Right now, she could no longer do it. When Auntie Miao used such an attitude on her, not only did she want to hide, but she had goosebumps all over her as well.

  Shi Qing looked at Qiao Nan with admiration. How did she get along with Auntie Miao? She was so courageous and capable!

  Qiao Nan stuffed a piece of fruit into Shi Qing’s mouth. It was better to talk less and to eat more so as not to make any mistakes.

  Back when Qiao Nan first saw Auntie Miao, her attitude was worse than how she was to Shi Qing right now.

  Shi Qing was conscious of the awkward atmosphere and could not find any topic to talk about. It was just nice that Qiao Nan gave her a piece of fruit. She lowered her head and focused on eating her fruit.

  “Nan Nan, have you been getting along well with Shi Qing recently?” Did Nan Nan know Shi Qing well enough? Was she sure that she would not be another Qiu Chenxi? If not, it would spell trouble.

  Zhai Sheng would come over to the Qiao family’s residence occasionally because of the Zhai family’s relationship with the Qiao family.

  Did Shi Qing have an ulterior motive by being good friends with Nan Nan? Was she planning to drop by the Qiao family’s residence often so that she would have more chances of seeing Zhai Sheng?

  Qiao Nan and Shi Qing did not know whether to laugh or cry at Miao Jing’s words.

  Shi Qing felt gloomy and inched closer to Qiao Nan, widening the gap between Zhai Sheng and her. She wanted to prove to Miao Jing through her actions that she was not interested in Zhai Sheng.

  However, the harder Shi Qing tried to show that she was over Zhai Sheng, the more Miao Jing felt that Shi Qing was trying to hide her feelings but had made matters worse. She was on the guard against Shi Qing.

  \r \r \r

  She had to find a chance to remind Nan Nan.

  Nan Nan was inexperienced and soft-hearted. She would believe other people easily and would be made use of by them.

  Qiao Nan was treated as if she was the innocent kids in the ivory tower. She clasped her head in exasperation. Now that Auntie Miao was at her house, there might not be peace here.

  “Auntie Miao, I…… I will give my dad a call.” Shi Qing felt uncomfortable under Miao Jing’s stare. She turned her back to her and made a phone call to Shi Peng’s office. “Hello, Dad. Today, Auntie Miao and Brother Zhai are at the Qiao family’s residence. Perhaps you can buy dishes back with you, just in case……”

  In case Auntie Miao and Brother Zhai were staying over for the night and she might suffer indigestion from dinner.

  Auntie Miao was the future mother-in-law of Qiao Nan. As a good friend of Qiao Nan, she had to have Qiao Nan’s best interests at heart and help her show due respect to Auntie Miao, lest Auntie Miao made it difficult for Qiao Nan in the future.

  “Foolish child.” Miao Jing stared at Shi Qing intently. She seemed to be a hen that was guarding her chicks. Qiao Nan silently mourned for Shi Qing.

  Auntie Miao was already wary of Shi Qing. Shi Qing’s original intention might be to show due respect for her, but to Auntie Miao, Shi Qing had not given up her feelings for Brother Zhai and prepared a sumptuous meal as gifts would blind the eyes.

  Shi Qing, who had done herself in unknowingly, was puzzled that the atmosphere seemed to have become more awkward than before.

  Miao Jing shot a glance at Zhai Sheng, hinting for him not to be too close to Shi Qing. “Shi Qing, I am going to have a chat with Nan Nan in her room. Do you mind if you sit here and watch the television?”

  “No, I don’t mind. I don’t mind at all. The two of you can have a good chat.” Shi Qing almost wanted to stand up to send the pair of daughter-in-law and mother-in-law into Qiao Nan’s room to have a good chat.

  Miao Jing curved the corners of her lips. She might not be able to discipline someone else’s daughter, but she could still take her son in hand.

  She shot a few warning glances at Zhai Sheng before she held Qiao Nan’s hand and went into her room. “Nan Nan, I have a lot to tell you. It is such a good chance today for us to have a good chat.”

  “Well…… sure.” Qiao Nan felt slightly uncomfortable and awkward that Miao Jing held on to her hand.

  After Miao Jing and Qiao Nan entered the room, Shi Qing sat upright as if she was a soldier who had committed a mistake and stole furtive glances at Zhai Sheng.

  Zhai Sheng rested his feet on the floor. He straightened his face and looked serious. This was the Qiao family’s residence, but Shi Qing felt as if she was in Zhai Sheng’s office at the army camp. She was so nervous that she had sweaty palms. “Is everything okay at Ping Cheng High School recently?”

  “Everything is fine. Xu Tingting has been behaving herself recently. She no longer dares to provoke Qiao Nan. Without Qiao Nan’s revision materials, if Xu Tingting wants to do well in the college entrance examination with her own efforts and the revision outline provided by the teachers, she will need to put in double the effort.” In other words, Xu Tingting was too busy to scheme against Qiao Nan.

  “What about Zhao Yu?”

  “Zhao Yu is more well-behaved than Xu Tingting. After she apologized to Qiao Nan last year, she was not up to any cheap tricks. Previously, I overheard her conversation with Xu Tingting. It turned out that Xu Tingting wanted to work with Zhao Yu to spread rumors about Qiao Nan. Zhao Yu refused and tried to stop Xu Tingting from doing it. No matter whether there is Xu Tingting or not, Zhao Yu will not make any trouble for Qiao Nan in the future.”

  If her observations were correct, ever since school reopened this semester, whenever Zhao Yu met Qiao Nan at school, she would blush as if she was a shy young lady.

  If she was not one hundred percent certain that Qiao Nan was a girl, she would suspect that Qiao Nan was a boy and Zhao Yu was interested in Qiao Nan.

  Zhai Sheng nodded in satisfaction at Shi Qing’s detailed report of Qiao Nan’s situation at school. “You have done a good job. In your opinion, Zhao Yu is no longer a threat. How about Xu Tingting……”

  “Brother Zhai, you can rest assured that I will not allow Xu Tingting to create any trouble for Qiao Nan when she sits for her college entrance examination. If she dares to scheme against Qiao Nan, I will make sure to throw her out of Ping Cheng High School. She will never be able to sit for the college entrance examination this year!” Shi Qing stood up right away. She stood at attention and saluted Zhai Sheng.

  Zhai Sheng nodded. “Well, I will entrust you with the task of taking care of Qiao Nan. If you fail to complete this mission, you should know that punishment awaits you.”

  “I will definitely complete the mission!” Was Brother Zhai treating her as soldiers under his command?

  Qiao Dongliang, who came out from the kitchen with a plate of stir-fried dishes, was stunned momentarily at the scene that he witnessed. He lifted the corners of his mouth. He knew that Zhai Sheng was the regiment commander, but when did Shi Qing become soldiers under his command?

  “Uncle Qiao, I…… I will help you with the dishes.” Shi Qing blushed. She jogged over to take the dish from Qiao Dongliang and brought it out to the living room.

  This was a cold vegetable dish. It was alright to bring it out before dinner started.

  “Thank you.” Qiao Dongliang was about to head back into the kitchen when Shi Qing followed right behind him. “Uncle Qiao, I…… I will help you.” She felt nervous when she was around Auntie Miao and Brother Zhai.