"Did you hear? That boy from the Gu Family's eldest son's side has returned from the road construction crew. He looks like a wilted eggplant."

"Isn't that the truth! If you ask me, it's the daughter from the second branch who has a conscience. If it were me, I would've been hoping he'd be sent off to re-education camp long ago!"

"Who's to say otherwise! The eldest branch used to be so smug, and now? They can't even hold their heads up in the village. It's all thanks to that 'little bastard' giving them a hand. How the tides have turned!"

The rumors in the village pierced Sun Xiufen's heart one jab at a time.

After Gu Mingyuan returned, he was a completely changed person.

He was no longer lazy or glib.

He would get up before dawn every day, silently follow Gu Yanchun to work in the fields, get tanned as dark as a piece of charcoal, and wouldn't even say three sentences all day long.

Ever since their son's incident, her husband, Gu Yanchun, hadn't given her a single pleasant look. The atmosphere at home was so oppressive it made it hard to breathe.

All of this felt like a silent accusation of her failure as a mother.

What she found even more unbearable was the look of sympathy mixed with contempt from everyone in the village.

Especially when she saw Chen Xiuying leading Gu Niannian past their door, dressed in clean clothes and chatting happily, jealousy and resentment surged within her, making her feel wretched.

Why?

Why should Gu Niannian be the top student in the whole county?

Why should she be the good person, receiving everyone's praise?

Why should she be able to make her own son look like mud on the ground?

That afternoon, Sun Xiufen was in the courtyard washing the dirty clothes the family had changed out of.

As she scrubbed against the washboard, her mind was filled with the grating gossip of the neighbors and Gu Niannian's face, which was as calm and undisturbed as a still pond.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more aggrieved she felt.

What had she been after all her life?

She had worked so hard to raise a son, hoping he would bring honor to their ancestors, but he ended up becoming the laughingstock of the whole county!

She had schemed at every turn, wanting to get the upper hand over the second branch, but in the end, one of them became a college student and the other became the county's top scholar!

And herself?

In the end, she had lost both substance and face, and even her own son looked at her with a hint of resentment!

"What kind of sin have I committed—!"

As if her last thread of strength had been pulled away, Sun Xiufen stood up abruptly, grabbed the wooden basin in front of her, and smashed it hard onto the ground.

"Crash—!"

With a loud bang, the wooden basin shattered into pieces, and the murky, dirty water splashed everywhere.

"Why is my life so bitter! What is the point of me living anymore!"

Like a madwoman, she rushed to the kitchen door, grabbed the bowls and plates hanging on the wall, and threw them one by one onto the ground.

"Clang! Clang!"

The crisp sound of shattering accompanied her shrill wails, echoing throughout the entire Gu Family courtyard.

"Everyone is bullying me! Even my own son is bullying me! Oh Heavens, open your eyes and look!"

With disheveled hair, she plopped down onto the ground covered in broken porcelain, beating her chest and stamping her feet, wailing loudly.

This sudden commotion startled all the neighbors.

Chen Xiuying was in the room mending clothes for Gu Niannian. Hearing the commotion, she was startled and hurriedly ran out.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Sun Xiufen acting like a lunatic, crying and making a scene in the courtyard.

"Sister-in-law! What are you doing!"

Chen Xiuying rushed over in one stride, wanting to pull her up from the ground.

Who knew that as soon as Sun Xiufen saw her, she cried even harder, grabbing onto Chen Xiuying's leg and sobbing until she was out of breath.

"Xiuying! My good sister-in-law! Tell me, what's the point of me living!"

"I'm just a useless thing! I can't even raise my own son well!"

This was the first time Sun Xiufen had shown such a vulnerable and helpless side in front of others.

She was no longer that sharp-tongued, calculating woman,

but merely a pitiful rural woman who had been completely crushed by life.

Chen Xiuying was stunned by this sudden breakdown. For a moment, she didn't know what to say, and could only clumsily pat her on the back.

Under the eaves not far away, Gu Niannian stood quietly, taking in the whole scene.

Her heart was a jumble of mixed emotions.

She hated Sun Xiufen.

She hated the vicious things she had done to her and her father, and she hated that mouth of hers that twisted black and white.

But looking at the woman sitting on the ground, crying like a child, Gu Niannian realized that the hatred in her heart seemed... not so intense anymore.

She just felt that Sun Xiufen was very pitiful and very pathetic.

That night, on the last page of her ledger, Gu Niannian wrote a line of small text with a pencil:

"Is the Eldest Aunt a bad person? Perhaps she is just a pitiful person who is poor, panicked, and doesn't know how to love. But for every pitiful person, there is a detestable side—that's what Teacher Su Xueqing said. I don't know if I should forgive her; perhaps I never will. But I don't hate her anymore. Hating someone is too exhausting."

After writing this, Gu Niannian let out a long sigh of relief.

She felt like a heavy stone in her heart had been moved away.

Letting go does not equal forgiveness.

Not hating does not mean forgetting, either.

It was just that she had more important things to do and a brighter future to pursue.

She didn't want to waste her energy on these undeserving people anymore.

But what she didn't know was that the gears of fate had already quietly shifted.

A bigger mystery, a deeper vortex, was waiting for her just ahead.

Just when she thought she could finally shed some of the burdens of the past, an unexpected person would bring a shocking piece of news that would overturn her entire world.

"Niannian, are you... really not planning to pay any more attention to your Eldest Aunt and the others in the future?"

That night, as Chen Xiuying tucked the blanket around her, she asked softly.