Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  She had suffered too much. That was why she had the thought of dragging everyone down with her, including Qiao Nan. After all, it was Qiao Nan who had let her mom down first. She had to make sure Qiao Nan bore the consequences of her actions and understood that her mother would deal with her for being an unfilial child even if the heavens didn’t.

  But Qiao Zijin’s words made sense too. “You’re saying that she’ll really leave me in the lurch if I do that?” Although Qiao Nan did not really care about her now, she did not shortchange her of a monthly allowance. Now that she had been hospitalized, Qiao Nan had hired a caretaker and was even paying for her hospitalization bills. She had never even stayed in a single ward before. If not for Qiao Nan, she would never have spent her own money on such a good ward.

  That was something she had managed to enjoy because of that unfilial daughter, Qiao Nan.

  “Mom, will I lie to you? You know my temper. If I hurt you, I’ll be hurting myself. I can relax as long as Qiao Nan is taking care of you. Apart from yourself, I’ll be the one who’s most impacted if Qiao Nan stops providing for you. Whether it’s for your sake or for my own, I won’t lie to you about this.”

  Ding Jiayi believed Qiao Zijin. Just like what Qiao Zijin had said, was it possible for her not to understand Qiao Zijin well? If she were to provoke Qiao Nan such that Qiao Nan no longer cared for her, Qiao Zijin would have to bear that burden alone. It would be incredulous if Qiao Zijin was willing to do so.

  Furthermore…

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  Thinking about Qiao Dongliang, who had not returned for a long time, Ding Jiayi’s heart ached. She hadn’t even done anything to Qiao Nan, and yet, Old Qiao had insisted that she had been foolish to help Qiao Zijin. If she were to do anything, the next time she met Qiao Dongliang would probably be to sign divorce papers.

  In the face of such a situation, Ding Jiayi had no choice but to compromise. “It’s that caretaker’s fault. She angered me so much that I couldn’t even think properly. I was just saying that out of spite. Can I really count on you for the rest of my life? I can’t afford to offend Qiao Nan.”

  Ding Jiayi felt that she had flown into a rage because of the caretaker, and before she could vent it out on the caretaker, the caretaker had resigned. That was why her tone had been so nasty when talking about Qiao Nan.

  No matter how she looked at it, it was entirely Qiao Nan’s fault. What kind of lousy caretaker had she found? She was drawing a salary from their family, and yet, she dared to throw such a tantrum. If Qiao Nan wanted to hire someone, she should have hired someone with a good temper. So, she had not been wrong in saying that Qiao Nan had hired the caretaker just to anger her. It was just that Qiao Nan’s attitude toward her was not as bad as she had imagined.

  “Mom, are you going to make that call?” All she wanted to know was whether her mom was willing to ask Qiao Nan for some money so that she could leech off her mom. Her mom had thrown a huge tantrum but had not yet answered her question.

  Ding Jiayi picked up the congee that the caretaker had brought earlier and said while drinking it, “I’m still so weak. I need someone to help me take care of my meals. Don’t you think it’s too early to be talking about a holiday? I think it’s more important for me to tell Qiao Nan to get me a better caretaker who can take care of me until I’m discharged. As for the holiday, I’ll ask Qiao Nan for some money after I’m discharged.”

  Her health was the most important. It didn’t matter that Qiao Zijin didn’t care about it. She did. She had just been admitted into the hospital and had not even fully recovered. She would be courting death if she were to go on a holiday now.

  Ding Jiayi had answered even more indifferently because Qiao Zijin had only thought about taking advantage of her by tagging along on a holiday. She had not thought about Ding Jiayi’s health or condition!

  Qiao Zijin pouted. Her mom was being too wishy-washy.

  Hadn’t her mom simply eaten some spoiled food? How could this compare to how she had gotten uremia? Besides, hadn’t she already been admitted to the hospital and treated? Other elderly patients would insist on being discharged as soon as they woke up for the fear of spending too much of their children’s money.

  Not only was her mom like a princess, but she was also terribly afraid of death. Given her mom’s temper, she knew that her mom would take good care of herself. There was no need for her to worry about her mom. “Do you have Qiao Nan’s cellphone number?” She didn’t.

  Ding Jiayi hit the bed in anger. “I don’t have her phone number, but I have the Zhai family’s landline. She already hired a caretaker to take care of me. Since I haven’t been discharged, she can’t possibly ignore me. I have to make it clear to her that the caretaker she got this time wasn’t good enough. Alright, she could simply fly down from the capital to take care of me. Then, I’ll let her save some money.”

  Ding Jiayi had never stopped putting on her airs as a mother. She would do it whether or not she should as though Qiao Nan was still the same Qiao Nan who would listen to whatever she said as long as she spoke in such a tone.

  Qiao Zijin did not argue with Ding Jiayi and simply dialed the Zhai family’s landline. Her mom could list out her demands for Qiao Nan herself. Then, she wouldn’t be the one who would be embarrassed if Qiao Nan rejected her.

  But before Qiao Zijin could make that call, her phone started ringing, giving her a huge shock. Looking at the caller ID, she realized that the caller was not just from the capital, but the number was exactly the same as the Zhai family’s! Qiao Zijin couldn’t help but rub her eyes. Was she hallucinating?

  In the past three years, Qiao Nan had gone to great lengths to hide from them, but she had taken the initiative to contact them today! Was the sun going to rise in the west tomorrow?

  “Hello, I’m Qiao Zijin. You are…” Actually, Qiao Zijin was unsure who in the Zhai family was calling her.

  “It’s me. Put your phone on speaker mode. You should be with her, right?”

  “Yes.” Qiao Zijin whispered to Ding Jiayi, telling her that the call was from Qiao Nan. Seeing Ding Jiayi nod, Qiao Zijin pressed the speaker button.

  “I know that the caretaker that I hired earlier resigned. She’s still a little weak and can’t go without anyone taking care of her…”

  Ding Jiayi, who was lying on the bed, was pleased…… The wretched girl still had a little conscience.