Elements: The Ancient Tomb

Chapter 17: "Land of Gods“- part 5: "Half-truth"

"…The conversation ended when Yelena hung up first. She put the phone on the phone holder next to the steering wheel and swiped the screen to find the message.

'No. 29 Hoang Dieu Street...'

Very quickly, Yelena pressed the 'Map' application on the screen and found the way to that cafe. Possessing superior driving skills with being used to participating in traffic in Vietnam, she has no difficulty dodging at high speed without fear of being caught by traffic police. It only took her 15 minutes to drive to the place she was looking for - the Olivémo cafe. She quickly drove to the side of the road opposite that cafe. She looked intently at the door. The cafe was quite crowded at that time. She thought for a moment:

'Now that the cafe is pretty crowded, how can I find that bastard secretly? Why don't you just go in there normally like nothing... No, that guy probably already knows my face and is just waiting for me to do that to take action. He chose this cafe just because if he chooses a place where few people pass, there is no chance for him to take action. If I hadn't listened to Linh's warning before, I'd have fallen into the trap.

Suddenly she had a good idea. She picked up her phone from the phone holder and dialed Toan's number. A few seconds later, a 'beep' and a voice rang out.

'Hello?'

'It's me- Yelena. Have you been there yet?'

'I'm in the Olivémo cafe. How about you, Toan?'

'I'm almost there. I'm a little bad at finding directions, and I'm slow to drive too. You can order first while you wait for me if you want.'

'Ok. I will. Remember to drive carefully. Don't rush past recklessly. The streets of Vietnam are full of traffic around this time, you know. Who knows in advance when an accident will come to us when traveling on the road? Give me a signal when you come."

'Okay. I know. So I'll hang up first...'

Yelena pretended to be about to hang up, and she suddenly let out a loud 'Ah...!', not forgetting to make a few loud banging sounds like a car crash. That sound and her clear scream reached Toan's ear through the phone.

'What's happening? Yelena? Yelena? What is that scream? Are you okay? What happened? Got hit by a car?'- Toan's voice came from Yelena's phone.

Yelena didn't answer him, just looked at the cafe he was staying at. She saw a man in a black hat, a blue jacket, and gray jeans standing up in the middle of the crowd, with an extremely worried and panicked expression.

Toan's voice still rang in the phone:

'Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay? Answer please!'

Now Yelena knows the identity of a person named Toan. This time, she picked up the phone and answered:

'Hey, Toan, did you hear me? I just nearly hit an old lady. Luckily I stepped on the brake so I didn't hit her. The old woman was just startled and fell, the sight made my heart flutter. It's fine now. I will come to you.'

'You... made me feel a bit dizzy. I thought... I just mentioned you just now. Now focus on driving as I told you to, if you want to make a phone call, then tap the side of the road and then call.'- Toan complained.

'Okay, I'm sorry. I would like to self-reflect, I promise not to do it again.'- Yelena replied- 'You're like my uncle. Both of you like lecturing the others like that, don't you? Stop there. I have to drive first.'

The conversation ended quickly. Yelena seemed to realize that Toan was not the person she thought he was.

'How could I think someone like him would have evil intentions? I'm truly a bad guy to let my suspicions overwhelm my reason. Yeah, regain your sanity and calm, Yelena.'- she reminded herself.

She removed her worries inside her. She drove the car to the parking lot. In the parking lot, when she turned off the engine and got out of the car, she accidentally bumped into a man with a tall handsome appearance. He helped her stand up and politely said: 'Are you okay?'.

Yelena, although she fell quite painfully, looking at his extremely gallant facial expression, she happily said:' Oh, don't worry, I'm fine. It's my fault to run in a hurry and bump into you. Don't mind me. Are you ok?'

"I'm ok, Yelena. Glad to know that you're all right."

Then she said goodbye and turned to leave. Going inside the cafe, she pretended not to see Toan, instead picking up the phone and calling. Toan received a call from her, and pressed the call button:

'Yelena, have you come yet?'

'Here I am. Where are you?'

Then she rolled her eyes and looked around. Toan saw it and immediately raised his hand to call Yelena. Yelena immediately walked up to him confidently.

The two raised their hands to greet each other.

'Hi. I believe that the collision just now was not strong enough to make you forget my name, right?" - Toan joked while shaking Yelena's hand.

'Ah... How is that possible?'- Yelena was embarrassed at the joke, laughing- 'Shouldn't we also introduce each other when we first met?'

'Nice to meet you. As you know, I know the mysteries surrounding the 1000-year-old coffin. Before we start, I would like to ask...'

The part when Toan stopped and looked around.

"Was there someone follow you when you came here?'

'No. I came here from my uncle's house alone. I also hadn't gone anywhere else when I got your call and didn't tell anyone about this meeting. So you can rest assured that this is a completely confidential meeting between us. I don't know much about Vietnam either, so besides the main topic, I would love to hear from you about your country's history, culture, specialties, etc.'

'I got it. I trust you. So what do you want to hear from me first?'

Toan's open and decisive attitude made Yelena both curious and suspicious, she thought:

'Is he trustworthy? Look at his attitude like someone willing to share everything about himself. I don't know if this is his trick or not. He didn't worry at all, even actively opened his mouth, which was suspicious, but...'

Hesitating for a while, Yelena saw Toan acting as if he wanted to hear something from her.

'Ah... Let me introduce myself, I'm Yelena, a trainee working at...'

Yelena didn't finish the sentence when Toan interrupted:

'…Pandora Archaeological Institute, right? I've heard about you a lot. I also know you need to report on it to get a full-time job there.'

'What? Did you investigate everything about me? What do you want from me when you did that?'- Yelena was confused.

'I want to remind you that the person who is helping you is a very dangerous person.'

'Hey, can you say that after attacking us with a rock and sending threatening letters? Are you a descendant of the creator of that artifact?'

'Hmm… Wait a second. I need to clarify two things. First, I want to say that I don't know if you're joking when you say I'm the one who did it.

"What I'm saying is valid. My car was parked in front of my uncle's house before the attack happened. Your phone was in my car, which proves you are the person."

"I would like to clarify that that phone was secretly placed in your car when you were at the library."

"So are you a descendant of the keeper of that coffin?"

"Who told you that about me? Or is that just your inference?"

"An acquaintance, she's also been stalked by you the whole time."

"Understood. Did she say anything about me with Yelena?" - Toan muttered.

"What are you muttering to yourself?" Yelena said.

"Ah, nothing. I have a way to authenticate, just need your cooperation."

"Okay, tell me."

"Can you please talk about the guy who attacked you? What does he look like?" - Toan leaned close to her ear and whispered his eyes not leaving Yelena for even a second.

"He drove a white Omni, the license plate started with '17B-242'- Yelena tried to describe the suspect's car."

"Thank you. Then I'll show you something to reinforce my innocence."- Toan took out his phone and opened a photo, pointed at it, and said: "Look at this. I took this picture myself, including my outfit and the car I ride today. Do they bear any resemblance to your assailant?"

"No... no way. So I was mistaken?"

"I told you. You've been tricked. I advise you from the bottom of my heart. Better not trust the person you met at the library. She isn't trustworthy."

"You... are you talking about Linh? So you know her, right?"

"That's right. She has told you about me, right?"

"Could it be... are you the one... that she always considers her soulmate?"

"Huh, that's just the past. She has told you she's still attached to my friend, hasn't she? I don't feel strange about her character. Using that same old familiar trick again, she's still the guy I used to know. She didn't change at all.

"If you're telling the truth, why don't you go back and find her? She's very worried about you and wants to mend her relationship with you."

"Hmm, how could I believe her? Do you believe what she said?"

"I saw her sad eyes when she talked about you. That couldn't be a play."

"So you know nothing about her. Don't be fooled. She doesn't deserve pity."

"What happened between the two of you?"

"I'll tell you everything when I'm sure you have complete confidence in me."

"There's one thing I want to confirm if you're that guy?"- Yelena pulled out a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and said- "Please write your name here."

"If that can prove my innocence, I'm willing."

"Don't you wonder about it?"

"Oh, I do, of course."

"Then why didn't you ask me first, do what I told you to do instead?

"I got a hunch that you are a good person, with no bad intentions through the conversation just now. And I also hope to gain your trust back through this. To be able to work and find empathy between us, I think the two sides need to have mutual trust and understanding. In addition, I am very happy and grateful that you came here alone to meet me despite many doubts, hesitations, and concerns in your heart. I feel like I've earned your trust and respect.

After finishing writing, Toan showed it to her. At this time, she breathed a sigh of relief after comparing Toan's handwriting with the one in the anonymous letter she received, saying:

"As expected, you weren't the one who attacked me."

"Now I'll state my question... How can you confirm my identity and clear my suspicions just by doing that? Is there a special reason? Or... because it has something to do with my handwriting?"

"Bingo. My assailant sent me a letter pinned to the stone used to attack me. So I want to verify if his and your pen strokes match. Only then can the correct conclusions be drawn.

"Geez, you should have done this sooner. Anyway, I'm relieved to have cleared the doubt you have about me. Could you please show me the anonymous letter? I want to take a look!'

"Okay." - She handed the letter to Toan.

Reading through the letter, Toan realized something. He glanced around.

"What is going on?"

"Do you feel like you're being watched by someone when you come here?"

Yelena turned her head to look back for a few seconds and then replied:

"I'm not sure."

"To be honest with you, I recently discovered that someone was watching my every move."

"Speaking of which, I remember that Linh always tells me to be careful because someone is approaching me..."

"Could it be... that guy was sent by her? And her purpose seems to be..."- Toan muttered, suddenly he noticed a scratch on her left hand and asked- "You injured your hand in a car crash, didn't you?"

"Nope, it's because I bumped into a man while running from the parking lot. I picked up something he dropped after leaving."

The part when Yelena took out "that thing" from her pocket. Toan was shocked when he saw it. He took it in his hand and said:

"No way. This is..."

"What is this? Like a handle."

"Don't you know what this is?"

Toan shook the handle slightly, and a blade popped out from its inside. At this time, Yelena was shocked and said:

"A... a knife?"

"Can you describe what the person you bumped into looks like?"

"He's tall, good-looking, wears a different shirt, and wears a black hat."

He looked around. Through screening and exclusion, he found a person who looked exactly like Yelena's description. He quickly turned to look at Yelena and said:

"Just look and listen to me, don't turn around. We're being watched, and I already know the identity of that person."

"Really?"

"At the same time, I have learned something important."

"I know you won't believe the truth I'm about to tell you now, but please listen carefully. The truth I want to tell you is: 'As my prediction, Linh was the one who hired that person to track you down and attack you.'"

"For what?"

"To make me show up, as she planned. All are her plan."