Chapter 1 — People Whose Achievements Are Stolen

"My husband stole my place to become a monk and gave it to his juniors, and also forced me to get pregnant. I directly disrupted the entire hospital meeting."

“You withdrew my application for advanced study?”

This message was sent at twelve minutes past nine in the evening.

“Ly Phong, I'm asking you.”

Half past ten.

"Did you give that portion to Ha Uyen Thanh? You also forged my signature?"

Eleven forty.

“Reply the message, let's talk.”

One o'clock in the morning.

"No answer, right? Okay."

Two o'clock in the morning. I put down the phone. The fluorescent lights in the laboratory emitted a soft buzzing sound, illuminating the thesis manuscript spread out on the table. Below each message silently appear two gray words. Outside the hallway was dark, the whole building had only lights on in the whole building. Next to it is the deputy principal's office. The sign with the words "Ly Phong" under the emergency light at the end of the hallway looked pale and cold. Me and him. Only one wall apart. Working together for six years, married for three years. Only then did I realize... that wall was even thinner than I thought. On the corner of the table is a small photo frame. It's the wedding photo that day. He was wearing a neat suit, while I was still wearing a lab coat, with a thick life jacket wrapped around me. That day he laughed and said he didn't have time to change his clothes, so he just took a temporary photo first and would make up for it later. It's been three years. There has never been a “later.” I stood up and pulled out the drawer. Experiment notebook. Hard drive backs up original data. The micropipette lasted four years. A handful of red and blue ballpoint pens stuck in the pen tube. Each item was neatly placed in a cardboard box. Speed is not fast. Even a bit slow. It's like dismantling a Lego castle that I built with my own hands. Every time you take out a piece, you have to see if it can still hold up or not. On the reagent shelf, my medicine and his were placed next to each other. One side has neat handwriting, the other side is scribbled haphazardly. I took down each bottle that belonged to me, wrapped it in a shockproof bag, and placed it in the second box. Two cartons and a large cloth bag were placed neatly in front of the laboratory door. I looked at the room I had lived in for six years for the last time. The slanted sunrise shined through the east window, reflecting a thin layer of cold light on the stainless steel layer of the microscope. Also very dazzling. I pulled the door open, intending to move my things downstairs. There is a person standing outside the door. He was still wearing the same crisp white shirt from yesterday, with the collar one button open. Looking at it, you could see that he hadn't slept much all night. Compared to that neat appearance, the two bags of bean milk and hot stir-fry in his hands were like a gentle mask hastily applied. He looked at me, then his eyes glanced over my shoulder, stopping on the stack of cardboard boxes outside the door. The smile on his face stiffened for a moment, then reluctantly pulled up again.

“Nien Niem, what are you doing?”

I leaned over, letting him see all the stuff behind me clearly.

"As you can see. Pack your things."

My voice was very calm. So calm that I even felt strange, as if the person speaking was not me. Ly Phong placed the bean milk on the hallway window sill, reaching out to touch my shoulder. I took a step back. That movement caused his hand to stop in mid-air. After a while, he slowly withdrew, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing up pants seam.

“Nien Niem, listen to my explanation first.”

“Explain what?”

I looked at him like I was looking at a lab report filled with false data.

“Ly Phong, Ms. Luu from the administrative department called me yesterday afternoon.”

"Curious? She congratulated me."

He said nothing.

“She said the institute's offer to go to Germany for advanced studies has already been finalized.”

“The one who gets to go is not me.”

“The application has changed its name to Ha Uyen Thanh.”

“And she said, you went to the administrative office to sign it yourself, the reason was…”

“‘Researcher Tham Niem proactively quit due to personal reasons.’”

Every time I said another sentence, he would unconsciously touch the watch strap on his wrist.

“So what do you want to explain now?”

“Explain how you forged my signature?”

“Or explain when did you start deciding my life for me?”

“It's not what you think.”

He finally spoke. The voice was very low, as if afraid the opposite lab would hear it.

“That amount… it's true that you helped me withdraw it.”

“But I have my reasons.”

“What reason?”

"Have you forgotten about the fact that we're about to have a baby?"

I was stunned. Half a year ago, it was true that we briefly mentioned the birth of a child during dinner. But it's just a few casual words. I said wait more, wait for the project at hand to finish. He said okay. From beginning to end, I never agreed to have a baby right now. He never said that because of that, he would give up the opportunity to go abroad to practice.

“Since when did I agree to prepare for pregnancy?”

"Didn't you say before that you could consider it? Going to school for at least half a year, not being able to return halfway, and my health is not suitable to go far..."

“What is wrong with me?”

"Last year's health checkup, didn't you have mild anemia? Flying long distances is bad for your body..."

“What does anemia have to do with me going to advanced school?”

“I want to be good for you.”

Those five words came out of his mouth lightly, like a blank sheet of paper covering all problems. It seems that just by adding the sentence "because I want to be good for you", every decision on my behalf immediately becomes reasonable.

“So the fact that you gave that slot to Ha Uyen Thanh... is also for my good?”

He lowered his head to look at the tip of his shoe, his finger unconsciously placed on the watch strap.

"Uyen Thanh's research direction is more suitable for this topic. The Institute has considered synthesizing..."

“Consideration?”

I interrupted.

“Or should you consider it yourself?”

“Nem Niem…”

"When you signed for me, did you ask Director Tien's opinion?"

He didn't answer. Because he never asked. I looked at the face in front of me and suddenly felt very tired. Not the kind of tired from staying up all night. It's another kind of fatigue, smoldering from the bones. This is the man in front of me. Clean shirt. Ready-made breakfast. The mouth always says "because it wants to be good for you". But behind my back, I gave the opportunity that belonged to me to someone else. The saddest thing is... He really thought he was doing the right thing. Even thought two bags of bean milk would be enough to clear this up. The phone in his pocket vibrated. He reflexively pulled it out, glanced at it, then immediately turned off the screen. But I still clearly see two words on the incoming call screen.

“Uyen Thanh.”

I didn't tell him to answer the phone. Don't ask anything more. I bent down and hugged first carton.

“Nien Niem, put your things down first, let's talk properly.”

He extended his hand to help me carry the box.

"No need."

I pushed past him and headed towards the elevator.