Chapter 4 — My Patron Is a Chatterbox

Chu Thuy Lan lunged forward instantly, driving a sharp kick into Tan Tham’s most vulnerable spot. "Tan Tham, you bastard! You clearly promised me we would remarry, yet you kept stalling on the registration—it turns out you were harboring these filthy, traitorous thoughts all along!"

The two descended into a savage brawl. I stood by the second-floor window, the corners of my lips curling into an almost imperceptible smile. A dog’s nature is impossible to change; he will always return to his own vomit. Chu Thuy Lan could never bear to see Tan Tham’s eyes linger on any other woman—including me, their own daughter. And Tan Tham, feeling suffocated by her iron grip, was desperate to prove he could command more than just one woman. He would never let a chance for infidelity slip by. To truly shatter them, I simply needed to add some fuel to the fire.

Right on cue, the butler appeared, just as I had instructed. He opened a video file, his voice cold and detached. "My apologies, Mr. Tan, but our CEO, Hua, has made it clear: you need not return next month. This footage captures you stealing property from these premises, with a total value of one hundred thousand. After deducting this month’s ten-thousand salary, you owe us a balance of ninety thousand in compensation."

Chu Thuy Lan’s screech echoed throughout the garden. "What? You were making ten thousand a month, yet you told me it was only four thousand! You’ve been skimming six thousand off the top this whole time, you scoundrel! And here I was, giving up my own opportunities to support you!"

The butler, ever the opportunist, stepped back, allowing the two of them to tear into each other. By the time the dust settled, Chu Thuy Lan’s face was bruised and swollen, and Tan Tham bore the marks of several deep bite wounds. Only then did the butler intervene. "Mr. Tan, are you going to pay the ninety thousand, or shall I call the police to settle this?"

Tan Tham glared at the butler, bellowing, "I am the father of the lady of this house! How dare you speak to me in such a tone? Be careful, or I’ll have you thrown out on the street!"

Unfazed, the butler reached for his phone and dialed the police. Panic surged through Tan Tham as he recalled the things I had whispered to him: *Father, if it weren't for the money you sent to Grandmother all these years, how would I have survived? But Mother abandoned me once; I hate her for that. If you let her taste the bitterness of being discarded, only then will I be at peace.*

His nature had always been base, but with my calculated prodding, he had become utterly reckless. Yet, this time, things were spiraling beyond his control. Tan Tham collapsed to his knees, sobbing and pleading, "Let me see my daughter! She has money; she surely won’t have the heart to see me rot in prison."

Chu Thuy Lan touched her battered face, remembering my own chilling words to her. Seizing a moment of distraction, she sneaked up to the second floor to find me.

Tan Tham could not find me. It was a trap I had set; how could I let him find me? He had been sued by Hua Dieu Duong, and his heart burned with resentment, but the endgame had only just begun. People’s joys and sorrows are rarely connected. While he scrambled everywhere to find me, he stumbled upon the reality that Chu Thuy Lan had been living the life of a wealthy socialite, drenched in luxury and excess. With nowhere left to turn, he crawled to her.

He knelt at her feet. "Wife, please, save me. I was wrong, I promise I won't do it again."

These past few days, Chu Thuy Lan had grown accustomed to being served, to the life of luxury fueled by wine and vanity. While she was weak-willed, she had no desire to surrender this comfortable existence. I had told her quite plainly: *I was abandoned once, and I must force Tan Tham to taste that same bitterness before the hatred in my heart can be quenched.*

My words still echoed in her ears: *Mother, I naturally want to be a filial daughter, but I must see some sincerity from you first.*

Initially, Chu Thuy Lan couldn't bear to cast Tan Tham aside. In her mind, as people aged, they needed a crutch to lean on, and Tan Tham was that crutch. But that final sliver of hope had been obliterated by his latest betrayal. Now, the person she looked to for her future was me. She kicked the kneeling Tan Tham away, mocking him. "Get out! I gave you chances, and you didn't know how to grasp them. Now, open your eyes and watch how well I live. Being sent to the sewing workshop is letting you off cheap."

Every insult was worth a thousand yuan. Seeing the money transferring into her phone, Chu Thuy Lan was ecstatic. "Pah! Don't think for a second that I’m reconciling with you because I still love you! In your state, you aren't even fit to carry my shoes."

Tan Tham’s eyes turned bloodshot. He glanced at the fruit knife on the table, inching closer with every step. But Chu Thuy Lan didn't stop her tirade. "Tan Tham, let me tell you something—your mother went mute because of me. I couldn't stand her competing for your attention. But looking back now, I realize how stupid I was to marry a man like you."

"You... you’re insane!" Chu Thuy Lan clutched her chest, her heart hammering against her ribs. She could not utter another word.

Tan Tham was arrested. This time, I did not refuse Hua Dieu Duong’s help. He hired the finest lawyer specialized in such cases. Tan Tham’s life was effectively over. Hua Dieu Duong even left instructions for those in the detention center to give him "special care." He would live a life worse than death.

As for Chu Thuy Lan, I spared her life. After all, falling from heaven into hell is the most agonizing way to torment a human mind. When she recovered slightly, she inevitably returned to her old habits, making scenes at the gates of the Hua residence daily. But that was exactly what I wanted. As Chu Thuy Lan’s daughter, I personally committed her to a mental institution.

When everything finally settled, I discovered that Hua Dieu Duong was planning to propose. I found a ring in his suit pocket—it fit my ring finger perfectly. Yet, at that very moment, I was already planning my escape. Because I had merely been using Hua Dieu Duong. From the very beginning, I knew he had been searching for me. He was the autistic neighbor boy from my childhood. I had been filled with such deep inferiority and weakness that I had deliberately avoided him, even changing my name.

So, what made me decide to seek him out? It was when my grandmother became critically ill and told me to return home to collect her savings book. I found a notebook there. My illiterate grandmother had filled the pages with scribbles. There were drawings of Chu Thuy Lan, Tan Tham, herself, and me. From those sketches, I understood the truth. Chu Thuy Lan had always been defined by her jealousy. One Lunar New Year, unable to bear that Tan Tham treated his own mother better than he treated her, she had, in a fit of rage, purchased a drug that destroyed his mother’s vocal cords, leaving her mute forever.

I could see from those drawings just how much my grandmother had loathed Chu Thuy Lan. And, consequently, she had initially hated me, too. She hadn't wanted to take me in. But I had never spoken a word in her presence, always timid and fearful of upsetting her. Only then did she decide she could not abandon me again. She farmed, raised chickens, and saved every penny so I could get an education. When someone called me "the mute girl," she would immediately smear filth on their face.

My grandmother was my only kin. Even though she took me in with resentment in her heart, she ensured I grew up healthy. So, when I learned from the villagers that Tan Tham and Chu Thuy Lan had reunited, the seeds of hatred buried deep within me began to sprout. It was time for me to learn to be like my grandmother—to throw mud at those who deserved it. I decided to take my revenge.

But they had never loved me. How could I destroy them? I had to take what they coveted most. Money. Power. Hua Dieu Duong possessed both. I reverted to my old name so his people would find me quickly. This proximity had started as a exploitation, and now, it was time for it to end.

The night before my departure, Hua Dieu Duong acted strangely. He didn't babble as he usually did, and his touch lacked its usual gentleness. He only repeated one thing, over and over: "Tu Tu, I love you so much."

It rained all night, and Hua Dieu Duong clung to me until dawn. Early the next morning, he rushed off to the company. My flight was at eleven. I waited until he left the driveway, then set off immediately. I carried no luggage. But my taxi hadn’t traveled five hundred meters from the Hua villa before it was forced to a stop by three cars blocking the road.