Chapter 3 — My Patron Is a Chatterbox

It was never my intention to act as a mediator. Tan Tham was simply dredging up memories from over a decade ago. I was only nine years old at the time. Tan Tham had just been promoted and had taken on a few subordinates. He frequently invited them home for dinner, claiming it was to show care for his new staff. After each meal, he would always chase me downstairs to play. On that particular day, I had only been gone a short while when a stomachache forced me to return home early. When I opened the door, I saw Tan Tham holding a young woman. They were intimate in a way that was blindingly offensive. Even at that age, I was old enough to understand what it meant. Caught in the act, Tan Tham flew into a rage and beat me. In his drunken stupor, he squeezed my throat and coldly warned, "Keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, you won't have parents anymore!" My body ached all over, and I was terrified of losing them. Even though Tan Tham and Chu Thuy Lan rarely paid me any mind, what child doesn't yearn for a family? Yet, I did not heed his warning. Eventually, I dropped hints to Chu Thuy Lan about what I had seen. The result was a vicious verbal lashing: "If your father likes someone else, then you won't have a mother either." It was as if merely speaking of it turned the situation into an omen of bad luck. Not satisfied with just yelling, she grabbed my mouth, squeezed hard, and cursed me maliciously, "You cursed crow, from this day forward, you are forbidden from speaking!" From then on, in front of my parents, I gradually stopped daring to open my mouth at all.

After Tan Tham's promotion, his influence in the household grew, and he eventually stopped hiding his affairs. When Chu Thuy Lan finally found out, they quarreled incessantly over divorce. Chu Thuy Lan did not want me. She shrieked until her voice grew hoarse: "She is a child of the Tan family, why should I have to raise her?" "I don't want her! I want you to take this burden with you and see if any young woman will still agree to marry you!" Tan Tham didn't care much either. He dumped me in the countryside with my grandmother. If he remembered, he would send a few hundred currency units; if he forgot, years would pass without a single word. As a "burden" discarded at will, I spent those years living in misery.

I hated Tan Tham and Chu Thuy Lan, but I was weak. How could I possibly exact revenge? Life is not a work of fiction where a single slap can heal the wounds of a childhood. Those who fall into the abyss of despair do so mostly because they were never loved. And those who are unloved cannot create so much as a ripple, no matter what they do. Thus, I could only cowardly run away. No contact, no meetings—that was my stance toward them. Yet, after the funeral, they sought me out. They even managed to find their way to the house of the Hua family. Perhaps knowing that Hua Dieu Duong was wealthy, they shamelessly stood outside the gate and hollered: "You unfilial child! Your mother went through ten months of hardship to bring you into this world." "And yet, you won't even call me mother, nor will you sit down for a single meal with us." "I will sue you! I'll sue you for refusing to support your parents!"

There was no other way; I had to reveal myself. By then, I had once again lost the ability to speak. Chu Thuy Lan sat on the ground in a defensive posture, ready to fly into a frenzy if I showed even a hint of coldness. Tan Tham hurried toward me, his face twisting into a sycophantic mask: "To To, your father has been unemployed lately." The motive was crystal clear. "The money I sent to grandmother all these years, she must have saved it up, right?" "Could you give that money to your father, please?" "If not, your mother and I will be out on the street." I sneered, laughing until I choked. When a person is truly at a loss for words, they can only laugh. All these years, the total amount Tan Tham sent to my grandmother did not even reach three thousand. He had used the excuse that they were self-sufficient in the countryside and didn't need much. Even when my grandmother was critically ill, it was thanks to my own part-time jobs and every cent I managed to scrape together that she received treatment. It was only later, thanks to Hua Dieu Duong, that I found a moment of respite. Seeing no reaction from me, Chu Thuy Lan immediately scrambled up: "To To, I know you cannot speak." "But you have latched onto this wealthy family now. Don't you worry that they might grow to hate you for our pestering and cast you aside?" What they were aiming for was simply me—a potential bride into a prestigious household.

Since I could not avoid them, I decided to stop trying. I opened the gates of the Hua estate and led Tan Tham and Chu Thuy Lan inside. Like characters from a classic tale visiting a grand garden, they spent a full hour gawking at everything. Chu Thuy Lan pointed at the dog in the courtyard and clicked her tongue: "This dog lives better than I do." Tan Tham chimed in: "To To, I see this house has so many rooms. When you get married, why don't you bring your mother and me over to live here?" I simply smiled, neither denying nor agreeing. I took out my phone and typed a few lines. After they both finished reading, they fell into a deep silence. I gave them one day to make a choice. Afterward, I signaled for the butler to see them out. The moment they stepped out the door, Hua Dieu Duong returned. That evening, he held me in his arms and whispered, "To To, are you sure you don't need my help?" He had run into them at the funeral and knew exactly what lay between us. He had once said that if I didn't want to see them, he would find a way to chase them out of the capital. But I did not want Hua Dieu Duong to interfere. Tan Tham and Chu Thuy Lan were my scars. I wanted to pry those scars open myself and cast them away. Yet, seeing me close my mouth once more still pained him. He could only try everything to make me happy. He was as talkative as ever, only now his ramblings shifted... to the bedroom. He would tease me tirelessly: "To To, your voice is so sweet; if you used it to call me husband, I would surely go mad with joy." "To To, are you sleepy yet?" "Not answering means you aren't sleepy, so let’s have another round." "To To, will you marry me?" "Let's have a child." "Or maybe not, I'm afraid it would hurt you." I was no longer drowning in the grief of losing my grandmother, because I was simply too busy. By day, I was occupied with work and dealing with Tan Tham and Chu Thuy Lan. By night, I fell asleep to the constant, gentle chatter of Hua Dieu Duong.

The next day, Tan Tham and Chu Thuy Lan made their decision. I told them bluntly that because Hua Dieu Duong and I were not yet married, moving in was impossible. However, I could arrange a job for them. There was only one opening, and it was up to them to decide who would take it. That was my capacity and the greatest tolerance I could offer the parents who had once discarded me. As I had expected, Tan Tham persuaded Chu Thuy Lan. I arranged for Tan Tham to work as a gardener at an empty villa owned by the Hua family. He only needed to water the flowers and trim the plants each day, easily earning ten thousand units a month. Tan Tham, relying on the fact that I was the "future lady" of the Hua family, refused to do any actual work. I ignored him, for whether he worked or not was of no importance to me. My goal was never to reconcile with these parents. I have many flaws: I am timid, weak, and insecure. But my greatest failing is that I cannot be generous. I will never be able to forgive them. Thus, I wanted them to once again create their own conflicts. As expected, human nature only needs a slight nudge to ignite. Tan Tham began bragging everywhere that I was the "future wife" of the Hua Corporation, and that he, as my father, had already half-stepped into the world of the elite. He used that status to begin philandering again. That day, Chu Thuy Lan found the villa where Tan Tham was staying. This time, I had the butler open the door for her. The moment she stepped inside, she saw with her own eyes Tan Tham flirting with a new maid: "In the future, I will be the director. If you follow me, why would you need to do these menial tasks? The future of the Hua estate will all be mine, and by then, I will make you the mistress of this villa."