Chapter 229: How Is It Possible?

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: How Is It Possible?

"Dead?" Zhang Minzhen’s hands, which were kneading dough, paused. She looked at Gu Nuan Nuan in surprise. Wen Xiu and Lin Qin also gathered around and asked curiously, "For real? How did she suddenly die?"

"It’s true. She jumped into the well herself. They hadn’t pulled her out by the time I left, so I didn’t know what had happened to her then."

Gu Nuan Nuan recounted what she had seen at the Gu family home at noon, focusing on how Tao Jianren had shrieked about the mother and son conspiring to make her wake up early, and her claim that Gu Jiabao might not be a child of the Gu family.

"This afternoon, Second Uncle went to the school himself to pick up the brother and sister, and he even asked their teacher for several days of leave for them. It happened to be break time between classes, and when Second Uncle saw me, he pulled me aside to complain that Grandpa had insisted he be the one to go. The house is in total chaos. Tao Jianren’s mother and brother are still arguing endlessly with Grandma and Dad. The four of them just shout and shout. The Tao family insists on taking the two kids, but Grandma and Dad refuse... They’re all so caught up in their own argument that they’re not dealing with any of the important matters. If it weren’t for Grandpa, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, and some helpful neighbors making arrangements, I’m not even sure if the memorial hall could be set up by tomorrow."

"My goodness... I never would have thought that mother-son duo, Chen Suxiang and Gu Lihui, could be so cruel." Wen Xiu shook her head and sighed. She looked at Zhang Minzhen, feeling another wave of relief. "It’s a good thing you divorced him. Otherwise, if you were the one caught up in this, the heartache would have killed me."

"Mom, you’re overthinking it. How could something like this happen to Minzhen?" Lin Qin, who was standing to the side, disagreed with her mother-in-law. "This isn’t the old days, where a daughter-in-law is sold to her husband’s family. It’s only them—both sides are one of a kind. Just think about it, if this happened in any other family, would the daughter-in-law’s own family just stand by and watch? Far from standing up for their daughter, would they be so eager to send her right back to be mistreated?"

"My sister-in-law is right. The Tao family’s behavior is really strange. Most people would have jumped in to defend their daughter long ago, but they seemed to be pushing her toward her death, as if they didn’t want her to live. Could they really have been that afraid of their daughter getting divorced again? Is saving face really that important? More important than a person’s life?" Zhang Minzhen had also identified the crux of the issue, shaking her head in confusion.

"Exactly! The Tao family is definitely weird. They didn’t stand up for their own daughter when she was alive, and they weren’t in a hurry to save her after she jumped in the well. But now, they’re acting like they valued her so much, treating her words like a royal decree. I mean, who does that? The kids’ own father, grandfather, and grandmother are still around, yet the maternal grandmother and uncle are insisting on taking the children away?" Wen Xiu couldn’t figure it out at first, then it dawned on her. "Could it be because they have a guilty conscience? So they’re deliberately acting this way to make people overlook what they did before and feel sorry for them instead?"

"Mom, you know, you’ve got a point." Lin Qin thought about it and agreed with her mother-in-law. Zhang Minzhen considered it as well and shook her head. "Neither side is any good. Neither deserves any sympathy."

"You can say that again! Aren’t they both just terrible? They’re all completely selfish people who only think of themselves. If the Tao family really does take that brother and sister, their lives might be a little better. If not, after this whole drama Tao Jianren caused, I’m afraid even the boy will have a hard time from now on. The Gu family is so suspicious; I can’t believe Tao Jianren didn’t realize that. What was she even thinking? What normal person would actually believe what she said?" Wen Xiu clicked her tongue. ’A pair of fraternal twins with two different fathers... How could Tao Jianren even say something like that? Was she trying to threaten them by jumping in the well, thinking that with so many people around, she’d be pulled out quickly? And then she could use the opportunity to get her son and daughter back into the Lin family, and follow them over to enjoy a life of comfort?’

Wen Xiu’s head started to ache from thinking about it. ’I just don’t get what Tao Jianren was thinking.’

’Heh. In any case, she didn’t believe something so preposterous. She figured the Lin family would just treat Tao Jianren’s words as a joke.’

She couldn’t help but scoff, "What on earth was Tao Jianren thinking? She knew her own family was unreliable and the Gu family was suspicious, yet she still said that in the end. Now she’s taken the easy way out by dying, but instead of helping her son, she’s completely screwed him over."

Lin Qin grabbed a handful of flour, sprinkled it on the board, placed the dough on top, and continued kneading. "I don’t think it’s possible either. Minzhen, what do you think?" She nudged Zhang Minzhen, who was also focused on kneading her dough, with her shoulder. Before Zhang Minzhen could answer, she laughed. "Who cares if she was helping her son or screwing him over? That brother and sister aren’t any good either. Don’t you all remember how they used to bully our Nuannuan? If they hadn’t lost the Lin family’s power to back them up, and if our Nuannuan wasn’t so clever, they’d probably still be bullying her right now. Whatever happens to them in the future, they deserve it. They’re not worthy of any sympathy at all."

"I kind of hope it’s possible," Zhang Minzhen said. "That way, Gu Lihui would be without a son again. And if the Lin family takes the daughter back too, wouldn’t that be even more of a show? In any case, even if that brother and sister go back to the Lin family, they won’t be able to bully Nuannuan at school anymore." Zhang Minzhen’s words made Wen Xiu and Lin Qin laugh again. "Haha, that’s right."

Gu Nuan Nuan had been listening quietly the whole time. Suddenly, she interjected, "Mom was actually right. Gu Jiabao and Gu Jiayi really don’t have the same father. I can feel that Gu Jiabao has no relation to me at all."

HUH???

Wen Xiu, Lin Qin, and Zhang Minzhen stared at Gu Nuan Nuan, their mouths agape and their expressions filled with utter confusion. "How is that possible?" they asked in unison.

「...」

"How is this possible? How could this be possible..." ’Jiabao is really a child of the Lin family?’ Holding the test results, Lin Kangshun’s hands couldn’t stop trembling. His face showed elation at first, then deep suspicion. His voice trembled as well as he chased after the doctor. "Doctor, is this real? Could there have been a mistake?"

"And why would it be impossible? To ensure accuracy, we had two separate teams perform the analysis." Faced with such doubt, the doctor’s expression instantly turned cold. He flicked his hand dismissively and walked away.

"Doctor, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just... it’s just that this child’s situation is very unusual. He has a twin sister, and although we haven’t done a DNA test for her, her blood type already confirmed she’s not a child of our Lin family. This business about twins having two different fathers is just... it’s just too much for me to..."