“Tomorrow, I guess. It’s already very late.” He had just arrived in the capital and had not even gotten the chance to get a change of clothes. It wouldn’t be right for him to visit Nan Nan now. He would return to his hotel, take a bath, and change his clothes before visiting Nan Nan.

  Qiao Nan had already been admitted into the hospital to keep her babies. Qiao Dongliang had to take all precautions. “Are Nan Nan and the children doing well?”

  “When I visited Nan Nan today, the doctor said that they’re doing fine and that the children can remain in her womb for another few days. It’s good.” Miao Jing’s hostility lessened as she talked about Qiao Nan and the children. It was just that there was still a question in Miao Jing’s mind that she was waiting for Qiao Dongliang to bring up.

  But no matter what Qiao Dongliang talked about, it was all regarding Qiao Nan. He had never once brought up Qiao Zijin. This attitude confused Miao Jing. Qiao Zijin had shown up, and now, Qiao Dongliang had shown up too. What was this father-daughter pair trying to do?

  Zhai Yaohui picked up his teacup and asked casually, “Oh right, Old Qiao, did you come alone?”

  Zhai Yaohui’s eyes were sharper than Sun Wukong’s. The dust on Qiao Dongliang’s clothes could have escaped Miao Jing’s eyes, but not Zhai Yaohui’s. Zhai Yaohui could even vaguely smell gasoline from his body.

  What did that mean?

  That meant that Qiao Dongliang had just recently gotten off the long-distance bus.

  \r \r \r

  But based on what Miao Jing said, she had met Qiao Zijin early in the morning. But half a day earlier, Qiao Dongliang should have still been on the bus. That meant that Qiao Zijin could not have accompanied Qiao Dongliang to the capital.

  Unfortunately, Miao Jing had only seen Qiao Zijin and not Qiao Dongliang. As such, Zhai Yaohui could not judge Qiao Zijin’s situation and could only make inferences based on Qiao Dongliang, who was in front of him.

  Miao Jing eyed Zhai Yaohui. How could he have come alone? Wasn’t there still Qiao Zijin? But based on their years of cooperation, Miao Jing knew to remain silent and allow Zhai Yaohui to continue with his question.

  “Yes, I came alone.” It had not been easy for him to have made this trip. Even up until the moment he alighted from the bus, Qiao Dongliang had not understood why Ding Jiayi had done so many things to prevent him from visiting the capital. Ding Jiayi could not have done all that for nothing. It couldn’t be as simple as trying to stop him from visiting Qiao Nan.

  So, why had she done so?

  He could not find the answer no matter how hard he wracked his brain.

  After getting their answer from Qiao Dongliang, Zhai Yaohui and Miao Jing shared a knowing look. Did that mean that Qiao Dongliang had no idea that Qiao Zijin had come to the capital to look for them? Zhai Yaohui had already gone a step further. Not only did Qiao Dongliang not know about Qiao Zijin being in the capital, but Qiao Zijin had also gotten here before Qiao Dongliang! “I hope it was a smooth journey here. Did you run into any problems?”

  Qiao Dongliang laughed bitterly. “I did, but that doesn’t matter. I’ll be able to see Nan Nan tomorrow.” No matter what Ding Jiayi had up her sleeves, Qiao Nan was his daughter and he was Nan Nan’s father. No one would be able to stop him from seeing Nan Nan. “It’s late. I’ll make a move. Oh right, can I visit Nan Nan at the hospital directly tomorrow?” Qiao Dongliang was too embarrassed to take a ride from the Zhai family and follow them to the hospital.

  “Do you know where Nan Nan is?”

  “I do. The auntie told me earlier.”

  Thinking about it for a moment, Zhai Yaohui took a piece of paper and copied down the address for Qiao Dongliang. “Qiao Nan is here. It’ll be easier for you to find your way there with this address. A good memory can’t compare to a lousy pen. Oh right, where are you staying now? Should I arrange for accommodation for you?”

  It was slightly out of place for him to stay in the Zhai family’s house. Initially, the Zhai family had numerous empty rooms. But in the span of a year, the Zhai family had encountered good news after good news. Zhai Hua had returned home, and Zhai Sheng had gotten married and was about to have children. The guest room on the first floor had also been converted into Qiao Nan’s room for her convenience.

  As for the rooms upstairs, apart from the room for the triplets, only Zhai Hua and Jiajia’s rooms were empty. Zhai Sheng was often in the hospital taking care of Qiao Nan, but he would still return home from time to time to get a change of clothes. Besides, it wouldn’t be right to let Qiao Dongliang stay in Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan’s room for a few days.

  “There’s no need for that. I’ll find my own accommodation.” Qiao Dongliang felt a pinch paying for slightly more expensive hotels but he was not thick-skinned enough to spend on the Zhai family’s accounts.

  But Zhai Yaohui did not give Qiao Dongliang the chance to refuse. “We’re relatives. If not for the fact that we’ve had a lot of changes in the house lately, you should be staying here. You’re Qiao Nan’s father and our in-law, after all. Please don’t refuse our offer. This place is quite near our neighborhood and has good traffic flow. It’ll be convenient for you to visit Qiao Nan in the hospital. Otherwise, it’ll be very troublesome if you have to change buses just to get to the hospital.”

  As he said that, Zhai Yaohui made a call and yelled for a young man.

  “Old Chief, what’s the matter?”

  “Xiao Hu, this is my in-law. Do me a favor and help me run an errand.” Zhai Yaohui got Xiao Hu to get a refund for the room that Qiao Dongliang had booked earlier and got him to bring Qiao Dongliang to the place that he had arranged for.

  After understanding the situation, Xiao Hu had even sensibly checked up on how to get to the hospital by public transport, and he even wrote it down for Qiao Dongliang in case he forgot.

  With so much care from the Zhai family, Qiao Dongliang was finally able to relax his nerves. Not only did the accommodation that Zhai Yaohui had arranged for have a room, but it even had a kitchen and furniture. In that way, as long as Qiao Dongliang went to the market and got some fresh vegetables, he would be able to prepare his own meals or meals for Qiao Nan.

  Of course, what Qiao Dongliang was happy about was not this treatment from the Zhai family. What he was truly thankful about was that the Zhai family treated him well because Qiao Nan was his daughter. This could only mean that they cherished and loved Qiao Nan very much.

  How much more reassured could Qiao Dongliang be upon knowing how pampered Qiao Nan was at her in-law’s?

  After a night’s rest, Qiao Dongliang cleaned up and headed to the hospital to visit Qiao Nan. Before doing so, Zhai Yaohui had made a call to Qiao Dongliang.