But she was not that shameless and blatant.

  “Alright, let’s not think about this. Let’s think about something else.” Qiao Zijin was impatient. Her mood went from bad to worse. “Since Dad won’t borrow the money from the Zhai family, he will definitely not be able to come up with the money. He has no money to divorce you. In the end, you will reach your goal. Therefore, there is no need to be anxious. Dad is the one who should be anxious. If he comes up with the money, you will agree to the divorce and have the money; if not, the two of you will still remain as husband and wife. No matter what, you won’t stand to lose.”

  Ding Jiayi nodded in agreement, but she seemed to be upset. “Zijin, do you feel that this sounds very familiar?”

  “.……” Qiao Zijin pursed her lips.

  Familiar?

  Of course it sounded familiar.

  She and her mother used this tactic two years ago to force her father not to bring up divorce again. However, back then, the amount of money they asked for was not as high as fifty thousand yuan.

  Ding Jiayi also remembered what happened back then. “Do you think we will enrage your dad further by asking for fifty thousand yuan this time?” Would he be so angry that he becomes more determined to divorce her?

  “What about fifty thousand yuan? You should have known that prices have gone up in the last two years. It is not easy to earn a living and everything requires money. We asked for a higher amount as the circumstances have changed. Alright, if you are worried, here is another idea. You can continue to play the fool and create a ruckus, using all means to pester Dad so that he will not divorce you. It is totally up to you if he divorces you or not!”

  “.……” Ding Jiayi’s eyes turned red and she broke into tears. “If this method is feasible, I would have done it long ago.” She really did not want a divorce. Instead of having fifty thousand yuan, she would rather keep Qiao Dongliang with her and be with her family.

  She did not commit any serious crimes. Why was Qiao Dongliang so vicious to insist on a divorce?

  “Zijin, do you think Qiao Nan will help me put in a good word in front of Old Qiao if I beg her for help?”

  “You can have a go at it. Remember, you have to go on your knees. Qiao Nan is not a soft-hearted person. You have to go all out to beg her. Perhaps she will agree to help you.” A thought crossed Qiao Zijin’s mind. “Now that the results for the college entrance examination are out, you must hurry to the Qiao family’s residence. I will send you there. Remember, you must go on your knees to beg Qiao Nan for help!”

  Qiao Nan must have done well in the college entrance examination and she had someone as capable as Zhai Sheng to be her boyfriend. Why did lady luck keep shining on her?

  \r \r \r

  In short, she could not stand it that Qiao Nan was doing well. She must create trouble for her and irritate her.

  “.……” Ding Jiayi was merely coming up with possible ways to salvage her marriage. However, Qiao Zijin, who was onto the idea, pushed her out of the ward.

  Qiao Zijin talked to the nurse about bringing her mother out of the ward. Ding Jiayi was feeling much better and she did not injure her legs. It would not be a problem for her to leave her ward for a short while.

  Qiao Zijin told the nurse that she was going to support Ding Jiayi to the garden to take a walk. She did not tell her that they would be leaving the hospital.

  Fortunately, Ding Jiayi told Qiao Zijin to bring a set of casual clothes to the hospital. The clothes that she wore when she was in an accident were stained with blood. It was unlikely that the blood would come off. She might have to throw them away.

  If Qiao Zijin did not bring clothes with her, she might have nothing to wear when she was discharged.

  The clothes came in handy now.

  On the other hand, Qiao Dongliang left in anger, returning to the Qiao family’s residence after telling them that he would definitely file for a divorce.

  By the time he reached his house, there was a huge crowd outside his house. It was similar to the crowded situation during summer break last year when a lot of the parents came to their house to ask Qiao Nan to tutor their children. However, the crowd was much larger than the previous time.

  Qiao Dongliang could tell that other than the parents of the students, there were also the parents of Qiao Nan’s classmates in the crowd. He had been to several parent-teacher conferences and he had some impression of them.

  “Old Qiao, you are back. Congratulations.”

  “Old Qiao, you have such good fortune to have a brilliant daughter.”

  “Old Qiao……”

  The neighbors noticed that Qiao Dongliang was back. All of them gathered around him to congratulate him. Qiao Dongliang felt confused at their congratulations. “What is the matter?” Why would they congratulate him?

  “Nan Nan has come in the first place in the college entrance examination. She is the top humanities student of the province!”

  The top scorer!

  He had never seen the top scorer of Ping Cheng, let alone the top scorer of the province.

  He had heard that the young lady who stayed in the neighborhood was very smart and had good grades. One of the students that she tutored was the top scorer in the middle school examination.

  He only heard it from others and had never seen it for himself. Therefore, he had a surreal feeling about it.

  But today was different. One of his neighbors was the provincial top humanities scorer of the college entrance examination. She was the pride of their community and the entire Ping Cheng!

  “Are the results of the college entrance examination out?” Qiao Dongliang was stunned. He was so upset with Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin that he had forgotten about it. Did Qiao Nan manage to get into one of the first-tier universities in the capital? “Does Nan Nan have any chance of going to Tsinghua University or Peking University?”

  Qiao Dongliang did not know much of the famous universities, but he had heard of two of the best universities in the country. He knew them by heart.

  “Of course! She can make her choices among them!”

  “Oh, Old Qiao, Old Qiao……”

  While everyone was thrilled, Qiao Dongliang blacked out and fell backward.

  “My goodness, Old Qiao has passed out from overwhelming joy!”

  Qiao Dongliang had tired himself out from taking care of Ding Jiayi during this period of time. Besides feeling weak, he was also angered by Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi. He was overwhelmed with joy at the news. He could not catch his breath and passed out right then and there.

  “Make some space. The top scorer’s father is back. He is so happy that he fainted. Make way. Let him into the house so that he could take a breath and rest.”

  Everyone moved to a side when they heard that the father of the top scorer had fainted.

  Some people laughed at Qiao Dongliang. But on second thought, if their children were the top scorer, they would pass out as well. They were more than happy to pass out from joy.

  “Everyone is here. Light the firecrackers!” A few of the neighbors had bought firecrackers beforehand. They waited until Qiao Dongliang went into the house to set off them. The cracking sounds of firecrackers livened up the whole neighborhood. It was livelier than during the Lunar New Year!

  “Dad?” Qiao Nan was anxious. She pinched at his philtrum. “Dad, wake up.”

  Her father used to be a soldier. How could he possibly faint from overwhelming joy?

  “I suppose Uncle Qiao must have been exhausted from taking care of your mom at the hospital.” Shi Qing sat with her legs crossed at the Qiao family’s residence.

  “Perhaps…… Hurry, get a bowl of sugar water for my dad. I suppose he came back from the hospital in a bad mood.” Qiao Nan ordered Shi Qing around.