Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “I called your dad, but he didn’t pick up.” Ding Jiayi’s tone was full of grievance. In the first few months after arriving in the capital, Ding Jiayi had been quite happy. Who had such luck like her to turn from being a Ping Cheng resident to a resident of the capital? But after staying in the capital for a while longer, Ding Jiayi realized that she did not know anyone.

  Ding Jiayi wanted to get acquainted with her neighbors, but unfortunately, she realized that these neighbors in the apartments were not as easy-going as those in the courtyard back in Ping Cheng. Usually, she would take a stroll in the park in the mornings and evenings and sit there for a while so as to try to integrate herself into the community. But knowing that she was not from the capital, they were prejudiced against her.

  As such, Ding Jiayi specially mentioned her daughter Qiao Nan so as to gain some recognition. Thankfully, even though Ding Jiayi said that, her neighbors were unwilling to believe what she had said. The capital was only so big, but there were so many people. As long as one got out of their house, they were bound to meet someone with a special status. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

  But to brag that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was her daughter, that was pushing it a bit too much.

  If that was indeed the case, why hadn’t they seen the minister visit her? Why didn’t she visit the minister during the holidays? Or why didn’t she invite her daughter over for a meal?

  Ding Jiayi wanted to prove that Qiao Nan was really her daughter. Adding to the fact that their mother-daughter relationship was not good to begin with, Qiao Nan was truly busy. After taking on the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, she had taken on many more responsibilities, and there were many more things she had to handle. Besides, she had to travel often to attend international events. Qiao Nan had almost become the past Zhai Yaohui, flying all the time.

  Ding Jiayi was free. She did not need to take care of her grandchildren, and neither did she need to go to work. She lazed around at home the whole day and needed only to reach out her hand to receive a living allowance from Qiao Nan. On the other hand, Qiao Nan not only had to work, but she also had to take care of her three children. If everyone was like Ding Jiayi and bored to their wits, there would be chaos in the world.

  As such, Ding Jiayi’s wish of proving her point by asking Qiao Nan to make a trip down was not realistic at all.

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  After a while, everyone thought that Ding Jiayi was just bragging. Thus, it became even more difficult for Ding Jiayi to settle down into her new life. Since she was unable to make new friends, Ding Jiayi could only look in the direction of her ‘old friends’. Ding Jiayi was not so bold as to find people from the Zhai family. She would not even dare to look for them even with her status as their in-law.

  Apart from the Zhai family, Ding Jiayi was left only with Qiao Dongliang. Ding Jiayi thought that Qiao Dongliang’s situation could not be much better than her own.

  When two familiar people meet in an unfamiliar city, their relationship should be better than before. So, if she were to get in touch with Qiao Dongliang now, Qiao Dongliang would probably not reject her. Ding Jiayi was being too idealistic.

  The moment Qiao Dongliang received the call, he asked who was on the line. Once Ding Jiayi made just a little sound and was recognized by Qiao Dongliang, Qiao Dongliang did not even give Ding Jiayi a chance to speak and immediately hung up. When Ding Jiayi tried to call him again, she could not get through at all.

  Now that Ding Jiayi had no other choice, she could only beg Qiao Nan for help.

  “Dad won’t pick up your call, not me. There’s no use calling me.” Qiao Nan massaged her temples.

  “You have a good relationship with your dad. Help me convince him. We’ve been married for so many years. Don’t you think it’s weird that our family lives our lives as two separate families? It’s said that spouses are the ones who accompany you in your old age. Your dad and I are no longer young. Qiao Nan, don’t be so selfish. You can’t expect your dad and me to stay lonely at our age, right?”

  Ding Jiayi had not finished expressing her opinion when she heard a familiar tone coming from her phone. Qiao Nan had hung up.

  Ding Jiayi always had her temper. She was clearly trying to ask Qiao Nan for a favor, but the moment she spoke, she would start accusing Qiao Nan and try to force Qiao Nan to take up the responsibility to fulfill her own wishes.

  In short, she was shameless.

  Knowing that Ding Jiayi was not feeling unwell or in any serious trouble, Qiao Nan ignored every single one of the three calls Ding Jiayi made following that.

  Seeing that she could not get through to Qiao Nan, Ding Jiayi was so angry that her eyes turned red. “You’re abandoning your biological mother now that you’ve become the minister? If you bump into me one day, we’ll see how you beg me then!”

  She did not believe that Qiao Nan would lead a worry-free life and stay in a high position forever. There would eventually come a day when she would need Ding Jiayi’s help!

  Ding Jiayi was about to toss her phone aside when her ringtone chimed. Ding Jiayi smiled with glee. She thought that the call was from Qiao Nan, until she picked up and realized that the caller was indeed a Qiao, and was also her daughter. But instead of her younger daughter, it was her elder daughter. “Zijin, what’s going on?”

  Qiao Zijin’s voice was severely hoarse. She had clearly been crying for a long time. “Mom, Zhou Zheng wants to get a divorce.”

  “You’re really getting a divorce? Have you gotten an official divorce?”

  “Yes.”

  “.……” Ding Jiayi was mad. They were all finding trouble. “What about that child? Did the Zhou family get custody of Ying Ying? You’re still young. As long as…… Since you were able to find a man like Zhou Zheng in the past, you’d definitely be able to find another man with similar qualities as Zhou Zheng. It’s okay. Getting married and divorced is not uncommon nowadays. You’ll live like you used to and even better in the future.”

  Ding Jiayi’s words were vague, but she was clearly hinting at finding Qiao Nan for help.

  Zhou Zheng had really treated Qiao Zijin well. Qiao Zijin had never needed to worry about money, and she had everything she wanted. Like how Qiao Nan had helped Qiao Zijin find a man like Zhou Zheng, she would just do it again and find Qiao Zijin a second Zhou Zheng.

  On the other end of the call, Qiao Zijin looked at the child by her side, and her voice grew hoarser. “I got custody of Ying Ying.”

  “.……” Why? Now that she had a child, would Zijin still be able to get married to a good man with equal qualities as Zhou Zheng? “Are you a fool?” Was Zijin not intending to remarry after getting divorced from Zhou Zheng? If Zijin was so deeply in love with Zhou Zheng, she would never have gotten into an affair in the first place.

  “This matter is too complicated. I can’t explain it clearly over the phone. Mom, can I bring Ying Ying over to visit you? The environment in the capital is better. I want Ying Ying to grow up in an entirely new environment where there are better teaching resources.”

  “.……” Ding Jiayi hit her own chest. “Since you have such great plans for Ying Ying, I will definitely support you as her grandma. Even if you decide to send Ying Ying abroad instead of just coming to the capital, I will agree wholeheartedly!”