Chapter 18 — The Door Lock Changes, Marriage Also Locks

"I really sent it."

"Have you thought about it carefully?"

"I've been thinking for days."

After entering the house, Chu Canh Hanh did not sit down. He kept standing at the entrance. Just like the day I stood in front of my new house. I don't know which direction I should step.

"Chieu Ninh, I thought you just wanted me to fix all the previous things."

"At first I thought so too."

"What about now?"

"Now I see..."

"Even if we fix it, we can't go back to the way it was before."

His face became extremely unsightly.

"You can buy the house back."

"Have you calculated it carefully?"

"I will find a way."

"Not finding a way."

"But you have to clearly calculate the bank, the loan, the valuation and your own financial ability."

Chu Canh Hanh pursed his lips.

"Do you feel like I don't deserve to be in that house anymore?"

"I never thought like that."

"So why must we sell?"

"I never said I had to sell it."

I looked at him.

"You can buy back my share."

"I'll never move in there again."

Chu Canh Hanh stood still for a long time.

"You really won't give me another chance?"

"You think I'm still waiting for you to explain."

"Isn't that right?"

"From the third time I stood in front of the door entering the password, I gave you a chance."

"After you walked out, the first thing you said was to tell me not to think too much."

"Later, I asked you again and again."

"But your answer is always just..."

"Trinh Vu is just lending a helping hand."

"It's not like you don't have a chance."

"It's just that every time, you decide for me how I should understand things."

Chu Canh Hanh's eyes gradually turned red. He shed no tears. Also don't say any more prayers. Just bowed his head and stared at the plan in his hand. A moment later, he spoke up.

"Trinh Vu came to see you."

I didn't ask what she said. Chu Canh Hanh continued speaking himself.

"She said she would no longer be involved in anything related to the new house, nor would she contact the management or the store."

"That was inherently the right thing to do."

"I know."

He stopped for a moment.

"Before, I always thought she understood these things, finding her would be the most convenient."

"It's only now that I realize..."

"Every time you save a little effort..."

"What I'm leaving behind is your right to know."

I looked at him. Those words... It came too late. It was so late that I put all the real estate documents in my document bag. It's so late that I've learned to replace the sentence "let's figure it out later" with a specific timeline and a clear plan.

"Chu Canh Hanh."

"What I understand now..."

"It doesn't mean I can still come back."

He gently closed his eyes.

"I know."

A few days later... He sent a reply. He wants to buy back my ownership. But after the bank re-evaluated, he needed more time to get the money and couldn't immediately make up the entire difference. I don't give him a hard time. We hired an independent appraisal unit, then compared each item in turn: bank loan balance, prepayment source, repair costs, remaining value of household electrical appliances and unpaid orders. That process took longer than I thought. There are many things that cannot have an absolutely clear answer right away. How will the oven be calculated? Is the audio-visual equipment cabinet considered a fixed item of repair? How will the washing machine and dryer set that I previously paid a deposit be converted to? We had to confirm back and forth many times. Every time Chu Canh Hanh tried to say:

"That's pretty much it."

I asked him to change the words "roughly" into a specific number. Not because I want to be any better than him. But since I don't want any vague statements... Once again I decide the final result for me. In the end, Chu Canh Hanh still could not complete the acquisition within the agreed time limit. We decided to put the house up for sale. The day the broker came to take photos, the audio-visual equipment cabinet in the office was still there. Location by the window... Still no my desk.