Chapter 18 — The Dignity of a Signature

“Lady Xia.”

“Just how much more chaos do you and Tham Hao want to cause?”

Her voice trembled, but she still tried to stay calm, not wanting to lose face in the hotel lobby.

“Do you know what the company is like now?”

“Customers are almost gone.”

“Investors also withdrew capital.”

“Even the design department is constantly quitting.”

“Are you really just standing there looking at me like that?”

“That is the consequence Tham Hao caused himself.”

“It's not because of you.”

“If you hadn't made a fuss, would it have turned out like this?”

She leaned forward.

"I know that this time it was Tham Hao's fault for signing."

“Behaving like that is really not right.”

“But can't you hold on a little longer?”

“Can't you two just close the door and figure it out yourself?”

“Do we have to let the whole industry know before we accept it?”

“Lady Xia.”

“I've been fasting for four years.”

“For four years I endured…”

“Isn't life still very good?”

Her voice changed completely. Carry it so naturally that it makes people want to laugh.

“At home at Bich Lan Loan.”

“Let's buy a car from Tham Hao.”

“Every year I travel abroad.”

“What are you missing?”

I looked at her.

“Missing a name.”

Ha Minh Chau was stunned.

“Thirty-seven projects.”

“Eleven trophies.”

“My name has never appeared once.”

My voice was very calm.

“Lady Ha…”

“Do you know what it means for a designer to not have the right to sign?”

“That means…”

“…in this industry, that person has never existed.”

“Is the name that important?”

She almost blurted out the question again. I don't answer. Just quietly looked at her. She felt uncomfortable when I looked at her, tilted her head away a bit, then turned back to look at me.

“Don't be stubborn with aunt.”

“I came today with good intentions.”

She opened her bag, took out a bank card, and placed it on the tea table.

“There are three million in here.”

“I withdrew all the documents.”

“Tell the organizers it was just a misunderstanding.”

“After that, you and Tham Hao sat down and talked.”

“Divorce is fine…”

“…but we have to divorce properly.”

“Don't continue to lose face in society.”

That was the price she offered. I looked at the card and then looked back at her.

“Lady Xia.”

“You feel my four years of designing…”

“Thirty-seven projects…”

“…with full signature rights…”

“…only worth three million?”

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

“So how much do you want?”

“I don't need money.”

I stood up.

“I want my name.”

“All the projects I've worked on…”

“…all signing rights must be changed back to Lam Ha.”

“That is the final frontier.”

“No way!”

Her voice finally rose, causing several nearby guests to turn their heads to look over.

“If you sign your name in return…”

“What will the customers of those projects think?”

“Wouldn't it be assumed that Mrs. Tham faked it?”

“How will the company operate in the future?”

“That is something Tham Hao has to think about.”

I turned around and walked towards the elevator. Behind him came Ha Minh Chau's voice. Bringing sobs and resentment.

“Then you will regret it!”

“You forced Tham Hao to the end…”

“…you won't have a good ending either!”

When the elevator door closed, I stood there for a few seconds. Then took out his phone and texted Lu Thanh Hoa:

“Ha Minh Chau has arrived.”

“Give me three million to withdraw the documents.”

“I don't agree.”

“There will probably be action from Tham Hao's side soon other."

“You should prepare first.”

Lu Thanh Hoa replied: I went back to the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Outside the window, the city lights up at night. The phone rang again.

“I have good news for you.”

“The list of next year's international design exhibitions has just been announced.”

“The ‘Primordial Stone’ Alliance has been chosen.”

She paused for a beat.

“The names of the five founding members will be printed in the official exhibition brochure.”

“And your name…”

“…first.”

After the international exhibition list was announced, the landscape of the entire design world changed almost overnight. The name “Nguyen Thach”, along with its five founding members, began to appear frequently in industry articles. Especially my name. Because the scandal over the signing rights of the Golden Crane Award has not yet cooled down, almost every article mentioning "Nguyen Thach" will also bring up the entire "Lam Ha" story. Traffic is a knife. But sometimes… It's also a ladder. Perhaps Tham Hao never thought of it... After forcing me to be an "invisible man" for four years... In the end, because I was no longer "invisible", I became the hottest name in the design world. But that's not what I'm most concerned about today. What I'm most concerned about... It happened on the morning of the third day after I moved out of the hotel into my new rented apartment. Lu Thanh Hoa called me. His voice was different from usual. A little heavier.

“I need to meet face to face to tell you something.”

“Can you come here once?”

“What?”

“Shen Hao is counterattacking.”

Half an hour later, I was at the law office. Lu Thanh Hoa laid out all the documents on the table.

“There are two things.”

He pushed up his glasses and continued:

“First.”

“Shen Hao hired a media company.”

“Tomorrow they will release a statement.”

“The core content is…”

“…she had committed acts of ‘serious infidelity’ during the marriage.”

"They imply that you and Phuong Tri Vien have an illicit relationship."

I paused for a few seconds. This year, Phuong Tri Vien is sixty-three years old. It's my father's generation.