Chapter 4 — The Wife I Rescued In The Snow

I looked at her. Looking at the face I've known for six years. For the first time, I felt like she was a puzzle. A riddle that could take my life. I don't answer.

“Hua Tue.”

I spoke up, my voice hoarse.

“Yes?”

“Who are you anyway?”

05

My question is like a stone thrown into a quiet lake. The air in the room immediately froze. Hua Tue raised her head and looked at me silently. She didn't panic. His eyes, incredibly bright under the oil lamp light, kept looking straight at me.

“What did you hear?”

She asked. The voice was very calm, no emotions could be heard.

“The village chief recognized her at the exam school.”

“He said six years ago, the police came looking for her photo.”

“He said you ran away from the province, anyone who gets involved with you will be broken to pieces.”

I said all those words in one breath. It's like taking out a pile of trash. I stared at her face, wanting to find an opening. But nothing. She just lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her face.

“What he said was not wrong.”

She spoke softly. She admitted. Just admit it easily. I felt like my heart was being squeezed by someone. Both painful and choking.

“Isn't it wrong?”

I smiled coldly.

"So you're an escaped criminal? For the past six years, you've been lying to me?"

“You look at me like an idiot, worrying about you every day, you find it very interesting, right?”

“I didn't lie to you.”

She raised her head, her eyes looking straight at me again.

"Marry me for real."

“Wanting to live with you is also true.”

“What about your past?”

I pressed the question.

“How is your family, why did you have to run away?”

“Why do the police have to look for you?”

“Why don't you say a word about those things?”

“That said, what can you do?”

She asked back, her voice sharp for the first time.

“Tham Son, there are some things, it's better for you not to know than to know.”

I was speechless by her question.

“So what are you going to do now?”

I asked.

“What happens if you pass the university entrance exam?”

“Wipe your hands and go back to your world?”

“Think of me and this house as a tattered temple for you to hide in for six years?”

“Tham Son!”

The first time she called me by my full name, her voice carried suppressed anger. She stood up, her chest heaving violently.

“In your heart, am I that kind of person?”

“If not, what is it?”

My eyes are red.

“You dare say you've never thought about leaving?”

She looked at me, her lips moved slightly, but in the end she said nothing. The light in her eyes gradually faded. Finally, she sat back in her chair and picked up the book.

“Wait for the results and then talk.”

She used one sentence to end this confrontation. She became the quiet and focused Hua Tue again. Like everything that just happened was just my hallucination. But I know, things are different. Between us, the invisible thing called trust has appeared a crack. That crack is so deep that you can't see the bottom. The days that followed became extremely tormenting. We live under the same roof, eat and sleep together. But we rarely talk. She waits for the exam results. I'm waiting for disaster, I don't know when it will strike. The way people in the village looked at me also changed. Perhaps the village chief leaked the news. Shoppers The neighbors used to be welcoming to my family, but now when they see me, they take a detour. It's like I carry something unlucky with me. She doesn't care. Every day she still reads books and writes. It's like the outside world has nothing to do with her. Half a month later, one afternoon. I'm chopping firewood in the yard. Suddenly there was a commotion in the village. I raised my head to look. A man wearing a blue khaki officer's uniform entered the village. At his feet was a pair of shiny black leather shoes. That way of dressing is completely inappropriate for this poor village in the mountains. He asked everyone he met.

“Comrade, let me ask you a question.”

“Six years ago, there was a woman from another place in the village, right?”

06

The strange man's voice was not loud. But in the quiet village, sound travels far. My movement of chopping wood stopped. My heart immediately jumped into my throat. Here we come. Finally arrived. In the yard, Hua Tue was drying vegetables and also heard it. Her body stiffened. The fork in his hand fell to the ground. Dried vegetables were scattered everywhere. She didn't bend down to pick it up. Just slowly stand up straight, looking towards the beginning of the village. His face was as white as paper. The man asked as he walked, and soon someone pointed towards our house. His eyes were like those of a hawk, immediately locking this house. He walked towards us. Not fast, but every step feels like stepping on my heartbeat. I threw the ax down and quickly walked to Hua Tue's side.

“Please go inside.”

I lowered my voice. Hua Tue did not move. She looked at the man who was getting closer and closer, her body constantly shaking. That's not fear. It was an emotion I didn't understand, a mixture of hate and despair.

“It's useless.”

She said.

“There's no escaping it.”

The man walked to our front gate.