Qiao Zijin had decided not to try to fight for Qiao Dongliang’s affection before that happened and gave up all hope of Qiao Dongliang favoring her over Qiao Nan.

  Now, Qiao Dongliang was entirely biased toward Qiao Nan. Qiao Zijin knew all about that. As such, she could not make any mention of Qiao Nan if she wanted to win. As long as it concerned Qiao Nan, she had to keep her mouth shut. Who would have known that the worst possible situation would happen and that she would make such a grave error immediately?

  Qiao Zijin wondered how the world worked. Why did it seem as though everything she said was always wrong? But she was an adult and could not possibly keep her mouth shut all day. Even if she was willing to remain mum, there was no such chance for her to do so. If she did not want to spend money on coaxing someone, the only other alternative was to try to persuade them.

  “Dad, you said that you used these words on Nan Nan, so you should remember them without me having to say more. It hasn’t been easy for Mom to stay by your side all these years, helping you take care of the house and raise two children. I’m sure you’re clear of how hard my mom has worked for our family and you should be grateful for it. Don’t you think so, Dad?”

  Since she had already stepped on a landmine, Qiao Zijin decided to go along with it. In her opinion, the words that Qiao Dongliang had used to convince Qiao Nan at that time had been rather useful, after all.

  If not for Qiao Dongliang’s words, Qiao Nan would have blown up and decided to start her own life afresh a long time ago. But with her dad’s persuasion, Qiao Nan had obediently apologized to her mom the next day, even handing all of her money over to her mom to appease her.

  \r \r \r

  She was a university graduate and was much more eloquent than her father, who was lowly educated. She would definitely succeed in doing something that a lowly soldier had done.

  “Dad, even though Mom has never had a job, we should never forget about the sacrifices Mom has made for our family. Mom is so old and no one is sure about how long more you and Mom have left. Dad, don’t you think you should cherish the remaining time you have left? Is there really a point in going to such an extent over such a trivial matter? Couples need each other the most in their old age. Dad, Mom really needs you. She’s really hurt that you’re treating her this way. Dad, don’t hurt Mom anymore, alright?”

  Once she managed to appease her dad, her parents would get back together. Then, it would be time for her mom to get down to work.

  Compared to a hundred thousand yuan, Qiao Zijin was much more willing to use three days and three nights and all of her saliva to convince Qiao Dongliang. As long as she succeeded in convincing Qiao Dongliang, she was willing to talk as much as needed. Anyway, she would face no loss even if she were to spout such deep morals. Quite on the contrary, she would even stand to gain from it.

  She would be the happiest if that was truly the case.

  Qiao Dongliang did not rebuke Qiao Zijin and merely snorted. “You’re right.” Qiao Dongliang sighed and lifted his eyes up to the ceiling. “I think that’s how I convinced Qiao Nan in the past too. It sounds quite reasonable.”

  But no one but the party concerned would understand that these principles had already turned into a sea of fire and death and had even taken lives.

  “Dad, so what about you?” There was no point in talking about Qiao Nan. The most important thing was what her dad thought about it now. “Nan Nan listened to whatever you said. Dad, you are Nan Nan’s and my dad. You can’t possibly be worse than Nan Nan, right?”

  Qiao Zijin was now using Qiao Nan to force Qiao Dongliang into action.

  It was great. Qiao Zijin had let Qiao Dongliang have a taste of shooting himself in the foot. “Are you done? Do you have anything else to say?”

  Qiao Zijin was dissatisfied. “Dad, aren’t you going to answer me? I noticed that Mom looks unwell and dispirited these days. She even looks like she’s lost weight. Dad, you’re a grown man. You can’t possibly stay angry at Mom. Even if Mom really did something wrong, what’s wrong with apologizing to her and coaxing her as a man?”

  Qiao Dongliang looked at Qiao Zijin. “So it seems like you know that I’m not at fault here.” He was not the one at fault but had to take the initiative to apologize. “Zijin, do you remember why your mom and I got into an argument in the first place?”

  If Zijin truly wished for the couple to reconcile, this was not the attitude or tone she should have.

  The couple had only gotten into a fight because Qiao Zijin had wanted to take too much from Qiao Nan without any limits and because Ding Jiayi had allowed Qiao Zijin to make such unreasonable demands of Qiao Nan without any care for Qiao Nan’s feelings.

  If Qiao Zijin could put away her greed and start making a living for herself, Ding Jiayi and Qiao Dongliang would eventually reconcile even without the need for someone to counsel them.

  Unfortunately, Qiao Zijin was entirely insincere about the couple getting back together. That was not her end goal. She only hoped that Qiao Dongliang and Ding Jiayi could stand on her side so that she would not lose out on benefits. Then, she would be able to take everything that belonged to Qiao Nan, just as she had done in the past.

  Since Qiao Zijin was not at all sincere, her persuasion was truly lacking.

  “I…… It’s been so long. How would I know what you were arguing with Mom about? No matter what, what I said earlier stands. Dad, you’re a man. You should apologize to Mom.” Qiao Zijin did not feel guilty about the fact that her parents had gotten into an argument because of her, and she even commanded her dad to apologize.

  Qiao Zijin was truly infuriated but Qiao Dongliang was still calm. He took a sip of water. “Zijin, Chen Feng is almost old enough to get his own identity card. As Chen Feng’s mother, you should be more mature. You’re not the emperor or a national cadre. Do you really think that others will be willing to follow your commands? Don’t live with such a sense of superiority.”

  Qiao Zijin’s words were not as powerful as she thought. Not everyone would get down to work and listen to her just because she commanded them to do something.