Chapter 37: The Observer Appears
A simple, breezy restaurant atop Ma Pi Leng Pass. The three of them were sitting at a wooden table right at the edge of the cliff, enjoying a simple lunch of smoked sausages and corn wine. The atmosphere was completely cheerful, relaxed and bare. They were in a bubble of their own.
Ngan, Tung, and Minh were no longer reserved. The physical intimacy of last night and this morning had turned into comfort in their gestures during the day.
Their goal is to fully enjoy their new freedom and intimacy, cementing their “tribal” bond. But their perfect bubble is about to be threatened by an outside factor.
Minh sat next to Ngan, one arm loosely draped over the back of her chair, his mischievous fingers lightly twisting a strand of her hair.
Tung sat opposite, but under the table, his leg gently rubbed against Ngan’s leg, a silent connection.
Ngan, after taking a sip of corn wine, her face turned red. She took a piece of sausage, didn’t eat it but brought it straight to Tung’s mouth. He happily opened his mouth to receive it.
Minh saw that and pretended to be jealous. “Hey, Sister Nuoi is biased! The good meat is for Tung, but you ignore me?”
Ngan smiled, turned to pick up a piece for Minh. “Here, it’s yours, eat it so you don’t feel jealous. What a child.”
Tung chewed and spoke, his voice full of teasing. “He’s jealous because he was ‘weaker’ than you last night.”
The three of them burst out laughing. They were in a world of their own, a world built on shared secrets, naked teasing, and an intimacy that needed no hiding.
Their hearty laughter was echoing through the mountains and forests when another sound, an unfamiliar sound, interrupted the harmony.
A smooth, steady engine sound, a far cry from the roar of their motorbikes. The sound was getting closer, like a warning. All three turned to look. A classic, black, spotless SUV was slowly making its way up the slope and parked in a nearby vacant lot. The car was luxurious, elegant, completely out of place in the dusty, wild landscape of the rocky plateau, like an alien object from another world.
Minh whistled, his voice full of surprise. “Damn, what a beautiful car. What rich guy is here to hide from his wife?”
Tung frowned, his eyes filled with suspicion. “Looks familiar.”
Ngan was silent, the smile on her lips faded slightly. She also had a familiar feeling of unease, a bad premonition.
The car door opened slowly, like a door to another world. The chapter ended in suspense, just as a pair of expensive leather shoes took their first step onto the red soil of Ha Giang.
The trio’s entire attention was focused on the black SUV, where a fateful appearance was about to take place.
The man stepped out of the car. It was Quan. He was the complete opposite of everything around him. While Minh, Tung, and Ngan were all dressed in rugged backpacking gear, Quan wore a neatly pressed white linen shirt, dark khakis, and a pair of designer sunglasses. He looked like he had just stepped out of a fashion magazine, not a backpacking trip, a strangely out of place look.
Minh, his grin faded. His mouth slightly opened. “Fuck no!” a curse escaped. Tung, his whole body tensed. His foot that was touching Ngan’s leg under the table quickly withdrew as if it was burned. The cheerful expression disappeared, replaced by a wary, almost hostile, look like an animal protecting its territory. Ngan was stunned. The bright smile on her lips froze, then slowly turned into a polite, but distant smile, a new mask.
Quan saw them. He smiled, a calm smile, and started walking towards their table. Each step he took seemed to break the oppressive silence, a silence filled with tension.