Chapter 1 — Late Regret

While offering tea at the wedding, my parents had just picked up the teacup when the cup suddenly exploded. Red wine mixed with cream and chili juice shot straight from their heads to their feet. The cheongsam my mother had just bought was immediately soaked, with sticky cream still stuck to her hair. My father instinctively wanted to cover my mother, but he stepped on a piece of broken porcelain and fell hard to the ground. Ha Van Tham's female secretary, Kieu Minh Yen, laughed until she couldn't straighten her back. "Wow! They look so funny like two water buffaloes!" "This is a little idea I designed for your wedding. I didn't expect the agency to be so sensitive." I was so angry that my whole body was shaking, but she continued to add fuel to the fire. "The bride shouldn't be angry. It's been said on the internet that if you stay calm, everything will go smoothly!" Ha Van Tham also immediately held my hand, frowned and lowered his voice: "Tieu Yen has the kindness to stir up the atmosphere for you." "Don't you see how happy everyone is laughing? Don't be so unreasonable and petty." My mother struggled to wipe the cream off her face, her eye sockets were red, but she still tried to smile at me. “Daughter, Mom and Dad are okay.” "Getting married is a great day, don't fight because of your parents." At that moment, I watched my parents struggle, but still risked my life to save face for Ha Van Tham. Suddenly I felt that this wedding was ridiculously disgusting. They couldn't bear to make me feel uncomfortable. But Ha Van Tham refused. If so. I won't marry this marriage anymore. My father put his hands on the ground and wanted to stand up. The blood in his palm rubbed against the red blood. Kieu Minh Yen standing next to her immediately frowned. “Uncle, please don't let blood get on your heart.” My mother heard it, quickly squatted down, and used her sleeve to wipe the blood. “Sorry, sorry.” “We didn't mean it.” Kieu Minh Yen stood from above looking down at my parents, her tone full of helplessness. "I've mentioned it before. Ly has an agency. Maybe you and I were so stressed that we couldn't hear clearly." The surrounding chatter immediately subsided. Someone laughed softly. “So I already mentioned it.” “It's the first time a country person enters the city, no wonder they didn't react in time.” I was so angry that my fingertips were shaking. “Kieu Minh Yen, you…” Before she could finish her words, Ha Van Tham stood in front of her. “Tieu Yen has already apologized.” “My parents also said it was okay.” He frowned at me, his voice very low. “There are so many people today, do you have to make a fuss and make everyone lose face?” I looked at him blankly. My father's hand is still bleeding. My mother was so cold that her shoulders were shaking. Yet he was only worried about Kieu Minh Yen losing face. My father seemed afraid that I would get really angry, so he quickly pulled my sleeve. “Girl, leave.” "Mom and Dad, let's go clean up a bit, you can continue with the wedding." Kieu Minh Yen immediately responded. “The room is now full of Ha family relatives.” “How about you and I go to the back storage room and deal with it for a bit?” “There are mops and rags over there.” “You two, work quickly, the ice cream dripping on the ground will be very difficult to clean up.” My mother's face turned pale, she quickly bowed her head and said: "I'm so embarrassed." “We'll clean it up.” It was clear that she was the one who was humiliated. But like someone who did something wrong, he bowed down and apologized all the way. I followed them to the back. The storage room was very narrow. When my mother walked in, the hem of her dress was hooked by an iron shelf, tearing a long line. She panicked and used her hand to hold it back. "No problem." "Anyway, the lights at the wedding are dark, you can't see anything." She opened the bag, inside there was a new scarf neatly folded. “I originally intended to wait until I went on stage to put it on.” “I'm afraid that wearing too simple clothes will make you lose face.” One corner of the shawl was soaked with wine. Yet she still used a tissue to wipe every little bit. If you can't wipe it clean, fold the dirty part inside. My father also took out a lucky money envelope from his chest. The red envelope was soaked in wine until it was wrinkled and the corners were soft. He bowed his head and wiped for a long time, his voice very soft. “This is the name change money that your father and mother prepared.” “I originally wanted to give it to my son-in-law to make it a little more dignified.” “Now it has become like this.” After speaking, he awkwardly smiled again. “Daughter, don't criticize.” My tears immediately fell. For this wedding, they prepared for a long time. Afraid of not dressing well enough. S

Not being polite enough. I'm afraid I won't be able to raise my head in the Ha family's house. But what Ha Van Tham gave them was wine and ice cream, the loud laughter of guests, and a corner of the room filled with miscellaneous items. Right after that, the phone vibrated. It's a message sent by Ha Van Tham. “After you finish packing up, go out.” "Tieu Yen was just joking with your parents. Don't react so loudly, it's just a small matter." I looked at that line of words and suddenly burst into laughter. This thing just passed like that. It turned out that in his eyes, my parents' struggling appearance, the blood on my father's hands, my mother's ruined cheongsam, were all just small things that could be easily overlooked. I dried my tears and helped my parents sit down. "Parents." “You two wait here for me for a moment.” After that, I turned around and walked out of the storage room. At the end of the hallway, the person in charge of organizing the wedding was impatiently waiting for me. “Bride, will the process continue?” I looked towards the blinding lights in the large hall. Ha Van Tham stood at the end of the red night, bowing his head to comfort Kieu Minh Yen. I withdrew my gaze and calmly opened my mouth. "Continue." The person in charge breathed a sigh of relief. But I continued: “Just change the process a little.” “No need to offer tea anymore.” “Next, change to annulment.” When I returned to the storage room, my father was sitting next to the carton, the blood still flowing on his knee. Seeing me come in, his first reaction was to stand up. “Girl, are you urging me outside?” “We'll finish right away.” I kept him. “Don't move.” My mother looked up at me, her eyes were red, but she was still smiling. “Don't worry.” "Mom's cheongsam can still be worn after a little cleaning." She lowered her head to look at the wine-splattered hem of her shirt, then quickly hid the dirty part behind her. “Let's go on stage later, mom, stand a little further away.” “The cameras won't come.” My throat constricted. Until now, they are still thinking about how not to make me lose face. Suddenly there were footsteps outside the door. Ha Van Tham stood outside the door, frowning as he looked at the struggling scene in the storage room. “Still not finished cleaning up?” “The auspicious hour is about to come.” “If you and I are really inconvenient, then just don't go on stage for now.” He paused for a moment, his voice sounding like he was negotiating. “If you're like that, you don't look good on photo.” The smile on my mother's face stiffened. In that moment, she instinctively lowered her head to look at her cheongsam. As if he finally realized how difficult his current appearance was. My father quickly opened his mouth. “Yes, yes, yes.” “It's okay if we don't go on stage.” “As long as your wedding goes smoothly, it's fine.” I looked at Ha Van Tham and suddenly felt that the person in front of me was strange and scary. You said before that you would be filial to my parents like your own parents. But now, my parents are injured and humiliated, and what he criticizes is that they don't look good in pictures. Kieu Minh Yen also quickly arrived. In her hand she held a set of clothes, her eyes were still red. “Auntie, I'll find you a clean set of clothes.” “You should change first.” She spoke very thoughtfully. But when that suit was opened, my mother's face immediately paled. It was a spare black office dress from the hotel. The fabric is stiff, the skirt is still wrinkled. In the chest position, there is even an employee name tag that has not been taken off. Kieu Minh Yen pretended not to see, and gently said: "Please wear it first." "Anyway, we'll mainly be filming the bride and groom later." “I won't film you too clearly.” My mother hugged that outfit, her fingers slowly tightening her penis. The cheongsam she wore today was something she bought two months ago. To save money, for a whole month she couldn't bear to buy good food. Every night, I stand in front of the mirror and try it on. While trying it on, he asked me: "Daughter, is this too colorful for me to wear?" "Do you not look as dignified as the city's in-laws?" At that time, I still laughed at her. “Mom, you are the most beautiful.” She was so happy that the corners of her eyes curled up. But now, she hugged an old hotel uniform and said in a low voice: "Okay." “If you can wear it, it's okay.” My eye sockets suddenly became hot. Ha Van Tham finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Tieu Yen thinks really thoughtfully.” After he finished speaking, he looked at me again. “You

Don't show a cold face anymore." “Tieu Yen was scared to cry by you just now.” “When I go out later, apologize to her in front of everyone.” Kieu Minh Yen pursed her lips and said in a low voice: "Van Tham, don't force An Tue." “She doesn't like me, I know.” “I just want to help you two organize a good wedding.” Ha Van Tham immediately softened his voice. “I know, don't feel sorry for yourself.” I stood next to him, suddenly even laughing coldly felt tired. My mother bowed her head and said nothing. But I saw her tears falling on that black dress. It was quickly absorbed by the stiff fabric. Not even a trace was left. I suddenly calmed down. It turned out that from the beginning, my parents were not treated seriously at this wedding. I took out my phone and sent a text to the person in charge of the wedding. “No need to wait for the process anymore.” “Later at the wedding, show what I gave you.” The other person quickly replied: "Are you sure?" I looked at Ha Van Tham's back, bowing her head to coax Kieu Minh Yen. Looking again at my parents' red eyes due to patience. Slowly type down two words. “Sure.” When I returned to the hall, Kieu Minh Yen was sitting in the bride's resting area. Her eyes were red and she was holding a cup of warm water in her hand. Ha Van Tham stood in front of her, bent slightly, holding a tissue to wipe her tears. “Tieu Yen, stop crying.” “What happened today is not your fault.” On the table next to it is a box of medicine. In my father's palm, there is still a piece of porcelain stuck in it. The bleeding on the knee has not stopped. But that box of utensils, from start to finish, had never been brought to the storage room. Kieu Minh Yen just cried. Ha Van Tham was heartbroken as if she had suffered a injustice as great as the sky. I stood not far away and suddenly remembered many years ago. On the evening of the company's annual party, I had a high fever and stood in front of the hotel door waiting for Ha Van Tham to pick me up. He said he would come over immediately after the meeting. But I waited until dawn, what I waited for was one sentence from him: "Tieu Yen is drunk." “She's new to the company, it's not safe for a girl to be out there, you take her home first.” At that time, I had such a fever that I couldn't even stand. But still answered him: "Okay, please pay attention to safety." After that, I took the car home by myself. The driver saw that my face was too white and asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital. I shook my head. Because at that time I still felt that Kieu Minh Yen had just come to the company and no one was taking care of her. Ha Van Tham paying a little more attention to her is also the right thing to do. Now think again. His thoughtfulness is not absent. It's just that it's never been my turn, nor is it my family's turn. As soon as I got closer, Ha Van Tham raised his head to look at me. “Have your parents finished packing?” After he finished speaking, his eyes fell behind me, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Why haven't you changed yet?” My mother wore that black dress and stood very restrained. Dad supported her, his palm wrapped in a tissue.