Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “Isn’t it enough that you’ve ruined one of my daughters? Are you planning on ruining my granddaughter, Zhou Xing, now? Ding Jiayi, believe it or not, I’m ready to fight it out to the death with you!”

  “Even if I die, Nan Nan will still be alive, and I still have my three grandchildren. Ding Jiayi, when you die, I’ll bet that no one will be willing to burn paper money or pay respects at your grave. When Zijin died, she didn’t even want to let you meet her for the last time. Zhou Xing is still young and insensible, so she’s been cheated by you to believe that you’re a good person. But one day, she’ll be like her mom and finally open her eyes to see the truth. When that time comes, Zhou Xing’s attitude toward you will only be more resolute than Zijin’s in the past. Remember. If you really want to go to that extent and force yourself into a corner, don’t drag Zhou Xing down with you. Don’t ruin Zhou Xing!”

  The only reason Zhou Xing got into a relationship with Zhai Xin must have been because she had been influenced by Ding Jiayi. He could not understand how crazy Ding Jiayi must have been to have agreed to Zhou Xing doing such a thing given the relationship between Zhou Xing and Zhai Xin.

  It was the New Year and with Qiao Dongliang scolding her so viciously, Ding Jiayi immediately broke down. “What rights do you have to criticize me? Do you even know the whole truth of the matter? Right from the very beginning, I disagreed with Xingxing getting close to the Zhai family. Do you really think I don’t know what will happen if she gets together with Zhai Xin? Do you think I’ll stand by and watch Xingxing’s offspring become abnormal?”

  Yes, even at this juncture, what Ding Jiayi cared about was only about Zhou Xing’s child being abnormal, not Zhai Xin’s child being abnormal.

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  “But Xingxing is just as stubborn as Zijin. She won’t listen to me no matter how hard I try to persuade her. She’s all grown up and has her own opinions. Besides, what can I do? She’s studying in the capital, while I’m back here in Ping Cheng. If I didn’t call Qiao Nan to tell her about this, would Qiao Nan have found out about her identity? I haven’t celebrated the New Year properly this year. Xingxing said that I had done her much wrong, that I betrayed her, and that I sold her out to Qiao Nan just for that living allowance that Qiao Nan gives me. I gave birth to Qiao Nan and raised her to marry her off. It’s only right that I take her money. But how can Qiao Nan ever compare to Xingxing in my heart?”

  It was torturous to Ding Jiayi. It was supposed to be a festive holiday, but Ding Jiayi had not even had a good night’s sleep.

  When Zhou Xing returned, she found out that it was because of Ding Jiayi’s call to Qiao Nan that Qiao Nan had found out that Zhou Xing was Qiao Zijin’s daughter. As such, Zhou Xing had thrown a huge temper, saying that Ding Jiayi had betrayed her.

  But she was unlike Ding Jiayi. Ding Jiayi could only stay in the Qiao’s small residence. Father and Mother Zhou had left two or three houses to Zhou Xing. In a fit of anger, Zhou Xing returned to the house that she used to live in with Father and Mother Zhou. She would much rather spend the New Year alone than spend time with Ding Jiayi. Even the sight of Ding Jiayi made her angry.

  Zhou Xing was stubborn, but Ding Jiayi was nowhere as stubborn as Zhou Xing. Zhou Xing was only seventeen years old this year. Ding Jiayi was worried about leaving Zhou Xing alone in such a big house and also worried about how Zhou Xing would settle her meals.

  As such, even though Zhou Xing was angry at her and did not wish to see her, Ding Jiayi still sent her home-cooked meals to Zhou Xing, for the fear that Zhou Xing would starve herself.

  At that time, Ding Jiayi had completely forgotten that Zhou Xing had signed up for culinary classes long ago. To attract Zhai Xin’s interest in her, she had already found a place to cook and even made soup for Zhai Xin. With such culinary skills, how could Zhou Xing starve?

  An onlooker sees the game best. Moreover, Ding Jiayi had gone through life in a daze and had never really been clear-headed.

  While others were having the time of their lives, she alone was lonely without even the company of her favorite granddaughter. Ding Jiayi was still saddened by this when she received Qiao Dongliang’s call. Qiao Dongliang’s lecture brought her to tears.

  “Is that important?” Qiao Dongliang, who was on the other end of the call, laughed. “That’s right. You’ve always placed more emphasis on Zijin and neglected Nan Nan. Now, you’re putting emphasis on Zhou Xing. You don’t even think of Nan Nan’s children as your grandchildren. That’s why there’s such a difference between the triplets and Zhou Xing. The triplets are already in a top-tier university, but Zhou Xing couldn’t even graduate from high school and is now in some art school. Ding Jiayi, don’t you realize that the children that you care about have made nothing out of their lives? Ding Jiayi, I think you’re blind. You’ve always had your eyes on the wrong people. Or maybe you’re just unlucky. Whomever you like will definitely be unlucky as well.”

  Qiao Dongliang’s words were indeed a little harsh. He was just shy of saying that Ding Jiayi was a jinx and whoever stayed with Ding Jiayi was putting their life on the line.

  In the past, Ding Jiayi liked Qiao Zijin. Now that Qiao Zijin was gone, she placed her focus on Zhou Xing. He was only afraid that Zhou Xing would be ruined sooner or later.

  “You don’t have to admit to it. I’ll just leave you to think about that question. I’m calling you today to warn you. If you dare to spout any nonsense to Zhou Xing and slander Nan Nan and the three children, you’d better watch out. Ding Jiayi, if you push me to my limits, I’m capable of doing anything. If I had the guts to get rid of you when I was younger, there’s no way you’d be living a life like this now. Since you can’t rein Zhou Xing in, I’ll do it. Isn’t she studying in the capital? It’s nearby. I’ll keep my eye on Zhou Xing. If you dare to butt in, just wait and see. Zhou Xing will become the second Zijin.”

  Upon finishing his sentence, Qiao Dongliang viciously hung up the phone with a loud thud.

  Qiao Dongliang was just calling Ding Jiayi out of courtesy. Once he took over the responsibility of caring for Zhou Xing, if Ding Jiayi had any opinions and wanted to stop him, he would definitely deviate from his beliefs in the past. He would probably lose his cool and hit women in a fit of anger, sending Ding Jiayi to the hospital.

  Even though he had never done such a thing in his youth, he would not mind doing it if Ding Jiayi forced him into a corner. After all, Ding Jiayi had owed him this beating for decades.

  Hearing the beeping sound from the other end of the phone, Ding Jiayi wailed even harder. Qiao Nan did not acknowledge her, and Zijin blamed her. Even her ex-husband wanted to fight it out to the death with her to prevent her from harming another child. Now, even her granddaughter, Zhou Xing, could not care less about her.

  Ding Jiayi felt that her life was so tough. She had sacrificed everything for her family and children, but why was she in this state where everyone was scolding her and blaming her?

  Fine. She would wash her hands off Xingxing. Xingxing was indeed rather similar to Zijin in the past. Her temper was so bad that Ding Jiayi could not handle her. If Qiao Dongliang could do it, she would definitely not get in the way.