Chapter 1 — Nine Months Post-Divorce

It has been nine months since my ex-husband and I divorced. Out of nowhere, his voice came through the phone, impossibly light and casual. Next Wednesday is my wedding, will you be coming? I glanced down at the newborn baby resting in my arms, my tone flat as I answered him. Not going, I am currently resting in confinement, I just gave birth. The line went silent for a good ten seconds. I thought he had hung up. Yet ten minutes later, he barged straight into my hospital room carrying a fruit basket, his eyes bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the infant.

Nine months? His voice cracked, shifting registers. When did you get pregnant?

01

On the day I gave birth to my daughter, a fine, misty rain was falling outside the window. The nurse carried the baby over and placed her in my arms, mentioning that she was a very well-behaved child. I lowered my head to look at the baby. She was just a tiny bundle, her eyes still unopened, yet her minuscule fingers were already clutching the hem of my shirt. My phone vibrated on the bedside table. A name flashed across the screen. Tan Nghien. Tan Nghien and I had been divorced for nine months. Throughout these past nine months, he had never once bothered to ask if I was doing well or how I was surviving. Now that he was calling, it was certainly not out of concern. I pressed the answer button. The other end of the line was boisterous, sounding as though he were inside a private dining room at a restaurant. Tan Nghien’s voice was airy.

Wen Lan, next Wednesday is my wedding, will you be coming?

I looked down at the daughter in my arms. She was sleeping peacefully. I felt equally composed.

Not going.

Tan Nghien let out a single laugh.

What is the matter, are you afraid of watching me marry someone else?

I raised a hand to stroke my daughter’s cheek.

I am in confinement, I just gave birth.

The other end of the line abruptly went dead silent. I heard someone calling out to him from his side. Someone laughed and asked, Who is that? Tan Nghien did not answer. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. I thought he had hung up the phone. Then he spoke again, his voice dropping an octave.

What did you say?

I said, I just gave birth.

As soon as I finished speaking, I hung up directly. The nurse walked in to change my medication, and noticing my poor complexion, she asked if I was in pain anywhere. I shook my head.

Nothing is wrong.

In truth, it still hurt. Not the surgical incision, but rather the memory of past words, which sent a freezing chill straight through my stomach. Tan Nghien had once told me right in front of his mother, Phuong Thuc Hoa, that I was far too cold-hearted to ever resemble someone capable of being a mother. Phuong Thuc Hoa had declared that a woman who could not bear children should step aside and make room. Thuong Nhue had sat on their living room sofa, her head lowered as she sipped tea, uttering not a single word. Yet upon her wrist hung my own wedding ring. On the day I signed the papers, I demanded neither the house nor the car on the divorce settlement, taking only the savings I had accumulated prior to our marriage. They had all assumed I walked away completely stripped of everything. Outside the door, a sudden flurry of hurried footsteps echoed. The nurse had just turned around when the door to the hospital room was shoved open. Tan Nghien stood in the doorway. He was holding a fruit basket. His suit jacket was soaked with rain, and his hair was plastered against his forehead. He did not even deign to glance at the nurse, staring intently instead at the infant in my arms. That gaze looked as though it had been struck by a heavy blow. The nurse frowned.

Who are you?

Tan Nghien did not answer. He took two steps forward.

Nine months?

I pulled my daughter tightly against my chest.

Get out.

His eyes were bloodshot.

Wen Lan, when did you get pregnant?

I looked at him. After nine months apart, he still maintained this exact demeanor. Whenever something did not go his way, he acted as though the entire world owed him an explanation. I spoke in an indifferent tone.

It is none of your business.

Tan Nghien’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

Whose child is this?

The nurse immediately stepped in front of the bed.

Mister, this is the maternity ward, please step outside.

Tan Nghien acted as though he heard nothing. He stared hard at the bracelet around the infant’s wrist. It displayed the time of birth, the mother’s name, and the gender. The section for the father’s name was left completely blank. His expression gradually shifted.

Why is the father’s space left blank?

I let out a soft laugh.

Because she does not need one.

Tan Nghien abruptly looked back at me.

Wen Lan, say that again.

I leaned back against the pillows, my voice low.

Her last name is Wen.

From now on, she has nothing to do with anyone except me.

The fruit basket in Tan Nghien’s hand slipped and crashed to the floor. Apples rolled out, bumping against the bedpost. The nurse pressed the call button for assistance. He finally seemed to snap out of it, reaching out a hand as if to touch the baby. I lifted my gaze to look at him.

Tan Nghien, if you dare to touch her even once, I will call the police right this second.

His hand froze mid-air. From outside the doorway came the voice of a security guard. Tan Nghien suddenly let out a laugh. That smile was profoundly unsightly.

You will not let me touch her, is it because you have a guilty conscience?

I looked at him, feeling not the slightest ripple of emotion inside.

Tan Nghien, nine months ago, it was your own hand that signed the divorce agreement.

You have come here now to question me about the child, but it is far too late.

His face tightened.

The agreement did not mention that you were pregnant.

I looked straight at him.

The agreement also stated many other things.

He stared hard at me.

What do you mean?

I gave no answer. The sound of high heels echoed outside the hospital room once more. A woman stood in the doorway, her voice trembling.

Tan Nghien, why are you here?

Thuong Nhue had arrived. In her hand, she was still carrying a paper shopping bag from a bridal boutique. When she caught sight of the baby in my arms, her face instantly drained of color. Tan Nghien did not turn his head back. He merely glared at me. I lowered my head to soothe my daughter, then raised my eyes to speak to him.

If you truly want to know, go back and ask your mother.

02

Thuong Nhue stood by the doorway, failing to step inside. Her gaze swept past the infant before falling back upon Tan Nghien’s face.

Tan Nghien, we still need to go for our wedding fitting.

Tan Nghien did not budge. The security guards had already reached the door. The nurse used an unyielding tone.

Mister, the two of you, please leave this place immediately.

Tan Nghien remained motionless, as though deaf to the world. He asked me.

What is it that my mother knows?

I remained silent. The baby in my arms stirred, her tiny lips pursing in a faint, delicate pout. I lowered my head to look at her. This child was simply too small. So small that even when she cried, she lacked the strength to make a loud sound. Yet she had already become the absolute, unyielding bottom line for the rest of my life. Thuong Nhue finally stepped into the room. She placed her shopping bag onto a chair, forcing a sliver of a smile onto her face.

Wen Lan, the birth of your child is a joyous occasion, there is no need for us to quarrel.

However, the remark you just made is terribly easy for people to misunderstand.

I raised my eyes to look at her.

What is it that you misunderstand?

She paused.

You and Tan Nghien have been divorced for nine months.

Now a child suddenly appears, and you purposely called to announce you had just given birth.

Is this not simply meant to make him uncomfortable?

I laughed.

The phone call was made by him.

The wedding invitation was also his invitation for me to come.

I spoke the truth, so how did it become intentional?

The smile on Thuong Nhue’s face could no longer hold. Tan Nghien finally turned his head to look at her.

How did you know she was here?

Thuong Nhue’s body stiffened.

I called you, but you did not answer.

I asked your assistant.

He said you had come to the hospital.

Tan Nghien asked no further questions. I understood now. He had rushed over in such haste without telling a soul. Thuong Nhue arriving within ten minutes meant someone was even more terrified of him finding out the truth than he was. The door to the hospital room was pushed open again as someone squeezed inside. Phuong Thuc Hoa had arrived. She wore a deep red coat, and in her hand, she still clutched a gold-embossed wedding invitation. Upon laying eyes on me, she furrowed her brow first. Upon seeing the child, her expression darkened entirely.

Wen Lan, what sort of scene are you trying to cause now?

I looked at that invitation. The names of Tan Nghien and Thuong Nhue were inscribed upon it. Highly celebratory. And profoundly repulsive. Phuong Thuc Hoa slammed the invitation down heavily onto the bedside cabinet.

Our family is holding a wedding next week, and if you have any shred of a conscience left, do not bring this nameless bastard of unclear origins to smear our family’s reputation!

The nurse’s expression shifted.

Please mind your language.

Phuong Thuc Hoa did not bother looking at the nurse at all. She stared fixedly at the baby in my arms, her voice piercing and shrill.

You gave birth nine months after a divorce, do you think people do not know how to count the months?

If you are looking to extort money, you have picked the wrong door!

Tan Nghien abruptly spun around.

Mother!

Phuong Thuc Hoa was left stunned by his sudden shout.

Why are you yelling at me?

I am doing this for your own good!

She pointed straight at me.

This kind of woman is the best at putting on an act!

Back then she kept her mouth sealed shut like a clam while at home, and the moment she gets divorced she carries out a child.

She simply saw that you were getting married and deliberately came here to ruin things!

Thuong Nhue lowered her head, the rims of her eyes turning red.

Auntie, please do not say anymore.

That single sentence from her carried far more weight than anything else could have. Phuong Thuc Hoa immediately rushed to shield her.

Nhue Nhue, do not be afraid.

With me here, no one will ever snatch your wedding away.

I watched these three individuals. The scene from nine months ago flooded back once more. It was the exact same three people. One of them wore a cold expression and ordered me to sign the papers. Another wept and claimed she had no wish to destroy my marriage. The third pulled a medical examination report from my handbag and declared that the Tan family could not be dragged down by the likes of me. At that time, I did not fight back. Because I had just stepped out of the hospital, my palms slick with cold sweat. The doctor had told me I was pregnant. I had not yet figured out whether I should inform Tan Nghien. Phuong Thuc Hoa had already found out. And she had made the decision far faster than I ever could. I raised a hand, pushing the invitation on the bedside cabinet back toward them.

Take it back.

Phuong Thuc Hoa sneered.

Guilty conscience?

I pressed the recording button on my phone, turning the screen face-down and leaving it beside the blanket. Phuong Thuc Hoa paid no attention to this movement. But Thuong Nhue caught it. Her gaze twitched slightly. I spoke in a cool tone.

Phuong Thuc Hoa, if you utter the phrase child of unclear origins one more time, I will have the hospital call the police.

You dare!

I dare.

I looked straight at her.

There are security cameras in this hospital room.

There are nurses right here.

If you stand here cursing at a newborn infant and a postpartum mother in front of a crowd, the Tan family making the local news right before the wedding ought to be quite a lively spectacle.

Phuong Thuc Hoa’s face instantly flushed crimson.

Are you threatening me?

I shook my head.

I am reminding you.

Tan Nghien looked at me as though recognizing me for the very first time. In the past, I had never spoken to him this way. In the past, I had always believed that family harmony brought all blessings. Only later did I come to understand. There are some people who view your concessions as promissory notes. You step back one pace, and they instantly dare to reach out and strangle the life out of you. Tan Nghien suppressed his voice and asked.

Wen Lan, what on earth have you been hiding?

I looked at him.

I was not hiding anything.

It was you who never bothered to ask.

Phuong Thuc Hoa immediately cut in.

She is talking nonsense!

Tan Nghien, do not listen to her attempts to drive a wedge between us!

I looked over at Phuong Thuc Hoa.

What are you panicking for?

Her lips trembled. I slowly pulled open the drawer of the bedside cabinet. Inside lay a kraft paper envelope. This was the item I had asked Shao Ting to bring over a day before I gave birth. Shao Ting was a lawyer, as well as the older brother of my college classmate. He had told me to wait until the child was born before bringing these things out. I picked up the envelope. Tan Nghien’s gaze dropped straight onto it.

What is that?

I did not tear it open. I merely looked at Phuong Thuc Hoa.

Nine months ago, that medical report which you tore to shreds with your own hands.

I still have a duplicate copy right here.

03

The hospital room plunged into absolute silence. Phuong Thuc Hoa stared fixedly at that envelope, her expression shifting wildly through a kaleidoscope of colors. Thuong Nhue’s fingers tightened around her shopping bag, the plastic rustling with faint, dry sounds. Tan Nghien took a single step forward.