The two of them suddenly fell along with the bed.
Ve Dinh Tieu raised both hands in surrender.
The palms of his hands were bleeding.
There was a cut from a knife.
Blood dripped from his fingers. Giai Moc Vi looked down and noticed her clothes were stained with his blood.
She reached behind her shirt and fumbled a bit, then discovered the shirt had a cut. The hanger inside wasn't removed but had been cut through.
When he fell, the knife in his hand had gotten stuck between his hand and Giai Moc Vi's back.
The blade cut his hand, causing discomfort with any movement.
It had also just cut through Giai Moc Vi's hanger, which caused the misunderstanding.
Giai Moc Vi was stunned for a moment after hearing his explanation.
Ve Dinh Tieu put his left hand into his pocket, took out two pieces of adhesive bandage, and stuck them onto the wound on his palm, muttering, "Really, at least let someone finish speaking first. Like that bomb, one touch and it would have exploded."
"…" Giai Moc Vi remained silent.
"Sorry…" she bowed her head.
This "little bomb" admitted fault quickly, but Ve Dinh Tieu always felt she wasn't apologizing to him but to the broken bed.
Facing the wound on his finger, she seemed not at all remorseful.
The dim light made it hard for him to see anything.
Besides, she was still wearing clothes.
"This probably won't work for sleeping."
Ve Dinh Tieu finished bandaging his hand and pointed to the next bedroom.
"Sleep in my room. I'll sleep temporarily on the sofa."
Giai Moc Vi obediently nodded, showing she was "seriously taking responsibility."
Her "yes yes yes, okay okay okay" attitude was completely different from the fierce tiger-like demeanor she had just shown on the bed.
Ve Dinh Tieu rubbed his arm, still sore from her kick, and smiled, "You're pretty strong too."
"?" Giai Moc Vi raised her eyebrows.
Ve Dinh Tieu immediately raised his hands in surrender. "I'm talking about your martial arts. Jujutsu? Kendo? Doesn't look exactly like it, but a little similar. You're not the type like those I don't like at the Police Academy, the so-called 'perfect martial artist,' right?"
Giai Moc Vi retracted her glaring gaze and returned to her obedient demeanor as he rambled on.
It was four in the morning.
They washed up briefly and went to sleep.
After getting permission from Ve Dinh Tieu, Giai Moc Vi cleaned his room thoroughly.
Clothes scattered on the chair were folded neatly and hung on the rack, the ashtray on the table was emptied and cleaned, and leftover clothes on the bed were put into the laundry basket.
After tidying everything, Giai Moc Vi lay on the mattress that smelled of him, staring blankly at the pale green ceiling.
She couldn't sleep.
Giai Moc Vi only had to think of the word "Target" behind Ve Dinh Tieu's photo.
In her mind, an ice block appeared, as if just a light touch would sink it to the bottom.
When it surfaced, it would break into fragile pieces.
She always felt that this ice block represented the relationship between her and Ve Dinh Tieu.
Unsteady and fragile.
The stacks of magazines in the bathroom drawer seemed to float around her as the center, each image on paper clear and distinct.
The first day of memory loss.
She didn't dare to trust anyone completely, not even the so-called "Ferris wheel incident." She had to question it.
The question wasn't for Ve Dinh Tieu but for herself.
Looking back at the day spent together, the two lawyers, the reactions of people at the Urban Police Department, and this police officer it seemed none of them had deceived her.
Yet Giai Moc Vi felt uncertain about her own feelings.
Did she like Ve Dinh Tieu?
She didn't know.
Before fully recovering her memory, it was best to observe quietly.
She needed to clarify what exactly the "Ferris wheel explosion" was and why she had lost her memory.
Ve Dinh Tieu also didn't get much sleep. By eight o'clock, he went out.
He arranged for a moving company to transfer all the books from Giai Moc Vi's rented apartment to his place.
After the books were neatly organized, Giai Moc Vi came out from the kitchen, having prepared breakfast: a simple egg fried rice.
"You said I could use anything in the kitchen yesterday, so I just went ahead." Giai Moc Vi sat properly at the table, served him a portion, then they both added a bit of mayonnaise and ketchup to their egg fried rice.
She added, "Sorry for messing up your bed early this morning. From now on, I'll handle breakfast here. I'll also transfer the rent to you monthly at market price."
Ve Dinh Tieu took off his jacket and replied, "No need to be so formal. Taking money for rent would make me lose face as a man. Just handle breakfast. I'm tired of supermarket bread anyway."
"Oh, you probably forgot your bank card password too, right? I'll take you to the bank at noon to reset it. Your phone got destroyed too, so here, I'm giving you a new one."
He handed Giai Moc Vi a brand-new phone in an unopened envelope.
She was slightly surprised. "You bought this?"
"Yeah, and this too." He took out a cute bomb-shaped keychain from his pocket, squeezing the strap with a bandaged finger.
"I saw some female students buying this and it looked cute, so I grabbed one too."
Giai Moc Vi didn't judge his taste; she sincerely accepted it and plugged in the phone.
It was the exact same size as his own.
The bomb keychain was made of silicone. When squeezed, it dented, and the smiling face turned into a crying expression.
Very cute.
When someone helps you, you can't refuse.
Giai Moc Vi looked at him more warmly.
She sat down and casually sorted through her books and documents, pulling out a few to read.
Ve Dinh Tieu, having changed clothes and washed up, came out and saw Giai Moc Vi holding books in the living room.
"Oh, being diligent? Didn't you hate memorizing things before?"
Giai Moc Vi was too absorbed in reading to notice him.
Ve Dinh Tieu silently prayed, then took a spoonful of rice to start eating.
Previously, Giai Moc Vi had prepared lunch boxes for him several times; the taste was always fine, and he trusted her cooking skills.
But after chewing one bite, Ve Dinh Tieu's face turned pale, and he rushed to the trash can to vomit.
Giai Moc Vi's face darkened. "What's wrong?"
Ve Dinh Tieu poured himself a glass of water and struggled to speak, "A bit… salty."
How could it be salty?
She had followed the recipe exactly.
It had to be his taste buds.
Giai Moc Vi tried a bite and made the same pained expression as Ve Dinh Tieu.
Ve Dinh Tieu had anticipated this and handed her his trash can. When she vomited the fried rice, he also poured her a glass of water.
Giai Moc Vi drank it, rinsed the unbearable salty taste, and started recalling what step had caused the problem.
She picked up a bottle and asked, "Isn't this MSG?"
Ve Dinh Tieu sighed, "It's salt."
"Then why is it in an MSG bottle?"
"Never mind. Salt and MSG should look different, right?"
"…" Giai Moc Vi was speechless. She stood up. "I'll redo it."
"No need. Let's eat out." He grabbed his jacket and put it on. "Already scheduled at the hospital soon. If we redo it, we'll miss the time. Out of respect for Inspector Ngan, they arranged a small slot."
"Hospital?" Giai Moc Vi asked.
"Yes, a neurology specialist recommended by Inspector Ngan, scheduled privately at 10. If we redo it, we'd miss it. This slot is limited because of Inspector Ngan."
Ve Dinh Tieu spoke while putting on clothes. "This afternoon I also have to go to the Urban Police Department. Inspector Ngan only approved a half-day off today. The schedule is busy."
Giai Moc Vi silently followed him.
When he held his phone, Giai Moc Vi noticed his phone also had a bomb-shaped keychain, just like hers.
Two phones, two bomb keychains.
They bumped together.
Bop~
Ve Dinh Tieu said the hospital was a bit far, almost reaching the plains' edge.
But after entering and undergoing three hours of comprehensive testing, Giai Moc Vi felt that these specialist doctors were indeed professional.
At least Dr. Ha could provide a treatment plan for her special condition.
Dr. Ha said, "Based on what you've described, the blast wave from the bomb caused the coma, and the coma lasted long enough that upon waking, there was complete memory loss, correct?"
Ve Dinh Tieu nodded and pulled the previous hospital report from his medical file. "Here's the previous doctor's diagnosis for your review."
Dr. Ha examined it carefully, then nodded. "The previous doctor's diagnosis is correct. Complete memory loss typically requires major surgery or severe brain damage, and even then, there must be life-threatening conditions."
"I think the previous doctor was also confused, hence wanting you to see a specialist. Honestly, in my years of practice, this is the first time I've encountered such a case. Her indicators look… perfectly normal."
"…" Giai Moc Vi stayed silent.
This "normal" was actually abnormal.
"Intelligence is fine, speech is fine, actions are fine, reasoning is fine…" Dr. Ha flipped through the pages.
Ve Dinh Tieu added, "Behavior is also fine. She's even more agile than before, physically stronger, faster, limbs coordinated, and courage increased."