She had too little material in hand by then, she would most likely be "poked through" by the opposing side like a sieve.
Khuong Tich Yen, having to go to Yokohama to prepare for his law seminar, returned home to pull an all-nighter after giving her some suggestions.
After a day of frantically digging through documents, Dam Uyen Chi was even more worried than Giai Moc Vi.
She sank into the mountain-high piles of paperwork, her voice sounding as if her soul had left her body: "I can't take it anymore, Moc Vi… my eyes are about to go blind."
The two of them stayed up all night.
Barely sleeping one or two short hours in between, Giai Moc Vi saw Dam Uyen Chi completely drained, her eyes unfocused, so she said, "You've already helped me so much. The rest is my job. Go get some sleep."
She was originally just Khuong Tich Yen's secretary, responsible for various trivial tasks.
This was not something Dam Uyen Chi should be doing. But last night, seeing that Giai Moc Vi seemed determined to stay overnight at the law office, her sense of loyalty flared up, and she insisted on staying with her.
Once she said it, Dam Uyen Chi couldn't back out halfway.
She didn't expect Giai Moc Vi to stay up so late.
Hearing Giai Moc Vi say that, Dam Uyen Chi was moved to tears. With reddened eyes, she asked, "Moc Vi, how much longer are you staying here? Aren't you going to rest?"
Giai Moc Vi didn't look up. "Just a little more."
Dam Uyen Chi glanced at the stack of documents, more than a dozen thick volumes piled on her right. That was nowhere near "a little more."
"You really are a second Khuong Tich Yen," Dam Uyen Chi sighed. "Lawyer Khuong used to stay up just like you. So this is the similarity between teacher and student."
One could out-grind the other.
Giai Moc Vi flipped pages while taking notes. "I just hate losing."
Before leaving, Dam Uyen Chi made her a strong cup of coffee and added a blessing for victory: "You will definitely win your first case!"
After Dam Uyen Chi left, Giai Moc Vi continued working tirelessly.
She didn't know how much time had passed; during that period, she didn't even have time to look up at the sky outside.
When she heard footsteps outside the door, she thought Dam Uyen Chi had returned. Without looking up, she said, "Did you forget something?"
The person outside stepped in and said with a soft laugh, "That's right. With such a big girlfriend not coming home to sleep, I came to get her."
"?"
Hearing the man's voice, Giai Moc Vi looked up in surprise.
Because she'd kept her head down too long, her neck bones cracked audibly. She rubbed her neck and saw Ve Dinh Tieu wearing a black parka, hands casually in his pockets, walking in with the brilliant morning sun behind him, reaching out to take the pen from her hand.
"What are you doing?" Her voice lifted slightly.
She was startled by how hoarse her voice sounded.
Ve Dinh Tieu narrowed his eyes at her. "Listen to that, listen. With that duck voice, how are you going to argue in court? Should the judge press his ear against your mouth? That's enough. Rest."
"I…"
She still had a mountain of books unread.
Ve Dinh Tieu pulled her coat over her head, then took the old documents from her hand. His lazy, disdain-tinged voice came muffled from outside the coat: "Trust me. All these theories from old philosophers none of them will matter when you're actually in court."
From beneath the coat, Giai Moc Vi peeked at him and glared. "Then tell me what is important?"
"Practice."
"…." Giai Moc Vi.
With the attitude of "I'm taking you to practice right now," he dragged her out of the law office and pushed her into his black Mazda. Without a word, he turned the key and drove toward the pale morning light of six a.m.
Seeing the Ferris wheel at Haido Mall, now repaired, Giai Moc Vi's face darkened.
"Why are you bringing me here? It's not like riding the Ferris wheel again is going to magically give me courtroom experience." She said. "This isn't the time to restore memories, I"
"Shh."
Ve Dinh Tieu pressed a finger to his lips and tugged her toward the Ferris wheel. "Just follow me."
The Ferris wheel that had been bombed half a month ago was repaired.
It had reopened, but since people knew about the bombing, no one dared to ride it.
Only Ve Dinh Tieu and her approached it.
There was no one around the whole mall was empty.
"What are you trying to do?" Giai Moc Vi truly didn't understand. She watched him buy two tickets.
After paying, he waved the tickets at her. "Trust me. When you get off, your win rate will jump to 90%."
At her desk she hadn't realized how tired she was.
Earlier, on the way here, Ve Dinh Tieu had deliberately driven slowly, like a swaying cradle meant to lull her to sleep.
She had slept more than half an hour in the car, gaining a bit of strength.
Hearing his teasing tone now, she was annoyed. "It better be like that." Or he'd get hit.
In truth, she didn't expect anything magical after riding the Ferris wheel.
He probably just saw she was exhausted and wanted to help her relax.
Fine.
It was a good intention.
Giai Moc Vi checked the time exactly 8 a.m.
One rotation took about 20–30 minutes.
Not too long.
Stepping into the cabin and watching the ground slowly fall away, she thought: Just sit with him for thirty minutes. After that, no matter what, I'm going straight back to work.
Inside the cabin, Ve Dinh Tieu stood by the window looking out. His voice was soft. "Today's weather is just like that day."
"Really?" she replied casually.
She didn't remember anything anyway.
But wasn't he afraid?
He had nearly died here, yet now he returned to this life-and-death place and could still chat leisurely with her.
Resting her head against the glass, she looked at the sky he mentioned.
At the distant horizon, the pale morning light grew clearer. The halo spreading outward carried faint colors, turning the faraway buildings into beautiful double hues.
"That place there. That's where Dao Trach Uyen's attempted murder case happened ten years ago."
He suddenly said.
Giai Moc Vi stared in that direction.
Near the northwest side of the Ferris wheel was a cross-shaped street, like a knight's sword. It was a famous old street lined with wooden houses and white paper carp flags hanging outside.
"After all these years, nothing has changed," Ve Dinh Tieu said. "But the people there have forgotten everything that happened."
His words sounded meaningful, as if implying something.
As the cabin rose, the view widened.
"You brought me here just to show me the crime scene?" she asked.
"Of course not." He handed her something a beautifully crafted ram-horn knife.
Her heart thudded.
It looked almost identical to the one she and Ve Dinh Tieu had studied and sketched together.
"I searched so many shops none could make it. Finally, an old friend of mine with ridiculous connections helped me contact a workshop to recreate it from your design. It's a bit different from yours, but close enough."
Thinking of how that friend had been harassed by Ve Dinh Tieu's calls and had angrily demanded to know who the gift was for, Ve Dinh Tieu clicked his tongue in amusement. "Next time we meet, he'll probably beat me up."
Giai Moc Vi half laughed, half sighed. "You could've given this to me at the office. Why come all the way here…"
She actually knew quite a lot about the bombing.
Only some details were unclear.
It was the cause of her memory loss. Sitting here now, she felt no familiarity at all.
What exactly happened during those three short minutes?
Looking back, each second felt like a year.
Ve Dinh Tieu straightened and looked at her seriously, his long lashes blocking the light, making his dark eyes deepen with emotion.
He steadied his breath, as if locking onto each syllable.
Every word was crystal clear.
"This thing is very important to you. I know. When you gave it to me, you said something I will remember those words for the rest of my life. And then, I wanted to tell you…"
Giai Moc Vi's breath caught. He seemed too close.
What did he want to say?
She couldn't quite hear him. Holding the ram-horn knife, her heart pounded so fast it felt like it would leap out of her chest.
Her breathing faltered.
Her vision blurred, her ears buzzed.
In this cabin, two more figures seemed to appear.
Two silhouettes that looked exactly like Ve Dinh Tieu and herself.
But semi-transparent.
They faced each other the other "her" handing something to the man before her, her expression identical to the one she had after losing her memories.
It seemed that back then…
The her on the Ferris wheel and the her after amnesia overlapped in some strange way. They were the same person, yet not fully the same.
The Ferris wheel continued rising.
The cabin trembled slightly.
Even her soul seemed to tremble with it.
In this half-detached state, she seemed to recall scattered fragments.