Mr. Luu, 75 years old, lives in an old villa on the outskirts of the city. Since his wife passed away, he has been alone, his only daughter, Ms. Hanh, lives far away and only comes to visit occasionally.

One day, Hanh hired a young maid named Mai – a girl in her twenties, gentle and hard-working. Mai was an orphan, so she considered Mr. Luu as a relative. And he, after many years of loneliness, also loved the little girl, considering her as his own niece.

As time passed, life in the old house gradually became more and more filled with laughter. Mr. Luu was often sick, Mai took good care of him: cooking porridge, making medicine, and taking him for walks.

However, after half a year, when Hanh returned to visit her father, she was suddenly shocked –  Mai’s belly was abnormally swollen , as if she was seven months pregnant.

Neighbors whispered:
– That maid must be pregnant!
– Strangely, that house only has Mr. Luu…

The rumor spread quickly, making Hanh confused. She did not believe her father would do anything immoral, but seeing that scene, her doubts arose in her heart.

One night, Hanh decided to install cameras in the living room and hallway – where Mai often passed – to clarify everything.

Three days later, when she reviewed the footage, Hanh was stunned.

In the video, Mai did nothing wrong. She sneaked out every night, dragging a large black bag, and returned sweating, shaking, holding her stomach. She opened the bag, and inside were boxes of milk, medicine, and…  medical blood bags .

The camera showed her quietly inserting an IV into Mr. Liu, who was sleeping soundly, his face pale. With each drop of blood flowing out, her face turned pale, and her stomach swelled due to the side effects of the IV.

Hanh burst into tears. It turned out that her “big belly” was because  Mai had donated blood to Mr. Luu for several months , because he had a rare blood disease and had no other blood transfusion source.

Hanh rushed to her father’s room and saw Mai lying unconscious beside the bed, her body cold. Mr. Luu woke up, his voice hoarse and trembling:
– Hanh… don’t blame her. The doctor said her blood type is rare, the same as mine. I asked her to help me once, but she hid it from you because she was afraid you would worry. I didn’t expect her to be so foolish as to keep trying and become exhausted like this…

Hanh’s tears fell down. She ran to call an ambulance.

Mai was saved in time. After being discharged from the hospital, she shyly asked to quit her job, but Mr. Luu and Hanh insisted on keeping her.
– You saved my father, from now on you are no longer a maid, but a member of the family.

Mai burst into tears and knelt down.

From then on, the old villa was filled with laughter again. Mr. Luu considered Mai as his daughter, Hanh considered her as her younger sister. Whenever someone mentioned the “big belly” story, everyone just smiled – because they knew that, in that scandalous misunderstanding, there was a very pure heart.

Three years later, Mr. Luu passed away peacefully. In his will, he left the house to Hanh and Mai, with the following inscription:

“A child born with my blood, a person gave me blood to live my last days.”

On the day of the funeral, the neighbors came, everyone in tears. The person who had spread the rumor quietly lit incense and whispered:
– It turns out, a big belly is not because of sin, but because of human love.

There are things in life that seem bad, but when the truth is revealed, we understand people’s hearts deeper than the ocean.
Mai still lives in that house, with Ms. Hanh. She continues to volunteer as a blood donor – as a way to repay life.

And every time she looked at the small scar on her hand, she remembered Mr. Liu – her old father who taught her:

“It is not those who share the same blood that are our kin, but those who are willing to give us their breath.”