Chapter 3 — Price

9 Perhaps because we hadn't seen each other for more than three months, when he saw me, Pho Tu Ang was somewhat excited. The little boy ran to me and threw himself into my arms, with a cooing voice that I hadn't heard in a long time: "Mommy!" I rubbed my child's head, my heart felt as soft as if it was about to melt. Tong Lo put on her bag, smiled gently and turned to Pho Chi: "Let's go for a walk, shall we? Let Tu Ang have more time with her mother." Pho Chi's eyes always rested on me. I nodded slightly in greeting, then took my son's hand and left. Since leaving home, my child and I have only communicated via video call. I never asked about Pho Chi's situation, so Pho Tu Ang was probably told not to mention it. I took my child to the bakery at the gate of the residential area. On the way, he continuously observed the surroundings. Entering the store, as soon as he sat down he couldn't help but ask: "Mom, why did you come to this place?" Before I could answer, the boy spoke up himself, his voice full of criticism: "This place is so rural, not as beautiful as my house!" I pushed the cake in front of him, opened the plastic spoon and gave it to him: "It doesn't matter if it's beautiful or not, the important thing is that mom lives here happily." Tu Ang swung her little legs and scooped up a spoonful of cake. “Is it delicious?” The boy nodded vigorously, then took another spoonful: "It's delicious!" Her clear eyes looked at me, her voice full of anticipation asking: "Mom, when will you come home?" I used a tissue to wipe the cream off my child's face and gently said: "Mom and Dad are divorced, from now on each of us will have our own lives." Tu Ang's swinging legs suddenly stopped. I continued: "If you miss me, you can come live with me." That answer made Tu Ang not at all satisfied, her lips pursed, her eyes clearly showing displeasure: "I don't want to!" Don't want what? Don't want your parents to divorce, or don't want to live with your mother? I chose to avoid this topic and instead asked about my child's recent life. Tu Ang used a spoon to stir the cake, the delicate dessert was messed up: "You live happily! Aunt Tong Lo often comes to play with you!" Hearing that, my heart felt like someone was squeezing it, but I still tried to smile: "Is that so?" Tu Ang glanced at me and continued: "We went to the amusement park and water amusement park together." “She bought me toys and also gave me a little rabbit to raise.” “Aunt Tong Lo cooks very well, her fried ribs are extremely fragrant!” “She can sing, draw, and dance!” “Do you like her?” Tu Ang nodded, her voice full of pride as if showing off a brand new toy: "She's both beautiful and gentle, she buys me everything, not stingy like mom!" Having finished speaking, he scooped up another spoonful of cake, his legs began to swing again: "Mom, if you don't come home anymore, I will let Aunt Tong Lo stay in the house from now on." That tone was like declaring: "Mom, you won't play with me, I'll go find someone else." I patted my child's head and gently said: "You can stay home if you want, but mom... won't come back anymore." Pho Tu Ang opened his eyes wide and asked in surprise: "Mom, you really won't come back later?" “So if you want to eat little bear cookies, who will make them for you?” “You can go to Mom's house to eat.” The boy put down his spoon and frowned: "So this morning, Aunt Tran will help me get dressed?" “It's been a long time since anyone told me a bedtime story.” "What if you get sick? Dad still has to go to work." I replied, “I can learn how to dress myself.” “Daddy can also tell you a story before bed.” “If you are sick, I will come and take care of you.” Pho Tu Ang was silent, then suddenly got angry and pushed the cake in front of him away: "It's so bad! I've never eaten a cake this bad!" “This place is so disgusting, it's both ugly and shabby!” “When you talk, say it properly, don't get angry.” – I try to be patient. He pushed me hard: "I'm not angry! I'm telling the truth!" Pho Tu Ang picked up his watch and called his father: "Dad, I don't want to live with mom! Come pick me up!" Pho Chi told you to wait a moment, he will be there soon. But Pho Tu Ang refused to wait. He wanted to go out, but I stopped him from leaving. So he sat down on the sofa, his face stubborn, deliberately not talking to me. The boy was pampered too much. Whenever he was not satisfied, he immediately became angry and cold, waiting for the adults to finish coaxing him before softening. I sighed silently and patiently said: "The things mom did for me, other people can do too. Mom won't come back, but you can still come find her." Who would have thought it would snap back: "If mom doesn't come back, then I don't need you anymore!" I suddenly froze, looking at my child without knowing how to respond. Pho Tu Ang bowed her head, used the tip of her shoe to lightly kick left and right, her eyes unintentionally glanced down at my legs under my long skirt, and suddenly said: "Actually, mom is like an ugly duckling, and aunt Tong Lo is the real princess." I was stunned. In that moment, my heart felt like it was being stabbed by a needle, it hurt so much that it hurt to even breathe. Pho Chi and Tong Lo arrived, Pho Tu Ang immediately ran to hug Tong Lo. The three of them looked like a happy family of three. As for me, I'm like an evil witch bullying children. I still sat still, not moving. Tong Lo glanced at me, then led the boy out of the shop. There are no customers at this time, the owner is busy in the back. Pho Chi stepped in front of me and asked: "What did you say to your child?" Seeing that I didn't answer, he lowered his voice a bit: "On the way here, the boy was still very happy." "Really?" I curled my lips and smiled softly: "Sorry, it made him unhappy." Pho Chi frowned: "He's still young, you should be more tolerant, don't get angry with him." I rubbed my forehead and stood up tiredly: "Then don't bring him to see me in the future. I'm not capable of being a good mother." Pho Chi was upset: "You're his mother, if I don't let you see you, then who will you see?" I looked up and looked straight into his eyes, saying nothing. The two of us faced each other for a few seconds, then he forced himself to change the subject: "You... live here... are you okay?" “Very good.” “Very well?” He curled his lips: "I saw you taking pictures." “Since when do you do such things?” I replied: "After leaving you, besides death, I want to try everything once." Pho Chi's face immediately became ugly. I turned around to walk away, but he stepped in front of me. “Tu Ang still misses you these days.” He said stiffly: "If you've played enough, you should arrange a time to go home with your children." I pointed out the door and sneered: "Do you lack company? Should I come back and be the third party?" “I'm with Tong Lo…” “It doesn't matter, I don't care.” I walked around him and walked out. Tong Lo and Pho Tu Ang were still standing there. Seeing me walk out, the boy immediately turned around, nestled behind Tong Lo. I didn't stop or glance at them, just walked straight past, as if I never knew them. Tong Lo suddenly called me back: "Miss Lam, if you still want to continue pursuing a job related to dance, I can introduce you to some resources." I stopped walking, turned around and smiled at her: "Instead of having free time to worry about my business, why don't you take care of a few more married men?" Looking at her suddenly stiff face, my heart was as happy as a flag. After walking a while, my tears suddenly fell uncontrollably. Pho Tu Ang knew from a very young age that her mother had ugly legs and walked a bit oddly. When I went to kindergarten to attend activities, my friends often surrounded me and asked questions. Every time he saw me sad, he would hug me and comfort me: "Mom, your legs are not ugly, you are a princess." And now, he says: "Actually, Mom is more like an ugly duckling." 10 After that unhappy meeting, Pho Tu Ang didn't even video call me anymore. On the outside, he is a gentle, polite boy, praised by adults as a "little gentleman". Only at home does he show his true temperament — especially to me. Even though I tried my best to teach my child, in the end, from speech to behavior, he was still more like the Pho family than me. The guy who took photos for us that day was named Hua Tan - a photographer and short video blogger. That day he asked me if I could use my pictures as material for a video. Hua Tan showed me his account, which has hundreds of thousands of followers, mainly posting videos about couples' daily lives. His girlfriend's name is Triem Triem, a year ago she had a traffic accident, is still in a wheelchair and is persistently recovering. I talked to him for a long time and finally agreed. When the finished product was posted, Hua Tan sent me the video link. In the second half of the clip, I saw my image appear in the frame: The hem of my dress fluttered, the sunlight covered my fingertips, I turned my head to look at the lens, my lips curled slightly, revealing a light smile. It turns out, moving forward... is not so difficult. Half a month later, Hua Tan's account posted another video. I clicked on the push notification. The couple in the video no longer has the same cheerful style as before. Both of them had serious looks on their faces. Triem Triem sat in a wheelchair, his eyes were red, his voice was choked, he almost couldn't speak several times.