Roxanne asked, “What’s going on, Mr. Smith? Doesn’t she have to work?”
Henry stood in front of the camera to the live-stream. With a frown and a plaintive look on his face, he replied, “No, she’s unemployed. When she was with us, she mooched off her aunt and me. I heard that she also hasn’t been working ever since the Andersons took her back with them. It’s already ten in the morning, yet she’s still asleep. Neither does she take care of her child, but leaves them to survive on their own instead. Sigh!”
Melissa said, “Nora sleeps in because she’s in poor health! She lost a lot of blood during labor back then, so she doesn’t have much energy and has to sleep more than what ordinary people do! Also, ever since she moved to the Andersons, Nora has never asked us for living expenses! She has a source of income!”
Wendy sighed. “That’s because you don’t know that her income comes from the small company that her mother owned before she died, Melissa. There are thousands of dollars in dividends every month from the company…”
Melissa was about to speak when Henry held his hands behind his back and said fiercely, “I’m just here for my child today. I’m not trying to take her from you! It’s just that I’m ultimately still her father. How can the Andersons just take her here after they found her, and forbid her from contacting me? We’re family! Blood is thicker than water!”
His eyes reddened as he spoke.
Henry was actually decent-looking. He had a squarish face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, making him look like an upright man. His behavior instantly sparked intense discussion among netizens.
People were leaving comments at high speed in Roxanne’s live-stream:
‘She’s refusing to acknowledge her father? What kind of reasoning is that?’
‘That Cinderella must find her father too tacky after she became a princess!’
‘The Andersons are too much. They look like decent human beings, but how can they stop them from acknowledging each other?! They’re father and daughter, after all!’
‘Ms. Smith is still asleep even at this time? She sounds like such an unreliable person… What’s the point of bringing such a woman back home?’
‘Wow, is this what the wealthy look like? That house looks so high-end!’
…
All sorts of discussions filled the live-stream.
No one knew who it was, but someone had put money into the live-stream and increased the traffic, causing Roxanne’s live-stream to instantly have more than a million viewers.
Everyone loved gossip. Moreover, this was about the secrets of the rich. Once one entered the live-stream, they would want to know what exactly was going on.
—
In the university.
Tina, who was surfing the Internet on her cell phone, accidentally saw a post on Angela’s social media. She immediately broke into a smile and entered the live-stream
Tina raised her eyebrows when she saw the exciting content inside.
Tsk.
How lively.
She had originally kept Angela with her just to give Nora trouble, but she didn’t expect to receive such a surprise!
Abandoning one’s father—now, that was an awful offense to be known for among the wealthy.
After all, one was indebted to their parents for raising them, no matter what.
Besides, most of the general public sympathized with the underdog, causing the comments to be filled with condemning voices directed at Ms. Smith!
Tina smiled. Suddenly, she picked up her cell phone and paid to promote the live-stream on social media so that it would trend. At the same time, she also got a group of trolls to leave comments in the live-stream.
‘The Andersons? Aren’t they the family behind Harmonia Pharmacy?’
‘Harmonia Pharmacy? The one selling traditional medicine? Their medicines are pretty good. I’ve always thought that people in the field of medicine are kind-hearted, but unexpectedly, they’re actually involved in gossip like this?’
‘Ms. Smith’s aunt, too. She speaks in a nice way, but why does she feel so annoying? Why does she keep stopping them from getting Ms. Smith to come downstairs? It’s as if she’s deliberately stopping the father and daughter from being reunited.’
‘That’s why I say that the richer one is, the stingier they are!’
‘Boycott Harmonia Pharmacy! I’m never buying medicines from them ever again!’
…
The comments were full of condemnation.
In the live-stream, Henry was still accusing Nora of various unfilial behaviors. His words made most of the parents watching the live-stream tear up.
“I just want to acknowledge my daughter again and ensure that she’s doing well. You can’t just spoil her like that and let her stay at home all day! She needs to be self-reliant! I didn’t painstakingly raise her to let her sink into such depravity…”
Melissa found Henry shameless to the extreme. She yelled angrily, “Nora has been locked up at home by you ever since she was a child, and has never been out of the house. Which part of that was painstaking for you?!”
Henry sighed. “Yes, that’s right. She’s not in good health, so schools didn’t want to accept her. On top of that, she has low self-esteem because she’s so fat, so she also refuses to go to school. I was the one who taught her and raised her into an adult at home.”
Melissa retorted, “You raised her into an adult? It’s a blessing that you didn’t starve her to death!”
Henry’s eyes flickered the moment she said that.
Wendy, however, started to cry. She said, “That’s too much, Melissa! Nora has been fat ever since she was a child. We fed her as much as she wanted, so why would she go hungry? If she had gone hungry, would she have become that fat?”
Melissa, “!!”
Her obesity was because of hormonal injections, of course!
After being injected with hormones, even plain water would make one gain weight.
How could these two people distort the truth like that?!
Wendy lowered her head again and held her hand over her mouth as she sobbed.
“The only time I didn’t keep an eye on Nora was when she went out and fooled around, causing her to become pregnant before marriage. She even insisted on giving birth to the child after that. Her father and I didn’t want her to, so she fell out with us…”
Roxanne asked, “Why didn’t the two of you want her to?”
A fake Wendy replied, “The child’s father is a ruffian. He didn’t even dare to come to us to ask for her hand in marriage. Moreover, Nora was only 19 years old at that time, so of course, we did everything with her interests in mind! It’s also because of this that she distanced herself from us. She insisted on giving birth and moving abroad. We continued to support her financially. It’s because we know that she doesn’t like living with us that we even sent her money for her living expenses every month. But Mrs. Anderson, anyone who has family, and anyone who has a daughter, would know that we made the right decision! How can you use that to sow discord between the father and daughter?”
Another intense discussion broke out in the comments:
‘What the f*ck! So, it’s because of this that they fell out!’
‘A ruffian? Getting pregnant when you aren’t even married yet? Seems that Ms. Smith is a real piece of work. She hasn’t even appeared yet, but I already dislike her!’
‘If I were her parents, I would definitely want to beat her to death! Her father and stepmother have done well enough. Not only did they send her abroad, but they even raised her child for her!’
‘Gosh, how can such an insensible daughter exist?’
Melissa held her chest in fury. The elderly Mrs. Anderson, who was sitting on the sofa in the room, was livid when she heard the arguing outside.
Wealthy families were very particular about handling matters in a low-key manner.
Yet, Henry had actually brought such a huge crowd with him and set up a live-stream?
He was trying to thoroughly embarrass the Andersons!
How was this a reconciliatory live-stream? They were obviously trying to force them to give in again!
Mrs. Anderson slammed her walking stick against the floor a few times in anger. It was at this point that Nora came downstairs from the upper floor. She yawned and said lazily, “Don’t be angry, Grandma.”
