Chapter 5 — The Door Lock Changes, Marriage Also Locks

Chu Canh Hanh wanted to say "it was originally just a small matter", but in the end he held back. The elevator door opens. I walked in first.

"Do you know what the strangest thing is?"

He looked at me.

"You always say she doesn't make big decisions for me."

"But you two decided for me, how many small things she can do."

The elevator slowly went up. The mirror reflects the image of the two of us. I'm still wearing my wrinkled shirt from the business trip, and my hair hasn't had time to be washed. Chu Canh Hanh was still wearing his home clothes from yesterday, the collar had a small fold. We looked like we had just had a normal argument between husband and wife. But I suddenly felt that the thing between us was higher than this building. My password has been reset to my new door lock. Chu Canh Hanh did it at midnight last night. I entered the number and the door opened smoothly. From the door lock, a mechanical female voice rang out:

"Welcome home."

I stood still, not moving. Chu Canh Hanh said from behind: "It's okay this time." I don't answer. After entering the house, I went to the office first. The Bluetooth speaker the delivery staff brought yesterday was placed close to the wall. I pushed open the office door, the inside was much narrower than I remembered. It's not like the room actually got smaller. Instead, the spot next to the window I had previously chosen was occupied by a set of dark audio-visual equipment cabinets. Below the cabinet are Chu Canh Hanh's projector, speakers and some unopened game controllers. The tabletop next to the window that had been left for me was gone. I remember very clearly. Three months ago, the designer and I stood here measuring dimensions. I said you don't need a very large table, one meter long is enough, and leave a drawer next to it to put your computer and sample files. The designer held a laser ruler and asked Chu Canh Hanh.

"Mr. Chu, do you have any other requests?"

At that time, Chu Canh Hanh said: "No, just do as she wants. She often goes on business trips, and when she comes home, she must have a place to sit and work." That day I was happy for a long time just because of those words. Now, there is only a small, narrow table left by the window. On it are placed a pot of green plants and an essential oil diffuser. Next to the essential oil diffuser is a note.

"Mr. Chu, there's a socket on the side of the cabinet. If you want to add a desk in the future, you can still plug it in."

It's Trinh Vu's handwriting. I picked up the note. Chu Canh Hanh stood at the door, his face looking a bit unnatural.

"This cabinet was temporarily added later."

"I know."

"The table you chose earlier can be placed in the guest room."

"Guest room?"

"The guest room also has windows."

I looked at him.

"The original location I chose was here."

Chu Canh Hanh was silent. I walked over and pulled out the bottom drawer of the audio-visual equipment cabinet. Inside were several home decoration sample books, two tool boxes and a transparent storage bin. On the box was a label that read: Hua Chieu Ninh's work documents. It's Trinh Vu's word. I squatted down and pulled the box out. Inside were some sample books I had brought, documents I used on business trips, some notebooks and dividers I bought to put in my desk drawer. Everything is neatly arranged inside. No mess. Not bad either broken. Trinh Vu even labeled the classification very clearly. But the more organized I became, the more I didn't know what to say. She didn't throw my things away. She just put them back for me. Put it in a cupboard that I probably won't open very often in the future. Chu Canh Hanh took a step closer.

"She was afraid these things would collect dust so she helped me put them away."

I raised my head to look at him.

"Who told her to keep it?"

"At that time, I saw that the cabinet hadn't been installed yet, so it wasn't safe to leave it outside."

"Who gave her the right to decide where to keep it?"

"She's just convenient."

"It's convenient again."

I stood up.

"Chu Canh Hanh, every time she takes advantage of it, she cleverly pushes me out a little more."

His face became even more unsightly.

"Don't blame everything on her."

"I didn't blame her."

I placed the note in front of him.

"She wrote this paper. She kept this box. I confirmed the audio-visual cabinet."

"What I want to ask now is, why do you two think you can just wait for me to come back and see the results?"

Chu Canh Hanh opened his mouth slightly. I didn't wait for him to answer, turned around and went into the kitchen. The kitchen is even tidier than the office. The two rows of drawers I had previously selected were both changed to cabinets that opened upwards. The spice area that I specifically asked the designer to leave, has now turned into a place to place the coffee maker and grain grinder. Next to the refrigerator hangs a whiteboard. On it was written: Milk, eggs, coffee beans, hand sanitizer. Still Trinh Vu's handwriting. Chu Canh Hanh followed behind me.

"She conveniently wrote this down for me, so I can buy things for convenience."

"Since when do we need her to write down what kind of coffee we drink?"

"Chieu Ninh."

His voice finally showed impatience.

"What do you want in the end?"

I looked at the whiteboard.

"I just want to know."

"In this house, there's nothing you two haven't decided for me yet."