Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 37.1

For seven or eight consecutive days, Gao Wenhao lived like a rat crossing the street, hiding at home and afraid to step out, completely severing all contact with the outside world.

The interview filmed on the A University campus was broadcast on a large screen in the city center, attracting crowds of onlookers who pointed and cursed, “How can there be such a scumbag in this world!”

Gao Wenhao had originally planned to keep his head down and play dead. However, his mother—who happened to be there for unknown reasons—couldn’t take the insult. Hearing the “wild rumors” from the people around her, she began screaming and scolding them on the spot for malicious slander!

“My son grew up in the lap of luxury, pampered and spoiled! What could he want that he couldn’t get? Why would he inexplicably fall for a mute?”

“That mute just saw that our family is rich, so he intentionally seduced Wenhao! He even pretended to jump out of a window just to extort us—he’s full of schemes!”

“If he were really that virtuous, why didn’t he jump from a higher floor? He only ended up with a fracture; it was clearly intentional. Who is he trying to fool with that act?”

“All of you talking nonsense should go ask around. Back then, in that lawsuit, our family won!”

Mother Gao was simply acting out of a fit of rage, venting her frustrations. Since the incident, she had frequently disparaged the matter within her circles of socialites and noblewomen. The wealthy wives she associated with didn’t side with Lu Min; instead, they helped her criticize him, saying things like:

“Exactly, that mute is just a hypocrite!”

“If he’s so principled, why is he working as a servant?”

“If this were feudal times, letting him be a bedchamber servant for your Wenhao would be like his ancestors’ graves blowing green smoke from good fortune.”

Having heard so many distorted versions of the truth, and coupled with the fact that Lu Min hadn’t even dared to pursue a lawsuit at the time, Mother Gao never believed her son was in the wrong. Every time she brought it up, she painted the mother and son as the victims.

Little did she know, the location of the large screen was in the heart of the city, right next to a popular photo spot for tourists, so the foot traffic was immense. Many people were already captivated by the interview on the screen, feeling genuine outrage at Gao Wenhao’s heinous behavior.

Immediately after, they heard Mother Gao, clutching her crocodile skin handbag, shrilly demanding compensation for mental distress from the manager in charge of the screen.

Even more unfortunately, there were several influencers nearby currently livestreaming. They recorded Mother Gao’s words word-for-word, and someone immediately clipped the video and spread it across the internet.

Although the interview and the livestream didn’t disclose the Gao family’s faces, Mother Gao was a high-profile woman. Believing herself to be part of the upper class with money and social status, she frequently attended public events and left many photos on social media.

Once those outrageous remarks went viral, someone immediately dug up photos of the Gao family, along with their various “class-elitist” comments and past black history.

If it had stopped there, it might have been okay—just a rich young master bullying others, an attempted sexual assault, and being disciplined by the school after the truth came out.

However, the Gao parents felt they had been wronged, and because their stock price was affected, they actually turned around and pressured the university. They demanded that the students who filmed the interview apologize to them and compensate them for loss of reputation.

A University was no ordinary school; it was the country’s premier top-tier institution and didn’t care for their tactics at all. Regardless of the country or era, the student class is always the group most unafraid to speak out. Moreover, since the semester had just begun, the academic workload wasn’t heavy yet, and the students had plenty of energy.

The entire student body of A University spoke out, utilizing their spare time to support the students who filmed the interview across Weibo, Douban, and various short-video platforms. Being the elite of the nation, these top students knew exactly how to maximize public opinion to gain the most traction.

Soon, an “insider” revealed that before Gao Wenhao was suspended, he had repeatedly harassed Jia Qiao, who came to the school to audit classes.

Before this, the focus of the public had been on “Gao Wenhao harassing a disabled servant.” The victim was a weak but blurry figure; the focus was entirely on Gao Wenhao. Once the name “Jia Qiao” appeared, the focus shifted instantly, and the heat exploded exponentially.

Netizens might not have known which “unlucky soul” the mute was, but they knew Jia Qiao—whose popularity lately rivaled top-tier stars—all too well.

He was beautiful, fragile, and regarded by countless people as a “white moonlight” existence. Just by standing there, he triggered everyone’s protective instincts. How could anyone tolerate such a divine person being troubled by a piece of trash like Gao Wenhao?!

【Holy sh*t! So it turns out he’s a habitual offender. Where do that scumbag and his mom get the nerve to demand an apology from A University students?】

【My heart aches for Jia Jia… I heard he applied to audit classes at A University to improve his professional skills. He always sat quietly in the back to avoid disturbing others, and he actually got harassed by this guy?】

【F*ck, can you just leave Jia Jia alone?! I know Jia Jia is beautiful, has a great body, and a lovely voice—loving him is as easy as breathing—but check a mirror before you harass him, okay? If you don’t have a mirror, use your own piss!!!】

【+1, I heard the A University forum has reached a consensus to treat Jia Jia as a “campus landmark” (manual dog head emoji)】

【Wait, off-topic, but I got a few photos of Jia Qiao in class from an A University student. He’s so obedient, so serious, and so soft. Suddenly I feel like I’m “raising” him.】

【Jia Qiao is only 24; is wanting to “raise” him such a bad thing? There are plenty of 30 or 40-year-old stars in the industry that people call “baby” and “good boy.”】

【…You guys are getting way off-topic. Jia Jia was harassed; can the “Mommy fans” tolerate this?】

【Coming from a Mommy fan mindset, I’m going to explode. Gao Wenhao, you better stay hidden for the rest of your life.】

During this time, Gao Wenhao—perhaps driven to desperation and feeling he was being treated unfairly—explained on the campus forum that he hadn’t harassed Jia Qiao; he just wanted to ask him for news about Lu Min.

The explanation only made people angrier. A University alumni “kindly” corrected him: knowing the other party didn’t want to engage yet still forcing oneself upon them is, in itself, harassment. Secondly, after causing so much harm to Lu Min and then using his power to demand money from the victim, where did he get the face to ask about Lu Min now?

Gao Wenhao was attacked by a swarm of angry alumni and scolded so harshly he didn’t dare speak again.

After hiding at home for another three days, Gao Wenhao realized the public outcry showed no sign of subsiding. He left his room to find his mother to discuss a strategy. However, as soon as he reached the bedroom door, he was shocked to find his father—who was usually busy with endless social engagements and rarely home—inside. His father’s face was livid, veins bulging in his neck, looking like he could explode at any moment.

Mother Gao, who was usually domineering and looked down on everyone, was collapsed nearby, crying heart-wrenchingly.

“Crying! All you know is how to cry! Look at the ‘good son’ you raised!” Father Gao smashed a vase near his hand in a rage. Shards flew, grazing Mother Gao’s hand and leaving a startling trail of blood.

Mother Gao screamed and jumped up, clutching her hand and retorting, “The good son I raised? Do you have no responsibility at all?! How many days have you actually looked after Wenhao since he was little?!”

“I’m busy working outside every day, working hard to earn money to support this family! Where would I find the time?” Father Gao felt his lungs were about to burst from anger. “It was the same with that incident back then. If we had just given that mute some money to send him away and told him not to talk, that would have been it! You insisted on ‘seeking justice’ for your son, and look what happened!”

“It was that mute’s fault to begin with! Wenhao was fine before, but then he met him and, and…” The more Mother Gao spoke, the more she felt she was right. She glared fiercely at Gao Wenhao as he came out of the bedroom. “Couldn’t you go play around with women? You had to mess with a man! How disgusting!”

Gao Wenhao opened his mouth, never expecting to hear such words from his mother.

Seeing his son, Father Gao rubbed his brow with exhaustion and disgust. “Gao Wenhao, I don’t care if you want to play with women or men, but can you at least find someone who isn’t a headache? I’m already busy enough with work; don’t cause more trouble for me!”

Before Gao Wenhao could speak, Mother Gao suddenly flew into a rage. “Someone who isn’t a headache? Like the sluts you keep outside?”

“Have you had enough?” Father Gao interrupted her impatiently. “It’s because you act like a bitter woman all day that I don’t want to come home!”

“Dad, Mom!” Gao Wenhao suddenly raised his voice to stop them. He felt that this seemingly harmonious and happy home had become strange in an instant.

Mother Gao seemed to regain a sliver of rationality. She stopped the argument and shoved her husband. “Do whatever you want outside, I don’t care. Just find a way to handle Wenhao’s situation first.”

“How am I supposed to handle it?!” At the mention of this, Father Gao got even angrier. “Do you know? Because of the ‘great work’ your son did, how many companies that have business dealings with Qianhe have suddenly become unreachable or are being vague about business? Several big deals that were about to be finalized have fallen through because of this!”

While the Gao family’s business didn’t have a direct link to the Qianhe Group, this was the era of technology. As an industry giant, any major corporation with a name was bound to have dealings with Qianhe. The Gao family was primarily in the food industry. After the incident, they were immediately boycotted by consumers and had orders canceled by suppliers. In just one week, they had several warehouses full of goods they couldn’t sell, and the company and production lines were forced to halt.

“Then… then what do we do?” Hearing that the business was failing, Mother Gao was lost. She muttered suspiciously, “Is it that person… the one Wenhao harassed, pulling strings behind the scenes?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Father Gao was a businessman after all and knew how these things worked. “If he had made a move, the situation wouldn’t look like this.”