1209 Compromise

“why do you keep quarreling? if you can’t stay together under one roof, just go your separate ways. i did not insist that the two of you stay together. since both of you are divorced and have not got back together, you can go back to the way you were last year. i did not stop the two of you from filing a divorce when i was in high school. now that i have grown up and have started dating, i have no need for my parents anymore. don’t make it such that you have to be together for my sake. i won’t accept such excuses!”

qiao zijin, who had a nasty temper, no longer behaved like the well-behaved and nice girl that she pretended to be. “if you want to maintain the status quo, keep quiet and stop quarreling. if not, scram!”

qiao zijin was fearless when she told her parents to scram.

the house that qiao dongliang and qiao nan used to stay in had been taken back by the school. if qiao dongliang left their house, he would be left with no place to stay in.

qiao zijin no longer needed to worry that qiao dongliang would leave them if he was angry with ding jiayi, and neither did she have to worry that she would have a difficult life ahead.

right now, if her father provoked her and her mother, he should be worried that they would send him out of the house and he would have to sleep on the road.

her father must get the facts right. he must be out of his mind to offend her.

did he think that he still had the final say in this house?

not only was ding jiayi dumbstruck by qiao zijin’s outburst, but qiao dongliang felt as if he had been struck by lightning as well. he stiffened and did not know how to react. he felt heartbroken at her words. he stared at qiao zijin, widening his eyes in disbelief. he wondered if qiao zijin was telling him to scram.

seeing that her parents were shocked at her outburst, qiao zijin cooled down slightly. “alright, it is the lunar new year. let’s not quarrel with each other, shall we? mom, you might be unhappy, but you have to admit that she is doing well now. in the future, stop calling her as the wretched girl. like you said, qiao nan is heartless. she might not treat you nicely even if you try to please her. if you keep scolding her, will she treat you as her mother and listen to you? stop deceiving yourself.”

now that things had come to this stage, qiao zijin had no other choice but to compromise.

if she continued to be at loggerheads with qiao nan, it would not have any impact on qiao nan. instead, she would be making life difficult for herself.

qiao zijin had learned her lesson after chen jun broke up with her.

“mom, you must remember that we will have good days ahead if qiao nan is willing to acknowledge us and help us occasionally. this applies to you and me. it is useless to have a sharp tongue. will being sharp-tongued help me secure a good job after i graduate? will qiao nan be willing to give money to you?”

what happened during the summer break was her fault. she was being too obstinate. she only managed to get inside the zhai family’s residence, but the zhai family did not treat her like their relative or ask her to stay for the night.

it was because of the zhai family’s att.i.tude toward her that made chen jun break up with her despite the fact that he had invested so much money on her.

if she had a better att.i.tude back then, even if the zhai family did not treat her as their relative, she could behave affectionately to them. given the zhai family’s upbringing, they would not go overboard and reject her. in that case, she believed that chen jun would not have broken up with her.

after chen jun broke up with her, qiao zijin was able to draw a lesson from her painful experience. she reflected on her mistakes and was able to realize her shortcomings and achilles’ heel.

her temper and pride were worth nothing if she could not have good days ahead!

qiao zijin calmed down after she lost her temper at her parents.

although ding jiayi was no longer as willing to spend money on qiao zijin like before, she would still listen to qiao zijin’s words.

now that qiao zijin had said so, ding jiayi had no wish to be at loggerheads with qiao nan. ding jiayi had long harbored the thought of basking in qiao nan’s glory and enjoy the benefits that in-laws of the chief would have. it was rare that qiao zijin could sort out her thoughts and was willing to compromise. ding jiayi was glad that she made such remarks.

qiao dongliang, who did not harbor such greedy thoughts, was dumbfounded by qiao zijin’s words.

qiao dongliang, who was in good health and had a good posture like a soldier, seemed to have aged in that one minute’s time.

a man in his forties should be in his prime. that was why there was the saying that men in their thirties were the best.

however, qiao dongliang looked pale and sickly at the age when he should look his best. he hunched slightly and seemed to have aged ten years in that short time. he seemed to be past his prime.

“dad, what’s wrong?” qiao dongliang remained silent for a long while. qiao zijin sensed that he was behaving oddly.

qiao dongliang sighed after a long while. there were mockery and bitterness on his face. “what’s wrong with me? i just feel that i have aged and i can’t keep up with the times and the changes in the way people think. i am old and incapable. i should admit that i have aged and that i can no longer keep a check on so many things. you and nan nan have grown up. you have your own way of thinking and have a mind of your own.”

“fine. you can do as you please in the future. i won’t give any comments. even if i say anything, no one will listen to me. i am too arrogant and proud of myself. in the end, i am just a joke.”

“dad, what do you mean by that?” qiao zijin was alarmed. her father sounded strange. “dad, do you want to leave me in the lurch and go back to qiao nan? you are right. qiao nan is the zhai family’s daughter-in-law. back then, both of you were able to live in a big house and had color television and refrigerator in the house even when she had not married zhai sheng. if you stay with her right now, you will have a far better life than before. it is no wonder that you look down on your daughter that has to ask you for money.”

qiao zijin said all those words in a pique of anger. she was trying to spite qiao dongliang and stop him from going back to qiao nan.

her boyfriend was no match to qiao nan’s husband. even if chen jun did not break up with her, it was still because of qiao nan that he was in a relations.h.i.+p with her.

chen jun used to teach her how to behave and act so that the situation would be to her advantage. qiao zijin did not understand the reasons behind them and found it difficult to do as he said. now, qiao zijin finally understood why he did all that.

she had to make use of qiao dongliang and ding jiayi to be able to bask in qiao nan’s glory, especially qiao dongliang. he was the key person.