Chapter 29 - You’re Qiao Qiao, From The Qiao Family?

There was a highway that connected the rural areas and city center, so there were many vehicles that would pass by the village's entrance on a daily basis. However, the way into the village was a disaster. It was not properly covered or even paved. Every time it rained, the road would turn into a muddy swamp for the next couple of days.

Ye Qiao's vehicle was unable to go any further, so she had to stop by the entrance and start walking. The first thing that she heard was Hu Siniang's voice, happily gossiping about her and her family's affairs.

"The girl is fat and hideous. How can she be the daughter of the Ye family? Maybe you haven't seen him, but Ye Shengxun is a fine-looking man. He was the one who captured the heart of every girl in the village!" Hu Siniang was not embarrassed to express her obsession with him. In fact, she was one of the many who tried to seduce Ye Shengxun.

Unfortunately for her, nothing happened.

Hu Siniang's ability to provide false accounts based on true facts was truly unrivaled. Years had passed, and yet she remained just the same. She should have taken a look at herself in the mirror first before making judgmental remarks about others. Her overweight body could be a good reminder for her to keep quiet.

Undeniably, the woman was thick-skinned. There was never a particular subject in her rounds of gossip. She could talk about anyone! She could even make frivolous remarks about a pedestrian's appearance. Meanwhile, her own daughter made a living through devious means in the city, and yet she never mentioned anything about it.

"Siniang, if Qiao Qiao isn't the daughter from the Ye family, where has she been all these years? They can't be raising a child who's not their own," the lady who answered was the second daughter-in-law from the Yao family.

"Hey, they're a generous family! Having another girl to feed is not a problem for a family that can afford a dozen maids," Hu Siniang continued to slander, with her mouth wide enough to see her yellowish teeth and her silver dental implant. She talked through her head as if she had witnessed it all in person.

While talking, she caught the sight of three visitors walking towards them from the main highway. Both the man and the woman were dressed in military uniforms. A girl walked next to them, casually dressed in a versatile athleisure outfit - white top, denim pants, and sneakers. Her hair was tied neatly into a high ponytail, which allowed her to show off her jawline and fair skin. From the way she looked, she must be a city girl.

She looked at the visitors with her eyes aglow, like she had just discovered a hidden treasure. Promptly, she went ahead to greet them.

"Which family are you here to visit?" Hu Siniang struck up a conversation with the strangers.

"Hu Siniang, don't you know me anymore? I'm Qiao Ye," Ye Qiao answered with a mirthless grin on her face. Hu Siniang clearly had a nasty shock.

All the other women were equally astounded. They got up from their bench and walked towards Ye Qiao.

"You're Qiao Qiao, from the Qiao family?" Hu Siniang gasped in astonishment at the sight of Ye Qiao. Her chubby past was all gone now. She had clearly evolved into a woman of extraordinary beauty. Panicked, Hu Siniang was reminded of the vicious comments that she had just made.

"That's me! Didn't you just talk about me a few seconds ago?" Ye Qiao responded with a sneer.

She had not been home for years, and yet the very first welcome that she had received was such slanderous gossip. Her foster parents must have suffered so much more from the baseless talk of these meddling women—especially her foster mother, who was always honest and kind. A dispute would be the very last thing that she wanted to see, so in the face of such groundless talk, she must have suffered a lot.

"Qiao, I was just… Just..." Hu Siniang stammered in embarrassment.

"Madam, Ye Qiao is certainly the daughter of the Ye family. She's loved by all, especially her grandfather. He even sent us here to keep her company during this summer visit."

"From now on, you should stop making false statements regarding someone else's private lives. If the Ye family finds out about this slander, you're going to pay for it," the woman next to Ye Qiao kindly reminded Hu Siniang of the potential consequences of her statements.

Hu Siniang began trembling.

At the same time, Ye Qiao took the opportunity to greet the rest of the women in a natural and poised manner before walking away with the swiftness of an arrow, eager to dart homeward. On her way, she met her neighbor, Zhu Danai, who she had not seen in a very long while. She was so excited that she began shedding tears of joy. The old lady was already more than 70 years of age; it had always been Ye Qiao's regret that she did not get to see her again before she died.

The old lady took a while before she was finally convinced that the girl in front of her was indeed the chubby little girl that she used to know.

"Good girl! Go home and check on your father! He's been hit by a car for more than a week now, but his legs are still pretty swollen." In a heightening tension, Zhu Danai squeezed Ye Qiao's hands firmly in hers.

Ye Qiao was panicked by Zhu Danai's statement as she did not expect that her father's injury to happen so soon.. It seemed that the timeline had been brought forward.