Chapter 15 — After Doctor Diep Disappeared

Diep Nam Sanh stood still, not moving. Canh splashed onto her T-shirt, splattered with a few dark round dots. She bowed her head, took a look, took a tissue from the table and wiped it away.

“Okay, I won't go.”

Co Han Chau was stunned. He thought she would get mad, destroy things, cry, and make a fuss. But not at all. Co Han Chau's hand grabbed her arm, forcefully pulling her into his arms. His chin rested on the top of her head, his arms clasped extremely tightly. Diep Nam Sanh's whole body stiffened in his arms. After that, her stomach began to contract, a stream of sour fluid from the bottom of her stomach bounced back up, choking in her throat. She tried to swallow, but her body trembled uncontrollably. It is a physiological reaction of rejection. He let go, bowed his head and looked at Diep Nam Sanh's face. Her face was pale, her lips pursed tightly, her throat sliding up and down. She took a step back, then another step back, until her back touched the edge of the bed before stopping. Co Han Chau's hand hovered in mid-air, clenched and then loosened.

—

Chapter 10 Diep Nam Sanh woke up very early. It was not yet dawn, through the gap in the window curtain a ray of blue-gray light came in. She stood in the kitchen for a long time, opened the refrigerator, took a look, took out eggs, fresh milk and flour. Make pancakes, the dish that Co Tu Mac liked the most when he was a child. When Co Tu Mac went downstairs, he smelled the sweet scent and stuck his head in the dining room door to take a look. The boy saw the pancakes on the table and was stunned for a moment, then glanced towards the kitchen. Diep Nam Sanh was washing dishes, her left hand holding a sponge to scrub the bottom of the bowl, the faucet opened, water splashed onto her sleeve. Co Tu Mac walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, sat down, picked up a fork and stuffed a piece of pancake into his mouth. Chewing twice, the boy's eyes lit up for a split second, but then quickly returned to his usual indifferent appearance. The boy bowed his head and ate, not calling her. Diep Nam Sanh walked out of the kitchen, sat down opposite, watching the boy eat. Her eyes stopped on the boy's face for a long time, looking at his bulging cheeks as he chewed voraciously, looking at the honey stains on the corners of the boy's mouth. Tham Moc Ngung went downstairs, his hand wrapped tightly around Co Han Chau's arm. Today Co Han Chau did not go to the company, wearing a dark gray home sweater, his beard under his chin was shaved cleanly. Tham Moc Ngung saw the pancakes on the dining table, then looked at Co Tu Mac who was eating greedily, the smile on his face stiffened for a second. She let go of Co Han Chau's hand, walked slowly to the dining table, pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Hey, is your sister-in-law herself in the kitchen today?”

Diep Nam Sanh nodded. Tham Moc Ngung took a piece of cake, took a bite, chewed twice, and had a very good expression: "So delicious, really delicious." She put down the cake, turned her head to look at Co Han Chau, and said sweetly: "Han Chau, what time were you at my place last night? Twelve o'clock or one o'clock? I don't remember clearly anymore." Diep Nam Sanh stood up from the chair and walked next to Tham Moc Ngung. Tham Moc Ngung's body stiffened slightly. Diep Nam Sanh picked up the tissue box on the table, pulled out one, and placed it next to Tham Moc Ngung's hand.

"The corner of my sister-in-law's mouth is stained with honey."

Tham Moc Ngung looked at her face, trying to read something from her expression, but couldn't get anything. Diep Nam Sanh smiled slightly.

"Wish my sister-in-law and General Co will be together for a long time, with gray hair and long teeth."

That smile was very light, very faint, the corners of the lips curled up and quickly retracted. Tham Moc Ngung's fingers tightened on the tissue paper, her nails digging deep into the thin layer of paper. Co Han Chau sat at the chair of the dining table, looking at Diep Nam Sanh's expression, his eyebrows widened. He picked up a piece of pancake and put it in his mouth, chewed two pieces, and nodded.

“It's delicious.”