Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  After making sure that there were no more movements, Ding Jiayi finally relaxed and slipped into Qiao Dongliang’s room. She picked up the wallet that Qiao Dongliang had placed on the table and opened it to take a look. This was the bus ticket. Where was his temporary identity card?

  With the help of the moonlight, Ding Jiayi very quickly found the bus ticket, but she had not managed to find Qiao Dongliang’s temporary identity card.

  This time, Ding Jiayi had intended to take Qiao Dongliang’s temporary identity card along with his bus ticket to delay him by another three to five days since he would not even be able to buy a bus ticket. Since he had already lost his identity card once, it wouldn’t be too strange if it happened again.

  She was Qiao Dongliang’s wife. Besides, once she took Qiao Dongliang’s things, she would burn them to ashes at once. No one would have any idea of what she had done. Based on that alone, Ding Jiayi did not feel an ounce of guilt or fear when doing such ‘harmless’ things to Qiao Dongliang.

  But this time, Ding Jiayi had only managed to find the bus ticket that Qiao Dongliang had kept in his wallet…… She had not found the temporary identity card. This situation made Ding Jiayi hesitate. After giving it some thought, Ding Jiayi gritted her teeth, walked toward Qiao Dongliang’s bed, and reached out toward the jacket that Qiao Dongliang had worn that morning.

  She knew that Qiao Dongliang had the habit of stuffing his things into his pockets at times. Since his temporary identity card was not in his wallet, Qiao Dongliang could very well have placed it in his pocket out of convenience.

  But even after fumbling through the pockets on both sides, Ding Jiayi had not managed to find the temporary identity card. Since it was in neither of those places, Ding Jiayi decided to stick her hand under Qiao Dongliang’s pillow.

  \r \r \r

  Just as Ding Jiayi touched the corner of Qiao Dongliang’s pillow, he flipped over again to face Ding Jiayi. Ding Jiayi was so shocked that she nearly let out a scream. In the end, she managed to suppress her scream by covering her mouth.

  “Old…… Old Qiao?”

  “Hmm……” Unlike earlier when he had had no response at all, Qiao Dongliang seemed to have stirred a little. He was now able to hear someone calling him while he was still half-asleep. That was why he had answered her.

  Ding Jiayi’s legs shivered in fear and she fell onto the ground. Ding Jiayi had never had the experience of being a robber. Thus, she could not even remain calm in such a situation.

  Ding Jiayi was terribly afraid that Qiao Dongliang would suddenly wake up, realize what she had done, and would even snatch the bus ticket away.

  If that happened, she would have gone to such lengths for nothing.

  Even if she couldn’t find the temporary identity card, the result would be the same. Without a bus ticket, Old Qiao wouldn’t be able to get on the bus either. Ding Jiayi practically crawled out of Qiao Dongliang’s room to return to her own room. As she sat on her bed, her heart pounded rapidly and she drew in a few deep breaths. “That’s not right. That didn’t happen last night. Did the medicine lose its effectiveness in just a day?”

  Today, Ding Jiayi had targeted Qiao Dongliang in three different ways. Firstly, Ding Jiayi had thrown five sleeping pills into the hot water just like she had done the previous day. As long as Qiao Dongliang drank the hot water from the flask, he would definitely fall for her scheme. Secondly, Ding Jiayi had taken away his bus ticket. Thirdly, Ding Jiayi was prepared to make Qiao Dongliang lose his identity card again so that he would be unable to board the bus.

  She succeeded with her second way and failed the third. The first seemed to be a success yet a failure at the same time.

  To ensure that Qiao Dongliang had indeed fallen for her plot, Ding Jiayi purposely woke up in the middle of the night to check on Qiao Dongliang. At that time, Qiao Dongliang had been sound asleep and had had no knowledge of her coming and going. Today, not only had Qiao Dongliang responded, but he had even flipped around twice, scaring Ding Jiayi out of her wits!

  Ding Jiayi took the sleeping pills out and made a call to Qiao Zijin melancholically. “Zijin, have you reached the capital?”

  “Yes.” It was just that she had reached in the dead of night. Qiao Zijin loved the hustle and bustle of the capital. Thinking about how she would be able to settle down in the prosperous capital once Qiao Nan died and she married Zhai Sheng, she was over the moon.

  She had persisted in life for such a long time and endured all her hardships for the sake of that day. She had been waiting for it for way too long.

  “Mom, is my dad still at home? You stopped him from boarding the bus, right?” Although Qiao Zijin had many plans up her sleeves and even with a relative like Qiao Nan, Qiao Zijin dared not visit the Zhai family or Qiao Nan straightaway after reaching the capital. She would only be putting herself down if she were to show up in front of the Zhai family and Qiao Nan in her current state.

  If she really wanted to make an appearance, she would have to change her image to leave a good first impression on the Zhai family.

  “No, he’s still at home, fast asleep like a log. How could I have let him get on the bus?” Ding Jiayi was especially proud of herself. Recently, that was the only thing that had gone smoothly for her.

  Sitting on the bed of the small motel, Qiao Zijin heaved a sigh of relief. Qiao Zijin was dazzled by the bustle of the capital, but the problem was that the cost of living in the capital was equally dazzling. Thankfully, Qiao Zijin still had 1.3 million yuan. Otherwise, staying in the capital for just a few days would probably shorten her life by a few years.

  The room she was in was too small and had a terrible environment. Still, it cost her several hundred yuan a night. If she were in Ping Cheng, she would have been able to stay in a five-star hotel with that sum of money. As such, Qiao Zijin decided that she would not gallivant around for too long. She would have to get in touch with the Zhai family as soon as possible so that they would make arrangements for her.

  Otherwise, the money she spent on her accommodation alone was enough to make her heart bleed. “It doesn’t mean much even if you were able to stop Dad today because I just arrived in the capital. I haven’t met the Zhai family yet. Mom, how much longer could you delay Dad for?”

  Because things had not gone as smoothly as she had expected, Qiao Zijin was in a frenzy too. Upon reaching the capital, she had asked around about Qiao Nan’s residence, only to find out that the situation was the same as it had been in Ping Cheng. If she wanted to enter their residence, she would have to get the Zhai family’s permission.

  Otherwise, she wouldn’t even be able to enter that residential area, much less the Zhai family’s house. She would simply be stopped at the gate. Only with the Zhai family’s permission would she be brought in by the Zhai family themselves.

  #