Chapter 15 — I Was Evicted From Home In The Middle Of The Night, I Rebuilt A Home For My Children

Then he spoke:

“Nem Niem.”

“Dad, can you draw a picture too?”

“Dad, can you draw?”

“Dad, try it.”

Niem Niem immediately gave him the red pen. Han Thanh received it. Draw on a blank page a distorted circle. Niem Niem tilted her head to look. A moment later concluded:

“Dad, you draw so bad.”

Han Thanh burst out laughing. The smile is very forced.

“Dad is really bad at drawing.”

End of meeting. Han Thanh took my mother and me back to the apartment gate. At that moment, To Mang came to pick up Niem Niem. She took her to buy a birthday cake. So only Han Thanh and I were left standing. He looked at me. After a while he said:

“I'm telling the truth.”

“I want to remarry.”

I looked at him.

“Han Thanh.”

“What I said in the last phone call.”

“You still don't understand?”

“I understand.”

“But I think…”

“Niam Niem needs a complete family.”

I laughed.

“She has a complete family.”

“It's just that there's no you in that family.”

Han Thanh's throat moved slightly. The voice also became smaller.

“I never thought about…”

“Give me another chance?”

“I gave you a chance.”

I calmly looked at him.

“Three years ago.”

“At night I stood on the balcony calling.”

“You have a chance.”

“Half a year ago.”

“When you let your mother kick me and Niem Niem out of the house at two in the morning.”

“You have a chance too.”

“But I chose Trieu Tieu Man.”

“Choose my mother.”

“Choose the child you thought was your son.”

“Choose another family.”

“You were tricked.”

Han Thanh spoke urgently.

“I didn't know the baby wasn't mine.”

“You were deceived.”

I nodded.

“You were deceived.”

“But no one lied to you about kicking me out of the house.”

Han Thanh was silent. Can't say another word. I took a step back.

“This month's pension has already been transferred.”

he said.

"I know."

“Don't be late anymore.”

“It won't.”

“So that's okay.”

I turned around and walked into the apartment complex. Swipe magnetic card. The iron gate behind slowly closed. I don't turn around. There's really no turning back. The following days passed very quickly. I quit my job at the supermarket. It's not because there's no need for that job anymore. But because I found a better job. A college friend of To Mang opened an educational consulting company in the East of the city. The company is lacking an administrative manager. Salary 5,500 yuan. Pay full insurance. Off Saturday, Sunday.

“I majored in administrative management.”

“Don't continue to stay at the supermarket.”

To Mang is the person who helped me submit my application. Even at the interview, she called in advance to discuss. Interview day. HR looked at the resume and asked:

“Do you have more than two years of blank work experience on your resume?”

“I stay home and take care of the children.”

“How old is your child now?”

“Almost five years old.”

“All-day kindergarten.”

“Does not affect work.”

Personnel nodded. A letter of acceptance was sent on the spot. First day of work. I picked up Niem Niem from kindergarten to the company building. The girl sat on the sofa in the lobby. Read comics yourself. Wait for me to get off work and then go home together.

“Mom's new office is bigger than the supermarket.”

“How do you know?”

“Because the lobby is already so big.”

I laughed. Niem Niem also laughed. The baby is changing her teeth. Missing a front tooth. Every time I laugh, it's a breeze. Han Thanh's pension was transferred on time. Each 3,000 yuan a month. Automatically transferred to account. Sometimes he even transferred a few hundred yuan more. The notes usually say:

“Buy crayons for Niem Niem.”

I don't return it. That was originally his responsibility. He met Niem Niem once. Weekend afternoon. The location is still McDonald's under the apartment complex. Niem Niem's attitude towards him also gradually changed. Become a kind of moderate intimacy.

“Last time dad said he would teach me to draw dinosaurs.”

“Dad teaches today.”

Han Thanh squatted on the ground. Hold crayons. Draw a distorted tyrannosaur on paper. Niem Niem looked for a long time. Then seriously comment:

“Legs are too short.”

Han Thanh burst out laughing.

“Dad tried his best.”

I sat next to it and watched. No more hatred. Can't say clearly what the feeling is. It's like looking at someone very far away. Do something that no longer has anything to do with you. Occasionally Han Thanh looked at me. As if wanting to say something. But in the end, I still held back. He seems a little smarter. There is no more talk of remarriage. Vuong Tu Lan also came to see me. Not to cause trouble. It was to stop me in front of the apartment complex gate. She's aged a lot. Just over half a year. His hair has turned white in large patches. High cheekbones. The face is thin.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Want to meet Niem Niem.”

I looked at her.

“Tell Han Thanh.”

“When he comes to visit her, you can come along.”

“But you are not allowed to meet privately.”

Vuong Tu Lan continuously rubbed his hands.