Chapter 176: How Come She Ran Away?
After thinking it over at length, Aunt Dong decided to go to her family’s home. She was determined to get Gu Jiaojiao’s permission, no matter what.
Gu Jiaojiao, however, was completely unaware of this. She was listening with rapt attention as her teacher went over the test paper.
The college entrance exams were fast approaching. Although she was fully confident she could get into Imperial Capital Medical University, she still tried to listen attentively and absorb as much as possible.
After school let out for lunch, Dong Qiming was going to give his sister a ride. "Cousin Jiaojiao, how about I have Treasure Bead sit in front of me, and you can take the back seat?"
"No thanks," Gu Jiaojiao said with a sweet smile. "Su Shuochi said he’d come pick me up after class."
"Jiaojiao, I can give you a ride to the school gate, then," Zhang Mingyu’s cheerful voice rang out.
"Okay, that works. Cousin Dong, you go get Treasure Bead. I’ll ride on Zhang Mingyu’s bike to the school gate."
Gu Jiaojiao rode on the back of Zhang Mingyu’s bike to the school gate. From a distance, she could see Su Shuochi and Mr. Gu waiting by the entrance.
Mr. Gu usually ran a stall selling savory Chinese crepes, but he had taken a rare day off to pick up Gu Jiaojiao.
He had been recovering at the Su family’s home for over half a month. He was no longer as gaunt as before, and his complexion had become much clearer and fairer.
His handsome face was framed by a light-blue shirt, its sleeves loosely rolled up at the wrists. His style was simple, with an indescribable hint of a rebellious streak. In a later era, he would have been the very definition of a handsome older man.
Su Shuochi sat in his wheelchair, dressed in a white shirt. He had a chiseled face, thick brows, large eyes, and a dignified, imposing air.
Zhang Mingyu stopped the bike in front of them. "Since Uncle Gu and Su are here, I’ll get going."
"Jiaojiao, was class tiring?" Su Shuochi broke into a wide grin the moment he saw her, making many of the passing female students turn their heads.
"Jiaojiao, I’m here to pick you up. Come on, hop on the back of my bike. Let’s go home."
As befitting a former professor, Mr. Gu’s voice was as pleasant as the tinkling of a mountain spring and as warm as a babbling brook.
Gu Jiaojiao glanced at Su Shuochi before obediently getting on the back of Mr. Gu’s bicycle.
Su Shuochi wished Jiaojiao would sit on his lap in the wheelchair, but with so many people around and no urgent reason, he was too embarrassed to ask.
"Jiaojiao, how come I didn’t see Yueyue come out of the school gate?" Mr. Gu asked cautiously.
"Oh, her? Dong Qiming beat her black and blue, so she went home early," Gu Jiaojiao said, clearly gloating.
"Sigh... It’s all my fault. I failed to raise her properly, letting her become such a disgrace."
"Life is a long journey. Are you planning to carry this guilt for the rest of your days? Besides, it’s not even your fault."
"She lived with us for seventeen years, and she really wasn’t like this before. Jiaojiao, do you believe me?"
"I believe you, Dad. The fact that Sheng Yueyue was able to persevere with her studies in such a harsh environment shows that the Gu Family treated her well."
Gu Jiaojiao understood Mr. Gu’s guilt. His biological daughter was so exceptional, while his adopted daughter was such a mess.
It was inevitable that Mr. Gu would feel he had wronged the Sheng Family, but it really wasn’t their fault.
’Sheng Yueyue has already lived one life. She thinks she’s all that just because she was reborn, acting arrogant and brazen and looking down on everyone.’
’This isn’t a matter of upbringing. If Sheng Yueyue were truly just an eighteen-year-old girl, then maybe it would have something to do with how the Gu Family raised her.’
"Dad, you really don’t need to blame yourself. Sheng Yueyue goes around telling everyone she’s the ’chosen one.’ It was after she returned to the Sheng Family that her parents spoiled her rotten."
"Thank you, Jiaojiao. Hearing you say that makes me feel less guilty. It’s wonderful to have you. I’m endlessly grateful to the Sheng Family for raising you so well."
"Have you ever considered, Dad, that it’s just our Gu family’s superior genes?" Gu Jiaojiao giggled.
"Jiaojiao’s right! Haha..."
The sound of the father and daughter’s laughter drifted through the air, drawing the attention of passersby.
The reason Gu Jiaojiao could guide her father’s thinking this way was that she didn’t want to get bogged down by who treated her well and who didn’t.
’In any case, these relatives are people I care about. They are the blood relatives of this body.’
’If they treat me well, then that’s wonderful for everyone.’
’But if they treat me poorly, I won’t be upset either.’
’I honestly didn’t care when the Sheng Family abandoned me.’
’When it comes down to it, none of this has anything to do with me. Back then, I was just a newborn baby.’
’I couldn’t choose whose womb I was born from, or which family raised me.’
’No matter who’s to blame, it can’t be pinned on me.’
’It makes no sense for my adoptive mother to blame me for enjoying a life of comfort with the Sheng Family, all because Ren Xiaofang maliciously switched us.’
’In my past life, when I first started working at the hospital, I spent three years in the emergency room. I got used to the constant life-and-death emergencies, working around the clock with no concept of day or night.’
’Even back then, I knew that being strong on my own was the most important thing.’
’It’s better to plant and nurture your own tree for shade than to seek shelter under someone else’s.’
’What others give you can be taken away at any moment; only what you create for yourself will truly last.’
’Whether it’s the Sheng Family or the Gu Family, I don’t plan on relying on either of them. If you have no expectations, you can’t be disappointed.’
With a mindset like that, how could she not be happy?
"Gu Jiaojiao! You ungrateful wretch! You beat Yueyue black and blue again today! She couldn’t even attend her classes!" Mrs. Sheng roared, her voice thick with uncontrollable rage.
She had skipped breakfast that morning and left work early, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. When she got home, she found her daughter with a face swollen like a pig’s head.
At first, Mrs. Sheng hadn’t paid it much mind. Deep down, she thought, ’Given Yueyue’s recent behavior, it’s not surprising at all that someone beat her up.’
But then her daughter threw herself into her arms, sobbing and apologizing profusely. She said she had been acting crazy lately and that Gu Jiaojiao had finally beaten some sense into her...
With heartfelt words, she admitted she shouldn’t have done this and that, and that everything was her fault.
She promised she would honor her parents from now on...
The mother and daughter cried in each other’s arms for a long time. The exhausted Mrs. Sheng was incredibly moved by her daughter’s heartwarming words.
So, after composing herself, she went to the department store to buy some treats for her daughter.
Just as she was leaving the department store, she heard Gu Jiaojiao’s unbridled laughter.
Seething with uncontrollable anger, Mrs. Sheng pedaled hard to catch up to Gu Jiaojiao and immediately launched into an interrogation.
Gu Jiaojiao merely smiled faintly. "Madam Sheng, you must be joking. What right do you have to question me?"
"Everyone knows what’s right and wrong. Besides, I wasn’t the one who hit Sheng Yueyue. And even if I had, she would have deserved it."
"I treat people with the respect they show me—if they give me an inch, I’ll give them a mile. If someone doesn’t see me, then they don’t exist to me."
"Remember, we have already severed our family ties. You have no right to lecture me. And if you call me an ungrateful wretch again... don’t blame me for what happens next."
Mrs. Sheng was so furious she could have spat blood. "You... you... you..."
"Hasn’t your daughter stopped her hysterics about being the ’chosen one’? That’s because I told her if she spouted that nonsense again, I’d burn that evil spirit of hers to a crisp."
Mrs. Sheng was speechless.
’So that’s it. Gu Jiaojiao scared her.’ She had to admit, Gu Jiaojiao’s threat had actually made her daughter behave.
"Hmph! Don’t you dare scare my daughter again!" With that, Mrs. Sheng clambered onto her bicycle and wobbled away.
Mr. Gu was left speechless. ’My daughter is amazing.’
Su Shuochi was also at a loss for words. ’My girl is ruthless.’
The onlookers who had been ready for a good show silently cursed Mrs. Sheng. ’Why’d she run off just like that?!’