In fact, Qiao Zijin did not tell Ding Jiayi that after getting such an answer from the teacher, she was so angry that she rebutted the teacher. “I was beaten and my hair was cut to uneven lengths, yet the school was not able to find any clues. What if someone wants to kill me and they use the scissors on me instead of on my hair next time? Is this what the school will do as well?”

  What Qiao Zijin said would inevitably cause panic among other students.

  Everyone came to school to study and pick up skills, hoping that they could find a job and support themselves.

  If someone was killed in the school, and the students were no longer safe in school, nobody would dare to study at the school!

  If their lives were in danger, it was useless to work and earn money.

  Even if they did not take diploma studies and their highest education level was elementary level, as long as they were willing to work hard, it would not be difficult to get a job. The pay might not be high, but at the very least, they were safe.

  Nobody would want to lose their lives for studying in school.

  Since Qiao Zijin was hit on the back, no one could see the bruises on her back. Everyone only laughed at her hairstyle.

  Now that Qiao Zijin made it sound to be very serious, everyone could not help but panic. Everyone was fearful of dying.

  The teachers were unhappy that Qiao Zijinjin caused such an uproar in the school. Initially, the teacher was sorry that they could not help Qiao Zijin, but now, the teacher was angry and turned sullen. “Our school has been established for more than ten years. There has never been such an incident in the past. There are so many students and nobody has ever been targeted. Why is it that you are the only person who was taught a lesson?”

  The teacher meant that there must be something wrong with Qiao Zijin. Otherwise, why would the person beat her instead of other students?

  “You are shirking responsibility!” Qiao Zijin was furious. She was beaten and her hair was cut to uneven lengths. Clearly, she was the victim.

  Qiao Zijin felt that the school had to bear a huge responsibility regarding this incident. She was upset at encountering such an unlucky incident. At the same time, she felt that the school should compensate her.

  \r \r \r

  Since she was dating Chen Jun, Qiao Zijin had no need of any material compensation. She only wanted to have a good reputation at school, be awarded scholarships, or be crowned as an outstanding student at school.

  Qiao Zijin was still young and did not know the ways of the world, and Ding Jiayi was not around to act the role of the lashing parent. As a result, Qiao Zijin unknowingly adopted Ding Jiayi’s unreasonable attitude instead of the usual pitiful looking attitude that she always used to her advantage.

  “Alright, we shan’t shirk responsibility. Since you want to find out the culprit, why don’t you tell us who you have offended so that we will know who the suspects are?”

  “I didn’t offend anyone!” Qiao Zijin denied that she had provoked anyone else.

  The teacher smiled in anger. “If that is the case, please be patient with us. Our school will look into it. As for what happened today, we will take measures to ensure that it will not happen again.”

  In the teacher’s opinion, they would not find any clues about this incident.

  The children nowadays were very cunning. They had yet to join the workforce and they were already far more scheming than the adults.

  Given Qiao Zijin’s temper, the teacher felt that she must have antagonized other people to have incurred their wrath.

  The teacher knew that Qiao Zijin’s roommates received a text message beforehand. That was why they came downstairs to fetch Qiao Zijin. The text message was not sent from Qiao Zijin’s cell phone. The teacher suspected that it was sent by the person who beat Qiao Zijin.

  The culprit went soft with the punches. The culprit also cut Qiao Zijin’s hair and sent the text message. The purpose was very clear.

  This must be a personal grudge.

  The culprit did not go overboard and it was Qiao Zijin who returned late in the night. She reeked of alcohol when her roommates helped her back to the dormitory. The teacher had no liking to a student like her.

  Qiao Zijin felt wronged that she was beaten and her hair was cut to uneven lengths. Since the teacher did not comfort her, she could only complain to Ding Jiayi.

  Ding Jiayi turned green after knowing what happened. That wretched girl really did it!

  “Don’t cry anymore. My heart aches for you. Perhaps this is an accident?” Even though Ding Jiayi figured out what was going on, she dared not bring it up to Qiao Zijin.

  She knew that if she told Qiao Zijin the truth—that she was the one who landed Qiao Zijin in this trouble—Qiao Zijin would certainly blame her for it.

  “If it’s an accident, there won’t be a second time. Didn’t you say that your hair looks messy? Why don’t you spend some money to go for a haircut? In fact, short hair looks cool on you.”

  “I would need money to have a good haircut.” Qiao Zijin did not want to have a simple haircut at a few yuan only.

  “I will transfer one hundred yuan to your account. You can have a nice haircut. Stop crying.” Ding Jiayi knew what Qiao Zijin meant. She had no choice but to transfer one hundred yuan to her.

  After giving Qiao Zijin one hundred yuan, it would mean that Ding Jiayi could not have any meat dishes in the next half a month. She had no choice but to buy two boxes of instant noodles from the wholesale market for her meals in the next half a month.

  The only slight change to her meals would be an addition of a sunny-side up.

  Ding Jiayi had too many instant noodles that she felt like throwing up. She ate the noodles in dark silence and could not help but cry.

  Ding Jiayi wiped the tears off her face, but she had no idea why she cried or what she was crying for.

  She felt that this kind of life was not what she wanted.

  She should not have gone her separate ways with Old Qiao. He should not have filed for a divorce as well.

  If so, Old Qiao would accompany her when she was having her meals. With Old Qiao around, they would have meat dishes to eat and she would not have to resort to eating instant noodles every single day.

  All that said, Qiao Nan, that wretched girl, had to be blamed. She caused her to end up in a divorce and lose her family. She was even heartless enough to use such evil methods on her sister.

  Ding Jiayi finished the instant noodles quickly. Her heart was filled with hatred.

  She needed to eat in order to be strong. She had to demand an explanation from that wretched girl. She wanted to know why she was so heartless and did that to Zijin.

  After Ding Jiayi was divorced, she put all her attention on her beloved daughter, Qiao Zijin. She had no contact with Qiao Nan.

  She made a Herculean effort to get Qiao Nan’s contact number.

  She even went looking for Qiao Dongliang in order to get Qiao Nan’s contact number.

  Qiao Dongliang was surprised when he heard that Ding Jiayi wanted to show her concern and contact Qiao Nan.

  1032 Did You Do That to Your Sister?

  Qiao Dongliang was happy to know that Ding Jiayi wanted to show concern for Nan Nan. “Do you want to contact Nan Nan?”

  “Of course. I gave birth to Nan Nan. Previously, I was very busy. Zijin had to prepare for the college entrance examination and go to college. That was why I didn’t really contact Nan Nan. Now that Zijin is more sensible, I should show concern for Nan Nan.”

  While she was asking for Qiao Nan’s contact number from Qiao Dongliang, Ding Jiayi did not forget to put in a good word for Qiao Zijin.

  Qiao Dongliang was almost taken in by Ding Jiayi.

  Ding Jiayi and the younger daughter were mother and daughter. Was it true that keeping a proper distance from others would be a way to maintain a good relationship with them? It had been years since they were apart from each other. Why did Ding Jiayi wait until now to get Qiao Nan’s contact number?

  Qiao Dongliang remembered that Ding Jiayi only had unhappy memories with Qiao Nan. He could not help but suspect her real purpose. “Nan Nan came back a few days ago and she had been to the quad. Don’t tell me that you don’t know about it. If you miss Nan Nan, why didn’t you look for her then? Isn’t it better to get her contact number from her?”

  Ding Jiayi looked unsettled, but she heaved a sigh of relief.

  It seemed that the wretched girl did not tell Old Qiao what happened that day.

  If Old Qiao knew that the wretched girl was so vicious to her sister, he would have lectured her and sought justice for Zijin.

  Ding Jiayi felt that she had seized upon the chinks in Qiao Nan’s armor. “I was wrong in the past. I am worried that Nan Nan will still be angry with me. Therefore, I feel that it might be awkward if I talk to her face to face. I feel that it is better to take things one step at a time and speak to her through the phone first. It is December now. Nan Nan will have her exams in January. I will be able to meet her when she is back for Lunar New Year. Isn’t that more suitable?”

  Qiao Dongliang frowned. “It’s good that you want to mend the relationship with her. Nan Nan is a good child. She will be able to accept you. Since it is already December, you can wait until January to speak to Nan Nan directly. By then, you will be able to know her contact number.”

  Qiao Dongliang had been tricked by Ding Jiayi several times. He was fearful of his ex-wife.

  He was reminded of the troubles that she caused in the past. Qiao Dongliang’s demeanor changed. “If there is nothing else, you should leave. I need to work. In the future, don’t come looking for me.” He was worried that other people might misunderstand.

  \r \r \r

  Ding Jiayi never expected that Qiao Dongliang would not give her Qiao Nan’s contact number. She looked upset.

  Her question chilled Qiao Dongliang to the bone. “I am not attached, but Nan Nan said she isn’t against it.”

  Her question chilled Qiao Dongliang to the bone. “I don’t, but Nan Nan said she isn’t against it.”

  Even if he did not remarry, he would never get back together with Ding Jiayi.

  Back then, people used to say that being single was not easy.

  However, to Qiao Dongliang, who had been divorced for years, he led a better life than when he was married.

  No one would make endless complaints and behave unreasonably. No one would look down on him, being biased toward one of their children and mistreating the other child.

  Although it was true that he was the only one at home, he would travel around and chat with his friends. His days were fulfilling.

  Moreover, before they had a divorce, Qiao Dongliang no longer shared a room with Ding Jiayi.

  After the divorce, Qiao Dongliang could have whatever food that he liked. He did not need to accommodate other people’s eating preferences.

  The younger daughter was filial and considerate. Most of the time, there was no need for him to worry about her.

  Although it was true that parents were bound to worry for their children, if given a choice, one still preferred to lead an easy life.

  In short, even though he felt lonely after the divorce, it was better than the days before his divorce.

  Even if there was only a slight improvement right now, Qiao Dongliang had no reason to forsake his current living arrangement to get back together with Ding Jiayi, leading the unhappy and eventful days with her.

  “W-what did you say?” How dare the wretched girl agree to having a stepmother?

  “I have made it very clear.” Qiao Dongliang nodded. “Nan Nan had said so and I told her that I would consider it seriously.”

  Qiao Dongliang was undecided when Qiao Nan brought up this topic.

  But now that Ding Jiayi was right before him and she asked whether he was single, Qiao Dongliang came to a decision.

  Ding Jiayi’s knees buckled. “Old Qiao, a-are you kidding? Are you doing that to spite me?”

  If Old Qiao remarried, what about her?

  Qiao Dongliang shook his head seriously. “Even though we are divorced, you should know that I am not someone who will joke about this.” It was a coincidence that his friends were concerned about him and some even wanted to be his matchmaker.

  “If there’s nothing else, I will go back to the factory to work. You are not young anymore. I wish you happiness.” Qiao Dongliang was not evil-natured. He was serious about starting another relationship. He would not be so selfish as to stop Ding Jiayi from having another relationship after their divorce.

  Qiao Dongliang felt that it was only when both of them each had their own family would he no longer have any relations to Ding Jiayi in this life.

  Ding Jiayi wanted to get Qiao Nan’s contact number from Qiao Dongliang in order to give her a scolding. She did not expect that she would be told such a devastating piece of news.

  It was always on her mind to get back together with Old Qiao, yet he was encouraged by Qiao Nan to marry another woman.

  Ding Jiayi wished that she could turn back time. When she gave birth to Qiao Nan in the hospital, she should have killed her nemesis when she found out that she was a girl.

  The wretched girl was the reason why Qiao Dongliang divorced her. Now, she encouraged Qiao Dongliang to remarry. She was too much.

  Ding Jiayi was angered to tears. She wondered what sins she had committed in her previous life to have such an unfilial daughter like Qiao Nan.

  Just then, Ding Jiayi received a text message on her cell phone. There were only ten digits in the message.

  Ding Jiayi gritted her teeth and thought about it before dialing the number in the message. “Hello, who is this?”

  Qiao Nan saw an unfamiliar number on her caller ID display. She picked up the phone and answered. It was not so popular now for property agents to make calls to sell their property as compared to many years later.

  “!” Ding Jiayi widened her eyes in shock as she recognized Qiao Nan’s voice from the other end of the phone. She growled. “Did you do that to your sister?! You little beast, did you tell your father to remarry? You are so heartless! You abandon your mother but you want to have a stepmother. Is it good to get a stepmother? Are you courting death?” She should not implicate her and encourage Qiao Dongliang to remarry.

  1033 A Misunderstanding Due to Overthinking

  Qiao Nan covered the receiver and walked outside calmly, looking for somewhere isolated before she said coldly to the phone, “You should know very well about Qiao Zijin’s incident. I have already warned you that day at home.”

  “H-how dare you!”

  “Why not! You kept bullying me. If I don’t retaliate, won’t I be doing an injustice to myself?” Qiao Nan sneered. It turned out that her mother thought that she was merely threatening her and would not really do it.

  Ding Jiayi gripped the phone tightly. She had to resist the urge to smash the phone.

  She paid a certain amount of money to get the phone. If she smashed it, she would have to spend money to get another phone. “How can you be so evil? Zijin is your sister!”

  “I don’t wish to be your daughter. Mom, you should know that certain traits are hereditary. At least, this proves that my sister, you, and I are related by blood.” This was the pot calling the kettle black. She was no better than her.

  “If you are angry at me, you can come at me. Your sister is innocent!”

  Qiao Nan smiled angrily, looking upward in exasperation. “Innocent? Do you think I will believe you? It seems that I have not made myself clear that day. I knew very well why you came looking for me. Even though you refuse to admit, it doesn’t mean that I will believe you. Since she dared to use you against me, she should be prepared to bear the consequences. I have said long ago that whatever you do to me, I will make her suffer twice. Direct my anger at you? I am not foolish. I will do whatever that hurts you the most.”

  “You!” Back then, Ding Jiayi could not make Qiao Nan listen to her. Right now, all the more she could not control Qiao Nan. “What exactly do you want?”

  Ding Jiayi was not afraid that Qiao Nan would direct her anger at her.

  But Ding Jiayi was worried that Qiao Nan would retaliate against Qiao Zijin. It would be beyond her ability to help her then. Her heart ached that Qiao Zijin had to go through those sufferings.

  “Nothing but to leave me alone. Don’t show up in front of me and don’t bother me. Also, stop scheming against me. We are unlike other mothers and daughters. If you are worried about your precious daughter, tell Qiao Zijin not to go overboard and stop trying to meddle with other people’s affairs.”

  As long as they did not provoke her, she would not be bothered with them.

  \r \r \r

  “I gave birth to you. I am your mother. Now that you are Cinderella, you want to abandon your mother who is poor and hard up? Aren’t you afraid that the Zhai family will know about it and be doubtful about you? Aren’t you afraid that other people will find out that you abandon your mom and say that you are unfilial? Do you think that you are good enough for Zhai Sheng and will not shame the Zhai family?” No one in this world could abandon their mother and be so brazen about it!

  Qiao Nan leaned against the wall, curling the corners of her lips. “I only said that both of you are not to show up in front of me or provoke me. Rest assured. Regardless of whether you spent any money or effort on me for the past years, once I graduate and earn money, I will do my part to provide for you. I have never thought of shirking responsibility. Let me reiterate. The money that I give you will be subjective to the economic situation in the country.”

  She would only give her the amount of money that was needed for her daily expenses. She would not give her any more than that.

  Qiao Nan was about to hang up the phone.

  “Wait a minute!”

  “Is there anything else?”

  “Your dad is no longer young. Doesn’t he find it shameful to marry again? We have been married for so long. Tell your dad not to be reckless!”

  “Hehehe.” Qiao Nan smiled dryly. “I remember that you mentioned stepmother just now. I agree that a few stepmothers are good, but the problem is biological mothers may not be good as well. Even if the probability of having a good mother is high, I must be very unlucky to have a mother who is worse than a stepmother.”

  Qiao Nan ignored Ding Jiayi and hung the phone on her.

  Qiao Nan went back to the library to do her reading with a cold look on her face. Five minutes had passed and she was still on the same page.

  Qiao Nan closed the book and let out a long sigh.

  She no longer wanted to be influenced by her mother and Qiao Zijin, but it seemed that she still could not help but be affected. Her mother had merely talked to her on the phone and her mood soured.

  Qiao Nan frowned. She had to come up with a way to solve this problem.

  She had given Qiao Zijin a lesson and her mother knew that she was no pushover.

  However, her mother would forget the incident in no time and she would revert to her old ways.

  She could not entertain her mother anymore, nor accede to her requests.

  The only way right now was to stay unaffected despite what her mother did or said.

  Qiao Nan gritted her teeth and gave up on reading the books related to her major. Instead, she went to the library to borrow a book on psychology.

  There were quite a lot of students in the library. Ever since Qiao Nan became famous in school, most of the students in the school knew who she was.

  Yu Xiaoxiao, who ran into Qiao Nan, was surprised at the book that Qiao Nan had with her. It was already near the end of the term, and the teachers were busy helping the students to highlight important points to note for the final term exams. Why did Qiao Nan not revise for the exams but read books on psychology instead? Could it be that Qiao Nan was thinking of changing her major?

  But that was just a fleeting thought.

  Yu Xiaoxiao told herself not to be bothered by what she saw.

  Qiao Nan had already joined the party’s study class, while she had not.

  Yu Xiaoxiao was very clear about what she needed to do in her four years of college in order to pave a way for her future.

  Firstly, she had to try her best to join the party while she was in school.

  Secondly, she had to get a scholarship.

  Thirdly, she had to be active in school and get to know more people in school who would help her along when she started to work.

  There was no way for Yu Xiaoxiao to join the party this year. She might not even have the chance to do that in the first half of next year.

  On the other hand, Qiao Nan might be able to complete all the procedures next year. Yu Xiaoxiao had nothing but envy for Qiao Nan.

  It was impossible for her to accomplish the first and third goals. She could only work on her second goal, which was to get the scholarship. Therefore, she had to work hard and put in extra effort.

  After she was awarded a scholarship and had some accomplishments in school, it would be easier for more people to get to know her.

  In the next four years, she had to make sure that she was well-known among the students in Peking University. Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to accomplish her third goal.

  With that thought in mind, Yu Xiaoxiao decided to buck up. She watched with a curl in her lips as Qiao Nan pored over the book.