Chapter 4 — When He Chose Her

Kieu Nguyet stood frozen in place. Her phone vibrated—a message from Dinh Dinh.

Boss Chu, lawyer Tu’s office has been completely cleared out.

She has handed over all client files according to proper protocol and has even submitted her formal resignation from the partnership.

Chu Tu’s pupils contracted sharply. He dialed Dinh Dinh immediately. The moment the connection was made, he demanded, Where is she?

Dinh Dinh fell silent for a few seconds. Lawyer Tu did not say.

Chu Tu grabbed his car keys and strode out. Kieu Nguyet chased after him, calling out, Where are you going?

To find her.

Do you even know where she is?

Chu Tu’s footsteps came to a jarring halt. He realized with a jolt that he had no idea where Tu Xan Xan would go after leaving him. She hadn’t gone back to her parents’ home. Even the people at the law firm had no clue. She had severed every path with clinical precision. Standing before the elevator doors, he suddenly felt a sense of profound absurdity. He was a lawyer, a man who excelled at finding answers from the smallest, most insignificant clues. Yet, when Tu Xan Xan truly wanted to vanish, he could not even trace where she had spent her first night away. Kieu Nguyet caught up to him, her voice low and pleading.

A Tu, stop looking for her.

Chu Tu looked down at her. Her eyes grew red almost instantly. I am only saying this for your own good. Xan Xan is angry right now; if you chase after her, you will only make her despise you more. Chu Tu stared at her, then suddenly asked, Do you truly hope she comes back?

Kieu Nguyet stiffened. The sterile white light of the elevator reflected off her face, and for a moment, she forgot even to let her tears fall. Chu Tu studied her expression, his heart sinking lower with every passing second. He reached out and pressed the button to close the doors, and the metal panels slid shut with agonizing slowness. Chu Tu drove straight to the law firm. The office floor was dark, illuminated only by a few stray lights. The door to Tu Xan Xan’s office stood wide open, the room inside completely hollowed out. Dinh Dinh stood by the entrance, her expression complex when she saw him.

Boss Chu.

The desk had been wiped clean, and a handover checklist was posted on the filing cabinet. Client files, original contracts, digital backups—every single item was meticulously labeled. She had even reorganized the documents from the merger and acquisition case that had been torn apart by Chu Vu, placing them neatly in the client’s designated folder. It was as if, before leaving, she had tidied up the chaos for everyone else. For him alone, she had left not a single word. Chu Tu picked up the handover document, the paper trembling slightly in his grip. Dinh Dinh stood outside the door, hesitating before finally whispering, Boss Chu, to tell the truth, the day lawyer Tu left the police station, her complexion was terrible. She stood downstairs for a long time, as if she were still waiting for someone.

Chu Tu’s knuckles turned white. Outside the office, colleagues passed by, pausing when they saw him standing in the empty room that once belonged to Tu Xan Xan. Their whispers were faint, yet they cut through the silence.

Only now do they look for her? What were they doing before?

When lawyer Tu was being berated to her face by Chu Vu that day, wasn’t he still defending Kieu Nguyet?

I heard he was the one who ordered the firm to sign off on those statements. He was cruel enough, wasn’t he?

His phone rang; it was lawyer Tran. Chu Tu, we have new testimony from Chu Vu’s side.

He rushed to the police station immediately. The truth was simple, yet it felt like a knife piercing his chest. The incident at the law office had been orchestrated by Kieu Nguyet. The motive was singular: to blow the situation out of proportion and force Tu Xan Xan to shoulder the blame. Chu Tu stood frozen, his face draining of color. When he left the station, he drove straight to Kieu Nguyet’s home. The door opened slowly. Kieu Nguyet looked at him, as if she had long anticipated his arrival; there was no surprise on her face.

A Tu, you know everything now.

Chu Tu’s voice dropped, cold and heavy: Did you use Chu Vu to frame Xan Xan? Kieu Nguyet stared at him, her eyes rimmed with red. I admit it, I am in the wrong regarding her. But what right do you have to look at me with those eyes? That day at the office, I was the one who told Chu Vu to cause a scene, but it was you who held her wrists. You were the one who ordered the office to sign those papers. She took a step toward him. Chu Tu, who are you putting on this performance for now? Admitting to yourself that you hurt Tu Xan Xan feels agonizing, doesn’t it?

Chu Tu’s face turned deathly pale. Kieu Nguyet laughed, though tears spilled from her eyes. You say I didn’t want her to come back—fine, I didn’t. But am I the only one who forced her to leave?

The living room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

A Tu, we are the same kind of people. I am jealous of her, but what about you? You enjoyed the love she gave you, enjoyed how she was always poised, always cleaning up the disasters you created. That is why you dared to show favoritism to me time and time again.

Shut up.

Chu Tu turned abruptly and walked away. Tu Xan Xan’s office remained empty. Clients called one after another, having received her handover emails, some even asking if she had opened her own firm. Every time Chu Tu heard her name, it felt like a needle pricking his heart. But she did not appear—not once. This continued until a morning half a month later. As Chu Tu emerged from a meeting, Dinh Dinh rushed toward him, holding her phone.

Boss Chu, I just saw something on Xan Xan’s social media feed.