Chapter 1 — After the Rain, Nam Son Still Has the Fragrance of Medicine

The day he took his first love to see the ocean, my mother passed away outside the emergency room. When Co Nghien Tri pushed open the door and entered the house, his face still had a relaxed smile after his return trip. He was wearing a dark gray coat that was neatly ironed, his face was handsome, and his whole body exuded the leisurely look of someone who had just completed everything perfectly.

“Thanh Thanh, I'm home.”

His voice was gentle, carrying a barely perceptible hint of joy. His eyes glanced around the living room, finally stopping on me who was packing things into a cardboard box.

"Why are you packing? Are you planning to move?"

My movements never stopped. I used old newspaper to carefully wrap the last ceramic bowl, put it in the box and then sealed it with tape. Throughout the entire process, the room was as quiet as if no one had ever lived in it. The smile on Co Nghien Tri's face stopped for a moment. He walked over, hugged me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder, his tone familiar as if nothing had ever happened.

"Are you angry? I know I was wrong, this time something urgent happened, Nhuoc Lan's side is really too chaotic."

"But everything is over. We will choose another date for our engagement party. We will definitely organize it properly so that aunt will be happy."

He mentioned my mother. My spine immediately stiffened, as if someone had just pulled a needle out of my wound. I slowly turned around and removed his arms. The living room curtains were half-closed, the afternoon sunlight was blocked from the outside, only a small table lamp was on, casting long shadows of two people on the floor. I raised my head to look at him. I lost a lot of weight, my face was so small that only bony lines remained, my eyes were dark, with no more tears or resentment inside. Co Nghien Tri looked at me to the point of being unnatural. He remembered I wasn't like this before. I smile very gently, there is always light in my eyes. Even when his mother criticized the food for being salty or bland, I just bowed my head and said I would pay attention next time. Unlike now, it's like a well that's been filled up.

“Thanh Thanh, what's wrong with you?” He reached out to grab me. "How is your aunt's health? That day at the hotel, I saw that she was very angry. I originally planned to go to the hospital, but something happened to Nhuoc Lan's father, I..."

His words stopped mid-sentence. I spoke, my voice very soft, hoarse as if it had just been burned by fire.

“Co Nghien Tri.”

I called his name.

“My mother passed away.”

Those four words fell, as light as ashes, but they made Co Nghien Tri freeze for a long time, unable to move. His face turned pale little by little, the leisurely expression in his eyes was torn apart, leaving only confusion that came too late.

“What did you say?”

He thought he heard wrong. Relying on his memory, which he was always proud of, Co Nghien Tri quickly recalled everything that happened that day. The last time he saw my mother was on the day of the engagement party. Tham Nhuoc Lan suddenly rushed in wearing a white dress, saying that she was kicked out by her husband's family, saying that she only had one friend left, him. Co's mother was heartbroken and immediately helped Tham Nhuoc Lan sit at the main table, and criticized the Gian family for being just a small family and not needing to draw up so many rules. My mother was so angry that she collapsed next to her next to the chair. When the ambulance arrived, I clutched his sleeve, begging him to come with me to the hospital. At that time, he was comforting Tham Nhuoc Lan, who was crying to the point of being unable to stand, and said only one sentence:

“Wait until I finish dealing with this side.”

Afterwards, Tham Nhuoc Lan's husband led someone to the hotel to destroy it, and he went to deal with it. After that, Tham Nhuoc Lan said she didn't dare go home alone, so he took her to a nearby city to entertain herself, conveniently avoiding gossip. He handled everything. He returned, intending to explain to me, give me a more expensive ring, and then give me a complete engagement in return. How could my mother die?

“Don't scare me with this.” Co Nghien Tri frowned, frustration clear in his voice. "Thanh Thanh, I know you feel sorry for yourself, but your aunt's health can't be used to be angry."

I looked at him and suddenly burst into laughter. That smile was neither warm nor cold, like a piece of paper licked by fire, curling up with a blackened edge.

“Anger?”

I raised my hand and pointed towards the black wooden box covered with a white cloth placed in the corner of the living room.

“What is it? If you're as smart as you, you probably won't be able to recognize it.”

Co Nghien Tri looked in the direction of my hand. The black wooden box was placed neatly on the low cabinet, the edge of the white towel hanging down, and next to it was a bunch of withered daisies. He realized. That's an urn of ashes. Co Nghien Tri seemed to miss a step and took half a step back. He didn't want to step forward, nor did he dare lift that white towel. My voice rang out behind him, so calm that there was no ripple at all.

“Open it and see.”

“It had my mother's photo and name on it.”

“There's also the day she died.”

"That was the day I took Tham Nhuoc Lan to the next city to see the sea."

Co Nghien Tri suddenly turned his head to look at me, the blue veins on the back of his hand clearly visible under the light.

“No way!”

His voice was completely out of tune, as if someone had cornered him.

"The doctor clearly said that he was just angry and righteous. As long as he was treated promptly, he would be fine."

"That's right." I looked at him. “Just need timely emergency treatment.”

I walked to the tea table, picked up a bill that had been folded many times, and placed it in front of him.

"There's still twenty-eight thousand yuan left in the emergency fund. I've called you twenty-seven times."

Co Nghien Tri lowered his head to look at the paper, the four corners were worn out, the red hospital seal on it was strangely dazzling.

“You didn't answer the phone.”

“Then you called back.” He immediately spoke up. “I called you back, but you didn't listen.”

“Because I was at the morgue.”

The room suddenly fell silent.