tranh wiped away my tears with his finger and shook his head.
“That's all in the past. It hasn't hurt in a long time.”
“Are you feeling sorry for me? Haven't you heard? Caring about a man brings bad luck.”
“Thiến Thiến, don't cry.”
He kissed me softly.
What was I supposed to do? It seemed I could no longer bring myself to refuse him.
14
I saw a job ad at a nearby school for the deaf.
But I still hadn't come clean to Đàm Tranh about pretending to be deaf.
At first, I'd only done it to protect myself, thinking he wouldn't pay me any attention.
But now, seeing him awkwardly practice sign language in the study, I was overcome by guilt and remorse.
What if I confessed and he got angry?
What if he got so angry that he kicked me out?
So for the past few days, my guilt had kept me from looking him in the eye.
Unexpectedly, Đàm Tranh thought he'd done something to upset me.
He took my hand and brought A Hoàng along, saying he wanted to go for a walk.
Instead, he took me to the mall to buy me a necklace.
I shook my head to show I didn't want it.
But he put the necklace around my neck anyway.
The two saleswomen kept talking it up.
Just then, a woman dressed to the nines barged in.
She glanced at the necklace around my neck, then handed her bank card to the clerk.
“I'll take the necklace she's wearing.”
Đàm Tranh was stunned.
Before the clerk could say anything, he asked:
“What, are your eyes not working today?”
“Can't you see she's already wearing it?”
“I paid for it yesterday. What makes you think it's your turn to buy it now?”
The woman hadn't noticed Đàm Tranh crouching beside me at first, but now she jumped in surprise.
She straightened her mink coat and glared at us.
She turned to leave, but before going, she glanced at my hearing aid and gave a scornful laugh.
“A deaf girl wearing a necklace this beautiful—what a waste.”
After saying that, she hurried away.
Đàm Tranh snorted and was about to step forward and argue with her, but I pulled him back.
“Let's go home.”
On the way home, he kept sneaking glances at me.
Finally, he pretended nothing was wrong, leaned down close to me, and asked:
“Have you heard this famous saying?”
“What?”
“If you care too much about what other people think, you'll become their underwear! Then, whenever they fart, you'll have to catch it all.”
After saying that, Đàm Tranh even used his hands to mime the shape of a pair of underwear.
“Don't pay attention to that crazy woman from earlier.”
His sign language wasn't very fluent yet, but he managed to get a few words across along with what he said.
I couldn't help laughing.
“This is how you sign ‘crazy.’”
“The gesture you just made was actually a compliment.”
15
As I spoke, I showed him how to do it.
But Đàm Tranh lowered his hand and looked at me.
“Thiến Thiến, I…”
He got halfway through, then suddenly took my hearing aid off.
Then he leaned close to my ear and said:
“I like you.”
You fool. Did you think I couldn't hear you just because you did that?
His face turned visibly red. He looked away, not noticing that my ears were red, too.
That night, I snuggled into Đàm Tranh's arms and quietly answered him:
“Actually, I like you, too.”
Actually, I liked him more than just a little.
16
Secretary Triệu had previously studied sign language formally and had even worked part-time at that school for the deaf. So when he came to pick up Đàm Tranh, I took the chance to ask him for more information about the school.
After spending a week asking around, I planned to confess to Đàm Tranh that weekend that I was actually a perfectly ordinary person.
But that evening, when he got home, he was like a porcupine, picking a fight.
He complained of a headache and asked me to massage him. Then he said he wanted cake because he was afraid his blood sugar would drop.
“How am I supposed to make cake at this hour?” I realized he was deliberately making trouble.
“Hmph, that's right. You gave all the cake to Tiểu Triệu. You didn't save any for me.”
Đàm Tranh rubbed his head against my neck, then casually took off my hearing aid.
I knew he was at it again.
“Do you really not feel anything for me at all?”
“Whenever I come home, you don't smile at me anymore. You're happier to see A Hoàng than me.”
“You spend all day talking to Tiểu Triệu, too. Even though I've been seriously studying sign language, you still don't pay any attention to me.”
“Miêu Thiến, I'm about to hate you. I don't want to like you anymore.”
I was startled and interrupted him, asking in my normal voice:
“You hate me?”
“Then get up and start hating me right now.”
Đàm Tranh looked at the hearing aid in his hand, then touched my ear, his face full of astonishment.
17
“Wait, you—you can hear me?”
The man sprang up from the sofa and pulled out his phone to call the hospital, but I stopped him in time.
“Đàm Tranh, the truth is…I can hear everything. I always have.”
He took a deep breath, then cautiously asked another question:
“Then did you hear everything I said before, too?”
I nodded again.
The awkward conversation was interrupted by A Hoàng barking.
Đàm Tranh turned and ducked into the kitchen.
A moment later, his voice rang out from inside:
“Th-then… that day, you heard what I said, too?”
I didn't answer him. Instead, I asked:
“Aren't you angry? I've been lying to you for so long.”
“Angry about what? That you're a normal person?”
The big man curled up in the kitchen, refusing to come out, despite having acted so imposing just moments earlier.
I sighed helplessly. “Well, I heard exactly what you said that day.”
“And I already answered you.”
“When?” Đàm Tranh poked his head out. His short, bristly hair looked so cute, I wanted to touch it.
“While you were asleep.”
I smiled and beckoned him closer with a finger.
“Want me to tell you again?”
Đàm Tranh walked over with an expressionless face and bright-red ears, then bent down.
Without thinking, I rested my hand on his head and gave it a gentle rub, as I always did.
“Do you think you're A Hoàng?”
“Hurry up and say it.”
The man sounded displeased, but his body told the truth: he stayed right where he was.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered:
“I like you, too.”
“What? Too quiet. I couldn't hear you.” Đàm Tranh played dumb and deliberately asked again.
“I said I hate you, too.”
I punched him in the chest, speaking louder this time.
“You didn't say that just now.”
“You said you couldn't hear me just now. How do you know I didn't say that?”