There was no way Qiao Dongliang was going to believe such a blatant lie. “Someone saw Zijin in the capital.” He wanted to see how Old Ding would reply to him.

  “…” Ding Jiayi was frustrated. Since someone had already seen Zijin, why was Old Qiao asking about it? Didn’t he already have an answer? Because she had already said those words earlier, Ding Jiayi could only stick to her guns. “Is that so? Does that mean that Zijin went to visit the Forbidden City and the Great Wall? Isn’t that good? Didn’t you say that you hoped for our daughter to see Tiananmen and witness the flag-raising ceremony? See how well Zijin listens to you and takes your words to heart. She didn’t even mention to me that she was going to the capital. Sigh. When will she listen to me as well as she listens to you?”

  Ding Jiayi acted as though Qiao Zijin was Qiao Dongliang’s precious daughter who was not even close to her mom. It disgusted Qiao Dongliang so much that his blood pressure shot up. “Stop spouting such nonsense. I’ll ask you again. What are you and Zijin up to this time? I didn’t mention it earlier, but do you really think that I don’t know what you’re up to? How did I lose my identity card the first time? And why did I oversleep the second time? Ding Jiayi, since when have you been so bold to drug me? This time, you drugged me with sleeping pills. Are you going to kill me next time with insecticide?”

  Qiao Dongliang was truly in a rage. Not only had she stolen his identity card, but she had even drugged him!

  If not for his cautiousness by purchasing bottled mineral water, he might very well have overslept the third time too. In fact, Ding Jiayi had been surprised by him waking up earlier than her. This meant that Ding Jiayi had done something to the water too.

  \r \r \r

  “…” Ding Jiayi’s expression changed. She could not help but thank the heavens that she was speaking to Qiao Dongliang over the phone. If they were speaking face-to-face, Qiao Dongliang would definitely have seen through her act. “Old Qiao, what nonsense are you spouting? Why don’t I understand anything? You dropped your identity card and lost it. What has that got to do with me? The second time, you woke up late. That was your problem too. It has nothing to do with me. Old Qiao, you can’t blame everything on me. All those things had nothing to do with me!”

  She couldn’t admit to it. Not even over her dead body!

  Drugging… Yes, she had done it. But it had not been a huge amount. All she had intended was for Old Qiao to sleep for a while longer. She had not intended to make Old Qiao sleep forever. Their family didn’t own any land and had no use for insecticides. She would never allow Old Qiao to put such huge blame on her!

  At her age, she had never thought of killing Qiao Nan no matter how much she hated her, much less her own husband.

  “You’re really something. Alright. I won’t bother talking to you anymore. I’ll just be wasting my breath anyway. You and Zijin are really amazing. Since you’re so capable, you two can live alone. Why should I get in the picture? I’ll just be standing in your way.”

  The more Ding Jiayi denied it, the less Qiao Dongliang believed her. If Ding Jiayi was the one behind everything, there could only be one reason: Qiao Zijin. That meant that Qiao Zijin had put in quite a lot of effort in stopping him from getting on the bus.

  This mother-daughter pair would never do anything without getting anything in return. Given how hard they had worked this time, what Qiao Zijin wanted was surely more important than a job in the civil service.

  After angrily hanging up the phone, Qiao Dongliang stopped thinking about the matter. He had known all along just how much Qiao Nan hated Qiao Zijin. Today, Qiao Nan had repeated it again.

  Given Qiao Nan’s attitude and how Qiao Zijin had not managed to become a civil servant, there was no way Qiao Nan was going to fall into Qiao Zijin’s trap. The Zhai family was not the Qiao family, and neither would they give in to Qiao Zijin and let her have her way.

  With these two huge obstacles, there was no way Qiao Zijin would succeed no matter what she was scheming. After making sure of that, Qiao Dongliang felt as though his burden had suddenly been relieved.

  More than a month ago, he had been worried. But there was no point in him as a father worrying about his daughter since she was so skilled. Qiao Zijin had already made a hundred and eight different plans for her future. There was no need for an incompetent father like him to worry about her at all!

  Having come to a realization, Qiao Dongliang made a meal for himself. After having his fill, he went to bed.

  Qiao Dongliang thought nothing more of the matter and fell into a deep sleep. On the other hand, Ding Jiayi had been scared out of her wits because of that call. “Zijin, it’s me.”

  “I know.” There was a caller ID and she knew that the person on the line was her mom. “What’s the matter?” She was being charged a roaming fee for answering the call.

  “Your dad just called me and he already suspects that I was the one who stole his identity card and drugged him so that he wouldn’t be able to get on the bus. I was wondering how he managed to get on the bus to the capital even after I took away his bus ticket. I guess he must have been prepared to guard against me. We’ve been duped by your dad!” In that case, all her questions had been answered. “You dad threw a huge tantrum at me. Oh right, did you meet with the Zhai family? They must have told your dad about you being in the capital. That’s why he got angry!”

  The Zhai family must have arranged for Old Qiao’s accommodation in the capital. Zijin had not even mentioned it to her. That meant that the Zhai family had not cared about Zijin and that Zijin was still spending her own money by staying in a hotel. The Zhai family was really too much! How could they treat their in-laws like that?

  It was not as though the Zhai family did not have a house. If they could arrange accommodation for Old Qiao, why couldn’t they do the same for Zijin? What if Zijin encountered any danger outside because she was staying alone? That would be the Zhai family’s fault!

  Knock on wood! Zijin would be fine. Nothing would happen to her. She was simply confused by Old Qiao and angered by the heartless Zhai family.