Chapter 6 — The House of the Past Life

I don't answer. An apology cannot replace the brother from his previous life who fell from the rooftop. It couldn't change the despair when I held his cold fingers in the morgue. I don't need their apologies. I need them to pay. On the day of renovating Hoe Am alley, we started to go to each house to evaluate, my brother and I both signed. When the staff measured the house, he praised our house's good layout. My brother laughed. “That year my parents had eyes to see.” I stood on the balcony and saw the curtains on the seventh floor opposite were tightly closed. Lieu Kim Chi no longer lives there. She was picked up by her son, awaiting further action. But I still feel her cries echoing in the hallway. Reminds me that people cannot entrust their lives to the conscience of others. In the evening, my brother made beef brisket stew with tomatoes. This is my favorite dish to eat when I was a child. While he was stirring the rice for me, he suddenly said: "Tinh Tinh, I was really a bit scared a while ago." My eyes get hot. “What now?” He raised his head to look at me. “It's much better now.” “Because you know, purity doesn't come from screaming.” “You have to leave evidence, you have to say the rules, you have to have someone to step forward with you.” I bowed my head and ate, not wanting him to see me cry. You're right. In my previous life, I only knew how to hug him and say it would pass. But malice will not go away on its own. If you don't counterattack, it will turn into a knife. If you pursue it to the end, it will turn into evidence, case files and judgments. 10 When the criminal verdict was issued, Hoe Am alley had just finished painting the outside wall. Lieu Kim Chi was sentenced to prison for false accusations of harm and blackmail. Taking into account his age and health condition, part of the execution method was light, but the crime was clearly written on the black and white paper verdict. Phung Thieu An was sentenced more severely. His account was permanently locked, the studio was unregistered, and had to pay compensation. He used to rely on collages of other people's suffering to make money. In the end, he himself became the villain in everyone's mouth. On the day of sentencing, I did not go to court. I went with my brother to the supermarket downstairs to buy soy sauce. When passing through the hallway of building six, the newly installed camera is pointing straight into the public area. The red indicator light flashes quietly. I suddenly stopped. In my previous life, it was this hallway. Lieu Kim Chi sat on the ground crying. Neighbors surrounded my brother, pointing. Phung Thieu An held up the phone, cutting my brother's silence into a guilty conscience. And I stood in the middle of the crowd, screaming until my throat bled, but no one would listen. Now, the wall has been whitewashed. The lights have been replaced. The camera is adequate. Everything is illuminated. My brother followed my eyes. “What are you thinking?” “Think about the past.” He was silent for a bit. “Don't think anymore.” I laughed. “Yeah, don't think anymore.” But I know, I will never truly forget. People who forget pain are the easiest to soften their hearts again. Later, the house had new regulations. At night, neighbors help each other enter each other's houses, and must be witnessed by at least two adults. Regarding elderly people living alone, single households, repairs in enclosed spaces, priority should be given to contacting the management board, residential area or professional staff. Anyone can refuse a request for help that is not within the scope of responsibility. In the group of householders, someone complained: "Neighbors used to have so much love, but now even a little help requires formalities." I answered with one sentence: "Human love is not letting good people walk naked into a trap." In the quiet group. My brother saw the screenshot and laughed for a long time. “This mouth of yours is getting more and more powerful.” I said: “Forced out there.” He placed a new bag of tools on the table. Inside were wrenches, pliers, tape, and a fully charged sports camera. Now he will still help others. The light in the old man's house on the third floor is broken, I'll go. The fifth floor kid's bike chain slipped, I'll fix it. But before each time he left, he said clearly: "The door is open." “There is someone standing next to me.” “I turned on the recording.” Some people feel bothered. Then it doesn't help. Finally a

I also learned how to refuse. I also finally learned not to feel guilty about other people's dissatisfaction. Half a year later, the relocation compensation agreement was signed. We can keep our house. Not being mortgaged, not being transferred, not falling into the hands of Lieu Kim Chi. The day I got the new key, I suddenly wanted to cry. This is not a set of keys. This is the house I stole from the ruins of my previous life. In the evening, my brother and I ate grilled skewers on the balcony. The wind blew through the trees, the leaves rustled loudly. He held the soft drink and gently touched my glass. I picked up the glass and gently touched it again. The seventh floor above was empty. The night wind is a bit cold. My brother got up and went into the house to get his coat. His back is straight and his steps are steady. Unlike the person in his previous life, he was so silent in the wind that he was almost about to disappear. I looked at him, my eyes getting wet little by little. Then he also smiled.