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Jia Xiufang didn’t know her smart daughter was involved and kept agreeing with what was said.

“Isn’t that so? My Xiao Qian, I’ve always told her since childhood not to talk to strangers, not to take things from them. She’s really smart, and I never had to worry too much. My heart aches for the parents of those girls. Luckily, the kids were found, it’s a blessing amidst misfortune. But these rumors, some people love to gossip behind their backs. What should those girls do after they return?” Concerned, Jia Xiufang’s words were upsetting to Xiao Qian, who put down her chopsticks and retorted indignantly.

“Is it the girls’ fault they were kidnapped? They can carry on, whatever happens! Instead of taking action against the kidnapper, they blame the victims. Is this the kind of wisdom a psychologist’s family should have?”

Jia Xiufang shook her head, “I am not saying it’s those girls’ fault. I just feel sorry for them. Besides, wouldn’t people keep talking even if I don’t? Do you remember our neighbor, a teenage little girl, who went to play on the construction site at night and was—”

She stopped herself, both Yu Minglang and Xiao Qian immediately understood what she meant. Yu Minglang nodded tactfully.

“I get it, poor girl.”

“Yes, her mother cried terribly.” Jia Xiufang shook her head.

Chen Zilong, who was eating a large shrimp, looked up with confusion, “What are you talking about? What happened?”

Jia Xiufang added a shrimp to his plate, “Eat up and mind your own business, children should eat more and talk less!”

Of course, they can’t let a minor like Chen Zilong know too much.

Jia Xiufang assumed that Xiao Qian and Yu Minglang have gone through what they should and shouldn’t do, so she could talk about these topics with them to some extent.

“I heard that she was driven mad and became mentally ill. So that’s why?” In Xiao Qian’s memory, there was indeed such a girl, slightly younger than her. At the time, she was not much older and only knew that a girl had gone insane and her entire family had moved away.

“Isn’t that so? Her mother refused to report the incident, but her father was insistent on doing so. After going public, everyone in the neighborhood found out about the girl’s misfortune. People started gathering around her house, gawking and gossiping. The girl’s mother, being a strong-willed woman, argued with her husband because of this, and we could hear their shouting and throwing of things at night from our house. A perfectly good family, just like that, fell apart.”

“Despicable!” Xiao Qian was getting angry listening to the story.

“Isn’t it? People kept gossiping about it constantly. Even when I went to the laundry room, I heard people talking about it. Some tried to change the subject, but I didn’t want to discuss it.”

Although Jia Xiufang was talkative and had a habit of gossiping like a housewife, she didn’t want to talk about these things.

Chen Zilong asked, puzzled, “Mom, is there anything you don’t like to gossip about? Don’t you know everything about every family in our neighborhood?”

Jia Xiufang smacked him on the head, “Is that the kind of person you think I am? Yes, I like to chat about the ins and outs of things, but that’s just what we village women do. However, I don’t just talk about anything. Sensitive topics like this one, our own family has a daughter as well, so shouldn’t we empathize? Gossiping about others’ suffering, isn’t that like rubbing salt in their wounds? I think the poor child was driven mad by gossip.”

Years ago, it was even more conservative than it is now.

When such things happened, people would say all kinds of things.

Some said the girl was born promiscuous, wearing miniskirts at a young age— there was a time when miniskirts above the knees were in fashion. Families with young girls would have them wear these skirts since they were too young to be provocative in them.

Jia Xiufang bought one for Xiao Qian from the Night Market. However, when the girl’s mishap happened, wearing short skirts became sinful, so Jia Xiufang hid the skirt and didn’t let Xiao Qian wear it anymore.

The most outrageous gossip claimed that the girl had an inappropriate relationship with her teacher at school and even suggested she was prostituting herself at a young age…

The child’s mother almost broke down from the gossip. In the end, the family moved away, and no one knew if the mentally ill girl recovered. What a pity.

“How ignorant these people are!” Xiao Qian cursed.

“Isn’t that the truth? Why blame the child when something goes wrong? I remember that girl, she was a good kid, always running errands for her mom, very sensible. She was just unlucky. Poor girl. Qian’er, when you graduate, if you ever come across someone like her, treat them well and charge them less.”

“What we do is different from psychiatric care. If it’s just a mental illness, I might be able to help, but if it develops into a psychiatric disorder, I can’t do anything. If possible, I’d rather gather those who use others’ misfortunes as conversation fodder and wantonly discuss them, causing them extra pain, and treat them all at once. They’re the ones who really need treatment.”

People without any problems drove those with unfortunate experiences mad.

“I have seen many similar cases while working in my old unit. Even if the victim is not at fault, traditional public opinion still attacks these girls and the victims cannot explain themselves. Legislators should consider how to make the cost of victims coming forward and revealing their stories lower than the cost of staying silent.” Yu Minglang discussed the issue from a legal perspective.

As a law student, he realized that the existing laws pressure victims to speak up even more than staying silent because coming forward takes a massive toll on their mental health.

“Women should take various measures to protect themselves, but that alone is not enough. How do we cancel the public opinion that hurts the victims? This is the result of the male-dominated society’s oppression and persecution of women. Sadly, many women are also oppressing their own kind with these ideas. What makes us forget empathy and attack those who are already unfortunate?”

Xiao Qian analyzed the issue from a psychologist’s perspective.

When the two of them discussed the topic, they brought out their professional opinions, expressing different views with a common focus.

“Legislation should protect women’s rights and interests more, increasing the cost of infringing on the rights of women and children. As things improve, the situation will become more optimistic.”

Xiao Qian agreed with Yu Minglang’s opinion and added a sentence.

“This type of… complex, stems from men’s possessiveness in a patriarchal society. Men want their women to belong solely to them, so they often cannot accept a woman who has been ‘touched’ by another man. People with such complexes usually seek perfection, lack confidence and security—Yu Minglang, are you one of them?”

The two found a common topic and stopped paying attention to Jia Xiufang and Chen Zilong, who couldn’t understand them anyway.

“Can you guess?”