Chapter 7 — I Don't Need The House You Returned

It's like that again. He can always quickly come up with a seemingly perfect solution. The premise was that I had to return to his house, accept his equipment, and continue living in the life he had arranged.

“I won't go back.”

Ha Dinh Chau's face darkened.

“Lam Man has moved to the living room.”

“My clothes have also been delivered.”

“Tomorrow on the rooftop we will start removing all the children's furniture.”

“In the end, what else do you want?”

He stared at me.

“Do you think that just because you sell cakes for one day, you have the ability to take Du An away?”

Ha Du An stood at the door, his face pale. I walked over and helped the boy put his coat back on.

“Let's not talk about these things in front of the children.”

Ha Dinh Chau laughed coldly.

“I also know you will be heartbroken.”

“So why are you still asking for a divorce?”

I raised my head to look at him.

"The person who requests a divorce is not necessarily the person who breaks up the family."

“The person who little by little pushes others out of their position, then asks them to be patient for their children, is that person.”

Ha Dinh Chau did not say anything more. After he took Ha Du An away, I closed the door. The next morning, a truck stopped under the apartment building. The delivery staff delivered a specialized oven, a dough mixer, a dough proofing cabinet and a set of cake molds. All are brands I wanted to buy in the past but couldn't bring myself to buy them. The person paying the invoice is Ha Dinh Chau. I asked the staff to return it all. In the afternoon, he called me.

“Why don't you accept the device?”

“I use whatever I can buy.”

“Do you have to be so clear with me?”

“We are not divorced yet.”

“Very soon there will be a divorce.”

He took a deep breath.

“Kieu Tinh Dao, I have given in.”

“Lam Man may not be in the master bedroom.”

“After she comes to Nam Thanh, I will hire another maid.”

“I don't need to take care of three children alone.”

I immediately realized the problem.

“Hire another maid?”

"Auntie Dao still takes care of the housework, and even hires another person to pick up and drop off the children."

“So what am I in charge of?”

“I am the female head of the family.”

"The children's activities still have to be taken care of."

“The store can be given to someone else to manage.”

“If you want to build a brand, I will invest in you.”

I suddenly felt tired. Restore the baking room, buy equipment, hire helpers, open a store for me. At first glance, each task looks like it's solving a problem. But he never thought that my life could be without him.

“Ha Dinh Chau, I will not raise my child for Lam Man.”

“Why do you have to speak so harshly?”

“She only trained for half a year.”

"During the day the two children go to school, and in the evening there is a maid."

“Du An also likes to have friends.”

“Half a year later, will she return?”

"Of course."

“Have you seen her training contract?”

The other end of the line was silent for a moment.

“What do you mean?”

"Nothing."

I hung up. That evening, Lam Man proactively contacted me for the first time. She sent me a photo. Three children are sitting in front of the dining table. In front of the twins was the strawberry cake they had just bought. In front of Ha Du An there was only a glass of milk. Lam Man texted:

“Du An doesn't like to eat sweets So I didn't cut the cake for him."

I stared at the photo. Ha Du An likes to eat sweets. It's just that he's allergic to strawberries. The family has never bought strawberry cake before. Right after that, she sent another message.

“Dinh Chau said she has been selling goods at the market recently.”

“Tinh Dao, it's a good thing for women to have their own jobs.”

“But a child's childhood only comes once.”

“These past few days Du An has been asking if she has to go to work every day from now on.”

I didn't answer her. I called Aunt Dao.

“Is Du An sleeping yet?”

"Not yet."

“What did the boy have for dinner today?”

Aunt Dao lowered her voice.

“Miss Lam took the children out to eat.”

“Du An barely ate anything.”

“After I got home, I cooked a bowl of noodles for the master.”

I tightened my grip on the phone.

“Is the boy around?”

A moment later, Ha Du An's voice rang out on the phone.

“Tomorrow the school has a performance with parents, will mom come?”

“Mom will come.”

“Don't you still have to go sell cakes?”

“Mom has postponed the delivery time.”

The boy was silent for two seconds.

“Dad said mom is very busy right now.”

“No matter how busy mom is, she will come.”

“What time does it start?”

“Two o'clock in the afternoon.”