Seeing her aunt truly angry, Ruan Jiqiu reluctantly admitted, "I just hate her! People in the cultural troupe compare me to her all the time, saying she's prettier than me, and Director Jiang even wants to let her join the troupe. Why should she, a country bumpkin who can't dance or sing, have that chance!"
Director Ruan's brows furrowed, and she asked in disbelief, "Just for this?"
Cheng You hadn't done anything; she was just praised a couple of times, and Ruan Jiqiu hated her like this?
"Jiqiu, I've told you many times before, it's okay to aim high, which can motivate you to work harder. But you cannot engage in malicious competition! She didn't provoke you, yet you made your brother write such an article!"
Ruan Jiqiu pouted, "My brother only wrote facts."
"You believe the words of those two people spoken without proof as facts, but why don't you believe what Cheng You says? They said Zhenzhen is their biological granddaughter, and you believed them. Then how do you know they aren't kidnappers?"
Ruan Jiqiu's face changed, and she instinctively refused to admit she was wrong, "Impossible, they are Cheng You's fellow villagers!"
"How do you know? Did you even ask the police to confirm their identities?"
Every question from Director Ruan left Ruan Jiqiu speechless.
She instinctively leaned towards Yuan Yongguo and Li Fen, never bothering to verify anything.
Ruan Jiqiu hadn't realized her mistake yet and said indignantly, "Then let it go. Anyway, she hasn't returned the child to them."
What impact could that article have on them?
"You're not the victim, so what right do you have to say let it go? You and Tianyang must apologize to Cheng You!" Director Ruan spoke with rare firmness.
She unleashed her authority as the head of the Women's Federation, startling Ruan Jiqiu so much that she almost saw the strict Director Jiang.
But she felt resentful and was unwilling to humble herself.
"I won't go!"
Director Ruan said coldly, "If you don't go, you'll reflect on yourself in the cultural troupe's dormitory and don't come home!"
Ruan Jiqiu's attitude gave her a headache, but she didn't expect something more troublesome.
Ruan Tianyang's refusal to apologize was even more resolute than Ruan Jiqiu's.
Director Ruan couldn't understand, "But the article you published is false reporting! As a media person, is this how you let your readers live under lies?"
Ruan Tianyang said calmly, "Aunt, I knew this might be false when I published it."
Yet, he still acted unjustly, unconsciously taking a side and writing those condemnatory words against Cheng You.
Director Ruan's expression turned grim, and she gritted her teeth, "Don't tell me it's for Feng Xue!"
Ruan Tianyang gave a wry smile, "Since Aunt already knows, why ask?"
"Don't you forget, you have a wife and children at home! Ruan Tianyang, are you worthy of them doing this?"
Mentioning his children, Ruan Tianyang felt a surge of guilt for neglecting them.
"I know I shouldn't do this, but I can't control myself. Aunt, I've already gotten married and had children as you wished. Please don't interfere with my heart anymore."
Director Ruan gave a cold laugh, "I've only mentioned marriage to you a few times, and I've never forced you! You're pushing the blame onto me now and absolving yourself completely!"
She was utterly disappointed now. She never expected that the child she watched grow up would be a spineless coward with no sense of responsibility.
"Ruan Tianyang, if you continue to entangle yourself with Feng Xue, you will regret it!"
...
The Ruan siblings' refusal to apologize was within Cheng You's expectations.
They were used to being pampered and could not easily bow their proud heads.
Cheng You did not pressure them or make things difficult for Director Ruan. Instead, she chose to report them to the police silently.
The compound exploded with gossip. For an article, Cheng You actually reported them to the police; wasn't that making a mountain out of a molehill?
Wouldn't it be simple to resolve the matter? Just return the child to them.
Facing everyone's doubts, Cheng You said innocently, "They slandered me and refused to apologize, so of course, I can use the law to protect myself. Since you all think they did nothing wrong, after the police investigate, they will naturally be cleared. What is there to worry about?"
The military hospital had recently introduced paternity testing technology. Cheng You had just heard about it from Grandpa Yun.
Once the test was done, everything would be clear.
After seeing those people off, Sister-in-law He came running from next door.
"Cheng You, my small green vegetables are ready to eat. I brought you some."
Cheng You accepted with a smile, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
"You're too kind. Don't pay attention to those people; they're just gossips. Sister-in-law believes you."
Cheng You's decision to report to the police showed she had a clear conscience.
In this era, people like Cheng You who defended their rights were rare.
If someone was slandered, they could only suffer in silence and had no way to clear their name.
It was difficult to punish Ruan Jiqiu and Ruan Tianyang, but Cheng You hadn't held out much hope. She just wanted to make the facts public.
Because of this incident, Ruan Tianyang was suspended. The newspaper planned to reinstate him after the matter was resolved.
However, even just the suspension had a significant impact on him.
The cultural troupe was in the process of casting roles, and everyone was striving to perform their best to secure suitable parts.
Ruan Jiqiu had long set her sights on the female lead, but she unexpectedly got taken away by the police during the selection.
By the time she returned after questioning, Director Jiang had already decided on Qiu Tingting as the female lead.
Even Zhenzhen was temporarily assigned a small role.
Ruan Jiqiu was so enraged that her face contorted. She caused a scene in the cultural troupe, expressing her dissatisfaction.
Finally, Director Jiang decided to have the two of them compete, with the leaders of the cultural troupe scoring them. The one with the higher score would get the role.
Ruan Jiqiu then quieted down and focused on preparing for the competition against Qiu Tingting.
Cheng You didn't witness these events firsthand; she heard about them from Qiu Tingting.
"Since there's a competition, why aren't you going back to prepare?"
Cheng You glanced at Qiu Tingting, whose belly was round from eating, and felt that this sweet and naive girl didn't seem like a dancer at all.
It was said that Ruan Jiqiu used to eat only cucumbers and carrots daily to maintain her figure.
Qiu Tingting wiped her mouth, "The food here is much tastier than in the mess hall. I can't bear to leave."
Cheng You playfully chided her, "You come here to eat every day, and you're still not full?"
"Not enough, not enough. How about I give you money, and I'll have meals here?"
Cheng You flatly refused, "That won't do. I'm afraid you'll get fatter and fatter."
Qiu Tingting's shoulders drooped. Suddenly, she felt that joining the cultural troupe wasn't that great after all.
There were strict requirements for body shape and weight.
"You'd better hurry back and practice. What if you lose?"
Qiu Tingting shrugged, "If I lose, I lose."
She wasn't that bothered by it in the first place.
Her love for dance stemmed from passion, never from a desire to compete.