The Forced "Tripartite Meeting"

"You two... you two have already reached the 'taking her home' stage?"

Quynh Nhu's shrill, "dangerous" voice over the phone made Lam Minh's eardrums ache. He quickly held the phone away from his ear.

"What nonsense are you talking about? To Quyen's house is nearby, I just walked her home since it was on my way," he explained, though he knew this explanation was useless.

"On your way? I don't believe it!" Quynh Nhu screamed. "You definitely have shady intentions! Fine, Lam Minh! You just wait!"

Beep... beep... beep...

She hung up abruptly, leaving Lam Minh standing there with a very bad feeling. He sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Why is it that in my past life I only had one gentle wife, but in this life, I'm stuck with two troublesome aunties?"

He didn't go home right away but took a walk to clear his head. But that peace didn't last long.

The next morning, as soon as he arrived at the school gate, a Blacklight jeep was already parked there. Quynh Nhu got out, her face as cold as ice. But today, she wasn't alone. Walking beside her was To Quyen.

To Quyen looked a bit flustered, as if she had been "kidnapped" by Quynh Nhu to come here.

"Lam Minh," Quynh Nhu said, her voice devoid of any emotion. "Today, we need to have a clear talk. The three of us."

Without waiting for his reply, she grabbed his and To Quyen's hands and dragged them straight to a quiet coffee shop near the school.

The three of them sat facing each other at a small table. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The waiter who passed by had to tiptoe.

Lam Minh was the one to break the silence. "What's this all about? Kidnapping someone first thing in the morning."

Quynh Nhu placed both hands on the table and looked straight at him. "I'm asking you, who do you choose?"

"Huh? Choose what?" Lam Minh was bewildered.

"Don't play dumb!" Quynh Nhu slammed the table. "Between me and To Quyen, who do you choose? Speak!"

To Quyen, sitting beside him, blushed furiously. "Quynh Nhu! What... what are you talking about?"

"You be quiet!" Quynh Nhu glared at her friend. "This needs to be sorted out. I can't stand this ambiguous situation anymore. When he's with you, he ignores me, and when he's with me, he's thinking about you. It's unacceptable!"

Hearing this, Lam Minh wanted the ground to swallow him whole. What the hell was happening? Was this a public "jealousy showdown"? And what crime had he committed?

"Wait, wait," he held up his hands. "You two, calm down. I think there's a serious misunderstanding here."

"What misunderstanding?" the two girls said in unison.

"First," he looked at Quynh Nhu. "You and I only have a 'creditor' and 'debtor' relationship, or more accurately, 'punching bag.' I've never thought of anything more."

Quynh Nhu's face darkened.

"Second," he turned to To Quyen. "You and I are friends, 'partners' in research. I cherish you a lot, but only as a pure friendship."

A flicker of sadness also crossed To Quyen's face.

"So what you're saying is," Quynh Nhu narrowed her eyes, "you don't like either of us?"

"That's right," Lam Minh nodded decisively. He thought this was the best way to resolve this mess.

But he was wrong.

BAM!

Both To Quyen and Quynh Nhu slammed the table in unison, their eyes shooting fire at him.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" they shouted in unison again.

Lam Minh was startled. "Why... why is it unacceptable?"

"Who do you think we are?" Quynh Nhu snapped. "Two items for you to choose from, take if you like, discard if you don't? You've accepted our care, you've given us hope, and now you're just going to brush it all off like that?"

"But... but I..." Lam Minh stammered. When did he ever give them hope?

To Quyen, who had always been gentle, was also extremely firm this time. "That's right, Lam Minh. You can't treat other people's feelings like this. You have to take responsibility."

"Take responsibility?" Lam Minh felt his head spin. "How do I take responsibility?"

The two girls looked at each other, and as if by some telepathic connection, they both nodded.

Quynh Nhu cleared her throat and announced, "From today onwards, we will officially compete in a fair manner. You have no right to choose, nor do you have the right to refuse. You can only be the 'prize' for the winner."

"Compete? Prize?" Lam Minh felt like he was mishearing things.

"That's right," To Quyen continued. "We will set our own criteria to see who is more suitable for you. Whoever gets more points will be the winner. During that time, you must treat both of us equally. No favoritism."

"And you have to participate in all of our activities," Quynh Nhu added. "If you go to a concert with her today, then tomorrow you have to go shooting with me. If you go to the library today, then tomorrow you have to go eat hotpot. Got it?"

Lam Minh sat there, stunned. He felt like he had just fallen into an inescapable trap. From an outsider, he had suddenly become the "spoils of war" in an unbalanced battle between two aunties.

"But... but..." he tried to protest.

"No buts!" they both said in unison again. "It's decided!"

With that, the two girls stood up and shook hands like two partners who had just signed an important contract. Then they both turned to glare at Lam Minh.

"You'd better watch out, 'prize'!"

After that, they linked arms and happily went off to buy bubble tea, leaving Lam Minh sitting alone in the coffee shop, his mind completely blank.

The "tripartite meeting" had ended in the most absurd way possible.

Lam Minh drank his water in one gulp and let out a long, long sigh.

"So what if I'm in the Foundation Establishment Realm? When faced with women, I'm still just a rookie in the Qi Refining Realm."

His "peaceful" life, it seemed, had officially come to an end.