1045 Unt.i.tled

“Sure.” Qiao Nan did not feel like staying at home. She was either reading a book or staring at Qiao Dongliang awkwardly.

They might not have gone into details, but some words, once said, would change everything and there would be no way to return to its original state.

Qiao Dongliang could not understand why Qiao Nan was so heartless, while Qiao Nan could not accept Qiao Dongliang’s idea of being helpful to one’s family.

After all, Qiao Dongliang and Ding Jiayi would require her to help Qiao Zijin, but they did not ask the same of Qiao Zijin.

“Nan Nan, are you coming back tonight?” Qiao Dongliang knew that she was going shopping with Zhai Hua.

“I won’t be back. Mom wants me to spend the night at the Zhai family’s residence.”

“Is it suitable?” She had yet to marry Zhai Sheng. It was too frivolous to stay overnight at the Zhai family’s residence.

Qiao Nan maintained her composure. “Brother Zhai will only be back earliest by Lunar New Year’s eve. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are supposed to go to the capital to watch the Lunar New Year special program, but they declined the invitation this year.” Both Qiao Nan and her father knew the reason behind it.

After the Lunar New Year, they would be preparing for Qiao Nan’s and Zhai Sheng’s marriage. There would be a lot of preparations to do.

“Alright.” Qiao Dongliang relaxed slightly when he knew that Zhai Sheng was not at home. He finally agreed for Qiao Nan to stay over at the Zhai family’s residence.

Qiao Nan was without any expression when she got onto Zhai Hua’s car.

Zhai Hua arched her eyebrows. “What’s up? Who riled you early in the morning?”

“I just feel that if one is not capable, one should not have two children. Isn’t this a burden to oneself and implicating others?” This was the first time that Qiao Nan stopped behaving like a well-natured child and made such harsh and bitter comments.

Zhai Hua sucked in her breath. “I suppose you are not directing your words at me? Could it be that your dad bullied you because of Qiao Zijin?”

She had to admit that in comparison to Qiao Nan, her parents were not as biased and she had a good life.

“More or less.” Qiao Nan leaned against the seat.

She had been engaged to Brother Zhai for half a year. Her father kept reminding her to have self-respect and to protect herself, not to accept too many gifts from the Zhai family. One must be independent and self-reliant. One must not trouble people with tasks that one was capable of doing.

Therefore, in the past six months, she never took anything that the Zhai family gave her. Even if she might be hard on cash, unless she earned it by herself, she would cut down on her expenses.

Her father wanted her to have self-respect. If Ding Jiayi did not agitate her that day, she would not be intimate with Brother Zhai before their wedding.

After what happened that day, Qiao Nan was very worried about it after she returned to school. She was afraid that she would be pregnant and would not be able to answer to her father.

Thankfully, she had her menses. Hence, she was able to set her heart at rest.

That day, it was Qiao Dongliang who told Zhai Sheng to fetch her. She was agitated by Ding Jiayi, so she had some drinks and ended up being intimate with Brother Zhai. Qiao Nan felt upset that she was the only one who was on tenterhooks.

“You kept telling me to let go and you behave as if you are mature and sensible. But when faced with your family’s matter, you are at a loss as well. You are able to be objective regarding your mom, but you are too soft-hearted with your dad. Your dad’s temperament is different from yours. I am curious. Who do you take after?”

Zhai Hua sized up Qiao Nan. She was amazing.

Qiao Nan was very decisive. This was particularly so when dealing with her relations.h.i.+p with Wei De, as well as when Qiao Nan moved out of the Qiao family’s residence. She had to praise her for being swift and resolute.

Qiao Nan was able to handle all these situations very well. However, Qiao Dongliang was her weakness.

“One will yearn to have something that one does not have. You should be able to understand this logic.” Qiao Nan turned to look at Zhai Hua.

Zhai Hua felt that she lacked her parents’ love and the feeling of being cherished and loved. That was why she fell in love with Wei De.

In the previous life, her mother did not love her, and her father was very quiet at home.

In this life, she had given up hope on having her mother’s love. She realized that she could still salvage her relations.h.i.+p with her father. That was why she worked hard to earn his love.

She was able to give up on her mother and give all her love to her father. However, her father could not do the same.

Her father had two daughters. He hoped that the two daughters could lead a good life. He had never thought of giving up on either of them.

In normal circ.u.mstances, it was perfectly fine. However, Qiao Nan could not accept that her father loved both his daughters.

If her father was biased toward Zijin—even if he was not extremely biased—she would rather not have her father’s love. She would rather he give all his love to Qiao Zijin alone.

“You are right.” Zhai Hua laughed at herself. It was indeed the case. “Human beings ask for it. Isn’t it good if we cherish whatever we have? Why must we chase after something that does not belong to us and land ourselves in such a miserable state?”

Wei De was not the only man who wooed her.

Wei De had nothing to his name, but she liked him because he made her feel as if she was cherished. She was a fool.

“Don’t count me in. I have stopped doing that. It’s fine that he doesn’t like me. I have someone who loves me.” Brother Zhai was the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life. “Qiao Zijin is dating Chen Jun, and my dad is worried that Qiao Zijin will not be Chen Jun’s match. Actually, I don’t mind that he reconciles with my mom. Two heads are better than one. Since he is so worried for Qiao Zijin, he and my mom may be able to take better care of Qiao Zijin.”

She had Brother Zhai. She did not need anyone to take care of her.

Her father could focus all his attention on Qiao Zijin. In that case, he would not look at her as if she was the bad guy who separated his family.

“Okay!” Zhai Hua nodded. She and Qiao Nan did not need the kind of love that had to be shared with someone else. “You are as resolute and vicious as me. Even if the other party has given us most of his love, we don’t need it if it is shared with someone else.”

Qiao Nan smiled. “That’s right.” Even though Zhai Hua was talking about love and she was talking about family ties, the same logic applied. “Let’s go. Aren’t we going to shop for clothes? Let’s hurry. By the way, you should know that I don’t have a single cent with me.”

She had used all her money on her school fees.

Furthermore, she would read up on many books outside of the school syllabus. Some of the books could not be found in the library and she had to order them online.

Sometimes, Qiao Nan would spend all the money that she had in order to buy a book. She would then have to cut down on her expenses.