Translator:
Atlas Studios
Editor:
Atlas Studios
Forget it. She could not say much about this too. Her father could interfere as he wished. She would have nothing to do with it. She could only do so much for her father.
Qiao Zijin was her father’s daughter, and he could not stop caring for her. She could ignore her mother, but her father was still her father, and she could not stop caring for him too. It was, in fact, the same reasoning.
With these thoughts in mind, Qiao Nan felt a little better.
Nan Nan, don’t worry. Dad will return the money you borrowed.
Dad, you…
Qiao Nan lifted her head and looked at Qiao Dongliang with hesitation.
Mom… What did she tell you?
How could it be? Given her mother’s character, she would never admit to her wrongdoing. It was impossible that she would let the cat out of the bag on her own accord
Your mom?
Qiao Dongliang sneered.
That old habit of your mother would probably stay with her for life.
He was hit by a car but had not fully lost his senses. On the day of the surgery, Qiao Dongliang was able to catch a little of what was happening.
Furthermore, when Qiao Zijin left for a while yesterday, the colleague who was present on the day of the surgery came to visit. The colleague did not hide any details and simply related to Qiao Dongliang the full string of events that happened on that day. Thus, Qiao Dongliang had an idea of the situation.
Judging from the situation, the colleague also guessed that Ding Jiayi was someone who was full of deceit.
If he did not voice this out, Old Qiao would be the one in the family who was kept in the dark.
After confirming that what he heard that day was true, that it was neither his imagination nor dream, Qiao Dongliang did not sleep at all last night.
At the thought of Ding Jiayi borrowing money from his comrades behind his back, he could not wait to beat a tooth off Ding Jiayi’s mouth, leaving her speechless for the rest of her life.
This woman was getting more daring! She was really ill-disciplined and out of control!
Dad, how do you feel?
Looking at Qiao Dongliang’s face turning black and his neck becoming red with rage, Qiao Nan was shocked.
Dad, do you feel unwell? Should we call the doctor? Please don’t bite the bullet!
Qiao Dongliang regained his senses and managed to suppress the rage in his heart.
It’s nothing. I was just angered by your mom. Nan Nan, how much money do we owe others for my sickness this time? Whom did you borrow from?
Even his surgery fees were borrowed by his younger daughter. He heard from his colleague that Old Ding only knew how to sit on the ground, crying and lamenting that she was penniless. Qiao Dongliang could not help feeling utterly disappointed.
His family did not have money, but did they not have anything else?
If he were in her shoes—if Old Ding encountered a similar accident—he would definitely be willing to sacrifice everything, including selling his house, to cough out the medical fees at the fastest possible speed.
I borrowed 1,500 yuan from Brother Zhai.
Zhai? That guy from last time?
After Qiao Dongliang realized who ‘Brother Zhai’ was, he was stunned. The status of the Zhai family was above the Lee family. Qiao Dongliang always felt that his family was unworthy to have any connections or relations with the Zhai family.
Yes.
How did you know Zhai Sheng? Why would he lend you such a large sum of money? Nan Nan, we can’t do things that put others in a difficult position.
Qiao Dongliang regretted immediately after he said that.
Forget it. You are not wrong in this matter. 1,500 yuan, right? When Dad recovers, I will think of a way to repay the money.
If not for his sake, Nan Nan would not have done this.
Did you write an IOU for him?
I did.
But Brother Zhai would not accept.
When Brother Zhai was back, the first thing Qiao Nan did was to write and pass him an IOU. However, he tore it on the spot.
Zhai Sheng had said,
The monk can run away, but the temple won’t run with him.
He was not afraid that Qiao Nan would not repay the debt. To put it bluntly, even if Qiao Nan was not able to pay him back, he would still have his means to ensure she paid back the money if he wanted to.
Given the Zhai family’s power and status, it was natural for Qiao Nan to believe him. If she dared to default on the loan, the Zhai family could just use a little of their means to make her land in jail for a few years because of the 1,500 yuan.
In the face of absolute power and authority, what was the use of a small piece of IOU?
Qiao Nan felt that Zhai Sheng’s words made sense. Furthermore, she never intended to default on the loan. It was fine to scrap the IOU, then.
After Qiao Dongliang communicated with Qiao Nan, the father and daughter pair seemed to have more to talk about now than before.
Meanwhile, in the Qiao family, Ding Jiayi was finally home after work and she found Qiao Zijin crying on the floor.
Mom, is Dad’s brains damaged by the accident? He kept asking me to stay overnight to take care of him, whereas Qiao Nan could come home and sleep. On what basis could he do that? I’m also a human being. I’m tired too. Both Qiao Nan and I are his daughters. At most, I can take turns with Qiao Nan to stay overnight on alternate days. Why am I always the one who has to stay overnight? Now, my day and night routines are overturned. If this becomes a habit, what should I do when I go back to school?
After staying up for two nights, Qiao Zijin was haggard and felt that it was hard on her.
Initially, when Qiao Dongliang’s condition was more critical, Qiao Zijin was nervous and did not feel that much.
But now, although Qiao Dongliang’s injury was still serious, his spirits and energy were improving day by day. Qiao Zijin could no longer tolerate the hard work of staying overnight.
Mom, look, these are the clothes that I’ve changed into for the past two days. Qiao Nan is so lazy. She has not washed the clothes for me for two days. It’s been hard for me to take care of Dad overnight. When I came back, don’t mention food, I didn’t even have a mouthful of water to drink. I had to cook for myself, and there was only rice and cabbage left. Mom, do you still dote on me?
With so many things happening, Qiao Zijin felt that she had suffered a lot.
At this moment, Qiao Zijin had a déjà vu that she was back to when she was just a three-year-old. At that time, her mother just became pregnant with Qiao Nan. As her mother thought that she was pregnant with a son, Qiao Zijin’s status in the family plummeted. She had nary a chance to enjoy all the good food, drink and toys in the family. Moreover, her mother kept brainwashing her to take good care of her younger brother in the future and not let him get bullied by others.
No, she did not want to return to that time!
Most people had a vague memory of what happened when they were a three-year-old. However, Qiao Zijin’s memory of that year’s events was particularly clear.
Don’t cry, don’t cry. When you cry, Mom’s heart goes out to you.
Ding Jiayi quickly helped Qiao Zijin wipe away her tears.
Qiao Nan is disobedient and refuses to listen. Mom will discipline her for you in the future. No issue, it’s just two sets of clothes. Mom will wash them for you later. By the way, have you taken your meal?
I have eaten but did not eat well. I’m also not full.
This was the first time Qiao Zijin cooked rice at home, and it was not cooked well. As for the highly difficult task of frying the vegetables… Qiao Zijin really could not accomplish it.
Qiao Zijin cried as she ate the rice and vegetables she cooked.
Mom will buy you a big chicken drumstick later to give you more nutrition. There’s cooked food available for sale outside.
After hearing what Qiao Zijin said, Ding Jiayi’s heart went out to Qiao Zijin even more.
Mom, your prediction is not accurate. I was clearly the first person whom Dad saw when he woke up, but I keep feeling that he treats Qiao Nan better than he does me. I wanted to let Qiao Nan stay overnight to look after Dad today, but he disagreed.
