Chapter 279 - 277: Some Gains After All

Chapter 279: Chapter 277: Some Gains After All

"So you’ve all grown up and think you can disregard me now, is that it?" Seeing her three daughters’ expressions of doubt toward their second sister, Lin Qiao’s grandmother grew resentful. She shot a fierce glare at her granddaughter. ’It’s all that meddlesome classmate’s fault. What do other people’s family matters have to do with her? Why is she running her mouth off?’

"Mom, what are you even talking about?" Lin Qiao’s fifth aunt said, annoyed. This only made Lin Qiao’s grandmother even angrier. "You’ve all grown up, haven’t you? Now you’re starting to look down on me, and on Hui Zhen too, is that it? After all this, aren’t you just afraid she’ll be a burden to you? And you, Eldest! Don’t you forget that your second sister ended up this way because she was suffering in your place."

"Grandma, Second Aunt brought that on herself. How is that suffering for my mom? If it were my mom, she never would have gotten into such a state over some luggage," Lin Qiao retorted defiantly.

"Fine, just fine. Eldest, is this how you raise your daughter?" Lin Qiao’s grandmother couldn’t very well vent her anger on her granddaughter, so she turned on her own eldest daughter instead.

Lin Qiao opened her mouth to argue, but her mother quickly pulled her back, shaking her head and giving her a warning look.

"Qiaoqiao, just hurry up and apologize to your grandma so we can drop this. You and your friend are still so young. The human heart is a treacherous thing; how could you two possibly understand it?" Lin Qiao’s third aunt said, trying to smooth things over.

"I did nothing wrong. I’m not apologizing." Lin Qiao was so angry she felt like crying. ’Why am I the villain in Grandma’s eyes just for telling the truth, something that could be so easily verified?’

"Look at her! The older she gets, the more defiant she becomes." As was her habit, Lin Qiao’s grandmother directed her tirade at Lin Qiao’s mother, trying to pressure her into making Lin Qiao yield.

"Mom, we don’t know what the truth is yet. It’s really not right to make Qiaoqiao apologize now." Fearing the situation would spiral out of control, Lin Qiao’s mother finally spoke up. She secretly believed her daughter and her friend were telling the truth and was reluctant to make her daughter apologize. Sighing, she gave Lin Qiao a gentle push. "Don’t argue with your grandma anymore. Whatever the truth is, there’s no point in us debating it here, right?"

"But—"

"No buts. Let’s put the facts aside for now. You’re still young, and it’s not your place to speak up on this. We’re not talking about the incident itself, but your attitude toward your grandmother was very disrespectful, and that’s not acceptable. Be a good girl and tell your grandma you’re sorry for your tone," Lin Qiao’s mother said, her expression serious as she spoke in a tone that was half-command, half-plea.

"...Grandma, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have had such a bad attitude." Lin Qiao was stunned. After a long, conflicted pause, she mumbled the apology, her voice a mixture of helplessness and bitter resentment.

"Mom, see? The child has apologized. Please, calm down now—" Lin Qiao’s mother looked up at her own mother, having offered her an olive branch. She was terrified her mother wouldn’t take the easy way out.

"Fine, fine. It makes it look like I enjoy arguing with a child." The grandmother’s expression shifted, and she finally squatted back down, muttering resentfully, "You need to keep a better eye on her. Kids these days are nothing like you were. If you and your sisters had ever dared to talk to me like that, you would have gotten a slap across the face."

Lin Qiao’s mother gave her a little push, pointed toward her room, and shooed her away with a wave. Then she also squatted down, offering a placating smile. "All kids have their stubborn moments. I’ll be stricter with her from now on."

"Nuannuan, I’m so sorry. My grandma refuses to believe it, and I couldn’t convince her." Lin Qiao walked back, completely crestfallen. She looked like she was about to cry when she saw Gu Nuan Nuan. ’I feel so bad for dragging her into this, you know?’

"Heh, what are you sorry for?" Gu Nuan Nuan, who had watched the whole exchange, gave a dry laugh. "You’re not the one who should be apologizing. I saw this coming, actually. Remember what I said? Some people only believe what they want to believe. There’s no need to be so upset. You’re just torturing yourself."

"But I still feel bad." The comforting words didn’t do much to lift Lin Qiao’s spirits; she was still incredibly dejected. ’My image of Grandma is completely shattered. Boohoo, Mom is so pitiful to have a mother like that. Boohoo, I guess my two little sisters and I are the lucky ones...’

"Besides your grandma, did anyone else believe you? What about your mom?" Seeing Lin Qiao’s gloomy mood, Gu Nuan Nuan put a hand to her forehead, trying another angle to console her.

"I think my mom believed me. She stopped my third aunt when she told me to apologize to Grandma for telling the truth. But I still apologized in the end because Mom said my attitude toward Grandma was disrespectful, and I should apologize for that." Lin Qiao carefully recalled the expressions on her mother and aunts’ faces and what they had said, and her spirits finally lifted a little. "It seems like besides my grandma, my mom, my third aunt, and my fifth aunt all believed me."

"So there you go. You can’t ask for more than that, right? The real victory is that your mom believes you, so she won’t have to feel that strange guilt toward your second aunt anymore," Gu Nuan Nuan said with a smile.

"You’re right. As long as my mom believes and stops feeling like she owes my second aunt something, that’s enough." Lin Qiao finally felt a little happy again and nodded repeatedly. ’See? This whole ordeal wasn’t for nothing, was it?’ But a moment later, she looked at Gu Nuan Nuan with concern. "But, Nuannuan, even though I didn’t mention it was your great-uncle who saved her, I did say that you were the one who told me. I’m really worried that if we run into my grandma this afternoon or tonight, she’s going to be nasty to you."

"What’s there to be afraid of? I’m a guest in your home, not hers. Am I supposed to be scared of her giving me a dirty look?" Gu Nuan Nuan wasn’t bothered in the slightest. ’I’m not some thin-skinned teenager who gets upset over a glare or a cold shoulder.’

"No, that won’t do. I have to see if my dad is back yet. I need to talk to him and have him tell my mom to convince my grandma not to treat you that way." Lin Qiao was too restless to stay put. She couldn’t relax without telling her dad what was going on. "I have to go out again. Nuannuan, you just wait here," she said, leaving once more.

Gu Nuan Nuan shook her head helplessly. Smiling, she picked up a book to look busy, but her consciousness sank into the storage space within her ring to examine the Jade Scrolls. There were so many of them. Even after all these years, she still had a vast number of scrolls she hadn’t read, so she wasn’t at all worried about how to pass the time.