Chapter 76: Birthday Gift
Huy held his birthday party at a restaurant. His friends—all nine of them—were indeed all men. Tra cheerfully greeted them before sitting down next to him.
At that moment, she leaned in and asked softly:
"Aren't there any girls in your class?"
"There are. But I didn't want to invite any. I was afraid you'd overthink it."
(Not only did Huy avoid inviting any female classmates, he even asked his friends not to bring their girlfriends along.)
Huong Tra smiled coyly:
"Don't worry. I won't overthink anything."
"Still, I'm afraid you'll run off to the lake again," Huy teased.
Huong Tra responded by tickling his waist, making Huy squirm from the sensation.
"Ahem," said the friend sitting next to Huy, clearing his throat.
"Haven't had a single bite yet, starving to death, and here I am getting force-fed dog food," joked the friend across from Huy.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have come. Staying home would've been less frustrating," quipped the one sitting across from Tra.
Seeing the teasing escalate, Huy wrapped an arm around Tra's neck and pulled her in for a passionate kiss.
One friend, sitting a bit farther away, took out his phone to snap a photo and sent it to Huy.
Moments later, Huy let go and said:
"Any of you who don't have girlfriends, better find one soon. Or you'll freeze this winter."
When the food was brought out, everyone started eating and took turns introducing themselves. Of the nine, six were college friends and three were Huy's colleagues. Only the closest ones were invited.
Huy didn't have any high school friends around since he had moved alone from Da Nang to study here.
The group drank, chatted about work, shared future plans, and even tossed around some get-rich ideas.
After the drinking ended, Huy paid the bill and brought Tra home.
Back at the boarding house, Tra called Hồng and Mai up to Huy's room to slice some fruit and have a light birthday gathering.
Once everything was arranged on the table, Tra went to invite Đức and Nghĩa over as well.
When the party ended and the place was cleaned up, everyone returned to their own rooms.
Tra stayed behind, placing the birthday gift she had prepared for Huy, along with the others' gifts, on the table and urged him to open them.
But Huy didn't seem to care much about the presents. He walked over to lock the door.
Tra, realizing what he was about to do, quickly stopped him:
"Wait, come open..."
But Huy didn't let her finish the word "gift" before sealing her lips with a kiss and reaching over to switch off the light.
"Next time, don't bother spending money. You're the biggest gift of all."
The lights faded slowly, leaving only a tender warmth spreading throughout the small room.
In the next room, Duc kept tossing and turning, using a pillow to cover his ears. Nghia tried to calm his mind by reading a book.
But no matter what he did, peace of mind was impossible.