Chapter 14 — Don't tease your wife

Looking at my father sleeping soundly in the hospital room, the last bit of hesitation in me was completely broken. That night, I didn't leave the hospital. I pulled the folding chair outside the hospital room door to sit. Thieu Ninh sat with me to arrange documents. At two o'clock in the morning, the police called. Ma Thuc Mai denied instigation, claiming that those relatives did the wrong thing on their own. As for Ha Thua An, he also gritted his teeth and said he didn't know anything. I'm not surprised. After hanging up, my phone rang again. This time it's a strange woman. The first sentence she said made me stiffen. "You're Phuong Anh Tuyet, right?" "I'm Ha Thua An's ex-girlfriend." "He also beat me before." 13 The woman's voice was very deep, but it was like a basin of ice water pouring straight into my back. I asked her who she was. She paused for a few seconds and said her name was Tham Man. She and Ha Thua An were together for two years and almost discussed marriage. But then she left. It's not a breakup. It's about running away. I held the phone tightly, sat in front of the hospital room door, staring at the end of the hallway. Tham Man said, Ha Thua An is very good at acting. At first he was as gentle as possible, bringing breakfast, picking him up after work, remembering every anniversary. When you really consider him a support, his mother will appear. First is managing the housework, then managing money, and finally managing yourself. Listening to her speak, my fingers gradually tightened. These words are so familiar. So familiar that it feels like someone is recounting my past half month all over again. I asked why she was contacting me now. Tham Man said, because she watched the livestream. She thought she had forgotten. But when she saw Ha Thua An sitting in front of the camera, her eyes red and complaining about her injustice, her stomach rolled with nausea. She said, back then he acted the same way. After beating someone, he went to the hospital and wrapped himself in a bandage. Then she turned around and told everyone that it was because she lost control of her emotions, because she didn't know how to be reasonable, because she relied on home to be pampered, that's why she bullied him. I asked her what evidence she had in her hand. She said, there were pictures of the injuries from that time, there was a police receipt, and there were screen messages he sent. And also the messages he just contacted her about last night. My eyes darkened. She said, Ha Thua An asked her to testify. I asked her to tell me that since I was a child, I liked to hit people and had a rough personality. Before getting married, I deliberately hid the fact that I had practiced martial arts. I asked her if she agreed. Tham Man laughed. There was no relief in that laugh, only exhaustion. She said she used to be afraid before. But now I don't want to be afraid anymore. An hour later, Tham Man appeared at a twenty-four-hour convenience store near the hospital. She was wearing a hat and mask. When she pushed the door open and walked in, her shoulders were tense. I didn't ask why she didn't go to the hospital room. Because I understand. There are people who have escaped the mud a long time ago, but the coldness under their feet still cannot be forgotten. Thieu Ninh and I sat in a hidden corner. Tham Man pushed a bag of documents over. The photos inside are faded and old. His wrist was bruised, the corner of his lip was torn, and his shoulder was bleeding in large patches. There is also an emergency medical examination form. The diagnosis is written very clearly. Soft tissue damage due to external force, wrist sprain. Tham Man said that that time Ha Thua An drank a lot. And he also said he wanted to set rules for her. I looked up at her. Her eyes were red. She said, Phuong Anh Tuyet, you are not the first. My chest felt like something was pressing down on me. It's not pain. It's anger. I turned to the last few pages. That is

the messages Ha Thua An sent her yesterday. He said as long as she would testify, he would give her some money. He said that Phuong Anh Tuyet was making too big a deal of it now and had to destroy her honor. He said that once a woman is afraid something will happen to her parents, she will be obedient. He also said that before the safety order is issued, let relatives come to the hospital to threaten them first. I stared at those words, my fingertips cold. Thieu Ninh took each screenshot, his expression cold and scary. She said, this much evidence is enough to piece together everything that happened at the hospital tonight. But Tham Man shook his head. It's not just this much, she said. She bowed her head and pulled out another piece of photocopy paper from her bag. That is the outpatient medical examination record. The date written on it is one month before Ha Thua An and I registered our marriage. I saw the words written on it: *Tends to have disordered emotional control.* Tham Man's voice became tense. He also used this trick back then. He will use the excuse that he cannot control himself. He said he was also very miserable. He said that women who love him must be tolerant. I stared at the paper and suddenly burst into laughter. Turns out he wasn't out of control. But he had already paved the way out for himself in advance.