Chapter 1633: No Response

Translator:

Atlas Studios

Editor:

Atlas Studios

At that time, the cheekiest Er Bao could not contain his curiosity and secretly asked his father, “Dad, do you think Mom is going through menopause? But that can’t be. Mom is still so young. Menopause doesn’t occur so early on in life.”

Or was it that his mom’s hormones were out of control? Was it because his father was not spending enough time at home and was not fulfilling the responsibilities of a husband? Er Bao was just one step away from saying that Zhai Sheng was incapable and that was why his mom had become so dispirited and out of it.

Without question, Zhai Sheng did not kill Er Bao for being bold enough to ask such a question, even questioning Zhai Sheng’s capability, only because Er Bao was his own son. If he was not his son, that bast*rd would have died a terrible death!

Of course, Er Bao could not possibly die. But he did get a terrible beating.

Qiao Nan’s temper had always been good. She had raised the three children herself, but as obedient as the triplets were, they were bound to be cheeky sometimes. Even when the triplets showed this side of them, Qiao Nan always took even more care and patience to teach the children slowly.

Thus, it was the first time that anyone in the Zhai family had ever seen Qiao Nan in such an emotional state. It was not just the three children and Zhai Sheng who were worried. Even her father-in-law, Zhai Yaohui, could not help but pull Zhai Sheng aside to ask if a troublemaker had recently joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and had caused trouble for Qiao Nan.

Zhai Yaohui was clear that there would only be more cases like Xu Xinming and Li Dawei. No one knew when, but there would definitely come a day when another Li Dawei would appear to bother Qiao Nan. If that was really the case, with Qiao Nan’s long history in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was no reason for her to purposefully bully any newcomers. But there was no reason for her to be bullied by newcomers either.

Zhai Yaohui was clear that Qiao Nan was the one who had pushed Deng Wenchang up into his position. On the surface, Deng Wenchang was the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But in actual fact, Qiao Nan was the one making the decisions when it concerned important matters. What Zhai Yaohui had never expected was that Deng Wenchang himself was an extremely ambitious person.

Before Qiao Nan had risen into that position, Deng Wenchang had always wanted to fight with Qiao Nan for it. Afterward, Qiao Nan had pushed him into that position. With such a good opportunity, Deng Wenchang had not only not taken advantage of Qiao Nan but had even willingly acted as Qiao Nan’s s.h.i.+eld and clearly severed his ties with the Peng family. Until today, Zhai Yaohui had no idea how Qiao Nan had managed to do that.

Logically speaking, if Qiao Nan was capable of doing so, there was no reason for her to be bullied by a newcomer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But one had to be prepared for all scenarios, and that was why Zhai Yaohui had called Zhai Sheng in for a discussion. If Qiao Nan was too softhearted to get rid of a newcomer and instead wanted to give the newcomer another chance, this was naturally Zhai Sheng’s time to step in as a husband.

What Qiao Nan was too embarra.s.sed to do, Zhai Sheng would do it. If Qiao Nan was being softhearted, then Zhai Sheng should harden his heart to do it. In short, whatever Qiao Nan could not handle, Zhai Sheng should solve it as her husband.

As such, when Qiao Nan’s ‘menopause’ period pa.s.sed, everyone in the Zhai family heaved a sigh of relief.

What the Zhai family was even more thankful for was that there was no sign of Qiao Nan falling into relapse for even a month or a year after that year. But just that one experience was enough for the Zhai family to remember for a lifetime.

“An old granny at forty years old? Where did you hear of such rubbish? Don’t you know that our bodies are at their peaks at forty?” Zhai Sheng surveyed Qiao Nan’s face that was still as tender as a young lady’s. He felt that Qiao Nan’s words could be no further from the truth. “I remember that people even mistake you for the children’s elder sister whenever we go out!”

Nan Nan did not look old. This meant that her life after marrying him had been quite good. This was probably the greatest praise she could give him.

But Zhai Sheng did mind a little. When his wife and daughter stood together, other people mistook them for sisters. He was afraid that other people would get the wrong idea if he were to stand beside Qiao Nan. “If other people were to hear that, our family’s going to get into trouble again.”

Normally, Zhai Hua did not act like a woman apart from being able to give birth to children. But at the mention of one’s age, Zhai Hua would act very differently indeed. She would be like any other woman, who was very conscious of other people talking about her age.

Zhai Hua and s.h.i.+ Qing had been through thick and thin and all kinds of trials. Based on this alone, it would be foolish to see compare whose skin was more tender between Zhai Hua and Nan Nan. It would be like comparing someone’s weakness with someone else’s strengths.

Obviously, Qiao Nan had thought of Zhai Hua’s and s.h.i.+ Qing’s reactions. “These two people are really too ridiculous. Don’t they feel embarra.s.sed to be fighting over this now that they’re both mothers and have sons who are already in junior high school and high school? Aren’t they afraid that their children will laugh at them?”

Qiao Nan was the youngest among the women, but her children were the eldest among their generation. Sometimes, Qiao Nan could not help but sigh that she had married and given birth to her children early. When others were still ‘elder sisters’, she was already a ‘mother’ and an ‘auntie’ in the eyes of other children.

“Aren’t you women all the same? Didn’t you just say that you’ve gotten old?” Zhai Sheng helplessly looked at his wife in his embrace. Women were fickle indeed. They were so firm and resolute when talking about others, yet they would never talk about themselves.

Qiao Nan was infuriated. When she was younger, Brother Zhai had never acted in this manner. Even if he would not try to coax her with sweet talk like other men, he was not as obtuse as he was now. Now, he was just like a piece of wood that had no reaction at all. “Sister Zhai Hua and s.h.i.+ Qing are just concerned about their faces. I’m concerned about my mentality. In a few years, Da Bao and Er Bao are going to bring their wives home and I’m going to be a grandma. Is it wrong for me to say that I’m old?”

What was different was that Sister Zhai Hua was seven to eight years older than her but had gotten married and given birth later in life. The triplets were already in university, but Xiao Bao had just started high school, and Zhu Yu had just started junior high school. And this was excluding the whole line of elementary school students behind them.

In the beginning, they had all been from the same generation, and she had even been the youngest. In the blink of an eye, the triplets were now the elder brothers and sisters among all the children. That caused such a mixed feeling.

“Grandma?” Looking at Qiao Nan’s skin that was just as smooth and tender as that of an eighteen-year-old with no sign of aging, Zhai Sheng laughed. “When we really have grandchildren and when you bring them out, do you think that people will think they are really your grandchildren? Or will they think that you’re their elder sister?”