Chapter 4 — Three Years of Being a Fake Wife, One Day Overturning the Table

“I agreed to come here today, not to argue with an ignorant woman.”

“It's not for going on television to tell stories about suffering.”

“I chose this program, chose a nationwide broadcast platform…”

“just for one purpose.”

I stood up. His eyes scanned the entire studio.

“That is, in front of everyone, crucify all their criminal evidence.”

“So that they… no longer have any chance of denying.”

“From the moment I walked into this studio…”

“My lawyer brought all the documents I prepared…”

“file criminal charges and civil lawsuits at the same time.”

“Accusing Chu Van Bac of committing the crime of double marriage.”

"Accusing Chu Van Bac and Luu Ngoc Mai of colluding in marriage fraud."

“The amount involved…”

“including all the expenses I spent over the past three years on this so-called ‘family’…”

“along with the mental damage…”

“a total of 1,200,000 yuan.”

"At the same time, denounce Luu Ngoc Mai and publicly defame my reputation on national television."

My voice echoed in the studio. Every sentence... was like a thunderclap. Someone took a deep breath. Some people couldn't help but let out a cry of horror. Even Ly Tinh, who has experienced countless big situations. This moment... also completely shocked me. She looked at me like she was looking at something beyond imagination. A person has silently prepared for too long, endured for too long. Just waiting for today... to deliver the final blow. Ly Tinh's voice trembled slightly.

“Our program today…”

“Not wrong.”

I answered her.

“Your program today, along with all the viewers watching, will be witnesses for me.”

“I sincerely thank the team for giving me an opportunity like this.”

“An opportunity… to single-handedly send their entire family to hell.”

Having finished speaking, I bent down and took out the last thing from the cloth bag. Those are not documents, nor are they papers. It's a small tape recorder. I pressed the play button. A high-pitched, sour and bitter female voice immediately rang out, piercing the quiet atmosphere of the studio.

"Hua Tinh, I'm telling you! Don't get carried away!"

“Even if my son is paralyzed, he is still from the Chu family!”

“His money is the Chu family's money!”

“You are just an outsider, what right do you have to control it?”

"Today I'll be honest, you obediently give me all that money, then get out!"

“Or I will go to the TV station, to your workplace, to your parents' house and cause chaos!”

"Make your body paralyzed and unable to raise your head for the rest of your life!"

"If my son sleeps with you for three years, you will benefit greatly! What else do you want?"

That sound... is Luu Ngoc Mai's. The content of the recording... are the words she said three days ago, when she came to me asking for money. It's also... the last straw. That's what made me decide to destroy them to the end. The recording ends. The whole studio... fell into absolute silence. All the pity, all the remaining sympathy... were crushed by those harsh words, turning into surging anger. If before, people still thought Liu Ngoc Mai was just a greedy and stupid old woman... Now, at this moment, everyone can see clearly. He is a cruel, inhumane, scary person. I turned off the recorder and put it back in my pocket. Then I looked straight into the camera, for the first time that night, a real smile. A smile that is no longer cold, but... ending.

“Chu Wenbo, Liu Yumei.”

“The game… is over.”

At that moment, the door on the side of the studio was suddenly pushed open. Several people in uniform entered. The leader glanced around, then stopped at Ly Tinh. He pulled out his industry card, his voice rang out clearly and majestically.

"Police."

"We received a complaint and came to find Ms. Luu Ngoc Mai to verify some issues."

The appearance of the police was like a bucket of cold water thrown into a pan of boiling oil. The whole studio… exploded. The flash flashed continuously, the director almost instinctively immediately turned the entire camera towards the door. A family mediation program broadcast nationwide... ended with the police directly arriving to arrest people right at the scene. This is no longer a popular show. It's an event that can be recorded in television history. Ly Tinh was the first to regain composure and immediately signaled the staff to come forward and discuss. Behind the scenes, Luu Ngoc Mai's crying suddenly stopped. Instead there were screams of panic, mixed with desperate resistance. But very quickly… it all calmed down. A few minutes later, the entire audience witnessed an unforgettable scene. Luu Ngoc Mai... who just now was crying in front of the camera, playing the role of a pitiful mother... was now being held on both sides by two female police officers, escorted from backstage out. Her silver hair was messier than before, her makeup was smudged, revealing her yellow skin. In his eyes... there was no longer any resentment, no more arrogance. Only left... despair and fear like ashes. As she passed me, she suddenly struggled violently. His eyes were bloodshot, staring at me, his throat emitting hoarse sounds like a cornered wild animal.

"It's you... it's you who hurt me! You cruel woman! You won't have a good ending!"

She put all her strength into it, spitting a mouthful of saliva at me. I leaned slightly, avoiding him. A mouthful of saliva fell onto the shiny floor under his feet, looking so dirty it was an eyesore. I didn't look at her, nor did I show any emotion. For someone who has reached the point of collapse... every reaction is redundant. Police quickly took her away from the scene. The studio door... slowly closed. The door closed, cutting off her last and most helpless curse, the world... finally became quiet. Ly Tinh walked up to me, with a complicated expression, looked at me for a long time then opened her mouth slightly, but in the end it all turned into a sigh.

“Miss Hua, I… I really don't know what to say.”

“You don't need to say anything, just broadcast the entire program tonight, that will help me the most.”

"Certain!" Ly Tinh nodded vigorously, her voice firm, "We not only broadcast it in full, but also provide all the documents to your lawyer."

“I thank you.”

I responded politely, then looked straight at the main camera that was always facing me, knowing full well that Chu Van Bac in front of the screen must have seen everything. Seeing his mother being dragged away by the police as if dragging a lifeless body, thinking about his face right now... must have been very special. I hold the microphone He stood up and said the last words of the night, his voice calm but each word seemed to be nailed to the heart.

“Chu Van Bac, lying on the hospital bed, perhaps you think paralysis is the greatest misfortune of your life, but you are wrong.”

“Your greatest misfortune is to have met me, the person you and your family treated as a fool and let yourself be deceived and manipulated.”

“You think what I have for you is love, but in reality it's just the last limit of honesty that I have left.”

“And you guys… destroyed it yourself.”

"The law will give you the price you pay, and I will take back everything that belongs to me. From now on, we no longer owe each other."

“Just lie on that bed and spend the rest of your life repenting.”

Having finished speaking, I put down the microphone, nodded slightly towards the camera, closing my three years of myth, as well as my final greeting to all the audience. In everyone's mixed gaze of respect, sympathy and admiration, I straightened my back and left the stage step by step. The hallway outside the studio was long and quiet, the sound of my high heels tapping on the shiny tile floor echoed clearly, like the heartbeat of a newly reborn life. Stepping out of the door of the television station building, the cold night wind blew across my face. I took a deep breath, greedily enjoying the clean air. There is no longer the smell of fake lights in the studio, no more of Luu Ngoc Mai's rotten breath that makes people nauseous, only... the taste of freedom. The phone in my pocket vibrated frantically, and I didn't need to look to know that it was countless missed calls and messages, from friends, colleagues, perhaps even parents back home. I didn't care, I just raised my head and looked up at the night sky of the city, where the neon lights were bright and the traffic was bustling like a non-stop flow. Three years ago, I brought all the beautiful expectations of love to this place, three years later, I left alone, full of wounds but more relieved than ever. Because from this moment, I am no longer anyone's wife, nor any family's daughter-in-law, I am just myself. Hua Tinh, a woman who lives for herself. I took out the small tape recorder from my bag, without hesitation, threw it straight into the trash can on the side of the road, as if throwing away the entire past. A battle has ended, and my new life… has just begun. I hailed a taxi, opened the door and got in. The car seat still retained the warmth of the person who had just left.

“Where are you going, miss?”

I looked at the street flowing backwards behind the glass window, curled my lips and smiled, so relieved that even I felt strange.

“Go anywhere.”

“To a place… completely new.”