Chapter 5 — The Lamp No Longer Shines Because of You

Seeing Chu Tu not saying anything, Hua Nhuoc Duong's face turned white and his eyes immediately turned red.
"Mr. Chu Tu, are you blaming me? My mother and I are only staying temporarily. My sister-in-law is too sensitive."
Chu Tu held the divorce agreement, the edges of the paper were pressed into folds.
“The night her mother broke her leg, I made them stay at the hotel.”
“I said we don't keep guests overnight in the house.”
Hua Nhuoc Duong said nothing. Outside the living room, Hua's mother was still urging.
"Don't be dumb anymore, quickly book a hotel. Your blood pressure has increased again."
Chu Tu suddenly laughed, his voice dry.
“I really deserve to die.”
He took the car keys and went out. Hua Nhuoc Duong quickly chased after him.
"Bound?"
“Go find her.”
“So what about you and mom?”
He stopped at the door, his back stiffened for a few seconds.
“You two should book your own hotel.”
The door closes. The sensor light in the hallway lit up for a moment and then quickly went out. Hua Nhuoc Duong stood inside the door, her face gradually becoming cold. Chu Tu drove to my company. The security guard said that three days ago, I completed the job handover and was transferred to the South. He hurried to Hoa Phong restaurant again. The sign outside the door has been replaced. The new owner is commanding workers to remove the flower trellis.
"The old owner has transferred the shares. Do you want to find Ms. Gian? She said she won't come anymore."
Chu Tu stood on the side of the road. The night wind blew. The last pot of roses on the trellis was transferred to the car. He suddenly remembered the wedding anniversary, when I held the pruning scissors and smiled and asked him:
“Chu Tu, if one day we had a very fierce argument, would you come here to find me?”
"Of course. I won't let you leave alone."
Now, you have lost me. And I left without even making a sound. The next day, Chu Tu went to that budget hotel. The receptionist checked my booking history and said I only stayed one night and had checked out a long time ago. He stood in the hallway, smelling the musty smell, his eyebrows furrowed. The door to the room my mother stayed in last year was slightly open, and the cleaning staff was inside changing the bed sheets. Chu Tu walked in. The windows cannot be closed tightly, and the sound of traffic makes people angry. One corner of the bed mattress had sunk, and the bathroom floor still had water remaining. He stood next to the bed, imagining how an elderly person with a cast on his leg had to move in here. How she endured the dull pain all night, then told her daughter the next morning how nice the room was. The phone rang, it was my mother-in-law calling.
"Tieu Tu, Nhuoc Duong said you kicked her and her child out of the hotel? What's wrong with you? People are widows and orphans, how difficult it is."
Chu Tu looked at the peeling paint on the wall.
“Mom, Gian Ninh is gone.”
“Today I realized it was me who forced her to leave.”
The mother-in-law was silent for a moment.
"Jian Ninh is your wife and children, it's okay to suffer a little resentment. Your mother, Nhuoc Duong, really has no one to rely on. No matter what, you have to make arrangements for them first."
Chu Tu closed his eyes. Previously, he also agreed with that statement. He considers the difficulties of other people's families to be a big deal, and considers the resentments of his wife's family to be something obvious that must be endured. Thinking back now, every time he implicitly accepted it, it was a time he forced her to back down. Outside the hotel it started to rain lightly. Zhou I sat in the lobby waiting until evening, making countless phone calls. I changed my number, you can only contact my mother. Phone is connected.
“Mom, it's me, it's Chu Tu.”
The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds.
“Is something wrong Mr. Chu?”
Chu Tu's throat choked.
"Is Gian Ninh at Mom's place? I want to say a few words to her."
“It's not here.”
“So do you know where she went?”
"Mr. Chu, in the past, Ninh Ninh would let you know wherever he went. In the future, there will be no need."
The phone is disconnected. Chu Tu held the phone tightly, rainwater pouring in from outside the door, wetting the toes of his shoes. At the same time, Hua Nhuoc Duong began to force him. She sent more than ten messages in a row. 【Mr. Chu Tu, my mother said staying in a hotel like this is not the way to go.】 【Before, I didn't dare to force you because I was afraid you would feel awkward. Now that you and your sister-in-law are divorced, should we also give each other an explanation?】 【I've been waiting for you for so many years. Everyone knows my feelings for you, I can't leave you without a name or a place.】 Chu Tu looked at those words and only felt strange. He once thought that Hua Nhuoc Duong was weak and needed care. Indeed, for many years she has always known how to show weakness at the right time. Gian Ninh once said:
"Chu Tu, it's not like she has nowhere to go. She just knows you will choose her."
What did you say then?
“Don't think other people are that bad.”
Now, the words on the screen were pressing towards him sentence by sentence. He returned home and packed Hua Nhuoc Duong and her mother's belongings into a suitcase. Hua Nhuoc Duong hurriedly ran back, tears falling quickly.
"Do you really want to send me and my child away? Just because Gian Ninh doesn't need you anymore?"
Chu Tu pushed his suitcase out the door.
“This is my house and hers.”
Hua Nhuoc Duong burst out laughing.