Chapter 4 — After Being Evicted From Home, I Inherited 30 Million Yuan

Then the door closed. I bowed my head and looked at the card in my hand. That's the joint savings card between me and Luc Canh Tham. Every month the two of them deposited five thousand yuan, accumulating for more than six years. We made an appointment that this money would be used to organize the wedding, take wedding photos, and go on the honeymoon. Luc Canh Tham even gave it a name.

“Future Fund.”

On the face of the card are printed two names. Tham Niem Hoa. Luc Canh Tham. Tears fell down the face of the card. The two lines of text gradually blurred. It's so blurry that you can't see clearly anymore. Lam Tri Y stood next to her, biting her lip, not daring to say a word. After a long time, she spoke softly.

“Nien Hoa… what are you planning to do next?”

I looked at the embroidered scarf, which was torn. The lotus flower wrapped around the branch my mother embroidered... two branches were broken off. He said he would buy ten identical ones. But he doesn't even know what kind of person my mother is. The day I left the hospital, I didn't go back to the apartment anymore. Lam Tri Y drove me home to pack my things. As soon as the door opened, I smelled an unfamiliar perfume. Not the scent I use. On the shoe shelf in Huyen Quan, two new pairs of shoes appeared, a pair of white sneakers and a pair of light pink fur slippers. Not my foot size. On the bathroom sink was a brand new set of skin care products, and the bottles were all brands I had never seen before. My toothbrush cup was moved to the corner. Where my facial cleanser used to be, I now have a tube of peach scented facial cleanser. Lam Tri Y stood outside the bathroom door, her face cold.

"That night when I arrived, it was already like this. Her things had already been moved in."

I said nothing. Just go straight into the bedroom and open the closet. On the left are still Luc Canh Tham's clothes, no different from before. The right side was originally my area, but now there were a few more dresses and hoodies that didn't belong to me. My clothes were pressed to the outer edge, my jackets were crammed together and wrinkled into a pile. At the deepest level of the cabinet, the ebony box used to store embroidered towels was slightly open. Inside is empty. The scarf was torn by Chung Dao on his neck. I squatted down and flipped the bottom of the box up. His fingertips touched a kraft paper envelope. It's my mother's handwriting.

“Nim Hoa dear sent.”

I turned it over. The envelope had never been opened, just the corner of the paper was slightly wrinkled as if someone had pressed it hard. Below the envelope there is also a small copper key. The brass has developed a bit of green rust. I don't remember ever seeing this key before. Lam Tri Y stopped by.

“Something your mother left behind?”

I nodded, stuffed the envelope and key into my pocket. Just as I was about to stand up, the phone suddenly rang. The area code is in this city, but I never saved that number.

“Excuse me, is this Miss Tham Niem Hoa?”

On the other end of the line was the voice of a middle-aged woman, gentle but carrying a very clear seriousness.

"My last name is Chau, Chau Van. Before, your mother used to call me Tieu Chau."

I stopped. I think I heard my mother mention this name when I was little.

"Your mother passed away three years ago. There are some things she told me to wait until you were ready to tell you."

“But now something happened, I can't wait any longer.”

She stopped for a few seconds.

"Your uncle is planning to sell all the things your mother left behind. Niem Hoa, if you don't step forward... everything will be lost."

I tightened my grip on the phone, my lips slightly opened go out.

“My mother… left something behind?”

The other end was silent for a few seconds.

"Wait until you open that envelope and you'll know."

“Your mother is not just an ordinary embroiderer, Niem Hoa.”

Tut… tut… tut… The phone was hung up. I stood in front of the closet, my fingers clutching the kraft paper envelope. Lam Tri Y looked at my face.

“Nien Hoa?”

I stuffed the envelope into my pocket.

“Tri Y, help me pack my things first.”

“I'm not here anymore.”

That night I stayed at Lam Tri Y's house. The next morning, before I could even open the envelope, Luc Canh Tham's phone call came. The caller is not for me. But call Lam Tri Y. Lam Tri Y turned on the speakerphone.

"Tri Y, Niem Hoa is at your place, right? Give her the phone."

Lam Tri Y turned to look at me. I shook my head.

“Mr. Canh Tham, she doesn't want to answer the phone.”

"Tell her to go home. Once she gets her things, that's it. The house is still her house, no one will chase her away."

Lam Tri Y laughed coldly.

"Home? Her toiletry shelf was taken over by someone else, the wardrobe was stuffed with other people's things, even the toothbrush cup was pushed into the corner. Is that what you call no one evicting?"

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds.

"That's Dao Dao's temporary leave. I'll tell her to move out. Don't overdo it, Niem Hoa."

Lam Tri Y was about to open her mouth but I held her hand. I took the phone.

“Luc Canh Tham, if you come to me if you have something to say, please tell me directly.”

"...Go home. You just got out of the hospital, I don't feel safe being out alone."

“I don't feel secure?”

I tightened my grip on the phone, my voice very calm.

“That day when you let go of my hand… you looked so reassured.”

He was silent. After a while, he spoke up.

“My mother wants to see you.”

I stopped. Luc Canh Tham's mother, Ms. Liu Fang, I met many times. Every holiday, I go to her house to give her gifts, and every time I bring her her favorite peach cake. I changed the soil for her three times in the flower pots on the balcony. She was never too close to me, but she also never made things difficult for me.

"Today, noon, at home. Mom said she's already cooked."

I thought for a few seconds.