After grandfather had spoken, Brother Zhai reduced the quantity. However, he increased the quality too viciously and also the duration!!!

  Fortunately, all thanks to Old Master Zhai’s words, Qiao Nan’s ‘exercises’ lessened by a lot. She had more time for sleeping then.

  On the second day, it was rare that Qiao Nan, who was already used to the constant ‘torture’ by Zhai Sheng, could sleep for an additional two hours. She was thus feeling energized. Just as how Shi Qing would put it, she seemed to be shining all over.

  “See no evil!” Shi Qing covered her eyes. “Qiao Nan, are you too immersed in happiness now? You’re just short of writing ‘happiness’ on your face. You have to know. Your expression is causing a great amount of hurt to singles like us.”

  At the sight of Qiao Nan looking so happy, the boyish Shi Qing expressed jealously that she also hoped that she could find a man that she liked so that she could go on a romantic date.

  “Put in more effort to part with singlehood then.” Qiao Nan pursed her lips in an attempt to suppress the corners of her lips that could not help curling up. “What is happening between Zhu Baoguo and you?”

  “Ah! What do you mean?” Shi Qing jumped and exclaimed.

  Qiao Nan laughed madly. “Hahaha, I didn’t even say anything. I am just asking…… How is your relationship with Zhu Baoguo as classmates recently? Do you have to be so emotional? You’re admitting to it yourself. Did I step on your tail?”

  Qiao Nan was completely having a blind guess with these words.

  After transferring to PLA National Defence University, Shi Qing and Qiao Nan had never stopped contacting each other. They would call each other at least once a week, not to mention that the two young ladies were ‘trendsetters’ who had cell phones in their possession.

  On the contrary, Zhu Baoguo, who used to stick to Qiao Nan so badly in the past, seemed to have grown up. For six months, Qiao Nan did not receive any phone call or letter from Zhu Baoguo.

  Fortunately, there was Shi Qing. Each time they had a phone conversation, six to seven out of Shi Qing’s ten sentences were related to Zhu Baoguo.

  Hence, although Zhu Baoguo had never contacted Qiao Nan, Qiao Nan was not unfamiliar with Zhu Baoguo’s situation.

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  Unknowingly, a woman’s topics of conversation were always revolving around another man.

  If Qiao Nan, who had been through two lifetimes, did not realize anything, she should really be reborn again.

  In particular, Shi Qing’s current reaction made Qiao Nan more certain that something was happening between these two people. Otherwise, why would Shi Qing react so strongly?

  Shi Qing touched her face. Her pair of eyes was looking all around but Qiao Nan’s eyes. “Don’t talk nonsense. Zhu Baoguo is such a weak shrimp. Will I fancy him?”

  “Weak shrimp?” Qiao Nan raised her brows. “Why did I hear from others that you have been defeated by Zhu Baoguo? You even did various sneak attacks on him but did not succeed each time. He defeats you every time.”

  Qiao Nan felt that Zhu Baoguo was most probably the only one who could tolerate Shi Qing’s temper.

  Take Zhai Hua as an example. For these two ladies, Qiao Nan felt that their partners had to either use gentleness to counter their toughness or use extreme physical force to defeat them.

  Zhu Baoguo was obviously in the second situation. At the thought that Zhai Hua was going to ‘marry’ Tian Dong and if the two were really together, Qiao Nan wondered whether Tian Dong would be in the first kind of situation.

  It was only many years later that Qiao Nan understood one thing. As a man, they always liked to be the ‘number two’. They were more willing to leave the ‘number one’ to women.

  Shi Qing jumped in shock. “Heard? Where did you hear that from? Who said that?” If she were to find out who told Qiao Nan these things, she would peel the skin of the other party!

  “Hahaha.” Qiao Nan was overjoyed. “Why do you care who told me this? You just need to tell me. Is there a problem with my understanding? Is this the truth? That will do.”

  Shi Qing and Zhu Baoguo fought with each other when they first met each other. Now, they were still fighting with each other after a few years. Was this the momentum of loving and killing each other?

  “I…… I am not talking to you anymore. I can’t clarify this.” Shi Qing had never been Qiao Nan’s match in arguments. Furthermore, Qiao Nan was speaking the truth. Shi Qing, who had been caught red-handed, had a knot in her brains. She wanted to weave a lie but her mind was blank and completely useless. She could only concede defeat and steer away from the topic.

  Thereafter, Shi Qing calmed down and asked herself. Why did she have to avoid Qiao Nan’s question? That attitude was as if there was really something going on between Zhu Baoguo and her. Why was she feeling so guilty-conscious?

  The wedding preparations of Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan had been ongoing for about six months. Many things had already been settled.

  Zhai Sheng would be marrying Qiao Nan on the eighth day of Lunar New Year. Zhu Chengqi felt that since there were only three days left to the date, Qiao Nan could stay at the house of the Zhu family.

  In the past, Zhai Sheng had believed that Qiao Dongliang, his father-in-law, was the greatest obstruction to him marrying a wife. With Zhu Chengqi’s appearance, he then knew that the vicious character appeared later on.

  Qiao Dongliang had been focusing on Qiao Zijin. Of course, he did not continue to make things difficult for Zhai Sheng or feel that he was snatching his daughter away from him.

  Qiao Dongliang did not feel that way but Zhu Chengqi did.

  Qiao Nan was just a first-year college student. Each time Zhu Chengqi thought of this, he felt very uneasy. He felt that Zhai Sheng was shameless to have hit on Qiao Nan when she was so young.

  One desperately wanted to bring his daughter home while the other wanted his wife to remain in his house. This pair of father and son-in-law was fighting head-on.

  In the end, Old Master Zhai said that Zhu Chengqi could fetch Qiao Nan over to the house of the Zhu family on the night of the fourth day of Lunar New Year. Zhai Sheng was so furious that his face turned sullen instantly.

  Old Master Zhai laughed. If he did not allow his granddaughter-in-law to go to the house of the Zhu family, his granddaughter-in-law would most likely continue to have panda eyes until the day of her wedding banquet.

  His grandson was good in all ways but he was too young and full of stamina. He also lacked a little self-control.

  Zhai Sheng did not know what Old Master Zhai was planning in his mind. Whether he was aware or not, the outcome was the same. His face was very sullen after he had been ‘betrayed’ by Old Master Zhai.

  When Qiao Nan moved into the house of the Zhu family, she finally felt a little like a bride-to-be.

  At the sight of the house of the Zhu family that she was familiar with, Qiao Nan looked around.

  Zhu Chengqi noticed her action. “Are you looking for Baoguo?”

  “Yes.” Since she was engaged with Brother Zhai and made it clear to Zhu Baoguo, this young brat had been avoiding her for six months. She was now at the house of the Zhu family to stay over. Was Zhu Baoguo prepared to continue avoiding her?

  Zhu Chengqi looked at Qiao Nan lovingly. “Baoguo has a childlike temper. Don’t need to bother about him. He hasn’t sorted out his thoughts yet.”

  Zhu Baoguo, who was hiding in the dark, was so furious at his father’s words that his face turned crimson. His father really knew how to do him in. Childlike temper? Come on, he was older than Qiao Nan!

  This was the first time that he had taken a liking to a woman and was even secretly in love with her for a few years. In the end, she was going to be married to someone else. Zhu Baoguo not only felt sadness but also pain. It was as if someone had been piercing his heart with a knife again and again.

  1082 It Turned Out That You Are Also a Fool

  Zhu Baoguo regretted more than once why he was not enlightened earlier.

  He heard that Zhai Sheng got to know Xiao Qiao before he did. The problem was that he was the one who spent more time with Xiao Qiao by her side!

  Zhai Sheng only met Xiao Qiao a few times a year but he was classmates with Xiao Qiao. Furthermore, they were in the same class for a few years!

  There was a saying that one would enjoy the benefits of a favorable position. In terms of physical distance, he was closer to Xiao Qiao. They also spent more time together, but in the end, Zhai Sheng, this old cow, still snatched her away. At the thought of this, Zhu Baoguo spurned his former self who was such a blockhead.

  The pair was going to hold their wedding banquet soon and he could only watch on. Qiao Nan looked so happy and contented. As such, the domineering Zhu Baoguo dared not act according to his wishes and do anything that would wreck Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng’s wedding.

  This was because he knew that Qiao Nan would definitely feel very upset if he did that. The thing that he wanted most was to give Qiao Nan happiness.

  He wanted to give her happiness but the happiness would not come from him. Zhu Baoguo felt so unfortunate to have actually encountered such a matter.

  Most tragically, he had wanted to be the groom but eventually became the maternal family of the bride because of his own father!

  When Zhai Sheng came to fetch the bride, he still had to stand in the way during the gatecrashing. At the thought of this, the fury in Zhu Baoguo’s heart grew. He did not know how he could vent his frustration to make himself feel better.

  Unfortunately, the person who caused this situation and did him in was that biological father of his. If it were someone else, he would make that person suffer badly.

  The problem was that this matter was arranged by his one and only biological father. No matter how domineering Dictator Zhu was, he dared not beard the lion in his den or lay hands on his own father.

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  The aggrieved Zhu Baoguo simply hid and refused to appear before Qiao Nan. He was afraid that he would embarrass himself if he did not manage to restrain himself.

  If they were not destined to be together, and Xiao Qiao was only destined to be his younger sister, he would have to protect Xiao Qiao’s impression of him in her heart. He would not act up!

  Qiao Nan did not know that Zhu Baoguo had been hiding. She did not see Zhu Baoguo in the house of the Zhu family but she saw Wang Yang.

  Wang Yang looked different from the then bright and cheery teenager a few years ago. He had become taller but also thinner.

  He was standing there quietly, looking especially gloomy and sinister. It was as if he was a poisonous snake, hiding in a dark corner and waiting for a chance to give a surprise strike. He made people have goose bumps all over.

  Wang Yang walked out slowly. “I really didn’t expect you to be so capable. Congratulations.” In the past, he had underestimated Qiao Nan. He had thought that just one Chen Jun could deal with her.

  Who would have known that Qiao Nan did not fancy Chen Jun at all? Qiao Nan was more ambitious than him. She actually targeted Zhai Sheng.

  He did not even dare to have any ideas on Zhai Sheng, yet without a hitch, Qiao Nan was going to be married to Zhai Sheng very soon. Wang Yang hated Qiao Nan but he was also convinced of Qiao Nan’s ability. “If I had known that you are so formidable, I would not have chosen to collaborate with that fool, Chen Jun, in the past.”

  An ordinary woman in the southern district of the quad was going to be married to Zhai Sheng, the most promising man in the northern district of the quad.

  He and Qiao Nan were one of a kind.

  If he had discovered this earlier, his relationship with Qiao Nan would not have been so sour. After so long, he did not get anything belonging to the Zhu family.

  When she heard Wang Yang classify her in the same category as himself, Qiao Nan frowned but she did not wish to explain.

  “You will become Cinderella after you are married to Zhai Sheng. How is it? Should we shake hands and bury the hatchet? We may have a chance to work together in the future.” Wang Yang crossed his arms in front of his chest. His scheming eyes were looking at Qiao Nan.

  At this moment, he would benefit much more by collaborating with Qiao Nan instead of plotting against her.

  Wang Yang was a smart person. Hence, he could let unhappy bygones be bygones and suggest a collaboration. “Qiao Nan, you’re a smart woman. You should understand how unreliable man is. Although a military marriage is protected by law, it is just a typical situation. The Zhai family is not the average people. Hence, typical situations do not apply to them. You don’t have enough bargaining chips. You may marry gloriously now, but you may become multiple times more destitute in the future. You should buy yourself some insurance.”

  Qiao Nan picked up an apple and started peeling it. “If I tell you that the reason I am together with Brother Zhai is not as complicated as you think, you probably won’t believe me. To me, it is not important whether you believe it or not. However, you have to know something. All this while, I don’t like to dance with wolves or ask a tiger for his hide. I am very timid and am afraid of gambling.”

  If she were to collaborate with Wang Yang, she was fearful that she would be betrayed by him and even lose her life eventually.

  “Also, one more thing. It is not necessary for me to collaborate with you even if my marriage with Brother Zhai is not as safe as a typical military marriage. To put it bluntly, if it reaches that stage, the one who requests for divorce may not necessarily be Brother Zhai.” To her, being alive was more important than anything else.

  If there was truly an issue with the relationship between Brother Zhai and her and it was so serious, there might be certain things that Brother Zhai was willing to tolerate but she would certainly not.

  This matter had happened to Chen Jun before. Qiao Nan had already experienced it once. As such, if it were Zhai Sheng, Qiao Nan still would not change her attitude. She would still resolutely choose to divorce or break up.

  Wang Yang narrowed his eyes. “You are also a woman who values love above everything else?” Alright, he had overestimated Qiao Nan. Qiao Nan was not as rational and smart as he had imagined her to be. “It turned out that you’re no different from other women.”

  She had been chastised by Wang Yang but she was not angry. She looked at Wang Yang. “Yes, I am no different from other women. Since I am willing to marry someone, the only reason is that the other party is someone that I want. To me, the other additional conditions that you care about are, in fact, not that important.”

  Qiao Nan did not find it surprising at all that Wang Yang would have such thoughts.

  Out of a hundred people who heard about the situation of Brother Zhai and her, ninety-nine of them would certainly think that she was marrying Brother Zhai because of Brother Zhai’s good family background and promising future.

  However, Qiao Nan knew in her heart that she was willing to get married at such a young age not because of all these conditions. It was purely because of Zhai Sheng as an individual and the Zhai family.

  “Hahaha.” Wang Yang sneered continuously. “Take it that I didn’t come. Ignore what I said to you earlier.”

  Damn, he had thought that Qiao Nan was a smart woman, and that was why she could receive the affirmation of the Zhai family and become Zhai Sheng’s wife.

  Who would have known that she was an extremely foolish woman? Fortune favors the fools. Most likely, she could be married to Zhai Sheng because of this reason.

  Wang Yang had never agreed with that sort of view of Qiao Nan. He only felt that this kind of mindset would only appear in books or mediocre people.

  “Sure.” Qiao Nan did not explain anything. She allowed Wang Yang to look at her as if she was an idiot.

  1083 Complement Each Other

  As long as Wang Yang stopped thinking of ‘cooperating’ with her, Qiao Nan did not care how he thought of her.

  After the incident with Wei De, she was fearful of the mention of the so-called ‘collaboration’.

  Another person took Wang Yang’s empty seat as soon as he left.

  Qiao Nan looked toward the person who sat in front of her. “You are finally here. I thought that you will be hiding from me until my wedding day.” Qiao Nan sighed. She did not know how to face the stubborn young man who sat opposite her and kept glaring at her.

  “Why not me?” Zhu Baoguo asked stubbornly.

  Initially, he had given up. However, he was unconvinced after he overheard the conversation between Qiao Nan and Wang Yang. “Why not me? I spent more time with you. I treated you very well and I defended and protected you. I am as good to you as Zhai Sheng is. Why did you choose him instead of me? If you are willing to wait for me, we will get married after you graduate from university and I promise the wedding will be as grand as what you have now.”

  Zhai Sheng was the regiment commander. As long as he was willing to work hard, he believed he could do it as well.

  “You are still young, and you did not choose Zhai Sheng because of those external conditions. Therefore, you should not be in a hurry to get married. Are you being forced into it?”

  As the only grandson of the Zhu family, since a young age, many girls would express their interests in him. Among them, many were very pretty.

  Even after Zhu Baoguo went to PLA National Defence University, many female students in the school liked him.

  But Zhu Baoguo knew that most of them liked him because he was the only grandson of the Zhu family. They did not really like him for himself.

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  Now that he had known such an outstanding girl like Qiao Nan, he would never take a fancy to other girls who liked him for other selfish reasons.

  “Yes, I am still young. In fact, I just went to university. I am young and I still have a lot of time. I have a lot of other choices.” Qiao Nan took a deep breath. “But the problem is Brother Zhai is five years older than me. He has his own responsibilities and has to be responsible for his family. I may have time but he doesn’t. I am not in a hurry, but Brother Zhai is. Brother Zhai is such a good man. I am afraid that if I don’t agree, I will lose him. What’s more, I have decided that I want to be with him. So it doesn’t make a difference if I get married earlier or later.”

  “No, there is a difference. If I get married to Brother Zhai as early as possible, I will be able to spend more time with him and we will have more time as a married couple. Am I not in a hurry? No, I am in a hurry!”

  Zhu Baoguo’s face turned green. He clenched his fists in anger. “Is he really so good to you? Will you not have any regrets?”

  “Well, Brother Zhai is a good man. If I don’t agree to marry Brother Zhai now, I will definitely regret it in the future. Brother Zhai is the first person to be nice and kind to me since I was born. You might say that I have developed an attachment to him as he is the first person to be nice to me. Zhu Baoguo, there is something that I have never spoken to you about. But I feel like sharing my thoughts with you now. Think about it. Actually, you have similar feelings toward me.”

  She had a high fever after she was through rebirth.

  Her mother and sister were thinking of ways to delay her treatment so that she would miss her enrollment and would have to quit school to work.

  At that time, it was Brother Zhai who brought her home and gave her medications for her fever. Thanks to him, she had a place to rest and to recover from her fever.

  After that, whenever she encountered troubles and could not overcome it, Brother Zhai would lend her a helping hand. He helped her through difficulties time and again. He assisted her to realize her dreams in her two lifetimes and to take the path that she wanted.

  The feelings that she had for Brother Zhai were not simply a sense of attachment.

  “Zhu Baoguo, it is possible that you like me, but don’t you think that it is not love but family ties that you have for me? There is something known as Electra complex and there is also something known as the Oedipus complex.”

  Qiao Nan’s demeanor changed toward the end.

  She used to regard Zhu Baoguo as her son. She suspected that it was because of her attitude that Zhu Baoguo mistook her for his mother.

  “Do you dare to deny that if I didn’t take extra care of you, you wouldn’t take a fancy to me and develop feelings for me? Zhu Baoguo, perhaps you haven’t figured out the feelings that you have for me.”

  “Crap!” Zhu Baoguo’s face turned red. “How can I not tell what kind of feelings I have for you? I know that you are smart, but you should not treat other people as fools. Perhaps what you said is somewhat true, but it is certainly not entirely true.”

  Zhu Baoguo was not as gullible as he used to be four years ago. He would not take everything that Qiao Nan said to be the truth.

  Zhu Baoguo knew that right from the start. It was because Qiao Nan saved him and took care of him that he had a good impression of her. But his feelings for her had changed gradually.

  Qiao Nan smiled bitterly. “The foolish son has grown up and is no longer as gullible as before.”

  The feelings that one had for each other were complicated and could not be explained clearly. However, the foolish son had grown up and goading him no longer worked. He was able to analyze and rebut her.

  Zhu Baoguo was angry at being called ‘foolish son’ by the girl that he liked. He felt like punching someone. “Qiao Nan, don’t go overboard. I am a man. I am not your son. I……”

  At this moment, Zhu Baoguo missed Shi Qing terribly.

  If Shi Qing was standing right in front of him, he would fight with her without another word. At most, he would go lenient on her.

  However, it was Qiao Nan who sat right in front of him, and he had already decided to protect her at all costs many years ago. No matter how angry he was, Zhu Baoguo would never lift a hand on Qiao Nan. Moreover, she was not physically strong at all.

  “Alright, don’t be angry. There are many good women in this world. Why are you so inflexible and stubborn and insist on being with me? Don’t be disheartened. There are a lot of good ladies around you. You must grab hold of the chance and woo her. If you miss the chance again, you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

  Qiao Nan had a relaxed smile on her face. She was thinking of Shi Qing.

  Shi Qing was a good girl. She was more suitable for Zhu Baoguo than she was.

  Qiao Nan spent four years ‘raising’ Zhu Baoguo, her foolish son. She was sorry that his feelings were hurt.

  However, Qiao Nan was glad that Shi Qing would make up for it. She no longer needed to worry for Zhu Baoguo.

  1084 ‘What If’ Did Not Exis

  Zhu Baoguo gritted his teeth and remained silent for a long time before he said, “If……” If Zhai Sheng was not in the picture, and Xiao Qiao had never known Zhai Sheng, would he be the man who would be marrying her two days later?

  Qiao Nan had a blissful smile on her face as if she was bursting with happiness. “Zhu Baoguo, ‘what if’ does not exist.”

  No amount of words was as convincing as the happiness on Qiao Nan’s face. Zhu Baoguo slumped his shoulders in defeat. “You’re right. ‘What if’ does not exist.”

  If there was ‘what if’, what he wanted to say the most was not what would happen if Xiao Qiao did not know Zhai Sheng. Instead, it was for him to grow up and mature and to understand his feelings so that he could protect her and love her. In that case, Zhai Sheng would not be in the picture.

  “It is getting late. You should rest. Ignore those senseless people.” Zhu Baoguo walked off in despair. He seemed to be dealt a harsh blow.

  After Zhu Baoguo left, Shi Qing came looking for her. She was Qiao Nan’s bridesmaid. She would be staying at the Zhu family’s residence these few days as well.

  Actually, their houses were situated very near to each other. It was very convenient for Shi Qing to go to the Zhu family’s residence.

  However, she quarreled with her mother. Instead of staying at home and be at odds with her mother, she would rather go to the Zhu family’s residence a few days earlier than the actual wedding day to accompany Qiao Nan and to keep a watch on the foolish Zhu Baoguo.

  Shi Qing shared a room with Qiao Nan at the Zhu family’s residence. “Have you seen Zhu Baoguo, that stupid fool? Did he try to snatch Brother Zhai’s bride?”

  If the stupid fool dared to do that, Brother Zhai would definitely teach him a lesson.

  Zhu Baoguo could not even handle her. He would be in a worse state if he ended up in Zhai Sheng’s hands. At this thought, Shi Qing could not help but break out in cold sweat, worrying for Zhu Baoguo.

  \r \r \r

  He was daring but not as smart. It was tantamount to playing with fire.

  “Nevertheless, I will not change my mind. You don’t have to worry.” Qiao Nan had a good laugh at the anxious look on Shi Qing’s face. “Are you worried that Zhu Baoguo will be taught a serious lesson by Brother Zhai?”

  She knew that there must be something going on between Zhu Baoguo and Shi Qing.

  One was her foolish son that she had ‘raised’, while the other was a young lady that she favored. Qiao Nan would be the first to agree if they ended up together.

  “He is too pitiful. He has become physically stronger these past few years, but he is still not as smart. It is not surprising that I am not as strong as him. After puberty, women are not as strong as men. Zhu Baoguo has nothing to be proud of to be able to defeat me. But in terms of intelligence level, he is not my match. If he can’t even defeat me, how can he defeat Brother Zhai?”

  Shi Qing sighed. Why did Zhu Baoguo have such a low IQ?

  Zhu Baoguo was proud that he had defeated Shi Qing, but he had no idea that Shi Qing was very worried for him.

  “People like him are all brawns and no brains. I am worried that he will be the cannon-fodder when he carries out missions in the future. It may seem peaceful but there are hidden dangers in the world that we live in. If Zhu Baoguo is assigned to a mission in places like Xinjiang, I wonder how he is going to carry out his mission.”

  Although Shi Qing was speaking of the uncertain future that had yet to come, she had a look of worry on her face. She behaved as if it was for real, and that Zhu Baoguo would be sent to that place tomorrow.

  “Have you come up with any solutions?” Qiao Nan propped her head with one hand, lying on her side as she stared at Shi Qing.

  With Shi Qing around, there was no need for her to be worried for Zhu Baoguo. She could finally hand the burden of taking care of the foolish son to Shi Qing.

  Shi Qing seemed to be in serious thoughts. “Everything will be fine in two days. Once you are married to Brother Zhai, there is no need for me to come up with solutions.”

  Once the wedding banquet was held, everything would be easily solved.

  Qiao Nan arched her eyebrows. “What does it have to do with this?” Did it mean that if she did not get married, her foolish son would have to carry out missions in those dangerous places?

  Who said so?

  Shi Qing turned to face upward and placed her hands beneath her head, staring at the ceiling. “Don’t you know that many people said that you are like Cinderella now that you are going to marry Brother Zhai? The stupid fool wants to graduate as soon as possible so that he can carry out missions to achieve military merits and to be promoted. He wants to catch up to Brother Zhai so that he could vie for your affection.”

  It was not that easy to achieve military credits.

  As the saying went, money came from danger, and heroes emerged in troubled times.

  Zhu Baoguo had to carry out the most dangerous missions in order to catch up to Brother Zhai in the shortest time and to vie with him for Qiao Nan’s affection.

  But Qiao Nan would be marrying Brother Zhai in no time.

  In that case, there was no need for Zhu Baoguo to risk his life.

  Now that there was no need for him to achieve military credits in the shortest time, Zhu Baoguo could complete his studies and perform his duties one step at a time.

  “Brother Zhai is indeed a genius. He is quick and accurate in deciding that you are the one for him. He is brilliant. He did not give any chance to others.” Shi Qing was full of admiration for Zhai Sheng. It was similar to her adoration of him when they were still young. The adoration was evident in her eyes. “He is indeed my idol from young.”

  Qiao Nan curled the corners of her lips without saying anything. She was baffled by Shi Qing’s attitude. “Aren’t you angry at me? Don’t you hate me? Do you still idolize Brother Zhai? Have you been dealt a serious blow? Are you running a fever?”

  Qiao Nan could not figure out why Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin were so heartless and vicious. It seemed that Shi Qing was another unfathomable person. One could not predict her behavior.

  Shi Qing stood up right away, flipping her short hair confidently. “Why should I hate you? It is not your fault that Zhu Baoguo likes you but not me. He is foolish and could not tell who is good for him. Brother Zhai has always been so outstanding and remarkable. There is no need to distance myself from him. Zhu Baoguo is a fool. I don’t believe that I can’t take him down!”

  Shi Qing waved her fists and stated her stand when the door was kicked open.

  Zhu Baoguo looked sullen and stared at Shi Qing angrily. “Hey, tomboy, how dare you say that I am a fool!!”

  Zhu Baoguo did not eavesdrop on them intentionally. He was on the way back to his room when he passed by Qiao Nan’s room. He did not hear a single word of what was being said previously. But he heard clearly that Shi Qing yelled that he was a fool.

  However, after his ferocious growl, Zhu Baoguo was given a hard smack to his face with a pillow.

  1085 Which Family Was Marrying Off Their Daughter?

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  Zhu Baoguo reached out to catch the pillow. Shi Qing jumped out of the bed and punched Zhu Baoguo in the stomach. She then pushed him at his shoulder and slammed the door on him.

  Shi Qing put her hand on her waist, looking like a big teapot. “Do you know your manners? How can you kick the door to a girl’s bedroom? You are not only foolish but an idiot. It is not that you have a low IQ. You are simply not using your brains at all.”

  If Brother Zhai found out about what happened tonight, Zhu Baoguo would not be able to bear the consequences.

  Furthermore, there were other people in the house apart from the Zhu family.

  If this was known to others, how was Qiao Nan supposed to face others?

  Public clamor could obscure the actual truth, and rumors could kill a person.

  Those who spread the gossip would definitely not be telling the truth. They would not say that she was in the room. They might spread tales that Qiao Nan had a rendezvous with her high school classmate on her wedding’s eve. In that case, Qiao Nan would be unable to clear her name.

  Zhu Chengqi, who heard the commotion, saw that there was a pillow on his son’s head and he was pushed out of the room by a young lady. He stopped himself from helping his son and said calmly, “Foolish.”

  Zhu Chengqi directed his gaze toward Wang Yang.

  Wang Yang stiffened. He was reminded that the Wang family had been going downhill recently. He took a deep breath and smiled at Zhu Chengqi. He then went back to his room and shut the door.

  Wang Yang eased slightly after escaping from Zhu Chengqi’s piercing gaze.

  Wang Yang knew very well from his uncle’s piercing gaze that if whatever happened tonight was known to other people and Qiao Nan’s reputation was ruined, the Wang family would not escape unscathed.

  Zhu Chengqi did not care if Wang Yang spread the rumor or not, and neither would he investigate the matter. Nevertheless, the Wang family would have to bear all the responsibilities.

  \r \r \r

  In this way, Wang Yang could not spread the rumor and make use of this gossip such that the Wang family and he could benefit from it. He had to make sure that nobody spoke of what happened tonight.

  If someone found out about the incident, Wang Yang must shut the person up right away.

  Otherwise, if Qiao Nan’s reputation was affected, it would be at the expense of Wang Yang’s prospects.

  After knowing Wang Yang’s personality, even if his sister was married to the Wang family and was their daughter-in-law, Zhu Chengqi no longer treated the Wang family like how he used to in the past. He would not help his brother-in-law either.

  Now that the Wang family was without Zhu Chengqi’s protection, they had a more difficult path ahead of them.

  If Zhu Chengqi did anything right now, it would be aggravating their situation.

  Since Zhu Chengqi knew Wang Yang’s weakness, he was able to have him under his thumb. There was no need for him to say anything. A glance from him and Wang Yang stopped thinking of ways to scheme against Qiao Nan. He pretended as if nothing happened today.

  Since he had no way to defeat Zhu Chengqi, he had no other choice but to submit to him.

  After giving Wang Yang a warning look, Zhu Chengqi turned to look at Zhu Baoguo. “It’s late. Why aren’t you sleeping? Since you are so energized, wake up at five in the morning to run a few more laps.”

  Seeing that Zhu Baoguo was easily sent out of the room by a young lady, Zhu Chengqi was not worried that his son would not be able to find a wife and start a family. Instead, he was worried that his son would be bullied by his wife.

  It was good if his future daughter-in-law was capable and would be able to keep his son in check. But the problem was that his son was such a fool. He might be subdued by his wife.

  All of them scolded him for being a fool. Zhu Baoguo punched the pillow in anger and returned to his room.

  Shi Qing breathed a sigh of relief after knowing that Zhu Baoguo had left. “Why is Wang Yang still at the Zhu family’s residence?” It was the Lunar New Year. Shouldn’t he stay at his house? Why was he at his maternal grandpa’s house?

  Shi Qing knew Wang Yang’s temperament. Seeing that he was at the Zhu family’s residence, Shi Qing had no choice but to be anxious and punched Zhu Baoguo, sending him out of the room.

  “No idea.” Qiao Nan yawned. Like Shi Qing, Qiao Nan was startled that Zhu Baoguo kicked the door open.

  However, Qiao Nan keenly observed that Zhu Baoguo’s attention was only on Shi Qing when he kicked the door open. It was as if she did not exist. Zhu Baoguo did not even look at her.

  Furthermore, even though Qiao Nan was lying on the bed, her pajamas covered her from head to toe, and she had a thick blanket on her. Qiao Nan was certain that Zhu Baoguo could not see anything.

  Besides, Shi Qing sent Zhu Baoguo out of the room in the blink of an eye. Qiao Nan felt the least worried about his sudden appearance.

  By the time Shi Qing returned to the bed and laid by her side, Qiao Nan was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.

  Qiao Nan was not worried that Shi Qing idolized Brother Zhai.

  Even if Zhu Baoguo seemed to be at loggerheads with Shi Qing, his behavior said otherwise. Apparently, the two parties had an interest in each other.

  It would not be long before things turned out well for those two who were at loggerheads.

  Shi Qing had high IQ and EQ, whereas Zhu Baoguo was working to improve his critical thinking skills. Qiao Nan knew that she could get married with a peace of mind.

  Shi Qing wanted to keep chatting with Qiao Nan. However, she noticed from Qiao Nan’s even breathing that she was already sleeping soundly.

  Shi Qing was amused. “I have been anxious for nothing. I am more anxious than her. What a heartless little girl.”

  Lying down beside Qiao Nan, Shi Qing felt reassured and was at ease. Seconds ago, she scolded Qiao Nan for being heartless, but seconds later, she fell into a deep and was sound asleep.

  Everyone in the quad knew that Qiao Nan was getting married to Zhai Sheng. Many of them were discussing their marriage.

  When they were engaged half a year earlier, all of them said that it was Qiao Nan’s fortune to be liked by the Zhai family.

  Half a year had passed and they were holding the wedding banquet and getting married. It finally sunk in that Qiao Nan was getting married to Zhai Sheng and she was the most independent child in the quad who worked her way to success through hard work. Apart from Zhai Sheng, she was the other child who had good prospects in the quad.

  The Zhai family’s residence and the Zhu family’s residence were bustling with activities these past few days. The neighbors were envious of their good fortune.

  They could not help but talk about it. “Old Qiao, you are marrying off your daughter. You are blessed to have it so easy.”

  “That’s right. The Qiao family has the easiest time ever in marrying off their daughter.”

  “Old Qiao and his family have such good fortune.”

  No matter how the neighbors put it across, what they wanted to say was that Qiao Nan was getting married, but her parents had an easy time, unlike other parents. It was as if they were not marrying off their daughter. Instead, it seemed as if the Zhu family was marrying off their daughter.

  1086 Who Is Less Sensible?

  They just wanted to know whether Qiao Nan had severed ties with the Qiao family and whether the Qiao family did not intend to acknowledge her as their daughter.

  Otherwise, why would Qiao Dongliang and Ding Jiayi not help out at all although their daughter was getting married? They behaved like the rest of the neighbors, watching by the side as the Zhai family and the Zhu family prepared for the wedding. It was too odd.

  No family would be proud that they married off their daughter in this particular way. It was a shame to the family.

  The daughter had married well, but it seemed as if the Qiao family had nothing to do with it.

  Everyone seemed to be laughing at the Qiao family, and at the same time, they were baffled by their behavior.

  In the past, they knew that Ding Jiayi was unreliable while Qiao Dongliang was a good father. But judging from the current situation, it seemed as if Qiao Dongliang had been led astray by Ding Jiayi, He was behaving strangely as well.

  Ding Jiayi did not care that she was being mocked by the neighbors. In fact, she wanted to tell everyone that Qiao Nan refused to acknowledge them as her parents. She even stayed at the Zhu family’s residence days before her marriage.

  Ding Jiayi might not feel embarrassed, but Qiao Dongliang felt it unbearable.

  Qiao Dongliang knew that Zhu Chengqi liked Qiao Nan very much. He always wanted to take Qiao Nan as his goddaughter. This was why he could accept that Zhu Chengqi helped out with his daughter’s wedding.

  Since he was poor, he had no other choice but to accept help from others.

  Qiao Nan never demanded any dowry from him and Zhu Chengqi offered to provide the dowry. Therefore, Qiao Dongliang did not read too much into it and accepted his help.

  But after being mocked by the neighbors, it dawned on Qiao Dongliang that something was wrong with this arrangement. It was up to Zhu Chengqi to provide dowries for Qiao Nan, but he should not be so shameless to accept them.

  Actually, Qiao Dongliang wanted to help out since his daughter was getting married.

  \r \r \r

  But the problem was that it was not that easy to enter the Zhu family’s residence. He would need approval to enter their house.

  Even if Qiao Dongliang was willing to make a few more trips to the Zhu family’s residence to help out and the Zhu family did not find it a bother, Qiao Dongliang felt that he seemed to be troubling them instead of helping out.

  Besides, during his trip to the Zhu family’s residence, Qiao Dongliang noticed that Zhu Chengqi had everything arranged and settled properly. There was nothing that he could help out with.

  The Zhu family worked together to prepare for Qiao Nan’s wedding while he stood by the side in a daze, not knowing what to do. He felt as if he was not needed.

  Qiao Dongliang had no other choice but to leave the Zhu family’s residence and to watch by the side with Ding Jiayi as they prepared for the wedding.

  As more and more people wondered aloud about the absence of Qiao Nan’s parents in the preparation of the wedding, Qiao Dongliang felt unsettled and began to question himself. Was he marrying off his daughter?

  His daughter was getting married, but it seemed as if someone else’s daughter was getting married.

  Nan Nan was getting married, but he did not have the chance to have a good chat with her or see how she was doing.

  When he first learned that the younger daughter was in a relationship with Zhai Sheng, he treated Zhai Sheng as a bad guy and tried to stop Zhai Sheng from spending too much time with Qiao Nan.

  But now that they were getting married, it seemed as if he had washed his hands off them. There was something very odd about it.

  “Dad, Qiao Nan is getting married. We are her family. Don’t we need to send her off?” Under Chen Jun’s persistent urging, Qiao Zijin decided to find ways to mend the relationship with Qiao Nan.

  But it was not easy to get into the Zhu family’s residence.

  Qiao Nan was getting married. She must be proud that the entire quad was busy with her wedding preparations. Qiao Zijin decided that when she married Chen Jun, her wedding had to be grander than Qiao Nan’s wedding and she had to have a more lavish wedding than Qiao Nan.

  “Dad, I heard that you have prepared a lot of dowry for Qiao Nan. What have you prepared for Qiao Nan? Tell me about it.” Qiao Zijin was envious that one would have so many dowries when one was getting married.

  Qiao Dongliang had been very good to Qiao Nan these past few years to the point he even disregarded her. Qiao Zijin was jealous of Qiao Nan.

  Could it be that her father spent all his savings in the past few years to prepare dowries for Qiao Nan?

  She was her father’s daughter as well. Since her father prepared so many dowries for Qiao Nan, he had to prepare even more dowries for her when she married Chen Jun!

  Qiao Dongliang waved his hand and smiled bitterly. “Nan Nan still has to go to university. Even if she works very hard and is exempted from paying the tuition and miscellaneous fees, we still have a lot of other expenses. I did not have much savings these past few years. How can I be capable of preparing dowry for Nan Nan?”

  “Do you mean that you did not fork out a single cent in Nan Nan’s wedding?” Qiao Zijin was surprised and glad. “Zhai Sheng is marrying Qiao Nan. Though you didn’t prepare any dowry, he should have prepared the bride price, right?”

  Zhai Sheng was getting married. The Zhai family would not be stingy with the bride price. “Dad, have you kept all the money?”

  She might be able to come up with a way for her father to buy a house for her using that sum of money.

  Qiao Zijin was tired of staying in the quad.

  Everyone in the quad knew about her situation as well as what was going on in the Qiao family.

  To Qiao Zijin, Chen Jun was a good match for her. But when compared to Zhai Sheng, every man would pale in comparison.

  She had to leave the quad and stay somewhere else so that people would not compare her to Qiao Nan.

  Qiao Zijin had done the calculations. She did not want any other dowry other than a house.

  After Qiao Nan went to the capital for her college studies, Qiao Zijin had done a check. She knew that the price of housing in the capital was astoundingly high.

  The pricing of houses in Ping Cheng had been increasing over the years. Qiao Zijin could tell that a house would not depreciate and was worth a lot of money.

  Qiao Zijin might not be good in her studies, but she was very smart in this matter.

  Buying a house would be an investment.

  In her two lifetimes, when given the chance, Qiao Zijin would make use of the opportunity to buy a house.

  Qiao Dongliang did not know about Qiao Zijin’s plan. He was honest with her. “No, I don’t have any money. I couldn’t prepare any dowry for Nan Nan. It is the Zhai family who arranged such a grand wedding for her. I wouldn’t be so shameless to accept the bride price from the Zhai family. My relationship with the Zhai family is not based on money.”

  This was the first time that Qiao Dongliang married off his daughter. He only thought of the dowry days before the wedding. How could he possibly be so shameless to ask for the bride price from the Zhai family?

  Since the two families never discussed the bride price, Qiao Dongliang did not feel as bad that he was unable to prepare any dowry for Qiao Nan. He was able to watch quietly by the side as the Zhu family busied themselves with Qiao Nan’s wedding preparations.

  1087 Take the Bride Price to Buy a House

  Even if he did not accept any money from the Zhai family and he could not prepare a dowry for Qiao Nan, Qiao Nan was a top student at Peking University.

  With this in mind, Qiao Dongliang felt that he should not be inferior in front of the Zhai family.

  Speaking of which, it was the Zhai family who stood to gain.

  “Dad, you are so foolish. You have gone through so much hardship to raise Qiao Nan until she is twenty-one years old. Now that she is getting married, how can you not take the bride price? You can’t marry her off for nothing!”

  Qiao Zijin could not accept this arrangement. “This won’t do. Dad, let’s find a time before they hold the wedding banquet to discuss the bride price with the Zhai family. We have to get the bride price and ask for a significant amount of money. It is unreasonable that you marry off a daughter for nothing. It is going too easy on them!”

  Qiao Dongliang would not budge. “No, I don’t agree. If I really ask for the bride price, Nan Nan will not be able to hold her head high at the Zhai family’s residence. I am marrying off my daughter. I am not selling her. It is just nice that no dowry and bride price are involved.”

  Qiao Dongliang knew that if they took the bride price from the Zhai family, he would not be able to hold his head high in front of the Zhai family in the quad thereafter.

  His stand was firm. He agreed for Nan Nan to marry Zhai Sheng because he treated her well. It was not due to his family background.

  He would marry off his daughter, but he would not sell his daughter.

  “Dad, you know nothing!” Qiao Zijin’s eyes swirled with thoughts. “If you allow Qiao Nan to marry Zhai Sheng without asking anything from the Zhai family, they may feel that Qiao Nan is worthless and will look down on her. We have to ask for a large amount of bride price so that the Zhai family will understand that Nan Nan is a good lady and they have to treat her well once she joined their family.”

  “They will only cherish her if they pay a price for her. Dad, this is for the interests of Nan Nan. You must not be soft-hearted and feel that what you are doing is for Nan Nan’s sake. In the end, it will only do her harm.”

  \r \r \r

  With the money that the Zhai family gave them, she might even be able to settle down in the capital, let alone Ping Cheng.

  Qiao Zijin knew that Chen Jun had the capital in mind.

  She wanted to have a better life than Qiao Nan. Therefore, she had to settle down with Chen Jun in the capital.

  Her first and foremost concern right now would be to have a house.

  With the money given by the Zhai family, it would not be a problem to buy a house. In the future, the Chen family would regard her with respect as she was capable of having a house in the capital.

  Qiao Zijin heard that after getting married, the conflicts between the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law would be a source of trouble.

  Qiao Zijin refused to be mistreated or bullied by her in-laws.

  If they really settled down in the capital, and the Chen family stayed in her house, they would not dare to bully her. She would also have the right to send them out of her house then.

  If her father managed to get the money, she must buy a house as soon as possible. She must not allow the money and the house to become Chen Jun and her marital property.

  “No.” Qiao Zijin could plan for all she wanted, but Qiao Dongliang’s stance was firm. “What you said makes some sense, but I will respect Nan Nan’s decision.”

  Since Nan Nan did not bring up the topic of the bride price, Qiao Dongliang had no wish to go into a discussion about it.

  Qiao Dongliang was used to adopting this attitude in life. He might have noticed that this would be an issue, but as long as the party concerned had no objections, he would not do anything about it. All of them could live a peaceful life and maintain a cordial relationship.

  If Qiao Nan had other thoughts and felt that the Zhai family had to provide the bride price to show that they valued her, Qiao Dongliang would not hesitate to demand it from the Zhai family.

  Thankfully, Qiao Nan never brought this up.

  Since Qiao Dongliang did not provide the dowry, he would not be so brazen and shameless to demand bride price from the Zhai family.

  Qiao Zijin knitted her brows. “Dad, how about I go to the Zhu family’s residence with you? Nan Nan is young. She does not know that this is unsuitable. We will explain it clearly to her and ask her views on this. Perhaps Nan Nan has no idea of the importance of the bride price. If this is the case, it will not be good to do without the bride price.”

  “Well……” Qiao Dongliang felt that it was too troublesome, but Qiao Zijin’s words made sense. He did not want Qiao Nan to blame him in the future. “Alright, I will bring you with me to the Zhu family’s residence and talk to Nan Nan about this.”

  “Wait a minute. Dad, I am just a kid. I do not know all the details. Why don’t we bring Mom along? She will definitely know all the information.”

  Qiao Zijin would do everything that she could in order to buy her house. She was worried that she might not be able to get Qiao Nan to change her mind. Therefore, she wanted to ask Ding Jiayi along.

  Fortunately, Qiao Dongliang was not a fool either. He rejected her suggestion. “No, I know your mom too well. When it’s about money, your mom will make sure that Nan Nan agrees to it even if it is against her wishes. Nan Nan may not feel the need for the bride price, but your mom will insist on it. Back when I divorced your mom, we have already agreed that I will be responsible for Nan Nan. Your mom has no right to say anything. Even if Nan Nan feels that we should get the bride price, I will never let your mom have a single cent of the bride price.”

  Since Qiao Dongliang had said so, Qiao Zijin had no other choice but to give up and went to the Zhu family’s residence with him.

  Qiao Nan, who was trying on new clothes and checking herself in the mirror, halted when Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Zijin broached the topic of the bride price.

  Through the reflection of the mirror, Qiao Nan could tell that Qiao Zijin, who stood behind her, was staring jealously at her.

  There was a ferocious glint in Qiao Zijin’s eyes. If this was not the Zhu family’s residence but the Qiao family’s residence, Qiao Zijin might have pounced on her, pulling the clothes off her so that she could put it on herself.

  Qiao Zijin liked to doll herself up. She loved exquisite jewelry and pretty dresses like the dress that Qiao Nan was wearing.

  Qiao Nan tried to agitate Qiao Zijin further by standing upright and showing off the beauty of the dress.

  Miao Jing ordered people to custom-make the dress for Qiao Nan. One could not get it elsewhere.

  This was why the dress was designed according to Qiao Nan’s figure.

  Qiao Nan would look good in any clothes. She was slender and had long legs. She had the curves in the right places. Simple and ordinary clothes would look good on her, let alone custom-made clothes. It highlighted Qiao Nan’s figure and contours.

  Qiao Nan had long legs. The waistline of the dress was higher than normal. It accentuated her long and slender legs.

  1088 Flaunt Her Wealth

  The glittering crystal beads that were sewn by hand on the clothes were clear and bright, making Qiao Nan sparkle and glitter.

  Qiao Zijin’s first thought at seeing such a beautiful dress was it must have cost a lot. Her second thought was that she would have looked even better than Qiao Nan in that dress!

  Qiao Zijin, who fixed her gaze on the dress that Qiao Nan wore, almost forgot the reason why she went to great lengths to enter the Zhu family’s residence.

  Qiao Zijin might have forgotten, but Qiao Nan still remembered their reason for making the trip. “Dad, we both know very well about our family’s situation. The Zhai family did not look down on me. In fact, all of these clothes and jewelry are prepared by my mother-in-law. Whether the Zhai family values me or not should not be judged based on the bride price. I am more concerned about how they treat me. My mother-in-law treats me like her own daughter. She will give me whatever that Sister Zhai Hua has. Sister Zhai Hua might not have whatever that I have.”

  Bride price?

  The bride price that the Zhai family provided would definitely end up with Qiao Zijin.

  Qiao Nan knew about the customs of receiving bride price from the groom’s family. But like the topic of the dowry, she did not bring it up at all.

  “You’re right. Madam Zhai indeed treats you very well.” Qiao Dongliang nodded earnestly. In the past half a year since Qiao Nan was engaged to Zhai Sheng, Miao Jing had already treated Qiao Nan as part of the Zhai family. She could not wait to take care of her and to provide her with all the nutritious food and nice clothes.

  It was because of Miao Jing’s attitude toward Qiao Nan that Qiao Dongliang agreed readily to holding the wedding banquet soon after the Lunar New Year.

  Qiao Dongliang could tell that the Zhai family loved and cared for Qiao Nan.

  The Zhai family had shown their love for her through actions.

  “Dad, let’s not talk about the bride price. I will marry Brother Zhai tomorrow. It is not good to bring this up now as well. It will not look good for both families. As for me, you don’t have to worry. I really don’t care about the bride price. I believe that Brother Zhai is true to me.”

  After all, Qiao Dongliang said that it was for Qiao Nan’s interests that he broached the subject of the bride price. She could not say harsh words to reject Qiao Dongliang’s suggestion.

  Even if her father was muddleheaded, she believed that he was really thinking of her interests when he brought up the topic of bride price.

  \r \r \r

  Unfortunately, there were Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin with her father.

  With these two women around, the bride price would fall into their hands and she would not stand to benefit at all.

  “Nan Nan, you can’t say this. You are being carried away by love. You are irrational and confused. That’s why you feel that it’s alright to marry Zhai Sheng without any bride price. The bride price is the Zhai family’s respect and recognition for you. It shows that they value you. Nan Nan, you have to listen to Dad. We will not harm you. We want the best for you.”

  Qiao Zijin smiled widely, going crazy over the dress that Qiao Nan would be wearing to the toasting ceremony. She walked forward, reaching her hands toward the dress.

  Shi Qing narrowed her eyes and slapped Qiao Zijin’s hands away. “This is new. It was tailored not long ago. The fabric might be expensive but it is still within our means. The problem is that the tailor is prized for his skills. All the beads on the dress might not be made from diamonds, but they are pure natural crystal beads. Each bead costs a few dozen yuan. If you touch them and the beads fall off, it would not be easy to find someone to sew them on.”

  “How could each bead cost a few dozen yuan?” Qiao Zijin sucked in her breath. “That dress is so expensive!”

  A few dozen yuan?

  The clothes that she bought cost a few dozen yuan only!

  A dress of hers cost as much as a bead on Qiao Nan’s dress. Qiao Zijin felt as if she had been stabbed several times in her heart.

  This was not simply a dress. Qiao Nan was draped in silver and gold.

  “You know nothing. This is not the most expensive dress. The beads are not of an average price.” Shi Qing rolled her eyes. “Regardless, don’t touch the dress.”

  What if she spoiled the dress?

  The Qiao family would not be able to pay for it.

  At the thought that Qiao Dongliang did not prepare any dowry for Qiao Nan, Shi Qing could not help but dislike the sight of him.

  He was a father, yet he did nothing for his daughter. Shi Qing had nothing more to say. Qiao Nan was just plain unlucky.

  Qiao Dongliang sensed the unwelcome stare from Shi Qing. He braced himself and pulled Qiao Zijin. “Zijin, stop messing with Nan Nan.”

  Qiao Dongliang was a man. But he was just as startled at the price of Qiao Nan’s dress.

  “Dad, is there anything else? Tomorrow is the wedding banquet. Brother Zhai will be here to fetch me. I have tried on all the dresses. I want to rest early today as I have to wake up early in the morning.”

  Jealousy was biting at Qiao Zijin’s every vital. Qiao Nan felt that it was time to put a stop to her childish antics of flaunting her wealth.

  Too far is as bad as not enough.

  She only wanted to upset Qiao Zijin and for her to know of the existence of such luxurious goods.

  Now that Qiao Zijin knew about all these expensive dresses, she would definitely demand even more from the Chen family when she married Chen Jun.

  Qiao Dongliang had no wish to stay any longer. “That’s all. It’s good that you have sorted out your thoughts regarding the bride price. No matter what your decision is, you can rest assured. I will support you.”

  All of them stayed in the same quad and it only took about more than ten minutes for Qiao Dongliang to go to the Zhai family’s residence. That was why it would be possible for Qiao Dongliang to ask for the bride price on the day before the wedding. If not, they would not be in time to ask for a bride price at the last minute.

  Similarly, if they did not bring up the subject of the bride price, by the time they held the wedding banquet tomorrow, Qiao Dongliang had better not bring up the issue of the bride price in front of the Zhai family ever again.

  It would only embarrass both families.

  Compared to Qiao Dongliang, who was unable to provide any dowry, it would not look as bad on the Zhai family.

  Marriage was between two people and both families should be helping with the wedding preparations. But the Qiao family did not help out at all.

  On the day of the wedding, the relatives of the groom and bride would attend the wedding banquet held at the groom’s place. The groom’s family was responsible for the entire wedding.

  On the other hand, the bride’s relatives could have an easy time and were able to enjoy food like any other guests.

  The bride’s family had it so easy. Everyone would wish to be in such a position.

  Qiao Nan understood Qiao Dongliang’s words. She turned to smile at him. “Sure. Dad, you should rest early as well.”

  “No. Dad, Nan Nan is insensible. You can’t allow her to mess around……” Qiao Zijin refused to give up. “Nan Nan, you will be getting married tomorrow. You must need a bridesmaid. I am your sister. I can be your bridesmaid. You should have prepared the bridesmaid dress, haven’t you?”


  1089 Knew What Was Going On

  Qiao Nan was dressed in such a beautiful dress. Qiao Zijin felt that the dress that the bridesmaid wore would be beautiful as well.

  Since it was a bridesmaid’s dress, Qiao Nan could not possibly take it back after the ceremony. In that case, she would have another beautiful dress.

  Qiao Zijin was not only after the bride price, but she was also coveting the red packet that bridesmaid would have.

  Since she was Qiao Nan’s sister, the money should go to her.

  “Thank you for your concern. Regarding this issue, my godfather has arranged it for me. Dad, be sure to enjoy the food tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about anything.” Qiao Nan gave a polite and distant smile.

  Bridesmaid?

  She would ask anyone but Qiao Zijin to be her bridesmaid. She would not want any ‘surprises’ during her wedding or for her wedding to be ruined.

  Besides, she had Shi Qing with her. She would definitely choose Shi Qing over Qiao Zijin.

  She must be kidding!

  Qiao Dongliang felt as if he was stabbed in his heart by Qiao Nan’s distant smile. “Alright, I will leave with Zijin. Nan Nan, you must be happy.”

  “Dad, I will. I will definitely be happy. Brother Zhai will be very good to me. In the future, you don’t have to worry about me anymore.” After she married Brother Zhai, her father could do as he pleased and take care of Qiao Zijin, and to ensure that she would be happily married.

  Qiao Nan did not finish her sentence, but her gaze rested on Qiao Zijin.

  Qiao Nan had made it very obvious. Qiao Dongliang felt embarrassed. He could not deny that he indeed was more concerned and worried for his elder daughter, Qiao Zijin. He could only avoid her steady gaze and leave the Zhu family’s residence as quickly as possible.

  \r \r \r

  “Dad, what are you doing? Why don’t you let me finish my sentence?”

  As soon as they came out from the Zhu family’s residence, Qiao Dongliang released his grip on Qiao Zijin and she broke free from him. “You should not pamper your daughter to this extent. Nan Nan is young. She is still insensible. We are her family. We have to make things clear to her and for her to see the truth. Do you know what you are doing is harming her?”

  It was not easy for them to raise Qiao Nan until she was twenty-one years old.

  They had to provide for her daily expenses as well as her school fees. The Qiao family had spent a lot of money and effort on her.

  Nothing comes free in this world. The Zhai family was too shameless. They refused to pay the bride price but wanted to marry a university student!

  Qiao Dongliang shot cold stares at Qiao Zijin. “Nan Nan said no, so be it. Now that she did not ask for the bride price, whether she has a good life or not at the Zhai family is totally her business. It has nothing to do with us. As I have said, I respect Nan Nan’s decision. She will have to bear responsibility for her decision. There is no need for you to be worried for her. Also, let me remind you. Don’t think of entering the Zhu family’s residence without me.”

  Qiao Zijin gritted her teeth. “Dad, what do you mean by this? Now that Nan Nan is getting married, does it mean that she is no longer your daughter or my sister?”

  “Yes, you can put it that way.” Qiao Dongliang put his hands on his waist and walked slowly back to the Qiao family’s residence.

  The person whom Qiao Nan married was Zhai Sheng. Even if the Zhai family bullied Nan Nan, given his ability, he would not be able to seek justice for her.

  Since he could not help Nan Nan, he must make sure that the Qiao family did not make things difficult for Nan Nan and she would not have a hard time at the Zhai family’s residence.

  Qiao Dongliang had made a choice. Qiao Nan was not the only one who was being put aside in his decision.

  “Dad, sure enough, you loved Qiao Nan the most.” It was rare that Qiao Zijin could read between the lines.

  Qiao Zijin’s countenance changed. Her father might be willing to stay at the Qiao family’s residence in the quad and to meet the Chen family, but she did not expect that whatever he did was all for Qiao Nan’s sake.

  Based on what happened recently, there were several times where Qiao Zijin could not help but smile, thinking that she was the winner and her father doted and loved her the most.

  Qiao Nan was getting married to Zhai Sheng and she would become Zhai Sheng’s sister-in-law tomorrow. She would be able to make use of the relationship that she had with the Zhai family to strike it rich.

  To her surprise, what her father said today had cut off her path to success.

  Qiao Dongliang had destroyed her hopes of living in luxury in the future. Qiao Zijin was fuming mad at the near success that she could have.

  “Dad, are you crazy? Are you confused? We have raised Qiao Nan for twenty-one years. Did we have it easy? Now is the time for Qiao Nan to repay us. Why must we cut off all ties with Qiao Nan and not to contact her anymore? Why?!”

  “I am the person who raised Nan Nan for twenty-one years!” Qiao Dongliang bellowed. “How long has your mother been working? All of the money that she earned has been used to pay for your tuition and living expenses. Nan Nan is twenty-one years old, but your mom has never spent a single cent on her, not to mention you. I am the one who provides for Nan Nan and sends her to school. I don’t mind that the Zhai family does not provide bride price and I also have no wish to seek help from the Zhai family. How dare your mom and you bask in Nan Nan’s glory and seek opportunities for outsiders?”

  Qiao Dongliang was not foolish. He was only simple-minded in certain aspects and circumstances.

  As soon as they reached the Qiao family’s residence, the Chen family requested that everyone from the two families must be present to have a meal together.

  Who was the Chen family trying to be acquainted with?

  It had to be Qiao Nan, who was about to become the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law.

  Now that they did not meet Qiao Nan, they suggested going to the Shi family’s residence to meet Shi Peng to discuss where to place Qiao Nan’s dowry. But it was not appropriate at all. The Chen family had no right to interfere.

  If not for the elder daughter, Qiao Dongliang would not play the fool and be led all the way to look for Shi Peng.

  Qiao Dongliang did not expect that it would be Feng Cheng who opened the door for him and she would be so impolite toward him.

  He knew that the Chen family wanted to make use of his relationship with Shi Peng to get to know him and to leave a good impression.

  They had been neighbors for more than three years. Qiao Dongliang knew very well that Shi Peng was upright and would not go along with the Chen family.

  Therefore, Qiao Dongliang was not worried that Shi Peng would help the Chen family because of his friendship with Qiao Dongliang.

  Of course, Qiao Dongliang did not expect that he would not get to see Shi Peng and Shi Qing would not come out to ease the atmosphere.

  It did not occur to Qiao Dongliang at all that it was because of his daughter that Shi Peng was on good terms with him.

  1090 She Owed Me In The First Place

  Qiao Zijin turned green at how calculative Qiao Dongliang was. “Dad, we are one family. The three of us are Nan Nan’s only relatives in this world. What’s wrong if our family of four help each other to lead a good life? Didn’t you say in the past that Nan Nan and I must help each other? If I do better in life and Nan Nan is bullied in the Zhai family, I will be able to stand up for her.”

  “It’s really rare that you are so reasonable and sensible.” Qiao Dongliang sighed. “I have taught you for the past twenty-three years, but you won’t listen to me. Chen Jun is more capable than me. The two of you have been together for less than a year and you have learned to say these words. Perhaps the two of you are meant for each other.”

  Qiao Dongliang had no idea and did not wish to know whether Qiao Zijin really meant what she said.

  Qiao Dongliang must hand it to Chen Jun to teach someone who was blunt and would not hide her ambitions to become someone who was skilled at masking her emotions and to act sensibly.

  All these years, it was impossible for Qiao Dongliang not to have known how his elder daughter was like.

  Qiao Zijin was indeed Ding Jiayi’s daughter. In the past, Ding Jiayi would stand up for her, so there was no need for Qiao Zijin to fight for her rights. It gave people the impression that Ding Jiayi was unreasonable while Qiao Zijin was a good and well-behaved child.

  Without Ding Jiayi around to stand up for her and fight for her interests, one could easily tell what was going on in Qiao Zijin’s mind.

  Qiao Zijin blushed. “Dad, what nonsense are you talking about? I-I didn’t……”

  Qiao Dongliang spoke as he walked on the way home. “You should know very well whether you are guilty of these character faults. If not for the fact that you insist on being with Chen Jun, I would never agree to it. Silly girl, everyone in the Chen family is scheming and not that easy to deal with. You will definitely suffer in the future.”

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  Qiao Zijin refused to admit defeat. “Dad, don’t you want me to do well in life?”

  Zhai Sheng and the Zhai family treated Qiao Nan very well, particularly Madam Zhai. She treated Qiao Nan like her own daughter.

  Why was it that Qiao Nan could have such a blessed life but she couldn’t?

  “It is alright that you said these spiteful words to me. I am your dad. I won’t stay angry with you for long. But the most important thing is don’t lie to yourself. Do I not wish the best for you or is it that the path that you have taken is destined to be a difficult road? You should give it a serious thought. Why is Chen Jun willing to be with you? I believe you know the reason as well. If the Chen family does not get what they are after, what will happen to you then? Shouldn’t you give it a serious thought?”

  In the past, Qiao Dongliang would be fuming mad at Qiao Zijin’s insensible words.

  Now, perhaps due to Qiao Nan’s influence, he could no longer be bothered to stay angry with Qiao Zijin.

  Nan Nan was angry at him because of Zijin and had resorted to ignoring her father.

  If he lost his younger daughter’s love and the elder daughter insisted on her stubborn ways, he would have failed terribly as a person in this life.

  To prove that what he had been doing was right, even if he knew that it was not easy to take Qiao Zijin in hand, Qiao Dongliang had no other choice but to continue on this muddy and thorn-filled path.

  Qiao Zijin was silent. “Will Qiao Nan really not help me if Chen Jun bullies me? I am her only sister.”

  Qiao Zijin knew that Chen Jun had a hidden agenda. However, Qiao Zijin was after his good looks, his family background, and the fact that he graduated from a well-known university. Both of them did not have the purest intentions.

  Chen Jun might have the upper hand, but she was not without any good cards. Qiao Nan was her sister and Zhai Sheng was her brother-in-law!

  Qiao Dongliang hunched his back at Qiao Zijin’s words. “Zijin, you didn’t treat Nan Nan as your family when you bullied her. You treated her worse than an outsider. It is only when you want her to help you will you remember that she is your family and that she should not leave you in the lurch. Zijin, Nan Nan is not your mom or your dad. She will not tolerate your unreasonable behavior. She does not have any obligation toward you.”

  Qiao Dongliang wanted to tell Qiao Zijin that there would not be such a good deal in this world.

  Qiao Zijin gritted her teeth. “Other people may not have this obligation, but Qiao Nan has. She owes me!”

  “What do you mean? Why do you say that?” This was the first time that Qiao Zijin said this. “Why do you feel that Qiao Nan has to help you after you bullied her? When did she owe you? What did she owe you?”

  Since this was the first time that Qiao Zijin brought this up, Qiao Dongliang wanted to find out what was on her mind.

  Qiao Zijin twitched the corners of her lips, a cold and ironic smile on her face. “You and Mom might not have any memory of this. When she was pregnant with Qiao Nan, I was only three years old. Who would have thought that a three-year-old child could remember what happened so clearly? At that time, you and Mom thought that the second child must be a boy. When you were not at home, Mom nagged at me every day, saying that when my brother was born, I must be good to him. I must protect him so that he would not be bullied by others. When I grew up, I had to start work as early as possible to earn money so that he could go to school. I must marry a good man so that I could help my brother……”

  Her mother used to nag at her to help Qiao Nan. She had to make sure that Qiao Nan did what her mother used to tell her!

  Fortunately, the child was not a boy but a girl.

  Qiao Zijin also had no idea how a young kid like her managed to remember what happened back then.

  She did not have any memories of her childhood except for the sight of her mother touching her bulging stomach with love and affection. She sat near the door under the sun, talking to herself. However, Qiao Zijin heard everything and remembered it for the rest of her life!

  She had to quit school and work once Qiao Nan was born?

  Fine, she would make sure that it was Qiao Nan who quit school and worked to provide for her school fees!

  “Dad, you may not have known. The ten months that Mom was pregnant with Qiao Nan was the hardest period of my life. Mom had a piece of cloth that she intended to use to make a dress for me. In the end, she said that she would use it as Nan Nan’s diapers. Mom forbade me from touching her and she pushed me such that I fell onto the floor and scraped my palm. Five years ago, you felt sorry that Mom did not provide good food for Qiao Nan, causing her to be malnourished. But do you know that when I was three years old, I never had a full meal and I used to starve like Qiao Nan?”

  Toward the end, Qiao Zijin stared at Qiao Dongliang, who had turned around to face her. “Dad, I do not owe Qiao Nan. It is Qiao Nan who owes me.”


  1091 My Conscience Is Clear

  “No matter what kind of treatment Qiao Nan receives, I don’t think I am in the wrong.”

  Was Qiao Nan pitiful?

  Of course not!

  She had also endured all of Qiao Nan’s suffering before!

  Qiao Nan had already grown up when she suffered from such treatment. However, she was only three years old! Three years old!

  There was hatred in Qiao Zijin’s heart. This hatred had never subsided. On the contrary, it grew with each passing day.

  Now, Qiao Nan was more outstanding, exemplary, and dazzling than her. Qiao Zijin’s hatred toward Qiao Nan became increasingly deeper.

  She felt that Qiao Nan was provoking and causing her unhappiness despite having not paid back what she had owed!

  In that case, she could not be blamed for not treating Qiao Nan as a sister. When Qiao Nan was of use to her, she would acknowledge that they were biological sisters. When Qiao Nan was not of any use to her, she would trample on Qiao Nan more viciously than anyone else.

  She had a clear conscience!

  “You……” Never did Qiao Dongliang expect that the conflict between his elder and younger daughters was created by Ding Jiayi. Moreover, there was such inside information as to why his elder daughter behaved willfully toward his younger one. “Alright, even if what you have said is true, is Nan Nan the one who did all those things and made you suffer during that time? Did Nan Nan instigate your mom to do that? You should know that your mom is the biased one. Your mom is the one that caused all these. Nan Nan is still in your mom’s womb. She did not even utter a word, let alone do anything. Zijin, you are angry, but the person that you should resent is your mom and not Nan Nan!”

  Qiao Zijin felt that she was not in the wrong. However, to Qiao Dongliang, Qiao Zijin was very wrong, and ridiculously wrong.

  When Qiao Nan was still in Ding Jiayi’s womb, Qiao Nan could not participate in anything that Ding Jiayi did to Qiao Zijin. She was not even aware of it then.

  However, in contrast, Qiao Zijin certainly had something to do with the sufferings that Qiao Nan had endured after the latter grew up.

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  At this point, Qiao Dongliang had a moment of realization of why Ding Jiayi was so biased against and did not dote on Qiao Nan.

  In particular, there was no doubt that Qiao Zijin’s earlier words proved only one point—Qiao Zijin wanted to take revenge on Qiao Nan.

  She wanted to take revenge on Qiao Nan for all that she had suffered when she was three years old.

  As such, Qiao Zijin was most probably the mastermind for all those distasteful behaviors that Ding Jiayi did to Qiao Nan.

  “If you are angry, you can vent it on your mom. She is the one who didn’t let you eat, made you quit school and earn money to support your younger brother financially. Your mom is the one who did everything. Nan Nan did not even utter a word. Zijin, I am extremely disappointed in you.”

  “No one can deny that Mom would not do that to me if Nan Nan did not exist.” Qiao Zijin was very stubborn. She refused to take the view that Qiao Nan was the innocent party.

  Qiao Dongliang was both angry and amused. “So as to speak, the people that you should blame are not Nan Nan but your mom and I. If I am not together with your mom, will your mom be pregnant with Nan Nan? Nan Nan did not come out of her own accord. She was created by your mom and me. If you consider that, you should be venting your anger on your mom and me.”

  Initially, Qiao Zijin was already a grown-up lady and she even had a boyfriend. The parents of both families had also met and were in marriage talks. Qiao Dongliang, this father, should not discuss such a censored topic with Qiao Zijin, this elder daughter.

  The problem was that he had been infuriated by Qiao Zijin. He felt that Qiao Zijin’s high-sounding and dignified reasons were ludicrous.

  Looking at his stubborn elder daughter who refused to admit her wrong, Qiao Dongliang said listlessly, “After talking for so long, there is only one reason why you put all the blame on Nan Nan and refuse to mention your mom and me. You bully the weak and fear the strong. You know that you need to rely on your mom and me to grow up. You know that you have to depend on your mom and me in order to stick to, derive benefit, and gain power from Nan Nan. Without us, the sibling relationship between the two of you will exist in name only.”

  Regardless of how Zijin harmed Nan Nan, Zijin could always tap on Old Ding and him to continue to exploit and derive gains from Nan Nan, as long as they were still alive.

  Otherwise, it would mean that after Nan Nan’s life had turned good, she was unwilling to bother about her poor relatives. She could watch on as her biological parents die.

  On the contrary, if both he and Old Ding were to disown Zijin, Nan Nan could decline Zijin when the latter wished to derive any benefit from her. If he and Old Ding did not put in any good words for Zijin, no one could reprimand Nan Nan for her doings.

  Zijin wanted to make full use of the two words ‘filial piety’ to suppress Nan Nan from the highest point of morality.

  She was fearless in dealing with Nan Nan when she had Old Ding and him as her backings.

  To put it bluntly, Nan Nan was a tool that Zijin wanted to obtain in life, whereas he and Old Ding were pawns that could fulfill Zijin’s wish of a good life.

  Qiao Dongliang had the intent to help Qiao Zijin and let go of Qiao Nan. He wanted to spend more time and effort on the disappointing Qiao Zijin so that the latter could also lead a good life.

  However, Qiao Dongliang hesitated and regretted after he found out that Qiao Zijin was truly such a cold and heartless person.

  In the family of four, Qiao Zijin only paid attention to, cared about, and loved herself. The remaining three of her closest kin were just tools that she could make use of to achieve happiness.

  He had given up on a filial and smart daughter for the sake of an individual who was selfish to the extreme. Qiao Dongliang was at a total loss now.

  Qiao Zijin bit her lips. This was because Qiao Dongliang’s words had hit the nail.

  Ding Jiayi and Qiao Dongliang were the reason that Qiao Zijin could haunt Qiao Nan endlessly for life like a resentful ghost. Wasn’t that so?

  Of course, Qiao Zijin had to act like a goody-two-shoes in front of Qiao Dongliang and Ding Jiayi because of this reason.

  Ding Jiayi was completely in Qiao Zijin’s clutches. Qiao Dongliang was her only variable factor.

  However, Qiao Zijin was overjoyed that her father was actually willing to have a change of heart at the end of last year. Besides doting on Qiao Nan, he was willing to turn back and take more care of her.

  This change made Qiao Zijin ecstatic.

  It was not because of other reasons. It was because if she were to make any request to Qiao Nan in the future, she could then tell Qiao Nan that she had been the only one taking care of their parents since Qiao Nan was always not at home.

  Her parents’ lives would only be good if her life was.

  If Qiao Nan refused to help, it would not just impact her life but also that of their parents.

  Having secured double bargaining chips, Qiao Zijin also wished to help the Chen family achieve greater heights in their career after she was married to Chen Jun. She was very determined to become the wife that the Chen Jun doted on.

  Today, Qiao Dongliang had exposed everything. How could Qiao Zijin keep a straight face in front of an impending major disaster?

  Qiao Zijin, who was filled with guilty-conscience, dared not even look at Qiao Dongliang in the eye.

  No matter what Qiao Zijin did to Ding Jiayi, the latter would always stay by Qiao Zijin’s side unconditionally. Hence, she was not afraid that Ding Jiayi would abandon her.

  Qiao Dongliang was different. That was because Qiao Dongliang had already abandoned her once because of Qiao Nan.

  Qiao Dongliang was enraged now. Qiao Zijin immediately turned honest and abiding in front of Qiao Dongliang.

  1092 Even the Biological Father Was Afraid

  Qiao Dongliang took a deep breath. “Let’s go home first.” It would be so embarrassing if anyone were to overhear their conversation today.

  Zijin had endured sufferings but she dared not seek justice from the main culprits. Instead, she only bullied Nan Nan. To put it bluntly, Zijin was just a timid and weak coward.

  As Qiao Dongliang was already angered, Qiao Zijin could only restrain her temper. She dared not flare up like a princess or like she did in the past. She could only abidingly follow behind Qiao Dongliang’s footsteps like a little daughter-in-law. The father-daughter pair then quietly returned to the small courtyard of the Qiao family.

  At the sight of the father-daughter pair coming back looking sad and gloomy despite having gone out happily, Ding Jiayi exploded like firecrackers without anyone lighting her up. “Why do both of you have such expressions when you’re back? Did that wretched girl scorn you or join forces with outsiders to bully you? How dare she! I will look for her to settle scores with her. Did she really think that she can be lawless and fearless after she is married to Zhai Sheng? She doesn’t even respect her biological parents and sister anymore? I want to ask the Zhai family whether they really dare to take in such a wretched girl who refuses to acknowledge any of her kin!”

  Ding Jiayi did not gain anything from Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan’s marriage.

  No matter how good this marriage was, it was not considered a good marriage to Ding Jiayi if she did not stand to gain anything from it.

  Since this was a marriage that she did not consider good, what was the use of having such a marriage? She might as well wreck it.

  Qiao Dongliang only remembered the bride price after Qiao Zijin reminded him. However, Ding Jiayi had already been targeting the bride price from the Zhai family to Qiao Nan.

  The problem was that they had agreed before that Qiao Nan would be under Qiao Dongliang’s custody after the divorce.

  The husband and wife had not even revived their marriage. If Qiao Dongliang did not speak about this, Ding Jiayi was not qualified to use her status as Qiao Nan’s mother to request for the bride price from the Zhai family.

  After she found out that Qiao Zijin had thought about this and even persuaded Qiao Dongliang, Ding Jiayi was smug. She felt that Qiao Zijin, her elder daughter, truly resembled her.

  When the father-daughter pair went to the house of the Zhu family, Ding Jiayi had already pinched her fingers to count the money and decide what she wanted to use it for upon receiving the bride price from the Zhai family.

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  When she saw the expressions on the father-daughter pair when they arrived home, Ding Jiayi was certain that not a single cent had fallen into their hands regardless of what the bride price was.

  “Can you stop? Do you want me to flare up?!” He had just found out that the conflict between his elder daughter and the younger daughter was all due to Ding Jiayi. Qiao Dongliang was still burning with anger.

  He had intended to persuade Qiao Zijin but Qiao Zijin had gone into a dead end for almost twenty years. Even if Qiao Dongliang wanted to pull Qiao Zijin out, he had to see if Qiao Zijin was willing to come out.

  Obviously, Qiao Zijin would not listen to him at this moment.

  Qiao Dongliang could not lose his temper at Qiao Zijin now. However, he did not feel the least burdened to vent it all on Ding Jiayi. “No wonder people in the olden times said that it is more important to marry a virtuous than a pretty wife. A husband with a virtuous wife will have less trouble. The greatest mistake that I have committed in my life is to marry you and let you become my children’s mother!”

  He believed that if another woman was the mother of his two daughters, the relationship between his two daughters would certainly not escalate to the situation today.

  Ding Jiayi’s old face turned red. She was not pleased. “Did the wretched girl scorn you? What did it have to do with me that she doesn’t treat you like her dad? I have already said before. That wretched girl is heartless. It is a waste of time to treat her so well. You refused to heed my words and even divorced me. Now, you are venting all your anger on me. Qiao Dongliang, do you still have a conscience?!”

  Upon hearing these accusations from Ding Jiayi, Qiao Dongliang revealed an extremely icy and cold smile. “No conscience? Who is the one who doesn’t have a conscience?”

  When he said that, the corners of Qiao Dongliang’s eyes were looking in Qiao Zijin’s direction.

  Qiao Dongliang already knew how the knot in Qiao Zijin’s heart came about. He knew that Qiao Zijin did not shun Ding Jiayi and him or vent her anger on them at this point in time. However, it did not mean that she would not do so in the future.

  Qiao Zijin was still acknowledging the husband and wife as she wanted to rely on them to exploit Qiao Nan continuously.

  When their relationship with Nan Nan had completely broken down and Nan Nan would not give any chance to Qiao Zijin, it would be the time whereby husband and wife would lose their value.

  At the thought of this, Qiao Dongliang laughed again. It was such a sad and bitter laugh.

  When he and Ding Jiayi had outlived their usefulness, he was curious as to how the good daughter that Ding Jiayi spoke about would treat the two of them who had raised her.

  At that time, he would know which of his two daughters was without any conscience.

  When Qiao Dongliang replied to Qiao Zijin’s question, he had made it clear that she should direct her resentment and hate at Ding Jiayi and him. At that time, Qiao Zijin did not respond.

  Initially, Qiao Dongliang felt that Qiao Zijin had already climbed into the dead alley. She had only picked the weak ones to bully. That was the reason she had pushed all the blame on Qiao Nan.

  However, Qiao Dongliang gradually came to his senses.

  Although Qiao Zijin did not agree with him that he and Ding Jiayi were the main culprits, the problem was that Qiao Zijin did not deny it either.

  Was it because the husband and wife were still of some use to Qiao Zijin now? Was that why Qiao Zijin had not settled the scores with them?

  When they had lost their usefulness, it was also time for them to ‘repay’ Qiao Zijin for the sins that they had committed?

  All these were just Qiao Dongliang’s guess but he increasingly felt that there was such a possibility.

  After having such a guess, Qiao Dongliang only felt fear and disappointment.

  After so long, his elder daughter was not only foolish and selfish but also had such a dark side hidden in her heart.

  He had raised his two daughters. He did not expect them to support him when he was old and after they were married. However, he certainly could not accept his daughter ‘taking revenge’ on himself.

  “Old Qiao, what is wrong with you? Why are you looking at Zijin like that without an apparent reason, as if Zijin is a monster?” Ding Jiayi had been furious and venting her anger on Qiao Dongliang. After cursing and scolding him for so long, she then discovered that Qiao Dongliang was behaving a little differently from the usual.

  She had said such ugly words and even mentioned Qiao Nan but Qiao Dongliang did not retort her at all. He was just standing on the same spot and allowing her to scold and vent her frustration. This was not Qiao Dongliang’s usual style.

  When she saw Qiao Dongliang in a daze, staring at Qiao Zijin, she was concerned. Qiao Dongliang was not looking at Qiao Zijin in a nice way. She could see some fear and shock in his eyes. Ding Jiayi was not pleased. “Old Qiao, what are you looking at? What are you thinking of?”

  After Ding Jiayi called out to him, Qiao Dongliang regained his senses. His heart shivered for a while. “No, nothing.”

  It was fine that his daughter was a little foolish to have liked the wrong person and even insisted to marry him. This was something very common and not considered big news.

  1093 Am I That Scary?

  Qiao Dongliang might be unhappy, but he would not do anything. Instead, he would stop caring for Qiao Nan and focus all his attention on helping Qiao Zijin until the day she found her happiness.

  He did not ask her daughter to repay him with anything.

  However, Qiao Dongliang suddenly felt that there was a possibility that when Qiao Zijin had the life that she wanted, she might rake up the past and settle old scores with him. Qiao Dongliang paled at the thought of it.

  Qiao Zijin felt uneasy at Qiao Dongliang’s expression. “Dad, did you catch a cold on the way back? One will easily catch a cold during the period when winter turns to spring after the Lunar New Year. Mom, can you look for the cold medicine at home and pass them to Dad?”

  Qiao Zijin had no idea what was on Qiao Dongliang’s mind. But Qiao Zijin felt a sense of crisis upon seeing his expression.

  Qiao Zijin had a head for this. Whenever Qiao Dongliang treated her well, she would reach out for a yard after taking an inch.

  When she sensed that something was amiss, she would give in immediately to reassure the other party.

  “Yes, there is cold medicine at home. Old Qiao, take a seat. I will bring you medicine and water.” Ding Jiayi looked at Qiao Dongliang with concern in her eyes. She even touched his forehead with her hand to check his temperature.

  Qiao Dongliang grabbed Ding Jiayi’s hand. “No need. I know very well whether I am sick or not. I have not caught a cold. It’s just that it’s windy and I don’t feel quite well. All medicine has toxicity to some degree. There is no need to take the medicine. It’s late. I will go back now. I still have to wake up early in the morning to send Nan Nan off. Both of you…… should go to bed earlier too.”

  Qiao Dongliang felt uneasy at the mention of the cold medicine.

  To Qiao Dongliang, the mention of the cold medicine made him repulsed.

  The change in Qiao Nan was brought about by the fever medicine. What got on Qiao Dongliang’s nerves the most was that a few days ago, Ding Jiayi went to the Zhai family’s residence, yelling for Qiao Nan to come out to meet her. Her voice turned hoarse because of her constant shouts. But she lied, saying that she was uncomfortable and might have caught a cold. Upon hearing that, Qiao Zijin stood far away from her with a cold look on her face. She feared that she would catch a cold from Ding Jiayi.

  \r \r \r

  Qiao Dongliang could not understand how a medicinal pill that was used to treat illness turned into a test of one’s character at their house.

  Could it be that the medicine they had at home was different from the medicine that other people had? Weren’t they supposed to be manufactured by the same company?

  Qiao Dongliang could not figure it out and he had no wish to take the medicine.

  Ding Jiayi stopped Qiao Dongliang, reluctant for him to leave. “You said that you need to wake up early in the morning to send that wretched girl off. Although the distance from the Qiao family’s residence to your place is not that far, it will take more than half an hour on the bicycle. It’s too tiring. Since you are unwell, you should spend the night here. This is not the first time that you do that. You can have half an hour more of sleep. Isn’t that better?”

  After the divorce, Qiao Dongliang once had his meals and spent the night at the Qiao family’s residence.

  Although he did not share the room, the same bed, and the same blanket with Ding Jiayi, it was a huge improvement for Ding Jiayi.

  Since they could stay under one roof, it would not be long before they got back together.

  Ding Jiayi still preferred Qiao Dongliang over starting another relationship. The new partner that she had might have other agendas or intentions.

  Therefore, in the three years after the divorce, even if other people kindly introduced men to Ding Jiayi, she would only have meals with them a couple of times and spend a few days with them before she rejected them.

  Ding Jiayi was no longer a young lady and she had a grown-up daughter. After multiple rejections, other people no longer introduced suitable candidates to her.

  Ding Jiayi, who felt lonely after her divorce, realized that among all the men that she had met, Qiao Dongliang was still the best.

  Since she could not find someone better than Qiao Dongliang, Ding Jiayi would naturally direct all her attention to Qiao Dongliang.

  Qiao Dongliang had goose bumps at the tender look in Ding Jiayi’s eyes. He did not feel touched by her behavior. Instead, he was scared. “No need. There is really no need for that. Old Ding, you might have some misunderstanding. I was willing to have meals with you and to stay over for the night a few days ago not because I wanted to get back together with you. It’s just that I don’t want things to look bad on Nan Nan and Zijin, especially when they are getting married. It would be better for them, particularly Zijin, to have both parents around.”

  Qiao Dongliang was not worried about Qiao Nan.

  Miao Jing treated Qiao Nan very well. Qiao Dongliang was her father, but he did not treat her as well. Moreover, Zhu Chengqi doted on Qiao Nan as well.

  It was a different case for Qiao Zijin. Compared with the Qiao family, the Chen family had the upper hand and Chen Jun was more cunning than Qiao Zijin.

  In Qiao Dongliang’s opinion, if he was on good terms with Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin, the Chen family would know that if anything happened, her family and her father would stand up for her.

  He would not allow them to look down on Qiao Zijin or ill-treat her just because she only had her mother with her and there was no one else in her family.

  This was what Qiao Dongliang would do for Qiao Zijin. He was not interested in anything else.

  Getting back together?

  If he had the slightest notion of getting back together with Ding Jiayi, instead of filing for divorce back then, he should have maintained the status quo—to live separately despite still being married.

  Qiao Dongliang thought that Ding Jiayi would have the same views as him and would understand what was on his mind.

  But looking at her pestering behavior today, Qiao Dongliang realized that he was wrong again.

  He was wrong about Qiao Zijin and he thought too highly of Ding Jiayi.

  This pair of mother and daughter would never be sensible and understanding!

  With that, Qiao Donglian could not be bothered that Ding Jiayi looked sullen. He pushed his model ’28’ bicycle and cycled unsteadily, fleeing from the house.

  Now that Qiao Dongliang had made himself clear, Ding Jiayi could no longer deceive herself. “What is your dad up to? Didn’t he quarrel with that wretched girl because of both of us?”

  Otherwise, she would not shower affection on an uninterested party and have the wrong impression that Qiao Dongliang had the same intention of getting back together like her.

  These past few days, Ding Jiayi had been thinking of what happened when she married Qiao Dongliang back then. Apart from a table of food, they did not go through any procedures and they did not have any proper wedding dress and suit.

  If she was able to get back together with Qiao Dongliang, Qiao Nan, who was doing well, should be filial to them and arrange for a proper wedding ceremony for them. In this way, she could make up for not having a ceremony in the past.

  Ding Jiayi would plan their wedding using Qiao Nan’s and Zhai Sheng’s wedding as a reference.

  She had yet to weave her dreams of a grand wedding when Qiao Dongliang fled from the house, shattering her dreams of having a proper wedding to pieces. “Don’t tell me that he does not have the same feelings as I do? Am I that scary that he could not cycle properly?”


  1094 This Was Not Importan

  “I have been married to him for more than twenty years. I have spent my prime years on him and I even gave birth to two daughters for him. Is he shunning me because I am old and haggard? Does he not want me anymore?”

  After returning to Ping Cheng, Ding Jiayi was elated and thrilled to find out that Qiao Dongliang remained single and that he would reject anyone’s offer upfront to introduce a partner to him.

  She felt ashamed that she agreed to meet those possible candidates whom other people had introduced to her.

  She thought that Qiao Dongliang remained single because of her. Ding Jiayi behaved like a besotted young lady. She was immersed in her romantic thoughts and dreams for days. She even smiled in her dreams about how it was like to get back together with Qiao Dongliang.

  She had dinner with Qiao Dongliang on the day before the Lunar New Year’s eve and she even stayed for the night. Although Qiao Dongliang maintained a polite distance from her, at the very least, she could spend the night with him under the same roof.

  Ding Jiayi thought that Qiao Dongliang was reserved and that was why he did not reveal his feelings for her.

  She could understand as they had been married for a long time.

  What happened just now came as a harsh blow to Ding Jiayi. She almost cried out loud.

  Qiao Zijin wet a towel for Ding Jiayi. “Wipe the tears and snot on your face.” It would be embarrassing if other people were to witness this.

  Ding Jiayi cried while she wiped her tears. “Zijin, your dad is without a conscience. I thought that he has the same sentiments as me. To my surprise…… How can he do this to me!”

  “Alright, stop crying.” Qiao Zijin felt vexed. She could not stand it that her father sided with Qiao Nan and reprimanded her. She ended up blurting her innermost feelings.

  \r \r \r

  Her father had seen through her. She wondered whether she could still make use of her father to go against Qiao Nan. “Mom, as you have said, you and Dad have spent more than twenty years together. To put it bluntly, as long as Dad does not date other women or marry someone else, what does it matter if he remarries you or not? Think about it. You are his only ex-wife, the only woman in his life. Isn’t this good enough?”

  Ding Jiayi, who was sobbing, paused momentarily at Qiao Zijin’s words. “I-is that so?”

  “Of course!” Qiao Zijin rolled her eyes. “Mom, Dad will never be rid of you in this life. He has no intention of starting another relationship as well. It really doesn’t matter if the two of you get back together or not. What’s important now is you should consider my interests. If I marry well, I will be able to take better care of you and you will be able to enjoy life.”

  Her parents were no longer young. Qiao Zijin could not understand why they were so childish and would still dream about dating and love. Didn’t they find it embarrassing?

  If Ding Jiayi was not her mother, Qiao Zijin would find her behavior to be unbearably embarrassing.

  “Marry well? Don’t you like Chen Jun and want to marry him? Don’t tell me you don’t want to marry him and you like someone else?” Ding Jiayi used the towel to wipe her face. She looked at Qiao Zijin with a confused look.

  Qiao Zijin shook her head. “No.” She had not changed her mind. She still ‘liked’ Chen Jun and wanted to marry him.

  “Then, everything is settled,” Ding Jiayi said matter-of-factly. “Your dad and I have met the Chen family. They seem nice and they took the initiative to visit us. They have given us due respect. It is a matter of time before you marry Chen Jun. What is the matter here?”

  “How can everything be alright?” Qiao Zijin was upset. “Since I am going to marry Chen Jun, the Chen family and I will be in the same boat. If they do well, I will be able to do well and you will be able to lead a good life.”

  Ding Jiayi, who had just cried her guts out over Qiao Dongliang’s attitude, was slow to react. “Is it that complicated? Are you hatching any plans related to that wretched girl? That wretched girl refuses to acknowledge her family. After the wedding banquet tomorrow, she will have the Zhai family as her backing. She could not be bothered with her poor family.”

  In fact, Ding Jiayi wanted to bask in Qiao Nan’s glory as well. However, Qiao Nan was too smart and vicious. Once provoked, she would not hesitate to retaliate and that was why Qiao Zijin ended up with an ugly hairstyle.

  Up until now, Ding Jiayi dared not reveal to Qiao Zijin that she created trouble for Qiao Nan and that was why Qiao Nan retaliated by sending someone to bash Qiao Zijin at school and cut her hair to uneven lengths.

  After spending several years staying alone with Qiao Zijin at another house, Ding Jiayi had a better idea of the elder daughter’s temperament.

  She was fearful that after learning the truth, Qiao Zijin would bear a grudge and would not be filial to her in the future.

  Although Ding Jiayi always said that she trusted Qiao Zijin, she was still careful around her.

  “You and Dad are still around. She has to acknowledge me as her sister. As long as I am still leading a difficult life, she has to help me if I approach her for assistance.” Qiao Zijin would not allow Qiao Nan to have an easy time.

  Qiao Zijin was overconfident in herself. She neglected the fact that she was the one who was bullied by the Chen family. Even if Qiao Nan was willing to help her, it was up to Qiao Nan to decide what she would help her with.

  She could give the Chen family a verbal warning not to bully Qiao Zijin.

  But if the Chen family was not given proper punishment, Qiao Zijin would continue to suffer in the Chen family.

  Ding Jiayi felt unsettled and worried even though Qiao Zijin was full of confidence. She could not help but have a headache. She felt that things would not be as simple. “It would be good if the wretched girl is willing to help.”

  Ding Jiayi was jealous at the mention of Qiao Nan, who was getting married tomorrow.

  Ding Jiayi might look down on Qiao Nan, but she had to admit that she had chosen a good husband and a good family. Qiao Nan had done what she had dreamed of but dared not do.

  She should have been basking in glory because of this marriage.

  But everyone in the quad knew about her bad relationship with the wretched girl.

  Everyone felt that Ding Jiayi was biased and had the wrong judgment. But she refused to admit it.

  She was the mother while Qiao Nan was the daughter. Qiao Nan should listen to her words. Even if Qiao Nan refused to listen to her, she was still her elder and her mother. Qiao Nan could never sever ties with her.

  However, the wretched girl did not have a conscience. She had not visited her for years and neither did she greet her as her mother. She should have been basking in glory, but instead, she was the big joke of the quad.

  Ding Jiayi sighed unhappily. “Zijin, you must do well. I don’t care that Qiao Nan marries well. I have placed all my hopes on you. If you marry well, you will be doing me proud. It will prove that I have made the right judgment.”

  The daughter that she had raised was just as good as Qiao Nan.

  “Zijin, you must remember. The wretched girl has indeed married well.”


  1095 Make Use of the Chance to Benefit from I

  “To put it bluntly, the Zhai family is an illustrious family. It is not that easy to be married into such a family. All that talk about equality is crap. By the time Zhai Sheng is tired of Qiao Nan, he will divorce her and kick her out of the Zhai family. By then, it will be our turn to shine.”

  Ding Jiayi believed that the day would come. She also believed that it would come very soon.

  “Mom, don’t worry. I understand. I have the same sentiments.” Qiao Zijin nodded. “Therefore, before Zhai Sheng divorces her and we are still in-laws, I will think of ways to benefit from their relationship.”

  Qiao Nan did not know or care to know what Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin were thinking about.

  To many people, this was a long night.

  Qiao Dongliang, who barely had any sleep, looked at the clock that said it was four o’clock in the morning. He sat up from the bed, put on his clothes, and rode his bicycle to the Zhu family’s residence.

  The Shi family drove the car to the Zhu family’s residence. They could tell that they were not the only ones on the road.

  Feng Cheng was not in a hurry. She was not marrying off her daughter.

  If not for Shi Qing, who was willing, and Shi Peng, who agreed with her, she would not allow her daughter to be Qiao Nan’s bridesmaid. Given Qiao Nan’s family background, she did not deserve Shi Qing as her bridesmaid.

  However, in the Shi family, Feng Cheng was the minority. It was one against two. Even if they were democratic, her objection would still be invalid.

  “Shi Peng, it’s so early in the morning. You don’t even allow me to have a good sleep. It’s just a meal. Do we have to be there at such an early time?” Feng Cheng felt sleepy, so she was easily rattled. She was reluctant to get into the car. She wanted to rest at home.

  If she reached there before the stipulated time, it would be showing respect to Qiao Nan. Why should she do that?!

  \r \r \r

  Shi Peng pulled a long face. “Today is the day Qiao Nan is getting married to Zhai Sheng. Everyone is in a good mood. Stop throwing tantrums and making everyone unhappy. You must not forget who you are. If you feel sleepy, fine, you can go back to sleep. You can come by yourself after you have rested well.”

  Shi Peng knew the reason why his wife disliked Qiao Nan.

  He did not think of changing Feng Cheng’s attitude. He knew that she was unhappy. He had even thought of giving her some money for her to go on a holiday to have some fun. Shi Peng would not care whether she went shopping or go on a trip with the money.

  Although Shi Peng suggested her to take a break, Feng Cheng refused to listen to him.

  After knowing that Shi Peng and Shi Qing were determined to attend Qiao Nan’s wedding, an unhappy Feng Cheng insisted that she wanted to tag along as well.

  The Shi family would be giving a red packet to Qiao Nan. Since they had given her a large amount of money as her wedding gift, Feng Cheng had to attend the wedding.

  Even if she did not have a big appetite, she could still have her meals at the wedding banquet.

  Feng Cheng was not calculative. But at the thought that the bride was Qiao Nan, Feng Cheng refused to be taken advantage of by her.

  Although Feng Cheng insisted on going, she was upset that Shi Peng insisted on going early in the morning. “As I have said, we are only there for a meal. We are not there to help out. Why do we have to be so early? Shi Peng, don’t you find your behavior unreasonable? It’s fine that you are behaving oddly, but why do you allow Qing Qing to go along with you? Luckily, we have been married for years and I know you well. Otherwise, I would have suspected that Qiao Nan is the daughter that you have with another woman.”

  The Feng family had many grandchildren, but Shi Peng did not treat them as good as how he treated Qiao Nan.

  Feng Cheng was upset that he treated an outsider better than the children of his relatives.

  Shi Peng was already in a bad mood. His mood turned sour and his expression darkened at Feng Cheng’s words. “You can get down the car. You can disregard Qing Qing’s friendship with Qiao Nan, but I cannot disregard that Zhai Sheng is my disciple. If you don’t want to have this meal, you can go back home. Let me tell you. It will not do the Feng family any good to provoke the Zhai family.”

  “I won’t get down the car and I won’t go back as well.” Feng Cheng closed the door shut. “Fine, I will not throw any tantrums or make any comments. Will that do?”

  Feng Cheng behaved herself after seeing that Shi Peng was angry with her.

  One of them was her husband while the other was her daughter. It was not worth it to affect her relationship with them because of an outsider. She was not that stupid.

  Feng Cheng sighed. Had she known this would happen, back when Shi Peng arranged for her to leave Mo Du to go back to her parental family, she should not have followed his arrangements to go to the capital just because she missed her parental family.

  If she gave up everything and went to Ping Cheng to stay with Shi Peng and Qing Qing, all these would not have happened and they would not have been so close with Qiao Nan.

  During the years that she was away, it was Qiao Nan who was with Shi Peng and Shi Qing.

  Feng Cheng felt that it was her fault that Qiao Nan was able to take advantage of her absence to be close to her husband and her daughter.

  She was Shi Peng’s wife and Shi Qing’s mother.

  As long as she was willing, she would be able to regain their trust and affection.

  By the time the family of three was back on good terms, she no longer needed to be mindful of Qiao Nan. When that day came, even if she asked Shi Peng to help Qiao Nan when she was in trouble, he might not be willing to help her.

  Feng Cheng might be unhappy, but she was aware of her position in this relationship.

  Shi Peng reined in his temper now that Feng Cheng behaved herself. He did not insist that she get down the car. “Remember your words. Consider it for the Feng family’s sake. You must know what to say and what not to say on such an occasion. Everyone in the Zhai family, from the old master to the siblings, likes Qiao Nan very much. Don’t look down on Qiao Nan in a pique of anger and offend the entire Zhai family. If you really do that, you will have to think about how you are going to explain to the Feng family by the time you go back to the capital.”

  Shi Peng did not ask too much of Feng Cheng. She only needed to stand by his side and refrained from making any comments.

  If needed be, he would be in charge of mingling with others.

  “Understood.” Feng Cheng might have looked down on Qiao Nan, but the Zhai family was not to be trifled with.

  Feng Cheng knew that her parental family wanted to be on good terms with the Zhai family.

  Feng Cheng had to think of ways to be on friendly terms with the Zhai family for her parental family’s sake. She would never offend the Zhai family.

  It was because of the Zhai family that she allowed her daughter to be Qiao Nan’s bridesmaid. If not, even if they got into a serious quarrel because of the issue of being Qiao Nan’s bridesmaid, she would never allow her daughter to go with her wishes. Qiao Nan did not deserve it.

  Feng Cheng calmed down. “The Zhai family has always been staying in the quad. Why is it that no one arranged for you to stay in the quad after you left the army?”


  1096 Self-Accomplished

  One would enjoy the benefits of being in a favorable position.

  Shi Peng had a good temperament and he was also Zhai Sheng’s master.

  If Shi Peng were to stay at a place nearer to the Zhai family, the relationship between the Shi family and the Zhai family would improve further.

  Building on this premise, Feng Cheng could then make use of her identity as the wife of Shi Peng to build closer ties with the Zhai family. She could then put in some good words for her maternal family.

  “I don’t need that.”

  “Why not?” It was very much needed!

  Shi Peng pursed his lips as he gave Feng Cheng a listless look. He let out a sigh of exasperation in his heart. The Feng family had educated Feng Cheng very successfully. Feng Cheng had the Feng family’s interests at heart all the time.

  Shi Peng was only glad about one thing. Although the interests of the Feng family were Feng Cheng’s priority, Feng Cheng always remembered one principle: There must not be any conflict of interest between the Feng family and the Shi family.

  If a conflict of interest between the maternal family and her own husband was present, Feng Cheng would definitely not intervene and take any side in such a situation. She would let her maternal family and Shi Peng fight it out with each other to determine the victor.

  In situations whereby Shi Peng’s interests were not impacted, Feng Cheng would place the interests of the Feng family as the priority.

  “Where are we going now?” When the car entered the quad, Shi Peng turned his steering wheel and drove in the direction opposite to that of the house of the Zhai family. Feng Cheng raised her voice as she held onto the car door. “Did you drive in the wrong direction? Shouldn’t it be that way?”

  “I didn’t drive in the wrong direction.” Shi Peng had already slowed down and was driving at the speed of an ant crawling. “I am going to the house of the Zhu family, not the Shi family. Our daughter is Qiao Nan’s bridesmaid. Hence, we are the guests of the bride today.”

  Most importantly, Shi Peng did not tell Feng Cheng that he would be sending Qiao Nan to the groom’s place.

  \r \r \r

  In order to do that, naturally, he had to drive his car to the house of the Zhu family instead of going to the house of the Zhai family directly.

  Feng Cheng’s face turned stiff. However, she knew that she would not be able to stop Shi Peng. Hence, she cleverly kept mum.

  When the car stopped in front of the main entrance of the Zhu family, Feng Cheng was stunned at the sight of the various big and small red lanterns hanging all over the house. In particular, the smiles on the faces of the Zhu family showed that they emanated happiness from within. “Why is the Zhu family so happy?”

  It was not as if the Zhu family’s only grandson was marrying a wife today. What did this have to do with the Zhu family? Why were they in such a good mood?

  “Did I tell you before that Chief Zhu wanted to acknowledge Qiao Nan as his goddaughter but Qiao Nan declined? Although they did not formally acknowledge fictive kinship, they are as close as father and daughter. Otherwise, Qiao Nan couldn’t possibly marry from the Zhu family. About ninety percent of Qiao Nan’s dowries were prepared by Chief Zhu.”

  Shi Peng parked the car in place before he analyzed the situation for Feng Cheng.

  He wanted to let Feng Cheng understand that it was not true that Qiao Nan would have nothing if she did not have the support of the Shi family.

  Qiao Nan’s backing had never been the Shi family or Shi Peng. It was the famous Zhu Chengqi!

  “So…… so serious?” Feng Cheng was taken aback further.

  Feng Cheng had heard from Shi Qing before that Zhu Chengqi wanted to acknowledge Qiao Nan as his goddaughter.

  Unfortunately, Qiao Nan’s identity as Zhai Sheng’s fiancée was enough to blind Feng Cheng, making the latter believe that Qiao Nan received the attention of the prominent figures because of the Zhai family.

  Other people were fawning on Qiao Nan on the account of the Zhai family. It did not have anything to do with Qiao Nan herself.

  In families like one of her own, it was very common to acknowledge fictive kinship. Feng Cheng had seen many such cases.

  The problem was that the Zhu family’s attitude made Feng Cheng realize that they valued Qiao Nan differently from what she had imagined in the past.

  “It is that serious.” When he saw that his words could register in Feng Cheng’s mind, Shi Peng heaved a sigh of relief.

  Shi Peng was not afraid of anything. He was only fearful that Feng Cheng would behave like Ding Jiayi. Besides being blind, Ding Jiayi’s ears were akin to ornaments and her brains simply went on an eternal strike. Her intelligence was also completely offline. That would be very troublesome then.

  Feng Cheng pouted unhappily. “You said that about ninety percent of Qiao Nan’s dowries were arranged by the Zhu family. The remaining ten percent…… Are you the one who contributed?”

  Shi Peng walked into the house of the Zhu family. He wanted to find out how his daughter was doing. “I only contributed to half of the remaining ten percent. The Lee family made up the rest. Elder Lee likes Qiao Nan very much as well. She treats Qiao Nan like his granddaughter.”

  Although the Qiao family did not spend a single cent for Qiao Nan’s dowry, the arrangements were also elaborate. Moreover, the forces behind the arrangements were formidable figures in Ping Cheng who would cause a stir in Ping Cheng with their movements.

  All of a sudden, Feng Cheng felt dizzy. “Is the Lee family so close with the Qiao family?” Weren’t these two families as different as chalk and cheese?

  “This is a long story. Let’s cut it short. Qiao Nan’s grandfather saved Elder Lee’s life but the two families did not have any more interaction with each other later on due to some things that the Qiao family did. In the end, the two families are in contact again all thanks to Qiao Nan. The relationship was built by Qiao Nan’s grandfather but Qiao Nan is the one who maintains it.”

  Without Qiao Nan, the relationship between the Lee family and the Qiao family would have ended a few years back.

  At the thought that Ding Jiayi shamelessly made use of that little connection and made Elder Lee open a back door for Qiao Zijin to enter The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, Shi Peng sneered.

  It was wise to utilize connections as little as possible. Either one does not utilize it or employs limited resources when they are needed most.

  Elder Lee did not have a good temper and was also a very forthright person. He also shunned people who got things through the back door. Despite knowing that, Ding Jiayi dared to request for his help. She was stupid beyond hopes.

  Of course, Qiao Dongliang was also useless as he did not keep a watch on Ding Jiayi. He allowed her to destroy the few connections left of the Qiao family.

  As the head of the family and husband of Ding Jiayi, Qiao Dongliang should know her character better than anyone else. He should think of ways to maintain the relationship between the Qiao family and the Lee family.

  The parents were incompetent. Nevertheless, it was their good fortune to have such a good daughter like Qiao Nan.

  Otherwise, Qiao Dongliang should be prepared for a scolding by his biological father when he met him in hell a hundred years later.

  Feng Cheng felt even dizzier. “Interpersonal matters typically involve adults. Why is Qiao Nan involved?” She had not heard before that the relationship between the two families was maintained by a child.

  The relationship was ruined in the hands of the parents but salvaged by the child. This was too funny.

  “You were staying in the capital previously. Hence, it was not appropriate for me to tell you certain things. I was afraid that you wouldn’t listen to them if we spoke about this over the phone. Today, I just wanted to let you come over and see for yourself. It always feels more real to see something with your own eyes than to hear it.” It was rare that Feng Cheng could really listen to him. Shi Peng let out a sigh of relief again. “Take a good look yourself. Did Qiao Nan bask in the Zhai family’s glory and receive the liking of so many formidable figures or is she self-accomplished?”


  1097 Might Would Be Redoubled

  “Feng Cheng, I don’t deny that Qing Qing comes from a better family background than Qiao Nan, but when it comes to capability, Qiao Nan is more worthy of Zhai Sheng than Qing Qing is.” Qiao Nan was capable not because of the support that she received from the other families. Instead, it was because of her own ability.

  “Feng Cheng, let’s not talk about Qing Qing. Ask yourself. If you were Qiao Nan, would you be able to achieve what she has achieved? Qiao Nan’s relationship with the Zhu family, the Lee family, and Old Lin are not as what you imagined it to be.”

  People who did not know might think that it was because of the Zhai family that Qiao Nan was acquainted with all the powerful families.

  They must have thought that it was on account of the Zhai family that the big-shots were willing to give her face.

  The truth was the exact opposite.

  “We should be proud if Qing Qing is half as capable as Qiao Nan. However, the child has to pay a price for being mature for her age. In comparison, I would rather that Qing Qing is as carefree as she is now.”

  Feng Cheng, who was in a daze, forgot to rebut Shi Peng and nodded automatically instead.

  The truth was a harsh blow for Feng Cheng.

  Shi Peng knew that Feng Cheng looked down on Qiao Nan, thinking that Qiao Nan relied on the Zhai family to be what she was today.

  Feng Cheng must have been in a big shock to know that she had been wrong all along.

  To Feng Cheng, her daughter was capable and outstanding. However, it was not to the extent that the elders from other families would treat her as their granddaughter. Old Master Shi groomed Qiu Chenxi, his maternal granddaughter, while Old Master Feng had two grandsons. They would never put Shi Qing as their priority.

  It was impossible to get the affection of the elders at home, notwithstanding other elders who were not related to them.

  Feng Cheng kept silent for a long while. “Is Qiao Nan really that capable?”

  Did the Zhu family, the Lee family, and Old Lin do all that on account of Qiao Nan?

  It did not make sense and seemed unbelievable.

  \r \r \r

  “You should not ask me. Qiao Nan will be getting married today. The Zhu family, the Lee family, and Old Lin will definitely be there. You can see for yourself if what I said is true or not, lest you say that I influence your judgment.” Shi Peng had no wish to say any further, telling Feng Cheng to judge for herself.

  Seeing is believing. What one hears may not be true.

  Shi Peng and Shi Qing could put in a lot of good words for Qiao Nan, but the effect was not as great as Feng Cheng seeing the truth for herself.

  It was impossible for the Zhu family to fake the joy and happiness that they felt.

  Everyone in the Zhu family must have adopted the same attitude as the head of the family.

  “Let me show you Qiao Nan’s dowry.” Shi Peng might not be the contact person for Qiao Nan’s wedding, but in fact, he was very much involved in the preparations right from the start. He was more involved than Qiao Dongliang, who was Qiao Nan’s father. Feng Cheng had no idea at all.

  Qiao Dongliang might not know what was going on, but Shi Peng knew it at the tips of his fingers. “Everything over here is Qiao Nan’s dowries.”

  “My goodness……” Feng Cheng sucked in her breath at the room that was filled with Qiao Nan’s dowries.

  The Feng family and the Shi family were doing similarly well. They did not lack the money and had seen their fair share of expensive jewelry and clothes.

  The problem was Qiao Nan could not be compared to the Shi family or the Feng family. The room that was packed with all sorts of dowries came as a visual shock to Feng Cheng.

  At least to Feng Cheng, given the Qiao family’s financial situation, they would not be able to prepare one-tenth of the dowries that were in the room, let alone the amount of dowries that she saw now.

  “How much did it cost to prepare the dowries?” The Zhu family could not have splurged their money. The grandson in the Zhu family was as old as Qing Qing. In another three to four years, he would be getting married.

  “All I can say is that there may be a lot of dowries here and they seem to cost a lot, but all those that are truly valuable are not kept here.” Usually, it was the most ordinary and not to be easily seen dowries that were worth the most!

  Those dowries that took up a lot of space were mainly to appease the ordinary people.

  The Zhu family, the Lee family, and Old Lin were more liberal with their money than one could imagine.

  Feng Cheng was stingy. She stopped Shi Peng from spending too much to prepare Qiao Nan’s dowry. Shi Peng knew very well that among everyone who helped prepare Qiao Nan’s dowry, he forked out the least money.

  Feng Cheng could not help but gasp in shock. “Don’t the Zhu family, the Lee family, and Old Lin need to keep aside some money for themselves? What did they prepare for Qiao Nan? How much are they worth?”

  Although Feng Cheng came from a good family background, upon hearing Shi Peng’s words, she could not help but be jealous of Qiao Nan.

  Back when she married Shi Peng, the dowry that she had could not even be compared to Qiao Nan’s dowry.

  Feng Cheng wondered. After Shi Qing started dating and was preparing for her wedding, given the Shi family’s and the Feng family’s financial capabilities, would the dowry that they prepared for Shi Qing be more significant than Qiao Nan’s dowry?

  Feng Cheng did not have the answer to her question!

  This answer was enough to give her a headache.

  Feng Cheng looked upset. “It seems like Qiao Nan is not the only one who has good fortune. The Zhai family stands to gain from this marriage.” Feng Cheng sounded grumpy.

  If it was like what Shi Peng had said, the Zhu family, the Lee family, and Old Lin were very close to Qiao Nan. Once Qiao Nan became the daughter-in-law of the Zhai family, it would bring the Zhai family closer to the three families.

  Even if this was not the case, whenever there were good opportunities in the future, these three families would definitely think of the Zhai family.

  Even if the Zhai family went downhill or got into serious trouble, as long as the three families were willing to help them, the Zhai family would be able to overcome the crisis.

  Moreover, the Zhai family was illustrious and influential.

  Once Qiao Nan married Zhai Sheng, the Zhai family’s influences and might would be redoubled!

  Every family, notwithstanding the Zhai family, would wish to have such a capable daughter-in-law!

  At the thought of her two unmarried nephews, Feng Cheng felt jealous and grumpy.

  Zhai Sheng was not being shortchanged in this marriage. Instead, he had gained a lot.

  She did not expect that Qiao Nan, who came from a humble background and had unbearable parents, would be so capable and charismatic!

  To be honest, whoever married Qiao Nan would be akin to bringing a golden Buddha home, assuring his family of future success!

  Shi Peng felt much at ease seeing that Feng Cheng seemed to have understood his words.

  Apart from the three people from the Qiao family who were oblivious to her abilities, everyone who knew Qiao Nan could tell that she was a rare gem.

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  1098 Finally Understood

  In Shi Peng’s opinion, those who thought highly of themselves and looked down on Qiao Nan, refusing to listen to any reason, were the most terrible people.

  Others might not know the reason why the Qiu family ended up going downhill, but Shi Peng knew it very well.

  Given Feng Cheng’s temper, if she caused any trouble to the Feng family, Shi Peng would still be able to resolve it. But if she caused trouble for the Shi family, it would be a serious problem.

  It was rare that Feng Cheng would listen to him. Therefore, Shi Peng improved his attitude toward Feng Cheng. He pulled Feng Cheng to his side and allowed Feng Cheng to hold his hand. “Now that you have figured out what is going on, you should know how you should treat Qiao Nan in the future. I once told you that Qiao Nan is a great help to Qing Qing. If you don’t believe it, you can learn more about their friendship after you let go of your prejudices toward Qiao Nan. I believe that Qiao Nan is more sincere to Qing Qing that your two nephews.”

  Shi Peng was in poor health when he was still in the army.

  He heeded Qiao Nan’s advice to retire from the army and joined the government sector. Although the work was just as challenging, under Qiao Nan’s influence and his daughter’s strict care, Shi Peng felt that he was leading a better lifestyle than before.

  Right now, there was always someone around him to make sure that he had his meals on time and that he had sufficient rest. Even if he had not fully recovered, at least, he was still stronger than when he was in the army.

  Back then, he was constantly sick and would be hospitalized time and again. He was a frequent visitor of the military hospital.

  Once hospitalized, it would be several days later before he was allowed to return to the army. When he was back at the army, he would work overtime to finish his work that had been piling up during his hospital stay.

  After he cleared his work through working overtime, he would end up at the hospital again. This had resulted in a vicious cycle.

  Right now, Shi Peng was no longer trapped in the vicious cycle.

  \r \r \r

  Qiao Nan had to take the credit for the improvement in his condition.

  Feng Cheng hesitated but she was not as condescending and obstinate as before. “W-well, I will talk to Qing Qing about it when there’s a chance.”

  Feng Cheng turned gloomy in the next instant. “Qing Qing is still angry with me. She refused to talk to me.”

  “Who do you have to blame for that? Back when Qing Qing was not in a quarrel with you and she tried to engage in a conversation with you, did the two of you have a good chat? You should reflect on your attitude back then! Qing Qing has grown up and she has her own life and way of thinking. Would she not be angry when you wanted her to go according to your wishes just because you are her mom?” Shi Peng lectured Feng Cheng in a harsh tone. It was Feng Cheng who caused her relationship with Shi Qing to be strained. She could not blame Shi Qing, saying that she refused to listen to her.

  Feng Cheng blushed. “But Qing Qing should not lose her temper at me for the sake of an outsider.”

  The reason why she could not stand Qiao Nan and refused to listen to any praises regarding Qiao Nan was that her only daughter was on very good terms with Qiao Nan and she was not as close to her mother.

  In short, Feng Cheng was jealous.

  Shi Peng felt amused and angry at the same time. “Let’s not talk about you. I am her dad, but I am not as important to Shi Qing as Qiao Nan is. It is not that Qing Qing is not close to us. We are definitely her dearest. However, I believe if Qing Qing encounters anything, she will definitely tell Qiao Nan, but she may not tell us. Forget it. It is rare that you can maintain your calm and accept that Qiao Nan is a special girl. I will leave you to chat with Qing Qing. As you know more about their friendship, you will understand why Qing Qing is so close to Qiao Nan.”

  Qiao Nan was charismatic and this appealed to the big shots as well as her peers.

  Otherwise, his proud and overbearing disciple who had no care for women would not have fallen head over heels for Qiao Nan.

  Everything happened for a reason, and Qiao Nan was not pretentious.

  He absolutely believed that as long as Feng Cheng calmed down and observed Qiao Nan objectively, it would not be long before Feng Cheng accepted Qiao Nan wholeheartedly.

  This time, Feng Cheng did not rebut Shi Peng. Instead, she considered his words seriously.

  “Dad, Mom, you are here!” The couple had a long heartfelt talk. Shi Qing, who was in her bridesmaid dress, appeared in front of them. She was light in her steps, springing like a swallow. The hemline of her dress swayed as she moved. She looked stunning. “Dad, Mom, is my dress pretty? Qiao Nan chose it!”

  Feng Cheng’s eyes were smiling. “Pretty! My Qing Qing is the most beautiful girl. You will look good in any dress…… Of course, you look prettier in this dress.”

  “?” Shi Qing widened her eyes in puzzlement. “Mom, do I look pretty in this dress?”

  Feng Cheng could tell that her daughter was testing her and was full of disbelief. She felt embarrassed. “Hmm…… The person who chose the dress has a good sense of judgment. It suits you very much.”

  The second half of the sentence was indeed the truth.

  Shi Qing was bubbly. Qiao Nan would not want her to wear those dresses that were too ladylike and demure.

  Shi Qing could not believe it when Feng Cheng praised her dress for the second time. She shifted her gaze to Shi Peng as if asking, ‘Dad, what’s up? Did you make Mom take a special medicine when you left the house today?’

  Feng Cheng noticed the funny look on her daughter’s face and tapped her lightly on her head, feeling amused and angry. “Are you unhappy that I did not stop you from mingling with Qiao Nan or that I did not create trouble for her? If not, I will revert to my previous self so that you will not misunderstand that I am not your real mother.”

  Although Shi Qing still could not understand why her mother changed without an apparent reason, she was glad of the change. “Mom, please don’t do that. Take no offense to a child’s babble. Don’t take issue with what I said.”

  It was rare that her mother could sort out her thoughts. She did not care how she did it, but she hoped her mother would stay the same and did not revert to her previous self. “Mom, Qiao Nan looks stunning in the phoenix coronet and robe of rank. True enough, the bride should be in a red wedding dress. Chinese wedding costumes are beautiful. If I marry in the future, I won’t wear a bridal gown. I want to wear the same costumes as Qiao Nan.”

  In the past, Shi Qing felt that since it was in the 21st century, one had to wear a bridal gown when getting married. The white bridal gown was stunning and romantic.

  However, Shi Qing changed her mind today. When Qiao Nan put on the set of bright red phoenix coronet and robe of rank, she looked much more magnificent than the resplendent sunset in the sky.

  She was beautiful and stunning.

  “Dad, I have regrets now.”

  “What do you mean?” Shi Peng looked at his daughter, feeling baffled. “What are you talking about?”

  “Qiao Nan is so beautiful.” Shi Qing touched her chin cheekily. “Qiao Nan has good culinary skills, a good temperament, and a good temper. She is also smart and pretty.”


  1099 You Could Not Win Against Zhai Sheng

  “If I were a man, Brother Zhai would no longer be in the picture. Qiao Nan would then belong to our family!”

  Shi Peng smiled at his daughter’s words. “If that is the case, you should thank us that you are a girl. Otherwise, you would not be able to win against Zhai Sheng. You would be heartbroken and wasting your efforts.”

  Didn’t she see that Zhu Baoguo had been kicked out of the game by Zhai Sheng before he could even have a go at it?

  It was not that Shi Peng did not have confidence and looked down on his child. It was just that Zhai Sheng was such a formidable opponent. Ordinary men would not be able to defeat him.

  Instead of suffering from heartbreak, it would be better to have a daughter. She did not need to compete against Zhai Sheng and she could keep a low profile, leading a simple life like what she was doing now.

  Shi Qing curled the corners of her lips unhappily. “You’re right. Brother Zhai is too ruthless. He has claimed Qiao Nan as his own when she was still very young. He has cut off all possibilities for Qiao Nan to be in a relationship with other men. He is too shameless.”

  In terms of being shameless, no woman or man could defeat Brother Zhai.

  Qiao Nan was so outstanding, but Zhai Sheng used all means and ways to stop her from receiving any love letters from other men. He was too ruthless.

  Given Qiao Nan’s intelligence, Shi Qing was baffled that Qiao Nan never once suspected that it was odd that she did not receive any love letters all these years.

  However, today was their wedding ceremony. Shi Qing would not be so foolish as to ask such a stupid question of Qiao Nan on her big day.

  Today, she was a bridesmaid. It was the day she could make things difficult for Brother Zhai.

  If she brought up this topic to Qiao Nan, Brother Zhai would make sure she got it from him.

  The Shi family of three was having a good time.

  By the time Feng Cheng went looking for Qiao Nan, she was already dressed up in her wedding costumes. It was rare that she did not treat Qiao Nan with cold indifference. Instead, she handed her a red box graciously. “Congratulations.”

  \r \r \r

  “Thank you.” Qiao Nan was very surprised, but she maintained her composure and accepted her gift. “Auntie Feng, you are being too polite. Shi Qing, you have to work harder and get a boyfriend as soon as possible. I look forward to the day when you get married.”

  Qiao Nan was aware of the gifts that Shi Peng prepared for her.

  The red box that Feng Cheng gave her was heavy. There seemed to be jewelry inside.

  Therefore, Qiao Nan had stated clearly that when Shi Qing was getting married, she would not be stingy with the gifts.

  Feng Cheng smiled and nodded. She did not speak further.

  Feng Cheng did not need gifts from Qiao Nan, but she welcomed people who returned politeness for politeness.

  Since Qiao Nan knew what to do and appreciated their kind intentions, Feng Cheng found her somewhat pleasing to the eye. In fact, if it was in the past, Feng Cheng would definitely mock Qiao Nan for bragging. How could she possibly afford to give them any valuables gifts? The Shi family would be on the losing end.

  However, after Shi Peng’s talk with her, Feng Cheng no longer felt that way.

  “Mom, why don’t you have some tea downstairs first?” Shi Qing was the bridesmaid and she knew that Feng Cheng did not really like Qiao Nan. She could sense that they were still uncomfortable with each other.

  Before things took a turn for the worse, Shi Qing had to think of ways to separate them.

  “Okay.” Feng Cheng agreed.

  She had disliked Qiao Nan since a long time ago. Even if she was willing to put aside her prejudices, she still felt awkward around her.

  Feng Cheng knew that Qiao Nan was not a pushover either.

  Feng Cheng was worried that if she stayed in the room with Qiao Nan for long, she might run out of patience and said harsh words to Qiao Nan.

  Before she changed that habit of hers, it was better to have less contact with Qiao Nan.

  Shi Qing came back to the room after sending Feng Cheng off. Qiao Nan could not help but express her surprise. “Has hell frozen over? Your mom’s behavior is shocking.” It was similar to watching a horror movie.

  In the past, Feng Cheng looked down on her and was arrogant toward her. Even though she was still aloof today, her attitude was much better than before.

  Qiao Nan had learned harsh lessons from suffering in the hands of Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin in the past. She could not help but be wary.

  If someone who disliked her changed one’s attitude all of a sudden and treated her with politeness, the person must be up to something.

  Shi Qing smiled as she opened the box that Feng Cheng gave Qiao Nan. “This must have cost a lot. This must be the full set of dowry jewelry.”

  In the red velvet box were a gold necklace, a pair of gold earrings, a golden bangle, as well as a gold ring.

  This box of jewelry would cost a lot.

  “Has your family made a fortune? How can your dad be that rich?” Qiao Nan knew without a doubt that it was Shi Peng who bought this for her. Feng Cheng would never spend so much money on her. “He may have the money, but he should not splurge in such a way. Are you getting married or not? He should save some money to prepare a dowry for you.”

  Qiao Nan was taken aback by what she saw. Shi Peng did not need to go to this extreme.

  If someone found out about this and reported them to the authorities, she and the Zhai family would have to cooperate with the authorities regarding the investigations.

  “I have no idea.” Shi Qing did not pay much attention to the box. She simply closed the box and continued. “I am not too sure how much money we have, but according to my dad, Old Master Shi is very smart and he knows of ways to make money. I might be a granddaughter, but Qiu Chenxi is merely a maternal granddaughter. Since my dad is the only son, grandpa has never shortchanged him. Judging from today’s situation, I suppose my dad has the say over all the money.”

  Shi Qing was surprised by the discovery.

  In the tumultuous times, the old master’s method of making money was tantamount to courting death.

  Everyone was fearful and tried to get rid of anything that would result in them being investigated and taken away. Instead, the old master was able to hide all the valuables and avoid being caught.

  Shi Qing was full of admiration for her grandpa’s bravery and courage.

  Her grandpa risked his life and made remarkable contributions to the army. In the end, he even managed to keep all those valuables amid the tumultuous times.

  Shi Qing used to hear about all those stories about her grandpa. However, this was the first time that her father was being so generous. It was only now that she knew that her grandpa had handed all the valuables to his son.

  Qiao Nan could more or less understand what Shi Qing was talking about. “Do Qiu Chenxi and her mom know that Old Master Shi has so many prized possessions with him?” The pair of mother and daughter was after material gains. They would not let go of any chance to get their hands on such a huge amount of money.

  Shi Qing shrugged as she shook her head. “No one can really know what is on my grandpa’s mind. He is a very shrewd and cautious man. Both my dad and I have no idea how much my auntie knows. But in my opinion, a son is still different from a daughter. Grandpa is still biased toward his son. Furthermore, Qiu Chenxi is a girl as well, and she didn’t manage to get married to Brother Zhai.”


  1100 Ask for an Insul

  “Since they are all females, my dad will have the upper hand.”

  Shi Qing did not expect that Old Master Shi would be so open-minded.

  Nevertheless, Shi Qing felt much better in the current situation.

  Her paternal grandparents were much better than her maternal grandparents.

  Shi Qing knew very well that the Feng family placed all their hopes on her two uncles. Similarly, her paternal grandpa placed all hopes on her father. There was nothing wrong with it.

  “It is better to keep a low profile. Qi Minlan and Qiu Chenxi are not kind souls. If they learn about this, your family of three will be in for a difficult time.” Qiao Nan had heard and seen a lot of cases where the family members turned against each other because of money.

  Shi Qing helped Qiao Nan put the gift aside. “Today, you are the bride. Your job is to wait patiently for the time to be married to Brother Zhai. Don’t worry about other matters. Besides, my family is not foolish. We will not court trouble for ourselves. The most important thing is that I suppose grandpa will find ways to keep it from them.”

  Since Old Master Shi favored the son over the daughter, he should have known what to say and what not to say. He would not be so muddleheaded. “By the way, a gentle reminder to you. I heard that my aunt is back with Qiu Chenxi. They are staying at the Qiu family’s residence.”

  After Qiu Qin was arrested, most of the properties of the Qiu family had been confiscated. The only thing left was the house and it was given to Qi Minlan after the divorce.

  Qi Minlan did not sell the house. Now that she was back with her daughter, they could stay at the house.

  “How about the elderly couple in the Qiu family?”

  \r \r \r

  “I have no idea. My aunt is their daughter-in-law. Since she has no idea, I can’t be bothered to know. Anyway, if anything crops up in the future, the elderly couple in the Qiu family will look for my aunt. But now that she has divorced my uncle, she does not have any legal obligations to take care of her former in-laws. At most, she will have a bad reputation for not taking care of them.”

  Shi Qing had grown smarter and was no longer the foolish girl in the past. “The reason why I bring them up is that I feel that they must be back to attend your wedding. You should know Qiu Chenxi very well.”

  Speaking of Qiu Chenxi, Shi Qing could not help but feel angry.

  When she and Qiao Nan had just reached the capital for their college studies, Qiu Chenxi sowed discord, and the Feng family gave Qiao Nan the cold shoulder.

  Actually, Shi Qing had already figured out that the Feng family was a problem as well. Back then, they allowed Qiu Chenxi to bully her, and now, they did not bother to check whether Qiu Chenxi was telling the truth or not.

  After learning that Qiao Nan was engaged to Zhai Sheng, the Feng family decided to believe Qiu Chenxi’s words.

  Shi Qing had a headache at the thought of Qiu Chenxi and the Feng family. All of them were just as bad!

  Qiao Nan patted Shi Qing’s hands lightly to console her. “If Qiu Chenxi doesn’t find it painful to watch the person that she has been dying to marry to take another girl who could not match up to her as his wife, I won’t mind that she has a drink or finish one entire table of food.”

  Shi Qing’s eyes lit up. “That’s true. Hahaha! Come over here. The makeup artist is here. Stop moving around. You have to put on your makeup.”

  They were occupied with getting ready for the wedding while everyone in the Zhu family’s residence was busy with the final preparations.

  “As I have said, we are very busy right now, so we are unable to attend to guests now. Can you stop creating trouble for me?” Someone stopped Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin right at the entrance of the Zhu family’s residence. “If you want to look for your dad, just go back home. If you want to give your sister a helping hand, go sit by the side and don’t hinder us. This will be the greatest help to the bride.”

  She could forget about helping out as a bridesmaid.

  “Can you pass a message to my sister? She is getting married. As her elder sister, I want to keep her company. She will be happy to hear that.” Qiao Zijin refused to give up. She was all smiles and she had to see Qiao Nan. “If my sister is busy and you can’t allow me to enter, can you get my dad here?”

  She believed that she would be able to get past the Zhu family’s guards with the help of her father.

  Qiao Zijin kept pestering the people from the Zhu family until they were witless. “Fine. Wait here while I get him here.”

  Qiao Dongliang came walking toward them. One look and he could tell what was going on. “Zijin, today is Nan Nan’s wedding. Don’t create a din. Go to the Zhai family’s residence to watch the ceremony. The wedding banquet will not start any time soon.”

  “Dad, I want to keep Nan Nan accompany. Nan Nan is getting married today. She will definitely feel uneasy and uncertain. She will feel better to have someone close to her by her side.” Once she entered the Zhu family’s residence, she must find out the amount of dowry that Qiao Nan was going to bring with her to the Zhai family.

  She still could not believe that an illustrious family like the Zhai family would not give any bride price to Qiao Nan.

  Perhaps the amount was astoundingly high and Qiao Nan decided to keep all the money to herself. Therefore, she kept it a secret from her parents.

  How dared Qiao Nan keep all the money to herself! She was too selfish and greedy.

  “No need. Nan Nan has Qing Qing with her. Alright, I have to help out now. The two of you should go back.” Qiao Dongliang did not have the right to allow them into the house. Even if he had the authority to do that, he would not do so.

  He had made a mistake and hurt his younger daughter’s feelings. He couldn’t turn back time.

  Since he knew that he was in the wrong, he would not commit the same mistake by allowing the elder daughter to wreak havoc at the younger daughter’s wedding. If so, he would be too ashamed of himself.

  Qiao Dongliang turned and left afterward. He was in high spirits, and he certainly looked like someone who was marrying off his daughter.

  “You should give up now. Leave now. There are a lot of visitors and cars today. Don’t blame us if anything happens.” After Qiao Dongliang left, the people from the Zhu family tried to get them to leave. “Didn’t you notice that all the people in the quad are watching you?”

  They should preserve their dignity and leave.

  Ding Jiayi, who hung her head, blushed. She walked forward to pull at Qiao Zijin.

  Ding Jiayi had no wish to help out at Qiao Nan’s wedding. She had always felt that since she had raised Qiao Nan until she was an adult and now that Qiao Nan was getting married, it was Qiao Nan’s turn to take care of her.

  It was Qiao Zijin who insisted that Ding Jiayi come with her to help out with the wedding. Ding Jiayi, who only wanted to sit around and enjoyed herself, was reluctant to go with Qiao Zijin.

  All the neighbors cast mocking glances at them. Ding Jiayi felt uneasy.

  1101 Getting a Wife

  Today was the day that Qiao Nan married Zhai Sheng. Qiao Nan would be basking in glory today. Even if she could not bask in Qiao Nan’s glory, she had no wish to be ridiculed by others.

  “Zijin, stop it. Let’s go back. When it’s time, your sister will send someone to invite us,” Ding Jiayi said through clenched teeth, emphasizing the word ‘invite’, suggesting that Qiao Nan still had to listen to her.

  Qiao Zijin gritted her teeth. She had no other choice but to listen to Ding Jiayi and returned home.

  They had no idea that Qiao Nan, who had put on her makeup, was standing by the window with Shi Qing, watching the scene.

  They were blocked by the curtains and there were a lot of trees in the surrounding area. Therefore, no one could spot the two of them by the window.

  “The two women are shameless!” Shi Qing shouted in disdain. “How can they be so thick-skinned to come at this time? Aren’t they ashamed of themselves?

  “What’s strange about this? As long as they can stand to gain, being shameless doesn’t mean anything to them.” She was getting married to Brother Zhai. It was a big occasion in the quad. Everyone was speculating about her dowry. Given Qiao Zijin’s personality, she would definitely find a chance to know the amount of dowry and bride price that she had.

  After all, to Qiao Zijin, everything that Qiao Nan had belonged to her.

  Qiao Zijin wanted to know her newly added fortune lest Qiao Nan keep some for herself.

  Shi Qing lifted the corners of her lips. “He who is shameless is invincible. I have to hand it to Qiao Zijin.” She had never seen an elder sister who treated the younger sister’s dowry as her own and would use all means and ways to find out what her dowry was. “Did she think that the Zhu family and the Zhai family are pushovers?”

  “No. In her eyes, I am like a rabbit, an easy target.” Nobody could stop Qiao Nan from giving anything to Qiao Zijin. Qiao Zijin was thinking of coercing her to share her dowry with her.

  “The problem is the rabbit would bite when driven to desperation.” Furthermore, how could Qiao Nan be an easy target? She must be kidding!

  “The groom is here to pick up the bride!”

  \r \r \r

  Putting aside the unhappy thoughts, time flew past and soon, it was ten in the morning. It was the auspicious hour and Zhai Sheng, who was dressed in his military uniform, came in the jeep, stopping in front of the Zhu family’s residence. All the children in the quad jumped about happily.

  The Zhai family had come prepared. They took out a bag of sweets and gave them to the children who were shouting and cheering. The children enjoyed themselves as they snatched the sweets.

  Zhai Sheng looked magnificent and smart in his military uniform. He was suave and dashing, capturing the attention of everyone.

  Many of the ladies could not help but blush. The groom was indeed beyond ordinary. He was truly handsome.

  The most important thing was that besides having a handsome look, the ladies could not help but feel a sense of security and comfort at his righteous aura. It was as if he was their strongest support in this world.

  Those older ladies could only lament that they were no longer young and had lost the chance to be with him.

  Otherwise, they would be jealous of such a handsome groom.

  But since it was totally impossible between them, they could console themselves that it was just not meant to be.

  Some of the younger ladies in the quad blushed at the sight of Zhai Sheng while others stomped their feet in frustration. The older ladies watched happily by the side, gloating at their misfortunes.

  Nan Nan was truly the most fortunate lady in the quad. She was getting married to such a good catch. She did not live her life in vain!

  “It’s not that easy to pick up the bride.” All the ladies were envious of Qiao Nan, and the groom was naturally the common enemy of all the men.

  Zhu Baoguo was the first person to make things ‘difficult’ for Zhai Sheng. He had stifled his anger for a year and this was the time to vent his frustrations.

  Zhai Sheng hardened his resolve. There was a determined look in his dark and deep eyes. “No matter how difficult it is, I will marry her.”

  Zhai Sheng had expected Zhu Baoguo to make things difficult for him on his wedding day.

  Zhai Sheng suspected that this was a test from the several elders who doted on Qiao Nan.

  If he was not able to defeat Zhu Baoguo, he was not qualified to marry Nan Nan.

  “What is the stupid fool up to?” Shi Qing noticed that Zhu Baoguo was blocking Zhai Sheng’s way to the Zhu family’s residence. She could not help but feel anxious.

  She was the bridesmaid. She was waiting to get a red packet from Zhai Sheng when he was here to pick up Qiao Nan.

  Shi Qing had always been bullied by Zhai Sheng. She seemed miserable and pitiful. Today, it was rare that she had the chance to take revenge on Zhai Sheng.

  “My goodness, they are getting into a fight!” Shi Qing widened her eyes in shock, motioning for Qiao Nan to take a look.

  Fortunately, Zhai Sheng was in his military uniform. He unbuttoned his uniform, took off his cap, and was still able to fight with Zhu Baoguo without being restrained by the formal wear that he wore.

  Everyone could tell that Zhu Baoguo went all out, trying to defeat Zhai Sheng. All his blows were vicious and ruthless.

  If Zhai Sheng was overjoyed from getting married and let his guard down, taking a few of his punches, it would take him ten days to half a month to recover.

  Especially since Zhu Baoguo was vicious in his blows, Zhai Sheng might be injured if he relaxed even the slightest and would not be able to spend his wedding night with his wife.

  “Qiao Nan, do you think Brother Zhai will be able to carry you back to the Zhai family’s residence today?” Shi Qing could tell that something was wrong.

  Qiao Nan pursed her lips, blushing slightly. “Zhu Baoguo is not Brother Zhai’s opponent.”

  “Do you mean that you would like Brother Zhai to carry you back to the Zhai family’s residence for the wedding night? Qiao Nan, you are no longer innocent and simple!” Shi Qing had an evil smile on her face, cracking dirty jokes with Qiao Nan. “If not, Zhu Baoguo can help you knock Brother Zhai down and you will be able to remain chaste for a long while. When daughters grow up, they will eventually get married and leave the house. Qiao Nan, you must be dying to get married.”

  “Nonsense.” Qiao Nan made a move to spit at Shi Qing, disregarding her image. “Brother Zhai and I are married. It is normal for both of us to think of each other. On the day that you marry Zhu Baoguo, you can rest assured that I will remind Brother Zhai to give Zhu Baoguo a few more blows so that you will remain chaste for a long while!”

  Perhaps Qiao Nan was deeply affected by her previous conversation with Zhai Hua.

  Initially, Qiao Nan was worried that after she married Zhai Sheng and they were legally married, what came next would be to have children.

  However, she was only in her first year in college. It would be inconvenient to have a baby right now.

  But Qiao Nan thought otherwise after the talk with Zhai Hua. It was Zhai Hua’s deep longing for a child that made her change her mind.

  She might be in her first year in college now, but she knew that she was not really twenty-one years old but in her forties instead.

  She had the same yearning as Zhai Hua, if not more than Zhai Hua, which was to have a child of her own.

  1102 Not That Easy to Get a Wife

  Now that Qiao Nan had decided that her goal was to get pregnant naturally, she was displeased with Zhu Baoguo’s behavior and found it unacceptable.

  Shi Qing might be cracking dirty jokes, but that was just empty talk.

  In the past one year, although Qiao Nan was not considered as a veteran, at least she was not a complete newbie.

  It was a piece of cake to deal with Shi Qing, who was not even considered to be a newbie.

  Shi Qing liked Zhu Baoguo and intended to start a relationship with him with marriage in mind.

  However, that was only what Shi Qing had in mind. They had yet to go into a relationship. Speaking of a married couple’s life, Shi Qing, who was still a single young lady, could not help but blush. She could not wait to roll her sleeves and teach Qiao Nan a lesson.

  Shi Qing felt frustrated. “Don’t be too smug. If not for the fact that you are getting married today and I could not lay my hands on you, I would let you know what I am capable of!”

  “Haha, I knew that you can’t do anything to me today, so I am fearless. Do you understand?” Qiao Nan was amused. She retorted bluntly. “Brother Zhai has won!”

  The onlookers watched anxiously as the two men fought with each other. Qiao Nan and Shi Qing, who were engaged in a verbal spar, were not the least worried for them.

  Zhai Sheng proved that he was worthy of Qiao Nan’s trust. He won against Zhu Baoguo fair and square. Zhu Baoguo’s expression darkened at the outcome.

  After being lectured by his father, Zhu Baoguo always believed that what he lacked was luck. He was acquainted with Qiao Nan and he spent more time with Qiao Nan than Zhai Sheng did.

  As he was younger and not as strong or capable, he was unable to help Qiao Nan or protect her when she encountered problems and difficulties.

  Zhai Sheng won in terms of age. He was a few years older than him and had more time to prove himself to be worthy of Qiao Nan.

  He always wanted to prove that Qiao Nan could rely on him. However, in the end, he failed.

  \r \r \r

  Zhu Baoguo pulled a long face and patted the dust on his clothes. He had an evil look in his eyes. “I treat Xiao Qiao as my sister. Since you want to marry Xiao Qiao, I have to test whether you are capable of protecting Xiao Qiao. I am really sorry that I was too serious in the fight and I have dirtied your clothes. I hope you can understand.”

  He did not believe that Zhai Sheng would dare to stand beside Xiao Qiao in the dirty clothes of his!

  Zhai Sheng had won the fight, but his clothes were dirty, and so were Zhu Baoguo’s clothes.

  But Zhu Baoguo had the advantage as this was the Zhu family’s residence.

  If his clothes were dirty, he could change into a new set of clothes and came back within five minutes.

  But it was different for Zhai Sheng. He could either pick up Qiao Nan in his dirty clothes or go back to change his clothes before picking up Qiao Nan. However, in that case, he would have missed the auspicious hour.

  “It’s alright. Since you treat Nan Nan as your sister, you can be considered as my brother-in-law as well. It is not a big issue that the clothes are dirty. I can change into a new set of clothes.” Without another word, Zhai Sheng took off his outer clothes, leaving a thin white shirt on him.

  One of the groomsmen took out a green military uniform that was brand new and handed it to Zhai Sheng for him to put on.

  Three seconds ago, Zhai Sheng looked dirty and disheveled, but he changed into a new outfit within seconds and tidied up himself. He was once again the handsome and dashing groom.

  Zhai Sheng knew that Zhu Baoguo was interested in Qiao Nan even before he realized it.

  If Zhai Sheng could not anticipate that Zhu Baoguo would be up to this trick today, Zhai Sheng would not have ended up as the man who married Qiao Nan.

  “The groom is brilliant!”

  “It’s time to pick up the bride!”

  Everyone, including the children and the adults, chanted for Zhai Sheng to pick up the bride as soon as possible. The groom had come all prepared to pick up the bride.

  Zhu Baoguo flushed with anger and turned green with rage. He wished that he could grab Zhai Sheng by the collar and fight it out with him. How dared he not admit that he had received a benefit!

  Zhu Chengqi appeared silently from nowhere and stood in front of Zhu Baoguo. “Today is Nan Nan’s wedding. Change your clothes now. We still have to send Nan Nan off.”

  “I know,” Zhu Baoguo replied, disheartened. This was his last chance to defeat Zhai Sheng, but he failed in the end.

  Shi Peng walked forward. “Zhai Sheng, don’t be too overjoyed. It will not be easy to pick up the bride.” Shi Peng knew that it would not be easy to get past his daughter.

  “As a soldier, I am not afraid of overcoming challenges.” Nothing was as difficult as the five years of long wait for Nan Nan to reach the legal age.

  As his master, he naturally understood Zhai Sheng’s hidden meaning. He had a sly smile on his face as he accompanied Zhai Sheng upstairs to pick up the bride.

  Zhai Sheng pursed the corners of his lips at the tightly shut door. “I am here to pick up the bride.”

  “Do you want to pick up the bride? Fine.” Shi Qing was gloating from the other side of the door. “Qiao Nan is fair and beautiful. She has a lot of admirers. I have to know whether you are capable of protecting Qiao Nan and chasing the lechers away. Why don’t you do one hundred push-ups first?”

  If she had the time and the chance, Shi Qing wanted to get back at Zhai Sheng for torturing her and making her go through all the arduous training in the army. She could make use of this chance to make Zhai Sheng go through all of them.

  Of course, it was only her fantasy. It was not likely that she could implement it.

  “Brother Zhai, I must remind you that time is limited. If you take your time to do one hundred push-ups, you may not be able to pick up Qiao Nan today.” Shi Qing wanted to make it all the more challenging by giving Zhai Sheng a time limit.

  Since Zhai Sheng was from the army and he was one of the best special armed forces back then, it was not a big deal to do one hundred push-ups.

  The problem was Zhai Sheng had just fought with Zhu Baoguo.

  Zhu Baoguo was out to make a fool out of Zhai Sheng in front of everyone. Therefore, he did not go easy with Zhai Sheng during the fight.

  They were all men. Zhu Baoguo knew what was on Zhai Sheng’s mind after he married Qiao Nan.

  He did not care if his methods were useful or not. He was determined to drain Zhai Sheng of his strength and energy through all means and ways.

  Zhu Baoguo knew that it was not up to him to control what would happen after their marriage and he had to stop himself from thinking about that.

  Shi Qing had the same sentiments as Zhu Baoguo.

  Shi Qing only had one motive in mind. Zhai Sheng bullied her and was harsh with her since a long time ago. She was not a man, but she knew that men only had one goal in mind when they were with their loved ones.

  Qiao Nan was as fresh and tempting as a young flower. It was torturous if he had her by his side but he could not do anything at all.

  Even if Zhu Baoguo and Shi Qing did not discuss beforehand, it was fascinating that they were thinking of the same thing.

  Shi Qing knew that one hundred push-ups were an easy feat to Zhai Sheng. But she was determined to torture Zhai Sheng with these antics.