Chapter 2 — Mother-in-law Trick Me into Raising Tieu Tam's Son

Everyone around also took turns congratulating and praising my husband and I for being very lucky, having both a son and a daughter. But amidst those congratulations, I just want to ask: when did I... give birth to a dragon and phoenix fetus? Obviously I only gave birth to one child. It's just that, when I faced my mother-in-law's eyes, my throat felt tight. Until the end, I began to doubt myself, somehow vaguely believing that... perhaps I really had given birth to a pair of dragons and phoenixes. I began to suspect that my mother-in-law had hypnotized me. After leaving the hospital, because my body was still very weak after giving birth, Vuong Dao immediately took me to a nearby maternity care center and arranged for my mother-in-law and aunts at the center to take care of all my food and activities. What makes me confused is that my mother-in-law has never let me eat nutritious meals prepared by the center. Even though the weather outside was hotter than thirty degrees, she still persevered in making two trips back and forth every day, personally coming home to cook three meals for me. I advised her that she was old and not to work so hard anymore, but she said that the food at the center was not nutritious enough, and that I was a servant of the Vuong family and that taking good care of me was what she should do. Every time I finished the dishes, she beamed and smiled endlessly. But if I didn't have any appetite and could eat little or no food, she would immediately frown and constantly advise me to try to eat a little more. Those somewhat unusual behaviors made me quietly uneasy. I feel like maybe she put something in the food. To test my guess, I forced myself to eat everything in front of her every time, trying not to let her get suspicious. Waiting until she left, I immediately tried to vomit it all out. After a few days of observation, I discovered: every time I vomited a little, my body would fall into a state of dizziness, and my mind would become foggy and thick. But if I vomit a lot, most of the time my mind will be clear, I won't feel sleepy, and I won't feel like I just want to lie in bed anymore. I guessed that my mother-in-law had given me some medicine that caused my nerves to go haywire.

3

Until that night, most likely due to the drug's effect gradually waning, I finally became more alert and dreamy in a semi-conscious state. And then, I suddenly realized an extremely important problem - that's right, clearly I only gave birth to one child, why are people saying I'm a dragon and phoenix twin? When that realization hit me, I was so stunned that I sat up in bed. After a moment of careful consideration, a terrifying conjecture suddenly flashed through my mind: if I was truly confused, to the point of randomly claiming the two children as my own, then the person who would benefit the most in this matter... wouldn't it be my husband, Vuong Dao? It's just... between me and Vuong Dao, there has been an emotional foundation for many years. The love that has gone through so many years makes me unable to believe that he could do such a thing. In my memory, the young man wearing a white shirt still seemed to be standing under the big banyan tree, waving to me with a gentle smile. When I first met Vuong Dao, he was still just a fresh graduate, without a job, lonely and confused in life. At that time, I had successfully started a business and had a little money own achievements. Because I couldn't bear to see a young man whose courage was crushed by reality, I proactively helped him, letting him join my company to do some simple jobs, at least to be able to make a living, gradually creating a foothold in this city. I don't know if it's because we both come from poor backgrounds, or because there's not much of an age difference, but during those boring and boring working days, Vuong Dao and I gradually found many things in common - from our energy for life, to our personal interests, we both talked very well. Perhaps because of being lonely for too long, people will crave a little warmth, a fulcrum to take refuge. Therefore, through the days of contact and attachment, Vuong Dao and I naturally came together. After officially establishing our love relationship, the feelings between us were extremely strong, there were almost no major conflicts, even petty arguments rarely happened. Then more than a year later, on a red afternoon that covered the horizon, Vuong Dao knelt down on one knee before me, facing the sunset, giving me a lifelong vow. I was moved to tears by his actions, and in those gentle eyes, I nodded and agreed to the proposal. Vuong Dao also put a ring on my hand - a symbol of love and sacred promise.