Chapter 10
The next day, the Gu family members were not in good spirits.
They tidied up too late last night, especially when moving the cabinets. Perhaps it was because of his age, or perhaps the cabinets were too heavy, but Gu Maowen accidentally strained his back and was almost crushed under the cabinets. This startled everyone, causing a commotion and screams.
Gu Maowen has experienced many things in his life, but this is the first time he has ever strained his back while moving a cabinet.
Although Jiang Huijun had massaged him with medicated oil before bed, the soreness and tingling sensation kept him from sleeping well all night, and his spirits were naturally low.
Jiang Huijun shared a bed with him, but he kept her from getting much sleep.
Gu Yuanhui was also in a lot of pain last night and didn't sleep well either.
As for Gu Yuanzheng and Gu Yuanxiang, they spent most of the night cleaning the room. They were so angry to see that some of their beloved ornaments and collections were smashed to pieces, with hardly anything intact, that they couldn't sleep at all. Moreover, Gu Yuanxiang had to get up early the next morning to make breakfast for the family, so she slept even less.
A group of people sat at the dining table, yawning incessantly, unable to taste their food.
Although Gu Yuanzheng was extremely tired, he was young and could endure it. He turned to his father and asked with concern, "Dad, is your back alright? Should we go to the hospital to see a doctor?"
The others also looked at Gu Maowen with concern.
"It's nothing." Gu Maowen didn't want to lose face in front of his children, so he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Your mother massaged me with medicated oil last night, and I feel much better today. As long as I'm careful, I should be fine."
Jiang Huijun was still worried. "Old Gu, why don't you take the day off and rest at home?" For someone your age, a back injury is no small matter.
Gu Maowen shook his head: "There's an important meeting at the bureau today, I can't get away."
Gu Yuanhui, his face bruised and swollen, muttered to Gu Yuanxiang, "That bitch is a real troublemaker, one day..."
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Xi came downstairs.
He was so frightened that he hiccuped, feeling pain all over his body. He quickly shut his mouth, a look of guilt on his face.
Gu Xi sat down and ate breakfast with a natural expression.
Seeing the culprit who had kept them up all night, Gu Maowen and his wife looked really unwell.
Last night, Gu Maowen pounded on her door until his palms were swollen, but Gu Xi still wouldn't open it, which infuriated him. Of all his children, even his eldest son Gu Yuanyang, who was the most stubborn back then, had never been as rebellious and unruly as Gu Xi, causing him so much trouble and challenging his authority.
If they weren't still rational, they probably would have broken down the door, dragged her out, and made her kneel on the floor.
If you break the door and call someone to fix it, who knows what outsiders will think?
Gu Xi served herself a bowl of bean porridge and ate it slowly with a fried egg and pickled vegetables.
She frowned and said while eating, "The eggs were overcooked and there was too much salt. They're fishy and salty, not tasty at all."
Her stomach was churning, making her feel nauseous and want to vomit, but she held back and forced herself to eat.
Eating is one of the ways to live; you can't ruin your body before you're even dead.
Despite the extreme discomfort in her body, she tried her best to stuff food into her stomach, as much as she could.
Gu Yuanxiang felt wronged upon hearing this, thinking to herself, "If it doesn't taste good, then don't eat it."
From childhood, she was pampered by her parents and brothers and had never done much housework. Before Gu Xi came back, there was a nanny at home. Later, the nanny went back to her hometown, and Gu Xi took care of all the housework. She didn't need to lift a finger. She could just sit comfortably and wait to be fed.
She only recently started cooking under Jiang Huijun's guidance, and it's already quite good that she can cook it properly.
Gu Maowen slammed his chopsticks on the table and said angrily, "If you don't like it, then don't eat it! Get out!"
Seeing that Old Gu was angry, Jiang Huijun remembered what happened last night and was worried that the father and daughter would really have a falling out. She earnestly advised, "Xixi, say less and don't make your dad angry! Also, Xiangxiang got up early this morning to make breakfast for us. She worked so hard and did a great job."
As she said this, she looked at her adopted daughter with a pained expression, and Gu Yuanxiang felt even more aggrieved.
Gu Xi looked at her suspiciously, "She's hardworking? I've been cooking, working in the fields, and washing clothes for the whole family since I was three years old. I've been doing this for over ten years. Why don't you say I'm hardworking?" Thinking of something, she turned cold, "So it's hard for her to cook a meal, and you feel so sorry for her, but I haven't been hardworking for over ten years, is that right?"
Everyone: "..."
Jiang Huijun realized that she had said something wrong.
She wanted to say something, but Gu Xi continued, "Although it's not tasty, it's much better than the cornbread mixed with wild vegetables in the countryside. At least it's not bitter, and it's not so hard it hurts your teeth. Plus, it's filling. And eggs are something you can only eat once a year. They're a rare treat, and girls aren't allowed to eat them..."
Everyone was stunned.
She had never said such a thing before.
Although they knew she grew up in the countryside, they didn't know what kind of life she led there. They had little impression of rural life and no concrete concept of it, let alone what it was like for a girl to live in a patriarchal family in the countryside.
She didn't say anything, and they never asked.
When Gu Xi first returned, Jiang Huijun might have asked her a few questions out of concern, but those questions were mostly superficial. At that time, she was more worried that Gu Yuanxiang would overthink things because she wasn't a child of the Gu family and might do something foolish. Her mind was more on her adopted daughter, and she didn't pay much attention to what Gu Xi was saying.
Later, seeing that Gu Xi was quiet and helping with chores at home, and that nothing seemed to have changed at home, he stopped asking.
After Gu Xi finished speaking, she continued eating her breakfast.
She didn't mean anything by saying these things; she was just stating the facts to let them know what kind of life she used to lead and that she no longer wanted to be someone's slave or do those things.
If they want her to do it, she can only continue hitting people.
The crowd was at a loss for words, their feelings a complex mix.
Jiang Huijun felt a dull ache in her heart and said, "Xixi, why didn't you tell me this before?"
"What did you say?" Gu Xi looked up at her, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the group, her expression calm. "What good would it do if I said anything? You all look down on me for being uncultured, ugly, and unsophisticated, unlike Gu Yuanxiang who is clean, beautiful, and presentable. I've brought shame to the Gu family, and I've made you all lose face. My return to the Gu family made us the laughingstock of the family compound, and made you think we shouldn't have brought me back..."
“Xixi, we didn’t think that way.” Jiang Huijun quickly interrupted her, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
Gu Maowen's face was stiff. Even if he thought that way, hearing her say it made him feel extremely embarrassed.
He never knew that his quiet, tongue-tied daughter was so eloquent and could say things that hurt people's hearts.
Gu Yuanzheng was stunned for once, and for some reason, his heart felt a little sore.
Gu Yuanxiang lowered her head and dared not speak.
Only Gu Yuanhui secretly curled his lip, thinking that she had self-awareness.
Gu Xi completely disregarded their reactions and said, "You all know whether you think that way or not."
Gu Maowen couldn't stand such words and angrily retorted, "What do you mean? Are you blaming us? We are your parents!"
In his view, no matter what their parents have done, children should not resent them, as this is unfilial.
Gu Xi's accusations were wrong in his eyes!
Gu Xi was not intimidated at all and continued, "You don't think the people in the compound don't know, do you? Maybe they're laughing at you behind your backs, saying you're suckers, that you're out of your minds, that you don't care about your own suffering daughter but instead dote on a fake daughter who's living a good life in the city. I bet you're quite happy raising someone else's child, aren't you?"
Everyone at the table froze.
They stared blankly at Gu Xi, thinking they had misheard.
These words are truly heartbreaking; they're a fatal blow to someone who cares so much about saving face.
"You...you...you..." Gu Maowen's hand gripping the chopsticks trembled. "Nonsense!"
Jiang Huijun's expression changed drastically. "Who said that?! That's too much! How could they say such a thing..." She was furious, but also felt a little guilty.
Gu Xi said, "Everyone's saying it. If you don't believe me, you can ask them privately." She tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Mom, aren't you on good terms with Chen Yunsheng's mother? You can ask her. She should be able to tell you."
Since she even has a list of candidates, it must be true.
Jiang Huijun and Chen Yunsheng's mother weren't actually close friends; they just lived in the same compound. Chen Yunsheng's mother was a straightforward and open-minded person who got along well with many people. In everyone's eyes, the two of them were indeed very close, otherwise Chen Yunsheng wouldn't have been hanging out with Gu Yuanxiang. The relationship between parents can also influence their children.
Gu Maowen and Jiang Huijun sat there stiffly, completely forgetting to react.
The couple were both very concerned about their image, and what they found most unbearable was being laughed at by others. They hoped to live a respectable life.
The most shameful thing that happened to the couple in their lives was that their babies were switched at birth, and that their biological daughter was raised by that ignorant country couple to be ugly, rustic, timid, and unpresentable, bringing them great disgrace.
That's why they prefer Gu Yuanxiang, whom they raised to be generous, beautiful, and talented—that's how their daughter should be.
Although they thought this way, they had to pretend to be indifferent, as if they didn't feel ashamed of their biological daughter and felt that they treated both children equally. They even sent Gu Xi to school and raised her from elementary school to high school in five years, without neglecting either of them.
Their family is still harmonious and peaceful; nothing has changed.
Who knew the rumors would spread like this?
The couple found it unbearable to think about how the people in the family compound viewed them and how they mocked them behind their backs.
Gu Maowen was both angry and furious. He suddenly stood up, but he tripped over his own large movement and fell backward, chair and all.
"Old Gu!" Jiang Huijun exclaimed.
The others quickly got up to help him, crowding together and calling out to him in a noisy commotion.
Fortunately, Gu Maowen only fell and looked fine, except that his back, which he had strained the night before, was still very sore.
His face was ashen as Jiang Huijun and Gu Yuanzheng helped him up and sit down again.
When they saw Gu Xi still sitting there, unmoved, slowly eating her breakfast, they couldn't help but get angry.
Gu Yuanzheng shouted sternly, "Gu Xi, do you really want to upset your parents like this?"
He could forgive Gu Xi for hitting people and smashing rooms, but she went too far by making her parents so angry.
Gu Xi looked up at him, then at Gu Maowen and Jiang Huijun.
Gu Maowen's face was very ugly. Jiang Huijun avoided her gaze, as if she couldn't bear it, or as if she was angry.
Suddenly, Gu Xi forcefully threw the chopsticks in her hand at Gu Yuanzheng and said coldly, "How can you falsely accuse people? It was clearly outsiders who laughed at them and made them angry. What does it have to do with me? I didn't spread those rumors!"
Gu Yuanzheng: "You can't say it so directly, or it will upset your parents."
"Does that mean the rumors don't exist if I don't gossip? Does that mean they won't feel bad?"
Gu Xi stood up angrily, walked towards him, grabbed his clothes, and then punched him, knocking him to the ground.
Gu Yuanzheng fell to the ground, and his chin and the corner of his mouth instantly turned blue.
"ah--"
Jiang Huijun and Gu Yuanxiang screamed in fright.
Gu Yuanhui slipped and reflexively shrank under the table, covering his head. He was traumatized by Gu Xi's beating.
Gu Xi looked down at Gu Yuanhui, who was glaring at her angrily on the ground, her expression cold. "If I ever hear you say that again, I'll smash your mouth!"
After saying that, she turned around and went to the kitchen to get a clean pair of chopsticks, then sat down to continue drinking her porridge.
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