Chapter 6 — The Day I Locked the Villa Door

The whole yard was silent. Tien My Phuong's face turned from red to pale white. A choking sound came from Chu Huc's throat as if something was blocking it. Chu Tieu Man clasped the wedding bouquet in her hand. The livestream of twenty thousand people directly exploded.

“What the hell?!”

“Who is Lam Ha?!”

“The ex-wife showed up?!”

I took out my phone from my pocket. The central control interface of the security system appears on the screen. My thumb stopped on a red button. There are only two words on the button:

“Emergency lock.”

I raised my head to look at Chu Huc.

“You want to use my house.”

“I'll tell you…”

“What can I call my home?”

I pressed down. The artistic iron gate in the yard immediately locked automatically. The sound of the lock opening echoed loudly amidst the silence. Immediately after that, all the lights in the four corners of the villa turned on at the same time. Daylight. Cold white light shined directly on each person's face like an interrogation room light. The security radio system sounded from four directions around the villa. The electronic female voice was cold as ice.

“Please pay attention.”

“The villa security system has activated the highest level lock mode.”

“Current operator: Lam Ha.”

“All entrances have been blocked.”

"Those who have not been granted permission please stay in place and wait for processing."

More than two hundred people stood frozen in place. The children were so scared that they burst into tears. The wedding music was still playing from the speakers, overlapping the security announcements, creating a strange and funny scene of chaos. It took Tien My Phuong exactly five seconds to recover. She rushed straight towards me. The red cheongsam almost wrapped itself around her legs.

“What are you doing?! Open the door!”

Tien My Phuong screamed.

“Can't open it anymore.”

I turned the phone screen towards her. On the screen, six surveillance camera frames appeared clearly at the same time. The lock status of all entrances turns red.

“This security system was installed by me.”

“Ultimate permission locked with my biometric data.”

“You guys can change the door lock.”

“But control of the security system cannot be replaced.”

Tien My Phuong stared at the screen, her mouth opened and her voice immediately shrilled.

"Are you crazy?! In front of so many people, you locked us inside?!"

“Not locking you inside.”

I looked at her.

“It's about locking you inside my house.”

“I am the sole owner of this villa.”

“Everyone here, entering my house without permission…”

“It's all illegal intrusion.”

“You talk nonsense!”

Chu Huc rushed forward and yanked his tie. The yellow tie pin was pulled completely to one side.

"This house was bought when we got married! It's marital property! Stop standing here pretending!"

I looked at him.

“You've told me this at least ten times.”

“I'll say it again one last time, please listen carefully.”

I took out a yellow-brown paper envelope from my inside pocket. There are only three sheets of paper. I pulled out the first sheet.

“Photocopy of home ownership certificate.”

“Owner: Lam Ha.”

“Individual property.”

“Registration date: March 15, 2019.”

I pulled out the second sheet.

“House sale contract.”

“Buyer: Lam Ha.”

“Payment method: Pay in full at once.”

“Payment account: Lam Ha's personal account.”

“Notarized gift certificate give."

“Given by: Tran Tu Lan.”

“Gift recipient: Lam Ha.”

“Assets donated: The entire amount of money to buy a house.”

“Notarization date: March 10, 2019.”

I placed three pieces of paper in a row on the small table with the "Authorization of Name Transfer" sticker attached.

“My husband and I got married in June 2020.”

“This house was purchased in March 2019.”

“Pay in full.”

“Personal assets before marriage.”

“Three years of marriage…”

“I have never paid a penny of mortgage, management fees or repair costs.”

“I pay electricity and water bills.”

“I pay the management fee.”

“The fee for maintaining the security system is also paid by me.”

“And the transfer paper I just signed…”

I looked straight at Chu Huc.

“The authorized person wrote your name.”

“But you are not the legal owner.”

“Legally…”

“That piece of paper doesn't have any value.”

My voice is not loud. But the two high-powered speakers on stage transmitted every word to everyone's ears. And livestream too. The number of live viewers increased from twenty thousand to sixty thousand. Comments poured down like a waterfall.

“Is the ex-wife really the owner?!”

“So the ex-husband's whole family took over someone's house to hold the wedding?”

“Even the red book was brought out! It's over!”

“Just now, my ex-mother-in-law said it was her son's money, sweat and tears, right? Let's slap ourselves!”

Chu Huc stared at the three pieces of paper on the table. He doesn't touch. Didn't even bend down to look closely. Just stood there looking. On the notarized certificate given to him, the three words "Tran Tu Lan" clearly appear. The giver. It's my grandmother. Of course he knows this name. Three years into my marriage, I call my grandmother every month. Every holiday, I visit her. Chu Huc went together twice. Grandma lives in a small old house in the old town. The yard is not big, but vegetables are grown. She wore simple cloth clothes and spoke slowly and gently. Chu Huc always thought... That was just an ordinary old woman. An old woman lives in a small house, grows vegetables, and has retired. He never thought to ask: How many things does my grandmother really have in her hands?