The female giant cried like rain when she met her ex-husband selling lottery tickets again, the truth after 16 years made her silent

In the afternoon of Saigon in July, the rain suddenly fell like pouring water. People hurriedly pulled over to the side, sheltering under the eaves of cafes or roadside shops. In the midst of the strange and noisy crowd, a middle-aged woman stepped down from a glossy black Mercedes, wearing expensive high heels on her feet, and a genuine Chanel bag on her shoulders. People call her “female giant” Hong Anh – the most famous real estate chain owner in the city.

She went to a small café near her house, which was not as luxurious as the places she used to frequent, but it was strangely cozy and peaceful. While waiting for the barista to bring it out, Hong Anh looked sadly through the glass door, her mind seemed to go back to the old years – the time when she was empty-handed, still running every penny, and with a poor but sincere man to build a dream.

That was Minh – her first husband.

They have been in love since they were in college. Minh studied technology, she studied economics. In those days, Minh was thin, poor, but smart and full of willpower. She loved him because of the way he wiped the sweat on his forehead but still smiled, because of the way he starved to buy books, because of the way he believed in the future of the two of them.

After getting married, they rented a small motel room in District 8. Hong Anh sells online, and Minh works as a technician for a software company. They lived not rich but happy, until the event came in the third year of marriage.

A failed investment caused Minh to lose all his savings, and he took on an additional debt of more than 300 million VND. He fell into depression, melancholy and was often irritable. Hong Anh tried her best to preserve her family, but then one day Minh left without saying goodbye. On the table was a scribbled letter:

“I’m sorry. I don’t deserve you anymore. You deserve a better life. Forget me.”

She cried faintly in the cold motel room. Since then, she no longer knows anything about Minh.

16 years later, when she was a successful woman, with everything in her hands – money, fame, power – she still couldn’t fill the void in her heart. No one understands why Hong Anh has never remarried, nor has she had children. She is always busy, but every time the night comes, in a flickering dream, the figure of the man in the past still appears – Minh.

That afternoon, after the rain, Hong Anh walked out of the café, about to turn to her friend’s house, when her eyes suddenly stopped. At the corner of the small market opposite, a man in a shabby shirt, wearing an old shirt with his shoulders worn out, with his head bent down to cover the rain with a cap, was quietly proclaiming:

“Lottery tickets here, lottery tickets this afternoon… Who bought a few sheets for me…”

Her heart suddenly tightened.

That face, that figure… Although he is older and more emaciated, how can he be mistaken?

It’s Ming.

She was silent, as if her heart had stopped. Without thinking, she crossed the street, her high heels stained with rainwater. The man raised his head when he heard the call:

–Gloomy… Ming, right?

He looked at her, his eyes were vague at first, then widened, stunned. His voice was hoarse:

–Red… Luster?

She couldn’t say anything else, only crying, tears mixed with rainwater. In the midst of the busy traffic, they stood still like two shadows from the past coming to life.

–Brother… why? Why did you become like this?

Minh lowered his face, avoiding her gaze. He didn’t answer, just shook his head slightly. She looked at the soaked clothes, the crumpled lottery ticket in his hand, and her heart ached like a knife. The man who had been her youth, who had dreamed with her about the small house and children, was now a lottery ticket seller in the heart of the prosperous city.

“You shouldn’t appear like this…” she choked up, “I’ve been looking for you for the first few years. I just want to know how you live. But he disappeared… Now again…

Ming smiled slightly, a painful smile:

“You’re just a failed man. I left that day because I knew I would have a better future if I didn’t get involved with you.

“Do you know?” Since the day you left, I have never smiled sincerely.

She wiped away her tears. At that moment, a girl about 10 years old ran over and hugged Minh’s legs:

“Daddy, have you bought anything?”

Hong Anh was stunned. She looked at the girl, then at Minh, her face turned pale:

–Child… Is it your child?

Minh was silent for a while, then nodded slightly.

“Mother… lost. He raised it alone.

Hong Anh almost couldn’t stand up. She didn’t know what was going on anymore. A strange emotion swirled in my heart – both angry, sad, and shocked. She reached out to wipe the rainwater on the girl’s face, trembling:

“What’s your name?”

–Yes… the child’s name is Ngoc Linh.

Ngoc Linh. This name she once said she would give to her first child if it was a girl.

She didn’t know what fate was playing, but she had a hunch that this wasn’t all.

Ming avoided her gaze:

“Light, I’m going. You shouldn’t have anything to do with your father and son anymore. Brother… There are things that cannot be said.

“No, Minh. I can’t turn my back. I want to know… the truth for the past 16 years. Why did he disappear? Why didn’t you come back? Why are you hiding your child?

Minh closed his eyes, his shoulders trembled slightly. I know, I can’t hide her forever…

Minh quietly took Hong Anh and baby Ngoc Linh to a small motel room deep in the alley of a poor labor area. It was a room of only 15 square meters, with moldy walls, cracked cement floors, and only an old desk fan that rotated slowly. Hong Anh never imagined that the man who was once her youth would live in such poverty.

Minh boiled water to make tea, put two cups on the table and sat quietly across from him. He looked at her for a long time, as if he had been waiting for this day for a long time. His eyes were full of things that had never been said.

“I owe you a truth. A fact that has weighed on him for the past 16 years…

Hong Anh didn’t speak, just nodded quietly.

Minh took a deep breath, and then began to tell:

– That year, after you failed in the investment mission, you really collapsed. I was in debt, the company laid me off, I became a burden to you. But what made him collapse the most… not money.

– It’s a disease.

She paused.

–Disease?

– He found out that he had early-stage blood cancer. When I heard the news, I didn’t dare to tell you. I’m afraid that you will stay because of pity, afraid that you will have to live your whole life with a man who doesn’t know how long you will live. I chose to leave, so that I could live a different life. At that time, he thought… I will only live for a few years.

Hong Anh pursed her mouth, and her tears flowed out. She recalled the months of despair, the nights of staying up waiting for a call, a text message… Meanwhile, he struggled with the disease alone.

Minh continued, his voice low and low:

– He wandered, hired, hired, and treated as much as he could. Then one day, when he was about to give up, he met a woman – Ms. Lan, who used to be a nurse at the hospital.

– She has no husband, no children, and is infertile. Seeing that he was exhausted, she carried him, helped him treat with Oriental medicine, ate moderately… Gradually, his health recovered miraculously.

– When he found out that he had recovered, it was also the time when Ms. Lan found out that she had terminal breast cancer. Three years later, she died… leaving baby Ngoc Linh to him. Not his biological child, but the baby she sent.

– He adopted her as his own child. Because Ms. Lan once said: “If you meet the woman in the past again one day, tell her that… I’ve never stopped loving her.”

Hong Anh burst into tears, her heart seemed to melt into pieces.

“Why don’t you come back to find me?

Minh squeezed his hand:

– I was going to come back. But every time I see you in the press, successful, rich… He was scared again. I’m just a lottery ticket seller, what else is worthy of standing in front of me?

She stood up, walked up to him, and choked up:

“Do you know… For the past 16 years, I have not opened my heart to anyone, not married, without children… Because I always carry the hope that one day you will come back. Even if it’s just once.

Minh was stunned. She continued:

– Money, fame, status… can’t make me happy. I can buy a villa, a car, a company share, but I can’t buy it back… brother.

He lowered his head on the table, tears falling quietly. This was the second time in his life that he cried. The first time was when he left Hong Anh, the second time… is now.

Ngoc Linh sat silently and watched the two adults hugging each other, their immature eyes were dumbfounded:

“Miss… Are you crying for your father?

Hong Anh knelt down and hugged the baby:

– You cry for me too, Linh. Because she didn’t know that she existed in the world.

– Dad said you were a gift left by Lan’s mother. But I always say, the person I love… is a girl named Hong Anh.

The innocent sentence made Hong Anh burst with emotion. She hugged Minh and Ngoc Linh tightly, as if afraid that they would disappear again.

A week later, the information that “the female giant Hong Anh adopted a child, is the daughter of her ex-husband” appeared all over the newspapers. Public opinion was stirring, but Hong Anh didn’t care. She took Minh and baby Linh to her riverside villa.

Minh hesitated, but Hong Anh said:

– This house… One important thing has long been missing – the warmth of a family. I don’t want to live only in gold, but lonely. I want to live… with the person you love, and the baby you consider as your own child.

Minh didn’t answer, just quietly grabbed her hand. He knew that life could take away many things from them, but still return a gift – a second chance.

Three years later…

Minh opened a small book café, Hong Anh still runs the group, but rarely appears in front of the media. They live a simple and cozy life. Baby Ngoc Linh grew up obedient, studied well and always called Hong Anh “mother”.

On a rainy afternoon similar to the day they met, Minh held Hong Anh’s hand and whispered:

– Thank you… for not leaving him behind. Even though I used to be stupid enough to leave you.

She smiled, looked at him, her eyes shining with happiness:

“I just need you to remember one thing. Whether it’s 16 years, or 60 years… I’ll still wait.