Chapter 10 — Hockey Stars Can't Overcome My Figure

Unexpected Allies

Yen Thao spent three days pondering before deciding to tell Chan Phong about her suspicions. Not because she didn't trust him — on the contrary, she realized she trusted him more than she was willing to admit — but because once she said it out loud to the second person, everything would no longer be a vague hunch that she could silently put aside if she felt scared.

She arranged to meet him late one evening, after practice, at the empty stands of the White Tiger Ice Palace - where he sat next to her for the first time without saying anything on her most depressed evening. It seemed like they both implicitly understood that was the best place for important conversations, away from the eyes and ears of anyone on the team.

"I need to tell you something," she started, her voice a bit hesitant. "But first, I need to know if you're willing to keep it completely confidential, even if I'm not sure about anything I'm about to say."

"I heard," he replied, sitting up straight, his eyes serious.

She presented everything she had discovered - the inconsistencies in the timeline announced by Ha Vy, baby Bin's strange reaction, and even vague clues about Kim Vong Group that she had not yet verified. Chan Phong listened without interrupting, only occasionally nodding. When she finished, he was silent for a long time before speaking.

“I trust you,” he said, simply but firmly. "And I think I can help."

"How?" she asked, a little surprised by his confidence.

"Before moving here," Chan Phong explained, "I was involved in a contract dispute with my old club, related to injury compensation that they deliberately delayed paying. I hired an independent financial investigator to track down illegal payments in the club's books, enough to force them to settle my rights properly. That person's name is Cao Viet Anh, and he works very discreetly and reliably. If you agree, I can contact you. there."

Yen Thao felt a glimmer of hope for the first time after many days of being alone in doubt. "What's the cost?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Let me take care of that part," Chan Phong said.

"No," she shook her head immediately. "If we do this, I want it to be fair. I'll pay half, even if it means I have to use the savings I've been saving to take a study abroad trip I've never taken."

Chan Phong looked at her for a moment, something shining in his eyes like admiration. "Okay, it's up to you," he conceded. "But you should know, I didn't offer to help because I felt sorry for you. I offered because I believe the truth deserves to be known, no matter who it benefits."

Three days later, they met Cao Viet Anh at a quiet cafe on the outskirts of Bang Giang city, far from any cameras that could recognize Yen Thao or Chan Phong. Cao Viet Anh is a middle-aged man with a calm appearance, carrying an old leather briefcase and a habit of carefully observing everyone around him before starting a story.

"Mr. Chan Phong briefly explained the situation," he said, after ordering a cup of hot tea. "But I want to hear directly from you, Ms. Yen Thao, because you are the one who knows the most about the internal details."

Yen Thao presented the entire issue systematically, the same way she would present a tactical analysis — clearly, with evidence, with a specific timeline. Cao Viet Anh took careful notes, occasionally asking clarifying questions.

"This clue about Kim Vong Group," he said after she finished, "is actually very interesting. I have heard rumors about the financial situation of that group through several contacts in the industry. If I remember correctly, they are in serious trouble after a series of failed real estate investments in the last two years. The group's chairman, Mr. Dinh Ba Vong, is known to have a rather reckless business style, often placing big bets on projects. has not been thoroughly evaluated."

"Dinh Ba Vong," Yen Thao repeated, feeling a coincidence that could not be ignored. "Is that Ha Vy's father?"

"I need to verify the exact family relationship," Cao Viet Anh said, "but if true, this could be a very clear financial motive behind the whole story. A company on the brink of bankruptcy, a daughter returning to a rich and famous man at the most difficult time — it's a pattern I've seen in many similar cases."

"Can you investigate further?" Chan Phong asked. "About Kim Vong's cash flow, about its relationship with any clinics or hospitals?"

"I can," Cao Viet Anh nodded, "but this takes time and must be done with extreme caution. If the other side discovers someone is investigating, they can erase their tracks or counterattack by reporting us for invading our privacy. I need both of you to commit to absolute confidentiality, and most importantly, not to reveal any signs that you, Ms. Yen Thao, are actively investigating — because you are the one whose motives are most susceptible to suspicion." in the eyes of public opinion.""

Yen Thao nodded, understanding the severity of that warning. "I understand. I will continue to work normally, without revealing anything."

Before they left the cafe, Cao Viet Anh held Yen Thao back for a while, his tone becoming more serious. "I want to ask you a question, Ms. Yen Thao, and I hope you answer honestly. Are you doing this because you want to win back Mr. Bao Duy, or because you want the truth to be revealed, regardless of the final result? I ask because your motives will determine how we conduct the investigation, and also how you will face the result, whatever it is."

Yen Thao thought for a moment before answering, realizing this was a question she also needed to ask herself. "I'm not entirely sure how I feel right now," she said honestly. "But I know one thing: I cannot continue to live with the silence and the contradictions I have seen. If baby Bin is really Bao Duy's child, I will accept that truth and walk out of his life in a dignified way. But if this is a setup, I want it to be exposed, not to win him back, but because no one deserves to be taken advantage of in this way, including an innocent child who is being placed in the middle of a chess game without his knowledge."

Cao Viet Anh nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "That's the answer I needed to hear. With that kind of motivation, I'm willing to put all my effort into this case." He turned to Chan Phong. "And you, what did you join for?"

Chan Phong did not hesitate. "Because I believe in justice for those who silently contribute, and because I cannot stand by and watch someone I respect being treated unfairly without doing anything."

The meeting ended with a brief agreement: Cao Viet Anh would begin tracing Kim Vong Group's cash flow and explore possible connections with any medical facilities related to baby Bin's birth records, while Yen Thao and Chan Phong continued to collect more conflicting details from the internal side, as discreetly as possible.

On the way back to the city, sitting in Chan Phong's car, Yen Thao looked out the window, feeling a strange sense of relief even though there was still a long, uncertain road ahead.

"Thank you," she said, "for not letting me face this alone."

"I don't think you need to thank me forever," Chan Phong replied, his eyes still looking straight at the road, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "But if you want, I don't mind listening a few more times."

She laughed lightly, for the first time in many days she felt like her laughter was truly natural, not forced. In that brief moment, sitting in the car quietly driving through the night streets of Bang Giang, she realized something she wasn't ready to name: that next to this man, she felt safe in a way that she no longer clearly remembered feeling with Bao Duy.

The car stopped in front of her apartment. Before opening the door to get out of the car, she turned to look at him. "No matter what the results of Mr. Viet Anh's investigation are, I want you to know that what you are doing for me right now, not many people would be willing to do without asking for anything in return."

"I don't do this to ask for anything," Chan Phong replied, his voice gentle but sincere. "But if you ask me if I have any expectations, maybe I just hope that one day, you will see your own value as clearly as I and many others on the team have seen it for a long time." She was silent for a moment before smiling and getting out of the car, carrying a warm feeling in her heart that she knew she needed time to fully understand the meaning of.