Chapter 6 — I'm Busy All My Life, And You're Lonely

There are light dark circles under Tong Tuyet's eyes, clearly she didn't sleep well last night.

“Have you eaten yet?” Luc Kien Quan asked.

Tong Tuyet sat down on the chair and took out her phone to look at it. Luc's mother brushed her teeth and washed her face. When she saw Tong Tuyet, she coldly snorted and said nothing. The atmosphere was stiff as if frozen. At eight o'clock, the nurse came to announce that at nine o'clock the coronary angiography procedure would be performed, and the family needed to sign. Tong Tuyet stood up.

“Let me go sign.”

Luc's mother argued: "Let me go, I'm his mother, I should have signed!" Tong Tuyet did not fight and sat back on the chair. Luc's mother followed the nurse out of the hospital room. In the room, only Luc Kien Quan and Tong Tuyet remained. With the patient and family next to him, they were very thoughtful and did not interfere.

“Tu Ngang said he would be back at the weekend.” Luc Kien Quan spoke first.

“Yeah, he called me last night to tell me.”

“What does it ask?”

“Ask me how the situation is now.” Tong Tuyet replied.

“What happens after that?”

“I said I have to stay in the hospital, maybe have surgery.” Tong Tuyet raised her eyes, "The boy said he would rush home after finishing the project."

Luc Kien Quan nodded. The two fell into silence again for a while.

“Tong Tuyet,” Luc Kien Quan raised his voice, “What you said last night…”

“It's all true.” Tong Tuyet interrupted.

Luc Kien Quan's next words were stuck in his throat.

“I don't want to take care of you, that's the truth.” Tong Tuyet looked straight at him, "But I will still take care of you, because now I am still your legal wife, this is my responsibility."

She spoke slowly, almost articulating every word.

“But that bit of extra-responsible affection is gone.”

Luc Kien Quan's chest became even more frustrated. Even more suffocating than when my heart attack recurred.

“Just because last year I…” He asked softly.

“It wasn't just last year.” Tong Tuyet said, "Luc Kien Quan, the problem between us is absolutely not just about that one thing."

She bowed her head and continued looking at the phone. On the screen is each essay, she is taking editing notes. Even while in the hospital, she never gave up on work. Luc Kien Quan stared at her face. Tong Tuyet is forty-six years old, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes are clearly visible, and her temples are also streaked with silver. But she still looks very pleasing to the eye. That quiet beauty, like an old faded painting.

“Summer 2003,” Luc Kien Quan suddenly spoke, “Are you…”

Tong Tuyet's hand stopped for a moment. She did not raise her head.

“You found it?”

Luc Kien Quan's voice was dry.

“That little box… when I cleaned out the drawer, it was convenient…”

“Can you open it conveniently?” Tong Tuyet smiled lightly, her smile carrying a hint of sarcasm, "Luc Kien Quan, that box is stuffed deep inside, with several thick sweaters on top, how 'handy' do you have to be to pull it out?"

Luc Kien Quan was suddenly speechless.

“What do you want to ask?” Tong Tuyet put down the phone, "Ask me why you didn't tell me you were pregnant? Ask me why you went to surgery alone?"

“You…” Luc Kien Quan moved his lips.

“Is it helpful to tell you?” Tong Tuyet's voice was very calm, her calmness made people panic, "At that time I was working on a project in Nanning, I didn't return to Chengdu for three months. I called you, you said you were busy, told me to worry about it myself. You told me I was pregnant, you said 'Oh, I know, wait until I get home and then figure it out'. What was the result? You I didn't come home, I didn't get many phone calls, I didn't even ask any questions."

She stopped for a moment.

“Then the baby died, I called you, I was at the banquet table, the people around were so noisy that I could barely hear you. I said I had a miscarriage, he said 'Why are you so careless? Wait until I'm done with this job and come visit you'. What then? Are you coming back?”

Luc Kien Quan's hands were shaking.