She should have died
She should have died
"That scheming witch," she muttered under her breath, cursing Xu Nuan with a mix of annoyance and disdain.
That girl never did a single decent thing for her mother or the family. Instead, she was always at the forefront of seeking revenge or causing trouble, like a whirlwind wreaking havoc.
Hence, Lin Ran couldn't digest the bitter reality that she had given birth to such an audacious and uncultivated girl, a fact that still lingered in her mind like an indigestible truth.
Fidgeting nervously with her handbag, she took a deep breath, gathering the courage to face the situation head-on instead of running away. She decided to put on a show of normalcy, pretending that everything was fine, just like an actor playing their part flawlessly on stage.
Sporting a forced smile, she entered the living room and seated herself beside Xingren on the couch. "What a pleasant surprise to see everyone gathered here. Have you all had dinner yet?" she casually inquired, feigning nonchalance and an air of normalcy.
However, deep within, her heart pounded erratically, reminiscent of a wild stallion, and her ears flushed crimson with nervousness and fear.
As the solemn silence lingered and nobody responded, Lin Ran nervously swallowed and called for a maid. "Set the table for dinner," she ordered, desperately trying to divert attention away from the impending matter.
After instructing the maid, she turned to the others and suggested, "It's getting late. We should have dinner now. Father needs to take his medication afterward," Lin Ran proposed, attempting to evade the looming confrontation as much as possible.
Gu Zhang's eyebrows twitched, his face contorting into a frown as he observed Lin Ran's nonchalant demeanor. "So, you suddenly care about Father's well-being. Yet, you still managed to bring about this chaos," he sarcastically remarked.
An uneasy silence enveloped the living room as everyone cautiously gazed at Lin Ran.
Unfazed by Gu Zhang's words, Lin Ran maintained her smile and remarked, "You should have an early dinner as well. Otherwise, you might struggle to sleep on time and end up tardy for work in the morning."
Just as she was about to follow the maid into the kitchen, Gu Zhang clenched his teeth in frustration, his anger boiling over. He forcefully seized a teacup from the table and slammed it onto the ground with a resounding crash. "LIN RAN! Stop right there!" he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the room.
Lin Ran stood frozen, momentarily stunned by his outburst.
It was the first time she had witnessed Gu Zhang raising his voice at her in front of everyone, leaving her motionless, akin to a statue.
Gu Xingren pursed her lips, acutely aware of the gravity of the situation. She discreetly gestured for the terrified maid to retreat to the kitchen.
As the maid hurriedly scurried away, Gu Zhang approached Lin Ran, gripping her shoulders tightly, forcing her to face him. "Lin Ran! Didn't I explicitly tell you to refrain from causing any more trouble for Xu Nuan and let her live her life?" he confronted her, his words laced with a mix of disappointment and exasperation.
"If you can't contribute anything positive to her, do you really have to burden her and make me lose face in front of her? Huh?" he demanded.
After Xu Nuan saved Gu Corporations from hackers, Gu Zhang decided to take a step back and give her the space she wanted. If they couldn't contribute anything positive to her life, the least they could do was not interfere with her happiness.
He had warned Lin Ran about this, and she had seemingly agreed, as long as Xu Nuan didn't harm Xingren. However, he couldn't believe that just when everything seemed to be going well, Lin Ran would target Xu Nuan's friend and the artist under her company.
This time, she was blatantly inviting trouble, igniting a colossal mess before the watchful eyes of the world.
Lin Ran clenched her teeth as Gu Zhang yelled at her in front of everyone. Did he really have to humiliate her over a girl who had never accepted them as a family?
Her gaze shifted to Grandfather Gu, noting the disdain and icy demeanor in his eyes. She also saw disappointment reflected in Xingren's eyes, who remained silent instead of intervening in the argument.
So, it was clear that no one was on her side. Just great!
"Gu Zhang, are you seriously fighting with me for a stranger? How can you blindly believe her and turn against me?" Lin Ran held back her tears, mustering her courage to argue back.
Gu Zhang scoffed, his voice laced with irritation. "Stranger? First of all, Xu Nuan isn't some random person. She's our daughter, and you're the one who gave birth to her."
"I DID NOT!" Lin Ran's fists clenched tightly as she shouted in frustration. "Don't you dare call me her mother! I don't have a shameless, uncultured girl as my daughter," she declared; her tone firm.
Gu Zhang frowned, shaking his head in disbelief. "Lin Ran, you're truly..." He trailed off, unable to find the words to express his astonishment.
He had been reluctant to accept Xu Nuan as his daughter before, but after everything that had happened, he had come to terms with the fact that it wasn't Xu Nuan who was in the wrong, but himself.
Yet, he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Lin Ran still harbored so much hatred and disappointment toward Xu Nuan.
"Lin Ran, how can you be so heartless towards her? It's unbelievable. And I didn't just believe her without reason. I have all the evidence that shows your involvement in spreading this scandal," Gu Zhang announced sternly.
Lin Ran furrowed her brow, choosing to remain silent. That conniving witch! She was truly shameless, wanting to ruin her happy life.
Seeing her avoiding confrontation, Gu Zhang gritted his teeth and looked at her coldly. "You should thank Xu Nuan. If she had exposed this evidence online, our Gu Family's reputation would've been instantly destroyed."
"Do you really want to see your family humiliated because of your childish actions?" he scolded her, his tone dripping with a mixture of frustration and warning.
Lin Ran's face scrunched up in a frown as Gu Zhang's domineering tone and scolding set her off. She had done so much for this family, sacrificing her entire life to take care of him and his family. And how did he repay her? By scolding and humiliating her in front of everyone over some petty issue.
"I humiliated the Gu Family? Why don't you say that to your precious daughter, the one who ruined our lives?" Lin Ran shouted, her eyes welling up with tears of anger and frustration.
"She publicly humiliated Xingren in front of the entire college, forcing her to study abroad and leaving us behind. She made a mockery of our entire family, and now she's happily living her married life. She hooked up with a rich businessman and treats our family like garbage. You can just brush off the way she and her in-laws treated us at her wedding, but I can never forget it."
"And this time, I didn't intend to harm her. It was that bitch Jia Fei who snatched Yuhan away from us. He was supposed to be Xingren's fiancé, ready to marry her. But all because of Xu Nuan, their engagement fell apart. How can I just let it go?" Her eyes burned with rage and resentment.
"It was Yuhan who broke off the engagement. Why are you dragging that innocent girl into this?" Gu Zhang frowned, rubbing his forehead in exhaustion.
"Innocent girl? That so-called innocent girl was flaunting her relationship with Yuhan at the wedding, and it all happened because of your daughter. If it weren't for her, none of this would have happened."
"I can't believe that little girl from the orphanage could ruin our once happy and peaceful life. Sometimes, I wish she had died in that accident. Then none of this would have happened, and I wouldn't have to hear all this from-"
*SLAP!*