Chapter 225: Written Off

Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Written Off

Gu Nuan Nuan faltered at Ye Rong’s words, swallowing the blunt retort she had been about to make—that the meat buns were for Grandpa. ’Oh, well,’ she thought. ’I have another bag of them in my space, anyway.’ Instead, she handed over the bag with a smile. "Okay, I understand. I won’t do that. Second Aunt, Mom specifically asked me to bring these for my cousin. I already left Grandpa’s share on the table in the main hall. The house is so chaotic today, Grandma probably isn’t in the mood to worry about dinner. Later, you can go get his portion and heat it all up for him tonight."

"Of course I can! I’ll go in a little while." Ye Rong nodded happily before asking with a hint of confusion, "Is it really bad out there?"

"Yes. The twins’ mother jumped into the well." Gu Nuan Nuan’s expression was blank, her tone so casual it was as if she were commenting on the fine weather. Both Ye Rong and Gu Lihuang, who was just walking over, were stunned speechless. They stared at her blankly, unable to process what she’d said.

"Second Uncle, Grandpa told you to hurry and get people to help with the well." Gu Nuan Nuan’s words finally snapped Gu Lihuang completely back to his senses. "Ah—" he grunted in reply and, without a second thought, bolted outside.

"Sigh. Her family... I’ve never seen such a heartless bunch. They knew their daughter was suffering terribly here, but they didn’t say a word. They just refused to stand up for her..." Ye Rong lamented. Then she glanced at Gu Nuan Nuan’s still-impassive face and silently cursed herself for talking about this in front of a child. She gave a dry laugh. "Nuannuan, you should hurry home now that you’ve delivered the buns. There’s nothing good to see in all this commotion. You kids especially, with your innocent eyes, should stay away from things like this."

Gu Nuan Nuan nodded, said goodbye to Ye Rong, and turned to leave. As she passed the courtyard, she glanced over casually. She saw her grandfather by the well, straining to pull on a rope. The only people helping were Mrs. Tao and Gu Lihuang, who had just come out of the house. Gu Lihui and Chen Suxiang stood off to the side, watching with conflicted expressions.

Without Cao Cao to help her look, Gu Nuan Nuan released her Divine Sense to check the situation in the well. Although Tao Junhao was already in the water holding Tao Jiaren above the surface, too much time had been wasted. Just as she had expected, Tao Jiaren was completely beyond saving.

’Dying just like that... I guess it’s a clean end to everything.’

Gu Nuan Nuan stood there woodenly for a full thirty seconds before going into the main hall, placing another bag of meat buns on the table, and then leaving without a backward glance.

「That night.」

「The Lin Residence.」

After hearing Tao Junhao’s full account of what happened that day, both Lin Kangshun and Yu Xiuying were stunned. Their expressions were strange as they repeated in disbelief, "Dead? Forced to jump in a well and die?" Although they had indeed wished for her death, they found it all too sudden now that the moment had actually arrived. And what kind of viper’s nest was that Gu Family? To think they could drive someone to kill themselves in just a few months, not even half a year?

"Yes." With a sorrowful expression, Tao Junhao recounted in detail the ordeal Tao Jiaren had suffered in the Gu Family household over the past few months. He especially emphasized the part where the Gu mother and son had conspired to torment Tao Jiaren, waking her in the middle of the night. Even though the couple had despised Tao Jiaren, they were left speechless. Yu Xiuying, in particular, didn’t know what to say. In her rather simple view of the world, such methods of tormenting a daughter-in-law were simply unimaginable.

"...Since she’s dead, let’s wipe the slate clean on everything that’s happened. Come back again tomorrow night. I’ll give you those things, and you can decide what to do with them," Lin Kangshun finally said after a long silence.

"Thank you, Mr. Lin." Tao Junhao looked grateful, but after a moment’s pause, he spoke again with considerable hesitation. "There’s one more thing... I’m not sure if I should bring it up."

"Go ahead and say it." Lin Kangshun knew he wasn’t the type to make things up, nor was he someone who enjoyed being deliberately mysterious. His current hesitation must be genuine, which piqued Lin Kangshun’s curiosity.

"Um, before my sister jumped in the well, she said something... She said that she thought Jia Bao was starting to look more and more like Lin Dong..." Tao Junhao was cut off by an agitated Yu Xiuying. "Impossible! We had someone do a blood test! If the twins were really from the Lin family, do you think we wouldn’t have found out until the Gu family exposed the whole affair?"

"...But Jia Bao has type O blood, just like my sister. Could it be..." Tao Junhao murmured hesitantly.

"Hmph. So what if Jia Bao has type O blood like your sister? Have you ever heard of a set of twins having two different fathers?"

Yu Xiuying was beside herself with rage. The faint flicker of sympathy she had felt for Tao Jiaren a moment ago vanished into thin air. It had been almost half a year, and the gossip surrounding them had finally died down. Her heart had just begun to heal, and now this! Even in death, Tao Jiaren wouldn’t let them have any peace, stirring up their emotions with such a ridiculous claim.

"Don’t be hasty." Lin Kangshun patted the back of Yu Xiuying’s hand, then turned to Tao Junhao with a grim expression. "Tell me your sister’s last words again, carefully."

Tao Junhao did as he was told, not hiding the part about Tao Jiaren’s final plea that if Jia Bao was indeed the Lin family’s child, they should take Jia Yi as well. This immediately drew a series of cold sneers from Yu Xiuying. "See? That’s her real goal. She’s still trying to play our family for suckers."

Tao Junhao could only offer a bitter smile at that. He said cautiously, "My mother and I have already decided to take both children back from the Gu family. Even if the DNA test shows that Jia Bao isn’t your family’s child, we... we’ll still take both of them back and raise them. It was my sister’s last wish, after all. She’s gone now... Besides, the Gu household is really no place for them."

"In that case, the sooner, the better. Can you bring Jia Bao out tomorrow? If you can, we’ll leave for the provincial capital tomorrow." Lin Kangshun nodded decisively, then set a time and place.

"I can. We’ll be there on time." Tao Junhao’s expression was firm. He decided he would go back to the Gu residence later and, no matter what, bring both children home that very night.

After watching Tao Junhao leave while thanking them profusely, Yu Xiuying turned to Lin Kangshun and burst into tears. "Old Lin, why are you doing this? It’s clearly impossible! Why are you listening to their nonsense?"

"But what if?" Lin Kangshun stood up, put his arm around her, and patted her back comfortingly. Where Yu Xiuying couldn’t see, his eyes filled with sorrow. News had come from the prison last month. During yard time, Lin Dong had somehow tripped, causing another person to fall and slam hard into his abdomen. He couldn’t get up for a long time. The final doctor’s examination showed that the rest of his body was fine, but that one place... that one place had been injured...