Chapter 1 — The Ten Year Lie

My lifeguard husband, Luc Tram Chu, saved more than a hundred lives, but abandoned his own daughter in the middle of the flood. Ten years ago, heavy rain collapsed the back wall of the kindergarten, and two children were swept into the same flood canal. One is our daughter, the other is the daughter of the owner of the foot massage shop downstairs. Amidst the rushing floodwater, Luc Tram Chu could only hold one hand. He suffered from severe facial recognition blindness, mistakenly recognized the child, and carried the daughter of the owner of the foot massage shop to shore. As for our daughter, she was swept into an underground sewer by floodwaters and could not even be found intact. After it happened, I cried until I lost my voice and wanted to follow my daughter several times. But when I saw Luc Tram Chu kneeling on the riverbank, slapping himself over and over again, I finally put the divorce agreement in a drawer. To preserve his reputation as a "rescue hero", I endured all doubts and lived in a nightmare for ten years. Until the forty-year class reunion, after getting drunk, Luc Tram Chu took off his goggles. The corners of his eyes turned red, his voice was lightheaded. "There is something I have hidden for ten years. Actually, my illness is not serious enough to not recognize her." "That year the water was not strong, I was actually able to pull both children back."1. Someone reacted first, smiling wryly and trying to make peace. "Tram Chu has been drinking a lot, right? Why are you starting to talk so delirious?" Luc Tram Chu didn't see me. After taking off the goggles, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of steam, his usual gentle and calm expression was washed away by alcohol. "Not drunk." "I'm very sober." Old Chu's expression changed and he reached out to grab his glass of wine. "Don't talk anymore, your sister-in-law is still outside." This sentence was like a knife, immediately pinning everyone's eyes towards the door. Luc Tram Chu slowly turned his head. The moment their four eyes met, the blood on his face disappeared completely. It's been ten years. This was the first time I saw this expression on his face. No regrets. But fear. "Van Khe." His voice was hoarse. "When did you come?" No one in the private room dared to move. The pot of grilled fish is still boiling, the chili oil is swirling, the aroma is so sick that it makes people nauseous. I looked at him. "From what you said, my illness is not serious enough to not recognize her." When Luc Tram Chu stood up, he knocked over the chair. "I listen to your explanation." A female classmate next to him immediately stood up and blocked in front of him. "Van Khe, don't get excited, over the years Tram Chu has not been pleasant, he drank too much and said a few wrong sentences, which cannot be considered true."I recognized her. Diep Thanh Hoa. After the kindergarten incident that year, she was the first person to come to the hospital to advise me. She said, sister-in-law, Tram Chu has tried his best to save people, don't force him anymore. At that time, I still felt that she was kind. Only today do I understand that it was not advice, but a gag for me. "He said the water was not strong." My voice was very light. "He said both children could be pulled back." Diep Thanh Hoa's expression stiffened. Luc Tram Chu walked around her back, reaching out to touch me. When my fingertips were about to touch my sleeve, I took a step back. His hand stopped in mid-air, as if someone had slapped him right in front of everyone. "Van Khe, I was too scared at that time." "I didn't mean to give up Tue Tue." Tue Tue. This name coming out of his mouth made my stomach roll. For the past ten years, no one in the family has dared to mention this name. The day she left, she was five years old, had two small pigtails, and was wearing the red rain boots I bought for her. Before going out, she leaned into my ear and said, Mom, tonight I want to eat egg tomato soup. I reheated that pot of soup

times, finally pouring it all into the sink. "Not on purpose?" I stared at him. "So why did you say just now, there was something that was hidden for ten years?" Luc Tram Chu's lips trembled. Old Chu suddenly stood up. "Sister-in-law, today is a class reunion, everyone has drunk too much, don't make things too unsightly." Unsightly. I maintained your heroic reputation for ten years, protected you from criticism for ten years, and in the end, the unsightly person was me. A young waiter pushed open the door and walked in, handing out a plate of fruit. The door opened too quickly, cold wind from the hallway rushed in. Luc Tram Chu, as if awakened by the wind, suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Let's go home." Your strength is very strong. My wrist hurts to the point of numbness. Finally, someone in the private room advised in a low voice. "That's right, it's about the couple coming home to talk about." "The past years Tram Chu has been doing public service rescue work, it can be considered as atonement." "Sister-in-law, Tue Tue is gone, everyone is heartbroken, you can't just blame him." Each sentence was pounded down, exactly like the old words from ten years ago, only replaced with a new shell. I couldn't pull away, so I picked up half a cup of cold tea from the table and threw it at Luc Tram Chu's face. The tea flowed down his eyebrow bone. The whole room was silent. Luc Tram Chu did not avoid it. He looked at me with a wet face, the pain in his eyes appearing at the right time. "You can hit me too." "Don't do this in front of outsiders." He always knows what words can turn me into a crazy woman who doesn't understand anything. There was the sound of high heels outside the door. A woman was helping a girl standing there, a look of surprise on her face. Tuong Nguyet Cam wore a dark red dress, a little fatter than ten years ago, and the gold necklace around her neck was dazzling. Next to her, Dao Niem Tu was fifteen years old, clean and pretty, with an obedient look between her eyebrows and eyes that Luc Tram Chu often praised. Tuong Nguyet Cam saw Luc Tram Chu's wet face and immediately blushed. "To Van Khe, what are you crazy about?" "That year Tram Chu saved my daughter, not harmed your daughter." She hugged Dao Niem Tu in her arms. "If you yourself are suffering, don't vent your anger on the surviving child." Luc Tram Chu's expression changed. "Nguyet Cam, stop talking." The two words Nguyet Cam were called too casually. I looked at the three of them standing together and suddenly realized that the small needles that had been piercing my heart for the past ten years had never been an illusion. Tuong Nguyet Cam smiled coldly. "I just want to say it." "Your daughter died, you are pitiful, but over the years Tram Chu has been a buffalo and a horse for you, hasn't it been enough?" "Every year on Niem Tu's birthday, he secretly gave a gift that you had to hint at." "Why, the life-saving benefactor can't even look at the rescued child?" Dao Niem Tu timidly raised her head. "Aunt To, Uncle Luc only loves you." stop.” After the girl said this, Luc Tram Chu's face turned completely white. I looked at him. "Secretly giving a gift?" Luc Tram Chu's throat moved. "Just a normal gift." Tuong Nguyet Cam realized he had said something wrong, but still spoke stiffly: "What about normal? Niem Tu grew up without a father, Tram Chu is kind." In the hallway, someone stuck their head out to look at the excitement. Luc Tram Chu lowered his voice, almost begging. "Van Khe, go home." I took out my phone from my pocket and called my younger brother, To Hoai Nghien. The moment the phone was connected, Luc Tram Chu's hand reached out again. "Don't call my brother." The screen lit up. To Hoai Nghien's voice came from the receiver. "Sister, what's going on?" I looked at Luc Tram Chu's shaking fingertips and said word by word: "Come to pick you up." "I want to investigate Tue Tue's story that year." Luc Tram Chu suddenly grabbed my phone. In the next second, Dao Niem Tu suddenly burst into tears. "Uncle Luc, please stop arguing with Aunt To, it's all your fault."

You shouldn't be alive." Luc Tram Chu reflexively turned around to help the girl. His hand let me go. The phone fell to the ground, the screen cracked a small line. The call was still disconnected. To Hoai Nghien shouted on the other end: "Sister, where are you?" When I bent down to pick up the phone, Luc Tram Chu's shadow fell. His voice was so low that only I could hear. "To Van Khe, I really want to drag someone to the death. Up, let everyone die again?" Outside the door of the private room, Dao Niem Tu cried and rushed into his arms. 2. When To Hoai Nghien ran over, Luc Tram Chu was still hugging Dao Niem Tu. That scene fell into my younger brother's eyes, his face immediately sank. "Let go." Luc Tram Chu raised his head. "Hoai Nghien, you misunderstood." To Hoai Nghien did not Hearing his explanation, he walked straight to me, saw the red mark on my wrist, his eyes became even colder. "Who did it?" Tuong Nguyet Cam immediately interjected. "What if a husband and wife quarrel? You're my sister-in-law, so don't interfere." To Hoai Nghien smiled. She's six years younger than me, normally gentle, but when she's really angry, she's even quieter. "My sister's daughter passed away ten years ago. Thanks to my sister's patience, your daughter lived happily for ten years." "Now you stand up to teach my sister how to be a human being?" Tuong Nguyet Cam choked on her words, her face turned red. Dao Niem Tu said in a low voice: "Uncle, my mother doesn't mean it." "To Hoai Nghien didn't even look at the girl. "I don't talk to children." As soon as this sentence ended, Luc Tram Chu frowned. "Hoai Nghien, Niem Tu is also the victim." Hearing this sentence, my chest felt like being hit hard by a blunt object. For the past ten years, he has always said that to everyone. Dao Niem Tu is the victim. Tuong Nguyet Cam is a family member of the victim. You yourself are a poor father who just lost his daughter and saved the wrong person. If I cry, I'm the woman who blames you. If I hate you, I'm angry. "The girl is the victim." I looked at Luc Tram Chu. "What is Tue Tue?" Luc Tram Chu opened his mouth. But Diep Thanh Hoa took a step forward I just feel that Niem Tu is still a child, adults shouldn't hurt children." "My daughter died when she was only five years old." As soon as the words ended, Diep Thanh Hoa shut her mouth. To Hoai Nghien picked up my jacket and put it on my shoulders. "Sister, let's go." Luc Tram Chu blocked the door. "You can't go today." His voice finally changed. That gentle shell cracked, revealing the toughness on the other side. in. "It's not what you think, right now I'm not in a stable mood, I just talk nonsense." Turns out what he was most afraid of was not my pain, but me opening my mouth. At the end of the hallway, the hotel manager walked over with two security guards. "Mr. Luc, do you need help?" Luc Tram Chu participates in civil rescue training all year round. Many businesses in the city invited him to come and give a lecture on safety There, wet hair sticking to his forehead, despite the struggle, he still did not lose his dignity. "Family matter." He said in a low voice. "My wife is a little excited." As soon as these five words were uttered, the eyes of everyone around immediately changed. I became a crazy woman again because of the pain of losing my child. To Hoai Nghien stepped in front of me. "Who dares to touch her?" The manager looked at Luc Tram Chu awkwardly. Tuong Nguyet Cam suddenly raised her voice. "To Van Khe, stop pretending!" "How have you tortured Tram Chu Thanh these past years?" "He had a nightmare, called Tue Tue's name, you criticized him for being noisy."