1230 Asking for I

As she watched the car with Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan sped away, leaving nothing behind, Ding Jiayi spat in its direction and spoke with a tone full of aversion and disdain. “If you refuse to greet me, so be it. I still have another daughter. Do I lack people calling me ‘mom’?”

She did not lack this greeting of ‘mom’. In the future, another man would address her as mother-in-law. He would fawn on and be good and filial to her.

Be it Qiao Nan, this daughter, or Zhai Sheng, this son-in-law, she did not care for their existence. They could scram further away from her!

Qiao Zijin held on to Ding Jiayi. “Mom!” Did she not see that the neighbors nearby were still looking? “Mom, follow me in. We’re still outside. Don’t do such embarra.s.sing things. If you have anything to say, you can say as much as you like after we are back home.”

As soon as the two returned to the house, Qiao Zijin could not help a.n.a.lyzing for Ding Jiayi. “Mom, why can’t you learn to be good? Qiao Nan is different from us now. She has a different status. She has not only become Cinderella but also received the affirmation of everyone in the Zhai family. After giving birth to three children, no one can rock her status in the Zhai family. If you fall out with her at this point, believe it or not, everyone in the quad will wait to watch a good show of you. Besides not being able to gain prestige and glory, you’re as silly as a joke in the eyes of those people!”

She finally had such a promising daughter but the mother completely did not cherish her. Until now, she had not mended her relations.h.i.+p with Qiao Nan and enjoyed the good fortune of having a son-in-law like Zhai Sheng.

She believed that many people in the quad were gloating at her mother because of this situation. They were happy to watch how her mother would court her own death.

“Can you blame me? Am I the one who wishes to give these people a chance to watch a good show? It’s all that wretched girl’s fault! I don’t know how much she has badmouthed me in front of Zhai Sheng such that the very polite Zhai Sheng completely disregards me, this mother-in-law. Just wait and see. That wretched girl is so heartless. She dares to smear my name. I’ll wait for the day of her retribution!” Ding Jiayi felt indignant. Even if this kind of situation occurred, she was not the one to be blamed. It was all Qiao Nan’s fault.

Qiao Zijin was having a headache. “Now, the problem doesn’t lie with who is in the wrong. Qiao Nan has become Cinderella after marrying Zhai Sheng. This is a fact. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, we are still picking fights and losing our temper with Qiao Nan. To these people, we are b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and fools that do not know to pick up the available bargain. When we are basking in Qiao Nan’s glory and receiving practical gains, these people will definitely be very jealous of us. Just wait and see.”

Qiao Nan was her younger sister and her mother’s biological daughter.

In the past, she was worried that she had too few or no relatives. She could not even find or rely on anyone when her family encountered any problem.

Qiao Nan was such a close next-of-kin. Qiao Nan married so well and her status was so high now. This was such a great resource, yet she and her mother’s brains seemed to have been blocked by feces. They kept committing foolish acts and being at odds with Qiao Nan. Were they not foolish?

“Forget it. Your att.i.tude toward Qiao Nan is already cast in stone. It will not change. I won’t waste my time and energy to persuade you. In the future, you can do whatever you like. I will definitely treat Qiao Nan differently from before.”

As she said that, Qiao Zijin’s eyeb.a.l.l.s swirled. She suddenly realized that her mother was still acting like a moron and targeting Qiao Nan like she did in the past. From another perspective, this might not necessarily be a bad thing. In fact, it might be a good matter.

If her mother did not mend her old ways, her repentance, intelligence, and self-reflection would be more obvious then, no?

“This is a tough call. Mom, I have sorted out my thoughts. I won’t persuade you anymore. You can do whatever you like. Take it that I am being filial to you. As long as you feel happy and carefree, that will do. If Qiao Nan and you really can’t get along well, it’s okay. There is still me. I will definitely do my best to give you a good life.”

When Ding Jiayi heard this, she was overjoyed. “Isn’t that so? I have more than one daughter. I still have you even if Qiao Nan is gone. I don’t need many daughters. One is enough.” If she had known that this would be the case, she would not have given birth to a second child in the past and let Qiao Nan, this heartless wretched girl, turn against and drive her to the grave alive.

“Mom, I’ll get some water for you.” Qiao Zijin, who had different thoughts in mind, looked like she had the spring breeze and warm sun on her face. She was even humming a song.

Qiao Dongliang, who had been sitting by the side and silently watching them, did not utter a word or interrupt the conversation. He suddenly stood up and headed toward his bedroom.

“Dad, I’m getting some water for mom. Do you want some?” Since she was already getting some water, Qiao Zijin might as well take two cups. After appeasing Ding Jiayi, she wanted to conveniently establish her presence in front of her biological father.

Qiao Dongliang, who was walking to the bedroom, halted his steps and said coldly, “Not everyone has the good fortune to drink this cup of water from you. You can leave all of it for your mother.”

Qiao Zijin’s smile froze. “Dad, what do you mean by this? It’s just a cup of water. What has it got to do with good fortune? Dad, are you angry? Did I do anything wrong to annoy you?” Otherwise, why did her father’s words sound so strange? It also felt very cold.

Ding Jiayi had really been appeased by Qiao Zijin. She stood up and protected Qiao Zijin like an old hen. “Don’t bother about your dad. His temper has always been so stubborn. He is sick and suffers relapses from time to time. None of us has provoked him. Isn’t it because his favorite daughter only came back for a meal and left immediately? That’s why he’s feeling upset and uneasy. He’s venting it on us.”

Qiao Zijin heaved a sigh of relief. Her eyes of acknowledgment expressed that she completely agreed with these words of Ding Jiayi.

When he heard Ding Jiayi say such words without knowing her limit, Qiao Dongliang was both angry and amused. “Is that so?”

Ding Jiayi, this foolish woman, had taught Zijin to become like that. She not only did not know how to self-reflect but was also digging her own grave unconsciously. She was straying further and further away.

His good intentions had been distorted. Qiao Dongliang was fuming with anger.

However, Qiao Dongliang calmed himself down very soon. Actually, this was not considered a good intention. At most, he had seen through his elder daughter’s true colors and understood the meaning in her words. He had guessed his elder daughter’s plan. As such, he was unhappy and reluctant to face this. He had wanted to distance himself. It was not because he wanted to use this behavior to remind Ding Jiayi.

Once he had calmed down, Qiao Dongliang’s tone reverted to its normal state. “You can say whatever you like, as long as you’re happy.” Most likely, Ding Jiayi could only feel happy for these two years.

He was quite upset. Nan Nan finally came back once in a year but the father-daughter pair only had one meal together.