Chapter 1 — Nanny Counts Moles

The nanny I hired was good in every way, but had one strange habit. Every day she braided my three-year-old daughter's hair so tightly that she kept crying. I told her not to braid it anymore, but she still insisted: "Girls have to tie their hair tightly to look alive and beautiful." One time I forgot to bring documents so I returned home and the door was unlocked. In the room at the end of the hallway, the nanny was sitting cross-legged on the floor, my daughter lying on her lap. She let down all of the baby's hair, strand by strand tracing her scalp
come see. My daughter obediently lay still, not moving, as if she had long gotten used to this. The nanny muttered under her breath, her fingers pressing on each mole on the baby's scalp in turn. "One mole, two moles, three... Um, it matches." My blood immediately froze.01I invited Phung Ngoc Cam into the house because she looked like she knew how to take care of children. She was over forty years old, had clean hands and feet, spoke softly, and cooked to Tieu Man's taste. Three-year-old Tieu Man, a picky eater, afraid of strangers, yet on the first day he let her go
Eat half a bowl of pumpkin porridge. At that time, I had just accepted a big project, during the day I had to go to the company, and at night I had to edit the plan. There cannot be anyone in the house. Phung Ngoc Cam was introduced by an acquaintance and said she had taken care of children for several families and had never made a mistake. I kept her. After a month, she really didn't let me refute anything. The floor is always cleaned and shiny. Tieu Man's clothes are folded separately by color. There is always pre-cut fruit in the refrigerator. There's only one thing
Looking at it made me feel even more uncomfortable. Every day she braids Tieu Man's hair. Two small braids are braided close to the hairline and tied very tightly. Tieu Man's hair was soft and short, and she pulled it into two straight pigtails, revealing a pale white scalp. The first time she saw her, Tieu Man's eyes were red and she grabbed the hem of her skirt. I asked her how she was doing. Tieu Man bowed his head and spoke softly in pain. Phung Ngoc Cam immediately burst out laughing. "Children are weak, tying their hair for a few days will get used to it." I reached out to touch the base of Tieu Man's braid. Hard as two strings
rope. I frowned. "Don't tie it so tight in the future, just let it loose." Phung Ngoc Cam still held the pink rubber band in her hand. The smile on her face remained unchanged. "Girls have to tie their hair tightly to look alive and beautiful." I said it doesn't have to be beautiful, children's comfort is the most important thing. Out of her mouth she obeyed. The next day, Tieu Man's hair was still tied tightly as before. The third day was the same. I repeated, and she sighed. "Miss Manh, you're not at home during the day so you don't know how annoying children are."
"If you let your hair down, when you eat it, it will fall into your mouth, and at other times it will end up in the soup." "Tie it a little tight, she won't pull it around with your hands." I suppressed my anger. "Then cut it short." Phung Ngoc Cam's hand stopped. She raised her head to look at me, her eyes quickly averted. "Girls with short hair are not good." "Long hair is the new blessing." This sentence made me uncomfortable. But her voice was too calm, like An old man said an old-fashioned thing. I didn't continue arguing that night. I washed Tieu Man's hair while removing the rope
chun, Tieu Man shrank his neck. I parted her hair and saw a few light red streaks on her scalp. My heart sank. "Tieu Man, does Aunt Phung tie your hair like that every day?" Tieu Man sat on a small chair, her toes touching the basin of water. The girl nodded. "Auntie Phung said not to let it down." "Why not to let it down?" She thought for a moment. "If you let it down, it will be hard to find." The showerhead in my hand stopped. In the bathroom, there was only the sound of water dripping into the basin. "What are you looking for?" Tieu Man bowed his head and played with soap bubbles, saying no more.
I asked again. The girl caught the foam in her palm. "Aunt Phung said not to tell mom." At that moment, a chill ran down my spine. But the baby is still too young. What he says is often the first sentence is still a story in kindergarten, the next sentence has jumped to a cartoon. I don't dare to immediately draw conclusions. The next morning, I intentionally left the house late. While Phung Ngoc Cam combed Tieu Man's hair, I stood at the door and watched. Her movements were very skilled, the comb scratched from the roots of her hair downwards. Tieu Man was in so much pain that he bit his lip.
I walked over and immediately held Phung Ngoc Cam's hand. "I told you, don't force me." Phung Ngoc Cam stopped. She slowly turned her head to look at me. "Miss Manh, I did it all for the good of the baby." I looked at her. "The baby is crying." Phung Ngoc Cam lowered her head to look at Tieu Man. "Tieu Man, are you in pain?" Tieu Man glanced at her. Those eyes were very quick. So fast that I was afraid that someone would see me. Then she shook her head. “It doesn't hurt.” My chest tightened. I squatted down and raised Tieu Man's face. "Tell me the truth." Vanh
Tieu Man's eyes immediately turned red. But the girl still shook her head. Phung Ngoc Cam stood next to her and smiled softly. "You see, she herself said it didn't hurt." I stared at her. "No braiding my hair today." Phung Ngoc Cam's fingers tightened the comb. Finger joints turn white. Half a second later, she laughed again. "Okay." That day, before I left the house, Tieu Man stood with her hair down at the mysterious entrance. Her hair just touched her shoulders, soft against her cheeks. I patted her head. "That's very beautiful." Tieu Man didn't smile. The baby looked up
looked at me. "Mom, will you come home early today?" I said I would try. She said in a very quiet voice. "When mom isn't home, Aunt Phung will tie them." My movement of changing shoes stopped. The elevator outside the door has arrived. Phung Ngoc Cam stood in the living room, holding two pink rubber bands in his hands. She looked at me, her smile strangely calm.02I didn't go to the company. I drove around out of the residential area, then went through the back door into the underground parking lot. I parked my car on the second basement level, sat in the car and looked at the monitoring software
closely on the phone. In my living room there is a camera. I installed it the first day I moved in. But bedrooms and children's rooms do not have them. Previously I thought it was a private space. Now I stared at the image of the living room, my palms sweaty. Nine o'clock seven minutes. Phung Ngoc Cam led Tieu Man out of the kitchen. In Tieu Man's hand, he held half a piece of steamed egg cake. Her hair is loose. Phung Ngoc Cam forced her to sit down on a small chair. She picked up the comb. I sat up straight.
In the picture, she turned her back to the camera, her body obscuring half of her movements. I only see Tieu Man's face. The piece of cake in her mouth had not yet been swallowed. Tears fell. Phung Ngoc Cam's hands continuously pulled her hair up. Tieu Man curled his shoulders, but did not dare to avoid it. I immediately opened the car door. But after taking two steps, I stopped. If I rush in now, at best she'll just say she forgot. She will apologize. She will cry. She will say it's all for the good of the child. I do not have
Evidence proves what she means when she says "if it's loose, it'll be hard to find". I gritted my teeth and returned to the car. I called the kindergarten teacher. The teacher, whose last name is Han, is Tieu Man's homeroom teacher. I asked if there had been any unusual signs at Tieu Man school recently. Ms. Han was silent for a few seconds. "Miss Manh, I was also planning to look for you." My heart sank. "What's wrong?" "For the past two days while taking a nap, Tieu Man kept saying she had a headache." "We used to loosen her braid, but she was very nervous, saying Aunt Phung wouldn't
happy." I closed my eyes. Ms. Han's voice lowered. "One more thing." "Yesterday Tieu Man drew a picture of her family, she drew her, herself, and also drew a woman with long black hair." "On that woman's head, she drew a lot of small dots." I tightened my grip on the phone. "Small dots?" "That's right." "I asked what they were, she said dots that cannot be missing." The parking lot was very quiet. I heard breathing. I hung up the phone and immediately went home. When I opened the door, Phung Ngoc Cam was cleaning the living room floor
sitting on the jigsaw puzzle. Her hair was tied up again. Two braids hug the scalp. I walked over, without looking at Phung Ngoc Cam, first untied Tieu Man's rubber band. The mop in Phung Ngoc Cam's hand stopped. "Miss Manh, why are you back?" I didn't answer. Rubber band wrapped three times, tightened very tightly. When I took off the last ring, Tieu Man took a deep breath. I saw red dots on her scalp. Not just one place. But it's a few places. I put the rubber band on the tea table. “Aunt Phung, I did it this morning
What do you say?" Phung Ngoc Cam wiped her hands. "I saw her hair covering her mouth when eating, so I tied it a little." I looked at her. "Tie a little?" She nodded. "That's right." I pushed two rubber bands in front of her. "Is this called tying a little?" Phung Ngoc Cam's face stiffened. Very quickly, she turned to self-pity again. "If Ms. Manh is not satisfied with me, I can go." "But you can't say I'm being rude." treat the children." "During the time I took care of Tieu Man, was there a day when I didn't give my best?" "She ate rice,
The clothes the child wears, the child's sleep, is there anything I don't worry about?" As she spoke, her eyes turned red. This tactic is very familiar. First, turn the problem into a favor. Then turn me into a harsh landlord. If it were before, maybe I would have explained. Today I don't do that. I picked up the phone and put it on the tea table. The screen was facing down. Phung Ngoc Cam saw this action, her eyes changed slightly. I said: “From today onwards, you can't tie Tieu Man's hair anymore.” “You can't be alone either
Take her to the children's room and close the door." "I will install more cameras outside the children's room." She suddenly raised her head. "Is it installed in the children's room too?" "Yes." "So what happens when the child changes clothes?" "I installed it at the door, only filming the door area." The corners of Phung Ngoc Cam's mouth drooped down. Her eyes looked at me changed. Not like she was sorry. But like someone else had stolen something. She quickly bowed her head. "You are the boss, Do whatever you say." I hugged Tieu Man in my arms. Her forehead pressed against my neck, her body stiffened.
I gently patted her back. Phung Ngoc Cam turned around and went into the kitchen. Right before the door closed, I heard her say very softly. "Just a little more." I raised my head. The kitchen door is closed. I don't chase. In the afternoon, I took Tieu Man to kindergarten and took half a day off. After returning home, I searched Phung Ngoc Cam's room. The wardrobe is very organized. Clothes are separated by thickness. In the drawer are old glasses, a box of medicine and an old contact book. I'm not
too much disturbance. Until you feel a hard object under the pillow. It's a transparent sealed bag. Inside contains a lot of hair. There are long fibers, there are short fibers. All are tied with thin thread. At the bottom of the bag there are also two pink rubber bands. Exactly like the one Tieu Man uses every day. I took out the bag. On the back of the bag is a small piece of paper. On it was written a line of text. Three years old, girl, three spots on the top of the head, three spots behind the ears.03I stared at that piece of paper, my fingertips numb. Three spots on the top of the head.
Three spots behind the ear. This is not something that is conveniently recorded. This is an identification mark. I took a photo of the sealed bag, then put it back under the pillow. Then I called the maid company.