This time, Qiao Zijin would be the only one forking out two hundred thousand yuan with no one else to share that burden with her. Ding Jiayi could imagine how much pain Qiao Zijin was in because of that two hundred thousand yuan.

  Thus, Ding Jiayi tried to act smart by comforting Qiao Zijin with such words in hope of making Qiao Zijin feel better. How was she to know that these words could not comfort Qiao Zijin and were, in fact, a slap to Qiao Zijin’s face? “Zijin, think about it. Don’t you think it’s true? You’re using Qiao Nan’s money to coax your dad. In the end, you’ll be the filial daughter in your dad’s eyes, not Qiao Nan. You won’t lose out by giving him two hundred thousand.”

  Qiao Zijin would be the only one benefitting after giving away Qiao Nan’s money. No matter how Ding Jiayi thought about it, Qiao Zijin would be on the winning end. There was no need for Qiao Zijin to be upset over this matter.

  While Ding Jiayi felt this way, Qiao Zijin did not. The more Ding Jiayi said, the worse Qiao Zijin’s expression became. “Mom, you’re looking down on me because I’m not as capable as Qiao Nan and can’t earn as much as she does. The only property I had was bought using Qiao Nan’s money as well. Mom, you’re just like Dad. You’re looking down on me and only thinking about Qiao Nan!”

  She could not care less about who had paid for the house. All she knew was that the property deed had been registered under her name. Since the property belonged to her alone, she was naturally the only one who would receive the proceeds from the sale. That sum of money had nothing to do with anyone else. Why should she take out two hundred thousand yuan to appease her father so that he would not get a divorce from her mother?

  Had her dad not said that it did not matter whether they got a divorce or not? All he wanted was for them to live separate lives.

  Apart from some inconveniences during mealtimes, it was enough for her that her parents were still married on the surface. Such a situation would only have an impact on her mom. It did not affect her at all.

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  As such, there was no reason for her to fork out money for her mom to coax her dad. Did she have too much money lying around that she had to burn this sum of money?

  “How could I do that?” Ding Jiayi shook her head. “You’re maligning me! How could Qiao Nan be more capable than you in my mind? Can that wretched girl even compare to you? It seems that she does have some ability in finding men apart from earning money. But apart from that, she can’t compare to you in every other way!”

  Qiao Zijin had no way of retorting Ding Jiayi and had the urge to end the conversation at that.

  As a woman, how capable could she really be? Leaving aside how well one did in school, a woman’s performance in society was determined by how capable her children were, or how high her husband’s position and pay were. Qiao Nan had won on both of these accounts.

  Ding Jiayi said that Qiao Zijin was better than Qiao Nan in these two ways. Qiao Zijin wanted to ask Ding Jiayi what other ways a woman could be better in otherwise? In the end, was her mother trying to praise her, or was she actually putting her down?

  What made Qiao Zijin most frustrated was that she knew that it was likely the former case. Her mom probably meant to praise her, but it was better to do without Ding Jiayi’s praises. Perhaps, she could have felt good without those words. Those words were practically a slap in her face.

  Qiao Zijin took a deep breath in. “Mom, stop with your nonsense. I don’t think that Dad will decide not to get a divorce just because of two hundred thousand yuan. I think Dad is serious this time.”

  “How would you know if you don’t even try? What if your dad decides not to make a fuss after you give him two hundred thousand? Don’t you want to be a filial child in your dad’s eyes? Don’t you want your dad to be on your side? Or do you mean that you’re unwilling to spend two hundred thousand for peace between your dad and me?”

  At this, Ding Jiayi flared up. It did not matter whether it worked or not. They had to give it a try. How would they know if it would be effective if they did not even give it a try? She had made so many sacrifices for her daughter, Qiao Zijin, and to be honest, Old Qiao had flipped at her because he felt that she had treated Zijin too well by giving Zijin all of Qiao Nan’s money.

  If she had not been so biased toward Zijin and had left a little of that money for Old Qiao, he would never have made such a fuss in the first place. In fact, if she had done just that, Zijin would probably be just as happy now.

  So, was Zijin trying to prove to her that she had been wrong in doing that?

  Of course, Qiao Zijin was absolutely serious about her reluctance. Qiao Zijin’s face turned black, and she headed directly for her room. Anyway, there was no way she would be able to persuade her mom out of this, but neither was she willing to fork out such a huge sum of money at once.

  As such, there was no point in continuing the conversation. Her mom had never been one to lose her temper at her. After a while, her mom would definitely calm down. Then, upon sensing her persistence about the matter, her mom would never make mention of the two hundred thousand yuan ever again.

  Ding Jiayi was in a hurry to salvage her relationship with her husband, and now, the only one whom she could rely on, her elder daughter, had turned her back on her and was now ignoring her! In that moment, Ding Jiayi, who had been left alone, felt like a fool. She was going to be blamed either way.

  She had always been faithful to her husband, Qiao Dongliang, and had been nothing but good toward her daughter, Qiao Zijin. As vicious as she was toward Qiao Nan, she still did not think that it was justified for Qiao Nan to ignore her. That would be unfilial and Qiao Nan would definitely be punished by the heavens for that.

  Naturally, her conscience was clear toward these two people. As such, one could only imagine how Ding Jiayi was feeling at this moment.

  Because of this provocation, one person’s anger had turned into three people’s anger. Apart from Qiao Dongliang who had had his fill and was about to fall asleep, Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi could not calm their pounding hearts down.

  Ding Jiayi had been enraged by Qiao Zijin and Qiao Dongliang, while Qiao Zijin was simply too hungry to sleep. With no other choice, Qiao Zijin dialed for delivery in the middle of the night. Even if no one made her a meal, there was no way she was going to let herself starve to death.

  Of course, Qiao Zijin had only ordered her own portion and had not bothered about Ding Jiayi, who was in the same boat.

  Ding Jiayi was old and easily awoken. Besides, her anger meant that she had already had a hard time falling asleep. Hearing someone approaching with takeout, Ding Jiayi’s expectations grew, thinking that her daughter had been so concerned about her, knowing that she had not eaten.