Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Qiao Nan finished her meal quietly and put Qiao Dongliang’s share into the pot to keep it warm. “Dad, I have put the food in the pot. You can eat them when you are hungry. It should still be warm.”

  After saying this, Qiao Nan washed the dishes and went back to her room to continue with her homework.

  Qiao Nan felt bad that her father refused to eat in a fit of pique.

  But no matter what, Qiao Nan was not willing to give in. She had to stand firm this time.

  In the previous life, Ding Jiayi used this method to force Qiao Nan to compromise time and again.

  The difference was that Qiao Dongliang would sulk and refuse to eat whereas Ding Jiayi would create a fuss and complain that she had a hard time bringing up Qiao Nan and had a difficult life in this family, yet her younger daughter refused to help, saying that since her daughter treated her in this way, she’d be better off dead. She would carry on and on, not giving her a moment of peace.

  If Ding Jiayi used the tactic of refusing to eat, she would cry as if having gastric pain and screamed that she was breaking out in cold sweats.

  Qiao Nan had seen through all sorts of tricks that Ding Jiayi had used.

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  She was immune to Qiao Dongliang’s method whereby he sulked and refused to eat.

  Qiao Dongliang knew that Qiao Nan had returned to her room to do her homework. He felt bitter that she did not show any concern for him.

  Qiao Dongliang had not told Qiao Nan that when he went to the Qiao family’s residence today, he did not get to talk to Qiao Zijin. They did not even allow him to enter the house. The door was locked by Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin, and he could only stand outside the house.

  He did his best to convince and persuade Qiao Zijin, but she did not appreciate his good intentions and ignored him totally.

  Now that he was back at home, aside from preparing a meal for him, Qiao Nan refused to say anything else to him. She was not willing to go with his wishes to persuade Qiao Zijin.

  He felt so angry and helpless that his daughters refused to listen to him.

  For parents, daughters were supposed to be the apple of their eyes. However, his two daughters were not considerate at all. They created a fuss instead, albeit each to a different extent.

  “Morning, Dad.” Qiao Nan had done whatever she could do, but there were things that she would not compromise. She had a clear conscience and had a good rest yesterday. She woke up feeling refreshed. “I have cooked some porridge and bought some dishes to go with it. Do you want to eat them, Dad?”

  Seeing that Qiao Nan was full of energy and was able to eat and sleep well, Qiao Dongliang felt even more depressed. “Nan Nan, aren’t you worried about your sister at all? She is your biological sister.” Qiao Dongliang was perplexed.

  Back then, his parents only had him. He did not have any siblings. Otherwise, when his parents were no longer around, he would not be so helpless that he would need Uncle Lee’s help to be able to marry Ding Jiayi.

  If he had a relative by his side, at the very least, he would have been able to lead an easier life.

  But right now, Zijin and Nan Nan had each other. Should they not cherish each other?

  “Dad, if you look at it from another perspective, if my sister and I switched places, what do you think my sister would do? Take for instance what happened recently. Mom suspected that I stole the key to Zhai family’s residence and pilfered from them. I won’t argue about whether what Mom did was right or wrong, but what did my sister do then? Dad, if you compare it to what I did now, I feel that I have done more than enough. Yes, she is my sister. Although I can’t give her unconditional support, at least I did not do what my sister did to me.”

  Qiao Nan would not change her mind because of what Qiao Dongliang said. What Qiao Dongliang was doing now was what Ding Jiayi would always do. She had been used to it.

  “Nan Nan, did you bear grudges against your sister for what happened last time? Family members don’t bear grudges against one another.” Though Qiao Dongliang could not rebut what Qiao Nan said, he did not know that there were so many misgivings between Qiao Zijin and Qiao Nan and that Qiao Nan would be so frank about it.

  Qiao Nan tousled her hair. Her father’s old habits were acting up again.

  Qiao Nan pondered for a while before looking at Qiao Dongliang. “Dad, as Chinese people, we place a lot of importance on reciprocating each other kind intention. Do you agree?”

  “Yes.” Did Nan Nan mean that since Zijin had ‘misunderstood’ her in the past, hence she wanted to teach Zijin a lesson?

  “Since she is the elder sister, she has to set an example. She has to treat me well first, and only then will I be good to her.” Qiao Nan was not in a hurry. She took her time to finish her sentence. “In the past few years, everyone knows whether my sister treats me well or not. As for me, even if I am not the best sister in the world, I am definitely a good younger sister to her. That I can say with confidence. You want me to be sincere to my sister? Sure, I can do it. But first, she must be genuinely good to me. As long as my sister can do it, I can do it as well. Dad, you have to remember that she must be sincere. I don’t want her to put up pretenses.”

  “But your sister has a nasty temper. She won’t take the first step. Nan Nan, how about you giving in to your sister? If we do not deal with Wang Yang’s matter well, it may affect your sister’s life.”

  “Dad, even if we must not be calculative with our loved ones, why must I give in to her time and again? Why couldn’t she take the first step? Is it because I have a good temper and so I have to be the one to give in?” Qiao Nan pulled a long face. “Dad, actually, I didn’t want to tell you this. But I don’t want to be the bad guy, so I have to make it clear. Ever since Zhu Baoguo made improvements in his studies, Wang Yang came looking for me when you were away. He wanted me to stay away from Zhu Baoguo or else he would not let me off. I don’t want to badmouth my sister, but Wang Yang is definitely not a good person.”

  “Does it mean that Wang Yang targeted your sister because of you?”

  “Dad, if you insist on putting it that way, could I say that Wang Yang was onto me because of Zhu Baoguo? Since that is so, I will tell Uncle Lee and Uncle Zhu tomorrow that because of Zhu Baoguo, Wang Yang has been targeting me and my sister. Should I tell them to be responsible for solving the problem between my sister and Wang Yang? Or should I alienate Zhu Baoguo and cut off any contact with him? In that case, Wang Yang will not target me and he also will not drag my sister down with him. What do you think?”

  Qiao Dongliang had a bad headache. “Alright, stop it. This cannot be done.”

  He did not have the cheek to tell the Zhu family and the Lee family to settle the problem between Wang Yang and Qiao Zijin.