Chapter 5 — Welcome Back Chu Niem

“Now, I don't have any worries behind me anymore.” “Let's do it then.” To Tinh raised the glass of apricot juice in her hand and shook it with me. “If you don't have enough money, tell me.” “I don't have anything else, just a lot of money.” I looked at her, smiled. "Okay." I ate this meal with great pleasure. The sadness in my heart followed the numbing spicy taste, little by little it disappeared. At night, I lie on a soft bed. There was no snoring sound from Hua Chi An, no smell of medicine coming from the next room. The whole world is quiet. I had no dreams at night and slept very peacefully. This is the best night I've slept in the past five years. The next morning, I woke up wide awake. To Tinh has prepared breakfast. Also choose a neat white suit for me. “Wear it to see the lawyer.” she said. “We have to have spirit, we can't be like people being bullied.” I looked at my renewed self in the mirror and took a deep breath. That's right, I'm not a victim. I am a soldier fighting for my own rights. At ten o'clock in the morning, we showed up on time at Truong Khac's lawyer's office. Lawyer Truong is in his forties, wears gold-rimmed glasses, and looks elegant and polite. But his eyes revealed a sharpness as if he could see through everything. I turned over my entire situation, along with all the evidence I brought, to him. Including the red book, bank transfer records when my parents paid the deposit, and monthly loan repayment statements for me and Hua Chi An. Lawyer Truong looked very carefully. After listening to me, he gently pushed his glasses. “Miss Chu, I understand your situation very well.” His voice is calm, making people trust him. “In terms of law, you have the absolute upper hand.” "First, the deposit for the house was contributed by her parents, and there is a clear transfer record. This part can legally be recognized as her personal gift, belonging to her pre-marital personal property." "Second, the joint debt repayment after marriage and the increase in the value of real estate belonging to the husband and wife's common property should be divided in half. But when dividing, the court will consider the degree of fault of both parties." "Mr. Hua's malicious deception, trying to force the responsibility of taking care of his sister onto her, can be identified as the main party at fault leading to the rift between husband and wife." “We can use that as a reason to give you a larger share in the property division.” "Third, regarding the matter of taking care of his sister, she does not have any legal obligations. He used this as an excuse to kidnap her, which is legally untenable." Lawyer Truong's clear and coherent analysis gave me a sedative. “So what should we do now?” I asked. “Very simple.” Lawyer Truong laughed. “The first step, I will use my name to send a lawyer letter to Mr. Hua Chi An.” "The letter will clearly state that you request a divorce, and at the same time provide a plan for dividing our assets." “This will create great psychological pressure for him.” "Second step, if he refuses to negotiate, or offers unreasonable conditions, we will immediately file a divorce lawsuit in court." "At the same time, we will request to preserve our assets and freeze this house to prevent him from maliciously transferring it." "Don't worry, from order to substance, we will take the initiative." I nodded. “Okay, just do as I say.” I signed a trust agreement with lawyer Truong on the spot. Walking out of the lawyer's office, I felt relieved. Professional work, leave it to a professional to handle. As for me, I have to start a new life of my own. In the afternoon, I started contacting brands that I had previously rejected. Among them is an emerging domestic jewelry brand that I have always wanted to cooperate with, called "Mich Quang". I rearranged my design into a package, sent it to their general designer. Unexpectedly, half an hour later, I received a phone call from the other person. “Is it Ms. Chu Niem?” The voice on the other end of the line was very surprised and happy. “Our general manager saw your design and thoroughly enjoyed it.” “Please let me know if you have time tomorrow

space? We would like to make an appointment with you to discuss directly.” Happiness comes so suddenly. I excitedly clenched my fists. “Yes! I have time!” Hanging up the phone, I hugged To Tinh while jumping and screaming. “I'm about to go for an interview at Mich Quang!” To Tinh is even happier than me. “Great! I know you can definitely do it!” “What is this called? This is called leaving the bad man and your career flying high!” The two of us laughed as a group. But the good mood doesn't last too long. In the evening, my phone started ringing frantically. It's Hua Chi An. I wonder where he got my new number from. I don't listen. Very quickly, a friend request on WeChat also arrived. In the note, it was written: "Nien Niem, please, answer my phone call." I directly refused. Then the messages came pouring in like rain. “Nien Niem, I received the lawyer's letter, why do you treat me like that?” "Our five years of love, is it not worth mentioning?"