Chapter 8 — The Husband in the Household Registration Book

Chau Kien Dan's face immediately turned pale, his eyes panicked.
"Phuong... Which Phuong Vien? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really?" I took my phone from my pocket, opened the photo of the business card and held it in front of him, "So how do you explain this?"
Seeing the photo, his pupils shrank violently and instinctively took a step back.
“I… I don't know what this is…”
“Don't know?” I laughed coldly, "In your office, in your book there is his business card, on the back is my identification number. Now you tell me that you don't know?"
"That... that's what I found! Yes, I found it! I don't know him at all!" He began to find every way to deny it, his voice getting louder and louder, as if he was gaining courage.
My mother who was next to me was completely panicked.
"Tinh Tinh, is there some misunderstanding inside? Your father..."
“Misunderstanding?” I turned my head to look at her coldly, "Then listen to see if this is a misunderstanding."
I pressed the play button. Phuong Vien's weak and desperate voice rang out clearly in the quiet living room.
"It's Chau Kien Dan... it's old Chau who actively sought me out."
“He said that as long as I find a way to make his stepdaughter my wife, the gambling debt of five hundred thousand yuan will be erased.”
"The marriage certificate... is a fake that Mr. Chau found someone to make."
"He also said that she had a weak personality and had listened to her mother since childhood... in the end, she could only accept the loss."
Every word in the recording was like a hammer, hitting Chau Kien Dan and my mother in the face. Chau Kien Dan's face turned from pale white to purple red. His whole body trembled, he pointed at me, his lips trembled but he could not say a complete sentence.
“You…you…”
The recording ends. The living room was as silent as death.
“What do you want to say now?” I looked at Chau Kien Dan and asked clearly every word.
He suddenly seemed crazy, grabbed the glass cup on the tea table, and threw it at me!
“I will kill an ungrateful person like you!”
I was already on guard and leaned away. The glass cup hit the wall, shattering into many pieces. My mother screamed, rushing forward to stop him. But he lost his reason, pushed my mother away, bared his fangs and claws and rushed towards me. At this moment, the room door was suddenly pushed open. Two uniformed police officers rushed in.
"Police! Don't move!"
It was the young police officer who welcomed me earlier. As soon as I pressed the button to play the recording, he and his colleagues were waiting outside the door. Chau Kien Dan was immediately pressed to the ground, his hands locked behind him. He was still struggling frantically, constantly cursing dirty things in his mouth.
"Let me go! Why are you arresting me! I'm his father!"
"To Tinh! You ungrateful child! How dare you call the police to arrest your father! You will face retribution!"
He was escorted out, and as I passed by I was still screaming until my voice was hoarse.
"I did all of this for this house! For your mother! Do you understand?"
I looked at his distorted face and calmly spoke.
“The person you sold is me.”
“Not your family.”
He was stunned, as if all his strength had been drained from him. Then the police escorted him out the door. My mother fell down and sat on the ground, looking at the empty door, shaking head collapsed crying. I stood still, not helping her. The last bit of fake warmth in this house was completely shattered by the sound of the glass breaking.
10
After Chau Kien Dan was taken away, only the cries of my mother and I remained in the house. It was her cry alone. I stood in the middle of the chaotic living room, coldly looking at her. She lay face down on the ground, crying until she couldn't breathe, constantly banging her hands on the floor.
“How did it turn out like this… why did it turn out like this…”
"He's not that kind of person... Tinh Tinh, are you mistaken? He must have been tricked by that guy Phuong Vien!"
She raised her head, her face full of tears looking at me, trying to find a reason to defend Chau Kien Dan. Up to this point, she was still deceiving herself. I slowly walked in front of her and squatted down.
"Mom."
My voice was very calm.
"He's not that kind of person? So what kind of person is he?"
She was stunned by my question.
“He… he has always treated me very well, and this family too…”
“Good?” I interrupted her, "So he can use the second half of my life to credit his five hundred thousand yuan gambling debt?"
“Gambling debt?!” My mother suddenly widened her eyes, her face filled with disbelief, “He… how could he gamble?”
I looked at her surprised expression and suddenly felt extremely funny. Does she really not know or is she pretending not to know? I don't want to argue this with her anymore. I took out my phone, opened the call history, and found the page from three years ago. I showed her the phone screen.
“Three years ago, mom called me twenty-three times.”