Chapter 5 — Hundred Million in Exchange for Freedom

I just woke up, still in my pajamas, toothbrush in my mouth. Bow your head and look —

“Your 846 account received a transfer of 100,000,000.00 VND (100 million Yuan) at 09:07 on April 17, 2024.”

A string of zeros almost made me swallow my toothbrush. I counted three times. 100 million. Round 100 million. Really back. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, toothpaste foam still stuck to my lips, looking at that text message, my hands shaking. Not out of fear. It's excitement. Extremely refreshing excitement that has never been experienced in the past 3 years. Three years. 3,000 yuan a month. For 3 years combined, he gave me a total of 108,000 yuan in living expenses. Now, he compensated 100 million yuan in one lump sum. It's equivalent to him giving me 927 years of living expenses in one go. Word. Big words. I threw the toothbrush into the cup, ran barefoot to the living room — no, the living room of the apartment I had just rented. Open the refrigerator, take a box of strawberry milk, take a selfie with it, and send it to Ha Lo. Three seconds later, Ha Lo made a video call. I picked up the phone. Ha Lo in the screen was applying makeup, holding her mascara halfway, screaming loudly into the camera:

"Ah ah ah 100 million!!! To Duong, are you the richest pregnant woman in the city!!!"

“Speak softly.” I took a sip of milk, "I still have to live a humble life."

"Be modest, fart! Now you can go buy a house near the school for the three kids!"

"Don't rush, go for a general prenatal checkup first."

I rubbed my slightly protruding belly, calculating my next plan. One, find the best obstetric hospital to register, the risk of giving birth to triplets is much higher than giving birth to one child, I need the most professional medical team. Second, find a luxury apartment to rest assured during pregnancy. Dad — The phone rings again. Some strange. I answered the phone.

“To Duong?”

Female voice. Sour, impolite, and familiar. Tran Dien's mother. My ex-mother-in-law. Ms. Luu Thuy Lan.

“Mom — no,” I suddenly braked, “Mrs. Luu, is something wrong?”

The other end of the line was silent for a second, then exploded.

"To Duong, what do you mean! After you divorced Dien, you turned around and refused to accept anyone? I tell you, the child in your belly is of the Tran family, you must give it to us when you are born!"

Wow. News travels quickly. It seems Tran Dien has already informed his mother. But —

"Mrs. Liu, on the black and white divorce agreement, it is clearly written that custody of the child belongs to me. If you have an opinion, go find your son, find your son's lawyer. Don't look for me."

“Miss!” Her voice screeched an octave, "How can we descendants of the Tran family follow a woman like you who was kicked out of the house!"

Get kicked out of the house? I looked down at the 100 million money transfer message on my phone and laughed. This broom is very expensive to sweep.

"Mrs. Liu," my voice was calm as if I was reading a weather report, "First, the agreement has been signed and is legally enforceable. Second, your son himself said the child is a burden, he doesn't need it. Third —"

I stopped for a moment.

"Third, you forced me to drink bitter medicine for 3 years, and up to now my stomach is still broken. The child can safely survive up to this point, all thanks to my hard life. So this child, it is not your turn to come and take it."

The breathing on the other end of the line became urgent.

“To Duong, don't think you can hold 100 million can show off their martial arts prowess! I tell you, Lam Tu Vien is the one worthy of our little Dien! You are just a—”

I hung up the phone. Neat and decisive. Then put this number on the blacklist. Ha Lo was still at the beginning of the video witnessing the whole thing, her mouth wide open enough to fit a chicken egg:

“Damn it... your ex-mother-in-law also has no shame, right? When forcing you to take medicine, why didn't you say you were from the Tran family?"