When Gu Xi returned home, the children were crying and the adults were shouting.
Gu Xi returned to her room; she hated everything about the house. After Qian Lanlan's pregnancy became apparent, she not only felt no shame but was proud of it, roaming in and out of the compound every day.
Soon, everyone knew that Gu Bei had gotten married and had a child, and gossip filled the ears of everyone in the Gu family.
"Gu Bei is quite young, but he's already got some fun. He's going to be a father soon. He really takes after his family. His mother's past wasn't exactly glorious either. Everyone knows how she married into the Gu family..."
"Xu Fang has passed on all her skills to her children. Gu Bei is like this, and who knows if Gu Xi will be the same? They're twins, after all. We need to warn our own children not to get involved with Xu Fang's children..."
The compound was never short of gossips, and every day they would spout different things, making Gu Xi wish she could hide her head inside her clothes and never show herself.
A few days passed uneventfully, and Gu Xi was still hesitating about whether or not to take over her mother's job.
“Gu Xi, you’re about to graduate. If you can’t find a job, you’ll have to go to the countryside. Your dad and I don’t have the ability to find you a job, so you should be prepared for that.” Xu Fang said to Gu Xi as if she had suddenly remembered this matter after dinner.
"Mom, I can't find a job myself. Could you transfer your job to me? I can leave it at my parents' house when I get married. I just need to get through these few years." Gu Xi pleaded with her mother, hoping that her mother would feel sorry for her.
“That works too, Xu Fang. You can transfer the job to Xi Xi, and then transfer it to Gu Bei after she gets married. By then, Gu Bei will be more mature, and neither of them will have to go to the countryside. Otherwise, like Gu Mei, when will they be able to come back?” Gu Xiangdong thought this was a good idea, as both children could stay in the city.
“What’s so good about it? I let Gu Xi take over my job. What am I supposed to do? Stay home and be a maid, serving you all food and drink. What’s wrong with going to the countryside? Others go to the countryside too, Gu Mei went to the countryside too, why can’t Gu Xi?” Xu Fang exploded at the mention of work; her job was her last refuge.
Xu Fang herself knew that her reputation was ruined in the compound. If she didn't have a job and had to stay in the compound all day listening to these people gossiping, especially about her own past, she would go crazy.
"Mom, since you said anyone can go to the countryside, then let Gu Bei go. I'll find a job in the city slowly. My grades are much better than Gu Bei's, so it'll be easier for me to find a job than for Gu Bei." Gu Xi was unwilling to give up; she wanted to fight for herself.
"How can you compare to Gu Bei? Gu Bei is a son, who will take care of me and your father in our old age. You're just a girl; once you reach a certain age, you'll marry into another family. What can we expect from you?"
Xu Fang spoke fluently, something she had heard since childhood; her mother had always told her the same thing. If she hadn't thought more about herself back then, she would have been married off by her mother to a family that offered the highest dowry, regardless of whether the man was a widower or missing limbs—as long as the price was high, they had to marry him.
So when Xu Ning was looking for someone to take care of her child, she used some underhanded methods to get selected, and later successfully married Gu Xiangdong. What does it matter if her methods were dishonorable? She didn't plan for herself; hell awaited her. And her deep-seated preference for sons over daughters was ingrained and unchangeable.
After hearing her mother's words, Gu Xi's reluctance vanished. "Every man for himself," she thought. "I'm sorry, Mom, you forced me to do this."
Gu Xi didn't say anything more and slunk back to her room. She would go see her brother Gu tomorrow.
Gu Ze wasn't surprised to see Gu Xi. He didn't say anything, just told Gu Xi what to do and told her to leave. He said she could just wait for further instructions.
Gu Ze watched Gu Xi walk away. "Xu Fang, you will repay me for all the embarrassment you caused my mother. It's only a matter of time."
Gu Ze's ability to remain standing in the ever-changing workplace is undoubtedly due to his strengths. Compared to Gu Ye, Gu Ze possesses more forbearance and patience. For the sake of his goals, he can endure loneliness, maintain a calm mindset, and quietly wait for the right opportunity.
While real revenge is certainly satisfying, it's the dull knife that cuts flesh that truly hurts, and his dull knife is about to cut flesh.
Gu Ze didn't personally intervene; Xu Fang had worked for so many years, it would have been too easy for her to find loopholes. Especially since Xu Fang had a bunch of dependent family members, and Gu Xiangdong couldn't let her provide unlimited financial support to them, she had to find a way herself.
Gu Ze easily obtained evidence of Xu Fang's misconduct and submitted it through someone else. This wasn't enough to get her fired; she would only receive a demerit. She was timid and hadn't committed any major offenses. In the end, Gu Xi, showing righteousness by turning down a family member, handed over a secret piece of evidence, forcing Xu Fang to leave her proud job, which was then taken over by her daughter.
Xu Fang was stunned when she received the notice. She never expected that she would leave her job and return to her family in this way. It was too unexpected and too embarrassing.
"Gu Xi, is this how you repay me? If I had known it would be like this, I would have thrown you into a chamber pot and drowned you as soon as you were born. It would have been better than raising you only to have you turn around and bite me."
Xu Fang looked at Gu Xi and slapped her across the face, causing Gu Xi's face to visibly swell up.
"It's a pity you missed your chance, and now you can't drown me anymore. I asked you, if you had given me the job, none of this would have happened. You don't care about me at all, you'd rather send me to the countryside than let me have a job."
Mom, you said that everyone has to look out for themselves, and I was just following your example. I'm suffering the consequences of what you did. I've been well-behaved and sensible since I was little, and I'm good-looking and do well in school. Why do all the aunties and grandmas in the compound avoid me like the plague? It's all because of you.
I'm not as eloquent as Gu Mei, and I'm missing a piece of flesh compared to Gu Bei, so you ignore me. But from childhood to adulthood, I've helped you with the most chores, I haven't caused trouble, so why do I receive the least? I didn't want to go to the countryside before; I was scared. Gu Mei has my dad's connections and work, what do I have?
Gu Xi disregarded everything and shouted out her grievances of so many years. When she was young, she was relatively pampered because she was a twin. As she grew older, she didn't have Gu Mei who could say nice things, nor did she have Gu Lan's extra status to support her. She was just a nobody.
Xu Fang had never known that Gu Xi had so many grievances. Isn't this the case for every family with many children? How can you treat everyone equally? She hadn't skimped on food or drink, so how did she become the biggest villain?
So what if she's sexist? These days, which family doesn't favor sons? They're for carrying on the family line, for continuing the family name. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with her wanting her own job? It's her job, and she can decide what to do.
Xu Fang felt that everything she did was wrong, no one appreciated her, and everyone blamed her. So who could she blame?
Gu Xi looked at Xu Fang, who had lost her spirits, and she felt uncomfortable too. However, she didn't want to go to the countryside. It was too terrible. Those people who came back to visit relatives looked no different from the rural people. No, she didn't want to be like that.
Gu Xi ran back to her room; she hadn't done anything wrong.
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