Chapter 16 — Return to Eighteen

At the police station, the female police officer giving testimony saw the wound on my wrist and had to take a breath of cold air. "Is this tied by your parents?" I calmly nodded: "He is no longer my father. From today onwards, not anymore." I recounted the entire incident from beginning to end. After taking the testimony, the female police officer was silent for a few seconds, then softly said: "Don't worry, the evidence is clear, they can't escape." I raised the corners of my lips: "Thank you." When I walked out of the police station, it was almost dawn. The store manager took me to my grandmother's house, turned and said to Dung Diec Lam: "You take her in, I'll wait in the car." Dung Diec Lam nodded. After getting out of the car, he naturally walked to my left, covering the road. The alley was very dark, only the street lamp in the distance emitted a dim yellow light. The shadows of the two of us fell long, intertwined with each other. When I reached the door of the house, I stopped. "Dung Diec Lam, thank you today." Dung Diec Lam turned around and looked at me. The moonlight shined on his face, highlighting his delicate features, exuding a strange gentleness. "No need to thank me." He paused for a moment, "If anything happens in the future, please contact me first. Don't bear it yourself." I moved my lips, and in the end I could only say one sentence: "Okay." I pushed the door open and walked in, my grandmother was still sitting in the living room. The moment she saw me walk in, my grandmother jumped up, her stick almost falling to the ground. "Ninh Ninh!" My grandmother rushed to hug me, her old hands shaking and rubbing my face, "You're scaring me to death..." The tears I had been holding back for half a day finally came out. I buried my face in the crook of my grandmother's shoulder, my voice choking: "Grandma, I'm okay." "You still say it's okay!" Grandma saw the wound on my wrist, tears kept falling, "How could they act so cruelly!" I hugged my grandmother tightly, gently patting her back: "Grandma, they have been caught, from now on no one will bully me anymore." My grandmother cried for a long time before letting me go, pulling me to sit down, insisting that she warm up rice for me to eat. I sat in front of the dining table, watching her hunched figure languish in the kitchen, her eyes red again. That night, I slept very soundly. But that same night, someone stayed awake. Lac Tu Hanh carried the "fainted" Uc Nhue Dao and rushed out of the Uc family's house, frantically called a taxi, and rushed straight to the hospital. In the emergency room, the doctor checked him over and said with an expressionless face: "Everything is normal, it may be due to emotional agitation leading to mild discomfort. Rest a little and you will be fine, there is no big problem." Lac Tu Hanh breathed a sigh of relief, sat next to the hospital bed, looking at Uc Nhue Dao's pale face. Uc Nhue Dao slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw him was: "Mr. Tu Hanh... does she hate you very much?" Lac Tu Hanh was silent for a moment: "It's not my fault." Uc Nhue Dao's tears immediately fell, she tried to sit up: "I didn't know my parents would treat her like that. If I knew, I definitely wouldn't let them do that..." Lac Tu Hanh looked at her red, swollen eyes, his heart softening. "I know, don't cry anymore." Uc Nhue Dao sobbed: "But she misunderstood me, she definitely thought I instigated her parents to kidnap her... What should I do? "I don't want to lose her, and I don't want to lose you either." She said and then put her hand around her chest and panted. Lac Tu Hanh quickly helped her lie down: "Don't get excited, just rest first. Tomorrow I'll go find Nhue Ninh and explain clearly to her." Uc Nhue Dao grabbed his arm and pitifully begged: "Can you help me persuade her to go home? I don't want our house to turn into like this..." Lac Tu Hanh nodded: "I will do that." The next day, Lac Tu

Hanh left the hospital, bought breakfast, took a taxi and went straight to my grandmother's house. He had to search for a long time to find this address, an old building located in the slums of Giang Thanh district. The hallway was filled with messy furniture, the walls were plastered with advertisements, and the air had a faint musty smell. Lac Tu Hanh frowned, but still walked upstairs. He knocked on the door, waited a moment, and the door opened. The person who opened the door was Dung Diec Lam. He wore a clean white shirt, the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and in his hand was holding a bowl of hot porridge. The moment the two made eye contact, the atmosphere seemed to freeze. Lac Tu Hanh's face instantly darkened: "Why are you here?" Dung Diec Lam stood at the door, holding a bowl of porridge, seeing Lac Tu Hanh's face, his eyebrows not moving at all. "Bring breakfast." He replied leisurely. Lac Tu Hanh tightened the plastic bag in his hand, inside was soy milk and stir-fry. He looked over Dung Diec Lam's shoulder inside, his eyes gliding around the narrow living room. "Where is Nhue Ninh? I want to see her." "He doesn't want to see you." "Who the hell are you?" Lac Tu Hanh tried to suppress his anger, "It's not your turn to decide between me and her." Behind me came the sound of footsteps. I walked out of the room, wearing pajamas, with a bandage on my wrist. My face was still pale, but my eyes had returned to their calm expression.