Chapter 1 — The Madman’s Masterpiece

My boyfriend came to pick me up from work, but there was already a girl sitting in the passenger seat. She glanced at me, pouted, and said, "Big sister, I get motion sickness easily. You don't mind sitting in the back, do you?" I slapped my boyfriend across the face: "If you're that motion-sick, how dare you hitch a ride? What if you die in the car?"

I first met Co Xuyen at a gala. I had twisted my ankle in my high heels, and he offered to drive me home. At first, I assumed he was the haughty, unapproachable type. As it turned out, he was just a standard philanderer with a penchant for games. I kept my distance and stayed guarded, but he persisted, obsessed. He quit smoking for me, got into fights for me, and even underwent a vasectomy for me. Everyone in our circle claimed he had changed. I actually believed them.

We spent half a year together in bliss. We traveled to see mountains, rivers, and the vast sky. Beneath the starlit canopy, he swore he would love only me for the rest of his life. But lately, friends told me another woman had appeared by his side—elegant and arrogant, seen with him in the most luxurious places. I only laughed, passing it off as business, but deep down, seeds of doubt had sprouted. His text replies were becoming slower and slower.

On Friday, Co Xuyen arrived to pick me up. As I opened the car door, I saw a girl in the front seat. She looked me up and down before pouting: "Big sister, I get motion sickness easily. You don't mind sitting in the back, do you?" I turned to look at Co Xuyen; he remained silent. I raised my hand and slapped him hard: "If you're that sick, how dare you hitch a ride? What if you die in the car?"

The girl’s face turned ghastly. Co Xuyen barked, "Tong Ha, you've gone too far! She's just..." "I know—just shameless, right?" I cut him off, grabbed the girl by the hair, and dragged her out of the car. She crumpled onto the ground, and I hopped into the front seat, slamming the door shut. She stood outside, wailing like a banshee, tears and snot streaming down her face: "Director Co, Director Co..." I picked up the water bottle on the console—the one she had been drinking from—and hurled it out the window. "A little bit of beauty has given you delusions of grandeur. Cross me, and you'll find your fate is far from guaranteed."

"She isn't feeling well..." Co Xuyen said as he got into the car and tried to take my hand. I turned to look at him, smiling: "Are you the one making her feel unwell?" Co Xuyen’s expression darkened, his lips pressed into a thin line. I continued, "Darling, don't think that because I scolded her, I'll let you off the hook. If you don't want a scene, just drive." Co Xuyen opened his mouth to argue but eventually just started the car in silence.

Back home, Co Xuyen sat on the sofa, mute. "Let's throw down," I said, my voice dropping. He looked up: "Tong Ha, aren't you overreacting? There is nothing between me and her. She was just unwell, so I let her sit in the front." I poured a glass of water. "Yes, I know." "Then why ask for a breakup?" His voice was frantic. "Because I'm bored." I sipped the water, indifferent. He froze, only speaking after a long silence: "Bored?" I walked toward him slowly, smiling. "Darling, being with you... it's boring enough to die for." A vein pulsed in his neck. I chuckled, patted his face lightly, and gestured to the Muay Thai trophies on the wall: "Don't get any ideas. I don't shake when I beat up men." "Tong Ha, you really have a poisonous tongue." He gritted his teeth and walked out.

I lay on the white chair, my gaze unfocused. "Dr. Vuong, I've been feeling irritable again lately. Everyone around me seems like a complete idiot. I feel like I want to smash the world to pieces." "You must try to stay optimistic, Tong Ha," Dr. Vuong said softly as he injected a sedative into my left arm. "A year ago, I didn't want to sign your discharge papers, but you followed your treatment well and took your medication on time, so I allowed it."

I closed my eyes slowly. In my dreams, I returned to childhood. Everyone knew the Hua family had a brilliant son, but no one knew he was actually part of a boy-girl twin pair. The family fortune-teller called me a harbinger of doom, insisting I should have been drowned at birth. My mother couldn't bear it and secretly left me at an orphanage. The director there was a pervert. When I was ten, he called me into his office under the guise of "giving me toys." In the end, the police and doctors arrived. They looked at me with expressions of sheer horror. After answering countless questions, I was committed to the city's largest psychiatric hospital. And so... I stayed there for ten years.

Waking up, my friends from the ward swarmed around me. "Boss, did your brain short-circuit again?" "Who bullied you? Let me go invisible and take care of them!" I sat up and smiled: "It’s a minor thing, not worth mentioning." My second brother handed me a cup of water: "Boss, drink some water first." My third brother blocked him, touching the cup: "Don't drink it, it's 90 degrees; the square angle will hurt your throat." This kid really is... a prodigy. I looked at the door. "Where are the fourth and fifth brothers?" "They're fishing in the washbasin outside. The fifth is at the pond releasing... fish balls." I nodded.

Dr. Vuong pushed the door open: "Why are you lot crowding around your boss instead of going to save the world?" "We aren't going; the world isn't as important as our boss," they mumbled. Dr. Vuong glanced at me, and I quickly took their hands: "The people need you." Only then did they reluctantly run outside. "These are the new meds I’ve prescribed. Take them on time. If anything happens, call me immediately." Dr. Vuong handed me the pills. I took them, thinking to myself: If I fed these to Co Xuyen... what would happen?

But I ran into that girl again before I could see Co Xuyen. She held her head high with a smug grin: "Haven't been sleeping well lately? You look so haggard." I tilted my head and whispered, "Shh, don't say a word." "I never expected you to go crazy just because Director Co dumped you." She sneered, her eyes full of disdain. I stood up slowly and slapped her left and right like I was playing a piano: "I am not K, I am not K, I am not K, bo-lu-biu, bo-lu-biu, dinosaur-anti-wolf, dinosaur-anti-wolf..."

When I finished, her face was as swollen as a pig's head. "You maniac! How dare you hit me?!" Her mouth was twisted, her speech slurred, "Do you know who my father is?!" I shook my hand to ease the numbness. "Didn't your mother tell you? You're running off to find your father? Kneel down and call me 'father' now, and I might reluctantly accept you." She clutched her face with one hand, pointing with the other, tears and snot flowing: "What are you? Without Co Xuyen backing you, let’s see who dares to protect you! Just you wait!" I rolled my ankles and stretched. Seeing my stance, she scrambled back a few paces and fled. Honestly, she did remind me of one thing: it was time to visit the Hua household and see my "biological father" again.

Actually, I had visited the Hua household a month ago—back when Hua An was celebrating his birthday. The Hua family in Van City is considered influential. The moment he saw me, Hua An became tense—because I was wearing a backless dress, exposing the crescent-moon birthmark on my shoulder. I hadn't intended to cause trouble, but Hua Zi Duc didn't know his place. He reached out to touch the mark on my shoulder, muttering something depraved. I splashed my red wine straight into his face. He grew furious and tried to hit me, but Hua An barked at him to stop. After the party, Hua An kept me behind. We reached a deal: he would give me a sum of money, and I would keep my true identity a secret from the world. After all, few people could turn down... six houses.