Huo Yunxuan’s eyes reddened with anger at the gossip from the aunties. He turned to go back and argue, but Wen Chuxia stopped him. “Eighth Brother, what do you want to say to them?”
“……” Huo Yunxuan was momentarily speechless. He didn’t know how to defend himself.
He had never encountered a situation where people pointed fingers at him openly, but he was furious nonetheless.
“Eighth Brother, everyone is just bored and wants to gossip. If this were someone else’s family matter, wouldn’t you also want to chime in with a few words?”
After Wen Chuxia asked, she saw the crimson fade from the young man’s eyes, his face clearly thinking, I might actually want to say a few words.
She had long realized that this stepbrother of hers wasn’t as complicated as he seemed.
She continued, “They’re jealous because Uncle Huo is too outstanding. They all want their relatives to marry him.
But he married my mother, who comes from a less favorable background, which makes them resentful. They just want to belittle us, mother and daughter.
Besides, what they’re saying isn’t even true. You saw with your own eyes that my sister doesn’t want to remarry into your family with our mother. How could there be any competition between sisters?
If you tell them the truth, they won’t believe you. Instead, they’ll gossip even more fiercely. Why bother wasting your energy arguing with them?”
Wen Chuxia’s voice was soft and gentle, like a spring breeze brushing against the face or a mountain stream flowing gently, enough to stir Huo Yunxuan’s protective instincts.
Huo Yunxuan felt as if all the blood in his body rushed to his head, only to recede in an instant, leaving nothing but heartache.
“Eighth Brother, don’t be angry. If it’s just one person gossiping, it’s easy to solve—argue with them or even give them a beating, and it might be over.
But if a hundred people, or even more, are gossiping, fists won’t solve the problem!”
“Xiaxia, then how do we solve it?” Huo Yunxuan blurted out, eager to know.
“Well, this is something you can only understand intuitively, not explain in words. Today, with these slap marks on my face, I’m not very convincing. You’ll find out in the future.”
Wen Chuxia spoke mysteriously, already having thought of a solution.
In her previous life, every day after moving to the countryside was spent enduring others’ pointing fingers.
But she never fought back. Back then, she was truly patient. In this life, she would never tolerate such idle gossip again.
Although it wouldn’t affect much, it was like a toad crawling on your foot—it doesn’t bite, but it’s disgusting!
Not far away, Huo Tieniu inadvertently caught a glimpse of the murderous intent in Wen Chuxia’s eyes. He was momentarily shocked, wondering where his stepdaughter had acquired such an aura.
Even though it was just a fleeting glance, the palpable killing intent made even him, a veteran who had fought bandits, feel a chill.
When he stopped to take a closer look, all he saw was his curious son and his demure stepdaughter getting along harmoniously. He felt a wave of relief.
Huo Yunxuan, being young, couldn’t hide his curiosity. With a hint of flattery, he asked, “Xiaxia, could you give me just a little hint?”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes, very much.”
“Then I’ll tell you a little, and you can figure out the rest.”
“Great, great! Xiaxia, tell me quickly. If it really works, I’ll listen to you from now on.”
Seeing Huo Yunxuan easily promise to obey her in the future just to satisfy his curiosity, Wen Chuxia once again felt that this young man was simple-minded.
He was worlds apart from the image Wen Yuyan had described, where she claimed the Huo family despised capitalists.
Yet Uncle Huo only protected her mother, completely disregarding how others looked down on her, snubbed her, made things difficult for her, or even humiliated and persecuted her.
Being able to make her clever, sweet-talking sister suffer a setback, she had already imagined in her previous life that the Huo family members were not easy to deal with.
Huo Yunxuan, this particular “lamp,” was easily subdued by her, and Wen Chuxia’s sense of accomplishment multiplied.
She said with a smile, “Eighth Brother, look back. When Uncle Huo walked past the crowd we just passed, holding my mother’s hand, those gossipy aunties instantly fell silent. Not only did they not utter any idle chatter, but they didn’t even ask a normal question. Do you know why?”
“I know. They’re all afraid of my dad because my dad…” Huo Yunxuan suddenly stopped speaking.
After a long while, he said dejectedly, “Xiaxia, I’m sorry. It’s Eighth Brother’s fault for being useless and letting you suffer grievances!”
“It’s not really suffering grievances. If anything, I’m the one who dragged Eighth Brother into this.” There were some things Wen Chuxia didn’t say aloud—actions spoke louder than words.
Huo Yunxuan was seething inside, his steps growing slower and slower, while Huo Tieniu, holding Liu Cuihua’s hand, drew closer and closer to them.
Wen Chuxia only received unfriendly glances from others and no longer heard a single word.
As they neared the entrance of the Huo family courtyard, Wen Chuxia simply stopped and waited for Huo Tieniu and the other person. “Eighth Brother, you go in first. I’ll wait for my mother.”
Huo Yunxuan gave the pitiful girl a deep look, thinking she was afraid. He said considerately, “Xiaxia, don’t be afraid. Everyone in our family is very nice.”
“With Eighth Brother here, I’m not afraid. I’ll walk ahead. You’re carrying things, so it’s inconvenient for you to open the door. Let me carry them.”
As she spoke, Wen Chuxia stepped forward and reached out both hands to take the two mesh bags from Huo Yunxuan.
“Xiaxia, if you want to walk ahead, come in first.” Without much thought, Huo Yunxuan turned around, pushed open the large iron gate outside the courtyard, and called out to Wen Chuxia.
“Okay.” Wen Chuxia responded loudly but “accidentally” bumped into Huo Yunxuan, causing him to stumble inside.
What greeted him was a bucket of cold water.
“Ah—” Huo Yunxuan screamed as the water drenched him.
“Eighth Brother—why is it you?” A female voice even more surprised than Huo Yunxuan’s came from the courtyard.
The moment he heard his ninth sister’s voice, Huo Yunxuan understood—she was the one playing a prank, deliberately targeting his newly arrived stepsister.
He rolled up his sleeves and angrily demanded, “Ninth Sister, so it was you who wanted to mess with Xiaxia? You’re so immature!”
“Eighth Brother, what does ‘Xiaxia’ mean?” Huo Mingzhu asked, her eyes wide with innocent confusion.
“Xiaxia is Wen Chuxia, and she’s also my stepsister! Who told you to prank her?” Huo Yunxuan roared in anger.
He tried to shake the water off his head, his disheveled appearance making him look somewhat fierce, which frightened Huo Mingzhu into stepping back repeatedly.
“Eighth Brother, you’re scaring me like this. Didn’t we say earlier that the one coming with Third Aunt was Wen Yuyan?” Huo Mingzhu asked timidly.
She couldn’t say it was Tenth Sister Li Yixuan’s idea, because Yixuan was the stepdaughter of the eldest aunt-in-law, who wanted to put Third Uncle’s newly arrived stepdaughter in her place.
Although she didn’t agree with it, she hadn’t opposed it either.
It was only because her brothers had investigated and found that Wen Yuyan not only was lazy and gluttonous at home but also often bullied her own sister, Wen Chuxia.
But now, the person coming to their home was Wen Chuxia, the one often bullied by her brother and sister. This made her feel a sudden pang of guilt.
She hurried over to Wen Chuxia and said, “Xiaxia, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you who was coming.”
“It’s alright,” Wen Chuxia said, hunching her shoulders. In her past life, she had heard Wen Yuyan mention that this scene would unfold today.
If this bucket of cold water had been poured on her, Huo Yunxuan might have been angry, but his fury would have been far less intense than experiencing it firsthand.
“Sorry? Can that heal the harm you’ve caused her?” Huo Yunxuan asked fiercely.