Chapter 3 — Love Dissolves Into Clouds

5

I frowned at her, confused. In fact, these days, even if I have a phone signal, I rarely go online. I simply don't want to see the past anymore. Seeing that I was confused, she took out her phone, opened the video that was on the top trending, and showed it to me. School H is the school that To Kieu Thien attended. In the video, on graduation day, a girl suddenly rushed onto the stage, grabbed To Kieu Thien in an off-the-shoulder pink dress, and pulled her straight down. Then, that girl roughly grabbed To Kieu Thien's meticulously combed curly hair and shouted indignantly:

"You are To Kieu Thien? You told my father to crash into that car, saying he would give you money when it was over. You said your family had big connections and could sponsor my father, now what? You turned around and refused to accept anyone?"

"I was preparing to take the civil service exam, but because my father caused an accident, I lost my eligibility to take the exam! Tell me, why do you live so leisurely?!"

That girl was tall, strong, and with just one hand she could lift To Kieu Thien like a baby chicken. Then, amid the shocked eyes of the audience, she violently tore To Kieu Thien's pink dress, leaving only the thin layer of underwear inside.

"Now what are you going to cover? Don't you like it when people see you without clothes? I've already investigated. The person you told my father to stab was your 'brother's' wife!"

"Didn't he hide it from his wife to organize a painting exhibition for her? If he already doesn't like wearing clothes, why is he wearing so much now?!"

… The video is ten minutes long. I saw that An Ngon was about to rush up and pull the girl out, but when he heard the next words, he stood still. In response to To Kieu Thien's cries and prayers, he completely ignored her. I called lawyer Hinh and asked directly:

“That girl, she was the one you found, right?”

He did not deny it.

"Miss Du, I just think you need to know the truth. As for whether you choose to forgive or not, it's all up to you."

“Forgiveness?” I laughed.

Maybe this time An Ngon really doesn't know anything. But the person who created To Kieu Thien the opportunity to hurt me... was still him. This time when I returned home, as soon as I got off the plane, I saw An Ngon waiting at the gate. In his hand was a cup of hot milk tea. Something I used to really like. But just because of one sentence from To Kieu Thien—“Milk tea is too sweet, it's boring to drink”—he also started to hate this dish. In the past, every time I whined and asked for a drink, he would get annoyed and brush it off:

"Children's stuff, how old are you? Please grow up, drink tea or coffee a little more like an adult!"

But now, when he saw me appear, he quickly walked over, holding a glass of milk tea in his hand:

"Linh Linh, it's cold at night, drink some milk tea to warm yourself up. It's still three parts sugar, add more pearls as you like."

I took the cold milk tea, then decisively threw it into the trash can next to it.

“I don't drink milk tea anymore.”

An Ngon panicked and quickly grabbed my wrist:

"I really didn't know that Kieu Thien could do such terrible things! If I knew, I would have cut off relations with her a long time ago!"

His tone was sincere, but I just found it funny. Shaking his hand away, I smiled coldly:

"Isn't that terrible? I don't think so. In the eyes of you artists, isn't this very 'cool'? Transcending the boundaries of age and status, pretending to nobly declare your innocence, then blaming others for not understanding art, right?"

"An Ngon, it's not that I don't know anything. It's just that I like the way the two of you have similar souls. I don't want to think badly of her. But in reality, you and she are both the same!"

Speaking of which, I can't hold back anymore. So many years of hurt, resentment, patience... everything broke down. I turned and left, not looking back.

6

My departure caused the An family's stock price to fall freely. Competitors also began to threaten to acquire the company. Everyone in the industry knows it well—An Ngon's mother is nothing more than a portable flower vase, and An Ngon doesn't care about business at all. Having no other choice, An's mother kept coming to my house.

"Linh Linh, what are you doing? We were all tricked by that brat named To! You and Tieu Ngon are childhood sweethearts, I know you love her very much, is there some misunderstanding that can't be resolved?"

If I hadn't heard the conversation between her and To Kieu Thien that day, maybe I would have felt a little more moved. Anyway, I grew up in the An family. Even though he wasn't treated like his own child, at least he was never mistreated. But now... I smiled coldly, looking straight at her:

“Sorry, but now I don't love An Ngon anymore.

On the contrary, I am disgusted to the core!” I emphasized every word, afraid she wouldn't hear clearly. Seeing me being so tough, An's mother immediately changed her tone and started to complain:

"I'm over fifty years old, what else do you want me to do? Or do you want me to go out on the street and kneel down, telling everyone that my son is wrong towards you, I have to apologize for him before you can be satisfied?"

"Du Lam, you grew up next to me and Tieu Ngon, I always thought you were a sensible person. I didn't expect that at this point, you would be so stubborn and refuse to let go!"

I leaned back in my chair, crossed my arms, and leisurely looked at her:

“Okay, mom, go ahead and kneel.

Remember to also tell the story of your son organizing an 18+ painting exhibition for his 'neighbor's sister'. If people see that I've overdone it, I'll kneel down and apologize to my mother right away." She was speechless, her face was pale, she was angry but could not refute. In the end, I could only walk away embarrassed. Not long after, my phone rang—it was An Ngon calling. His voice was full of blame, saying I was too harsh towards his mother, saying I didn't respect adults, and telling me how his mother had treated me like a daughter all these years. I got angry listening, so I interrupted:

“Have you signed the divorce papers yet?”

The other end of the line was silent for a long time.

“Du Lam, I don't intend to divorce you.”

I burst out laughing:

"Do you think this is something that needs to be negotiated? Or do we have to go to court to be satisfied?"

Seemingly guilty, An Ngon didn't know how to respond.

"In one month it will be our tenth wedding anniversary. Can... can we wait until then to get a divorce?"

His voice was filled with pleading. I almost forgot myself, it turns out we've been married for ten years. In the first few years, every wedding anniversary, we went on a trip together. But since To Kieu Thien grew up, this day has never been perfect again. Every year, on our wedding anniversary, she would have an "accident", then in the middle of the date, An Ngon would leave me behind to run to her. One time we were on vacation in another province, she called crying and said she had fallen, so he immediately booked the nearest flight and left me at the hotel. Then, she deliberately sent me a video. Inside, An Ngon is carefully applying medicine to the tiny scratch on her thigh.

"Sister-in-law, are you scared when you're alone? I'm sorry, I really don't want to bother him... But you also know, my parents don't care about me, so every time I'm scared I just look for Mr. Ngon. I didn't expect him to leave me to come back to me... It's all because of me..."

From then on, I never wanted to celebrate my wedding anniversary again. This day just makes me nauseous. Thinking back on those things, my face darkened. An Ngon thought I was about to refuse, but I said:

"Okay. But you have to sign the divorce papers first. Once the anniversary is over, we'll go through the procedures directly."

He was briefly happy, but then his eyes turned gloomy. Finally, he smiled bitterly and nodded.