Chapter 8 — The Heiress's Selection of a Husband

"Eldest Brother, I think you're overreacting." Vinh Khang spoke up, his voice still calm but with an undeniable determination. "Is it reasonable for a homeless country girl to be suspected of being a corporate spy just because she discovered a small calculation error in the books?"

"So how do you explain the fact that the investigation team couldn't verify her background?" Vinh Bach spoke harshly, not giving in easily.

"In remote rural areas, identity verification through administrative documents, which are incomplete, is common, you know that." Vinh Khang replied, stepping forward to help Anh Thu stand up from the floor naturally, as if it were the obvious thing to do. "If you really have doubts, I will be responsible for monitoring her in the future. If there are any unusual signs, I will personally report to you and father, no need for you to worry further."

Vinh Bach looked at his younger brother for a long time, his eyes searching as if trying to understand the real motive behind this unexpected proposal. Finally, he sighed softly, somewhat helpless before Vinh Khang's steadfastness. "Okay, I'll give her a chance, but if anything happens, you must take full responsibility and not let the reputation of the whole family be involved."

Having finished speaking, Vinh Bach strode out of the room, leaving Anh Thu and Vinh Khang standing opposite each other in a quiet space. Anh Thu was still shocked and bowed her head. "I... thank you Mr. Hai for your help."

"No need to thank me." Vinh Khang replied, his voice returning to its usual gentleness. "But from now on, you need to be more careful at work, don't let anyone have any reason to doubt you anymore. I can't protect you forever from Elder Brother's suspicions if you can't prove your innocence."

The following days, just as he had promised to Vinh Bach, Vinh Khang started letting Anh Thu help with some simple office work under his direct supervision, instead of letting her do odd jobs in the kitchen like before. Initially, this was just an excuse for him to observe her more closely, to find out whether his suspicions about her true identity were founded or not. But gradually, those working sessions became a time that both of them looked forward to without realizing it.

One rainy afternoon, Anh Thu was so engrossed in rearranging the filing cabinet according to Vinh Khang's request that she forgot it was dark and even forgot to bring a raincoat when leaving the annex. When she was about to run out into the torrential rain to go back to her room, a hand suddenly held her back.

"Wait." Vinh Khang picked up a neat black umbrella from the shelf and gave it to her. "You should go home in this car, so you don't catch a cold."

"Yes, thank you Hai, but how did you get home?" Ms. Thu hesitantly asked, not daring to immediately accept the precious item according to the standards of a maid.

"I have a shuttle, no need to worry." Vinh Khang slightly raised his lips and smiled, a rare smile that Anh Thu had never seen him give to anyone else in this mansion. "Take it, don't make me stand here and convince you forever."

Ms. Thu took the umbrella, her fingers accidentally touched her hand in the moment of exchange, they both paused for a second and then quickly withdrew their hands, no one said another word. She bowed her head and quickly walked out into the rain, but her heart was pounding in a completely different rhythm than the previous days.

The next morning, Vinh Khang called Anh Thu to his office, not to supervise like before, but to ask for her help in rearranging a stack of real estate investment project documents that were being prepared to be presented to the board of directors. He gave her a list of numbers to compare, then sat at his desk, occasionally glancing to observe how she handled her work.

Ms. Thu carefully arranged each set of documents in chronological order, but when scrolling through an expense summary page, she realized an item was duplicated, causing the total expected cost to be significantly higher than the actual cost. She hesitated for a moment, remembering the lesson from the last time she was almost exposed, but then couldn't help herself and spoke softly. "Yes, Mr. Hai, I see that the maintenance costs on this page and that page seem to be charged twice. I'm not sure if that's right."

Vinh Khang stood up, walked over to take a look, compared what she said, and indeed discovered the same mistake as she had just pointed out. He looked at her with eyes that were both surprised and somewhat like secret admiration. "You're right again. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard for me to believe that someone who has never studied finance could see such subtle errors."

"Yes, I'm just lucky." Anh Thu quickly bowed her head, trying to hide her confusion, but in her heart she was secretly happy because at least this time, instead of being suspicious and probing like before, Vinh Khang showed more appreciation for her abilities.

"With this kind of luck, I wish my entire audit department was as lucky." Vinh Khang said, his voice had a rare hint of joking, making the atmosphere between the two become much lighter than the initial tension and scrutiny.

From that day on, the conversations between the two gradually became more natural, no longer confined to the rigid framework of master and servant. There were late evenings, when work was finished, Vinh Khang would pour her a cup of hot tea and ask about the life in the countryside that she had built, and Anh Thu had to skillfully balance between maintaining a fake story and not wanting to lie too much to the person who was gradually occupying a special place in her heart.

"What books do you like to read?" One evening, Vinh Khang suddenly asked when he saw her standing silently in front of the bookshelf, her eyes full of longing looking at the classic economics books.

"Yes, I... I don't know how to read much." Anh Thu replied, but her voice was a bit hesitant and unnatural.

"You don't have to hide it from me." Vinh Khang spoke softly, his eyes looking straight at her with rare sincerity. "I'm not someone who likes to judge others based on their background. If you like to read, feel free to borrow books from my room, no need to wait and see."

Those words made Anh Thu almost burst into tears because she was touched, not only because of his tolerance but also because of the feeling of being understood, even if it was only a very small part of her true self. She realized that she was gradually falling into a complicated feeling of both respect and guilt, because the kind man in front of her was completely unaware that she was hiding a big secret that could be directly related to his own family.

That night, returning to the room, Anh Thu sat quietly in front of the small window, looking out at the still pouring rain outside. She thought about Vinh Khang's sincere eyes, about the umbrella he gave her in the pouring rain, about his tolerant words without judging his background. In her heart, the line between her mission to investigate the truth and her budding feelings for that man was gradually becoming more fragile than ever.

She took out her father's notebook, turned to the last page she had written, and added a new line: "Chu Vinh Khang is not like what I originally imagined. Be careful, don't let personal feelings overshadow the main goal." But after writing, she wondered if she could really follow that warning, when her heart began to vibrate in front of a person who, based on blood and resentment, could have been her family's sworn enemy.

She remembered what Mrs. Lien had told her before she passed away, that if the person who harmed her father was still in the Chu family, she must keep herself very secretive, not letting anyone, even good people, know her true identity. But now, when faced with Vinh Khang's sincerity, Anh Thu began to feel the burden of having to live two lives at the same time, a simple maid during the day, and an heiress with a deep hatred in her heart at night. She wondered if one day the truth was revealed, with what eyes that calm man would look at her, sympathy for her family's pain of loss, or anger for having been deceived for a long time.

Outside, the rain had completely stopped, leaving only the sound of water dripping steadily from the eaves onto the brick yard floor. Anh Thu put down the notebook, turned off the light, lay down on the bed but sleep never came, her mind kept lingering between the image of the simple black umbrella Vinh Khang gave her in the rain, and the figure of her father who she had never met, still waiting for her to clear her name in nine streams.