Chapter 1 — I Used To Love You To Exhaustion

After the miscarriage, Kieu Van Ngoc became an extremely exemplary "Mrs. Hoac". She no longer chirps and shares daily stories with Hoac Canh Xuyen, does not come to the company to visit him or bring him food, and is no longer suspicious and jealous because of the ambiguous messages between him and his ex-wife. Towards his stepchild, she also became tolerant. Regardless of whether the boy skips class and fights, goes out at night and doesn't come home, or hangs out with his biological mother at the bar every day. At night, Kieu Van Ngoc realized someone was lying on the bed, a hand with clear joints slid into her waist. She closed her eyes, her voice was sleepy: "Don't... I'm very tired today." Hoac Canh Xuyen's movements stopped. He was wearing a black bathrobe, water droplets falling from his hair, flowing along the lines of his toned muscles, accentuating his cold and forbidding appearance. At this moment, his angular face was covered with a layer of cold frost: "Kieu Van Ngoc, what's wrong with you lately?"

"Don't text me, don't bother to take care of Than Than. What kind of person are you being Mrs. Hoac?"

Kieu Van Ngoc had no choice but to open her eyes, her tone was calm: "Didn't everyone say that a qualified Mrs. Hoac must know how to keep her duties and not worry about how much money she has?" A month ago, Hoac Than - the child of Hoac Canh Xuyen and his ex-wife - pushed her down the stairs. She was seven months pregnant at the time. The painful fall to the floor caused blood to flow freely. Hoo Than heard her moaning in pain, his face full of disgust: "The pain is worth it! Who told you to seduce my father! The third child deserves to die!" But she is not a little girl. Then, seeing her faint, Hoac Than panicked and called the adults in the house. When she opened her eyes and woke up in the hospital, the first person she saw was Hoc Canh Xuyen. He wore a high-quality tailored suit, conveniently loosened his tie, and said indifferently: "Than Than said you fell on your own, why are you so careless?" Kieu Van Ngoc's face turned pale, she suppressed the intense pain and said: "It was he who pushed me! If you look at the camera, you'll know!"

"He's so young, how could he lie!" Hoac Canh Xuyen's eyes showed impatience and disappointment.

“I know you care about the fact that Than Than is Thanh Nguyet's blood, so you want to have a child of your own.”

"But if you want to continue to stay in the Huo family, then keep your duty to me! Don't just be jealous all day long!"

“It's okay... from now on, you don't need to take care of Than Than anymore.”

The body after a miscarriage is sore and debilitating, but it's nothing compared to the dull pain rising from the bottom of my heart. Thoughts are brought back to the present. Huo Canh Xuyen's face changed slightly: "That child..."

“No need to repeat it again. Don't worry, I'm not angry.” Kieu Van Ngoc interrupted, without a single ripple in her eyes.

Hoo Canh Xuyen frowned. Kieu Van Ngoc is younger than him and has always been very clingy. In the past, if he said just one harsh sentence, her eyes would turn red and she would ask pitifully: "In your heart, there is only your ex-wife Co Thanh Nguyet, right? You don't love me, right?" Being scolded by Hooc Than, she also snuggled into his chest and lamented: "I consider him like my own child, but he still hates me." Previously, Huo Canh Xuyen found it troublesome, feeling that Kieu Van Ngoc was incompetent and did not understand things. But now, falling down the stairs, bleeding so much, and losing my child. Kieu Van Ngoc didn't cry or make a fuss, but her mood was so calm. Clearly this was the mature, dignified look he always wanted to see in her, but an indescribable confusion arose in his heart. Huo Canh Xuyen suddenly asked: "Why? Do you blame me for not teaching Than Than?"

"He is my only child, he was still young, I thought you had separated me and Thanh Nguyet. It's normal for him to hate you... that's normal."

Kieu Van Ngoc laughed softly: "Don't think so much. I really don't mind."

“Or do you want me to be like before, crying loudly and alarming your parents, then letting them punish me by kneeling all night in the street?”

Hoo Canh Xuyen was about to say something, but Kieu Van Ngoc closed her eyes: "Go to sleep, I'm tired." His heart tightened, he always felt like something was different. At this moment, the phone rang. Co Thanh Nguyet's voice was filled with sobs: "Canh Xuyen, the power in the apartment suddenly went out, can you come over and keep me company?" Huo Canh Xuyen instinctively glanced at Kieu Van Ngoc. Kieu Van Ngoc still lay still, as if she hadn't heard anything. An unknown fire surged in his heart, trying to suppress his voice: "I'm married, you look for me in the middle of the night, do you think it's reasonable?"

"I'm sorry Canh Xuyen, I'm just so scared..."

Co Thanh Nguyet's cry softened his heart. He had to sigh helplessly and say to Kieu Van Ngoc: "I'm going out for a moment. After all, she is Than Than's mother, I'm afraid something will happen to her..."

“It's okay. I understand.”

Finally, she spoke up, her attitude still as indifferent as ever. How could she be so indifferent? Huo Canh Xuyen's face became even colder, but Co Thanh Nguyet was still crying, so he had to leave in a hurry. After he left, Kieu Van Ngoc sat up and wiped the corners of her eyes. No tears. Indeed, when enough disappointment has accumulated, people will no longer feel sad. The phone screen lit up, it was a text message from the professor who guided her during her Master's degree. [The University of California approved my Ph.D. application. One more month and the visa will be ready.] [I'm happy that you can return to continue your education, but will your husband agree? Don't these wealthy families like their wives to stay at home and be housewives?] Kieu Van Ngoc lazily raised the corners of her lips, typing on the keyboard to reply: [It's okay, teacher, I'm not going to have a husband anymore.] Chapter 2 The professor was silent for a few seconds and then called.

“What's going on, haven't you liked him for many years?”

Kieu Van Ngoc was stunned, pulled into a stream of distant memories. The Kieu family and the Hoac family are substitutes. Kieu's parents like to travel everywhere, so they often send her to Huo Canh Xuyen to look after. Huo Canh Xuyen was always the one who rushed to school to pick her up as soon as the meeting ended. He was wearing a suit leaning against the Maybach, his sharp, angular face attracting the attention of many people. A few of her classmates looked at her face in bewilderment and asked her: "Is that your boyfriend?" Kieu Van Ngoc's heart jumped and quickly denied. When he took her home, she couldn't help but poke her head out and ask: "Hoo Canh Xuyen, can I marry you in the future?"

“Don't be rude, call me brother.” Hoac Canh Xuyen smiled faintly, extinguished the cigarette in his hand, and reached out to pinch his cheek Miss. “Also, don't say these words, your girlfriend will be angry.”

Kieu Van Ngoc was stunned. That's when she realized that Huo Canh Xuyen was secretly having a passionate love affair with someone behind the adults' backs. The other person is a brilliant female star, with an enthusiastic, proud and shining personality. Kieu Van Ngoc had to hide her feelings in her heart and focus on her studies. Later, she graduated from university. Huo Canh Xuyen argued loudly with his parents and insisted on registering his marriage with Co Thanh Nguyet.