Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Qiao Nan said that it was fine to have too much rice, but it would reflect badly on Xiao Zhao if she made too little and had to make it again.

  If the Zhai family got upset that there was too much rice, Qiao Nan assured Xiao Zhao that she would take the blame.

  Since Qiao Nan said that, Xiao Zhao could only follow Qiao Nan’s instructions and double the amount of rice. Afterward, Xiao Zhao simply helped Qiao Nan as she cooked, and of course, Qiao Nan was only in charge of cooking.

  “I think that won’t be necessary. This looks about right.” Qiao Nan breathed a sigh of relief as she rubbed her aching wrist. The Zhai family had finally gotten together for a reunion after a long time. Although they did not show it on their faces, they were probably all in a good mood. Because they were in a good mood, their appetites would probably increase as well.

  At this moment, Qiao Nan felt less lost and more confident. She knew that her dream had not only been a dream. Perhaps the heavens had given her another chance to lead a blissful life to make up for all the pain and hurt she had suffered in the past.

  Xiao Zhao nodded. Of course it was enough. It would be New Year’s Eve only the following night, but they seemed to have prepared even more than what Xiao Zhao prepared for her family’s reunion dinner. If this was not enough, she would not know what to do. “I’ll bring them out then.”

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  “Okay. I’ll go wash my hands first.”

  “Sister Qiao, you should take a rest first. I only helped wash and cut the vegetables. You were the one who cooked this whole meal. Actually, I can bring the dishes out alone. If I really can’t handle it, I’ll ask Xiao Xu to help me out.” Knowing that Qiao Nan was in a different position to the Zhai family, Xiao Zhao did not dare to look at Qiao Nan as if they were of the same rank.

  Xiao Zhao thought about it carefully and felt that Qiao Nan had acted no differently from how a family’s mistress would act.

  Xiao Zhao thought that building a good relationship and getting on Qiao Nan’s good side was extremely crucial.

  “All right.” Qiao Nan agreed without much thought. She had indeed taken over much of Xiao Zhao’s job. If she were to argue with Xiao Zhao over bringing out the dishes, she would be putting Xiao Zhao in a tight spot. It was only because she had been used to cooking for the Zhai family in her dream that she had not been able to resist the urge to do so today.

  Since Qiao Nan had decided to leave everything else to Xiao Zhao, she decided to return to her room to get a change of clothes instead of simply washing her hands. Otherwise, she would feel uncomfortable with the smoky smell on her clothes.

  But the moment Qiao Nan stepped out of the kitchen, she bumped into Wei De, whose expression was cold and haughty. “Oh, you’ve put in quite a lot of effort to please the Zhai family. You’re so hardworking that you’ve taken over all of the caretaker’s job. I’m telling you, don’t think that you’ll be able to have a relationship with the Zhai family just because you’ve made a meal for them. You’re on a different level from us. Don’t even think about it. This table full of dishes means nothing. Even if you make a whole banquet’s worth of food, we’ll just pay you some money at the very most.”

  Zhai Sheng’s intelligence had regressed with age. How could he have found such a cheap thing like Qiao Nan? Wei De’s head hurt because of that. The only thing he could do to help the Zhai family now was to chase this troublemaker, Qiao Nan, away while the whole Zhai family was being so irrational. He was the Zhai family’s son-in-law, after all, and his interests were closely tied to the Zhai family.

  “I don’t want to say nasty things, but we should all have some self-awareness. As long as you’re willing to leave and never meet the Zhai family again, I’ll consider any requests that you make.” Wei De was not so self-absorbed to think that Qiao Nan, who harbored ill intentions, would know to retreat because of his words.

  He understood people like Qiao Nan the best. Only the mention of benefits would be able to chase them away. The talk of status was useless.

  Ordinary people might very well have been frightened by Wei De. After all, she was an outsider, while Wei De was the Zhai family’s son-in-law. Unfortunately for Wei De, the person whom he had bumped into was no ordinary person. He had bumped into Qiao Nan. It would be even stranger if Qiao Nan would be scared by Wei De’s words. “Is that so? You say such things so smoothly, but didn’t other people tell you the same thing in the past?”

  “What do you mean?” Wei De immediately flipped. What he hated most was other people commenting about how he had only managed to rise through the ranks because of his marriage to Zhai Hua. He was even more so unwilling to recall the anger and shame he had felt in the past when everyone had looked down on him while he was still a measly soldier.

  “People who humiliate others have been humiliated themselves. Wei De, you should know very well how the Wei family started and how you were able to progress in your career. I’m not as gullible and ignorant as you think. You know very well what you’ve done. You’re someone with chinks in your armor that people can seize upon. You don’t live your life honestly, and neither do you treat your wife and child well, yet you still dare to threaten others! You’re really too much! And don’t repeat what other people said to you in the past to me. I’m not you. Besides, don’t you feel like you’re being slapped in the face when you repeat what other people said to get you to back down? Why does it seem like your face is all swollen?”

  Qiao Nan was unsure about whether someone had really said something like that to Wei De in this life, but she was sure that someone would definitely have such thoughts toward Wei De.

  Arguing on the basis of their families alone, Wei De was almost on equal grounds with her. Neither of them could look down on the other. More importantly, Wei De had indeed married Sister Zhai Hua, while she had no such intentions toward Zhai Sheng.

  Even if she knew that her dream had not been entirely fictional and could very well have been an alternative reality, she had never once seen herself as Zhai Sheng’s wife or even his future wife!

  But in the face of such a shameless man like Wei De, and thinking about how pitifully Jiajia had cried, Qiao Nan felt that she would be letting the heavens down for having such a miraculous experience without doing something about it.

  In her dream, she had not known anything and had exposed the truth of Wei Wei being Wei De’s biological son, and his sister being his ex-wife all the same. Since she had done so once, she did not believe that she would not be able to do it again. But there was no hurry. She would take her time in doing so. After all, Wei De was sly and cunning and had managed to hide the truth from the Zhai family for more than a decade, successfully married Zhai Hua, and even had a daughter like Jiajia.

  Wei De stared down at Qiao Nan and he raised his fist as though he was about to punch Qiao Nan.

  It could be said that Qiao Nan’s words had hit Wei De exactly in the areas where it hurt the most, enraging Wei De. Wei De was a little flustered. Qiao Nan was clearly an outsider, but she knew the Zhai family’s situation like the back of her hand. She even knew about the situation between him and Zhai Hua.

  Wei De could not help but wonder who had told Qiao Nan about the Wei family’s background and what had happened between him and Zhai Hua in the past. If Zhai Sheng had been the one to spill the beans, who would he find to settle the accounts?