Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “I might not be able to tell you a joke, but I’m open to listening to you. Why don’t you tell me what’s keeping you up and making you so frustrated?”

  “Qiao Nan, tell me. Will you treat a six-year-old’s joke seriously?” Up until now, Zhai Hua had not figured out whether her discovery was a result of her own narcissism or that Tian Dong had never meant that at all. No matter how Zhai Hua tried to convince herself, Zhai Hua knew that it was not simply because of her own narcissism.

  Qiao Nan placed her arm behind her head and sighed inwardly. Indeed, she intended to talk about this issue. No wonder even Brother Zhai had looked for her to talk about this. Perhaps, everyone in the family, apart from Jiajia, had felt it. After all, the Zhai family had watched Tian Dong grow up and had a good understanding of Tian Dong’s temper.

  “Sister Zhai Hua, why don’t we put it this way? You win some battles and you lose some. There’s no point in being stuck in the past since it won’t improve your life in the future. Just think about how good of a daughter Jiajia is and how much you love Jiajia. Don’t think about anything else.”

  Qiao Nan could not bring herself to say that Zhai Hua was divorced but Tian Dong was still married and not divorced. Letting Zhai Hua know that she had missed out on a good man who had kept his promise from the age of six to the age of thirty for a bast*rd would be a big blow to her.

  As such, it was much better not to know about such ‘good news’. For Zhai Hua, the most important person in life should no longer be a man but her daughter, Jiajia. “Sister Zhai Hua, stop thinking about this. Jiajia will be sitting for her middle school examination tomorrow. Jiajia cares very much about your feelings. What if your behavior affects Jiajia?”

  Zhai Hua laughed bitterly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t think too much about this. To me, Jiajia is indeed the most important.” When she had gotten a divorce from Wei De, she had already decided that she would never get remarried. She would simply lead a life with Jiajia as the center of her life.

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  She knew that her family would never mind Jiajia and her staying with them.

  So, what was she thinking about? Dongzi had a wife and a son. He had a good career and a family. Even if she were to get an answer, she had already missed out on a good opportunity. Zhai Hua turned around and looked at Qiao Nan. “I suddenly feel as though bad luck strikes a person all at once and that bad things never happen alone.”

  Not only had she gotten married to such a bast*rd, but she had also missed out on a good man because of that. Really……

  Qiao Nan covered Zhai Hua with the blanket. “You’ll definitely gain something every time you lose something. At least, you’re not without anything. You must remember that everything is worth it since you have a daughter like Jiajia now.”

  What else could she have said? Could she have possibly have told Zhai Hua that she would have gotten a sensible and obedient son, Tian Xiao Bao, instead of Jiajia if she had not married Wei De and had instead waited for Tian Dong to return?

  Qiao Nan’s lips twitched, indicating that she no longer wanted to continue with the conversation. Was it true that bad things rarely happened alone?

  The Zhai family placed great importance on Jiajia’s middle school examination, and Zhai Hua personally fetched Jiajia to and from school in case she got into an accident along the way. Jiajia had already pretty much recovered from the earlier accident and it would have no impact on her performance. But if she were to get into another accident, Jiajia might very well face the consequences for the rest of her life.

  “Jiajia, don’t be too anxious and just do your best. There’s no need to put too much pressure on yourself. Did you bring along your pens and your exam admission ticket?” Zhai Hua was no different from other parents and nagged at Jiajia continuously.

  Jiajia laughed. “Don’t be like that, Mom. I wasn’t anxious, but I can’t help it now that you’re acting in this manner.” Was it not just a middle school examination? She had been revising for it for the past half a year and she had been taking exams all the time. Examinations were nothing out of the ordinary to students like her. “Mom, you don’t have to wait for me. I’ll be having lunch at school. I won’t be going home, but I won’t be leaving the school compound either. You can go home and come back for me later.”

  After a moment of consideration, Zhai Hua nodded in agreement. “Alright. Remember not to leave the school compound until I pick you up later.”

  Wei De had not left the capital, much less given up on her. With such a situation, Zhai Hua had to be careful of Wei De looking for Jiajia again. That one accident was more than enough. Even if Wei De had lost all custody over Jiajia because of that accident, Zhai Hua felt that it was still insufficient to make up for Jiajia’s suffering.

  If he were to turn up a second time, she would not care about the law and would kill Wei De with her own hands. Did Wei De not care about Jiajia because she was not a son? She knew that Wei De would stop at nothing and would not even care about the hurt Jiajia would suffer in the process of achieving his own goals.

  Forget it. She did not want to think about it anymore. Qiao Nan was right about one thing. With a daughter like Jiajia, she should stop thinking about everything else. Otherwise, she would only make herself miserable.

  While Jiajia was busy with her middle school examination, the rest of the Zhai family was not lazing around either. Everyone on good terms with the Zhai family knew that Zhai Sheng would be getting married in two days’ time. Everyone knew who Zhai Sheng was, but not the bride’s identity.

  After Old Li, who was sour about how Qiao Nan was getting married to Zhai Sheng, exposed Qiao Nan’s identity as a ‘caretaker’, there had been somewhat of a storm. But that had subsided quickly.

  People were no fools. Given Zhai Sheng’s family background, he could choose anyone to marry. He would never settle for a mere caretaker even though it was his second marriage and even though he was already forty-five. The most important premise of Zhai Sheng getting married was that he was willing and had fallen for that woman.

  Since both parties were willing, there was nothing wrong with Zhai Sheng getting married to any woman. The ones who made the greatest fuss were those who had unmarried daughters or those whose daughters were divorced and looking for a second marriage partner.

  1

  Their excuses sounded high-sounding and dignified, but in fact, these were the people who were the most hypocritical.

  Of course, these hypocritical people were not all outsiders. Among them were two of Qiao Nan’s ‘relatives’. Her closest ones, in fact.