Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Xu Tingting and Zhao Yu had noses and faces that were as swollen as pigs. One look at them and Qiao Nan could tell that the mastermind behind these was none other than Zhu Baoguo. Besides him, nobody would be capable of that.

  Zhu Baoguo cracked his knuckles, giving off loud sounds. “The two of them asked for it.”

  Ding Jiayi started the rumor while Xu Tingting and Zhao Yu added fuel to the flames.

  After learning about it, Zhu Baoguo did not do anything to them at school. He waited till today before getting two groups of people to stop them on their way to school.

  As soon as the two groups of people saw Zhao Yu and Xu Tingting, with nary a word, they put sacks over their heads and gave the two of them punches and kicks.

  The people whom Zhu Baoguo gathered were veterans at beating people. They knew how much force to exert.

  Xu Tingting and Zhao Yu might have slight bruises on their faces, but the injuries were not serious. Those areas that were covered by clothes were hit the worst and they were the most painful of all.

  “Beware that they may lodge a complaint against you.” This was not a baseless accusation. It was a fact that Zhu Baoguo sent people to beat them up.

  Zhu Baoguo smiled. “No matter how brave they are, they will not dare to do so. These two women are smart. They will not dare to provoke me or the Zhu family. They will only bully defenseless people like you.”

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  Qiao Nan, who was teased by Zhu Baoguo, propped her head and looked at him. “They knew you would back me up, but they had no qualms about bullying me. If it’s my problem, then it’s your problem as well.”

  Zhu Baoguo paled. “Then, I will get people to give them another beating!” He did not believe these two women would be so headstrong that they were not fearful of him.

  “Do not go overboard. Otherwise, Teacher Liu will have a talk with you.” Qiao Nan could not help but laugh at the sight of Zhu Baoguo’s brusque way of dealing with things.

  “Qiao Nan, why is it that you are so firm toward Xu Tingting and Zhao Yu, but so softhearted when it comes to your mom and Qiao Zijin and let them bully you? Xiao Qiao, where is your temper?” Zhu Baoguo said indignantly.

  If not for Ding Jiayi, who had started the rumor in the first place, Xu Tingting and Zhao Yu would not have the opportunity to create troubles. The main culprit was Ding Jiayi. There was no use in beating the sense out of Xu Tingting and Zhao Yu. As long as Ding Jiayi kept on creating troubles, there would be more of such things in the future.

  Ding Jiayi was the source of the problem. They had to deal with her in order for Xiao Qiao to be able to have a good life in the future.

  “Do you think I don’t want to?” Qiao Nan sneered. “One of them is my mom, and the other is my sister. Do you think I can be so ruthless as to give them a beating or find a way to get rid of them? This is a lawful society where killing is illegal. You should know what Wang Yang has been up to, and you have fallen for his tricks time and again. Yet, how did you deal with him? Wang Yang still frequents the Zhu’s residence as he likes. To your Grandpa, he plays the role of a good grandson, doesn’t he?”

  It was very true that those who hurt you deeply were your closest kin.

  Ding Jiayi was her mother. Be it morally or legally, she could not do anything to her.

  Don’t even mention a fight. She could not even raise her voice at her.

  If she was harsh to her mother or used a swear word on her, even though she might be the innocent party, the tables would be turned on her to favor her mother.

  “So we cannot do anything about it?” When Qiao Nan used Wang Yang to make an analogy, Zhu Baoguo was lost for words. When Wang Yang made him take sleeping pills right before his middle school examination, he could not do anything to Wang Yang other than losing his temper.

  What Xiao Qiao had said was true. Wang Yang still frequented the Zhu’s residence as usual.

  Regardless of how the Zhu family treated Wang Yang, in the eyes of outsiders, Wang Yang was the Zhu family’s grandson, the cousin of Zhu Baoguo.

  Wang Yang still benefited from being a member of the Zhu family.

  “We can’t beat them or scold them. As for killing them…… Forget it. Does it mean that we are destined to be bullied?” Zhu Baoguo said in disgruntlement. He was the one who bullied others all along, but now he could not retaliate or take revenge even though he was bullied. This kind of life sucked.

  “Wang Yang hopes that you will be led astray so that you will not have a bright future. That way, he can get everything that is yours. Wang Yang is after material gains. Even if you can’t retaliate against Wang Yang or to make life difficult for him, you won’t let him have it easy. What you can do is to work harder and show him that you are capable. Not only must you take charge and assume responsibility in the Zhu family, but you must also ensure that the Zhu family thrives much better than when in your dad’s hands. For now, Wang Yang has to depend on your dad. Hence, what you must do is to be in charge of the Zhu family so that Wang Yang will have to answer to you in order for him to lead a good life in the future!”

  After listening to Qiao Nan’s clear and simple analysis, Zhu Baoguo felt motivated and wanted to work harder.

  “That’s right. Everything in the Zhu family belongs to me. I must work harder to make the Zhu family more successful than before. I must gain control and power so that if Wang Yang wants to lead a good life, he must be submissive to me!” Zhu Baoguo calmed down. He was not as depressed as before. “Xiao Qiao, what about you? You helped me come up with a solution, but what about you? Your mother and your sister are not easy to deal with.”

  “Why do you think I spend so much effort on my studies? The knowledge I gained is mine alone, and no one can take it from me. My mom and my sister are one of a kind. Given the current situation, do you think my sister will be more capable and earn more money than me? In the future, will she be able to lead a better life than me?” Based on her abilities, there was no way that Qiao Zijin could buy a house or a car by herself.

  “That is impossible!” Zhu Baoguo had no doubts about that. “But even if you earn more money than Qiao Zijin, given your mom’s temper, won’t she take it away from you?”

  What he worried the most was that Xiao Qiao’s hard-earned money would be given to Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin.

  “Zhu Baoguo, you have to remember this. If I am unwilling, my mom can’t get a penny from me.” In her previous life, she had been too foolish to have let her mother do whatever she wanted.

  “Are you sure? What if your mom snatches it from you?” Zhu Baoguo asked in disbelief.

  “Snatch? My mom has to stay close to me in order to snatch the money from me.” Her mother and Qiao Zijin were her biggest disaster. She could not afford to have any entanglements with them. Since she could not provoke them, she could only hide from them.

  “You want to be a deserter?” Zhu Baoguo was displeased. This was not his way of dealing with problems.

  Qiao Nan flipped the book open and said calmly. “My situation is different from yours, so we can’t lump them together. The method that you use is not suitable for me. Both my mom and sister do not want me to do well.”