Even though Han Shuangshuang had already recovered from the initial shock and fear of seeing the family she wanted to forget, her hands and feet still felt a bit weak.
However, upon hearing Lu Cui’s twisted words, her anger surged, and her trembling ceased.
She said furiously, “I’ve worn nothing but discarded clothes since I was a child, barely had enough to eat, and was made to do all the household chores. If it weren’t for compulsory education, you wouldn’t have even let me go to school!”
“My high school education was funded by kind-hearted people who gave you 20,000 yuan just to keep you from bothering me again. How can you twist the truth like this?”
Han Shuangshuang was so angry that her voice trembled uncontrollably.
She felt fortunate to have been born in this era; if it had been twenty years earlier, her parents would have sold her off for a bride price.
Thankfully, society had developed, and her family wasn’t from a remote village.
Her parents were also afraid of the village officials coming to their door, and with the help of kind-hearted people, she had the chance to escape from them.
She had already turned eighteen before her college entrance exams, allowing her to make her own decisions.
After getting into university, she moved her household registration to the school, severing ties with that family.
Relying on scholarships and part-time work, she had been living quite well, at least much better than in that home where she often went hungry and was beaten and scolded.
After starting work, she met great mentors, like Sister Man, who guided her step by step.
During high school and college, she had focused solely on her studies and part-time jobs, leaving her no time or energy to maintain friendships.
She quietly regarded Sister Man as her only friend who felt like family, which is why she cared so much about Sister Man’s affairs.
Later, by chance, she started a social media career and earned money she had never dared to imagine in just one month.
She no longer had to worry about paying rent and could enjoy life a little like those young people with family support.
At this moment, her so-called family came looking for her like sharks sensing blood.
Han Shuangshuang had once feared this situation, so she had searched online for many legal provisions and others’ Q&A.
She knew that even if they came looking for her, she had no obligation to give them much money.
She could even passively wait for them to sue her, and whatever the court ordered her to pay would not be much.
However, now they had come just as she was starting to gain traction in her social media career.
It was obvious they thought she had made money and wanted a piece of it.
She had already developed a sense of being an internet celebrity, so when Lu Cui began to cry and complain, she opened her phone and started recording.
They could find her because they had seen her videos.
Nowadays, anyone can shoot videos and upload them.
If they couldn’t achieve their goals, they would definitely make videos to twist the truth.
If she were an ordinary person, it wouldn’t matter, but as a social media personality, she had to be cautious of online public opinion and guard against them smearing her reputation.
No, perhaps she should take the initiative!
Feeling the warmth of Xiao Bai beneath her palm, a fighting spirit ignited in her eyes.
In the past, she had been weak, with no choice but to escape, but now she had grown up and become stronger.
She needed to protect Xiao Bai and herself.
Lu Cui and the others were momentarily intimidated by Han Shuangshuang.
In the past, she had been someone who couldn’t even stand up for herself, accustomed to being submissive.
Aside from her determination to study, she had never said no to them.
Therefore, even after receiving funding to attend high school and going to university without further contact, they hadn’t worried too much.
After all, she would always be their daughter, and they thought they could easily get money from her later.
They never expected that after being away for a few years, her personality had changed!
It was Han Bao who reacted first, carelessly saying,
“It’s only 20,000. Your parents have spent much more than that raising you!”
Han Shuangshuang remained calm:
“I’ve never bought new clothes, and I barely had enough to eat. How much could I possibly cost? From elementary to middle school, my education cost the family 3,225 yuan. The money I spent in high school came entirely from others’ support and my own earnings from work.”
“The money my family spent on me is less than the 20,000-plus the benefactor gave you. When my parents grow old, I will give them the legal amount for support, not a penny less.”
They raised her when she was young, and she would support them when they were old.
Therefore, she wouldn’t repay them for the little money they spent on her now.
After all, the relationship couldn’t be severed; legally and by blood, it was still there.
She would just repay them slowly with support money in the future.
Han Shuangshuang was determined that they wouldn’t be able to extract money from her now; otherwise, it would never end.
In her current job, she had seen too many similar situations online, full of cautionary tales.
Lu Cui screamed angrily, “Who needs your measly support money!”
Clearly, she knew that the legally mandated support money was not much, far from what she wanted to extract from Han Shuangshuang.
Han Shuangshuang replied, “If you don’t want it, then forget it.”
Xiao Man couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
This young girl had grown up and learned to fight back; not bad at all.
Leaning against Han Shuangshuang, she watched her calmly rebut her family’s provocations.
The police mediation had ended, but both sides still had things to say.
To prevent another fight, the police remained on the scene, though they were temporarily uninvolved.
At the police station, with officers nearby and Han Shuangshuang being unyielding, insisting she would only provide support money in the future, Lu Cui and the others had no way to proceed.
Finally, Han Shan grew impatient and urged them to leave, and the three of them finally departed.
From their demeanor before leaving, it was clear this matter was far from over.
Han Shuangshuang’s colleagues were also aware of this and, while comforting her, asked about her plans.
She brushed them off for now, thanked her colleagues, and went home.
Once home, Han Shuangshuang hugged Xiao Bai and began filming a video.
The theme was about how Xiao Bai bravely protected her, seemingly bringing up why she wasn’t close with her parents.
She ended with a segment saying that although her family had a poor relationship with her, she was grateful to have Xiao Bai.
Taking the initiative, she aimed to create a negative first impression of her family online.
If they stirred up trouble again, she would release more evidence.
Han Shuangshuang hugged Xiao Bai and said with a hint of melancholy,
“Xiao Bai, I feel like I’ve become bad.”
Xiao Man thought, what does that even mean?
This is about protecting her legal rights.
If her parents stirred up trouble online, she would be at a disadvantage.
She patted Han Shuangshuang’s arm in encouragement.
Many people empathise with her video, as many had poor relationships with their families for various reasons, and pets provided them solace.
The three of them must have been following Han Shuangshuang, as that night, three videos of them crying were posted online.
Unfortunately, Lu Cui’s crying was too fake, and comments quickly criticized her.
Meanwhile, Han Shuangshuang swiftly released various pieces of evidence, including videos from the police mediation and the receipt from the benefactor for the 20,000 yuan.
Of course, netizens’ opinions were not uniform; some accounts were envious of Han Shuangshuang’s rapid follower growth and tried to stir trouble.
Fortunately, most comments supported her.
That shift in public sentiment was enough.
Chen Yao told Han Shuangshuang that she was fortunate she acted quickly.
First, she seized the initiative, and second, she forced her parents to respond without proper preparation.
By the time they were ready, the situation would have cooled down.
Before ending the video call, Chen Yao asked,
“Xiao Han, you don’t have anything else that could be used against you, right? Like school bullying or being two-timed?”
Han Shuangshuang’s face turned red:
“No, Sister Yao. I hardly talked to anyone in school, and in college, I was too busy working to have ever dated.”
Chen Yao nodded: “Then I’m relieved.”
The next day was Sunday, and Han Shuangshuang had already made plans with Lin Ci to go to the pet park.
The events of Saturday didn’t dampen her spirits.
Lin Ci had followed Han Shuangshuang, so he messaged her to check if she was okay.
When Han Shuangshuang arrived downstairs to meet Lin Ci, he greeted her with a delicious dessert.
Lin Ci smiled shyly: “I saw you post this before. Eating something sweet can improve your mood.”
Although Han Shuangshuang wasn’t feeling down, she accepted his kind gesture and thanked him shyly:
“Thank you! Let’s eat together!”
Xiao Man watched the two share dessert, chatting happily, while she and the golden retriever, Huan Huan, were left to eat air.
Huan Huan was anxious, jumping around to attract the attention of its owners, hoping to get a share.
Xiao Man raised her paw and tapped Huan Huan on the forehead, saying,
“Calm down! You can’t eat that! Single dogs only deserve dog food!”
Huan Huan didn’t understand Xiao Man’s meaning, but her action distracted it, and it began to play around Xiao Man.
Xiao Man: “…………”
Stop!
Your leash is about to choke me!!
The weather was nice today, and the pet park was bustling with people and dogs.
After meeting up with Deng Lin and the others, Han Shuangshuang began filming material.
Once they finished filming, it was free time, and Xiao Man took on the responsibility of “watching” Huan Huan.
Well, it was her duty to safeguard the young people’s love.
While keeping Huan Huan from causing trouble, Xiao Man noticed that besides Lin Ci, there were other boys around Han Shuangshuang.
Observing their expressions and body language was quite interesting.
The Doberman, Lao Yu, remained unfazed, not participating in the young people’s activities, enjoying its solitude.
Even when Huan Huan bumped into it, it didn’t spare Huan Huan a glance.
Xiao Man patted Lao Yu on the shoulder, thinking that perhaps Lao Yu and she were similar in some ways, and it gave her a knowing look.
“Old buddy, forgive these little ones for their recklessness. We were young once too.”
#Here’s a look, you figure it out yourself#
Xiao Man slowly turned around and saw Deng Lin standing behind her with a phone.
Xiao Man: “…………”
I wasn’t done filming yet, and you managed to catch this?
Impressive.
In the following two days, Han Shuangshuang continued to work as usual.
Her parents later posted a few videos, but not many people bought into them, so she didn’t respond further.
There was a wall between the online world and reality; no matter how much chaos erupted online, it couldn’t affect Han Shuangshuang as she went about her daily life with Xiao Bai.
After this incident, Han Shuangshuang’s confidence soared to a new level.
Meanwhile, Xiao Man’s mental state wasn’t as good.
Last night, she had a nightmare about a horror story where an office worker discovered someone who looked exactly like him always appeared in front of others, causing him a lot of hatred.
Just as the protagonist was about to catch the other person, it ended!
The night before, she had listened to a tragic story where the female lead was tortured to death, and even after dying, she continued to suffer in spirit form.
Just when it seemed the male lead was about to discover she was truly dead and would take revenge on him, bam, it ended again!
Dreaming at night didn’t affect Xiao Man’s sleep much but she felt uncomfortable because she was not able to listen to the ending and was forced to listen to garbage, which made her want to kill someone!