She would be a fool not to take advantage of what she could.

  Once or twice did not account for much, but once she did so enough times and sent over valuable items, Qiao Nan would definitely give in. Otherwise, why was there always news on high-ranking officials receiving bribes and being sentenced to prison for corruption and bribery? It was the same principle. Qiao Nan would never be able to remain so stubborn.

  The mother and daughter had already forgotten that Qiao Nan’s death was nothing more than their wishful thinking. From the looks of conviction on their faces, it seemed as though they had already read the book of life and death and knew for sure that Qiao Nan would die from childbirth.

  Throughout their discussions and efforts, they had casually ignored the fact that everything would be in vain as long as Qiao Nan gave birth to her children safely. The pair had never once stopped to consider that Qiao Nan might very well survive childbirth along with her three children. That was only expected, after all, since Qiao Nan’s death would benefit them much more than her being alive. As such, they naturally hoped for Qiao Nan’s death. Her being alive would only stand in the way of their happiness.

  After a lengthy discussion, the mother and daughter had not managed to come up with a new solution.

  With no result, Qiao Zijin took away the seal in the crack of the door and placed it back in her cupboard. When they emerged from the room, they happened to see Qiao Dongliang, who looked troubled.

  Qiao Dongliang frowned. “Why didn’t you guys make something to eat after coming back? What were you guys doing in the room?” What bothered Qiao Dongliang the most was that he had tried his best but had not been able to make out a single word.

  \r \r \r

  It was not as though it was the first day Qiao Dongliang had noticed the sound insulation at home. He had been able to overhear conversations in the past but had not been able to do so today. Qiao Dongliang was no fool and could guess the kind of measures some had taken for there to be such a change.

  There was nothing to hide if one had not done anything wrong. If Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi were not talking about shady things, why was there a need to act so secretively as though they were commercial spies? It was obvious that something was wrong!

  Qiao Dongliang was upset at the situation. As long as Qiao Zijin was scheming something, Qiao Dongliang would be upset no matter who her target was. This meant that Qiao Zijin had not changed at all, even though she had said such nice things just a few days ago. In fact, she had probably been plotting something.

  If that was the case, Qiao Dongliang thought that it was a bit ridiculous that he was still trying to help Zijin in front of Nan Nan. He had no other choice. Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi were birds of the same feather. It was not that Qiao Dongliang wanted to think of Qiao Zijin in a bad light. It was just that there was truly no one else whom Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi would set their eyes on if not Qiao Nan.

  Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi had only gone so far because they felt a little guilty and wanted to prevent Qiao Dongliang from finding out. But it was exactly because of this that Qiao Dongliang had found them out.

  Looking at Qiao Zijin’s and Ding Jiayi’s expressions, Qiao Dongliang raised his eyebrow. “Zijin, were all those things you told me earlier just lies? That’s true. Ever since Nan Nan got married to Zhai Sheng, she’s had a different status. If you are on good terms with Nan Nan, it would be much better for you as compared to when you were married to Chen Jun.”

  In short, Zijin had not truly changed for the better. She was still planning on taking advantage of Nan Nan.

  Realizing the truth of the matter, Qiao Dongliang could not say that he was really upset or that he had been prepared for it. It was just inevitable for a father to be foolish and gullible at times, but accepting the truth was not that hard either.

  His younger daughter was angry that he was helping his elder daughter, while his elder daughter was annoyed that he was not doing enough to help her. Hehehe……

  Qiao Zijin had not succeeded with Qiao Dongliang yet and thus could not afford to give up on Qiao Dongliang just yet. Seeing that Qiao Dongliang’s attitude toward her had changed, even gradually returning to what it had been in the past, Qiao Zijin knew that she had to do something. “My dear dad, you’re overthinking it. What could I possibly be talking to Mom about? I was fighting with Mom. Didn’t we return the clothes just now? I felt that Mom’s attitude wasn’t very good. Nan Nan married well and got married to Zhai Sheng, but Mom was impolite just now. How is Nan Nan supposed to live?”

  Qiao Zijin’s eyes swirled with thoughts to find the best excuse to appease Qiao Dongliang in the shortest time possible. “I’m sure you know Mom’s temper better than I do. Do you think she would be happy with me talking about her like that? It’s not good for us to be arguing all the time, so I thought of a way to reduce the noise. Dad, what are you even thinking? Our argument had nothing to do with Qiao Nan.”

  Her dad was too sensitive. She had only heard that women had a sixth sense, so why was her dad’s sixth sense so scarily accurate?

  She wondered if her dad would buy into her excuse.

  “Is that so?” To tell the truth, Qiao Dongliang did not really believe Qiao Zijin. If that was really the case, there was no need for Qiao Zijin to be so defensive, saying that it would be embarrassing for her neighbors to hear it. Qiao Dongliang had a feeling that Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi were being defensive toward him. “Alright. If you say so. It’s not early anymore. I’m going to bed.”

  Qiao Dongliang had always had his doubts toward Qiao Zijin, and that was why he had not put in his utmost effort into helping Qiao Zijin from the start. He had wanted to take things slow and ensure that Qiao Zijin had truly changed before he spoke up for Qiao Zijin in front of Qiao Nan.

  Now, Qiao Dongliang no longer had such intentions. His elder daughter had too much going on in her mind. If Zijin could not settle these matters on her own, what could he do as her dad? It was better not to be so confident in the face of the three women of the Qiao family.

  Although Qiao Dongliang did not say much, Qiao Zijin knew from his attitude that he had not believed her words. She had finally been able to warm her relationship with Qiao Dongliang slightly, but it seemed to be cooling again. If that was the case, she could forget about her relationship with Qiao Nan.

  Qiao Zijin nearly burst into tears at that moment.

  When she had first bought that rubber seal, she had even been so smug, thinking that Taobao was truly a good find. There was nothing she could not find there. But now, it was clear that her plans had backfired. It was true that her dad had not heard the conversation between her and her mom, but her dad had guessed the subject of their conversation!

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