Giai Moc Vi had been bringing lunch to Ve Dinh Tieu for four consecutive days, and she was truly starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.
Not because of the distance.
But because every time she arrived, many detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department would greet her, giving the impression that everyone knew her.
She knew this was because of Ve Dinh Tieu.
Although she didn't know them...
"I won't come tomorrow." Giai Moc Vi crossed her arms and solemnly informed the detective sitting across from her.
Ve Dinh Tieu had no objections. After four days of eating rolled egg rice, he had decided to give his stomach a little break, but he still wanted to ask why she wouldn't come.
Giai Moc Vi said, "Tomorrow, Ms. Truong Yen has a consultation, and I want to attend."
"Oh, I see. That's fine." Ve Dinh Tieu nodded. He lowered his head to taste a piece of bacon rice, showing a satisfied expression. "You've improved a lot. It tastes really good."
Giai Moc Vi didn't feel happy about her cooking being praised; she just wanted to express a little gratitude for Ve Dinh Tieu "taking her in."
Seeing her so enthusiastic, Ve Dinh Tieu became very interested. "Judging by the way you're looking forward to it, hmm? Is it a big case?"
"It seems to be a divorce case. The client made several calls to the law firm. Ms. Truong Yen refused multiple times but couldn't avoid it, so she scheduled a meeting to discuss it." Giai Moc Vi explained.
"Is it difficult to handle?"
"That's not the issue. Ms. Truong Yen mentioned that her own marriage is in a mess, so she doesn't want to take on many divorce cases. When I reviewed her previous cases, I found that her marital lawsuits account for less than a tenth." Giai Moc Vi said.
But she still wanted to take on a case.
During this time, she had been staying up late reading books, studying, redoing exercises, and watching court livestreams.
All to quickly return to a normal life.
Two days ago, when Ve Dinh Tieu took her to see Dr. Ha for a regular treatment in the evening, Dr. Ha hinted to Ve Dinh Tieu that he should prepare himself for the possibility that she might never recover her memory.
Ve Dinh Tieu didn't tell her, but she overheard it herself.
Afterward, he even pretended to be relaxed, saying that Dr. Ha only instructed her to take her medication on time.
If she truly could never regain her memory, at least she should ensure her future life could proceed smoothly.
Ve Dinh Tieu finished eating.
He simply cleaned up the lunch box, handed it to Giai Moc Vi, and intended to take her home.
Just then, from downstairs, the sound of footsteps arrived. A few detectives she had seen at Kyosan Hill walked up. One of them came forward jokingly:
"Ah, Dinh Tieu, why did you leave me behind and eat first? That's outrageous."
"Hello, Ms. Moc Vi."
"Someone brings lunch every day, I'm so jealous."
"I heard you had memory loss from your previous injury. How are you now?"
Giai Moc Vi stood and greeted them.
The detectives in suits sat at the round table nearby, only half a meter away.
They all recognized Giai Moc Vi.
But Giai Moc Vi didn't know them.
After a brief self-introduction, she realized they were all colleagues from Ve Dinh Tieu's department.
Ve Dinh Tieu hadn't been in the First Investigation Unit for long. Before establishing a relationship with Giai Moc Vi, he had spent six days a week at the police dormitory.
But now that he had moved out to live with her, they joked a bit about Giai Moc Vi and Ve Dinh Tieu before starting to discuss work matters.
Giai Moc Vi also listened to a few things: "The bomber has escaped?"
Ve Dinh Tieu hummed in response. "He's very cunning."
Three years had passed since his previous crime.
Four days ago was his second attack, and it certainly wouldn't be his last.
Since there were non-police personnel present, their conversation was carefully limited to public information, which Giai Moc Vi already knew before losing her memory.
"That guy hates the police deeply." Lang Trac Uan leaned back in his chair and opened his lunch box.
"He disguised a bomb in the Ferris wheel just to intimidate the police. This time, he couldn't see the police he hated dying, and the bomb at Beika Central Hospital was also disarmed in time. Who knows if he'll strike again soon."
"The bomb's shape was also very unique. If it weren't for the antler knife you carried back then, Ms. Moc Vi..."Lang Trac Uan didn't finish the sentence.
Giai Moc Vi had heard of the knife many times before. She quietly asked, "Where is that knife?"
Ve Dinh Tieu said, "When disarming the bomb, it got stuck in the groove and couldn't be retrieved. When the bomb was thrown out the window, it was destroyed along with it."
"If not, it would have been nice to keep it as a memento. That knife is really beautiful. I couldn't find a similar type online. It's like a U.S. military knife, which uses special heat treatment on the blade."
"So... what does it look like?" Giai Moc Vi asked again.
Ve Dinh Tieu took a piece of paper and pen from Lang Trac Uan and sketched a few lines for her. "Here, it looks like this."
Giai Moc Vi held it seriously, glanced at the simple "banana-like" sketch, and her expression darkened.
"This looks like what?" She threw the paper back on the table.
Ve Dinh Tieu pointed to the "handle": "Did I not draw it clearly?"
"It's really frustrating that you took this seriously. This doesn't look like a knife at all." Giai Moc Vi crossed her arms angrily.
"First, it's a curved knife, about the size of a hand," Ve Dinh Tieu explained seriously. "Then, here, this part, the handle has a letter."
"..."
That evening, Giai Moc Vi stopped by a nearby library, bought a pile of books on knives, bundled them up tightly, and carried them home herself.
From the law office to Ve Dinh Tieu's home was just a turn down a street.
But Giai Moc Vi carried too many books.
The enthusiastic men tried to help her, but since she had been kidnapped once before, she remained cautious with strangers and politely refused.
Ve Dinh Tieu and she arrived home almost simultaneously. Upon opening the door, he saw her pulling the desk lamp over and flipping through each book.
"What are you looking at?" He took off his tie, tossed it on the coat rack, and approached her.
Giai Moc Vi held up a book and showed him the cover. "Yuan Chi lent me her magazines. The rest are from the library. Can you help me check if these contain the antler knife you mentioned?"
As long as it was related to her past life, she was stubbornly persistent.
Ve Dinh Tieu pulled a chair next to her.
The desk was just big enough for both of them to sit head to head, flipping through books on knives together.
"That knife has a very unique shape. The curvature of the blade is like this, but there are some unusual serrations on it. Those serrations can pry the screws securing the bomb."
"So I remember it very clearly, but none of these books have it. The blade looks a bit like a gear. Also, the handle has beautiful patterns not cherry blossoms, not chrysanthemums, but irises. Something like this."
Ve Dinh Tieu searched through thousands of pages of similar military knives as he spoke.
Giai Moc Vi pulled out a piece of paper and used a pencil to sketch the knife's shape according to Ve Dinh Tieu's description.
Ve Dinh Tieu was amazed. "You can draw? But when I checked your records, your high school art grades weren't passing."
"I feel like I know a little," Giai Moc Vi said. She referenced the shapes from the books Ve Dinh Tieu mentioned, sketching and drawing on paper.
She hadn't expected she could draw.
But when she heard Ve Dinh Tieu describe it, her hands itched to connect the handle shapes and draw them.
Ve Dinh Tieu sensed she was definitely hiding some talent.
When the drawing was completed, he took the paper and pursed his lips.
"What's wrong? Isn't this it?" Giai Moc Vi asked.
Ve Dinh Tieu shook his head. "No, it's too accurate. This is exactly it."
With just a simple pencil, simple light and dark relationships, simple lines, the curved antler knife appeared lifelike on the paper.
Ve Dinh Tieu praised her. "What an amazing muscle memory. Seems Dr. Ha was right though your memories were wiped, your judgment and actions are unaffected… Huh? Your expression… Are you unwell?"
Giai Moc Vi looked at the curved antler knife on the paper.
Her heart suddenly felt like an invisible hand was squeezing it, slowing her pulse, her eardrums ringing slightly. Her vision focused entirely on the paper, unable to see anything else.
The feeling was similar to when she first saw the "Cube A."
But much stronger.
This state lasted a long time, until Ve Dinh Tieu reached out and patted her shoulder, bringing her back from the haze.
"What's wrong with your face?" He turned her to face him. "Are you unwell?"
Her voice choked slightly. "No, I… I just feel this knife… feels very familiar."
But she couldn't figure out why it felt so familiar.
The feeling was overwhelming.
Like a starving person smelling food for days but unable to find its source.
Ve Dinh Tieu said, "Of course. Judging by how worn this knife is, you must have carried it for a very long time."
Giai Moc Vi didn't remember.
But this was the first time since losing her memory that she had such a special emotion.
She cherished the sketch of the curved antler knife like a treasure.
All night, she stared at the paper.
But she still couldn't awaken any memories buried deep in her mind.
Until she exhaustedly fell asleep on the desk, Ve Dinh Tieu humorously took his jacket and covered her.
"How unfair! I help you recover your memories, and you fall asleep first."
He laughed but had no intention of waking her.
Giai Moc Vi slept soundly and quietly.
Her shoulders slightly raised, face buried in her arms, like a young bird protecting itself with its wings.
The sideburns brushing her cheek made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
He reached out to sweep her hair aside, admiring her porcelain-like fair skin, flushed from sleep, every slight flutter of her long curled eyelashes stirring something deep inside him.
He picked up the pencil she had just used and tore a sheet of paper.
Biting the cap, he sketched her sleeping posture on the blank page, line by line.
After finishing, he slipped it into her backpack, which she would take with her the next day.
The next morning, Giai Moc Vi sat at her desk, feeling excited, waiting for Ms. Truong Yen's client to arrive.
Dam Uyen Chi greeted her, then noticed a sheet of paper Giai Moc Vi took from her backpack, captivated by the strange simple sketches on it.
"Who? What's this?" Dam Uyen Chi asked curiously.
Giai Moc Vi glanced briefly. "Probably Detective Ve's random doodle."
During breakfast, he had reminded her to look at it when she got to the office, making it seem mysterious.
"What is this? Big head, small body, super long arms…" Dam Uyen Chi laughed.
Not knowing that the drawing actually depicted her, Giai Moc Vi seriously guessed, "Could it be the Hulk?"