If Ding Jiayi wanted to bully Qiao Nan again, Uncle Lin felt like he had the responsibility to help Qiao Nan out.

  “Have a seat.”

  The only reason Ding Jiayi felt the need to open the gate was that Qiao Nan was about to bring her gifts to the neighbor’s house.

  Now that the mother and daughter were the only ones in the house, Ding Jiayi had hatred and scorn written all over her face.

  “No need for that.”

  Ding Jiayi wanted her to have a seat despite her hatred toward Qiao Nan. However, Qiao Nan had no intention of staying. “These things are for you. Since I’ve given you an allowance every month without fail, I won’t be passing you any cash this time. The kids are waiting for me to cook for them, so I shall leave.”

  Did she really think that they could sit down and have a nice chat like a normal family?

  If that was really what Ding Jiayi thought, Qiao Nan had to say that Ding Jiayi had completely lost her conscience.

  Qiao Nan had heard about the Chen family putting Chen Feng under Qiao Zijin’s care. Therefore, she wasn’t surprised to see Ding Jiayi living alone. She knew that Qiao Zijin could move in with her son as she wanted to live in a bigger house.

  \r \r \r

  Ding Jiayi didn’t invite Qiao Nan in to listen to her story. She couldn’t accept the fact that Qiao Nan wouldn’t give her a single extra yuan apart from the worthless gifts she brought. “I am your mother, and we have not met for more than a year. Is this how you should be treating me?”

  “Qiao Nan, don’t forget that you are a mother as well. I have two children, and you have three. Are you not afraid that your kids will treat you the same way that you are treating me? You’d better think carefully before you act.”

  She was confident that the children were Qiao Nan’s weakness.

  She was a perfect representation of Qiao Nan’s future as the children would definitely be learning from Qiao Nan’s actions.

  Ditching the worthless elders aside was an easy thing to do in the first place. Now that Qiao Nan was showing them the ways, the children would certainly grow up to act just like her.

  “Yes, I do have three kids, and how they treat me in the future has nothing to do with you. I will gladly accept my fate, so you don’t have to worry about me. Also, I will never allow Qiao Zijin and Qiao Nan’s story to be replayed by my children.”

  Ding Jiayi would only use others as excuses instead of reflecting on her own action.

  Luckily, Qiao Nan was used to Ding Jiayi’s selfish actions, and she no longer felt anger or disappointment. “I’m leaving.”

  “Wait!”

  Ding Jiayi stopped Qiao Nan. “What about your father? You can leave, and you can even stop giving me money as long as you tell me where your father is. I can promise you that I won’t let him know about you telling me his information.”

  Ding Jiayi hated Qiao Zijin, and they lived together for a year without much interaction. After Qiao Zijin moved out without a word, Ding Jiayi was lonely and afraid.

  The food poisoning incident scared Ding Jiayi.

  On the first night that Qiao Zijin left, Ding Jiayi couldn’t help but imagine what would happen if she fell sick again.

  When Qiao Zijin was with her, she could at least notice if something happened to her.

  Now that she was the only one left, who’s going to take care of her if the same thing were to happen? Would her body only be found after it rotted in the house?

  Ding Jiayi didn’t want to die such horrible death. She knew that Qiao Nan would pay for her medical fees anyway, so she was planning to live a long life.

  However, Ding Jiayi didn’t want to live with Qiao Zijin.

  The person she missed the most in the past few years was definitely Qiao Dongliang.

  She wanted to be with Qiao Dongliang, and she believed that he would take care of her if anything happened. Compared to Qiao Zijin, Qiao Dongliang was much more trustworthy.

  “Is that what you want from me?” Qiao Nan snorted. She couldn’t believe that Ding Jiayi was still so ignorant after Qiao Zijin left.

  “I’m sorry, but I have to respect my father’s decision. If he were willing to live with you, I wouldn’t stop you from getting back together. However, I will not sell him out without his permission to please you. By the way, don’t you understand by now that I am in control of the money? If I refuse to give you an allowance, there is nothing you can say to change my mind.”

  “Also, I have to thank you and Qiao Zijin for leaving so much evidence behind. The Zhai family does care about its image, but that image would only be affected if I were at fault. If you push me beyond my limits, I will let everyone know that there is a mother like you living in this world.”

  Ding Jiayi wanted to rebut. ‘So what? I am still the one that raised you.’

  However, recalling the news articles a few years back, Ding Jiayi didn’t have the confidence to fight back. In fact, she couldn’t find a reason to demand anything from Qiao Nan.

  Since Ding Jiayi had nothing to say, Qiao Nan was going to take the chance to leave.

  “Wait, wait a minute. Could you just stay and have a chat with me?”