Chapter 18 — The Day I Locked the Villa Door

She planted two new pots of mint on the balcony. Prune the rosemary plant back. Remove yellowing branches. The balcony finally gradually returned to its original appearance. Not quite yet. But at least there was green. At five o'clock in the afternoon, Aunt Phuong called.

“Miss Lam.”

"Mr. Ha's side has news."

“Last night, Mr. Ha had a dinner date with Chu Dai Quoc's superiors.”

“Something was mentioned during the meal.”

“This morning, that superior called Zhou Dai Quoc.”

“We don't know the specific content.”

“But this afternoon, Chu Dai Quoc called your residential management board.”

“He called management?”

“Says the previous fire prevention inspection was due to misarrangement.”

“No need to check anymore.”

“In the future, if there is an official inspection, it will follow the correct process.”

Lam Ha leaned against the balcony railing.

“Really fast.”

“I already said it.”

“People like him are very clever.”

"If his superiors just move a little, he can run faster than anyone else."

“What about Chu Huc over there?”

“There is no movement for now.”

“But as far as we know, he and his uncle have been calling each other a lot lately.”

“The specific content is unclear.”

“I know.”

“Miss Lam.”

Aunt Phuong's voice paused a bit.

“The old lady told me to leave another message for you.”

“Move back to the villa.”

“Don't rent outside anymore.”

“My home…”

“Don't let others chase you out.”

Lam Ha was silent. She looked down at the still bare grass below the balcony. After a moment, he said softly:

“I'll move back next week.”

Hang up the phone. She went downstairs. Enter the living room. On the sofa, place a few pillows. It's a newly purchased one. Smoke gray cotton-linen cover. Lam Ha sat down. Sitting in my own living room. Very quiet. So quiet that you can hear the sound of ocean waves from afar. The phone rang. This time, Lam Ha received the call. Chu Huc's voice was completely different a week ago. There is no more aggression and arrogance. Instead, there was a hoarse, tired voice, carrying a bit of scrutiny.

“Can we meet and talk once?”

"No need."

“Let's talk on the phone.”

“There are some things that cannot be explained clearly over the phone.”

“So let's make it short.”

Chu Huc was silent for three seconds.

“The livestream thing…”

“Getting bigger and bigger.”

“Everywhere on the internet there are videos of me and my mother.”

"My mother's face, my face, even Tieu Man's face..."

“They were all thrown up.”

“Whoever searches finds it.”

“And then what?”

"Tran Hao's side has canceled his marriage with Tieu Man."

“The bride price must be returned.”

“Gold, silver and jewelry also have to be paid.”

“My mother has been at home crying for the past two days.”

“What does it have to do with me?”

Chu Huc's voice changed. Bring some pleading. But underneath that pleading... There is also unwillingness.

“I know the house is yours.”

“I did it wrong.”

“But you don't need to make it that big.”

“A livestream that made my whole family a laughing stock on the internet.”

“You can't…”

“Let's calm down a bit?”

“Quiet?”

Lam Ha repeated those two words.

“You stole my house.”

“You changed my door lock.”

“Your mother stole my jewelry.”

“You used my personal assets to organize your sister's wedding.”

“You even signed a transfer paper that you were not qualified to sign.”

"Your uncle even sent someone to pretend to be a fire prevention inspector to put pressure on me."

“And now you tell me to calm down?”

Side wire end there was silence.

“Who do you want to calm down?”

“People whose things are stolen must be quiet?”

“People whose homes have been invaded must stay quiet?”

“Or should people who have done nothing wrong be left alone?”

“I know I was wrong.”

Chu Huc's voice lowered.

“Do you know how wrong you were?”

Lam Ha's voice was still calm as before.

“I don't know.”

Lam Ha said.

“Until now, you still think it turned out like this because I refused to be quiet.”

“I never thought that…”

“Everything turned into today because you were wrong from the first step.”

“You shouldn't have changed that lock.”

“You shouldn't let your mother stand in front of more than two hundred people and lie.”

“Don't sign that authorization letter.”

“This whole life…”

“What you shouldn't do the most…”

“It's writing your name on something that belongs to someone else.”

On the other end of the line, Chu Huc's heavy breathing sounded.

“Compensate you.”

“The money to repair everything… I will pay.”

“I can't pay.”

Lam Ha said. Not ironic. Just telling the truth.

“So what do you want in the end?”

“Very simple.”

“First, write a formal letter of apology.”

“Admit that ownership of the villa belongs to me.”

“Admitting that using that place for a wedding was never authorized by me.”

“Second, your mother returned all the jewelry to me.”

“Third, from today onwards, you and your family are not allowed to step foot in the villa again.”

"Fourth, I can't control things online, and I don't intend to."

“Because you sow…”

“You reap it yourself.”

“That's all?”

“What if I don't agree?”

Lam Ha was silent for a second.

“I will leave the construction materials business between you and your uncle to the reporter.”

The other end of the line immediately fell into dead silence.

“How do you know that?”

“You don't need to know how I know.”

“I just need to know…”

“I know.”

This time it was Chu Huc who hung up first. Lam Ha put down the phone. Take a deep breath. When you exhale, the breath makes the empty photo frame on the tea table vibrate slightly. The frame wobbled a bit. Then stand still. Like nothing ever happened. Lam Ha still goes to work as usual. At 2:30 p.m., she received an email. The sender is a law office. Mail subject:

“About the real estate dispute between Mr. Chu Huc and Ms. Lam Ha.”

Chu Huc hired a lawyer.