Chapter 4 — The Wedding House Was Destroyed, I Want It All Back

Returning to my desk, I forced myself to concentrate again. At noon, I took the opportunity to contact the judicial appraisal center that Tham Du introduced and set up a time to survey the scene. In the afternoon, I also found the company's legal department to ask about the process of handling similar cases, recording every important note. Near the end of work, the receptionist's desk phone was switched to me, her voice a bit hesitant.

"Miss Niem, down the hall there's a woman looking for you, her last name is Chu, saying she's... your future mother-in-law, her face doesn't look very good."

It's time to face it. I put down my pen, gave my assistant a few instructions, stood up and went downstairs. In the reception area on the first floor of the company, Chu Da's mother - Liu Que Phan - was sitting on the sofa, neatly dressed, neat hair, but her eyes were red and her expression could not hide her anger and fatigue. Chu Da stood next to her, his head bowed, his face gloomy. Seeing me coming, she immediately stood up, walked quickly in front of me, her voice was low but shaking with restraint.

"Lam Niem! How much do you want to do? Do you have to force our entire family to the end?"

There were a few colleagues and guests in the lobby, everyone pretended not to look but their eyes were secretly directed in this direction. I stopped, kept a step away, my voice was calm, neither high nor low.

"Auntie, this is a company, if there's anything we can talk somewhere else."

"Change of place? My daughter is still being held at the police station, I have to ask right here, what kind of sister-in-law are you to be so hard-hearted!"

Liu Que Phan's tears rolled down, but his eyes were as sharp as knives, both painful and aggressive to the point of making it difficult for others to breathe.

"Yes, Chu Tinh is wrong, he is still young, he was suddenly agitated, and he was so angry that he lost his reason, but you can't force him to such a dead end!"

"Report to the police? Ask for compensation of more than 4,530,000 yuan? Do you want to take his life, or do you want to take the lives of our entire family?"

“What wrong did our Chu family do to you that you took revenge like that?”

Chu Da stepped forward and held his mother's hand, his voice lowered, a bit awkward:

“Mom, stop talking, this is her company…”

"What about the company? I need to let her colleagues and leaders see clearly what kind of person she is!"

Liu Que Phan pushed his hand away, his eyes locked on me, each word seemed to be suffocatingly pressed.

"Lam Niem, I'll be honest, you and Chu Da haven't even registered your marriage yet but you're biting so hard and not letting go, are you going to climb on top of us and show off your power in the future?"

“You immediately went to the police station and said you wouldn't prosecute anymore, we'll settle the compensation at home!”

"When Chu Tinh is released, I will force him to apologize to you, otherwise... you should never step foot in our Chu family's door in this life!"

I looked at her, then looked at the man next to me - the one who always frowned awkwardly but never once actually stood up to protect me. Three years... finally vanished like dust.

“Auntie,” my voice was still calm, even clearer with every word and every beat, “First, whether Chu Da and I continue or not is another matter, but no matter what our relationship is, it doesn't change the fact that Chu Tinh broke the law.”

“Nor does it affect my right to protect my legitimate interests.”

“Second, my daughter is twenty-five years old and has full abilities civil acts, must be responsible for their own actions.”

"There's no need to use the phrase 'you're young and don't understand' to cover it up."

“Third, the amount of compensation is an estimate based on actual damages, whether reasonable or not will be decided by the judicial examiner and the court.”

“I have no obligation to argue emotionally here.”

“I would like to clarify,” I paused, glanced at Chu Da and then looked straight at Liu Que Phan, “whether I enter the Chu family or not... you don't need to use it to put pressure on anymore.”

"After this, Chu Da and I both need to rethink our relationship. Before Chu Tinh's case is handled according to the law, my personal emotional issues are not within the scope of consideration."

“If there's nothing else, I'll excuse you.”

I nodded slightly, turned around and walked towards the elevator, behind me could be heard Liu Que Phan's muffled cries and Chu Da's voice trying to comfort me in vain.

“Mom, don't be like that, let's go home first and then think about it…”

I don't turn around. Two days later, my phone and work email were a little quieter, but I knew it was just the calm before the storm. I still followed the plan, leading the judicial inspection team back to the Van Duyet Phu 2003 apartment, conducting a survey for nearly four hours, measuring, taking photos and recording every detail. Even the assessor looking at the scene in the house could not hide his head shaking. The preliminary assessment was that the damage was extremely serious, almost requiring a complete redo. Many custom-made items have been destroyed and can only be rebuilt from scratch. The cost is certainly not low. The official report takes about a week. At the same time, the police also announced that due to the large property value destroyed, Chu Tinh was placed in criminal custody, and the case is continuing to be investigated. This news is like a bomb dropped on seemingly calm water. Just as I expected. On the evening of the third day, when I had just returned from work to the hotel, my phone rang again. This time it was Chu Da's father. His voice was calm and skillful, carrying the experience of a long-time business person - not noisy like Liu Que Phan, nor impatient like Chu Da.

“Tieu Lam, I'm Uncle Chu.”

He got straight to the point, his voice sounding like he was weighing each word.

"I've heard about Chu Tinh's story. She was spoiled by us so she did such a foolish thing. I'll replace her and also replace your aunt. I'll apologize to you seriously."

I didn't answer, just waited silently for him to continue, as if listening to a chess game being played out move by move.

"The matter has come to this point, finding responsibility is no longer meaningful. What's important is how to end it to minimize losses."

"You and Chu Da have a good relationship, and are about to become a family, family members together, don't push everything to court for outsiders to laugh at."

He paused for a moment, then gave the conditions, his tone was soft but full of pressure.

"Or like this, I'll write a conciliation statement, saying that the two sides have finished negotiating, asking the police to consider a lighter sentence for Chu Tinh, it's best to withdraw the sentence."

"For your damage, we from the Chu family will fully compensate you. We will pay as much as you list, not a penny missing."

“Not only that, we also compensated an additional amount as consolation, in the future you and Chu Da will get married, the bride price, the wedding party, the jewelry, everything will be done according to the standards. highest standards.”

“We also want to let our family and outsiders see the sincerity and responsibility of the Chu family.”

He ended with a sentence that was light but heavy like a falling stone.

“Do you think… is that okay?”

A very complete plan, slapping a slap and then giving the candy, not only wanting to put an end to the immediate criminal risks, but also using "future benefits" to tie me down, turning a malignant incident into a "family matter" and then taking money to clear it up.