Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Because he was already past the age where he longed for his mother’s love, Chen Feng no longer felt sad when talking about the past and could deal with it calmly.

  Qiao Zijin rebuked him. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to visit you, but your grandparents didn’t allow me to.”

  “Yes, Grandma and Grandpa didn’t let you visit me, so you didn’t even try to look for me.”

  If his mom was sincere, would his grandparents’ attitudes have mattered?

  Besides, he had not been a three-year-old toddler at that time. As long as his mother had tried to visit him, he would have gotten in contact with her behind his grandparents’ backs.

  Unfortunately, his mother had never even tried to contact him once, much less visit him.

  If not for his father running into his own trouble and his grandparents needing to hand him over to his mom so that he could leave that environment, he probably wouldn’t have met his mother, Qiao Zijin, up until now.

  “Are you trying to settle old accounts now? Do you mean that your feelings for your grandparents are deeper because they spent more time with you? Is that why you’re not close to me?” Qiao Zijin looked at Chen Feng in disbelief.

  What kind of child was closer to their grandparents than their own mother?

  Chen Feng had not planned on saying that, but since Qiao Zijin insisted on going down this path, Chen Feng could only reply with a nod. “Yes, in my heart, Grandma and Grandpa are more important than you. But you’re my mom, so I’ll still support you in your old age. Grandpa and Grandma asked me to stay in the capital to establish my career, and I’ve decided to listen to their advice and not to return to Ping Cheng.”

  It was good that he had cleared the air too. It would have been more troublesome if they hadn’t resolved their differences.

  “I have your card, but I’ve never used your money even at my age. Apart from giving birth to me, you’ve done nothing for me. I’ll do what I’m obliged to do and support you. You don’t have to worry about that.”

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  Chen Feng felt helpless at the mention of his relationship with Qiao Zijin.

  He didn’t understand how he had gotten a mother like that.

  His grandmother had been amazing, treating his mother well even though she had bullied his aunt. But his mom wasn’t even as good to him as his grandmother had been to his mom.

  Because of that, Chen Feng wondered who had led Qiao Zijin astray, so much so that she didn’t know how to be a good daughter nor a good sister. Now that she was a mother, she was still a mess of a mother.

  Chen Feng wondered whether the only successful identity she had in life was as Qiao Zijin herself. There was no other identity that she played well.

  “I’ve already made myself clear. No matter how much you try to change my mind in the future, I won’t return to Ping Cheng. I’ve already found myself a job in the capital. I’ll wire you two thousand yuan a month first. Once my job gets more stable, I’ll see if I can give you two thousand five hundred or three thousand yuan instead.”

  That was the most Chen Feng was willing to do to help Qiao Zijin live comfortably.

  Actually, Qiao Zijin had never needed to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother.

  While Chen Feng was still unweaned, it had been Mother Chen and Ding Jiayi taking care of her child. When Chen Feng learned to walk, it had been Qiao Nan guiding and raising him.

  After her divorce from Chen Jun, Chen Feng had ended up in the hands of Father and Mother Chen.

  In the blink of an eye, Chen Feng had grown up into an adult and could now provide for Qiao Zijin. But Qiao Zijin had never even done anything for him.

  Qiao Zijin would probably only realize whether she had been an utter failure as a mother at the last moment of her life.

  Qiao Zijin’s face paled. “So, you’re going to listen to those two and chase me away by giving me some money every month?”

  “Mom, don’t make it sound so bad. You weren’t even willing to spend this sum of money on me and simply chased me away. But did I ever say anything like that to you?”

  Everyone had their limits. If Qiao Zijin continued being so unaware and insisted on attacking Chen Feng, there would come a day he would no longer be able to tolerate it anymore. “We’re conducting Grandpa’s funeral and I don’t have time to waste on you. I have to head back.”

  After the mourning, it was time for Qiao Dongliang’s kin to send his body to the crematorium to be cremated. Then, they could bury Qiao Dongliang’s ashes in the urn they had previously purchased.

  Da Bao wasn’t old enough, and only Chen Feng had the strength to help with carrying Qiao Dongliang’s coffin to send him off as his grandson.

  “Wait a minute…” Qiao Zijin tried to stop Chen Feng from going to lift the coffin.

  She was dissatisfied with Chen Feng’s answer. How could Chen Feng make such a huge decision alone? She was Chen Feng’s mother, and he had to respect her opinions and base his decisions on them.

  Ding Jiayi walked up and grabbed hold of Qiao Zijin’s hand, flinging Qiao Zijin aside. “Can’t you take a look around you? Have you done anything for your dad at this age? Your dad didn’t even blame you for it. Now that your dad’s gone, can you act sensibly at the very least and let your dad leave peacefully?”

  Ding Jiayi felt heartbroken when she saw her daughter, Qiao Zijin.

  She had realized how much of a failure she was. Qiao Zijin behaved terribly as though she wasn’t even Qiao Dongliang’s daughter. This all meant that she had raised Qiao Zijin wrongly in the past.

  She and Qiao Dongliang were finally getting their retribution for having raised their daughter, who hadn’t gotten remarried, badly.

  They hadn’t educated their daughter well and had destroyed another family. In the end, it had come back to haunt them too.

  In the moment that Ding Jiayi flung her aside, Qiao Zijin was utterly stunned.

  Qiao Zijin already knew that Ding Jiayi no longer liked her five years ago. If her mother still liked her, there was no way she wouldn’t have gotten in touch over the past five years after secretly moving away.

  It was only when Chen Feng left to study abroad, not even returning to spend the new year with Qiao Zijin, that Qiao Zijin felt a tinge of regret for not having treated Ding Jiayi better before she had moved away.

  If Ding Jiayi hadn’t been angry with her and hadn’t moved away, she would have been able to spend the new year with Ding Jiayi.

  There was nothing to celebrate when one was alone during the new year period.

  However, she thought that Ding Jiayi’s feelings toward her were simply that of dislike. But now, Ding Jiayi was glaring at her with hatred!

  Qiao Zijin nearly flared up and acted out because of Ding Jiayi’s gaze.

  Thankfully, Qiao Zijin finally calmed down upon seeing Qiao Dongliang’s black-and-white portrait…… Otherwise, she would have kicked up a huge fuss to let everyone know about just how much she had suffered at the hands of the Qiao family.