Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Xu Shengnan accepted the property deed and passed the card containing twelve million yuan that she had just received over to Qiao Nan. “I’ll return you the remaining two million yuan over a period of time. I assure you that I’ll pay you back within three years.”

  “Don’t.” Qiao Nan refused. “Now that Ling Ling is studying, you’ll spend a lot of money on her. I don’t need that money. You can return it to me in ten or twenty years. It can even be Ling Ling who returns me the money. It doesn’t matter to me.”

  It was too costly to raise a child, more so when Xu Shengnan was so dedicated to raising her daughter, Fang Ling Ling. Fang Shiyou had complained because Xu Shengnan had spent too much money on their daughter. He would rather keep his money in his pocket and spend it all on his mistress.

  “Fine.” Xu Shengnan did not refuse and immediately agreed. She wrote down the terms of the loan on a piece of paper and finally signed her name on it. “Junior Qiao, I won’t say about anything else, but as long as you need my help in the future, just ask. I will always remember what you’ve done for me.”

  She did not want to bother her junior anymore. Who knew that after being married for so many years, she had started to ask for more favors from Qiao Nan, owing Qiao Nan even more. Xu Shengnan felt that she would never be able to repay Qiao Nan’s kindness in her entire lifetime.

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  But that was all right. If she was unable to do so in this lifetime, there was still her next lifetime and the following one. She would return it until she fully repaid her debts.

  Only when the Xu parents saw the property deed that Xu Shengnan brought home did they realize that Qiao Nan had done so much for their daughter behind the scenes. They knew that Qiao Nan had a high position and was usually very busy. Otherwise, the Xu parents would have visited personally to thank Qiao Nan for her help.

  The three children were all especially concerned about Xu Shengnan’s situation. They had heard from Qiao Nan that Xu Shengnan had not only gotten a divorce from Fang Shiyou but had also taken custody of Fang Ling Ling. As such, the three children were elated.

  Er Bao’s beady eyes turned. “Mom, that Fang guy is going to have a son soon. I think it’s such a loss for Ling Ling to still have Fang as a surname now that she’s with Auntie Xu. Maybe Ling Ling should just change her surname to Xu since she has a better relationship with Auntie Xu.”

  “That’s right.” San Bao nodded in agreement. If it were her, with such an annoying father, she would not want to have the same surname as him. But she was different from Ling Ling. Her father was the best father in the world who was even more attached to their mother than they were. Cheating would never happen in their parents’ relationship.

  Da Bao, who was holding a book, lifted up his head and agreed with Er Bao and San Bao’s capricious suggestion. “Didn’t you say that that woman is not a good person? Since that Fang guy doesn’t even have a house now, nor does he have much money left, it’s still a question whether that son will be born, right? It’s quite good for Ling Ling to change her surname to Xu.”

  “.……” Upon hearing the thoughts of the three children, creases appeared on Qiao Nan’s forehead. “Is this something that you three children should be discussing? You three understand only a little. There’s no need for you to put it all out there and analyze it like that.” The three children were too mature, so much so that it scared Qiao Nan.

  In the face of their playmate’s father’s infidelity, and then a divorce, the three children had taken it in their stride too calmly. “Mom, have you been watching too many drama serials?” While spending time with their paternal grandma, they had watched too many of these dramas. That was why they knew so much. That was also why their words were so scary.

  The three children were indignant. “Mom, don’t look down on us. Do you think we need to watch those drama serials to know about these things? We’ve seen all these things happen in school a long time ago. There was once someone came with her husband’s mistress and fought at our school. We only found out later on that the child of that mistress was already in primary school. The day the mistress sent her child to school, she had been caught by the original wife, and they became embroiled in a fight!”

  The mention of that day’s events made San Bao’s eyes sparkle. Live events were much more interesting than watching the TV.

  “.……” If other people were fighting, shouldn’t they, as children, find somewhere safe to hide instead? Did San Bao really think that it was interesting to watch other people fight? Qiao Nan massaged her temple. “My goodness, you three are really like your father. You’re completely different from me when I was a child!”

  Was it because of the Zhai family’s dominant genes? Even though San Bao was the only girl among the three children, she was bolder and braver than other boys. When other people fought, she could even stand by the side to watch on in fascination. After hearing the whole story, Qiao Nan had to say that her daughter was indeed brave.

  “Mom, don’t be angry. Wasn’t I just trying to find out the truth of the matter? I was afraid that they would spread rumors that weren’t the truth. In the spirit of boldly verifying the truth, I had to watch the events unfold.” After that incident, the mistress’ child became well-known in their school.

  Within a month, that child transferred out of their school. He could not stand the way others were viewing him.

  Er Bao ran behind Qiao Nan and massaged Qiao Nan’s shoulder. “Mom, don’t be angry. We already knew that there’s such a dark side in society. It’s good that we know, so we won’t get cheated by others in the future. Especially San Bao, it’s good for her to know about how bad some men can be so that she’ll choose her husband well in the future. If she makes a mistake and chooses the wrong guy, San Bao can learn from Auntie Xu and find a way out of that rut.” His mother was open-minded, so he knew that his mother would support them wanting to learn about the truth of society.

  “Nonsense!” The strength her son exerted on her shoulders was just right, and Qiao Nan felt rather comfortable. Seeing as to how Er Bao was already used to this, Qiao Nan guessed that Er Bao probably used this method to coax his grandma often. “Er Bao, who did you learn this from?”

  If Da Bao resembled Zhai Sheng, Qiao Nan could not see whom Er Bao resembled. From a young age, Er Bao had been unique. When he grew up, he grew even stranger. His mouth was so sweet that he could coax anyone.

  In modern terms, Er Bao would score full marks in terms of flirting with girls.

  She did not have a sweet mouth. As for Zhai Sheng, he believed more in action than talk. So, Er Bao resembled neither Qiao Nan nor Zhai Sheng. Qiao Nan could not think of anyone whom Er Bao resembled.

  Er Bao arrogantly snorted. “Mom, you’re looking down on me. Do I need to learn such simple things like that? I’m self-taught. I’m naturally gifted!”