Chapter 7 — The House Without Me

“It's so late, why are you carrying these things?”

"In a house that is about to be under construction, you must move out first."

He reached out to receive the chest.

“I'll help you.”

“No need.”

I dodged his hand. Chu Tu Bach's movements froze.

“Are you still angry?”

“No.”

I looked at him.

“During the restoration of the auxiliary room, no one is allowed to enter there.”

“Even you.”

He frowned slightly.

“Am Am, I am your husband.”

“I know.”

“But these are my conditions.”

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.

“Okay.”

“Follow me all the way.”

“When you stop being angry, I'll come back in.”

He still doesn't understand. This is not sulking. And there won't be any more after that. I hugged the old trunk and walked out of the gate. Before getting in the car, I took out my phone and put a check mark in the first box of the handover countdown table. *Day one.* *Bring a trunk of old clothes.* The lawyer's message appeared at that moment.

“Miss Duong, the divorce agreement has been drafted.”

“Do you want to send it to Mr. Chu now?”

I turned my head to look back. Chu Tu Bach was still standing in front of the old house's door, bowing his head and helping me lock the door. The old key I had worn for more than ten years now lay silently in his palm. I withdrew my gaze.

“No rush.”

“On opening day, send it to him.”

* On the third day, the east wall of the house cracked. When I arrived, half of the carpentry workshop wall had been demolished. Green bricks were broken and scattered everywhere. The two cross-beams that were originally attached to the wall had been sawed off, and the main pillar overhead had lost its support and was sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. Workers are still standing inside.

“Everyone out!”

I rushed to turn off the mower. The person in charge was stunned.

“Miss Duong, we only demolished one wall according to the new plan.”

“Who told you to destroy it?”

“Miss Duong Chi.”

He took out his phone. There is a confirmation message from Duong Chi on it. She said the designer had reevaluated that this wall was not a load-bearing wall and could be demolished first to avoid slowing down the construction progress of the glass exhibition room. I looked up at the main stage. A small crack is starting to spread from the mortise to the outside.

“Uncle Luong!”

Uncle Luong threw away the tool chest and led someone carrying the temporary support system over. He and I each had one side holding onto a large wooden bar. Heavy pressure descended, my shoulder ached.

“Don't try to resist with human strength!”

Uncle Luong shouted at me.

“Tell someone to bring a hydraulic jack!”

Dust fell onto my head. I gritted my teeth and didn't let go. There are still two workers below who haven't had time to get out yet. It wasn't until they crawled out and the temporary steel support was securely fixed that I backed away. I don't know when the palm of my hand was scratched and torn by wood chips. Fresh blood flowed down the finger. Outside the yard gate, there was the sound of rapid footsteps. Chu Tu Bach was the first to enter. Duong Chi followed behind, his face pale.

“What's going on?”

Seeing rubble all over the ground, he immediately walked towards me. I leaned away to avoid it.

“The carpentry workshop was arbitrarily demolished, the main road sank.”

“If you delay another ten minutes, the east roof will collapse at the same time.”

Duong Chi explained in a panic.

“I didn't know it would be so serious.”

“Designer Tell me it's just a normal dividing wall."

“I felt like the progress was too rushed so I told them to start the construction first.”

Her tears fell quickly.

“Sister, I'm sorry.”

“I really didn't mean it.”

I looked at the person in charge of construction.

“Did I make it clear yesterday that any demolition or renovation activities must be confirmed in writing?”

The person in charge lowered his head.

“Said.”

“Has the site safety handover record been signed yet?”

“Signed.”

“So why construction?”