Chapter 12 — The Evil One Wants to Replace Me as the Chief Master's Wife

His lips pressed down, carrying the faint scent of tobacco leaves and jasmine tea. Not too strong, but completely covers me. Outside the kitchen door, Ms. Trieu's footsteps were heard, then she quickly retreated. The curtains "squeaked" and were pulled closed. He let me go, his forehead pressed against mine, breathing heavily. "Tham Mach." "Yes." "Thank you." "Thank you for what?" "Thank you for calling me. Thank you for moving here. Thank you for giving birth to these two children." He stopped. "Thank you for still being here." I put my hand around his waist, burying my face in his chest. His heart beat very fast. Even though I was far away from the military uniform, I could still hear the "thud" sound like thunder. "Luc Tranh." "Yes." "From now on you don't need to stand in front of the mirror to practice anymore." His body stiffened again. "You heard it?" "Yes. The bathroom is not soundproof." He was silent for a long time. It took so long that I thought he would get angry out of shame and turn around and leave. But he tightened his arms, hugged me closer, placed his chin on the top of my head, his voice was deep: "So tell me, did I call correctly?" I laughed, tears fell again, rubbing all over his military uniform. "Correct. Extremely correct." A few days later, the sentences of Lam Uyen Tran and her brother were announced. This is not the first time the two have committed a crime. In addition to my family's case, before that they also stole newborn babies at two other district hospitals. One has been sold, the other has not yet been sold. For many crimes combined, Lam Uyen Tran was sentenced to twenty years, Lam Dai Quy fifteen years. The day the verdict was sent to his house, Luc Tranh finished reading it and immediately folded it and put it in a drawer. He didn't say anything, just went into the kitchen and poured me a glass of water. When I received the glass of water, I noticed that his hands were shaking. I put the cup on the table and held his hand. His hands were rough, his knuckles full of calluses. Covered by my hand, that hand gradually stopped shaking. "It's over." I said. "From now on..." He said: "No one can bully you anymore." "Neither can I." He was stunned, then laughed. The smile was very light, the corners of the lips were only slightly curved, but the eyes were full of laughter. "Me neither," he said. Life goes by day by day. Boys know how to crawl, girls know how to stand. The two kids turned the whole house upside down. Luc Tranh's military boots were hidden by his son under the sofa. He searched for three days, and finally had to wear slippers to chair the morning meeting. The girl pulled out the entire bib and threw it into the wash basin to soak in water. When Ms. Trieu washed it, she discovered that the water was dyed blue. Luc Tranh was still the same as before, holding meetings, leading troops, writing reports. But as soon as he entered the house, without even taking off his military uniform, he went straight to the crib. There was a time when he was approving documents in the office, and his son crawled to his feet and hugged his legs. He didn't care either, reading the documents while gently swinging his legs, making the boy laugh. The girl sat on his lap, holding the fountain pen cap in her hand, muttering words that only she understood. One evening, the two children finally slept. After I finished showering, I stepped out and discovered Luc Tranh sitting next to the bed, holding a stack of papers in his hand. I stopped to look. It is a marriage application report. The date shows the exact year we got married. The paper was yellowed, the corners were frayed. "Do you still have this?" "Yes." He turned to the last page and showed it to me. In the "Reason for marriage" section, he wrote four words: "According to parents' orders." Then he turned to the back side. On the back there is also an inscription written with a fountain pen. The ink is a bit smeared but can still be seen clearly: "My heart is the same." The day is one year later than the previous one. It was written by him himself. I raised my head to look at him. He folded the stack of papers, put them in the drawer, closed the drawer and turned off the light. In the darkness, his hands fumbled

Come, hold my hand, ten fingers clasped tightly together. "Go to sleep." He said. "Luc Tranh." "Yes." "Your heart is the same." The hand holding my hand tightened. Then, in the darkness, I heard him laugh. The laughter was very light, very quiet, as if afraid of waking something up. The moonlight outside the window penetrated through the curtains, illuminating the crib. Two small faces are sleeping soundly. The girl turned around and put her feet on the boy's stomach. The boy groaned but did not wake up. I closed my eyes. In this life, everything fits perfectly. Side story: Ms. Trieu's perspective I have been cooking at the Luc family for three years, and this is the first time I have seen Master Luc smile like that. That day, his daughter called him "daddy". He carried hand prints on his face, carrying his child around the room more than twenty times, making me dizzy. After that, I carried the food out of the kitchen. Seeing him hugging Tham Mach and refusing to let go, I pulled down the curtain again. The leader was the one I grew up watching. The year his parents passed away, he stood in the shrine for three days and three nights, without shedding a single tear. After marrying Tham Mach, he took her home and then returned to the military region. At that time, I was really worried that this child would be cold like that for the rest of his life. Now it's good.