Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  After suffering the wrath of Qiao Zijin, Ding Jiayi was full of grievances. “You don’t like spicy food, but Qiao Nan loves it.”

  “.……” Qiao Zijin widened her eyes. The plate of small yellow croakers covered with chilies was cooked according to Qiao Nan’s taste? “I don’t eat spicy food. How am I going to eat this?”

  “If you can’t eat spicy food, then don’t eat it.” Ding Jiayi sat down and handed Qiao Zijin her bowl of rice. “I can’t eat spicy food, yet I didn’t say anything.”

  Ding Jiayi made it clear to Qiao Zijin that she could not eat spicy food as well. The small yellow croakers were covered with chilies. She could not have a single bite as well.

  Qiao Zijin was so angry that she almost broke the chopsticks in her hand. In the past, her mother would consider her preferences when she prepared the meals. Now, in order to please her father, her mother had disregarded her daughter totally.

  Ding Jiayi had rarely treated her in this way.

  “Fine, I will not eat the croakers!” Qiao Zijin said in anger. Though she did not have a single piece of the small yellow croakers, her eyes turned red from stifling her tears.

  Seeing the aggrieved look on Qiao Zijin’s face, Ding Jiayi felt sorry toward her daughter. “Old Qiao, why don’t we prepare a spicy version and a non-spicy version next time?”

  Qiao Zijin snorted. Her mother was such a hypocrite. She was the one who prepared the small yellow croakers. If she had cared for her, she would have prepared two versions of the same dish, spicy and non-spicy.

  \r \r \r

  “Ding Jiayi, you never took our preferences into consideration when you prepared the meals in the past. You never prepared two versions of the same dishes.” Qiao Dongliang had a bite of the small yellow croakers. It was very delicious, salty and spicy.

  “I…… I thought that both of you did not mind having non-spicy food. We couldn’t help it that Zijin has a weak constitution. She will have acne if she has spicy food.” Ding Jiayi could not possibly say that she valued Qiao Zijin more so than her husband.

  If she said this, there would be no chance of them reconciling with each other.

  “Dad, this small yellow croaker tasted somewhat different as compared to the rest. It is not spicy enough. It is as if they are from two different pots.” Qiao Nan frowned, staring at the small yellow croaker in the soup.

  Whenever Qiao Nan had fish, she liked to dip them into the soup since it would taste better that way. The small yellow croaker right at the bottom would usually be soaked with a lot of the soup. Today, Qiao Nan intentionally took the small yellow croaker placed at the bottom, the one that was soaked with soup. But to her surprise, it did not taste as good as the rest.

  It was weird!

  Qiao Dongliang took a piece and tasted it. “It seems so.”

  Ding Jiayi felt guilty under the doubtful gazes of Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan.

  In the end, Qiao Dongliang gave Ding Jiayi a look and said, “Forget it. I will cook it next time.”

  Ding Jiayi breathed a sigh of relief and did not dare to say anything more.

  Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan shared the plate of small yellow croakers between themselves, finishing everything except for the soup and the bones. Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi could only watch by as they enjoyed their dinner.

  Qiao Zijin, who had nothing but vegetables for dinner, was full of grouches. “Mom, what is the sleeping arrangement today?”

  “What do you mean? You will sleep in your room.”

  “I don’t have any room here!” She had checked. There were two rooms in total. In other words, she had to sleep with Qiao Nan. That thought made Qiao Zijin uncomfortable. In the past, if there were only two rooms, her parents would share a room and the other room would undoubtedly be hers. As for Qiao Nan, the hoyden, she would have to sleep in a make-shift bed in the hall.

  Now, she had to bring herself to share a room and a bed with Qiao Nan. Qiao Zijin just could not take it lying down.

  “Let’s go back.” Ding Jiayi used the fastest speed to clear the dishes, cleaned them, and returned them back to the rack. “Zijin, we must hurry before the sun sets. You should get your schoolbag now.” Back in the past, Ding Jiayi sold Qiao Nan’s books away. Hence, she paid special attention to Qiao Zijin’s schoolbag, lest someone did something to her schoolbag and books.

  “What? Why are we going back? I won’t!” After learning that she had to make the long way back, Qiao Zijin refused adamantly. “I have been studying for two weeks, and I am very tired. Now that lessons are over and I am back from school, I just want to have a good rest. On my way here today, it took me an hour more than usual. Now you are telling me to make the trip back? Mom, the level of exercise today is way beyond what we have for physical education classes at school.” Did her mother intend to exhaust and tire her out?

  “Listen to me. Let’s go back. As you have seen, there are two rooms here. I know that you like to sleep by yourself. Otherwise, you will not be able to sleep. When we arrive home, you get to sleep comfortably in your own bed. Isn’t that good? Alright, let’s go back.” Ding Jiayi pulled at Qiao Zijin. She seemed to be very insistent on going back home.

  In the future, if Zijin was tired and wanted to stay the night, she could share a room with Qiao Nan if she did not mind. But not today.

  “Mom!” Qiao Zijin threw her tantrums at her mother. However, her mother refused to listen to her pleas and dragged her out of the house regardless.

  Not to mention Qiao Zijin, even Qiao Nan would not agree to share a room with Qiao Zijin.

  But Qiao Nan found it weird that her mother acted strangely today. Qiao Zijin was already unhappy over dinner. Ding Jiayi, who had always doted on Qiao Zijin, was unusually firm in her attitude. “Dad, what’s wrong with Mom? Isn’t she worried that sister will be angry with her?”

  Qiao Zijin was her mother’s only hope. If she annoyed Qiao Zijin, nobody would take care of her for the rest of her life.

  Qiao Dongliang seemed to know what was going on. He sneered. “Your mom has a lot of tricks up her sleeves. You can rest assured that it will not be long before your sister cools down and stops being angry with your mom. In fact, she may be delighted. Let’s not talk about her. Next time, it’s better to cook whatever that I buy from the market myself.”


  Ding Jiayi was downright shameless.

  “Mom, don’t you know that I studied very hard at school? Why did you pull me out? Anyway, Qiao Nan’s room is not that small. At most, I can sleep on a make-shift bed and do not need to share the bed with Qiao Nan. My feet are sore from walking such a long distance!” Qiao Zijin could not stop complaining as soon as she came out of the rented house. “Don’t you want to reconcile with Dad? If you stay here tonight, you can share a room with Dad. By then, you will be able to make up with him.”

  Ding Jiayi blushed. She did not expect that her daughter would discuss this with her. “This is the adults’ affairs. Children must not meddle. Besides, Zijin, you seem to know too much. I heard that many children are mature for their age and start a relationship at a young age. Did you……” Ding Jiayi’s expression changed in an instant. She glared at Qiao Zijin. “Zijin, you must not do anything shameless. Back in the olden times, if you have any intimate relationship with other men, you will be labeled as a loose woman.”