Chapter 22 — Nanny Counts Moles

The two of us hid green vegetables in my bowl, then pretended not to see them. Looking at them bowing their heads and secretly smiling, I suddenly felt that those late reports were no longer so scary. The day the official paternity test results came out, I sat alone in the car for a long time. An An is indeed the biological daughter of me and Tham Nghien. Tieu Man is indeed Giang Nghi's child. Diep Tieu Tranh's model was successfully compared with the model of Diep Thu Ninh's relatives. In the chaos three years ago, three children were pushed down three completely different paths. One was raised by me. One child was hated by the Giang family and sent to the hospital for rehabilitation. One child was protected by a kind couple, but was forced to live in hiding. I put the report in a file bag and didn't read it in front of the children. They are not conclusions on paper. They are children who know how to cry, laugh, know how to eat and will look for their mothers at night. The Giang family tried to gain temporary guardianship of Tieu Man. Tan Man submitted to the court evidence of kidnapping, injury records, audio recordings of old lady Giang and Tieu Man's psychological evaluation. The judge immediately denied their request for contact. For now, Tieu Man will continue to be under my care. Arrangements for future custody and care must wait until the criminal case is over before proceeding to trial. Diep Tieu Tranh's adoptive parents also received a temporary protection order. Mrs. Ha called me once. She said Tieu Tranh now dares to turn on the night light in the house. She also said that in the future, if the children agreed, she wanted to let the three girls meet once. I agree. But not now. Now they all need safe days. Tham Nghien has moved out of the house. The divorce agreement was drafted by me. The house for me and the children to live in. He bears the costs of An An and Tieu Man's treatment, and must coordinate the investigation of all cases. As he signed, his hand shook violently. "Thanh Thanh, can you still see the children?" I looked at him. "Waiting for the psychologist to evaluate." "Waiting for the children to agree." "It's not that I want to see you." He nodded with red eyes. "I know." I said: "I don't know." "If I knew, I wouldn't have let an outsider tell Tieu Man over and over again that she's not home." He bowed his head, not making any more excuses. I don't need you to kneel down and beg for forgiveness. I just need you to bear the consequences. When winter came, Tieu Man and An An both got a little fatter. Tieu Man still likes strawberry cake. An An started daring to say she wanted to eat chicken wings. One morning, I combed our hair. Tieu Man suddenly picked up the comb and seriously combed An An twice. She brushes very gently. So light that An An was stunned. Tieu Man asked: "It doesn't hurt, right?" An An shook her head. Tieu Man said again: "In the future, if someone brushes you and hurts you, just hit that person's hand." I stood next to him and burst out laughing. An An looked at me and slowly smiled. Sunlight fell on their short hair. The dots that were counted over and over are still there. But they are no longer anyone's signals, evidence, or cards. They are just traces left by damage. That damage will be recorded. Evildoers will be judged. Children will grow up. I gave them two small briefcases. Tieu Man held An An's hand, turned around and asked me: "Mom, will you be the first to pick us up after school today?" I said: “Will.” An An also looked at me. I squatted down and adjusted our scarves. “Mom will come.” “This time, and every time after, mom will come.”