Yes, she fully understood her daughter’s intentions now.

  Ding Jiayi’s eyes reddened. “Zijin, you’re really a heartless child. Your dad didn’t allow me to come to the capital, but I insisted on coming. But your dad was right. I was making trouble for myself by coming to the capital to take care of you. I deserve it. If you want to earn five million yuan, you’d better work hard for it. I won’t interfere in it. Since you’re awake, I’m going to buy a bus ticket back to Ping Cheng this afternoon. Take good care of yourself.”

  As expected, Qiao Nan was unreliable, and so was Zijin. She had to return to Ping Cheng right away to beg for Old Qiao’s forgiveness. In the future, Old Qiao would be her life. She wouldn’t care about her daughters or grandchildren. She had already made the decision not to interfere in Qiao Zijin and Qiao Nan’s relationship ever again.

  The five million yuan had made Ding Jiayi understand something. Even if she were to help Qiao Zijin convince, or even force, Qiao Nan to give up the inheritance such that Qiao Zijin earned five million yuan, Qiao Zijin had no intention of ever living with her or Old Qiao, or being filial to them apart from giving her one million yuan.

  Because Qiao Zijin was her favorite daughter, Ding Jiayi was unable to accept Qiao Zijin’s attitude toward her. She was always at Qiao Zijin’s beck and call.

  Ever since she was a child, Zijin had always said that she would definitely be filial to her once she made a name for herself. But why was Zijin not honoring that promise now? All she thought of was to throw the elderly couple as far away as possible so that they would never drag her down. She had been such a good kid in the past. Why had she turned out in this way?

  \r \r \r

  Ding Jiayi refused to admit that she was the cause of Qiao Zijin turning out in this manner or that it had been her atrocious education. Ding Jiayi simply felt that she could no longer face Qiao Zijin and wanted to leave the capital to return to her familiar Ping Cheng as soon as possible to be with Qiao Dongliang. “Here’s your bank card. When you were admitted to the hospital, I had to make a payment of two thousand yuan. I withdrew a total of ten thousand yuan. Here is the rest of the money. You can keep it.”

  Qiao Zijin felt sober all of a sudden. Ding Jiayi saw no need to remain in the capital. She understood that an extra person in the capital would mean higher expenses.

  Unless she pushed all responsibility for her expenses to Qiao Nan so that Qiao Zijin could stay with her and save on her own living expenses, even if Qiao Zijin were to convince her to stay, Qiao Zijin would definitely look at her in disdain because she would have to have to pay for her mom’s living expenses as well.

  It was not the first time something like this had happened. But every time it happened, Ding Jiayi was disappointed and hurt all over again. No matter how well Ding Jiayi treated Qiao Zijin, she would always feel hurt and despair. Now, Ding Jiayi had lost all hope in her daughter, Qiao Zijin. “Your dad was right. You guys are all grown up and have your own lives. As parents, we should stop interfering in your lives. You can do whatever you want in the future as long as it makes you happy. I’ll live well in Ping Cheng with your dad. You won’t have to worry about us.”

  In other families, children could work and earn money with peace of mind if their parents were safe at home.

  Unfortunately, that was not the case in their family. Even if she and Old Qiao took good care of themselves, Zijin would never feel assured. In fact, she would feel that her parents were useless to her.

  “Mom…” Qiao Zijin was stunned. She had even thought that she had not fallen ill in vain, after all. Even if Qiao Nan had not come to visit her, she had managed to get Ding Jiayi to the capital, at the very least. She had already contracted such a serious illness like pneumonia. No matter what, her mom would have to stay in the capital for a few months to take care of her and would probably only return to Ping Cheng after ensuring that she had fully recovered.

  The court date for the lawsuit was just around the corner, and the result would probably be out during the time that her mom was here to take care of her. Together with her mom, she would make use of this time to force Qiao Nan to give up the inheritance. Then, she would give her mom a million yuan, while getting five million each from Qiao Nan and Wang Yang. With the remaining nine million yuan, she would be able to live a carefree life however she wanted.

  Who would have expected Ding Jiayi to tell Qiao Zijin that she had paid for her own hospitalization bills and that Ding Jiayi had withdrawn ten thousand from her account? Qiao Zijin had paid for her own medical bills. No one else had.

  While she was still feeling the pinch from the sum of money, Ding Jiayi’s following words dealt Qiao Zijin another huge blow. “What? Mom, you’re returning to Ping Cheng today? But-but I just woke up. I contracted pneumonia. Didn’t you say that my fever went up to forty degrees? Mom, I just woke up and my fever hasn’t entirely subsided. I’m still really weak. Are you abandoning me and returning to Ping Cheng just like that? Mom, am I still having a fever, or did I hear that wrongly?”

  How could her mom abandon her and leave her in the lurch just like that?

  Even without the five million yuan in the picture, her mom should at least continue to take care of her because she was sick!

  Ding Jiayi poured a glass of water for Qiao Zijin, who angrily pushed it away. “I’m not drinking it. Mom, explain yourself. Are you leaving me to die?”

  Ding Jiayi didn’t flare up. Since Qiao Zijin wasn’t going to drink it, she simply put the glass down. “You’re sick, but your dad and I aren’t getting any younger. Your dad needs someone to take care of him too. It’s true that you haven’t fully recovered, but you have money and can get a nurse to take care of you. It shouldn’t cost too much. You should be able to get discharged before you finish the remaining six to seven thousand yuan.”

  “Your mom’s old and clumsy. I can’t even cook dishes to your liking. A nurse is different. Not only are they professionals, but they’re also young and strong. Besides, you’re the one who pays them. If they don’t take good care of you, you can force them to improve because you’re their employer.”

  Ding Jiayi was simply returning Qiao Zijin whatever she had told her earlier about getting someone to take care of her and Qiao Dongliang.

  At first, Qiao Zijin had not realized it. “How’s that the same? You’re my mom. No matter how good outsiders are, can it compare to my own mom taking care of me? Besides, professionals are more expensive the better they are…”

  “So, are you saying that hired help won’t be able to take care of you as well as your mom but those that I hire will take better care of me than my own daughter? Yes, hired help will cost you money, but your mom can be a free-of-charge caretaker.”