Chapter 2 — I'm No Longer A Substitute

I continued to play dumb, but when I saw that smile—which was completely inconsistent with his usual cold aura, my heart suddenly trembled, my hands clutching the blanket tightly. The clearer his smile became, the more frightened I became. He reached out and patted my head, his tone suddenly carrying a rare bit of pampering: "Just teasing you. Hurry up and eat. Just now your parents told us to go to dinner together." Doubt immediately arose in my heart. Those two people, why did they suddenly call me and Nguyen Thanh to come with them? Normally, they only contact me privately, but over and over again there's only one thing: they want me to speak politely on the pillow, so that Nguyen Thanh will pour more capital to help the Luong family, which is in financial crisis. Each time, I obediently agreed. Then in the evening, he spent all his capital acting coy, pretending to be stupid and naive, causing Nguyen Thanh to agree to let the Luong family invest. The more I see the Luong family's decline, the more... happy I feel. I guess this time the invitation to dinner, eight out of ten, is also for money. However... the truth is even more shocking than I imagined! When we arrived at the Luong family's house, I was stunned - Luong Tieu was also present. A family of three is acting out a warm, harmonious, happy family reunion. As if... the person who was slapped in the face by Luong's mother was not her. The person whose black card was cut by Luong's father was not her. Seeing us enter, all three of them enthusiastically welcomed Nguyen Thanh and invited him to sit in the chair. What about me? Treated like air, no one glanced at it. I didn't feel sad, I voluntarily pulled out a chair and sat down. Nguyen Thanh politely refused, but Father Luong immediately used his position as an elder to force him to accept. Nguyen Thanh just curled her lips slightly, then calmly sat right next to me: "No need, uncle. I can sit next to Tieu Am." As soon as the sentence "Tieu Am" was released, all three people on the other side turned their heads to look at me. And I was scared to death by Nguyen Thanh's intimate call. At that moment, I also saw Luong Tieu's vicious eyes glaring straight at me. I quietly observed, then quickly guessed the general situation. The corners of my lips curled up, deliberately asking: "Well, why doesn't brother-in-law come?" The three people opposite immediately turned white and their faces turned pale. Especially Luong Tieu, his eyes seemed to pop out and glared at me. Speaking of this "brother-in-law", I also consider it as an acquaintance. His name is Hua Nham, his appearance is passable. Hua Nham is the son of a veteran employee of Luong Thi Group. The first time they met me was when they came to my house to deliver documents, and I saw that there was an outsider, so I politely smiled at him. 5 Turns out, just because of that polite smile that day, Hua Nham had the illusion that I was secretly sending love and waves to him! After that, he started harassing me continuously. I couldn't bear it anymore and decided to block all contact. Seeing that I didn't take the bait, Hua Nham immediately changed his target and started to stick to Luong Tieu. Even right in front of me, he kissed and hugged Luong Tieu, intentionally showing off his love, thinking he would anger me. I just feel... nauseous. And now, I really want to know, what exactly did that narcissistic straight guy do, to make the family's "big lady" The Luong family - who used to be arrogant and arrogant in the world of famous ladies - had to bow her head, admit her mistake and run home like this. You must know, at that time, because he wanted to be with Hua Nham, Luong Tieu even said he had no love, and straight-face announced that he would cut off relations with the Luong family! Who would have thought that at this moment, Luong Tieu suddenly... burst into tears. She suddenly rushed in front of Nguyen Thanh, her voice choked with sobs: "Brother Thanh... we grew up together since childhood, we were the same childhood sweethearts... I... I recognized the wrong person, so I let my sister marry you... Now... can you forgive me...?" Me: “…” Nguyen Thanh next to me paused slightly, instinctively leaned towards me, and replied in a faint voice: “Of course.” Luong Tieu immediately cried even harder, sobbing as he said: "Hu huh huh... Mr. Thanh... I... I was miserably deceived by that guy Hua Nham... He even planned to sell me to Southeast Asia... If it wasn't for me risking my life to escape, then now... we would have no chance to meet again... Hu hu hu..." After hearing that, I almost choked with laughter on the spot. It didn't stop there, Luong Tieu was shameless, he even puffed out his chest, pretending to be indifferent, wanting to fall into Nguyen Thanh's arms. Without saying a word, I waved my hand right in front of her face. Luong Tieu was stopped and stood there stunned, so embarrassed that his face turned red. In the end, it was Luong's mother who had to step up and gently and sweetly pull her back to her seat. I just find it… ridiculous. Even a blind person can see that this drama of the Luong family clearly wants me to automatically withdraw and let Nguyen Thanh marry my "golden sister" Luong Tieu. Ha! Don't dream! Since Nguyen Thanh has been "slept" by me, she is mine! Luong Tieu has robbed me of so many things, how in the world can she be left in peace again! During the meal, the atmosphere gradually became "warm and harmonious". I just bowed my head silently, concentrating on eating, while the three members of the Luong family kept bringing up one thing after another with Nguyen Thanh, treating me like an outsider. Luong's mother enthusiastically picked up a piece of abalone for Nguyen Thanh, her voice full of flattery: "General Nguyen, since childhood, we have pampered Luong Am too much, causing her to be stubborn. She has a low education, limited vision, normally I hope you don't be too picky with her. If you have time, you should visit and talk to Luong Tieu more, she graduated from the International University of Arts!" …Ha ha, the intention is clear: looking down on me as a "classy girl", wanting to pave the way for the real genius to ascend the throne. But who would have thought, Nguyen Thanh calmly picked up a piece of abalone and put it in my bowl, with a calm voice: "No, I find Tieu Am very interesting and a very nice person." He paused for a moment, then slowly uttered four words: "I like her very much." After speaking, he slightly raised his head, his deep eyes locked on me. I'm no longer scared by him like before, on the contrary... I feel warm inside. From childhood until now, except for Giang Ha, there is only one man willing to open his mouth to defend me. I agreed and acted coyly: "That's so disgusting~ Husband, don't say these words at the dinner table~ What's wrong... we're home, let's go into the bedroom and talk about it~" Giang Ha once teased me for having "romance allergy". Any sweet words that reach my ears, I will respond in a joking tone. Because... half my life ago, no one ever gave me anything some gentleness. I have never placed any expectations on anyone else, especially Nguyen Thanh. I don't understand this person at all. At this moment, a cold snort sounded from the opposite side. Luong Tieu rolled his eyes in disdain, his voice just loud enough for the whole table to hear: "If you can say this kind of thing, don't you feel embarrassed?" I was just about to open my mouth to refute when... Unexpectedly, Nguyen Thanh made a fatal counterattack today, even facing Luong Tieu directly, his voice was decisive and cold: "I don't feel ashamed. What Tieu Am said, I have never felt ashamed." The whole room suddenly fell silent. I feel like this is just the beginning. The Luong family is definitely not willing to give up... Having finished speaking, Nguyen Thanh gently patted my shoulder, his cold eyes looking straight at Luong Tieu. I was... stunned on the spot. Oh my god, what kind of show is this?! Since when did my Nguyen Thanh open up the scenario of pampering his wife right in front of everyone like this!? Could it be that... were you stimulated by my farewell letter full of "deep feelings"? But thanks to his reaction, a thought flashed in my mind - I could use it to find a way to escape from him! Seeing that Luong Tieu was both embarrassed and angry, I immediately pretended to be "conciliatory", quickly smiled and said: "Sister, you know a lot, I plan to visit Giang Ha in a few days, just in time for our house to have an exhibition, or should I take Nguyen Thanh instead?" The hand on my shoulder suddenly tightened a bit. Nguyen Thanh's eyes locked on me for a long time, but I deliberately ignored him. Seeing the unconcealed joy on Luong Tieu's face, I just felt... ridiculous. Luong Tieu immediately responded, his voice full of excitement, even pretending to be dignified: "Um... okay, let me go on a trip with Mr. Thanh." Luong's parents saw that I was "generous" like that, not only were they unreasonable but also had a thicker skin, and immediately took the opportunity to open their mouths and ask Nguyen Thanh to invest in the next round, not bothering to beat around the bush. Nguyen Thanh immediately lost all interest, put one hand on my shoulder, the other slowly took a sip of wine, and coldly said: "While having a family meal, why bring up work matters?" Just a simple sentence, combined with the cold air radiating out, made Mr. and Mrs. Luong only smile wryly, awkwardly withdraw, not daring to ask anymore. 5 On the way home, Nguyen Thanh didn't say a word to me the whole way. I'm too lazy to comfort him, who knows what illness he will develop again. I was busy dealing with "debt collection" messages from Luong's parents. Father Luong: 【Do you still want to meet your biological parents?】 I raised my eyebrows and calmly replied: 【When I was little, I wanted to, now I don't need to use them to threaten me.】 Father Luong continued to act friendly: 【Am Am, we had a hard time raising our children, now the Luong family has serious financial problems. You are a member of the Luong family, are you planning to stand by and watch without helping?】