After sending Da Hu away, Xu Cuihua had left the original Gu Xiaoxiao lying on the ground, barely alive. Only then did she call the Gu family over.
Xu Cuihua had truly intended to kill her.
Gu Xiaoxiao hadn’t even gone looking for her yet, and now she had delivered herself right to the doorstep?
When Old Madam Gu heard someone in the crowd say that, she immediately exploded.
“Who said that?! Who was it?!”
The villagers looked around as well.
The voice had been Xu Cuihua’s, but she had deliberately altered it, so no one could tell who had spoken.
Unable to find the culprit, Old Madam Gu angrily shouted,
“So you dare to speak but not show yourself? Fine! You’d better hope I never find out who you are, or I’ll make sure you regret it!”
Then she turned to Gu Xiaoxiao, and her expression instantly softened.
“Xiaoxiao, let’s go home.”
Da Hu’s mother still wanted to stop them, but one look from Old Madam Gu made her back away.
“If any of you ever try to drive my Xiaoxiao out again, see whether I’ll fight you all to the death!”
None of the villagers dared stop her.
Everyone knew that when it came to Gu Xiaoxiao, Old Madam Gu was absolutely capable of doing exactly that.
Seeing how timid the villagers were and that no one dared block their way, Xu Cuihua rolled her eyes.
Looks like she would have to do it herself.
Seeing that Gu Xiaoxiao was about to enter the house, Xu Cuihua immediately ran forward, crying dramatically.
“Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao, you’re awake!
I’ve been so worried about you these past few days. Since you woke up, why haven’t you come to see me?”
Gu Xiaoxiao allowed Old Madam Gu to pull her away.
Just as they were about to enter the house, Xu Cuihua grabbed her.
Old Madam Gu had never liked Xu Cuihua.
She knew all the gossip in the village.
Xu Cuihua spent every day with Xiaoxiao, yet somehow maintained an excellent reputation. Old Madam Gu simply didn’t believe it.
However, because Xiaoxiao genuinely considered Xu Cuihua her only friend, she had restrained herself from losing her temper.
“Xiaoxiao, I was worried sick about you these past few days. When I saw you hit your head, I was terrified.
You’re not blaming me and refusing to tell me you’d recovered, are you?”
The moment Xu Cuihua said those words, it made Gu Xiaoxiao seem unreasonable.
Sure enough, whispers immediately spread through the crowd.
“It wasn’t Cuihua’s fault. Why should Xiaoxiao blame her?”
“Exactly. I’m so tired of Gu Xiaoxiao’s temper. Whenever something doesn’t go her way, she blames Cuihua.”
“She wasn’t the one who pushed Gu Xiaoxiao. Why take it out on her?”
“Cuihua is such a kind person. When Gu Xiaoxiao got hurt, Cuihua was the one who informed the Gu family. Otherwise she’d probably already be—”
“Shh! Don’t say that. If the Gu family hears you, they’ll tear you apart.”
The voices were low and fragmented, but Gu Xiaoxiao heard every word.
Trying to play the role of the good person in front of me again, huh?
This time, I’m afraid I can’t let you have your way.
She shook Xu Cuihua’s hand off and looked at her calmly.
Xu Cuihua was startled.
Gu Xiaoxiao had never treated her like this before.
Is she really angry this time?
But then she thought it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The more Gu Xiaoxiao acted this way, the more everyone would see Xu Cuihua as kind and innocent.
Gu Xiaoxiao would simply remain her foil.
So what if she’s loved by her family?
She’s still completely under my control.
What Xu Cuihua was truly worried about was whether Gu Xiaoxiao had seen what happened that day.
That was why she had come today—to test her.
Gu Xiaoxiao ignored her entirely.
Since Xu Cuihua wanted to keep acting, she could continue acting.
Instead, Gu Xiaoxiao walked up to Da Hu’s mother and bowed deeply.
The woman was so startled that she stumbled backward several steps.
Old Madam Gu and the others behind Gu Xiaoxiao were equally stunned.
Before anyone could react, Gu Xiaoxiao spoke solemnly.
“Aunt Li, please apologize to Da Hu for me.
I shouldn’t have stolen his steamed bun.”
Then she turned and bowed deeply to all the villagers.
“I’m sorry, everyone.
I was too willful before.
This brush with death made me realize how terrible my behavior was.
I could hear my family crying beside my bed, begging me to wake up.
When I was standing on the edge between life and death, I swore that if I survived, I would turn over a new leaf and become a better person.
I hope you can give me a chance.
From now on, I absolutely won’t do the foolish things I used to do.”
The villagers looked at one another in confusion.
No one knew what had gotten into Gu Xiaoxiao.
Is this some new trick she came up with to torment people?
Yet she seemed completely sincere.
When Old Madam Gu saw her beloved granddaughter humbling herself and apologizing to everyone, while they just stood there silently, she became furious.
“Well? Say something!
My Xiaoxiao hasn’t done anything wrong! You’ve already pushed her this far—what more do you want?”
The villagers had no desire to argue with Old Madam Gu.
After all, they had come today because of Da Hu’s mother.
One after another, they turned to look at her.
“I… well… as long as you don’t do those things anymore, then I forgive you.”
Da Hu’s mother looked at Gu Xiaoxiao.
Her demeanor was completely different from before.
The arrogant and domineering attitude was gone.
Maybe she truly had changed after her near-death experience.
The current Gu Xiaoxiao carried herself with a calm and natural confidence that made people want to believe her.
Gu Xiaoxiao nodded.
“Thank you.”
The old Gu Xiaoxiao would never have said thank you.
Getting cursed at would have been more likely.
Then her expression changed.
Looking around at everyone, she asked,
“Now that this matter is settled, can someone tell me why you all came to my house to make trouble and why you wanted to drive me out?”
According to the memories she had inherited, although Gu Xiaoxiao had been arrogant and unreasonable, the villagers were generally kind-hearted people.
No matter how angry they were, they wouldn’t normally go so far as to expel someone from the village.
Someone had clearly been stirring things up behind the scenes.
The crowd froze at her sudden change in attitude.
Again, everyone looked toward Da Hu’s mother.
She also realized she had acted impulsively earlier.
Remembering Gu Xiaoxiao’s sincere apology, she now felt somewhat guilty.
Before she could explain, Xu Cuihua quickly interrupted.
“Xiaoxiao, what’s gotten into you?
Aunt Li definitely didn’t mean anything by it.
Since you’ve already apologized, you should just go home and rest.
I’m sure Aunt Li won’t try to drive you away anymore.”
Xu Cuihua was sweating nervously.
What happened to Gu Xiaoxiao?
Why has she suddenly become like this?
She actually apologized to people!
And these villagers—
Had they forgotten how Gu Xiaoxiao used to treat them?
How could they forgive her so easily?