Chapter 8 — Marriage Costs 600,000 Yuan

Three years ago, the first time he got a project south of the city, he came home drunk that night. He hugged me and stood at the mysterious entrance, smiling and saying:

“Duong Duong, do you know what day it is today?”

“Project signing date?”

He shook his head.

“The day I truly stood up after many years of trying.”

That day he drank a lot. Repeating the same sentence over and over again:

“From today onwards… no one will dare to look down on you anymore.”

I remember very clearly. The date was August 17. But the password had six numbers. After 0817… there are two numbers missing. I stared at the safe, my heart began to beat faster. What comes after 0817? Suddenly I remembered that night. He leaned on the sofa, his phone screen was still on. When I brought the honey water, I accidentally glanced at the chat box on the screen. The name of the note had only one word: At that time, I thought it was a customer. But as soon as he saw me approaching, he immediately turned off the screen. Three years ago. August 17. Project south of the city. Note “Q”. My head suddenly became cold little by little. My palms started to sweat. I tried entering: Incorrect, the password cannot be letters. Kieu… the letter Q on the nine-key numeric keypad? Q is on key 7, so 08177? But there are still some missing. Or 07, becomes 081707? Incorrect. I forced myself to calm down. Only two tries left. You can't bet haphazardly. I stood up and slowly looked around the office. Shelves for documents, fountain pens, and photos taken together. The photo frame is our wedding photo. I picked it up. Below is an old, discolored bill pressed down. I pulled out. It's a room bill from a hotel in the south of the city, dated August 17, three years ago. Room number: 1702. I stared at that number. Too predictable. But people like Tham Quyet are sometimes so conceited that they're too lazy to hide it. I squatted down again. One last time left. My forehead started to sweat. Not 1702. Suddenly I remembered the apartment Chu Kieu was living in. Phi Thuy Loan area, building 7, apartment 1802. My finger stopped in mid-air. If wrong, the safe will lock. Tham Quyet immediately knew. But if that's true… I looked at the black metal door in front of me. Behind it could be my retreat. It could also be the hole he dug to bury me. I took a deep breath. The green light turns on. The safe is open. At that moment, my heart beat so loudly that it sounded like a drum. Inside were several folders of documents, two hard drives, a kraft paper bag and a black notebook. I took out the paper bag first. The mouth of the bag is not sealed. Inside is a photocopy of the house purchase contract. Phi Thuy Loan area in the south of the city, 7-unit building 1802. Buyer: Chu Kieu. Payment method: pay in full at once. Payment date: seven months ago. I continued to flip down. The payment account does not belong to Tham Quyet personally. It's from a company I've never heard of. Thinh Hoa Consulting Company. Legal representative: Chu Kieu. My fingertips gradually tightened. Chu Kieu is not just a child. Under her name there is also a company. I opened the black notebook. The first page contains several rows of dates and amounts.

“Thinh Hoa — 80.”

“South of town — 620.”

“Pregnancy examination Q — 12.8.”

“Ly — 3/month.”

I flipped it over again. The more I watch, the colder I get. This is no ordinary notebook. It's a note on the cash flow of Tham Quyet's secret asset transfer. Several tens of millions. Money from companies different projects, different consulting fees are transferred out. Finally flows to Thinh Hoa, Chu Kieu, south of the city. I immediately took out my phone to take pictures. On the sixth page, the sound of an electronic lock suddenly sounded outside.

“The door is open.”

My hands trembled strongly. Tham Quyet is back. The sound of footsteps came from the mysterious gate. I quickly put the notebook back in the safe, but the paper bag had not yet been stuffed in. Right before the study door was pushed open, I folded up a payment voucher and quickly stuffed it into my sleeve. Tham Quyet stood there. The light from the living room shined from behind him into the study, making his whole body look like a shadow.

“Wen Duong, what are you looking for?”

I squatted in front of the safe and slowly stood up. My palms are full of sweat. The piece of paper in the sleeve stuck to the skin, as hard as a blade. I looked at him and smiled softly.

“Find my dignity.”

Tham Quyet walked forward step by step.