Chapter 72
Emotional
Saja turns left and accelerates towards the hospital. He drives to the parking lot, gets out of the car, opens the door, and helps the congressman go to his granddaughter's room.
The congressman tells the bodyguard to let go. The bodyguard smiles and understands that the grandfather does not want his granddaughter to see weakness.
The congressman comes to the door, and the staff member Angel Blouse carefully turns on the full-body scanner. All parameters are confirmed to be healthy and without contagious viruses.
In the past half month, the perfect treatment plan had made Luu Ly much better than before, so the little girl no longer needed to be isolated in a glass cage. But in order to ensure absolute safety, anyone who wanted to visit the patient had to scan for viruses and spray disinfectant.
He did not want a bunch of idle people to bother his offspring. Since Angel Blouse came to Prehistoric Kingdom, the grandfather asked them to warn: Luu Ly's disease was very complicated. If the little girl got another disease, even if it was just a cold, the situation would get out of control. She had to avoid contact with strangers. After receiving this information, no one with a thick face came to seek fame anymore.
Today is as quiet as usual, and there is no one in the corridor except Angel Blouse and the bodyguards of JK corporation. The congressman finishes spraying disinfectant and knocks on the door. The person who opens the door is Ngoc.
During that busy month, he had visited every day and stayed for a long time before returning. Ngoc had become used to it, so she quietly made way. The congressman sees the Lan sisters, Anh Dao, Hanna, Rose and Sam around the bed. Anh Dao, Lan and Suong chat with him matter-of-factly. Rose and Hanna say gently:
- Hello uncle!
He smiles and nods. Sam is annoyed and raises his hand to give a perfunctory salute. The grumpy guy finds an excuse to leave to relieve the itchy feeling in his eyes.
Rose notices that he seems uncomfortable. She is about to chase him, but Sam suddenly turns around, takes her hand and pulls her away.
Rose's face turns dark red, she bites her lip, hesitantly says goodbye to everyone, and lets her lover take her to where he wants to go.
When her grandfather comes to visit, Luu Ly happily stretches out her arms to hug him, kisses his cheek, and whispers:
- I miss grandfather!
Luu Ly is carefree with her grandfather, loves every gift that grandfather buys her, and sleeps with a stuffed animal every night until morning. The joy of a child is the pain of an adult.
Everyone has to smile tenderly to their children and sister, while reluctantly being affectionate to their father and grandfather. Behind the loving eyes and warm smile are… tears flowing into the heart.
The angel smiles brightly with the devil, and the relatives swallow their tears and secretly wipe away the red tears from the corners of their eyelids. The invisible pressure makes them bored.
Wearing a different mask every day, they have been afraid they cannot stand the fake life, and are afraid they will go crazy in front of Luu Ly, driving away the "grandfather." The little girl will lose all her spirit and will seriously affect her health.
Mother and her two daughters have been worried that they might reveal the secret at any time. Luu Ly has found that her family has conflicts, and the psychological shock has made her condition worse. Tiredness has led to emotional callousness, and they still endure their fate.
If that so‑called parent didn't overact so much and demand the kind of closeness other families have, the mother and her daughters wouldn't be giving him the cold shoulder.
But no matter how they are treated, their father and grandfather are still ingenious, sweet, soothing, gentle and warm, caring about every bite of food and sleep.
For half a month, Ngoc did not want to see him every day, and she stayed in the hospital with the reasonable excuse of taking care of Luu Ly and her elderly mother.
Lan and Suong could not study and review in a place with strict rules. Fearing suspicion and spying from the world, the sisters had to live in a luxurious but dim villa, like an abandoned house. Every few days, Ngoc came back to accompany, encourage and talk with her daughter.
The grandfather was busy day and night. When the offspring were sleeping soundly, the 'relatives' went home. When the offspring woke up, the 'relatives' were absent. The mother and daughter were highly alert, and they vaguely felt that someone was spying on them during that time.
At first, they thought they were too nervous. Who dared to enter the young lady's boudoir? The keen senses still warned that something was wrong.
The mother and daughter spied on the servants and bodyguards to no avail, so they told Anh Dao, and the blonde girl immediately investigated secretly, but failed to catch the pervert. The girls put their phones in a closed corner and turned on the camera recording mode before going to bed.
Since that night, the mother and daughter could not sleep. Every time they closed their eyes, the phobia scene revealed the fact that it was the father who came to visit. He was melancholy, quietly contemplating his daughter and beloved granddaughter sleeping soundly.
He had unintentionally pushed peach blood into the pit of sin... now he had dug that bottomless pit himself... burying his wish to reunite with family... whenever he wanted to move, hesitant steps could not lift the burden... clinging to... a shameful mentality.
As long as one believes the emotion is sincere... not... weak... not... weary... like a phantom mocking the maudlin things... the one who gives birth is closer to his offspring than ever before.
After thirty years of separation, the mother got a happy ending.
A father longed to live in that kind of idyllic joy... for a day... for an hour... or even for a minute, he would have been complacent.
Just one step away from touching nostalgia...
The dream will come true...
The man who had given birth to them turned into a stone statue, his crimson eyes blurred the image of him stumbling towards his family... lowering his tear‑stained face downwards... collapsing, sobbing for forgiveness.
His shoulders trembled and remained motionless under the gentle touch. Father and grandfather could not believe that he himself could feel this family emotion... dull in contemplating his offspring who smiled gently at him.
No longer weighed down and aggrieved because of being ignored... the father contemplated a melancholy yet warm smile like the sun. That beautiful angel‑like smile was light... guiding the dark soul out of... the night of karma and love and hatred.
The heart wanted to feel complete joy, sobbing advice should not have been forced to show how enthusiastic, how overly caring. Be sincere. For if the feeling is genuine, then even in shyness, confusion, or clumsiness, the relatives will still perceive the heart of father and grandfather.
The stone statues without feelings melted in the deep love of flesh and blood. One who longs for family affection shall not have to live with corpses without souls.
The illusion of perfect happiness will come true... the father will not be disappointed... to have to clench his chest to stifle the sobbing hiccup... the pain is so intense that he cannot breathe every minute, every second.
The father and grandfather has not yet been able to put down the burden of sin. Shame was a monster... preventing reason from listening to the call of cherish from one's own heart.
The monster has always been a monster...
The monster has not yet become human...
Unworthy of being around an angel...
Although no longer inhumane...
The monster has still been afraid of crossing the forbidden boundary... has no longer had the chance to revive the soulless corpse.
That kind of punishment has been more painful than the pain of a monster who has not yet become human...
After all, the monster… has only… visited silently and returned quietly through the endless night.
In the end, dreams have only been dreams...
The tears of loved ones cleanse... the filthy sins... existing only in illusory fantasies... nothing more.
That day, the man who had given birth to his offspring did not know that his descendants had not slept all night... because the image of the devil, which had seemed never to collapse, had begun to crack... at the moment the father and grandfather entered the darkness of loneliness.
She and her daughter were tormented by nightmares every night. But from that day on, they could not sleep. After those long sleepless nights, both mother and daughter felt that... the evil ghost's chest echoed the call of family affection.
That heart‑breaking sound had not yet shaken their minds...
But it was no longer so far away that it was impossible to touch the heart...
Since the day of reunion, mother and her two daughters will be afraid to live together for too long... their hearts will waver only because of... family bloodline.
They have always hated that bloodline...
But they have never been able to purify the demon blood flowing in their veins...
They have always hated having to live in the same home with the monster...
But the two words family have remained undeniable...
That bloodline has always exuded a strong stench...
But it has never been raw water...
They have always wanted to deny it but have never been able to reject the stain... the peach blood is about to mix into the black mud at the bottom of the raw water pond...
For a month, the mother and daughter had been torn between... hatred... and... letting go... They were confused because they wanted to... give up their hatred of their evil father.
Because even if they hate him for a lifetime, future generations cannot be ruthless about the moral principle that the meaning of death is the ultimate meaning...[1]
Because they are tired of having to wear fake masks to the extent of becoming distorted, people who live someone else's life dare not look in the mirror.
They are afraid that they will not recognize themselves in that "virtual world"...
They are also afraid that the person existing in that upside‑down world is not themselves... but... the monsters?
Or is it because forgiving relieves them of the guilt of... accidentally... giving... their... heart... to... someone... they... should not... have... feelings for?
Every time this kind of thought begins to make them selfish, only wanting peace of mind and soul, the mother and her two daughters angrily slap their wavering spirits, not knowing whether they should hate or forgive the person who destroys their lives.
They must be angry. They must hate. They must hold deep hatred in their hearts towards those who are not worthy of being human beings...
Only in this way can the mother and her two daughters not feel ashamed before someone who is slowly dying, every minute and every second fighting for life before the grim reaper.
The mother and her two daughters cannot help but smile bitterly. Anh Dao silently watches the smile that mocks themselves.
Those legitimate reasons... are ultimately excuses for immoral emotions, even incest... with the hero who sacrifices everything for them.
They can deceive others but not themselves. The naked truth is hard to hide from those who are insiders... every minute recalls the night of sex fascination, the rising passion of affection; the sublimation of emotions in sin... nostalgic for the beating heart when visiting someone... and then the torment of conscience, bowing in shame before the little angel.
Anh Dao is tortured by shame. The victim regards her as a family member. The accomplice thinks that after everything, she has a legitimate reason to forgive herself.
Every minute her relatives are tortured, every second her family is humiliated... this still carves a pain in her heart... living is not equal to dying.
That pain is the fear that one day, the next generation will sympathize with their evil father... it is finally about to come true.
Family affection can heal all wounds...
They do not accept the affection that only reveals genuine feelings when his offspring are tormented by nightmares...
Why, every time they talk, does he shrink and not dare to hug his relatives... but cannot be as sincere as they were every time they were with Luu Ly?
Father and grandfather cunningly find all the ways to atone for his sins... sweet as molasses... wrapping up the deepest part of hearts that are still hypocritical. But that is for the offspring who are ruined by the person who gave birth to them.
She and her two daughters have never seen the devil... hypocritical in front of the angel.
Regardless of being idle for a whole day or just an hour, the grandfather makes the most of every minute... cherishes every second with his youngest granddaughter.
No matter who is around: doctors, acquaintances, strangers, many reporters, or only the grandfather and granddaughter, Ngoc mother and daughter and Anh Dao or anyone else, even mortal enemies like Thanh Hang... everyone feels that he is not a monster; he is not an actor who acts like he is not acting. He is not a saint, simply just a grandfather who loves his granddaughter.
Gentle and warm...
That emotion is as simple as other normal people...
Although he deceives the whole world, God is always honest to his angel...
Although he is cruel to humans, God forever loves the angel...
Although he regrets trampling on their dignity and torturing the angel's relative, God still wants to take care of and protect them for the rest of their lives to make up for his mistake...
Although they are not yet worthy of being with their beloved granddaughter, the father and grandfather still want to feel the love of family in the warm embrace...
Even the devil no longer hates the sticky piece of meat in the chest...
Only when they are with the angel, the burning tears are no longer bitter at all... and the resentment and love‑hatred dissolve in the tears of happiness. When the soul is peaceful, father and grandfather can live like a human being...
After all, the person who gives birth to the child does not love his offspring completely unconditionally.
But no one can deny that the affection is real...
Not fake.
The father and grandfather live for his offspring...
At least with Luu Ly.
The loving mother and sister are forced to bury their hatred. At this point, the innocent child should not know the cruel truth.
Everyone lives for their dearest person.
Anh Dao is the only one who is lost in that warm emotion.
A notion at the wrong time and in the wrong situation... germinates in her heart. At the moment when the elder sister and her daughter feel ashamed of karmic feelings, the younger sister and the aunt are moved to miss the obsession with someone... from a crazy night of sex fascination... that once immersed them...
Hasn't she already offered herself to save the life of... someone... or for what?
Someone is her victim, and no matter how painful it is, she only feels that she has made a mistake against an innocent person.
So... why... why is she sad for a person... who only has sex but no affection?
Is it because...
Anh Dao does not dare to speculate anymore. She forces her frustration to be suppressed like sulking and jealousy... to the deepest part of her heart.
That feeling still lingers and refuses to leave, like... someone... gentle every minute and every second, as if she is his woman on the night when he takes her to a berth of pleasure obsession.
The two have only desire from the beginning to the end. The reluctant lovemaking meant to save each other; the strong feeling he gives her is enough to repay her kindness to him...
But why does her heart still oscillate?
Could it be that only the intellect is right, but it cannot convince the intention mind... which has been silently listening to the heart for a long time?
Anh Dao asks herself foolishly, she has never visited someone, why does her intention mind linger on that feeling?
That feeling has never appeared in her dreams, but now "it" is laughing at her. Her relatives are sick, her family is suffering, and the aunt lets "intention mind" chase the unruly horse and disturb "heart". Her "heart" has always been firm, but now it has become a monkey that jumps chaotically according to her "intention mind".
The abominable creature blinks and covers its mouth with a giggle. Anh Dao is confused by the laughter teasing the "intention mind" that has stopped listening to reason long ago.
She knows what that "intention mind" means, but pride does not allow her to admit it... for a long time, she has unconsciously hidden that "intention mind" without knowing it.
The blonde is as dumb as an idiot, not realizing that her "feelings" are exposed to the sharp eyes of her family and... Hanna.
Ngoc and her daughter are at a loss, because their dearest person is expressing unspeakable feelings. Those insiders cannot believe that the one who always encourages and comforts them and revives their spirits now contains a secret private heart.
The mother and daughter understand that Anh Dao cannot share that feeling with anyone. But they still do not yet believe... the tight‑lipped girl is better than her cunning father, but she cannot control the feelings that need to be hidden the most.
Who?
Who is the person lingering in the iron woman's mind?
She and her daughter suddenly think of a person whose reputation and dignity are worthy of the proud girl's nostalgia.
The insider laughs at himself, although even in the worst nightmare, this kind of karma fate does not exist.
Everybody's life is arranged by the devil, all still suffer the humiliation of fate. Destiny cannot be so cruel as to be so paranoid.
Only women can understand the feelings of women.
But there is no reason to doubt the family, the girls still think they are sentimental. They gather around Anh Dao one by one, pat her shoulders, and gently put their hands on their dearest person's cheeks.
Anh Dao wakes up, embarrassment dyes her peach cheeks red, but the rational person immediately recovers her mind and speaks calmly.
Hanna watches intently from beginning to end, her eyebrows bent into zigzag roads—every road leading her deeper into the maze. The pure flower is surprised by the way the congressman expresses his emotions.
The grandfather holds his granddaughter in his arms, his eyes red with tears, but he does not know that his arms keep squeezing, causing the little girl to say she is suffocated.
Normally he apologizes, but today he just relaxes his arms, without letting go of the spiritual support. The grandfather buries his head and cries silently on his granddaughter's shoulder.
- I want to hold you for a little while longer, just a little longer...
He does not speak flowery words, nor does he show boundless love. He simply hugs his granddaughter tightly, but it is completely different from usual. Hanna cannot determine exactly what it is, but she sees that he is more impulsive, more intense, and much warmer than before.
The same is true for the statues. The flower is just an outsider; she does not know the truth, but she vaguely realizes that there is something unusual in the statue's family. From father to daughter, from grandfather to granddaughter, everyone has an invisible void. Nobody can find each other in that blank whiteness.
The person who lacks family affection also feels that… that void is a bottomless pit… separating dearest people from each other… and… swallowing up anyone who falls.
Hanna is not finished with the strange things that happen, and she is confused about what Anh Dao is thinking.
The blonde girl is the strangest; she cannot understand why Anh Dao seems disoriented, acting as if the iron woman is embarrassed.
Hanna feels that Anh Dao is ashamed of Ngoc and her two daughters. The pure flower is shocked and secretly steals a glance at the statue family. But she quickly regains her composure and evades in time before the four girls feel the back of their necks tickle and one by one turn to her.
She distracts them by playing with the little angel. Hanna secretly thanks Luu Ly, because she is able to get out of the dilemma thanks to the little girl's fondness for playing with her.
Since the day Hanna saved the little girl's life, Luu Ly has pestered her all day long whenever she shows up, asking to play various childish games and guess numbers. And now, Luu Ly has just saved her from her confusion. Hanna has another chance to explore the people she cares about.
Anh Dao, Ngoc and her two daughters, assuming that a guilty conscience needs no accuser, cannot bring themselves to suspect Hanna of scrutinizing them; the four women thus find excuses to relieve the awkward situation.
Ngoc says she is going to the canteen to buy lunch. The Lan sisters caress their sister's cheeks, say goodbye to everyone, and then take their books to school. Anh Dao says she has some personal matters to deal with and, on the way, gives her niece a ride to school.
Only the congressman and Luu Ly remain in the room. Hanna feels it is inconvenient to be here, so she says goodbye to him and Luu Ly.
- Please allow me to go home and study!
The congressman nods slightly and smiles at his sad granddaughter:
- Sister, I want to invite you to play guessing numbers!
Hanna strokes Luu Ly's hair and says softly:
- I will play with you all day when I am free, okay!
Luu Ly happily asks for a pinky promise, and Hanna smiles brightly, makes the pinky promise, and walks away. She closes the door and sees through the glass that the congressman is happily playing with his granddaughter. A moment later, she leaves the hospital with countless unanswered questions.
Note
[1] There is a saying in Vietnamese culture that "the meaning of death is the ultimate meaning."
Death is the greatest misfortune; the death of a person means the end of all relationships. It means people should persuade others to forgive so that the deceased can die peacefully. Do not ask for anything from the deceased. Perform duties to the deceased without hesitation.
It also means to act in a humane way. For outsiders, especially acquaintances or family members, forgiveness and reconciliation should be made, whether the person is alive or dead.
In many cases (not all), when alive, there are frictions, conflicts, and people do not look at each other's faces, but after a while, some still forgive each other.
Especially in serious illness or death, despite hatred and resentment, whatever crimes have been committed, no matter which party is at fault, many people still visit the sick or attend the funeral of the deceased's family. And the family of the deceased should also allow people on the other side to visit.