Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “We must not let her push all the blame to us.” Ding Jiayi sighed in exasperation. She must stay composed and calm.

  She must not let Qiao Nan, that wretched girl, pushed the blame onto both of them, particularly Zijin!

  “When the truth is out tomorrow, I shall see what your dad has to say. In order to side with that wretched girl, your dad had let me down and he also wanted to…… It’s time to give your dad a lesson. We must let him know Qiao Nan’s true colors. Right now, your dad is muddleheaded. He can’t tell who his family is and who the outsider is. He is so foolish!”

  “Mom, don’t be angry. Dad believes in Qiao Nan as she is good at coaxing him. Qiao Nan is very smart. She may be quiet and nerdy, but she can easily manipulate Dad with her words. When Dad realizes the truth, he will know who is genuinely good to him in this family. By that time, Dad will reunite with you. Mom, don’t be foolish then as you will only push Dad toward Qiao Nan otherwise. I finally realized that though Qiao Nan is a person with few words, she is good at coaxing people. Look at what happened when Dad was hospitalized. Qiao Nan always waited on Dad diligently. She’s doing a ‘good job’ at putting up pretenses.”

  “Mom, we are different from her. We are true to Dad, but because we regard Dad as our closest relative and care for Dad, we show our most genuine side to him. At times, we will lose our temper at him. On the other hand, Qiao Nan waits on him and says words that make him happy. Naturally, Dad will prefer Qiao Nan since Dad likes people to be nice to him. We can do it as well. Qiao Nan is no match for both of us. Dad has sacrificed a lot for this family. I don’t want to see Dad being cheated by Qiao Nan, for him to make sacrifices for her sake. When the truth is out tomorrow, Dad may find it difficult to part with Qiao Nan and may want to bear the responsibility in her stead.”

  When tomorrow came, where Qiao Nan was disgraced and had her reputation tarnished, she would never allow her father to defend or side with Qiao Nan.

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  Both her father and mother were hers. Qiao Nan could not fight for their love!

  “That’s right. Qiao Nan, that wretched girl, will be the death of me. Your dad has a heart of gold. He has the impression that children will be filial to their parents just like how the parents doted on their children. Forget it. I will not bear grudges against your dad. He is confused, I am not. When your dad sees Qiao Nan’s true colors, I will accept him as long as he apologizes to me. In the future, I will never bring up this matter again. But what will happen to Qiao Nan?” Ding Jiayi breathed a sigh of relief and sounded as if she was very forgiving toward Qiao Dongliang.

  Qiao Zijin pursed her lips. “Mom, Qiao Nan brings so much harm to our family, yet you are still concerned about her?”

  “I am not concerned about the wretched girl. She has been plaguing our family for sixteen years. Why will I be concerned about her? I am afraid that after tomorrow, we may not be able to sever all ties with her and she will continue to stay with us, dragging our family down for a lifetime. After her secret is exposed, as long as she still stays in the family, it will be a blemish to us.” She was worried that if things were blown up, they might not be able to cut all ties with Qiao Nan.

  “Mom…… Do you want to cut your ties with Qiao Nan? According to the law, it is not feasible.” Since the last time when Qiao Dongliang called the police, Qiao Zijin had been reading up on legal knowledge at school, lest she be treated like fools by others. She even tried to find ways to deal with Qiao Nan.

  “What should we do, then?” The law was so unreasonable!

  “There is a way. Qiao Nan is already sixteen years old. It is not possible to sever ties with her, but you no longer need to care for Qiao Nan. Since Qiao Nan is already sixteen years old, she can start working. It will not be considered as illegal child labor. In other words, she can work to support herself. You have fulfilled your obligation to support Qiao Nan. Now, it’s her turn to support you.” Qiao Zijin had done her homework. She had some knowledge about one’s legal rights.

  “Zijin, when did you study law?”

  “Last time when Dad called the police, Mom was at a disadvantage while Qiao Nan had the upper hand. If I don’t read up, Mom may be bullied by Qiao Nan, the unfilial daughter, again. So I have been spending my time in the library after school to read up on legal knowledge. Mom, I heard that a lawyer can earn lots of money. I think I will be a lawyer in the future. I am quite talented in this domain!”

  Qiao Zijin smiled confidently. Initially, she had only wanted to learn more so that she would not be fooled by Qiao Nan. On top of that, she wanted to find ways to deal with her. However, she ended up finding herself a career, a good career that could earn her lots of money.

  “Very good. My daughter will definitely have a bright future. You will be a lawyer and earn lots of money. Mom has no other wishes but for you to support me.” Ding Jiayi grabbed at Qiao Zijin’s hands and had a big smile on her face.

  “Mom, don’t worry. When I start to work, the monthly allowance I give you will be twice of Dad’s! He has himself to blame for siding with Qiao Nan instead of me. It’s Mom who has good foresight.” Qiao Zijin sounded as if she had obtained her law degree and had become a barrister who earned lots of money.

  Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin painted a beautiful picture. When it was time for dinner, Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan noticed that both mother and daughter had a bright smile on their faces.

  Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan stared at each other. They were troubled by what happened recently at home, but why were the mother and daughter full of mirth?

  Qiao Dongliang frowned. “Nan Nan, have more of the food.” He and Nan Nan paid no attention to Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin.

  As long as both of them did not make too many troubles, he would turn a blind eye toward what they did.

  “Dad, you must eat more too.” Qiao Nan had never cared about Ding Jiayi’s and Qiao Zijin’s affairs. In one simple sentence, as long as they did not plot against her, she would not care what they were up to.

  Unfortunately, in this family, if her mother and Qiao Zijin stood to gain, it usually meant that Qiao Nan was the one who had to suffer.

  To put it bluntly, her mother and Qiao Zijin were downright unreasonable. Aside from bullying her and taking advantage of her, they were always at their wit’s end when faced with external challenges.

  This was what annoyed Qiao Nan the most.

  If it was not for the fact that Qiao Zijin and her mother had no abilities to survive by themselves in the society and were only good at bullying her, these two women would not be like leeches in the two lifetimes, hanging onto her and refusing to let go.

  “Mom, you should eat more.” Qiao Zijin curled the corner of her lips, a cunning look in her eyes. She would not fight with Qiao Nan tonight. Qiao Nan could do whatever she wanted and act however filial she was to her father tonight.