Although the man didn’t die, something seemed to have gone wrong with his mental state.
He claimed that a fox spirit had knocked him unconscious.
That fox spirit had not only bought an enormous amount of gold jewelry at the department store, but also mountains of rice, flour, grains, and cooking oil, as well as huge quantities of pork, beef, and mutton—so much that it would be enough to feed a person for an entire lifetime. And in the blink of an eye, all those things had disappeared…
After the founding of the People’s Republic, animals weren’t allowed to become spirits!
Everyone unanimously concluded that the man had been beaten stupid. He was hallucinating and talking nonsense.
No one believed a word he said.
When Gu Wan returned home, her scumbag father, stepmother, Li Mingyue, and Zhang Xiaowei were all still sitting in the living room.
The moment Li Fu-gui saw Gu Wan come back, he immediately slapped the armrest of the sofa and shouted angrily,
“You haven’t been home all day. Where have you been?”
Gu Wan found it strange. In the past, she often went shopping with her best friend and would spend the entire day out. She had never seen her scumbag father lose his temper like this.
What was wrong with him today?
Since she didn’t know what was going on, it was better to sit back and observe.
Gu Wan casually sat down on the sofa beside them.
“I went shopping with Baobao. What’s wrong?”
“Don’t lie!” Li Fu-gui slammed the armrest again.
He hit it so hard that Gu Wan wondered whether he had already bruised the palm of his hand. Judging from the way his fingers were slightly curled, it really seemed possible.
“The Feng family was taken away and sent down to the countryside this morning. Their little house has already been confiscated. How could you have gone shopping with Feng Baobao?”
So that news had already spread.
“This morning, I got a call from Baobao and went to her house to see her off. I watched her entire family being forced onto a truck. I was so upset. I didn’t know whether we’d end up in the same situation someday.”
Gu Wan began to choke up and sob softly.
“Don’t talk nonsense! Our family will never end up like that. All of your grandfather’s inheritance was left to you. It has nothing to do with us. Don’t drag us down if something happens to you.”
Gu Wan looked up at the detached house.
“Nothing to do with you? This house was part of the dowry my grandfather gave my mother. Now the four of you are living here comfortably. And you think you have nothing to do with it?”
“Even if it has anything to do with someone, it’s you. We have nothing to do with the Gu family. We’re all people with perfectly respectable backgrounds and legitimate positions.”
Li Mingyue hurriedly added that last part.
“Don’t change the subject. We’re talking about you.”
Li Fu-gui slapped the sofa armrest again, though this time the sound was clearly much softer than before. His fingers curled even more tightly, so apparently his hand was hurting more.
“What exactly did you do today?”
Gu Wan didn’t understand what they were making such a fuss about.
“Nothing. I was feeling sad, so I just went for a walk around town.”
“Just went for a walk?” Li Mingyue looked at Gu Wan mockingly. “Stop lying. Someone saw you. You were buying gold jewelry at the department store!”
Gu Wan’s heart skipped a beat.
How many people had noticed her buying gold jewelry?
She had just dealt with one person, and now another had appeared?
“Whoever said that must be talking nonsense,” Gu Wan replied casually.
Zhang Xiaowei couldn’t sit still anymore.
“My sister saw it with her own eyes. How could it be fake?”
“Your sister? Did she have nothing better to do than follow me around?”
Gu Wan asked lazily.
Zhang Xiaowei immediately became anxious.
“Who had time to follow you? My sister and her husband were shopping at the department store and happened to see you there, trying on jewelry at counter after counter. She came home and told me about it.”
“Oh? Did she actually see me buy the gold jewelry?”
“Of course! You bought a gold necklace, a bracelet, a ring, and a gold bangle in one go. Do you know how much that must have cost? My sister was so jealous that she almost started fighting with my brother-in-law…”
Zhang Xiaowei suddenly realized he had said too much and immediately shut his mouth.
Li Mingyue instantly became furious.
“Good! Gu Wan, you used my money to buy gold jewelry, and you bought so much of it! You’re outrageous!”
“Stop right there! What do you mean, your money? Where did you get any money? What does my shopping have to do with you?”
“It’s my money! The five thousand yuan I gave you—did you spend all of it on jewelry?”
“Even if I bought things, I used my own money. What business is it of yours? Why are you sticking your nose into things that don’t concern you?”
The two women continued arguing, giving Li Fu-gui an enormous headache.
“Slap!”
“Ow, ow, ow, ow—!”
He instinctively slapped the armrest again, but this time he could no longer endure the pain in his palm and cried out.
This time, it really hurt!
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward Li Fu-gui.
Realizing that everyone was staring at him, Li Fu-gui quickly hid his hand behind his back, puffed out his chest, and straightened himself up.
“Gu Wan! Do you know what you did wrong?”
Gu Wan, however, didn’t care in the slightest.
“What did I do wrong?”
“Things are already so difficult right now, yet you still went around flaunting yourself by buying gold jewelry! And you bought so much at once. Are you trying to get the whole family killed?”
Gu Wan immediately began crying pitifully.
“I didn’t mean to. But Baobao is gone, and her family had their home confiscated. They weren’t even allowed to take anything with them.”
“I thought about myself. I thought about how my grandfather’s house might also be confiscated like that, and how everything I own could disappear. My grandfather left me, Li Xiaoyu left, you all think I’m stupid and don’t like me, Xiaowei looks down on me, and now even Baobao is gone. My heart hurts so much…”
“Waaah…”
“Now I have nothing left except money. So what else can I do but use money to buy things and give myself some sense of satisfaction and security? Otherwise, what am I supposed to do?”
Gu Wan looked down at her slightly protruding belly.
“Because of this burden, Xiaowei doesn’t even like me anymore. What’s the point of me staying alive? Other than the inheritance my grandfather left me, I have nothing at all. I might as well just let the government confiscate everything. What’s the point of living anyway?”
The moment they heard this, the expressions of the others nearly twisted with anger.
If you think life is pointless, why not give the inheritance to us? Why on earth would you let the government confiscate it?
Li Fu-gui hurriedly comforted her.
“I didn’t realize that the Feng family’s being sent away had affected you this badly. We haven’t cared about you enough. That’s our fault. We’re family. We’re all in this together.”
“But just a moment ago, you said you had nothing to do with the Gu family.”
Liu Jihong hurriedly pretended to slap Li Mingyue.
“It’s all because your sister spoke without thinking. Of course we’re connected! Don’t be upset. We’re family.”
Li Mingyue quickly gave Zhang Xiaowei a meaningful look.
This was the moment when Gu Wan was at her most vulnerable.
It was the perfect opportunity for Zhang Xiaowei to take advantage of the situation.
Zhang Xiaowei immediately sat down beside Gu Wan, took her hand, and gazed at her affectionately.
“Wanwan, don’t be sad. Even if they’ve all left you, you still have me. I’ll always stay by your side.”
Then he glanced at Gu Wan’s belly.
“If you think this is a burden, then we can get rid of it and start our lives over. What do you say?”
Gu Wan looked up at Zhang Xiaowei.
“Y-You really don’t mind that I’ve been married before?”
Zhang Xiaowei gazed at Gu Wan even more tenderly.
He had noticed that ever since Gu Wan changed her makeup and clothing style, she seemed to have become more and more beautiful.
This time, he was genuinely moved.
“Of course I don’t mind. I’ll always stay by your side.”
“You two… I’m afraid you can’t be together, can you?”