Chapter 2 — After Doctor Diep Disappeared

Co Han Chau took off his vest and placed it on her legs, his hand hovering in mid-air, wanting to touch her forehead but not daring to. Diep Nam Sanh turned away, burying his face in the gap between the window and the back of the chair. Co Han Chau carried Diep Nam Sanh and rushed into the emergency room. The nurse on duty was stunned when he saw her face.

“Headmaster… Headmaster Diep?”

Diep Nam Sanh struggled to fall out of Co Han Chau's arms. When his feet touched the ground, he staggered slightly and had to hold on to the edge of the patient triage table.

“Prepare me an abortion kit, get a suture kit, there's a 3cm long tear under the collarbone, not deep.”

The nurse was so surprised that she couldn't keep her mouth shut, her eyes kept jumping between the painful blood stains on her skirt and the wound on her collarbone.

“Director Diep, you are like this…”

“Go quickly.”

Diep Nam Sanh entered the processing room and personally pulled the curtain back. Co Han Chau tried to follow, but was stopped by her outside the curtain. The curettage lasted forty minutes. Co Han Chau walked back and forth outside. When the curtain was pulled back, Diep Nam Sanh had changed into a hospital gown and was lying on a temporary stretcher, his face as white as paper. Co Han Chau walked over, sat down on the edge of the bed, and tried to hold her hand. As soon as his finger touched the back of his hand, Diep Nam Sanh immediately withdrew his hand. Co Han Chau's hand stiffened in mid-air, five fingers slowly retracted, clenched into a fist.

"Nam Sanh, you were so drunk, you don't even remember what you said, just take it as..."

Diep Nam Sanh turned around, his back facing him. The patient's collar is very wide, the vertebrae at the back of the neck protrude clearly, one by one. Co Han Chau's words were stuck in his throat, the second half of the sentence could not be uttered anymore. The door of the room was pushed in from the outside. Tham Moc Ngung wore a thin almond-colored wool dress. Co Tu Mac was led by her hand, his small body hiding behind her legs. Tham Moc Ngung carried a thermos lunch box.

"Han Chau, I just heard that my sister-in-law was hospitalized, so I quickly cooked some porridge and brought it over."

She placed the thermos box on the bedside table, unscrewed the lid, and the heat of the millet porridge rose up.

“Sister-in-law, eat while it's still hot, health is the most important thing.”

When Tham Moc Ngung bent down, the collar of her wool dress revealed a tiny red mark on the side of her neck. Diep Nam Sanh lay on the bed, without turning around, his eyes still staring at the wall. Tham Moc Ngung knew she had seen it, the corner of his lips curled slightly, appearing to unintentionally raise his collar a bit. Co Tu Mac poked his head out from behind Tham Moc Ngung, looked at Diep Nam Sanh on the bed, pouting.

“Dad, is she pretending to be sick again? Last time she also complained of a stomach ache, isn't it okay after that?”

The boy said as he walked to the bedside, his small hand hitting Diep Nam Sanh's blanket: "Can you stop acting, auntie said you're only good at acting." Tham Moc Ngung quickly covered the boy's mouth, pretending to be panicked: "Tu Mac, don't say that to your mother!" Co Tu Mac pushed her hand away: "She's not your mother! Your mother is your aunt!" The boy reached out to pick up the box of porridge on the cabinet, wanting to bring it to Tham Moc Ngung: "This is what my aunt cooked, don't let her eat!" The thermos box was too heavy, the boy could not carry it. The box tilted over, hot millet porridge poured straight up bed sheet, splashed onto the back of Diep Nam Sanh's hand, which was placed outside the blanket. Diep Nam Sanh's fingers suddenly twitched, the back of his hand immediately turned red. She slowly withdrew her hand into the blanket. Co Han Chau frowned, bent down to set up the thermos box, and used paper to wipe the porridge stains on the bed sheet. He looked at Diep Nam Sanh's hand that had retreated into the blanket and opened his mouth.

"Tu Mac is still young, don't be harsh with him."

This sentence is very light, it sounds like advice, but also like a warning.