Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “I’ll go too!” Ding Jiayi stood up. “I didn’t donate blood. I can accompany Qiao Nan there. In case Qiao Nan gets giddy from donating blood, I can help support her.” Ding Jiayi, who was plotting something, could not give up the opportunity to be alone with Qiao Nan and wanted to go along too.

  Qiao Dongliang’s expression darkened as he yanked Ding Jiayi away. At that moment, Qiao Nan increased her pace and took a turn. With that, Ding Jiayi lost sight of Qiao Nan.

  “What are you doing?” No, he should have asked what she wanted to do this time around.

  Ding Jiayi, who had not succeeded in her attempt, pouted. “Nothing.” She wanted to, but she had not succeeded, right?

  “Ha.” Qiao Dongliang sneered, understanding what Ding Jiayi truly meant. What she meant was that she had indeed planned on doing something but had not been successful.

  After a while, Qiao Nan returned, but she was not alone. After sending the three children home, he returned with two food containers. “Dad, I’ve brought some food. Come and have one.” Naturally, the other was for Qiao Nan.

  Ding Jiayi’s eyes twinkled as she craned her neck, and she gulped down her saliva. She was clearly hungry as well and wanted to have a meal.

  \r \r \r

  Seeing Ding Jiayi act in this manner, Qiao Dongliang really had an impulse to smash his meal on her face. Zijin was still fighting for her life, but Ding Jiayi was in the mood for a meal. It was truly Ding Jiayi’s fault that Zijin was in this state. But Ding Jiayi had no intention to reflect on her own actions, and she was even trying to push the blame to everyone else, wanting others to take up the responsibility!

  “This is for you.” Zhai Sheng treated Ding Jiayi as he would a stranger. Zhai Sheng did not care about how ‘amazing; Ding Jiayi was. He had brought quite a lot of things, including two boxes of food and a pot of soup.

  Zhai Sheng could not possibly let Ding Jiayi stay hungry and watch them eat. So, on the way to the hospital, he stopped over and bought a pack of food for Ding Jiayi.

  One was home-cooked, while the other was just something casually bought along the streets. It was very obvious who was part of the family and who was just a stranger.

  Ding Jiayi was too hungry to care about how fragrant and enticing Qiao Nan and Qiao Dongliang’s food smelled. She could only concentrate on her own food. She could only stay by Zijin and take good care of Zijin after her surgery if she fed herself well.

  Zhai Sheng did not treat Ding Jiayi badly either. In Ding Jiayi’s lunch box, there was an assortment of meat and vegetables. It was a nutritionally balanced meal.

  “She’s still not out yet?” Zhai Sheng asked while pouring soup for Qiao Nan. “It’s been almost two hours. Is the situation dangerous?” Hadn’t Nan Nan said in the first call that the doctor had said that Qiao Zijin’s condition was not serious?

  Qiao Nan ate until she was half-full before she held out her cup and finished her slightly warm soup. Now that her stomach was filled, Qiao Nan felt alive again. “I went to draw some blood with Dad earlier, and the nurse said that Qiao Zijin refuses to be saved and is being uncooperative in the surgery. The doctor tried to administer general anesthesia, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Qiao Zijin isn’t cooperating, so it’s proceeding at a very slow pace.” Qiao Zijin was definitely the most uncooperative car accident victim in history.

  “.……” Zhai Sheng took the empty bowl from Qiao Nan and covered it. “I’ll stay here tonight. You should go home and rest.” If that was really the case, it’s uncertain how long more this surgery would drag on for.

  “No!” Ding Jiayi threw her empty lunch box over. Her voice was shrill and definite. “She was the one who knocked Zijin down. Everyone else can leave, but she has to stay until Zijin is out of danger.” When facing Qiao Nan, Ding Jiayi still had a little bit of confidence. She was Qiao Nan’s mother after all. Qiao Nan would not dare to do anything to her.

  What was different was that Zhai Sheng was her son-in-law. Ding Jiayi could not muster up her confidence in front of Zhai Sheng. If the person who stayed was Zhai Sheng, Ding Jiayi would not dare to request for anything. But if the person who stayed was Qiao Nan, Ding Jiayi could say anything as she pleased.

  She did not expect Qiao Nan to agree to all her conditions, but she would definitely find a way to make Qiao Nan agree to at least one or two of them. As long as Zijin’s life was taken care of, Zijin would no longer wish to die. Instead, she would live her life well to watch Ying Ying grow up and get married.

  Up until now, Ding Jiayi still did not believe that Qiao Zijin not wanting to live anymore had anything to do with her and that she had to take any responsibility. What she knew was that she wanted Qiao Zijin to stay alive and lead a good life. If Qiao Zijin could not survive anymore, then she would strive to create livable conditions for Qiao Zijin, and Qiao Nan would play a key role in that.

  Qiao Dongliang glared at Ding Jiayi. “Zhai Sheng, it’s all right. I’ll be here. Even if you leave Nan Nan here, nothing will happen. It’ll be better for Nan Nan to stay than to leave now.”

  Qiao Dongliang did not mean to make it difficult for Qiao Nan, but Qiao Zijin had gotten into an accident and Qiao Nan had unfortunately been involved. Even before the previous storm completely subsided, there might be someone who had their eyes on Qiao Nan and Qiao Zijin. To improve Qiao Nan’s image, it would be better for Qiao Nan to stay and repay all their evil deeds with kindness.

  “There’s no need for that.” Zhai Sheng refused. He did not want Nan Nan to have to work so hard, much less for Qiao Zijin. She could forgo such an image.

  Qiao Dongliang sighed and looked at Qiao Nan. In front of Nan Nan, Zhai Sheng’s words often only expressed his personal opinion, not the entire Zhai family’s. Qiao Dongliang could only hope that Qiao Nan herself could calm down and think rationally instead of being emotional like Zhai Sheng.

  Qiao Nan grabbed her own hair and said somewhat helplessly, “Brother Zhai, why don’t you stay here with me? When I’m tired, I can lean on your shoulder.” She did not resent Qiao Zijin. She even pitied Qiao Zijin. But it was quite uncomfortable indeed to put in so much effort for Qiao Zijin.

  She was clearly the victim here!

  A deceiving moral kidnapping! A bunch of conniving keyboard warriors!

  This time, Zhai Sheng did not refuse. Seeing that Zhai Sheng did not intend to leave, Ding Jiayi’s lips moved as though she wanted to say something to Zhai Sheng to force him to leave. In the end, the moment Ding Jiayi saw Zhai Sheng’s dark gaze, her courage to speak up disappeared immediately. All she could do was to squat by the side and stay there as though she did not exist.

  As the minutes ticked by, none of the people waiting outside had relaxed expressions on their faces. Their whole bodies were tense. As more time passed, it only meant that Qiao Zijin’s surgery was getting trickier and the risks were only increasing.