Chapter 11 — After my engagement was canceled, I went to Shenzhen and lived the most brilliant version

The whole team is like that. Everyone is already familiar with it. After the meeting, I stayed behind to review the budget for next year with Co Dien.

“The staffing of the imaging center is decided by you.” He pushed a plan over to me. "There's a budget limit here. Just don't exceed it."

I glanced at the number.

“You really trust me.” I said.

“You used data to prove it.”

“What if next year fails?”

“Then fail.” He spoke very softly. "Starting a business is not 100% successful. If you fail, sum it up and then try again."

I put the documents away.

"When you looked for me... you actually knew I was Niem Bach, right?"

He doesn't deny it.

“When did you decide that?”

"From the Thanh Tu project meeting. The first time I saw your plan, I realized it."

He leaned back in his chair.

"I followed Niem Bach for two years. I always wanted to cooperate but couldn't contact her. As a result, she showed up at the company I invested in."

“That's why I asked Mr. Trinh to introduce me…”

“So from beginning to end, everything was in your plan?”

“Finding Niem Bach is the plan.” He stopped for a moment. “But as for you... that wasn't part of the plan.”

I looked at him. He did not explain what he meant by that statement.

"Let's go." He stood up. “A new Trieu San hotpot restaurant just opened downstairs. Want to eat?”

That hot pot meal lasted for two hours. We talk a lot. About his entrepreneurial journey. About four years I built "Niem Bach". About the artists and designers that each person loves. He likes Zhao Wuji and Tadao Ando. And I like Sanyu and Kazuyo Sejima. Our aesthetic tastes are very close. But it's not exactly the same. It is that feeling of "being close but still keeping distance" that makes people feel very comfortable. When we broke up, he took me to the apartment complex gate.

"Um. Good night."

I walked a few steps then turned back. He remained standing in place.

“What did you mean when you said ‘not in the plan’ just now?”

Under the streetlight, his expression was still very calm, only the corners of his lips curled slightly.

“I mean... at first I just wanted to find a cooperation partner.”

“I didn't expect... to want to learn more about a person.”

I looked at him for three seconds.

“Then let's find out slowly.”

Having finished speaking, I turned around and went upstairs. After Tet, things started to get complicated. In mid-January, I received a letter from a lawyer. Sender... The content is to request me to delete all works related to Tran Duy for the reason:

“Infringing on her ex-husband's image and privacy rights.”

After reading it, I burst out laughing. In all of "Niem Bach's" works, there is not a single one that contains an image of Tran Duy or any real person. I draw illustrations. Not a photo. This lawyer's letter... It's simply intentionally coming to cause trouble for me. Why did she suddenly do that? I called to ask Truong Ky.

“Oh, you don't know yet?” Truong Ky said. "After Lam Duyet and Tran Duy divorced, they divided a lot of money. But recently, Tran Duy's new company just completed a capital raising round, and the valuation increased a lot. Lam Duyet felt like he was at a loss, so he kept finding excuses to ask for more assets."

“Lien What does it matter to me?”

“Maybe she sees that you're famous now so she wants to take advantage of your hotness to cause trouble. Think about it... if the media published the news 'Nem Bach's ex-boyfriend's ex-wife sent a lawyer's letter', then who would have the most traffic?"

I hung up. Then transfer the lawyer's letter to the legal department that Co Dien introduced. The lawyer responded very quickly.

“There is no legal basis whatsoever. No need to respond, just handle it silently. If she continues to harass, we can file a countersuit.”

"Okay. No need to pay attention to her.”

But clearly Lam Duyet did not intend to stop there. Three days later, an anonymous post appeared on social networks. The title is:

"Nien Bach's ex-boyfriend, To Niem, Tran Duy revealed: She became famous thanks to plagiarism."

In the article, a series of so-called "evidence" is attached. They placed Niem Bach's early works against those of a number of foreign artists, then concluded that "the composition is similar" and "the color scheme is similar". All of these comparisons are completely out of context. Anyone who has studied design can see it.