The gossip of these people reached the ears of Gu Jin and An Mingji.
The former didn’t care and didn’t take it to heart.
An Mingji couldn’t bear those remarks; his hands began to clench, and his whole body trembled.
Noticing his distress, Gu Jin quickly stopped, squatted down, and held his hands, gently asking, "What’s wrong?"
Facing his bloodshot eyes, Gu Jin felt a sense of pity: "Don’t listen to them. I know you’re a good kid, don’t be afraid."
With clenched teeth, An Mingji spoke in grievance: "I didn’t..."
Thinking of everything he experienced at Liu Lao’er’s home made him tremble uncontrollably.
"I believe you, An. If you say you didn’t, then you didn’t." Gu Jin embraced him, coldly sweeping her eyes over the women who spoke earlier.
The plump woman in the middle felt uneasy under Gu Jin’s gaze and spoke disdainfully: "Xiao Jin, it’s useless to glare at me. Everyone knows he’s an ingrate. We kindly took him in, but he showed no gratitude, stealing food and even beating our kid!"
"Yes, Liu Lao’er’s kid had his ear split by him."
"It’s a sin..."
Others echoed in response.
In the past, An Mingji didn’t care about how these people gossiped and didn’t bother to explain.
But now, he didn’t want Sister A Jin to misunderstand him.
With red eyes, An Mingji stared at those people and coldly said, "I didn’t steal food; they hit me!"
Unfortunately, no one believed him.
Gu Jin held the child’s hand, stood up, and looked at the plump woman in the middle, speaking bluntly: "Auntie Liu, if I recall correctly, you think the food given to Grandma Liu is too much, even the bran and cold rice. Treating your mother-in-law like that, would you really be kind enough to take in little An?"
The plump woman was Liu Lao’er’s wife.
The bad reputation of An Mingji as a little wolf cub spread after the village layabout, Liu Lao’er, took him in for a few days. Then rumors spread that he stole food and beat Liu Family’s child, Liu Dapeng.
But she believed there was more to the story.
Liu Lao’er’s wife was displeased with Gu Jin’s retort. Her husband was the village scoundrel, and she wasn’t much better.
Anger showing on her face, she shouted, "You’re talking nonsense! It was our Dapeng who saw this ingrate pitiful and took him home for dinner. But he, ungrateful, stole food and beat our Dapeng when caught—what else could he be but an ingrate!"
"Ha!" Gu Jin sneered, "Everyone in the village knows what your kid is like—a bully who often steals food from other kids, a cowardly thing! Let’s gather all the village kids and see if they were bullied or had their food stolen by him. Giving An a pity meal at home? How big is your face? Aren’t you afraid the wind will blow and snap your tongue!"
As the confrontation continued, those in the yard were drawn to the commotion and gathered to watch.
Hearing Gu Jin’s words, someone couldn’t help but laugh.
Liu Lao’er’s wife’s face sank, though she knew her son’s nature well, she wasn’t willing to have it exposed.
Hands on her hips, ready for a fight, she retorted, "Who do you think you’re talking about? You’re the shameless one, you’re the cowardly one. Look at yourself in a puddle of piss, you’re nothing but a bastard without a clear father, filthy hoof, thinking highly of yourself..."