Chapter 3 — Three Years of Being a Fake Wife, One Day Overturning the Table

“That… that marriage certificate… is real.”

“Chu Van Bac… is my husband.”

“We… also have a son, eight years old this year.”

Those words seemed to have drained all her strength. But like a heavy bomb, it exploded in the hearts of the audience. If the evidence I presented is a sharp blade, then Vuong Tu Anh's confirmation... is the final hammer blow. Crucify Luu Ngoc Mai and her mother for cheating and double marriage, there is no way to turn back. From backstage, Liu Ngoc Mai's curses and crazy cries were faintly heard. But now… no one cares anymore. Ly Tinh took a deep breath and asked what everyone wanted to know.

“Mrs. Wang, if you are Zhou Wenbo's legal wife…”

“So do you know, for more than a year, he has been living with Ms. Hua?”

The other end of the line... was silent. There was a very long silence. Just when everyone thought she wouldn't answer. Vuong Tu Anh's voice rang out again, carrying ultimate pain and resentment.

"I do not know."

“Three years ago, he followed someone in the village to work far away... and then never returned.”

“At the beginning of the two years, I still sent back a few hundred yuan every month.”

“After that… contact was lost.”

“I called his mother, called Luu Ngoc Mai…”

"She cursed me, saying I was useless and couldn't keep my husband."

"Says her son has made a fortune in the city, and there is a beautiful woman who abandoned me and me a long time ago."

“She also said… if I dared to go to the city to find…”

“She will break my legs.”

“I am a rural woman, and I have a child with me…”

“What can I do… I can only wait…”

Her cry was heartbreaking. It's not the type of drama to gain pity. It was the cry of an abandoned wife, a helpless mother, accumulated over many years of despair. Even though it's just over the phone, I can still feel the pain that goes deep into my bones. In the studio, many female viewers began to wipe away tears. The comments section was filled with sympathy and anger.

“Is this family still people?”

"Deceiving one person is not enough, you also want to force your legal wife and children to death!"

"Mrs. Vuong is so pitiful, give her a hug!"

I sat quietly listening, my heart cold as ice. How pitiful? Maybe so. But the poor person... may not be completely innocent. I took the microphone. For the first time, proactively ask the person on the other end of the line. My voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone hold their breath.

“Vuong Tu Anh.”

I called her directly by name. The crying on the other end of the line stopped for a beat.

“You… you know me?”

“No, I mean, have you ever heard of me before coming on this show?”

“I… I saw you on TV…”

“Not that.”

I interrupted, my voice still calm.

“Have you heard of me before?”

The other end of the line fell silent again. Ly Tinh looked at me, her eyes full of confusion, not sure why I asked this question. I didn't explain, just quietly waited for the answer. I know... Vuong Tu Anh definitely understands. A long while later, she spoke, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.

“…I heard.”

“From who?” I continued asking, not giving her a chance to hide.

“…From…from Liu Yumei.”

“What did she say to you?”

My voice was still steady, but each word was like a cold blade, cutting straight into the fake shell. The breathing on the other end of the line became rapid stamping.

“She… she said… her son knew a stupid woman in the city…”

“Having money… is easy to deceive…”

“She said… waiting to squeeze money out of that woman…”

“…then I will call Chu Van Bac back…”

“She said… that money… was for our son to go to college…”

The words just ended. The whole studio... fell silent. If what happened before only proved the shamelessness of Chu Van Bac and his mother... Then now, Vuong Tu Anh's words... have exposed the entire nature of a cruel plot to the end. From the beginning, in their eyes... I was just "stupid prey in the city". A walking wallet, a tool to be drained of every drop. Even that abandoned wife... is not innocent. She knows. And was silent. Ly Tinh's face was now extremely unsightly. She looked at me, her eyes not only showing sympathy, but also guilt. She finally understood. My calmness from beginning to end… was not cold. It's a dead heart. It's the layer of ice that forms after being punctured by the ugliest malice in the world. I looked straight into the lens. The corners of the lips... finally curled up. A cold smile that had no temperature.

“Vuong Tu Anh, you called here today, not because your conscience awakened.”

“But because you already know, Chu Van Bac is paralyzed.”

“That compensation... in her eyes was the straw that saved her life.”

"She was afraid that I would swallow all that money...so she was impatient."

“What I said… is it true?”

There was no more crying on the other end of the line. Only heavy breathing remained, there was no way to hide it. That is the most honest reaction... when one's thoughts are stripped bare. I don't continue to care about her anymore. I turned to the camera, turned to Ly Tinh, and also turned to all the audience watching.

“Come here, everyone probably understands.”

“This was a trap set up by the mother-in-law, carried out by the son, and the legal wife silently agreed.”

"They cheated on my feelings, cheated on my youth, and even wanted to cheat on my money."

“Now, because of an accident, everything is revealed.”

“They thought of a more cruel way to drag me on live TV.”

“Smear my honor, turn me into an ungrateful person.”

"So that I can be honest and speak up and take away that life-saving money."

“After that, throw Chu Van Bac – a paralyzed person – back to me to shoulder.”

“It's true… not a bad calculation.”

Having finished speaking, I took the notebook and a copy of the marriage certificate. The two pieces of “evidence” that everyone is staring at. Right in front of the entire studio. I slowly… tore them in half. Then tear again. Until only unrecognizable fragments remained. The whole auditorium... was stunned. Ly Tinh exclaimed:

“Miss Hua, what are you doing…”

I let go, letting the pieces of paper fall onto the table, like throwing away trash.

"Proof?"

I looked at her, every word clear.

“I came here today… not to give evidence.”

“I came… to declare the results.”

As soon as my words ended, the atmosphere in the studio seemed to freeze.

What does “Declaration of results”… mean?

Ly Tinh opened her mouth slightly, but for a moment she didn't know how to respond. She has hosted thousands of shows and met all kinds of people. There is crying, there is chaos, there is also going crazy. But a person like me... from beginning to end was as calm as an outsider, step by step So, forcing the opponent into a corner, finally being able to say the words "sentence"... this was the first time she met her. This is no longer a victim of family dispute. Obviously a knife-wielding, cold and scary man. The comment section, after a few seconds of freezing, immediately exploded more violently.

“Oh my god, this girl is so cool!”

"I declare that from today Hua Tinh is my queen!"

"The verdict? It feels like I'm watching a light novel, it's amazing!"

“This is the real big lady!”

“No crying, no fuss, directly release the evidence, then say this is just an appetizer!”

On the other end of the phone, Vuong Tu Anh also seemed to be frightened by my actions. She stammered and asked:

"You... you tore up the evidence? What... what do you mean?"

The voice was filled with fear. Afraid of letting go, afraid of losing that money, afraid of having nothing left in the end. I didn't bother to answer her one more word. Just look straight into the lens, looking towards the countless eyes watching through the screen.

"I tore up the notebook because I took care of Chu Van Bac for the past year, every penny spent was for humanity."

“It's not because of the so-called 'husband and wife relationship'.”

“This amount… I don't bother counting it with them.”

“I tore up the copy of the marriage certificate because legally, that marriage has nothing to do with me.”

“It just proves one thing…”

“Chu Van Bac committed the crime of double marriage.”

“And that… no longer needs me to prove it.”

I stopped, picked up the glass of water on the table, and took a small sip. Move slowly and leisurely. No one in the studio dared to speak up. All are waiting. Wait for my next statement. They know... the real climax is just beginning now.

“Miss Ly, I think you know that the station's entire recording process is fully archived, right?”

I looked towards Ly Tinh. She reflexively nodded.

"That's right."

"So that means, from the moment I sat here until now, every slanderous and libelous statement of Liu Ngoc Mai towards me..."

“have all been fully documented with pictures.”

“As for Vuong Tu Anh's phone confession, about their whole family colluding to deceive…”

“There is also clear recording.”

“Do those… count as evidence?”

Ly Tinh's eyes suddenly lit up. She immediately understood what I meant.

"Yes! Of course there is! This is the most valuable and direct evidence!"

I nodded slightly.