Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  It was not because what had been said had not been clear, but because the other person had said it too clearly.

  The problem was that her mom was gone, and she was her mom’s only daughter. It was inappropriate to speak ill of her mom in front of her, so the other party had simply chosen to avoid the topic altogether.

  Perhaps it was because she was unwilling to give up, or because she wanted to be utterly convinced to give up. Zhou Xing asked a few more families in the quad, but they all told the same story, and they even gave similar descriptions about what had happened at that time. This was a huge blow to Zhou Xing.

  From everyone’s descriptions, Zhou Xing could tell that the neighbors in the quad had not ‘heard about’ these things but had witnessed these things personally. If they had heard about these things, it might have been just rumors that were simply made up. But because they had seen them with their own eyes, it was almost impossible that these things were made up.

  Zhou Xing ended up visiting two other places afterward: Ping Cheng High School, where Qiao Nan had studied, and the place where Qiao Nan and Qiao Dongliang had lived. No matter how many places Zhou Xing visited and how many people she asked, other than the people in the quad, everyone had a deep impression of what had happened to the Qiao family. At the last two places that she visited, she asked five people about the incident. Amongst them, three of them had an especially fresh memory of what had happened to the Qiao family and could even recount the incidents well.

  With that, Zhou Xing really believed that this was the truth.

  Before the May Day holiday ended, Zhou Xing returned to the capital.

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  Zhou Xing had just returned to her room and was lying down on her bed, staring blankly into space as though her soul had left her body, when Ding Jiayi called.

  Upon seeing that it was Ding Jiayi, Zhou Xing hesitated before answering. “Hello?”

  “Xingxing, did you return to Ping Cheng for the May Day holiday? Why didn’t I see you? Where are you now? Grandma cooked a whole table’s worth of your favorite dishes! Hurry on home!” Ding Jiayi had heard from others that Zhou Xing had returned and had rushed to buy a whole lot of vegetables, intending to nourish her granddaughter.

  But the sun was almost setting, and Zhou Xing was not back yet. Ding Jiayi could not hold it in any longer and called Zhou Xing.

  Zhou Xing grabbed her phone tightly. “I’m currently in the capital. I just returned to the capital today.”

  “You’re already in the capital? Why did you go back? You didn’t come to visit me while you were back in Ping Cheng?” Ding Jiayi’s tone revealed her disappointment. The May Day holiday was only seven days, so she was already used to Zhou Xing not returning to Ping Cheng. As such, she had no expectations about Zhou Xing visiting during this period. But she learned from her neighbors that her granddaughter had returned. She thought that she would have the time of her life for a few days, only to feel as though someone had just poured a bucket of cold water over her.

  “Something cropped up in school, so I had to return. I only returned to Ping Cheng at the last minute to get some materials for school. That’s why I was in a bit of a hurry this time.” At this time, Zhou Xing did not feel that she could face Ding Jiayi.

  From the time she found out that her mom had said that she never wanted to see Ding Jiayi again right before her death and had not cursed Qiao Nan, she had already felt that something was not right. The truth was indeed different from what she had always known, and there was a huge difference.

  When she found out about the real truth, Zhou Xing did not know how to treat Ding Jiayi, who was the only person who treated her genuinely, liked her, cared for her, and was even her only kin.

  “So that’s the case. Actually, you can just give me a call if you need any materials. I’ll just help you look for them and send it over to you.” Ding Jiayi laughed. “Xingxing, are you still in a bad mood over Zhai Xin? Xingxing, listen to grandma. Just forget about this. You are cousins with Zhai Xin. It’s not right for the both of you to get into a relationship. Don’t go looking for Zhai Yi and Zhai Xin in the future, all right?”

  Since the Zhai family was being so resolute, Xingxing should know to take a step back too, right?

  “Grandma, shall we never mention the Zhais or Qiao Nan ever again?” She finally replied after a long while. There was such a long pause that Zhou Xing herself thought she was going to lose the ability to talk. In a hoarse voice, she said, “I don’t want to know about my mom’s past with Qiao Nan. My mom is gone, but you and I are still alive. As long as I still remember my mom and pay my respects at her grave, that will be enough.”

  She seriously did not want to listen to any more of the past that was distorted and mixed with personal feelings. If she had not been struck with grief from her grandparents’ sudden death, her birth father trying to snatch her money, and her grandma’s influence, which had all caused her to bear a grudge against Qiao Nan for causing her mom’s death, she would never have gotten into a relationship with Zhai Xin. She was truly intending on marrying Zhai Xin! If she were to give birth to abnormal children, she felt that that would be God’s punishment for Qiao Nan!

  But that was such a ridiculous and frightening idea!

  That child was her child too.

  The most ridiculous thing was that she was only sixteen years old. To put it bluntly, she was just a child herself. How could she harbor such evil thoughts toward her future children? Her grandpa had been right about one thing. She had been influenced by her grandma.

  It was true that her grandma had only told her about the ‘past’ and had never instilled any ideas of revenge. But after hearing about the ‘past’ from her grandma, she was filled with injustice and felt aggrieved. She could not help but want to release all of her negative emotions by getting revenge on Qiao Nan.

  She was probably not the only one who experienced such feelings. She was sure that her grandma experienced them too. Otherwise, her grandma’s description would have been much fairer.

  “.……” Ding Jiayi had never expected Zhou Xing to say such a thing and was completely shocked. This time, it was Ding Jiayi’s turn to be in a daze. After a very long while, she finally replied. “Didn’t you insist on getting revenge for your mother and seek justice for her? What’s happened?” Why had she suddenly changed her mind? This did not seem like something Xingxing would say.

  “Are you in a bad mood? Did someone bully you? Did the Zhai family bully you?” Xingxing meant to say that she was no longer willing to mention the Zhai family or Qiao Nan from that day on. “How dare they do that! Xingxing, just wait. Grandma will go to the capital to find you. No one will dare to bully you with grandma around. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I’ll protect you to the end.”

  Zhou Xing’s head was splitting. “Grandma, there’s no need for you to come. There’s no one bullying me. I guess I haven’t told you that grandpa came to find me two months ago. He talked to me about a lot of things, and these things were things that you’ve never told me about.”

  “.……” Ding Jiayi’s breath hitched and her face paled. Was she going to lose her granddaughter?