Rumors are more ferocious than tigers.
In her past life, while her mother was hospitalized, not a single rumor about her scum of a father and his illegitimate children had circulated. Instead, lies had spread like wildfire, claiming that her mother was the one who had been attacked with sulfuric acid, and that it was because of her own promiscuity and affairs.
So in the end, not only did most people feel no sympathy for her mother, but they also gossiped about and despised her. Overnight, Nuannuan found herself shunned by her teachers and classmates at school. By the time she and her mother realized how wrong things had gone, it was already too late. No matter what they tried to say, even after they learned the truth and tried to tell people, very few believed them. It was impossible to undo the years of prejudice that had built up against mother and daughter.
This was also why her maternal grandparents had been too ashamed to stand up for them. After they passed away, her mother finally took her and left. This became the true source of her mother's deep-seated resistance, the reason she refused to return to her hometown for many, many years.
'In this life, I won't let that happen again. Everything my scumbag father, that other woman, and their children have done—I'll expose every last bit of it. I'll lay the truth bare for all to see.'
"Doesn't your dad only have you for a daughter? Where did this other son and daughter come from?" He Xiulin looked utterly dumbfounded, unable to grasp what on earth Nuannuan meant by such a loaded phrase as 'the father of my dad's son and daughter'.
She glared at the silent, expressionless Zhang Minzhen, seething inwardly. As if she'd finally found some dirt on her, she yelled, "Well, well, Zhang Minzhen! I never would've thought you were such a heartless, faithless person! Your husband is in the hospital, and here you are, cleaning out the house and running back to your parents with your daughter?"
'Dealing with someone who doesn't understand plain language—and can't speak it, either—is truly exasperating.'
Gu Nuan Nuan couldn't help but roll her eyes. She gave He Xiulin a look that screamed, 'How can you be so dense?' and retorted crisply, "Auntie, you're blocking the way. Didn't I just tell you? My dad is in the hospital because he was attacked with sulfuric acid by his son and daughter's father. That means he obviously has other children besides me, doesn't it?"
He Xiulin froze. A sharp pain of anger shot through her chest from the way Gu Nuan Nuan was looking at her like she was an idiot. But before she could speak, Gu Nuan Nuan gave her no chance, continuing in a loud, clear, and rapid voice:
"I heard my dad and grandma whispering in secret with my own two ears. They said that my dad's son and daughter are actually Lin Jiayi and Lin Jia Bao, the ones in my class who are always bullying me. And today, I saw it myself! The person who threw sulfuric acid at my dad and ran off was Lin Jiayi and Lin Jia Bao's father.
"Besides, my mom isn't their mother, and they always gang up on me. So even if they really are my dad's son and daughter, I will never accept them as my brother and sister."
'That was quite a mouthful,' Gu Nuan Nuan mused. 'A real ten-year-old probably couldn't have explained all that so clearly.' But this was no time to play dumb. Worried that people still might not understand, she had deliberately emphasized the key points.
"Nuannuan, stop talking," Zhang Minzhen said, her face falling. She lowered her head and tugged on her daughter's arm, trying to stop her.
"Why not? Grandma said she's going to find some excuse to kick you out so Dad can marry Lin Jiayi and Lin Jia Bao's mother. She even said that since I'm getting older, in a few years they can marry me off for a hefty bride price! After that, I'll just stay home and work instead of going to school and being a burden to the family."
Suddenly, Gu Nuan Nuan let out a loud "WAAAH!" and burst into tears. Looking utterly heartbroken, she threw her arms around her mother's waist, but her words remained perfectly clear:
"Mommy, don't leave me! Dad plays favorites, and he always listens to whatever Grandma says. If you really get kicked out, they'll do exactly what Grandma planned. I don't want to quit school to work at home, and I don't want to be married off for a bride price! Mommy, you have no idea! Lin Jiayi and Lin Jia Bao bully me at school all the time, and when I come home and tell Dad, he scolds me and says it's my fault! He told me to buy them new pens as an apology.
"But the pen I use is a broken hand-me-down from my cousin! Dad wouldn't even buy me a new one, and he even had a huge fight with you about it, Mom. Lin Jiayi and Lin Jia Bao's pens aren't even broken, but he still wants me to give them new ones as a gift.
"If he really marries Lin Jiayi and Lin Jia Bao's mother, won't I get bullied at home, too, not just at school? And what's worse, Lin Jiayi is the bully, but she always has the nerve to cry first, so all the teachers and students think I'm bullying her!"
"Nuannuan, don't cry. Mommy will never, ever leave you. If your father doesn't love you, then we don't need his love. From now on, Mommy's love will be enough for you." Her daughter's words broke through Zhang Minzhen's composure, and fresh tears began to stream down her face.
"..." He Xiulin was completely floored by this explosive revelation. She simply gaped, staring foolishly at the mother and daughter sobbing in each other's arms, unable to utter a single word for a long moment.
Whispers immediately erupted among the onlookers.
"Could that be true? That fellow Gu always seemed so decent. How could he... It's true what they say, you can know a person's face, but you can't know their heart."
"Well, how many men are ever faithful... AHEM. You're right, this is an absolute scandal. Everyone knows his mother is a shrew who takes advantage of everyone, but that Gu Lihui always acted so gentle and refined, working at the newspaper office and all. You'd never guess he was that sort of person. He buried it deep, didn't he—"
"Haven't you heard the saying? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. With a mother like that, how good could the son possibly be?"
"Tsk, tsk. To have an affair and produce a son and a daughter—and they're in the same class as his legitimate girl? That takes some serious nerve. Say, you don't think the woman he's been seeing is Mr. Lin's daughter-in-law from the textile factory, do you? I remember they have fraternal twins, a boy and a girl. I think their names are something Yi and something Bao... Just a few months ago, they threw a huge banquet for the kids' tenth birthday. To think those kids might not even be part of the Lin family's bloodline..." That's how it was in a small town. The slightest whisper of gossip spread like wildfire.
"That's impossible, right? If it was really them, why would the Lin family throw a birthday party for the twins?" someone said in disbelief.
"Exactly. The Lin family is much better off than the Gu Family."
"Are you all stupid? The Lin family might be better off, but that doesn't mean she couldn't fall for a pretty face like that Gu fellow. He's an intellectual, too. You know what they say, 'girls love a handsome face.' As for the Lin family, they obviously didn't know at the time. Once they found out, who could stand for that? Of course someone would grab some sulfuric acid and give the culprit a face full of it..." a self-proclaimed expert analyst snickered.
"Oh, but you don't know the half of it," someone said with a mysterious grin. "That Gu fellow only pretends to be all refined. He's no intellectual. Guess what his real job at the newspaper office is?"
"What is it?" a curious voice immediately piped up.
"Heh heh, you'd never guess. He always just says he 'works at the newspaper office.' I had to go there for some business once and guess what? He's just the doorman. HA HA HA..." The man was clearly delighted at the chance to tear down Gu Lihui's pretense in front of everyone.
"Ahem... So it's true..." So he was just a doorman. They'd all been misled for years.
The crowd exchanged dumbstruck glances. Thinking back, they realized that the Gu fellow had only ever said he "worked at the newspaper," never what he actually did. Everyone had just seen his gentle, bookish demeanor and assumed he was a true intellectual.
...