Rebirth: She is Ready for a Counterattack!-Chapter 420 - 419: An Unseen Offensive

"I don’t believe it, my daughter wouldn’t do such a thing."

"What’s going on?"

Li Xuemei picked up the newspaper and, upon seeing the report, was immediately outraged.

"Xiaoqing, say something..."

Li Xuemei didn’t believe these things were true.

"My conscience is clear."

Gu Xiaoqing couldn’t speak the truth, afraid that if she did, her family would become agitated and go confront the Fang Family. The first target would be Fang Shaohan’s parents.

If things turned public, it would be irreversible, and it would play into Fang Shaohan’s sister-in-law’s hands.

She wouldn’t let that woman succeed. No matter how difficult the path ahead, she had to persist and not give in.

He seemed to understand now; Fang Shaohan’s sister-in-law’s aggressive attacks were far from over. Since she couldn’t torture Gu Xiaoqing in terms of business or physically, she turned to emotional and psychological torment.

"Clear conscience? Fine, then are you saying the things on TV aren’t true?"

"They’re not true."

"Then why would the TV station smear you? It’s a TV station, not a private company. They have no grudge against you. And these newspapers and inaccurate test results, are they all fake?"

Gu Xiaoying questioned.

This era was far from what came later. It was only afterwards that people realized the TV stations they once held in high regard were quite unreliable. With money, anyone could buy airtime.

It was no different from bidding on Baidu.

Like brain tonics, like gourmet delicacies, scandals emerged continuously. Later, a drive against corruption saw a large number of CCTV personnel ousted!

But now, TV stations, especially news programs, were the most trusted by everyone. Whatever they broadcast, people believed.

As for newspapers?

The same story.

"I said, my conscience is clear."

Gu Xiaoqing couldn’t reveal the truth, and even if she did, her family wouldn’t understand.

To minimize the damage, she could only endure silently.

"And you think a clear conscience solves everything?"

Tears welled up in Gu Xiaoying’s eyes, and she was so agitated she couldn’t speak, only trembled continuously.

"You... hey, you’re my sister. Do you know what people are saying about you now? You know... sigh, forget it..."

Gu Xiaoying held her head in her hands, unsure of what to say herself.

"Alright, Xiaoying, it’s late. Time to rest."

"Yes, let’s put this aside for now. Xiaoqing, take back your bankbook," sighed Gu Ruhai.

Gu Xiaoqing said nothing and took back her bankbook.

Back in her room, Gu Xiaoqing hugged her knees and buried her head in them, sobbing. She understood that her family didn’t know who to believe anymore.

Gu Ruhai’s actions were telling; he was wavering.

Because the overwhelming news all pointed to Gu Xiaoqing doing something she shouldn’t have, he didn’t want money that might be tainted with blood.

Yet Gu Xiaoqing had no place to voice her grievances.

Being the only sober one when everyone is drunk is no different from being the only drunk one when everyone is sober.

Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai returned to their room. Li Xuemei, angry, pulled up the covers and refused to speak to her husband.

"Xuemei, why are you..."

"Hmph, don’t I know you? You returned the money to Xiaoqing because you really think she did those despicable things?"

Li Xuemei sat up to question Gu Ruhai.

"I, I..."

Gu Ruhai wanted not to believe, but had to. Thinking about Gu Xiaoqing’s smooth social interactions in Guang City made him feel like the matter was likely true.

"She’s your daughter, and you don’t even trust your own daughter?"

"I want to believe, but why? Why did this happen?" Gu Ruhai shouted madly. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Maybe, maybe she’s been deceived. Haven’t you been deceived before? Didn’t Xiaoying also get deceived?"

Li Xuemei felt there was a hidden truth, even though everything seemed to point to Gu Xiaoqing. Her intuition told her that her daughter wasn’t that kind of person.

Even if Gu Xiaoqing’s means of obtaining Wang Xiaoji were questionable, that’s just how the times were. It became even more so later; without connections, you couldn’t even get a job. Jobs with official credentials had price tags for every position. So Gu Xiaoqing’s methods were nothing much.

Later, those who developed real estate were even more despicable in bidding, with everything being prearranged.

And Gu Xiaoqing never did anything blameworthy in terms of product quality, and she would never do anything against her conscience.

"Then why doesn’t she explain clearly? If she’s innocent, we should report it to the authorities and explain things to the police."

Gu Ruhai pointed outside, shouting.

"I feel for my daughter, and even if I were a coward, if I were the one kidnapped, I’d feel relieved. You know that? You know that? But love can’t be blindly equated with trust. If she did wrong, she must admit it."

Gu Ruhai screamed, his voice deafening, echoing through the house, audible to the neighbors.

"You... I’m done talking to you."

Li Xuemei shook with anger and buried herself under the covers, ignoring Gu Ruhai.

After the incident, Gu Xiaoqing felt isolated, with no one talking to her, and even fewer conversations at home.

Soon it was approaching the end of the year, and Gu Ruhai took the family back to Gu Family Village.

They got off the car early, with Gu Ruhai leading the silent Gu Xiaoqing, along with Gu Xiaojie and Gu Xiaoying and her husband.

On New Year’s Eve, Gu Xiaoying would return with Liu Ming, since tradition had the wife spending the holiday with her husband’s family.

As usual, a lot of people gathered at the village entrance.

Over the years, Gu Ruhai had helped the village a lot, like with vegetable contracting and wholesale, and in finding markets for poultry, he contributed to varying degrees.

Not to mention the road he built back then and the bridge he later erected beside the village, both funded and arranged by Gu Ruhai. That bridge was even named Ruhai Bridge by the village.

Every year when he came back, the villagers were enthusiastic.

The village leader of that time, Gu Changhai, was now old, and his son had taken over as village chief, a notably young official.

"Ruhai, you’re back!"

Although Gu Changhai was retired, he came out smiling to greet Gu Ruhai.

"Brother Changhai, how’s your health? Here’s a little supplement for you," Gu Ruhai handed the gift to Changhai’s son.

He was surprised to find today’s gathering special, as the elderly Mr. Gu, the most aged and revered man in the village, was also present, seated on a chair.

Ordinarily, the elder wouldn’t speak; what brought him here today?

"Ruhai, thank you for your care for the village over the years," Mr. Gu spoke.

"Oh, it’s nothing, just my duty."

Gu Ruhai replied with a smile. He normally would bring something for the elder, placing it down before leaving.

"I hate to do this, but Ruhai, if today’s matter embarrasses you, just come at me, the old man. It has nothing to do with everyone else."