Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  When Shi Qing saw the heaps of fabric that the two bought, she was wide-eyed and tongue-tied. “Brother Zhai, when a woman spends money to shop, there’s no rationality to speak of. Qiao Nan doesn’t have, but don’t you?”

  “I don’t need to have.” Zhai Sheng became the coolie. He was carrying the fabric into the house, making a few trips.

  Qiao Nan sat down and drank some tea. “I felt quite happy while I was buying them. But once I stopped, I was really exhausted.”

  “You were exhausted? I thought you shopped till you became crazy? By doing this, aren’t you afraid that the Zhai family will form negative perceptions of you?” She was not even married into the family and yet she didn’t help Zhai Sheng save when she spent his money. Was Qiao Nan unafraid that the Zhai family would be unhappy with her because of this and make things difficult for her in the future?

  Qiao Nan’s face was sullen. She expressed that she had considered all these. “In the Zhai family now, most probably, Auntie Miao is the only one who is unaware of the relationship between Brother Zhai and me. The matter between Brother Zhai and me has to be announced eventually. There are some things that I have to pay attention to now. It’s also for the sake of the Zhai family. Furthermore, when Auntie Miao suggested that Brother Zhai bring me shopping, Chief Zhai and Sister Zhai Hua definitely didn’t object to it. If I really declined, they might not view me positively either.”

  It was not good to decline the request from an elder.

  If she rejected and overdid it, it would seem that she did not know what was good for her.

  “Given the spending power of the Zhai family, although I bought so much fabric, the cost may not even exceed their budget to buy ready-made clothes for me.” Qiao Nan had calculated the sums well.

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  “So, you actually helped the Zhai family save money?” Shi Qing started to agree with Qiao Nan’s words. People with her background did not approve of extravagance and wastefulness. Nevertheless, no households would deliberately flash their poverty to disgust others. Qiao Nan had too few clothes in her possession.

  “I didn’t save much, but neither was I wasteful.” Qiao Nan looked at the fabric that she had selected and bought. “Moreover, the clothes made from these bolts of fabric will not be just for me. I know about making a gift for people with something given to me.”

  “Won’t this be too difficult? Are you able to handle it? Why don’t I help you cheat a little?” Shi Qing shook her head continuously. She felt that the mission Qiao Nan picked was too difficult. If she did it well, she would strike a beautiful victory. If she failed, then she would appear to be acting smart and embarrass herself in front of others.

  There was too big a stake in this gamble.

  “No need, I know how to. However, if you really want to help me, can you get me a sewing machine? I won’t borrow it for free. I’ll make you one set of clothing. How about that?” She did not need to cheat. If she really wanted to, she would be very embarrassed to say that she was someone from the 21st century. The people from the 21st century would feel ashamed because of her.

  “No problem.” Shi Qing showed an ‘OKAY’ sign with her hand. “Still the same words. If you can’t handle it, I can help you cheat a little.”

  “Fine.”

  After Zhai Sheng finished moving the items, he drank the cup of water that Qiao Nan got for him. “I’ll go home first. If you need any help, call me.”

  “Okay.” Qiao Nan sent Zhai Sheng off with her eyes. “Did you go out today?” Once she returned home and sat down, the first thing Qiao Nan did was to glance at Shi Qing. Brother Zhai was around earlier. It was thus not convenient to ask about certain things. It was convenient to do so now.

  “You’re so sharp. Look.” Shi Qing took out the packaging bag and casually poured out the clothing in it “What do you think about this piece of clothing?”

  “One word, tawdry. Two words, disgustingly tawdry.” Shi Qing’s clothing was too flashy and gaudy. There were too many decorations and the flowery design was complicated. If Shi Qing wore this, she would look like a live flower basket. It was really not very nice.

  “My auntie gave this to me.” Shi Qing used one hand to hook the clothing up with disdain. “This is my auntie’s taste?”

  “It must be intentional of her to give you such clothing. The clothing that Qiu Chenxi wears is quite stylish. Even if it’s not, at the very least, it’s pricey. This one, though……” Qiao Nan did not continue further, in case Shi Qing’s expression turned uglier.

  Shi Qing sneered. “Isn’t that so? She treats me as a fool who can be conned. It’s not as if I’ve not seen what Qiu Chenxi wore before. She wants to find out something from me and yet she dared to use this kind of thing to bluff me. I really have such a good auntie. She adopts this kind of attitude when she is pleading others. It’s so rare of her.”

  “Pleading? What’s she pleading you for?” What matter could make Qi Minlan so polite to someone?

  “What else can it be? But when she opened her mouth today, I realized that I predicted something wrong.” Shi Qing sat up and looked at Qiao Nan energetically. “I’ve mentioned to you about the first matter before. It’s because of Feng Wei. She asked me how I know about Feng Wei, who the Feng Wei that I know is, and how old he is. After confirming that I know about Feng Wei’s matter, she then begged me not to reveal the matter to anyone. You guess. Why else did she look for me?”

  Initially, the scope of this ‘guess’ was really too wide and it was not easy for Qiao Nan to guess.

  But once she came into eye contact with Shi Qing, Qiao Nan reached out her hands and pointed at her own nose. “Because of me?”

  “What else could it be!” Shi Qing slammed the table as she felt both excited and aggravated. “When you’re shopping together with Brother Zhai, she bumped into both of you. But judging from your behavior, Brother Zhai and you definitely did not discover her. She felt odd and specially came here to ask me why you were shopping with Brother Zhai. Brother Zhai not only bought clothing but also carried the shopping bags for you. She asked me what the relationship between the two of you is. Qiao Nan, my auntie is starting to suspect that you’re Brother Zhai’s girlfriend!”

  Having said that, Shi Qing could not help breaking out in a cold sweat for Qiao Nan.

  If her auntie knew about it, there was no difference from Qiu Chenxi knowing about it.

  The mother-daughter pair refused to give up on the position of the chief in the Zhai family. Moreover, Zhai Sheng was so strong and outstanding. He also had great contributions. Hence, the probability that he would take on the role of the chief was more than eighty percent.

  Hence, once her auntie confirmed that Qiao Nan was the one that Brother Zhai was in a romantic relationship with, given the power of her auntie and Qiu Chenxi, it was not difficult at all for them to create trouble for Qiao Nan such that she could not even remain in Ping Cheng if the Zhai family did not protect her well enough.

  Qiao Nan felt fear and trepidation. “Then, how did you reply to her?”

  “What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll be here to protect you. Will I let them bully you?” Shi Qing patted her own chest hard. “I don’t need to say much. I just needed to casually tell her about the situation in the Zhai family. She should understand then.”

  Auntie Miao and Brother Zhai quarreled with each other, and Qiao Nan was the one who persuaded them to reconcile. The Zhai family was grateful to Qiao Nan and wanted to buy her something. There was nothing strange about it. This was also a way they commonly used to express their gratitude. “But with this, my auntie will hate you more. She can’t wait for the relationship between Brother Zhai and Auntie Miao to become worse. Who would have known that when the mother-son pair had issues, you made them reconcile? Of course, compared to the fact that you’re Brother Zhai’s girlfriend, this little grudge is nothing.”