The next morning, I arrived at the company carrying two bags of breakfast.
The moment I walked through the door, everyone went strangely quiet.
I stopped.
—Why are you all looking at me?
My coworker Mei Mei immediately lowered her head.
—Nothing.
Another colleague suddenly became very interested in his computer screen.
Suspicious.
I walked into Tong Due Phi’s office.
He was sitting behind his desk with dark circles under his eyes.
—Boss, did you sleep last night?
—Yes.
The answer came too quickly.
I placed breakfast in front of him.
—My father bought too much this morning. I brought you some.
His hand froze.
—Your father bought it?
—Yes.
Tong Due Phi stared at the bag as if it contained a declaration of war.
—What?
—Nothing.
He opened it.
Inside were shrimp dumplings, buns, soy milk and several expensive pastries.
His expression became complicated.
—Does your father always feed you like this?
—Pretty much.
Tong Due Phi looked down at the cheap sandwich he had bought for himself.
Then back at the pastries.
I suddenly felt that he seemed… defeated.
Before I could ask, he straightened his back.
—Thinh Ngoc Lan.
—Yes?
—What do you like to eat?
I blinked.
—Anything delicious.
—Specific answer.
I thought seriously.
—Hot pot.
He nodded.
—Anything else?
—Barbecue.
He wrote something down.
—Dessert?
—Mango cake.
He wrote that too.
I leaned over.
—Boss, what are you doing?
He covered the paper immediately.
—Employee welfare survey.
I nodded.
What a responsible boss.
That afternoon, something even stranger happened.
He called me into his office.
—Your salary will increase by another two thousand yuan next month.
I stared at him.
—Why?
—Excellent performance.
—But you increased it recently.
—The company is developing.
—Didn’t you say yesterday that our cash flow was tight?
Tong Due Phi coughed.
—Situations change.
I narrowed my eyes.
But money was money.
—Thank you, boss!
He seemed satisfied.
Then he casually asked:
—Does your father give you spending money?
—Sometimes.
His expression became tense.
—How much?
—Not much.
He relaxed.
I continued:
—Maybe fifty thousand or one hundred thousand when he remembers.
Tong Due Phi’s smile disappeared.
He quietly crossed out something on his notebook.
I glanced at it.
It said:
“Financial advantage.”
—Boss?
He slammed the notebook shut.
—Work.
Very strange.
Three days later, my father officially agreed to invest in our company.
Tong Due Phi should have been delighted.
Instead, when Dad came to sign the contract, my boss looked as if he were meeting his greatest rival.
Dad noticed immediately.
After signing, he smiled.
—Mr. Tong, do you dislike me?
—Of course not.
—Then why do you look at me like I stole something from you?
I almost choked on my tea.
Tong Due Phi glanced at me.
—I respect Mr. Ly very much.
Dad followed his gaze.
Then his smile slowly deepened.
I suddenly had a bad feeling.
Dad turned toward me.
—Tieu Lan, go ask the waiter for some hot water.
—There’s a button right here.
—Go personally.
I stared at him.
Dad smiled.
—Good daughter.
Fine.
The moment I left, my father leaned back in his chair.
—You like my daughter.
Tong Due Phi almost dropped his cup.
—Mr. Ly—
—Don’t deny it.
Silence.
My father laughed.
—So that’s why you were staring at me during dinner.
Tong Due Phi’s ears turned red.
After several seconds, he admitted:
—Yes.
—Since when?
—I’m not sure.
Dad nodded slowly.
—Does she know?
Tong Due Phi looked toward the door.
—Obviously not.
My father almost laughed out loud.
That was painfully true.
Then Dad became serious.
—She has been protected all her life. She may look careless, but she’s not stupid.
—I know.
—And if you hurt her…
Tong Due Phi immediately answered:
—I won’t.
My father raised an eyebrow.
—Very confident.
Tong Due Phi looked at him.
For once, there was no awkwardness in his expression.
—I started this company with almost nothing. I’ve failed interviews, borrowed money and gone months without paying myself so my employees could receive their salaries.
He paused.
—I can’t promise her that I’ll always be richer than you.
Dad smiled faintly.
—No one asked you to be.
—But I can promise that I won’t use her identity, her money or your connections as a shortcut.
My father stopped smiling.
Tong Due Phi continued:
—If she stays with me someday, I want it to be because she chooses me.
The room became quiet.
Then Dad suddenly laughed.
—Good.
Tong Due Phi blinked.
—Good?
—At least you’re not completely hopeless.
At that exact moment, I returned.
—What’s hopeless?
Both men answered simultaneously:
—Nothing.
I stared at them.
Suspicious.
After that meeting, my boss became even stranger.
He bought me food constantly.
When it rained, he appeared beside me with an umbrella.
When I worked late, he drove me home.
When I complained that my chair hurt my back, a new ergonomic chair appeared the next morning.
I finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
—Boss.
—Yes?
—Are you planning to fire me?
Tong Due Phi nearly spat out his coffee.
—Why would you think that?
—You’re being too nice.
He stared at me for a long time.
Then he sighed.
—Thinh Ngoc Lan.
—Yes?
—Do you really not understand?
—Understand what?
He rubbed his forehead.
At that moment, Mei Mei passed the office.
She looked inside.
Then she immediately turned around and shouted:
—EVERYONE! THE BOSS IS CONFESSING!
The entire office became silent.
I froze.
Tong Due Phi froze.
Then twenty heads appeared behind the glass wall.
He closed his eyes.
I slowly turned toward him.
—Confessing what?
He looked at me.
Then suddenly stood up.
—That I like you.
My brain stopped working.
Outside, someone gasped.
Another person whispered:
—Finally.
I pointed at myself.
—Me?
Tong Due Phi looked exhausted.
—No, the chair behind you.
I turned around automatically.
There was no one there.
The office exploded with laughter.
My face burned.
—You… like me?
—Yes.
—Since when?
—I told you. I don’t know.
I thought about all the strange things he had done.
The food.
The raises.
The messages.
The bizarre competition with my father.
Suddenly everything connected.
I stared at him.
—Wait.
He looked nervous.
—What?
—That night when you said your physical fitness was better than my father’s…
Tong Due Phi’s face went completely red.
The office outside went dead silent.
Then Mei Mei screamed.
—BOSS, WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE DID YOU SEND HER?!
—I misunderstood the situation!
I covered my face.
For the first time in my life, I wanted the floor to swallow me.
We started dating two weeks later.
Quietly.
Or at least we tried.
The entire company knew within three days.
My father knew within three hours.
My mother knew before I even told my father.
I still don’t know how.
One year later, Tong Due Phi’s company had grown significantly.
Dad’s investment helped, but the reason the company survived was simple:
Tong Due Phi worked ridiculously hard.
He treated employees well.
He kept his promises.
And no matter how successful he became, he still personally bought breakfast whenever he thought I hadn’t eaten enough.
On our wedding day, my father held my hand before walking me down the aisle.
He looked at Tong Due Phi waiting ahead.
Then whispered:
—You know, he was terrified of me when we first met.
I laughed.
—Really?
Dad nodded.
—He thought I was trying to steal you from him.
I stopped.
—What?
Dad smiled innocently.
Suddenly, every weird moment from years ago returned to me.
The restaurant.
The messages.
The sudden salary increase.
The “employee welfare survey.”
I slowly turned toward my future husband.
Tong Due Phi saw my expression.
His smile disappeared.
—Why are you looking at me like that?
I smiled sweetly.
—We’ll talk tonight.
He immediately looked at my father.
Dad calmly looked away.
And that was when I finally understood the greatest misunderstanding of our entire relationship.
My boss had never believed my father was simply being kind to his daughter.
He thought a sixty-five-year-old billionaire was his romantic rival.
And somehow…
that ridiculous misunderstanding was exactly how he realized he had fallen in love with me.
THE END.
