The common practice in China was to persuade couples to stay together instead of getting a divorce. Furthermore, even an honest and upright official would have difficulty resolving a family dispute. But in this case, everyone felt that it was best to get a divorce.

  “Old Qiao, don’t worry. Go ahead and hire a lawyer. If you need witnesses, we can be your witnesses. Your daughter and you have moved here for more than two years. I have never seen this woman before. The two of you have celebrated three Lunar New Years in the small quad, but this woman has never joined you.” Back then, they had thought that Old Qiao’s wife had passed away and that he brought up his daughter by himself. It turned out that the wife was still alive but she refused to show up.

  “That’s right. All of us will be your witnesses.”

  “She did not even show up during the Lunar New Year. It shows that they no longer have mutual affection for each other. We are the witnesses!”

  Everyone in the small quad joined in to say that they could be the witnesses. Ding Jiayi had got on the tails of everyone.

  “Thank you very much.” Qiao Dongliang wiped his eyes. Since he no longer needed Ding Jiayi’s consent and could file for a divorce by himself thanks to the marriage law in the country that allowed him to file for divorce in such a situation, he did not care whether Ding Jiayi was willing to go with him or not. He did not bother to cast her another glance. “Everyone must have seen what just happened. This woman…… She is our misfortune. She has been bullying Nan Nan since she was a child. After I leave, I hope that all of you will stop her from entering my house and bullying Nan Nan. When she married me, she came empty-handed. She spent the money that I had been saving for ten years and I even gave her the house that I used to stay in. Since I am filing for a divorce, we will go our separate ways in the future. She will not be allowed into my house.”

  Although the house belonged to the school, he did not want Ding Jiayi to enter the house and dirty it!

  “Don’t worry. There are so many of us here. We will not allow the woman to bully Qiao Nan.”

  Many hands made light work. Ding Jiayi would not be able to deal with all of them. Besides, there were a lot of adults in the Qiao family’s residence. There was no way that she could get close to the small quad.

  “No, I won’t agree to a divorce! I won’t!” Ding Jiayi panicked. She tried to catch hold of Qiao Dongliang. “I have said that you have to give me fifty thousand yuan if you want a divorce. By then, there is no need for a lawsuit and I will agree to a divorce immediately.”

  \r \r \r

  Ding Jiayi could not help but be flustered. According to Qiao Zijin, she had two ways out. One of the options was to stay married to Qiao Dongliang. With Qiao Nan around, she would be able to lead a good life in the future.

  If she could not stop Qiao Dongliang from filing for a divorce, she had to get the fifty thousand yuan so that she would not have to worry about money in the future.

  She had to get her hands on either the man or the money.

  However, if what Zhai Sheng said was true, Ding Jiayi could not keep the man with her and she would be without the money as well. Her attitude toward the divorce would not change the outcome. It would mean that Ding Jiayi would be left with nothing!

  “She must be crazy!”

  “This woman is crazy! She is beyond help!”

  She demanded fifty thousand yuan to agree to a divorce. It was no wonder that Old Qiao was so harsh toward the woman and that they did not see each other after living separately for two years.

  Nobody could stand a woman like her. Fifty thousand yuan was a huge sum. They had never seen so much money until now.

  “Everyone must have heard it. As long as she has fifty thousand yuan, she is willing to take the initiative to divorce Uncle Qiao. This shows that this woman only has eyes for money. She does not love Uncle Qiao. This is proof that they no longer have mutual affection for each other.” Zhai Sheng made use of the opportunity to shut Ding Jiayi up, leaving her with no chance to retort.

  Since Ding Jiayi showed that she had no more feelings for Qiao Dongliang and only wanted to have fifty thousand yuan, it would make it easy for Qiao Dongliang to divorce her. Everyone present who heard it could be his witnesses as well!

  Ding Jiayi had done herself in.

  There was no way that Ding Jiayi could stop Qiao Dongliang and Zhai Sheng from leaving.

  Despite her screams, Zhai Sheng hailed a car and left with Qiao Dongliang.

  Ding Jiayi cried uncontrollably as the taxi left the small quad.

  Wei De cast a disdainful look at Ding Jiayi. “Indeed, the daughter follows after the mother. But your daughter is more capable than you.” He did not expect this woman to be so useless. Zhai Sheng did not give up on Qiao Nan. Instead, she ended up in a divorce with her husband.

  Although this was the first time they met, Wei De knew that if Qiao Nan had a mother like Ding Jiayi, she would be shunned by the Zhai family sooner or later. Nobody would want to be in-laws with someone who was up to no good. Things would only be more difficult between Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan.

  However, if the two of them really ended up getting a divorce, she would not be able to give Qiao Nan as much trouble in the future.

  It was true that no daughters would abandon their mothers after they succeeded. But similarly, if the mother was being outrageous, the daughter did not need to practice unquestioning filial piety and to be implicated by the mother.

  Wei De left after saying his piece. He would wait for Zhai Hua to explain about what happened today to him.

  Ding Jiayi did not expect that things would come to such a state. This was the last thing that she hoped to see.

  Ding Jiayi had wanted to beg Qiao Nan to help her. In the end, she did not get to see Qiao Nan, and Qiao Dongliang was on his way to the court to file for divorce. Ding Jiayi felt like crying. “Qiao Nan, come out, come out right now. You have to get your dad to come back immediately. Tell him not to divorce me. Do you hear me? If you still treat me as your mother, come out right now!”

  Old Qiao only had eyes for his daughter, Qiao Nan. As long as Qiao Nan was willing to help her, Old Qiao would change his mind.

  “Don’t listen to her! Don’t go out.” Shi Qing had a tight grip on Qiao Nan. “Your mother is known for pestering and creating a ruckus. If you show up, even if it is not your fault, she will tarnish your reputation. Let her scream for all she wants. Everyone knows what is going on. They will ignore her.”

  Things had already reached this state, yet Ding Jiayi still ordered Qiao Nan to come out. She was indeed obnoxious.

  “That’s right. It is better that you don’t go out.” Principal Meng also agreed with Shi Qing. Ding Jiayi was a disaster. One had to cut the Gordian knot to deal with people like her.

  Qiao Dongliang had already made a decision. As a child, Qiao Nan should not interfere in the adults’ affairs.

  “You should stay at home. There are so many people around. She won’t be able to get in.” Liu Neng sighed. It had been close to three years, but Ding Jiayi still continued with her crazy behavior.

  “Telephone!” Qiao Nan grabbed the phone in the house and called the hospital that Ding Jiayi was staying at. “Hello, the patient from ward 503 of your hospital is not in the hospital. She has sneaked out of the hospital. Can you send someone to bring her back?”