Chapter 4 — The Husband in the Household Registration Book

"Hello, I am the owner of apartment XXX, Building
After finishing everything, I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. Hands as steady as stone. Phuong Vien, this clown who dances for fun. The more enthusiastically he performed, the faster he died.
05
The police quickly arrived. Phuong Vien ran away, but the hallway camera and the video on my phone became real evidence.
"We will file a case. His actions constitute the crime of disturbing public order."
After recording the statement, the police spoke to me.
"Miss To, you must pay attention to safety. This person's spirit seems very unstable."
"I get it."
After seeing off the police, I locked the door and closed the curtains. The whole room was in darkness. I didn't turn on the light, sat on the sofa, repeating Phuong Vien's words over and over.
"Have you forgotten how Uncle Chau introduced us to each other?"
Uncle Chau. My stepfather, Chau Kien Dan. When I was in eleventh grade, my mother remarried him. A man who looks extremely honest, always smiling happily. He always treated me so politely that it was almost ingratiating. I also always maintained outward harmony with him. It's him. It was he who provided my information to Phuong Vien. ID number, household address, even my status of living alone. This information is not something an outsider can easily know. Only "family members" can understand it so accurately. Why? I opened my phone and searched my call history. I scrolled back, to three years ago. The period of time before and after the fake marriage registration date. Found it. A dense chain of call history. Caller name displayed: Mom. Around that time, I had just changed jobs and moved to a new house. Almost every day or two, my mother called me again. At that time I thought it was concern. Now, those conversations come to mind again. Every word carries a poisonous thorn.
"Tinh Tinh, what is the full name of your new apartment complex? I'll write it down, next time I'll send you some specialties."
"How is the security of your apartment complex? Girls who live alone must pay attention to safety."
"Please send me the specific house number, if anything happens we can easily find it."
"Is work going well? Recently... haven't you loved anyone?"
"Oh, it's fine if you're not in love yet. No, I mean, living alone is quite free, no need to rush."
There was another time, I remember it very clearly. She asked me:
"Tinh Tinh, the last time you went for a medical check-up, did you forget your ID card at home? Mom seemed to have seen it while packing your things."
I said:
“No, I always carry it with me.”
She said "oh" and then said:
“So maybe I saw wrongly, maybe it's my old ID card.”
Now that I think about it, it was originally an exploration. She was confirming whether the ID was still on me or not. She wanted to create a “plausible” explanation for someone else stealing my identity. An uncontrollable feeling of nausea and coldness rolled up from my stomach. I rushed to the bathroom, lay face down on the toilet and vomited. Can't vomit something. Only bitter bile burned my throat. The concern I once thought was actually just scrutiny. The questioning that I once believed was actually just calculation. The friendship that I once treasured was actually just a commodity used for exchange. I splashed cold water on my face over and over again. In the mirror, my face was pale, but my eyes were terrifyingly bright. Phuong Vien is a bastard, but he's just a da.a.o. The person who gave that knife was my stepfather, Chau Kien Dan. As for my weak mother, who always put him first… What role did she play in this transaction? Accomplice, or pretend not to see? On the phone screen, my mother's avatar is a middle-aged woman with a gentle smile. I looked at that profile picture and felt extremely strange. I need proof. We cannot rely on just one accusation from Phuong Vien. I must get real evidence that Chau Kien Dan cannot deny. I dried my face and walked out of the bathroom. Picking up the phone, I called my mother.
“Hello, Tinh Tinh, why did you call mom so late?”
"Mom." I made my voice sound tired and self-pitying, "Something happened where I live, I want to go home and stay for two days."
06
The next day is the weekend. I carried a bag of fruit back to that nominal "home". The person who opened the door was my mother. Seeing me, she smiled, but her eyes were a bit averted.
“Why did you suddenly come back?”
“Work is a bit unfavorable, I'm going home to relax for a few days.” I changed my slippers and put the fruit on the table.
Stepfather Chau Kien Dan came out of the office, wearing glasses, smiling happily.
"Tinh Tinh is back! Oh my, look at your tired little face, don't be so reckless when working."