Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Zhu Baoguo heard what Zhao Yu said yesterday as well.

  If it had not been for Zhao Yu, Zhu Baoguo would have remained clueless about the miserable life Qiao Nan had led before she was acquainted with Zhu Baoguo.

  Zhu Baoguo, who never had to worry about life, could not believe that it was almost the 21st century, yet there were people who could not afford new clothes and had to wear their sister’s hand-me-downs. If the family was not well-to-do but the sisters were treated equally, though life was tough, they would find comfort in each other’s company.

  But Zhu Baoguo knew better than anyone else that the Qiao family’s situation was not that bad.

  If the Qiao family could not make ends meet, they would not use five thousand yuan to make sure that Qiao Zijin enrolled in The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China. Obviously, Qiao Nan was forced to bear all the hardships and sufferings.

  In the past, the two adults in the Qiao family were biased toward Qiao Zijin, but Uncle Qiao had changed for the better. However, Xiao Qiao’s mother was just too terrible.

  Since a young age, Zhu Baoguo would throw tantrums and be aggrieved as he did not have a mother. But whenever he saw Ding Jiayi, he would comfort himself that even without a mother, he was way much better than Xiao Qiao who had such a mother like Ding Jiayi.

  Compared with Xiao Qiao, he was very fortunate.

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  “Please get to the point and don’t look at me with that kind of pitiful expression. I am not a stray kitten or stray puppy. Even without my mom, I have no problem surviving on my own. I do not need others to pity me,” Qiao Nan said calmly.

  “Your mom didn’t say it outright, but these are what she wanted to convey basically. Firstly, you dislike your mom. Since she is uneducated, you feared that if she were to come to the school, she would be a disgrace. Hence, your dad was the only one who attended the parent-teacher conference as you forbade your mom to come. Secondly, you are very scheming. You sowed discord between your parents so as to strive for a chance to go to school. You did not take the family’s situation into consideration. On top of that, despite knowing that the family is not doing well, you insisted for your dad to rent a house near the school so that it will be convenient for you to get to school, and thus you can save time on transport.”

  Nearing the end, Zhu Baoguo found it so outrageous that he felt like vomiting. “She did not fail to mention that as a mother, she is certainly very happy that you are working hard. She said that she has worked hard all her life for your sake—that it’s her dream for you to have a bright future. When you graduate and find a job in the future, she will not be your burden. She will still work to support herself. She said that at times, you think too much.”

  In other words, Ding Jiayi clearly meant that Qiao Nan was like a leech that made her family spend money on her education. But when she led a good life in the future, she did not intend to take care of her parents.

  Zhu Baoguo had known Xiao Qiao for a while. He was very clear about what kind of person Xiao Qiao was.

  However, for those who did not know Xiao Qiao, they would surely believe that Xiao Qiao was a scum when hearing such remarks.

  Others would feel that Xiao Qiao was already so scheming at this young age. Hence, she deserved to be despised upon. Regardless of Xiao Qiao’s good performance, it would be impossible for her to hold her head up high in school with such a bad reputation.

  Zhu Baoguo was furious at the damage that Ding Jiayi’s complaints caused to Qiao Nan.

  “Your mom said all these as she wallowed in self-pity, repenting on her own mistakes. She made it sound as if she had a lot of grievances, and that she was misunderstood. She was very clever to have used such a method. This is my first time seeing someone like that. Xiao Qiao, are you sure she is your biological mother?”

  It was obvious that it was Ding Jiayi who could not stand the sight of Xiao Qiao, treated her badly, and was biased toward Qiao Zijin. Uncle Qiao and Xiao Qiao moved out of the Qiao’s house because Ding Jiayi maligned Xiao Qiao, saying that she was a thief!!!

  Zhu Baoguo remembered clearly that Qiao Nan had rushed to his home on that day to ask him for help.

  After listening to Qiao Nan’s words, Zhu Baoguo’s first reaction was that it was useless to reason it out with Ding Jiayi. One should use force on her instead. He believed that after taking some blows from him, Ding Jiayi would learn her ways.

  However, Qiao Nan insisted that it was not a good idea. Luckily, Zhu Yan came to the Zhu’s residence at that time, and she wore a dress that was similar to Qiao Nan’s. That was how Qiao Nan came up with the idea to solve the problem.

  Qiao Nan arranged for Zhu Yan to arrive earlier than her, but Zhu Baoguo laughed at her idea. “Xiao Qiao, you may be intelligent, but there are times when you are muddle-headed. Your mom doesn’t know Zhu Yan at all, and she looks different from you. You are as fair as snow while Zhu Yan is as dark as a boy. Even someone who is blind can tell the both of you apart.”

  “That’s not necessary. Others may not fall for the trick, but my mom……”

  Zhu Baoguo did not believe in Qiao Nan’s words, but in order not to complicate matters, Zhu Baoguo listened to her and did not show up despite knowing that Ding Jiayi wanted to create troubles for Qiao Nan.

  When Zhu Yan came back an hour later, she told him that Ding Jiayi mistook her as Qiao Nan. Ding Jiayi thought that Zhu Yan, who had her head down, was Qiao Nan. She called her ‘Nan Nan’ for a while. It was only when Qiao Nan appeared did Ding Jiayi realized that she had the wrong person.

  Zhu Baoguo was dumbfounded when he heard of such a ridiculous thing.

  Ding Jiayi was a sheer ‘talent’!

  After having an idea of how shameless Ding Jiayi could be, Zhu Baoguo was already accustomed to it when he heard the news this time. He knew straight away that nobody besides Ding Jiayi would say such words.

  “I also hope that she is not my biological mother. If that were so, then it would make sense for her to treat me this way. I can thus understand and accept the differential treatment toward her biological daughter and someone whom she did not give birth to. Unfortunately, she did give birth to me.” Qiao Nan smiled grimly.

  She counted with her fingers. It had only been two peaceful months ever since her father moved out with her, yet her mother had already reverted to her old ways.

  “How about your dad? Your dad used to be biased toward your sister. Although he has changed his attitude, will he revert to his old ways in the future?” Zhu Baoguo had a terrible headache. “Xiao Qiao, my dad likes you, and my grandpa has a good impression of you as well. Why don’t you come to my house and be my younger sister?”

  In that case, he could hang out with Xiao Qiao in the future without having to worry about people gossiping. He could go to school and go back home from school with Xiao Qiao. During the school vacation, he would be able to see Xiao Qiao every single day. He could play to his heart’s content without having to worry about Xiao Qiao being bullied by others or how she was doing.

  “I will not go to your house.” Qiao Nan refused. “There is…… Wang Yang at your house.”