Chapter 303: Spreading Rumors and Causing Trouble

The people around watching the commotion all looked at Su Ruo and her with gossipy eyes, but Su Ruo completely ignored them, she took An'an's hand and left; there was no need for her to explain anything to these people.

But An'an stood there unmoving; Su Ruo looked at her puzzled, and An'an smiled and said, "Mom, before it was always you protecting me; now it's my turn to protect you."

After saying that, An'an gently broke free from Su Ruo's hand, walked up to the crowd, and with a stern expression said:

"Since you're so curious about my identity, I'll tell you: I'm an orphan. My parents, grandparents, and even my dad and mom all died in the earthquake. It was Su Ruo's mother who saved me; if it weren't for her, I would have died long ago."

"My mother not only saved me; after learning I had no one to rely on, she adopted me. Although she was still very young herself, just a child, she did many things to give me a better life."

"So, in my heart, my mother Su Ruo is the greatest mother in the world—she heals the sick and saves lives, a doctor and a hero!"

"I will not allow anyone to hurt her!"

After saying that, An'an looked at Su Ruo and said, "I know Mom doesn't want to explain because she's worried those rumors will hurt me."

"But now I've grown up; the words of those irrelevant people don't bother me at all."

"I only need to know that Mom loves me; whether we're biologically related or not, it won't affect her love for me, nor my love for her."

"I don't want my existence to be a burden to Mom, nor do I want her to face criticism because of me."

"Saying these words doesn't sadden me, but if my existence becomes a reason for others to attack Mom, I would feel terrible."

Su Ruo reached out and gently rubbed An'an's hair; her daughter had grown up, so sensible it made one's heart ache.

Upon hearing An'an's words, the crowd fell instantly silent as if not even a sparrow could be heard; no one expected that this pretty little girl before them would have such a tragic background.

Moreover, no one expected that Su Ruo, who looked cold and aloof, actually had such a kind heart, and at such a young age had already adopted a daughter.

One must remember that this is a child, not a kitten or puppy; in this day and age, everyone knows raising a child brings enormous pressure to a family.

What's more, Su Ruo isn't married yet; one can imagine she would face even more criticism for this, and even her own marriage prospects could be affected, yet she still chose to do so, and she has raised the girl admirably.

Just this one deed made many people feel ashamed; thinking back to how they had just been gawking at the spectacle, everyone present lowered their heads in embarrassment.

But there are always some people who can't stand seeing others do good; they not only refuse to acknowledge others' kindness, but with their own malicious, selfish hearts they think everyone in the world is just like them.

Take, for example, the woman in front of us; hearing An'an's words, she sneered and said, "You believe whatever this little girl says—she and her friends are obviously in cahoots, of course they'd speak up for Su Ruo."

"What adopted daughter? Which unmarried girl would go around adopting a daughter? You're just making up these stories to fool people here!"

"Maybe you yourself did something shameful, got pregnant young, had a kid and don't want to admit it, so you cooked up this lie to fool a three‑year‑old!"

The woman finished speaking and still sneered, pursing her lips.

But the next second she couldn't laugh anymore; Su Ruo slapped her hard across the face with a resounding slap.

"If your mouth stinks, go wash it with water, but you're spouting filth here—no one will put up with you."

The woman was instantly dazed by the slap; it took her a while to come to, then she angrily lunged at Su Ruo, reaching out as if she wanted to scratch Su Ruo's face.

But before she could get close to Su Ruo, Su Ruo kicked her in the stomach; she stumbled back two or three meters, fell to sitting on the ground, and immediately felt as if her tailbone were broken.

The woman still wanted to struggle forward, but Song Jingyu stepped forward, shielding Su Ruo behind him, and looked at the woman with eyes as cold as ice.

The woman knew that with Song Jingyu protecting her, it was nearly impossible for her to hit Su Ruo today.

She simply stopped struggling, plopped down on the ground and wailed, "Heavens! Someone's been beaten to death—is there any justice left? This little slut did something bad and won't let anyone talk about it."

The woman's wailing was pitiful, but no one at the scene felt sympathy for her, after all, everyone had just heard what she said.

Those words were so vicious that no one could tolerate them; using such talk to slander an unmarried young girl, this beating she got was completely deserved.

The woman saw that she had been crying for a long while and everyone around just watched, with not a single person trying to persuade her; her anger grew even stronger, and her wailing became louder.

At that moment, an elderly woman in the crowd finally couldn't take it anymore, stepped forward and said, "I'm telling you, Wang Family, you'd better stop wailing here."

"'What you said deserved the beating; this is also because Doctor Su is resolute and didn't take your words to heart. If she were thin‑skinned, hearing you say that she might have already jumped into the river. If you're responsible for a death, even your family will be implicated.'"

This elderly woman is the mother of a military‑district‑political‑committee official; in this compound she carries some weight, and everyone present should give her a bit of respect.

Sure enough, upon hearing the elderly woman's words, the woman instantly stopped crying, because she suddenly remembered that her husband still had to work under Song Jingyu.

"'Just now I was only thinking about gossip and being nasty to Su Ruo, and I even forgot something this important. If Song Jingyu bears a grudge because of this, or takes the opportunity to give her husband a hard time, she might very well be beaten to death by her own husband.'"

The woman realized this, immediately shrank her neck in fear, dared not cause any more trouble, worried that if the matter blew up it would alarm her husband, and then she'd surely get a beating.

Some people are just like that—they only bully those weaker than themselves, but when faced with someone stronger who is the aggressor, they don't dare to resist.

Seeing that the woman didn't dare to speak anymore, Su Ruo and her companions turned and left directly; people like that aren't worth wasting their time on.

After Su Ruo and her group left, others also drifted away one by one, leaving only the woman alone at the scene; after a long while she reluctantly got up and left, unwilling but resigned.

As she walked, the woman silently cursed these people for being heartless, "Just go on then! You don't even know to lend a hand!"

The woman had just walked into a secluded corner when a sudden figure appeared and blocked her path.

The woman was startled, almost crying out, but upon seeing the newcomer's face she forced herself to stay silent.