Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “What follows after?”

  “What follows after? Nothing else is needed. As long as they know that I lead a better life than them, I do not need to do anything else and they will be so upset that they cannot have a good night’s sleep.”

  Actually, Qiao Nan did not understand why there were people like her mother and Qiao Zijin in the world.

  Both of them would be upset to know that she led a good life.

  Therefore, Qiao Nan knew that to deal with these two people, there was no need for her to do anything. She only needed to have a good life and it would be more than enough.

  There was no need to take the initiative to attack, deal with them, or scheme against Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin.

  “Xiao Qiao, I realize that you are not a pushover. You have a lot of wits about you!” Initially, Zhu Baoguo did not understand, but after Qiao Nan’s explanation, he fully understood her meaning. “What you are doing is to nurture one’s strength and bide one’s time. You already have a plan to deal with your mom and sister, and it is the most labor-saving method.”

  “Did you really think that I am foolish and easy to bully? ” Qiao Nan smiled, but there was no hint of emotion in her eyes. “In the future, I must make money to buy my own house and my own car. But to buy these things, I will need the household register. Other than Mom, Dad is the only one who can use it. No matter how unreasonable Mom is, she will give my dad whatever he wants.”

  “Xiao Qiao?” Zhu Baoguo sensed that Qiao Nan’s smile seemed to be laden with bitterness.

  He hoped that Xiao Qiao could be self-reliant and be tougher, lest she be bullied by the two women who were as evil as witches. However, when he saw the tough side of hers, he could not help but feel a twinge of sadness.

  Xiao Qiao used to be a simple and kind young lady who would not scheme against others, but she was forced to mature by her kin.

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  Zhu Baoguo was starting to harbor an immense hatred for Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin.

  “What about your dad?”

  “I am genuinely good to my dad.” But at the same time, she also had her plans. “Zhu Baoguo, you have to remember that if you are wronged, it is useless to create a fuss. Why do we say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease? If you don’t make a fuss, it goes to show that you are sensible. But you have to let everyone know that you have been wronged. Do you understand?”

  Qiao Nan was reminded of how Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin conspired to get Qiao Dongliang to the hospital and all the money that he had with him. She seemed unaffected by what happened.

  She had made up her mind long ago that as long as she had the ability to make money, she could be self-sufficient and rely on herself to finish college. She never had the mentality that the money her father earned was hers. Hence, she was not disappointed that Qiao Zijin cheated him of all his money.

  Sure enough, when there was no expectation, there would be no disappointment.

  “Alright, you should worry about yourself. You are the one who is too innocent, yet you accuse others of being simple-minded.” Knowing that Zhu Baoguo was concerned about her, Qiao Nan could not help but make a dab at Zhu Baoguo.

  She was puzzled as well. Did she seem to be so weak and easily bullied?

  She had been trained by her mother and sister to be scheming and crafty. Yet, in the eyes of Zhu Baoguo, she was still as innocent and simple as a piece of blank paper. Did he not know that she was actually retreating in order to advance?

  In the Qiao family, her father was the head of the family, and he was on her side now.

  As long as she had this trump card, when she entered college and buy a house and a car, there was no need for her to deal with her mother. It could save her a lot of trouble.

  By the time her mother received the news, everything would have been settled. No matter how much of a fuss her mother kicked up, there was nothing she could do to her.

  Qiao Nan knew better than anyone else that on that Thursday, her mother came to school to look for her because she could not find Qiao Dongliang. She was so desperate that she came to look for her instead.

  Her mother and Qiao Zijin might be very arrogant and domineering, but they only behaved in such a manner since they knew Qiao Dongliang would not abandon them. This showed the significance Qiao Dongliang had as the head of the family.

  Now that her father left with her, her mother and Qiao Zijin were like headless flies without any sense of direction. They panicked and were out of their wits.

  After moving out with her father, not only did she regain some peace in her life, but most importantly, it was also tantamount to taking drastic measures against her mother and Qiao Zijin.

  Therefore, when her mother knew that they had moved but had no idea where they had moved to, it was as if she had gone crazy. She dared to attack the police and was taken to the police station. In normal circumstances, don’t even mention scratching the police, her mother was the kind of person who would take a detour when she saw the police.

  “You are very formidable.” Zhu Baoguo had nothing more to say. His worry was in vain as Xiao Qiao had it all planned out. Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin were unworthy opponents of Xiao Qiao. Xiao Qiao had these two women under her thumb.

  After all, Uncle Qiao was the head of the Qiao family.

  Qiao Nan closed the book and sighed. “It’s no use being formidable. I may have used up all my tricks, but I still can’t beat my mom. Her crazy acts will defeat the experienced master.”

  For instance, what happened recently on the parent-teacher conference day was unthinkable to her. She did not expect her mother to upset Qiao Dongliang further. She must have been out of her mind. She almost landed both Qiao Nan and herself in serious trouble.

  It was a life and death struggle. She did not care that she would be in a dire situation. She was determined to create havoc for Qiao Nan.

  Qiao Nan was sure that if she had ended up being expelled from Ping Cheng High School, her father might have been angered to death and refused to see her mother for a few years or even for the rest of their lives.

  Zhu Baoguo crossed one leg over the other and said casually, “Initially, I was troubled by Wang Yang’s matter. Whenever he was at the Zhu’s residence, I would be upset. I couldn’t wait to lose my temper at him so that Wang Yang would be disgraced and I could chase him out of the Zhu’s residence. But after hearing about your family’s situation, I realized that I am not in a hurry and not bothered anymore. One should retreat in order to advance. When I go back home next time, I will test and see if it works.”

  Qiao Nan did not know that she had become the mentor of Zhu Baoguo. She had given him a lesson with her own examples.

  Ever since then, whenever Wang Yang came to the Zhu’s residence, Zhu Baoguo would not lose his temper or utter a single word. He would just leave the Zhu’s residence quietly.

  Initially, Wang Yang thought that Zhu Baoguo was also afraid of him and that he had admitted defeat.

  Wang Yang was so happy that he was carried away by his excitement. Wang Yang stayed for a longer time in the Zhu’s residence, accompanying Elder Zhu and saying things to please him.

  Initially, Elder Zhu felt gratified that Zhu Baoguo and Wang Yang could finally get along with each other. He had felt that Zhu Baoguo finally behaved like an elder brother and became sensible.

  However, whenever Wang Yang stayed at the Zhu’s residence, Zhu Baoguo would not go home. He would rather idle around outside the house.