Return of the Antagonistic Lady Boss

Chapter 314: Chapter 292: Rumors Like Tigers

Jia Xiufang didn’t know that he was talking about her own smart daughter, and continued to agree repeatedly.

”Isn’t that right? Since Qian was a child, I’ve always told her not to talk to strangers, not to take things from strangers. My daughter is also smart, never made me worry too much. I feel bad for the parents of these girls, it’s fortunate the child was found, a blessing in disguise, but now these rumors, some people just love to gossip behind the scenes. What can these daughters do now that they’re back...”

Jia Xiufang spoke anxiously, but Qian couldn’t bear it any longer, put her chopsticks down, and retorted defiantly.

”Is it the girl’s fault for being abducted? What can be done, just deal with it when they’re back! If a dog bites you, you don’t blame the bitten person, this should be the awareness of a psychologist’s family member?”

Jia Xiufang shook her head, ”I didn’t say those girls were at fault, I’m just heartbroken. But if I don’t say it, will others stop talking? Do you remember in our front yard, there was a little girl, about ten years old, who went to play near the construction site at night and was—”

She hesitated to continue, Yu Minglang and Qian immediately understood, and Yu Minglang nodded knowingly.

”I understand, that’s really pitiful.”

”Exactly, her mother cried her heart out.” Jia Xiufang shook her head.

Chen Zilong, who was munching on a prawn, looked up in confusion, ”What are you guys talking about, what happened?”

Jia Xiufang picked up a prawn, ”Eat your food, little kids should eat more, talk less!”

Of course, it’s not appropriate to let minors like Chen Zilong know too much.

Jia Xiufang assumed Qian and Yu Minglang had already done what should or shouldn’t be done, so she could discuss these topics with them.

”I heard she got a mental illness, went crazy? Was it because of this?” Qian remembered a little girl like that, a bit younger than her. At that time, Qian was young too, just knew a little girl went crazy, and the whole family moved away.

”Yes, indeed. Her mother tried to stop it from being reported, but her father couldn’t swallow this anger and insisted on reporting it. Once reported, people came over and everyone knew the child had an incident. Every day, people would gather at their doorstep to watch the commotion and gossip. The child’s mother was a strong-willed person. Because of this, she fought with the child’s father, arguing so loudly at night that even from across the street, we could hear them fighting and breaking things from our building. A good family was thus torn apart.”

”Despicable!” Qian was getting angry just hearing it.

”Exactly, people gossiped about it every day. Even when they came to do laundry at our place, they talked about it. If I heard it, I would steer the conversation away, I didn’t want to discuss it.”

Though Jia Xiufang was a bit of a gossip, she didn’t want to gossip about these kinds of things.

Chen Zilong, puzzled, asked, ”Mom, is there anything in this area you don’t like to gossip about? Don’t you know all the details about every family?”

Jia Xiufang knocked him on the head, ”Is this how you see me? Yes, I like to talk about domestic trivialities, isn’t that what women from the countryside do? But not everything should be said, especially about such incidents. We also have daughters, put yourself in their shoes. Saying those things is like rubbing salt into the wound. I feel sorry for that child, driven insane by all those rumors.”

It used to be even more conservative than now.

When such things happened, there were all sorts of talk.

Some said that girl was naturally promiscuous, wearing short skirts at such a young age — short skirts above the knees were quite popular for a while, and girls from families that had them would wear them. After all, they were young and not yet developed, so it was deemed okay.

Jia Xiufang even bought short skirts for Qian from the night market, but after the incident, wearing clothes that were too short became a transgression, and Jia Xiufang hid the skirts, not allowing Qian to wear them.

The most exaggerated tales said the girl did something with a teacher at school, or that she was already working as a hostess at a young age...

The child’s mother was driven to the brink of collapse by these words, and the whole family moved away. It’s unknown whether the little girl who went crazy ever recovered, what a pity.

”What kind of people are these! Ignorant!” Qian cursed.

”Exactly! Why blame the child for having an accident? As I remember, she was a good girl, often seen buying things like soy sauce for her mother, quite sensible, just unfortunate, really pathetic, sigh! Qian’er, after you graduate, if you encounter girls like this, help them treat their issues and charge them less.”

”We’re not the same as those in mental hospitals. If it’s just a psychological illness, I can handle it. If it develops into a mental illness, I’m out of my depth. Ideally, I’d gather those who make others’ traumas into topics of conversation, who discuss and hurt others, who bring secondary harm to others, and treat them.—They’re the ones who truly need treatment.”

People without illness drive those with tragic experiences insane.

”I’ve seen many similar situations actually. When I was in my old job, I also encountered some similar cases. Even when the victims are not at fault, traditional rhetoric still attacks these girls, and the victims have no way to explain themselves. At its root, our legislative bodies should consider how to make the cost of victims speaking out lower than the cost of not speaking out.” Yu Minglang viewed the issue from a legal perspective.

He studied law. Under the existing legal system, the price victims pay to speak out can be even greater than staying silent, because the mental toll on the girls when they stand up can be enormous.

”While females should use every means to protect themselves, that’s not enough. How do we eliminate the rhetorical harm to victims? These are manifestations of male chauvinism oppressing and persecuting women, and sadly more women also use such perspectives to oppress their peers. What makes us forget compassion and attack those who have already been unfortunate?”

Qian analyzed the issue from the perspective of a psychologist.

When the two discussed this topic, they each presented their professional viewpoints, but shared a common focus.

”From a legislative viewpoint, we should better protect women’s rights and raise the cost of violating women and children. As these protections are continually improved, the situation will become more optimistic.”

Qian agreed with Yu Minglang’s point and added another sentence.

”This complex... what’s it called, stems from the possessiveness formed by men in a patriarchal society; men want their women to completely belong to them, hence they often struggle to accept women who have been transformed by other men. Such individuals usually show signs of pursuing perfection, lacking confidence, and having insecurity issues.—Yu Minglang, are you that kind of man, with such a complex?”

The pair found common ground in their conversation, ignoring Jia Xiufang and Chen Zilong, as he couldn’t understand anyway.

”What do you think?”