My Handsome Wife

Chương 3

"Circle K says hello!"

The voice that sounds like a recording every time a customer walks in belongs to Tung, a second-year college student majoring in English at HUTECH University. The last time he got a haircut, Tung asked the stylist to give him long curls down to his ears like V (BTS), but when it was done, everyone kept mistaking him for the singer Tien Tien.

9 pm. Just finished his extra shift, Tung quickly handed off his work to a colleague and headed home. His dorm is less than a mile from work, a bit run-down and shabby, but it has a small yard on the side. That's Tung's favorite space, where he can bring out a chair and chill every evening.

About 1m6 tall, and has short legs but walks fast. In no time, Tung is back at his dorm. He quickly opens the old fridge, puts a few ice cubes in a glass of water, squeezes half a lemon, and adds a little salt. Tung stirs it all with chopsticks.

The earlier rain made the Saigon weather cool. Excited, Tung takes the glass of water and the plastic chair out to the small yard on the side, a sacred moment to chill with Saigon.

Bang!

The door opens. Then, in the innocent eyes of the college boy, the scene hits him: a man about 30 years old, 1m80 tall, wearing only gray boxer briefs, wet hair slicked back, and some scary tattoos - trying to reach for the pink towel that Tung hung high up.

Tung is shocked by what he's seeing. And the man manages to grab the towel, quickly wrapping it around his lower half.

"Oh my god, you pervert!!!"

The whole neighborhood, which was peaceful, is now disturbed by the loud, frantic shouts of the college boy stepping out into the small yard.

" Where? Where's the creep?!!"

After Tung's loud shout, the landlady immediately appeared, holding a mosquito swatter in her hand. Some other tenants nearby also poked their heads out with curious looks. Tung was about to point towards the man dressed as if he wasn't, but he instinctively pulled his hand back. He saw the man hiding in a dark corner, trembling and rubbing his arms, shivering all over.

The landlady raised the mosquito swatter, demanding Tung to open the door for her to go in. But Tung stood inside, hesitantly looking at her:

"It's not what you think... I was just joking with a friend on the phone."

The landlady glared at Tung:

" You have too much free time! And it's time to pay the rent! If you don't pay up soon, I'll kick you out!"

"I remember! I'm sorry to you and everyone!"

The landlady angrily left, and the other tenants closed and locked the doors. Only then did Tung run to the toilet, and grab a wooden toilet plunger. He boldly approached the dark figure outside the small courtyard:

"Go! Get out of here! Or I'll call the police!"

The man stumbled to his feet, trembling from both cold and hunger. When he stepped into the light, Tung finally saw his face clearly: he had a high nose, thick eyebrows, and a very masculine jawline. How could a creep also be so handsome?

Tung held the toilet plunger up, ready to strike if the man tried anything.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Without a word, the man lunged at Tung. Both of them lost their balance and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Their faces were now closer than ever.

Tung's eyes widened in fear. He tried to scream for help, but the man's hand covered his mouth tightly. He whispered:

"Don't... Help me..."

And then the handsome guy fainted. The only thing left was his voice, a deep and warm Northern accent.

***

Slurp! Slurp! The handsome guy slurped up the bowl of noodles in his hand. Tung hesitantly looked at the man sitting in the corner eating. If the lights weren't on, someone else might think a hungry ghost had appeared.

Earlier, Tung tried to drag the man from the small courtyard into the house, but he was too heavy to move and Tung couldn't call for help. So, he left the man lying there and went to make some noodles as a snack. The smell of the noodles filled the house, and the man awkwardly got up and asked Tung for a bowl. Not satisfied with just the noodles, he also asked for a set of clothes to wear. Tung couldn't believe that such a big man would want to wear the clothes of a skinny little kid.

When Tung shook his head and refused, he was shocked to see the man open the wardrobe and take out a uniform with blue pants and a white coat with green trim on the collar and sleeves. The man put on the clothes, which were too long and wide for him, and nodded in satisfaction, even though Tung exclaimed:

"Stop right there! Do you know whose clothes those are???"

Tung stepped forward to reclaim the precious outfit, but the man casually wrapped a towel around Tung's head and then proceeded to put on the pants. Tung gritted his teeth, but the man had already finished getting dressed and was now putting on the coat. Tung, frustrated, said:

"Do you know that this is the outfit Hoàng Cảnh Du wore in the movie "Thượng Ẩn"???"

Snap! The man froze, looking at Tung. Meanwhile, Tung was speechless. How could this weirdo know that the movie was a part of so many people's youth? Tung had even gone through the trouble of writing nearly fifty emails to the production team, asking a distant relative doing business in China to find the team, and even spamming their Weibo page, just to finally get that uniform.

The handsome guy zipped up the coat to his chest, leaving a deliberate gap. Wearing this outfit, he had the same aura as the character Cố Hải:

"Your clothes are from Shopee. The "authentic" ones have the signatures of both Hoàng Cảnh Du and Hứa Ngụy Châu on the back."