1042 Conflicts Arose

Qiao Nan got up late today. She heard vaguely that someone seemed to have visited them in the morning, but her father did not allow them in.

By the time she got up and was wide awake, she overheard the conversation between a neighbor and her father and was startled. “Did Chen Jun bring Qiao Zijin to visit his parents?”

Chen Jun seemed to be in a hurry. Qiao Zijin was still in her school. Could it be that they had been intimate and she was pregnant?

In the previous life, Qiao Nan was introduced to Chen Jun’s parents not long after they had just started dating. However, Chen Jun’s parents were not very pleased with Qiao Zijin. They waited until they were certain that Qiao Zijin had Chen Jun’s child and it was a boy before they allowed her into their house.

“That’s right.” Qiao Dongliang was in a terrible mood.

His elder daughter would do things that he disliked.

He objected to Zijin’s relations.h.i.+p with the complicated Chen Jun. He forbade Chen Jun from entering the house and returned everything that he brought with him.

However, the next minute, his elder daughter bought a basket full of fruits and visited the Chen family.

Qiao Dongliang was in a bad mood after learning this from the neighbor. He was in no mood to prepare for the Lunar New Year. “Your sister is too much…”

“Dad, my sister is as stubborn as Mom. She would not listen to you. She will date whoever that she likes. Since you already know this, why did you let it affect you? Sister will not care that you are upset. She has Mom with her. Mom will defend her. You must not worry yourself over their affairs.”

Ding Jiayi had no way to protect Qiao Zijin. They were no match for the Chen family. Qiao Nan kept this thought to herself.

Qiao Nan could not help it that her father was upset over Qiao Zijin’s affairs. She would not advise him from not doing that. It was useless.

Qiao Dongliang sighed. He sent them away in the morning and was harsh to them. Now that they had left, he felt anxious and worried. He could not help but feel vexed. Was he sick?

“Yes, with your mom around, nothing will happen to your sister. If anything happens, it is beyond our control as well!” Qiao Dongliang slammed the table in anger.

It was because of Nan Nan’s relations.h.i.+p with Zhai Sheng that Qiao Zijin was emboldened enough to be with Chen Jun.

Chen Jun was savvy while the elder daughter was foolish. Qiao Dongliang waved his hand as if he was chasing away the flies. He wanted to stop thinking of Qiao Zijin and Chen Jun. “No one will know whether this is a blessing or a curse. Your sister will have to deal with it in the future.”

Right now, the elder daughter did not listen to him. In the future, he would not be able to take her in anymore.

“Alright, Dad. Don’t say such spiteful words. If something happens to my sister, will you be able to leave her alone? I made my stand long ago. You are her dad, so you care for her. But I don’t. I will not stop you from disciplining her, but I will definitely not help her.”

Qiao Nan knew very well that Chen Jun would play up to those in power. She was merely reminding Qiao Dongliang about it.

If anything went wrong in the future, Qiao Dongliang might be willing to help Qiao Zijin and Chen Jun at all costs, but she would not help Qiao Dongliang, and neither would she stop Qiao Dongliang from sacrificing himself to help Qiao Zijin.

In order not to let this get ugly, she had to make herself clear beforehand.

No one could understand Qiao Nan’s feelings of pain and desperation in the previous life. She was close to forty years old but she was still single. She was busy with work every day. She earned so much money, but she had to eat instant noodles every day and lived in a small rented house. She watched helplessly as Qiao Zijin s.n.a.t.c.hed her boyfriend and took her hard-earned money to buy apartment suites as dowry and lived a glamorous and luxurious life.

Once bitten, twice shy.

In the previous life, Qiao Dongliang and Ding Jiayi took extra care of Qiao Zijin. However, it was at the expense of Qiao Nan that they could lavish Qiao Zijin with money and house and for Qiao Zijin to lead a pampered life.

Qiao Nan was fearful!

“What makes you say that?” Qiao Dongliang felt upset at the worry and concern in Qiao Nan’s tone. He felt bitter and aggrieved.

He had already said that he would not do such things.

It was clear that the elder daughter and Chen Jun wanted to make use of Nan Nan to be close to the Zhai family.

Nan Nan seemed as if she wanted to be rid of a troublesome relative like Chen Jun. She wanted him to stay out of her way.

Qiao Dongliang had no idea of the miserable life that Qiao Nan had been through or the hards.h.i.+ps and sufferings that she went through before she was given another chance at life. He could not understand her worry and fear. He felt that after being with Zhai Sheng, Qiao Nan seemed to have a change of status and turned cold-hearted.

They were one family. Since Nan Nan had the ability, why could she not help Zijin if she was in serious trouble?

Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan turned silent. There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Gone was the joy of seeing each other after such a long time. They felt awkward and uncomfortable with each other’s presence.

Qiao Nan rubbed her face, feeling helpless and disheartened. “Let’s not talk about this. The Lunar New Year is coming. Dad, have you thought of what dishes to prepare?”

If she knew this would happen, she should have kept those thoughts to herself. If she did not say anything, the atmosphere would not be so stiff.

Perhaps because she had kept all her grievances to herself in the previous life that she could no longer keep those thoughts to herself and had to tell her father.

Qiao Nan changed the topic to give each other a way out. Qiao Dongliang chose not to continue with the awkward topic as well. “I have yet to decide. Do you have any dishes that you want to have?”

“Yes…” With a smile on her face, Qiao Nan said all those dishes that she would like in a cheery tone.

The father and daughter purposely avoided talking about Qiao Zijin in the days that followed. Luckily, after visiting them on that day, Qiao Zijin and Chen Jun had not been to their house again.

Even if the atmosphere was no longer as good as before, as long as no one brought up the conflicts that they had, and Qiao Nan and Qiao Dongliang worked hard to maintain a harmonious relations.h.i.+p, they could still get along well with each other.

They were the only ones who knew what they were thinking of.

Qiao Nan used to feel that once Qiao Dongliang had a divorce and she was in college, Qiao Dongliang would be lonely staying at home by himself.

If possible, she hoped that she could delay her marriage with Zhai Sheng so that she could spend more time with Qiao Dongliang.

After conflicts arose between them, Qiao Nan began to think differently.

She had the best interests for her father and was worried that he would be lonely. However, she was not the only person that her father was worried about.

Moreover, her father would shortchange her for another person’s sake. While she was willing to delay her marriage to Zhai Sheng as she cared for her father, he would not do the same for her.