Chapter 263
Chapter 263: In the End, We Were Too Naive
“People say even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs, but some people’s hearts are scarier than any wild beast.”
Du An Rao glanced at her lightly, and a trace of admiration showed in her eyes.
[This Auntie is practically speaking for me. She is so right! Some people do not deserve to be called parents. Ending up hated by everyone like this is exactly what she brought on herself.]
Madam Kou saw the changes on everyone’s faces and really could not stand the way they were looking at her. Ashamed and angry, she snapped: “What use is it for a girl to read so many books? Getting married early, having children, and running the household is what really matters.”
“She gets married, the family saves the cost of feeding her, and we can use that eighty thousand yuan bride price to help her brother go to college. When her brother becomes successful and finds a way out for himself, she will have someone to rely on too, right? It was a good thing that killed many birds with one stone. I did nothing wrong!”
The Du family already had two daughters. Hearing what Madam Kou said, they only felt disgusted, and their faces turned very ugly.
Auntie in Yellow curled her lips and muttered under her breath: “Your eldest son may be successful, but how come he never lends a hand when his brothers are in trouble?”
“Who said he did not help?” Madam Kou instinctively refuted, making everyone pause in surprise.
Just when they thought they had misjudged him and that this eldest son still had some conscience, Du An Rao casually shattered their illusion.
“True, he did put up the money. But it was a loan. Oh, and he charged interest.”
Everyone: “…”
In the end, we really were too naive.
“E-even if that is the case, he still took out real money to help. Unlike some people, who cannot squeeze out a single cent no matter how much they talk.”
Du Yu Xi gave her a complicated look and reminded her: “Maybe you have heard of something called a student loan?”
“What?” Madam Kou frowned, her tone already turning nasty.
Du Yu Xi did not care: “What I mean is, since you were going to borrow money anyway, it would have been better to apply for that loan from the school. You would still owe money, but at least you would not have to pay interest for the first few years. That is much better than settling accounts with a blood-related brother like a stranger.”
Everyone: “…”
Was that what “settling accounts clearly among brothers” was supposed to mean?
Madam Kou’s face turned dark, but she still refused to admit she was wrong. Instead she shoved all the blame onto the daughter she hated and resented.
“If it were not for that ungrateful little slut, how would the two brothers have ended up like this? That cripple may be older, but older men know how to dote on people. His parents are already gone, and there are no elders above him. If she married into that family, she would have countless good days waiting for her. But she just did not know how blessed she was…”
At first, everyone did not react to who she was scolding. Only when they heard the rest did they realize she was talking about her own biological daughter.
A mother who opens her mouth and closes it by calling her own daughter a slut really opened their eyes.
Seeing that she was still so stubborn and rotten to the core, Du An Rao could not help getting truly angry. She sneered and said: “If he is so good, why did you not marry him yourself? You are a widow, he is single. The two of you are a perfect match.”
“Exactly, exactly. When your third son was about to go to college, your little daughter was only a few years old. A man in his thirties could be her father. He is much more suited to you as a husband.”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up! What do you know? You people know nothing…”
“I really do not understand how people like you think, but there are some things I do know. For example, that old pervert is a beast. He is lazy and greedy, eats, drinks, visits prostitutes, gambles, and likes to beat his family. He used to keep a child bride at home. Before she even grew up enough to marry him properly, he tormented her to death.”
“Later he used the fact that outsiders did not know his true nature to trick a girl who had fallen on hard times into coming back with him. He treated her like a nanny, and on top of that, he beat and scolded her at every turn, leaving her covered in bruises.”
Here, Du An Rao paused for a moment: “Do you know how his leg became crippled? That girl was overly naive and easy to trick, but her family was not easy to mess with. That leg of his was broken by her family when they came to rescue her.”
“As for this nonsense about how it was good that there were no elders above him, that is even funnier. His parents were both literally angered to death by him.”
As soon as Du An Rao finished, everyone around them sucked in a breath of cold air. What kind of “good match” was that? He was pure scum.
“I know these things. Do you know them?” Du An Rao stared straight into Madam Kou’s eyes, which were darting around in panic, and smiled lightly. “From the look of it, you do know. Even so, you still think he is a match your daughter could not find even if she carried a lantern to look for one.”
By now, Auntie in Yellow had moved far away from Madam Kou and even secretly spat in her direction a couple of times to show her disgust and contempt.
“So what happened to her daughter later? They did not get what they wanted, did they?”
Earlier they had mentioned that the third son’s tuition had been paid by the eldest son in the end, still in the form of a debt.
But Auntie still did not feel at ease. She could not help asking Du An Rao again to confirm.
“Before the wedding, her daughter escaped with the help of the second son. After that she cut off all contact with the family. Only a few years ago did she reconnect with her second brother. Now she is married to her first love, who is also a teacher. They have a daughter, her career is going well, her marriage is happy, and her family life is warm and peaceful.” She has completely shaken off the influence of her original family.
“That is good, that is good.” Auntie patted her chest in relief.
Outsiders could still worry and feel bad for a pitiful child they had never even met, but the people who brought her into this world wanted nothing more than to push her into the fire. Sometimes the things that happened in this world were just that absurd and laughable.
Du An Rao glanced at Auntie, then looked over at Madam Kou in the distance.
On Madam Kou’s face, there was no sign of joy or excitement at hearing her daughter’s current situation. There was only unwillingness and hatred at having her mask ripped off.
“Your eldest son did not let you down. He had excellent grades and strong abilities. As soon as he graduated, he entered a big company and became an executive. In just one year, he made quite a name for himself and caught the boss’s attention, so the boss married his own daughter to him.”
“But you spoiled him until he became selfish and self-centered. He takes all your kindness as something he deserves by right. The young miss he married is even more spoiled and willful. She does not treat you, her mother-in-law, as anyone important at all. In their home you are basically a servant. You do not even have a room of your own and can only squeeze into the storage room under the stairs.”
No one had expected the plot to turn like this so suddenly. They all looked at Madam Kou again in unison, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction, like watching one villain meet another.
“That son who is so ‘filial’ just stood there and watched, not lifting a finger, letting his wife bully his own mother?”
Auntie was only asking out of pure curiosity. She had no intention of sticking up for Madam Kou.
Of course, Du An Rao could see that. She smiled faintly and said: “His father-in-law is not just his father-in-law. He is also his direct supervisor, the boss of the company. When your livelihood depends on someone like that, it is not so easy to do anything.”