Chapter 5 — Realizing It's Too Late

Surrounding relatives also changed their tone, some praised our relationship as husband and wife were good, others said Sam Man Thanh should know how to avoid gossip. The eyes that weighed heavily on me were finally removed. When the party was halfway done, the Russian representative suddenly wanted to speak. The initially arranged interpreter is stuck on the road, and the interpreter hired at the scene does not understand the specialized content. Ha's father urged Ha Canh Chau to handle it. Sam Man Thanh picked up the microphone and offered to translate for the Russian representative. She missed two important paragraphs and translated the sentence "temporarily suspend cooperation" into "continue to promote cooperation". I raised my hand and pressed the backup microphone: "The translation was wrong." All the guests at the table turned to look. Sam Man Thanh's face turned pale: "Sister-in-law, I know you know a little Russian, but in official cases you can't just rely on feeling." Ha's mother put down her wine glass: "Don't you think tonight's chaos is enough? Sit down." “She translated ‘temporary cooperation’ as ‘continued cooperation.’ This is no small mistake.” Ha Canh Chau stood up: "Thu Y, give me the microphone." "I understand too. I know you didn't say anything wrong." He blocked my microphone: "I will handle it. Don't make Man Thanh lose face in front of everyone." “So what about mistakes?” “I will explain privately to the other person.” Sam Man Thanh looked at everyone with red eyes: "It's my fault, I shouldn't have tried to express it. If my sister-in-law wants to translate, just let her translate. Even if there's a problem, don't blame her." Father Ha's face darkened: "The people who came tonight are all guests, not here to watch you and your husband quarrel. Canh Chau, take her out." Ha Canh Chau held my hand: "Follow me to the room." "I won't go. That speech is related to the relationship between the two sides, it cannot be mistranslated." "Khuong Thu Y, this is the Ha family's party, not a meal for your company to go get orders." He grabbed the microphone and gave it to Sam Man Thanh. The Russian representative heard the argument and stood up to ask me to translate. The accompanying staff also walked towards me, but Ha's mother blocked them. "She's just Canh Chau's wife. She's in a bad mood tonight. I hope you understand." I was held tightly by Ha Canh Chau's side, not even having the chance to open my mouth. Sam Man Thanh once again raised the microphone to correct the previous mistake. She clearly understood what I said, but deliberately pushed the responsibility of the first translation onto me. After the speech ended, applause rang out at the party. Ha Canh Chau took me to the room to rest and locked the door: "You've attracted enough attention tonight." “You knew she was translating wrong, why did you still give her the microphone?” "There's just been a problem with her engagement, and everyone is waiting to see her get laughed at. Do you have to step on her now?" “It's a job, not a competition for love.” "My job is just to track orders. Knowing a few languages doesn't mean I understand diplomacy." When this sentence fell, I didn't even have the strength to argue. There was a knock on the door outside. Sam Man Thanh led Ha's mother and a few relatives in, holding a commitment in her hand. "Sister-in-law, tonight's incorrect translation was recorded by someone else. I'm afraid it will affect the company, so I want you to sign an explanation, admitting that you arbitrarily intervened in the translation. This matter has nothing to do with Man Thanh." I finished reading the paper: "I did not mistranslate." Ha's mother put a pen in my hand: "I'm just an order tracking employee. If I'm responsible, I'll probably change to another job. Man Thanh still has to marry into the Hua family, her reputation cannot be tainted." “Canh Chau, do you think so too?” He avoided my eyes: