Chapter 5 — I Don't Need The House You Returned

She is not Ha Dinh Chau, nor is she Lam Man. I will not count an adult's mistakes on a child's head.

“I will stay here until her guardian arrives.”

“But I won't take her home, let alone take care of her for you two.”

“Today, the information in the school records must be corrected.”

“In the future, if anyone arbitrarily puts my name on documents like this, I will directly hold him responsible.”

Ha Dinh Chau said in a deep voice:

“Kieu Tinh Dao, when did you become so cold?”

I hung up the phone directly. Twenty minutes later, Lam Man rushed over. She was still wearing workout clothes and her hair was a bit messy. After entering, she hugged the child first, then turned to look at me.

“Tinh Dao, thank you.”

“I left my phone in the closet so I couldn't hear it.”

I gave her the registration form.

“Clear my name.”

The grateful expression on Lam Man's face immediately stiffened.

“Just an emergency contact.”

"Dinh Chau is just afraid something will happen to the children."

“Then fill in your ex-husband's name, fill in your parents' name, fill in the nanny's name.”

“Anyone can.”

“Don't fill in my name.”

She lowered her head to look at the slip, her eyes gradually turning red.

“My parents are both gone.”

“The children's father is also not trustworthy.”

"Besides Dinh Chau, I really don't know who else I can find."

I pointed to the slip in her hand.

“You can find Ha Dinh Chau.”

“But you can't find me.”

“You and I do not have a relationship to raise children together.”

There are still teachers in the medical room. Lam Man's face became unsightly.

“Tinh Dao, I know you care about me moving into your house.”

“But a child being sick is not a small thing. You are also a mother, how can you say such things?”

This saying again. Because I am a mother, I have to understand her, accept her children, and even give up my own time.

“It's because I'm a mother that I know that taking care of a child is more than just filling in a name.”

“If you want to leave for half a year, then arrange it yourself.”

"Don't arbitrarily arrange other people's time and then say you have no choice."

Lam Man pursed her lips tightly.

“The training course only lasts half a year.”

“It's not like I don't need the kids.”

“I just want to give them a better life.”

“Then you have to bear the consequences of this half year yourself.”

I turned around and left. As soon as I reached the school gate, Ha Dinh Chau's text message arrived.

"It's very difficult for Lam Man to be alone, you don't have to do everything so cruelly."

I don't answer. In the afternoon, the lawyer told me the first draft of the divorce agreement had been prepared. The house is registered under the name Ha Dinh Chau. The property situation after marriage is not complicated. I don't intend to compete for an old Western-style house. I only ask to divide the property I deserve, and at the same time gain the right to directly raise Ha Du An. The lawyer reminded me.

“Currently, she does not have a stable income, and her place to live is temporary.”

"If the other party does not agree, the child custody issue will be relatively difficult to resolve."

Ha Dinh Chau also knows. That's why he was sure that I would return. After hanging up, I sat in the living room of the apartment. The house is just over sixty square meters wide. Before Duong Chi bought this for investment, then left it empty. The living room has no TV, the bedroom only has one bed, and the kitchen is so small that two people turning around will bump into each other. Compared to the old Western-style house, this place really has nothing. But when I sit here, I don't need to ask anyone's permission. I opened the old iron box I brought from home. The lid of the box is rusted. Inside were the frosting tips my mother used when she was young, several yellowed recipe sheets, and a notebook with curled corners. Place a piece of paper on the bottom. It's my mother's handwriting.

“Skills are not dowry.”

“Don't lock it in someone else's closet.”

I stared at that sentence for a long time. While in the hospital, my mother never asked me and Ha Dinh Chau how we lived together. Maybe she saw it early. It's just that I still don't want to admit it. Seven years ago, after writing the novel, I thought I had an ending. I quit my job, had children, and devoted all my time to this family. Ha Dinh Chau went further and further away. And I still stand still in that ending, waiting for him to return from time to time to prove that the old promises have not expired. Now the baking room is no more. It was like someone tore out the last page for me. In the evening Duong Chi came here, saw the formula sheets on the table and asked me:

“Do you want to start over?”