Chapter 8 — 120 Thousand Yuan And A Divorce

“But that is the worst plan,” To Thanh changed his tone, “the lawsuit will be long, very tiring, not good for you and the baby, the best choice is still a divorce agreement.”

“Divorce agreement?”

“Yes,” her eyes lit up, “in your hand, there are too many cards.”

She raised a finger.

"The first card, Chu Minh Hao's criminal liability, the bank wants to hide, the Chu family wants to hide even more, this is the main card."

Second finger.

"Second card, the recording of Zhou Jianjun threatening you. If he sends it to the disciplinary agency, his career will be over. He fears this more than anything."

Third finger.

"The strongest card, Chu Minh Khai had an affair and transferred assets. Once exposed, he no longer has a place in the agency. At this time, everyone avoids such things."

She looked at me, every word clear.

"So we don't go to court, we force him to sit down and negotiate."

“He found me last night,” I recounted the conditions he offered.

To Thanh smiled coldly.

"Fifty thousand yuan and you want to settle? He still thinks you're the Tu Nhiem of the past."

“So what are my conditions?” I asked.

"It's very simple," she wrote on the paper, "one, the house belongs to you, the rest of the loan is borne or paid off by him; two, custody of the child belongs to you, he must support the child until the age of eighteen, with no less than half of the monthly income; three, all savings and investments are divided in his name in half; four, 1200,000 yuan is your mother's personal money, it has nothing to do with him."

I looked at those conditions and took a deep breath.

“Will he agree?”

“We definitely will,” To Thanh said very calmly, “because we still have one unused piece.”

She pointed to a strange message on my phone.

"This person can grasp the matter between Chu Minh Khai and Lam Vy, meaning he is very close to them. Since he told you to check his account, there is definitely a bigger problem in there."

She stood up and walked a few steps in the room.

"Nem Nhiem, the three days you gave to Chu Minh Khai were not to wait for him to confess, but to let him make more mistakes, thinking there was still a way around."

She stopped, turned her head to look at me.

"These three days, we did nothing, waiting for the bank to post a notice, waiting for the Chu family to be in chaos, waiting for Chu Minh Khai to collapse."

She picked up the phone and made a call.

"Hello, Mr. Truong, help me look up a number... yes, a fake number, I know it's difficult, try to locate the nearest transmitting station."

Hanging up, she smiled slightly.

“Now our job is just to… wait.”

My phone vibrated. Message from Chu Minh Khai.

“Nam Nhiem, I beg you, meet me once and I will tell you everything.”

He... collapsed faster than expected. I gave the phone to To Thanh. She glanced over, the corner of her lips curled into a cold smile.

“I couldn't stand it so quickly, it seems he's more guilty than I thought.”

“So… should I meet?” I hesitated a bit.

“Meet, why not meet?” She returned the phone to me, "but not now, and it's not like he wants to see me."

She stepped closer, lowering her voice.

“Let him wait a day, imagine all the worst outcomes for yourself, and you will answer tomorrow.”

“How to answer?”

"The time and place are all up to you. Choose a public place or a coffee shop. Remember, from now on, the one who takes the initiative is you."

I nodded, My heart is stronger. To Thanh also told a few more details, such as when talking, don't lose your temper, only ask questions without arguing, record everything, and then leave after speaking. She said she had to go see someone who could look up that phone number. That whole day, Chu Minh Khai's phone calls and messages were pouring in like crazy. From pleading, to questioning, then to panic.

“Nhiem Nhiem, can you answer me one question?”

"What do you really want? Are you planning on forcing me to the end?"

“I beg you, for your child's sake, let's talk just once.”

I do not respond to any messages. My mother looked at me, her eyes filled with sadness, but didn't say anything, just quietly warmed up a bowl of chicken soup for me. That night I slept relatively peacefully. The next morning, I leisurely answered him.

“Three o'clock in the afternoon, Starbucks west of the city.”

He answered almost immediately.

“Okay, I'll wait for you.”

In the afternoon, I gave my child to my mother, changed clothes, and went to the coffee shop ten minutes early. I chose a position close to the window, in a hidden corner. To Thanh texted: "I'm in the car across the street, call if there's anything." I replied: “Okay.” At exactly three o'clock, Chu Minh Khai pushed the door open and walked in. He was noticeably thinner, his eye bags were dark, his hair was disheveled, and his whole body was so emaciated that it was hard to recognize. He saw me immediately, quickly walked over, and sat down opposite me.

“Infection…”

His voice was hoarse. I didn't say anything, just looked at him. He rubbed his hands, his eyes avoiding.

"Sorry." He bowed his head, "I know it's useless to say anything, about Lam Vy... I'm wrong."

"OH?" I raised my glass of water and took a sip, "What's wrong?"

He paused, clearly not expecting me to ask that.