Chapter 1 — The new house code is 123110, I just looked at it and changed the lock

Before moving into the new house, my husband insisted on setting the door lock code to 123110. He said the first four numbers were his daughter's birthday, and the last two numbers were the National Day. Symbolizes the reunion of the whole family. But my daughter was clearly born on January 3. What day is 1231? That evening, I was surfing the net and saw a post. 【I want to use my son's birthday as the password to lock the door to my new house, but my wife doesn't agree, how should I convince him?】 At first I just conveniently clicked on it to see. Until I saw the photo the owner of the post posted. A man's hand is resting on a dark gray smart lock. Next to the door frame there is a very faint scratch. I stared at that scratch for ten seconds. That's my new house. It's a new house that my mother spent all her money on to buy for me. As for the hand in the other photo, it is the hand of my husband, Luc Hang. Below the post, the author replied with one sentence: 【Thank you guys, my wife has agreed to use 123110. From now on, every time I open the door, my son's birthday will be placed first.】 I sat in the living room. The light from the phone screen shines on my face. My daughter, Chi Tu, is sleeping very soundly in her crib. Last night Luc Hang said the company was working overtime so he didn't go home. I looked at that series of numbers. The first four numbers are December 31. The last two numbers are 10. My daughter just has the "10" after it. And the son he kept hidden was placed first. The next morning, Luc Hang returned. When he pushed the door open, he brought with him a blast of cold wind. There was a faint smell of cigarette smoke on the collar of the shirt. He doesn't smoke.

"Are you back?"

I sat in front of the dining table, in front of me was a bowl of white porridge. The porridge has long cooled. Luc Hang changed his shoes, bowed his head and placed the key on the cabinet at the entrance. The movements are natural, as if they have been practiced countless times.

"The project was so urgent last night, I worked late so I didn't come home."

I looked at him.

"What time is overtime?"

"Two or three o'clock or something."

"Which project?"

His hand bending down to tie his shoelace paused for half a beat.

"Just signed the project."

"I asked which project?"

He stood up straight, smiling at me. The smile carries a familiar comforting meaning. I've found it very gentle before. Now it just feels dazzling.

"Nien Niem, what's wrong? Are you still angry about the code?"

"Do not have."

I pushed the bowl of porridge towards him.

"Eat it, it's cold."

He sat down, bowed his head and ate porridge. I looked at the back of his head. This man, I've been with for four years. From when he only earned 6,000 yuan a month to now his monthly salary is 12,000 yuan. During that time, we moved house twice and had a daughter. My mother loved her daughter and took all her half-life savings to buy me a three-bedroom apartment. On the certificate of ownership there is only my name. Luc Hang never expressed even a single word of dissatisfaction. Before, I thought he understood. But now I suddenly want to know, does he really understand the situation, or has he had other plans all along. After Luc Hang went to work, I reopened the other post. The article is still there. Posted time was three days ago. The article's profile photo is a landscape photo, without any personal information. I scrolled down and read each comment. On the third page, I saw a sentence reply from the owner. 【My wife says she's troublesome on the outside, but is actually very easy to coax. Just say a few words about her family and she'll soften right away.】 Someone below replied: 【That's great, guys, my son's birthday is in the first place, it's great.】 The leader replied: 【I don't know, my son.】 My fingertips stopped. I saved all the screenshots. Then continue to scroll down. The owner posted another photo. In the photo is that door. The door that I saw with my own eyes last week when I inspected the house had a scratch on the side of the door frame. In the photo, Luc Hang's finger is pressing on the password keyboard. 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 0. Each number glowed with cold white light. Like six needles. Straight into my eyes. I didn't immediately question Luc Hang. Arguing with him is useless. He will apologize, show weakness, and then turn it around into "you don't trust me". I understand him so well. Every time this man makes a mistake, his first reaction is not to admit it. It's about evaluating how much I know. I need to clarify one thing first. December 31. Who is that boy? At noon, after baby Chi Tu fell asleep, I gently placed him in the crib. Then enter Luc Hang's office. His old laptop was on the bottom shelf of the cabinet, covered with a thin layer of dust. I turned on the device. No password. He's always been like that. Not because you trust me. But because I certainly won't check. Browser history has been erased. But he forgot one thing. On this computer, he used to log in to his old email. The mailbox is still in the auto-login state. I open my inbox. Mostly advertising mail. Got a few work emails. I scrolled down each letter one by one. Until I saw an email from two months ago, my fingers suddenly stopped. Sender: City Mother and Child Health Care Hospital. Title: Electronic version of children's health examination report. I opened the letter. An electronic report appears. Full name of examiner: Luc Tri Hanh. Gender: Male. Date of birth: December 31, 2023. Guardian: Luc Hang. At that moment, I didn't cry. Don't scream either. I just stared at the words:

"Guardian: Luc Hang."

It took so long that the screen automatically went dark. In the crib in the next room, baby Chi Tu turned over and made a soft cooing sound. I turned my head to look at my daughter. My daughter is ten months old. The baby named Luc Tri Hanh is also ten months old. The two of them were only three days apart. That means, when I was pregnant with Chi Tu, another woman was also pregnant with Luc Hang's child.