Chapter 3 — You demand justice, I'll show you what justice is

The fifth day of living together. When I left the house in the morning, I discovered that my leather shoes were worn by someone else. The heel of the shoe has a new scratch. In the shoe cabinet, next to Truong Le's floral sandals, there was an empty box. She took my shoes away. I took a deep breath. Don't get angry. Just get another pair. Go to the company, open the computer, see an email. Tran Hao's company "Han Vu Advertising" sent a letter of cooperation. The language is extremely urgent, urging Tan Duyet Media to restore advertising operations as soon as possible. Signed by: Tran Hao, customer director. I forwarded the email to my assistant.

"Answer him, the budget is still in the review stage, there is no time to restore it."

"Mr. Lam, this customer has pushed for the fourth time... do we need to give a specific deadline?"

"No need."

Return home at night. The smell of grease permeated the door, mixed with the pungent taste of chili. The living room floor has water stains. The bathroom carpet was soaked from being stepped on. I stood at the kitchen door. Vuong Que Chi is cooking. The kitchen is full of oil. In her hand was my imported ceramic knife set. There were deep cuts on the cutting board — traces of cutting bones. That's the Damascus steel knife I bought for 3,800 yuan. Used to chop bones. I looked for three seconds. Pull out your phone and take a photo. Then go out to the living room. Tran Hao sat on the sofa, looked at the phone, frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked, even though I already knew.

"The company's biggest customer temporarily stopped cooperation, the whole team is about to collapse."

“Are you just ‘oh’?”

"It's your job, you take care of it yourself. Divide it in half."

His temporal tendon twitched slightly.

“Lam Vy, can you have some sympathy?”

“Chen Hao, your mother used my 3,800 yuan knife to cut bones, can you have some sympathy?”

He glanced at the kitchen, then looked back at me.

“It's just a knife—”

"It's a Damascus steel knife imported from Japan. My belongings were destroyed by your family. Divide it in half, you'll compensate."

“Will you stop it!”

“You answer me one question first.”

“What are you bringing these people here for?”

He paused for a moment.

“My mother missed me, so she came to visit—”

“Bring along your father, your sister, your brother-in-law, your nephew, even your brother-in-law's brother and sister-in-law, all seven people, just to 'visit you'?”

He turned away.

“Your sister is looking for a job, right?”

“Your brother-in-law wants to open a store here?”

He was silent.

"What about Trieu Quoc Dong? Is he coming to conduct business surveys or is he coming to stay at the temple for free?"

He stood up.

"Haven't I said enough? That's my family!"

“It's because you're my family, so—I'll take care of it myself.”

I held out my hand.

"In the past five days, seven people have had to pay for food, electricity, water, and cleaning expenses. I made a table tonight and sent it to you via WeChat."

He lowered his head to look at the phone. The number appears. Five-day total: 4,326 yuan. His face turned white little by little. Friday. Tran Hao transferred that amount. But the attitude is extremely unpleasant. The note in the transfer has only three words: "Is that okay?" I received it and replied with a "Thank you". In the afternoon, my close friend To Lac invited me out for tea.

“How many people are in your house now?”

“You're really good at it.” She stirred her cappuccino. “If I were you, I would have kicked them all out a long time ago.”

"What's the rush? The more people he brings, the more money he has to spend. In the halving system, his money can only become less and less." enough."

“Aren't you afraid he'll cheat?”

“Spirit of contract. When he proposed to split it in half, I intentionally asked him to confirm by text message. Black and white letters, clear electronic evidence.”

To Lac burst out laughing.

“Lam Vy, you are truly skilled. A person like you with a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan lives in AA easily, while he has 60,000 yuan and is almost unable to bear the burden.”

“Because he's feeding seven-eighths of the population in his home.”

To Lac put down the glass.

“Back to the main story. Next week there's a trade association banquet, and the organizers asked if you wanted to speak."

“New media industry investment trends. You are the person behind Tan Duyet Media, you are qualified.”

“Let's see.”

"Afraid that Tran Hao's presence will be embarrassing?"

“I'm waiting for a more suitable time.”

“What time?”

“Time for him to discover himself. Compared to me saying it out loud… much more interesting.”

To Lac looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

“You have changed. Lam Vy used to be patient with her husband in everything, but now she is no longer.

“Not a change.”

I smiled faintly.

“It's awake.”

Come home. The moment I opened the door, I saw a scene that made my blood pressure skyrocket. Lac Lac is using a crayon to draw all over the wall. My two-year-old painted wall is covered in colorful paint. Tran Lam sat next to him scrolling through his phone, not even bothering to raise his head. In the kitchen, Vuong Que Chi continued to use my knife to chop things. On the balcony, Trieu Quoc Dong smoked a cigarette, the ash fell straight into my potted plant. Truong Le put on my cardigan and leisurely sat on the sofa, biting melon seeds. I stood at the door. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Then take out your phone. Record videos. Every corner, every damaged area. Tran Lam finally noticed me.

“Are you back?”

I didn't reply. Go straight to the wall, take a close-up of where Lac Lac painted.

“What are you doing?” Tran Lam put down the phone.

“Save the evidence. Repainting the wall, about 8,000 to 12,000 yuan. This amount is calculated according to AA.”

"What? Children draw a few strokes and it still counts?

I turned around to the balcony.

“Mr. Trieu, please don't smoke here. There are trees here.”

Trieu Quoc Dong put out the medicine, but his face was full of contempt. I returned to the living room.

“Miss Truong, the sweater you are wearing is mine. Please take it off.”

The smile on Truong Le's face immediately disappeared.

“Just try it on for a bit, why are you so nervous?”

“Tense. Divide it in half, my things cannot be shared.”

The whole living room looked at me. Vuong Que Chi came out of the kitchen, still holding my knife in his hand.

“Lam Vy, what do you want?”

I looked at the knife in her hand and calmly said one sentence.

“Please put down my knife. Then we sit down and calculate a clear amount."

Everyone sat down in the living room. I'm the only one standing. I connected my phone to the Bluetooth speaker, opened an Excel file, and projected it straight to the TV. That's right, my TV can project the screen. Table title: "AA expense details — Week 1" First line: Daily food expenses. Tran Hao bears the share of 7 people, total for 6 days: 3,180 yuan. Second line: Electricity, water and gas (divided per person). Tran Hao must pay: 862 yuan. Third line: Compensation for damage. Damascus steel knife with broken blade: 1,200 yuan (estimated depreciation). Painted wall repair: 10,000 yuan. Cleaning leather sofa with chocolate stains: 600 yuan. Broken plant pot: 350 yuan. Fourth line: Fee for use of personal items. Worn leather shoes: 200 yuan. Sweater is used Usage: 100 yuan. Total: 16,492 yuan. The living room was silent. The first person to explode was Vuong Que Chi.