Chapter 4 — The Beggar Husband Turns Out to Be a Dragon

In the days after the tense family meeting, the atmosphere in the Anh Duong villa has not completely calmed down. Although Ms. Lam Bich Van no longer openly objected as harshly as before, she switched to a more subtle method: she ordered her employees to closely monitor Bach Tranh's every move, from his eating time to where he went around the house, as if he were watching a suspect, not a guest.

Bao Son often finds excuses to provoke, time after time deliberately leaving things scattered in front of Bach Tranh and then making sarcastic comments, or calling him harsh names like "beggar" or "homeless" right in front of his employees, deliberately lowering his honor.

Tuyet Nhi knows all about those things, and every time she witnesses them, she does not hesitate to stand up and defend them. One afternoon, when she happened to pass by the backyard, she saw Bao Son standing in front of Bach Tranh, holding a glass of orange juice and splashing some at his feet, laughing.

"Oh, sorry, my hand slipped." Bao Son smiled faintly, his voice full of artificiality. "But never mind, being a little dirty won't do anything to someone who is already used to living dirty, right?"

"Bao Son!" Tuyet Nhi walked quickly, her voice harsh. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, Hai is here." Bao Son turned and his face immediately changed, appearing innocent. "I was just unintentional, why are you so angry?"

"Do you think I don't know you're doing it on purpose?" Tuyet Nhi glared, her voice cold. "How many times have I told you, Mr. Bach Tranh is our guest, you can't treat him like that."

"What guest is in such rags?" Bao Son snorted, his eyes glanced at Bach Tranh full of contempt. "You keep defending someone whose background you don't know, aren't you afraid that one day you'll regret it?"

"I don't need you to take care of that." Tuyet Nhi responded, then turned to Bach Tranh, her voice softened. "Go inside and change your clothes, let me handle this."

Bach Tranh didn't say anything, just nodded slightly then turned and walked into the house, his appearance still remaining calm as usual, but Tuyet Nhi still noticed for a very short moment, his fist clenched tightly before relaxing, as if he was suppressing some anger deep inside.

"I heard what you said." Tuyet Nhi turned to look at Bao Son, her voice was sterner than ever. "If you continue to humiliate him like this, I will report it directly to father, and I will not show mercy."

Bao Son rolled his eyes at his sister, never seeing her so serious for someone he didn't know, and finally had to leave in a huff, muttering a few inaudible words.

That evening, Tuyet Nhi brought a new set of clothes to Bach Tranh's room, saw him sitting at the table, holding a small notebook, seemingly writing or drawing something, but when he saw her enter, he quickly closed the notebook and put it in a drawer.

"What are you doing?" She asked, curious.

"Nothing, just taking notes." Bach Tranh replied, his voice somewhat evasive.

Tuyet Nhi didn't ask any more questions, just put the clothes on the bed. "What happened in the afternoon, I apologize on behalf of my younger brother. He has such a temperament, but he's not a bad person at all, he just doesn't understand things."

"You don't need to apologize for others forever." Bach Tranh looked at her with complicated eyes. "I wonder, why do you have to endure all this trouble for a stranger like me?"

"Because I trust my feelings." Tuyet Nhi sat down on the opposite chair, her voice sincere. "From the moment I met you, I felt that you weren't a bad person. The way you talk, the way you treat people around you, no matter how badly they treat you, you still maintain your composure and dignity. That's not something a common scammer can pretend to be for long."

Bach Tranh was silent, his eyes looked at her for a long time, a strange feeling arose in his heart that he had never experienced since leaving Long Uyen. Over the past six years, he had learned not to trust anyone, learned to see through every veneer of kindness to find the true underlying motives, because his enemies could hide in any shape or form. But with Tuyet Nhi, even though he tried to probe, he only found sincerity without any calculation.

"Have you ever thought?" He spoke slowly, his voice low. "That there are secrets that, once known, will make your life more dangerous?"

That question made Tuyet Nhi pause. She looked at him, feeling something serious behind that seemingly idle statement. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Bach Tranh was silent for a long time, then finally just shook his head, avoiding a direct answer. "I'm just talking hypothetically. Don't think too much."

Tuyet Nhi did not inquire further, although in her heart she began to have a hunch that the man in front of her was not as simple as he initially appeared. But instead of fear or suspicion, she felt a deeper curiosity and concern, as if each secret he kept made her want to understand him more.

In the following days, Tuyet Nhi began to notice many strange things in Bach Tranh that a normal beggar could not have. He reads books at an incredibly fast speed, being able to accurately recall each passage even if he only skims it once. He talked about history, philosophy, and economic issues with a profound understanding that amazed even her father's guests who came to the house. Once, when he overheard a conversation between Giang Chan Hung and a partner about an investment deal that was in trouble, Bach Tranh made such a sharp observation that Giang Chan Hung himself had to ponder.

"Where did you learn these things?" Tuyet Nhi asked, one afternoon when the two of them sat in the garden, she was reviewing an economics textbook for an upcoming exam, and Bach Tranh happened to help her explain a complex concept that even her lecturer did not explain clearly.

"I read many things during my years of wandering." He replied, his voice gentle, avoiding going into details. "When there is no home to go to, people have a lot of time to think and observe."

Tuyet Nhi nodded and did not ask further, but in her heart, the image of a simple "beggar" was gradually replaced by a complex, profound, and mysterious person. She began to look forward to the afternoons when she could sit and chat with him, began to notice the way he looked at her every time she smiled, began to realize that her heart beat a little faster every time he accidentally touched her hand when giving her a book or a glass of water.

One evening, when they both sat watching the sunset from the east living room balcony, Tuyet Nhi suddenly asked. "Mr. Bach Tranh, if one day you have to leave here, will you remember this place?"

Bach Tranh turned to look at her, his eyes in the moment of sunset dyed his face yellow, becoming strangely gentle. "I will remember." He replied with a rare sincerity in his voice. "Not because this place is rich or luxurious, but because this is the first place in many years where I've been treated like a real human being."

Tuyet Nhi felt her heart tremble slightly at those words, a warm feeling spreading in her chest that she had never experienced with anyone else before. She didn't know exactly if this was love or not, but she knew one thing clearly: she didn't want this man to leave her life, no matter how much the whole family protested, no matter how many difficulties lay ahead.

A few days later, on a light rainy afternoon, Tuyet Nhi got off work earlier than usual and stopped by the east living room to invite Bach Tranh to watch a documentary about history that she had just downloaded to her tablet. She caught him sitting and arranging small pebbles from the garden into a strange spiral on the table, his eyes pensive as if immersed in some distant memory.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sitting down opposite, curiously looking at the pebble arrangement.

Bach Tranh was startled, quickly broke the puzzle, and smiled wryly. "Nothing, just an old habit, helping me calm down."

"Where does the habit come from?" Tuyet Nhi continued asking, not intending to let it go as easily as before.

"Since childhood." He replied, his voice slow, his eyes looking distantly out the window. "Someone once taught me that, when your heart is confused, put everything in a certain order, so that your mind can gradually regain order."

"That person must be very important to you." She said, her voice gentle, not wanting to make him hesitate.

"That's right." Bach Tranh nodded, a trace of sadness flashed across his face, which had always restrained his emotions. "But that was a long time ago, there's no point in mentioning it now."

Tuyet Nhi did not ask further questions, just quietly sat next to him, watching the documentary she brought with her, occasionally commenting a few words to lighten the heavy atmosphere. She realized that every time, when she didn't try to force him to open up right away, he would accidentally reveal a little more, like a half-closed door that, if you just have to be patient enough to wait, will one day open completely.

She also did not know that, the very next night, an unexpected event would occur, forcing Bach Tranh to use part of his hidden power to protect her from a danger that she completely did not foresee, and that would be the first time in her life that, without even knowing it, she was one step closer to the truth about the true identity of the man she was gradually falling in love with.