Chapter 5 — The Husband in the Household Registration Book

His enthusiasm was a bit more exaggerated than usual.
“That's right, go home and rest well.” My mother chimed in and poured me a glass of water.
The whole family sat on the sofa, the atmosphere carrying a slight awkwardness.
“Tinh Tinh,” Chau Kien Dan was the first to speak. He pushed his glasses, using the concerned tone of an elder, he said, "I heard your mother say you still live alone now?"
Here we come. I smiled coldly in my heart, but my face remained unchanged.
“Yes, I'm used to living alone.”
“Sigh, it's not safe for a girl to live alone outside anyway.” He sighed and said with a serious look, "There are a lot of bad people in society. Look at the news, there are so many random stories. We still have to have someone by our side to take care of us and act as parents to feel secure."
Every word he said seemed to prove my guess. Fake and disgusting. My mother next to me nodded:
“Yes, your father is right.”
I bowed my head, pretending to be disappointed.
"I'm bothered by this. Lately I've always felt like someone is following me, and I've also met some inappropriate people in the apartment complex."
I casually made up stories, observing their reactions. My mother's face immediately turned pale. Chau Kien Dan's pupils also suddenly shrank, but quickly returned to normal.
“Is… is it that serious?” He asked urgently, "Have you called the police yet?"
“No, I'm scared so I want to come back here for two days.”
"That's right, that's right. Indoors are safest." Chau Kien Dan immediately spoke, appearing especially considerate.
I used the excuse of urgently processing work emails and asked him if he could lend me the computer in his office.
“Use it, feel free to use it.” He immediately stood up and led me into the office.
The office is not large, has a red wooden table and a large bookshelf. Chau Kien Dan turned on the computer for me and enthusiastically connected the printer.
"You go work first, I'll go out and peel apples for you."
He walked out, closed the door. I sat in front of the computer, not moving at all. My eyes quickly scanned the table. Pen holder, desk calendar, a stack of unpaid bills. Then, my gaze stopped. Inside an open book "Health Care Handbook for the Elderly", there is a card. A business card. I pretended to wait for the computer to start up, my body tilted forward slightly, stretching my neck out. I saw clearly. At the top of the business card are two gilded words: Phuong Vien. Title is: Hong Phat Investment Company, investment advisor. My heart started beating crazy. That's it. I needed to get closer, needed a chance to capture evidence. I pretended to be careless and spilled the pen holder on the table. Pens and sundries fell all over the ground.
"Oh."
I bent down and frantically picked up my things. While bending down, I used my body to block the view from the door, and quickly took out my phone with my other hand. I don't pick up pens from the ground. I reached towards the book and gently pulled out the business card. Flip to the back side. A series of numbers. Written in blue ballpoint pen. I am so familiar with that sequence of numbers that I can read it backwards. That's my ID number. The flying handwriting is Chau Kien Dan's handwriting. I held up my phone, pointing it at the business card. On screen, Phuong Vien's name and my identification number appeared at the same time. The evidence is as solid as a mountain. I pressed the shutter button, without turning on the flash. The clear photo is saved to the library. I immediately put the business card back in its original position, without even the slightest deviation. Then slowly pick up all the pens on the ground and put them back in the tube. The whole process takes less than ten seconds. I stood up, my heart beating so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of my throat. But my face remained calm as before. Chau Kien Dan pushed the door open and walked in, carrying a plate of peeled apples.
"Tinh Tinh, are you done yet? Eat some fruit first."
He smiled happily at me, his eyes filled with fake love. He didn't know, just now I tore off a corner of his mask.
“Thank you, Uncle Chau.”
I picked up a piece of apple and took a bite. So sweet it's sickening.
07
I stayed home for two days. I acted like a frightened rabbit, weak, helpless, listening to them in everything. Chau Kien Dan and his mother wholeheartedly took care of me, constantly asking kindly. The more they were like that, the more nauseous I felt. On Monday morning, I used the excuse that the company had urgent business and left that suffocating "house". I don't go to the company. I went to the civil service office where the fake marriage was filed three years ago.
“Hello, I need to extract the camera at the marriage registration counter between ten o'clock and eleven o'clock in the morning on June twelfth three years ago."
I submitted my application to the person in charge, attaching all the documents and the investigation support dispatch issued by the police station.
"It's been too long, we may not be able to find it." The person in charge looked awkward.