Xiao Mandong saw the expressions on Xiao Zhenyu and Li Fengmei's faces and knew that her guess was probably right.
After the initial shock, Xiao Zhenyu quickly calmed himself down. As long as he refused to admit it, no one could do anything to him. "Sister, you're my real sister. When did you become so suspicious that you even doubt my background?"
The sarcasm on Xiao Mandong's face was obvious. "Your real sister is Wang Yuanyuan. Stop pretending to have a deep sibling bond with me. You wrote to me before because I had a job and a salary, so you could ask me for money, right? You didn't reply to Xiao Manxue because you knew she was sent to the countryside and had no money to give you. You couldn't get any benefits from her. You're really just like your real mother, a shallow and materialistic thing."
"Young man, you're in the wrong here. After all, you're siblings. How can you only get close to the one with money?" an auntie couldn't help but scold Xiao Zhenyu after hearing Xiao Mandong's words.
Her younger brother was just like this. Since her younger sister married into a family in the city and had a better life than her, he tried his best to curry favor with her and never visited her during festivals. He was really a snob.
People around also started to chime in. "Tsk tsk... Who says it isn't? This young man is so mercenary at such a young age. You can't make friends with such a person..."
Xiao Zhenyu's face turned red with anger from what the people around him said. It was indeed for this reason that he didn't write to Xiao Manxue. But he didn't think he was wrong. Didn't it cost money to send a letter? You also had to buy an envelope and a stamp. There was no way he was going to spend money and just listen to her complaining. Why should he?
Xiao Zhenyu clenched his fists so tightly that they made cracking sounds. He was just a baby when he was swapped. Even if the truth was like this, Xiao Mandong shouldn't have blamed all the mistakes on him, right? Although he had enjoyed the comfortable living conditions of the Xiao family, he was also affected after the Xiao family was sent to the countryside. Now, some people still said he was the capitalist's son. Thinking of this, Xiao Zhenyu's tone became a bit colder.
"Sister, how can you talk like this? Even if what you said is true, I'm also innocent, aren't I? We should go to our mother and ask for an explanation about what happened back then. We can't just rely on your speculation and label me as having an unknown background."
Xiao Zhenyu paused for a moment. He could see that Xiao Mandong didn't want to help the Wang family clear their name. Looking at the onlookers, he thought the best way was to use public opinion to force Xiao Mandong to write a statement to clear the name. So he continued.
"Our mother came to see you, but you didn't even let her in. She just had surgery, and you made the wound on her incision split open. You also made our cousin be bullied. Sister, what on earth do you want to do? Even if we break off the relationship, we're still blood relatives. You really shouldn't be so extreme and push things to the limit."
Xiao Zhenyu's words immediately put Xiao Mandong in the spotlight. In those days, people attached great importance to filial piety. And it was already time for work, so more and more people were gathering around to watch.
"I didn't expect Doctor Xiao to be so heartless. She won't even let her own mother in."
"Didn't you hear? She made her mother's surgical wound split open and also harmed her cousin. Tsk tsk, this woman is so vicious."
Xiao Manxue had come to her senses from the shock. She couldn't stand Xiao Zhenyu distorting the facts like this. With red eyes, she roared at the crowd. "Why do you believe everything you hear? Do you know what they've done? His grandmother allowed his real sister to kidnap me and forced me to marry a good-for-nothing. So? Are we just supposed to take it and not fight back? And didn't you hear? My father raised a son for ten years, and it turned out to be someone else's child. Since you have so much sympathy, I also wish that you will raise other people's children for generations."
The people who were making sarcastic remarks shut their mouths awkwardly.
Her sister didn't want her to talk about the kidnapping because she was afraid that the rumors would affect her reputation. But now, Xiao Manxue didn't care. She knew she couldn't let her sister be framed by Xiao Zhenyu.
At first, Li Fengmei was a bit smug when she heard the onlookers siding with them. Her son was really smart. She didn't believe that a person with a job would not care about their reputation. But she didn't expect the usually quiet Xiao Manxue to dare to refute like this. It was really outrageous.
Xiao Mandong glanced at Xiao Zhenyu disdainfully. "Are you done talking? Then it's my turn. First of all, I've already broken off the relationship with your Wang family. My mother, Wang Meixia, has remarried and is pregnant with someone else's child. We're two different families now. She wanted to bring her new man to my place. My sister and I are just two girls. For our safety, is there anything wrong with us refusing them to stay?"
"As for the wound on her incision splitting open, that day I asked Wang Meixia if you were my real brother. She was so shocked that she pulled the wound on her incision. What does that have to do with me?"
"Then there's the matter of Wang Yuanyuan. You can let Wang Yuanyuan come and confront me herself. She went away with that man voluntarily. As for the report, I did it for Xu Jing, your real father's ex-wife. Before Xu Jing gave birth, she caught your parents in bed. Your real mother was even pregnant at that time. Xu Jing was so angry that she had a miscarriage on the spot and died of difficult labor in the hospital. As a woman myself, I feel sorry for her. Your father got his job through Xu Jing's parents' help, right? I don't think your family is qualified to keep that job, so I reported it. If you have nothing to hide, why are you afraid? Just wait for the investigation results."
After hearing all these things, everyone in the crowd couldn't help but sigh. "Who can stand seeing their husband having an affair when they're pregnant, especially with a pregnant woman. It's so immoral. They should be struck by lightning. They've killed a person. The report is right. They're really lacking in virtue. Isn't this considered a crime of promiscuity?"
"Your Wang family is really something. Whether it's the wives you marry or the husbands you find for your daughters, they're all very calculating. I want to know where your grandmother secretly put my real brother?"
When Li Fengmei heard Xiao Mandong's words, she avoided eye contact. Would she dare to say? Of course not. If she said it, she would be in big trouble.
Xiao Mandong smiled. "Actually, you shouldn't have stopped me from reporting. After all, then you don't have to carry the label of the capitalist's son anymore. I'm sure your life will be much better."
Xiao Mandong's tone changed. "However, whether having promiscuous parents will have an impact on your future is hard to say."
In the eyes of the common people, parents who had an extramarital affair were even worse than those who were sent to the countryside. The common people's thinking was very conservative. Xiao Zhenyu was so angry at Xiao Mandong's last words that he completely lost his temper and punched towards Xiao Mandong's face.
"Slut... Ah, it hurts. Let go of me."
