Chapter 5 — Through Two Worlds Sending A Hug

An Nhiem also noticed, and as soon as he escaped from Pho Thinh Trieu's arms, he rushed towards the other man. But she was too weak, her movements were too slow, and before she could reach her destination, Pho Thinh Trieu hugged her around her waist and pulled her back. "A Nhiem! Why can't you forgive me?" Pho Thinh Trieu hugged her tightly, his chin resting on her shoulder, his eyes bloodshot: "We've loved each other for twelve years, a whole twelve years!" “So what?” An Nhiem stood still, her voice cold: "Twelve years of love, you say betrayal is betrayal, then I can also say not loving is not loving anymore." Pho Thinh Trieu roared: "If you don't love me, why did you come back?!" "Stop being so sentimental. I came back because of Duong Duong, not because of you." An Nhiem took a deep breath: "Pho Thinh Trieu, if you have any conscience left, please release me, so that Luong Tranh's soul can return. She is innocent, why do you have to harm her?" Pho Thinh Trieu's arms were like pincers gripping An Nhiem, she was completely unable to escape. "Pho Thinh Trieu! Let me go!" An Nhiem struggled desperately, "If you do that, Luong Tranh will die!" “So what?” Pho Thinh Trieu's voice was as cold as ice, "As long as I can make you come back, what's the point of sacrificing an unrelated person?" I hovered next to it, impatiently spinning around. The doll in the skinny man's hand radiated a strange light. I clearly felt my soul being pulled away by some force. At that moment— “Bang!” The door was kicked open and Pho Chi Duong rushed in, holding a baseball bat in his hand. "Pho Thinh Trieu! What are you doing?!" Pho Thinh Trieu clearly did not expect his son to suddenly appear and paused: "Why do you..." Seeing Pho Chi Duong, An Nhiem's eyes lit up: "Duong Duong! Quickly grab the doll in that person's hand!" Pho Chi Duong's eyes scanned the room, finally stopping on the thin man: "I knew right away there was a problem!" “Looking at you, I know you're not a good person!” Without saying a word, he swung the baseball bat straight at him. The short, thin man panicked and dodged, but Pho Chi Duong acted faster, a stick hitting him directly on the wrist. “Ah—!” He screamed loudly and the doll fell to the ground. "Duong Duong! Stop!" Pho Thinh Trieu roared, "I'm making your mother go back!" Pho Chi Duong's movements stopped. He looked incredulously at "me" being hugged by Pho Thinh Trieu, then remembered the moment An Nhiem had just blurted out calling him by his intimate name: "Mom... what?" He bent down to pick up the doll, hesitation flashing in his eyes. “It… can help mother return?” "Duong Duong! If mom comes back, Luong Tranh will disappear forever!" An Nhiem shouted. Taking advantage of Pho Thinh Trieu's distraction, she broke free from his arms and rushed towards the doll on the ground. Pho Thinh Trieu tried to stop, but Pho Chi Duong blocked him in front of him. "Enough!" His voice trembled, "How long are you going to be crazy?!" “What do you understand!” Pho Thinh Trieu screamed out of reason, "This is the only way for your mother to return!" "So what happens after returning? Does your mother feel comfortable every day facing the person who betrayed her?!" Pho Chi Duong's eyes were red, "The mistake was made by Dad, why should someone else's life have to pay for Dad?!" Pho Thinh Trieu couldn't hear him at all. Seeing him, he was about to rush towards An Nhiem and Pho Chi Duong Close your eyes, grab the vase next to him and hit him hard on the head. Pho Thinh Trieu fell to the ground. Before passing out, he still looked back at An Nhiem, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something. But now… it doesn't matter anymore. I was so moved that I wanted to cry, bowing down before An Nhiem: "An is beautiful and kind, I knew right away you wouldn't leave me alone." “Hu hu hu… besides, I admit, Pho Chi Duong is a good kid.” An Nhiem smiled slightly, lit a lighter in her hand, preparing to burn the doll. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Pho Chi Duong's lonely appearance next to me, then called out: "Wait." An Nhiem: “What's wrong?” "There's still a little more time left for an hour. I'm being generous, let me borrow your body for five minutes." I raised my chin: "Your son looks like an abandoned puppy. Let's talk." An Nhiem was stunned, then turned to look at Pho Chi Duong. She extended her arms towards him: "Come here, son. Ms. Luong Tranh, let me borrow her body for five minutes. First, let's hug each other." 16 I stood outside the door, bored and waiting. Five minutes later, I felt a strong suction pull me back into my body. A whirlwind of heaven and earth, everything returned to its original position. Because the soul exchange technique failed, the skinny man spat blood violently on the ground and stumbled out, looking seriously injured. An Nhiem quietly looked at me and smiled gently: "Thank you, Luong Tranh." On the other side, Pho Chi Duong hugged his pillow and sat on the ground, burying his head between his knees, crying like a child. I patted his head: "Cry, you'll feel better if you cry out." Pho Thinh Trieu was hospitalized and, in addition to a head wound, was also found to have serious liver problems. In just one short month, he had aged to the point of being unrecognizable. Pho Chi Duong's coming-of-age day at school also coincided with his 18th birthday. You didn't inform your father, but instead invited me to come. When bowing to thank my elders, Pho Chi Duong bent down and saw my colorful, sparkling nails and couldn't help but laugh. "Don't laugh! Seriously!" – I gently warned – “Your mother is next to me.” Pho Chi Duong froze, withdrew his smile, leaned slightly to the right, and bowed respectfully. Waiting for him to finish bowing, I said: "Your mother is on the left." Pho Chi Duong: “…” At the end of the rituals, classmates were free to take commemorative photos. Pho Chi Duong was dragged by a few boys to look for Dao Dao. Under everyone's teasing, the two blushed and stood next to each other, leaving behind their first commemorative photo that still had a youthful clumsiness. Looking at the children laughing on the other side, I exclaimed: "I feel like I'm really old." “Luong Tranh, I have to go.” I froze, turned my head to look at An Nhiem. Because of the previous soul change, her soul was greatly damaged. Now, standing in the sunlight, she was almost transparent, as if just a gentle breeze blew and she would disappear. "When?" “In a moment.” – An Nhiem smiled – “Luong Tranh, I have done many good deeds in this life, surely I can be reincarnated into a happy family?” Suppressing the bitterness in my throat, I nodded slightly: "Sure." Pho Chi Duong took pictures with them for quite a while. Waiting until he ran back, sweating profusely, I smiled and said: "Happy birthday." "Thank." – He took the bottle of water I gave him and rolled his eyes looked around: "Where is my mother?" “Gone.” Pho Chi Duong froze, the mineral water bottle fell to the ground. "Pho Chi Duong, your mother passed away without any regrets. You should be happy for her." He nodded slightly, lowering his eyes to look at the tile floor. Low voice: "I'm happy." 17 Receiving the money An Nhiem left behind, I was finally completely free from the Luong family's control. In the airport lobby, I pulled my suitcase, looked at the young couple in front holding hands, and couldn't help but laugh. They had just finished their university entrance exams and were lucky enough to get into the same city. “Dao Dao, if this kid dares to bully you, call me at any time.” – I held out my phone and shook it – “I will fly back and beat him.” Dao Dao blushed and smiled: "Thank you, Ms. Luong Tranh." Pho Chi Duong rolled her eyes: "Who bullied who? Yesterday, she even pinched and bruised my arm." “Deserve it.” – I reached out to pat his head, but he avoided it – "This year, on the anniversary of your mother's death, I probably won't be able to make it home in time. Please bring a bouquet of flowers for me." “Yes, rest assured.” He hesitated a bit: "Have you heard the story of Pho Thinh Trieu?" "Star?" “The doctor said… he probably won't make it through this winter.” “Each person has a destiny.” - I patted his arm - "Actually, you should also let go of the hatred in your heart. The future is still very beautiful, you still have countless possibilities. Don't keep clinging to the past. Holding too many things in your heart, people will age very quickly." Pho Chi Duong frowned: "I'm only eighteen years old." The loudspeaker began to sound the boarding announcement. I took a deep breath: "So I'm going." “Wait.” - Pho Chi Duong suddenly took out a brown paper bag from his backpack - "This is the document from the design academy that my mother loved most when she was alive." “That day, because of me, my mother gave up her admission notice, but I know, she still regrets it.” I took the paper bag and felt my eye sockets heat up. “Ms. Luong Tranh.” - Pho Chi Duong rarely looked at me seriously - "Thank you." “You sentimental bastard.” I waved my hand and turned around to leave, afraid they would see me crying. Before boarding the plane, I looked back one last time. Pho Chi Duong was bowing his head to wipe Dao Dao's tears, the sunlight shining through the glass on them, like a brilliant picture of youth. When the plane took off, I opened the brown paper bag. Inside, in addition to the document, there was also a photo — An Nhiem as a young man standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, smiling as brightly as the sun. On the back of the photo was written a line: "Luong Tranh, please go see a bigger world for me." I looked out the window, at the rolling sea of clouds, and seemed to see An Nhiem waving at me among the clouds. "Certain." I said softly.