Chapter 2 — I Posted My Wife's Photo, and This Happened

He wrote a number in the notebook, then crossed it out and wrote it again.

“Fifteen minutes…” He muttered softly, “I've made progress. In the past, you beat me for forty minutes.”

He thought his voice was small enough. But the whole lobby is as quiet as paper. Everyone heard it. Including me. Including Co Bac Than. Including the aunt who had the household registration. The aunt's mouth opened wide into a perfect O. Co Bac Than's voice cracked: "What are you talking about? She used to beat you? What relationship do you two have?" Quy Trach Vien raised his head, his expression extremely painful. That pain is not an act. It's really reactivated psychological obsession (PTSD). He took a deep breath, put down his pen, put his hands together on the table, looking straight at Co Bac Than.

"Mr. Co, I'll tell you the truth. Ms. Lam Thu Thu and I dated for two years."

“The reason for the breakup —” He hesitated, “I was beaten.”

Murmurs echoed throughout the hall. A young policeman on duty carried a mug and passed by, half of the water spilling out without even realizing it. Co Bac Than's face went through three levels of extremely unique changes — Level 1: Shock. His mouth was agape, exactly like the mouth shape in my cover photo. Level 2: Fear. He turned his head to look at me, that look, probably reassessing my level of danger. Level 3: Collapse. He leaned back in his chair, covering his face with his hands.

“Three years… I was married to her for three years, but I didn't know she was a repeat criminal…”

I said nothing. Because I don't know what to say. Saying “That time was just an accident”? The last time I said this, no one believed me. Say “He teased me first”? That is the truth, but right now, the persuasiveness of the truth is clearly not as convincing as my criminal "record". Quy Trach Vien looked at Co Bac Than, a ray of tenderness flashed through his eyes for those who shared the same fate.

“Brother Co, I understand you.”

“I understand that fart!” Co Bac Than exploded, "Do you know why she beat me today? Because of a story! A social network post!"

Quy Trach Vien's right eye twitched.

“…WeChat post?”

His hand suddenly moved towards his phone. At that moment, he and I thought of the same thing. He clicked like. He liked that post. I stared at him. His pharynx moved up and down.

“Ah um, continue taking the minutes, let's take the minutes.”

He bowed his head, rustling his writing, his ears clearly turning red. At this time, the young policeman carrying the men's mug from before wandered over again. He poked his head to look at me, then looked at Quy Trach Vien's notebook, and suddenly slapped his thigh.

“Hey? Isn't this the girl from last time —”

Quy Trach Vien slammed the pen on the table with a "pop" sound, turned his head and threw a bullet-like look that wanted to kill someone. The young policeman fell silent. But his words were half said. Co Bac Than's ears perked up: "What happened last time? What are you going to talk about?" The policeman retracted his neck and whispered: "Last time... when Mr. Quy was still in a relationship... there was a time when people reported him to the police... also he... was beaten by his girlfriend..." The atmosphere in the entire lobby once again froze. All eyes turned to Quy Trach Vien. Quy Trach Vien closed his eyes. The blue veins on his temples were twitching, the corner of his mouth twitched twice, and finally he said in an extremely calm, even ethereal tone:

"That's right. That's why I then took the exam to enter the police school and become a police officer."

Co Bac Than was bewildered. I was also bewildered.

"You're a police officer... is that related to her?" Co Bac Than asked with a trembling voice.

Quy Trach Vien opened his eyes, his eyes distant.

“That year I thought, if I become a law enforcement officer, at least the next time I get beaten up, I can legally… protect myself.”

He stopped for a beat.