Chapter 2 — The Fateful Trial

“Judge, defendant Ha An An, male, sixteen years old, permanent residence in room 602, Unit 2, Court No. 3.”

“That means Miss Duong's house.”

“We request that the defendant personally appear in court to present his statement.”

I looked at that piece of paper. Every word on it is like a needle piercing. Judge Tuong flipped through the file, then looked at me:

“Is the legal representative of the defendant, Ha An An himself, present in court today?”

Vuong Xao Tran immediately shouted: "It must have escaped!" Vien Bin also looked at me: "If you are not present, we will ask the court to handle it according to the law." I calmly stood up.

“Present.”

The whole courtroom suddenly fell silent. Vuong Xao Tran was stunned. Vien Ban frowned. Judge Tuong asked: "Where are you?" I said nothing. I bent down and reached out to pull away the curtain covering the stroller. 03 When the curtains were drawn, my son was sleeping soundly. The boy's face is not yet as big as my hand. The corner of the mouth is a little streaked with milk. The tiny hand clasped tightly, placed close to the ear. No one in the courtroom spoke. Just now Vuong Xao Tran was crying bitterly, but now he turned off the radio as if he had been strangled. The file in Vien Bin's hand shifted. Judge Chiang also stopped writing. I picked up my son. Being hit by the bright light, the boy frowned and stirred. I held my child's head and looked straight at the courtroom:

“Judge, this is Ha An An.”

“Born three months and nine days.”

"His greatest skill right now is crying out in the middle of the night to wake me up."

"If the plaintiff insists that he beat someone, please explain: How did he crawl from the crib to the back door of the apartment?"

No one answered. There were people in the audience who took a deep breath of cold air. Ms. Liu's face turned white. Vuong Xao Tran finally regained her composure, she jumped up: "Not this one!" Judge Chiang looked at her: “What did you say?” Vuong Xao Tran trembled and pointed at me: "She's pretending! She has another son! That older one is the one who beat my daughter!" I held my baby and lowered my voice:

“Miss Vuong, I have only been married for two years, this is my first child.”

"You live next door to my house. During the few months I was pregnant, you came out every day in the hallway and told me I had a sharp belly to give birth to a boy, right?"

The neighbors bowed their heads. Vuong Xao Tran's face turned red: "Who knows if you're hiding any guys outside?" I turned to look at Phung Le Le. The girl was still bowing her head. The fingers under the bandage are shaking.

“Phung Le Le, have you seen the person who beat you?”

The girl didn't say anything. Vuong Xao Tran immediately stood in front of her child: "Why are you scaring my daughter?" I don't even look at her:

"Your daughter is sixteen years old, not three years old. She is aware. If the person who hit her was really my son, now she only needs to look at it and she can tell right away."

Phung Le Le's shoulders trembled. Vuong Xao Tran held her tightly: "Le Le's health is weak, she can't stand the blow!" Judge Chiang banged his gavel: "Request the plaintiff to control his emotions." Vien Bin's face was very ugly. He submitted a copy of his household registration to:

"Your Honor, the household registration documents we submitted have a clear origin. If the defendant believes there are errors, they can request verification."

I opened the file bag: "I request immediate verification in court." I took the birth certificate: “This is the certificate my son's birth.”

“This is the vaccination book.”

“This is the hospital's newborn records.”

“This is the medical record of last month when he was hospitalized for jaundice.”

I submitted them one by one. Papers were passed from hand to hand in the courtroom. With each person passing by, Vuong Xao Tran's face turned a little more gray. Judge Tuong finished reading, his eyebrows frowned: "Plaintiff, the household registration documents you submitted have serious contradictions with the defendant's identity as a child."