Chapter 1991: Involvement

Upon learning of the reason for Qiao Dongliang’s fall, the doctor could only say that the patient’s family did not take care of the elderly well. Not only had he taken a bad fall, but it was so severe that he had even been injured a second time!

“Thank you, doctor.” Qiao Nan was not at all surprised that Qiao Dongliang was fine. In her dream, Qiao Dongliang had been even more severely injured and had been hospitalized. Then, he had recovered all the same.

“No worries.” With that, the doctor left.

Qiao Nan pushed Qiao Dongliang into the ward with Zhai Sheng by her side. Perhaps, the hospital was not as busy these few days. As such, Qiao Dongliang was the only person in his ward. After the nurse took her leave, the only ones left in the ward apart from the Qiao family was Zhai Sheng.

Qiao Dongliang had not awoken and the four people who were awake dared not take the initiative to speak, making the atmosphere extremely awkward.

Qiao Zijin wrapped her arms around her waist, poking Ding Jiayi, asking her to take the first step. Ding Jiayi’s expression was stiff. If Zhai Sheng was not around, she would have scolded Qiao Nan to death a long time ago, so much so that Qiao Nan would not even have the guts to lift her head. But because Zhai Sheng was around, Ding Jiayi had no idea what she should say.

Qiao Nan had been away from home for a long time, yet Ding Jiayi could not bring herself to express concern toward Qiao Nan. On the other hand, Ding Jiayi felt as though Zhai Sheng would beat her up if she were to scold Qiao Nan in front of him.

Apart from throwing airs around Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan, Ding Jiayi was not of much use at other times. Zhai Sheng had a different air to him, and people with ill intentions like Ding Jiayi s.h.i.+vered in fear at the sight of him.

But she could not keep silent forever. Qiao Zijin was hurrying and urging her to say something. If she remained silent any longer, Qiao Nan might just take her leave. She thought about how Qiao Dongliang would incur even more expenses after being discharged since he would need to recuperate at home. In short, Zijin was right. Old Qiao was not Zijin’s father alone. Qiao Nan was her and Old Qiao’s daughter too.

Qiao Nan had to take up the responsibility and fork out some money now that Old Qiao had gotten into such a situation and needed money for his rehabilitation. Zijin was divorced and had not found a job yet. There was no way Zijin would be able to bear this responsibility of taking care of Old Qiao on her own.

After clearing her throat, Ding Jiayi looked guiltily at Zhai Sheng before saying, “Qiao Nan, your dad was injured so badly this time. We’ll have to spend quite a bit of money on nourishment and medications for him. What do you think we should do?”

Qiao Nan was not afraid of letting Zhai Sheng gain a clearer understanding of her family’s situation. Dirty linen should not be aired in public? Just a few months ago, Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin had been in the headlines on a daily basis. What else was there that outsiders did not know about their family? “Dad may not be awake now, but amongst the three of us, you’re the most senior here. Apart from you, Zijin is older than me too. I think it’s funny. I didn’t even question you about how my dad got injured in case I embarra.s.s you, yet you’re trying to make me take responsibility for this?”

Did Ding Jiayi think that she would try to keep up appearances and be a good person in front of Brother Zhai? Did Ding Jiayi think that she would happily take on all responsibility to prove to Brother Zhai that she was a good daughter and sister?

That was exactly what Ding Jiayi was thinking. Since Ding Jiayi felt this way, she thought that Qiao Nan would think in the same way too. It would be even weirder if Qiao Nan was willing to expose all of the Qiao family’s dirty laundry out in public.

Divorce was still possible after marriage, and Qiao Nan had not even gotten married to Zhai Sheng yet. Zhai Sheng could change his mind at any time and decide not to marry her.

Qiao Nan’s uncooperativeness angered Ding Jiayi. If not for Zhai Sheng, Ding Jiayi would have gone much further than simply staring at Qiao Nan. She would have been lambasting Qiao Nan while raining blows on her. “There’s no choice. You are clear about our family’s situation. Amongst the four of us, you’re the most capable and the one with the most money. Who am I supposed to look for now that your dad has been hospitalized if not you?”

“Why don’t you look for that amazing daughter of yours who graduated from university?” Qiao Nan sneered. “Haven’t you been saying that all these years? Haven’t you always said that Qiao Zijin is more capable than me and that you’ll never be able to depend on me? Only she will be able to give you and Dad a good life and support you in your old age. Both you and Dad are in your sixties and she’s already forty-two. If she doesn’t let you enjoy your lives now, when will you get the chance to do so? I’m nothing but a useless wretched girl. It’s good enough that I haven’t become a burden to you. Are you trying to mock me by saying that I am better than her and more capable than her?”

Ding Jiayi had nagged at her with these very words for over two decades, ever since Qiao Nan left school and Qiao Zijin started high school. Even if Qiao Nan was not trying to remember those words, she could spit them out backward in order.

Upon hearing Ding Jiayi say that she was the most capable and earned the most in the family, Qiao Nan had no other reaction than to laugh. It was true. She was only useful when the family needed some money to spend. “Don’t get angry. Think about how you guys treated me. Yes, you guys are still my parents, so I won’t s.h.i.+rk any responsibility I ought to take on. Qiao Zijin might be divorced but I’m not married yet, so our situations are pretty much similar. Once I get married, I’ll have my own private life as well. Besides, I’ve already forked out fifty thousand for Dad’s hospitalization bills. As for all those expenses that you talked about, it’s easy. I’ll split it equally with Qiao Zijin.”

From the day that she secretly left the hospital and started her new life afresh, the Qiao family should have known that she was no longer the same Qiao Nan whom they could easily boss around.

She would fulfill her duty as a daughter, but Qiao Zijin should never think of s.h.i.+rking that responsibility either.

“You…” Qiao Nan no longer treated her words as an imperial edict and dared to go over her head! She even treated herself as the boss by telling them what to do! Ding Jiayi felt that Qiao Nan was challenging her. Ding Jiayi had had enough. “No, you… You’re so heartless. Don’t you know that your sister’s divorced? She might have some money on hand but she still has a long life ahead of her. You can’t possibly expect her to use up all her money now, right? What will she do in the future then? Will you take care of her if she spends all her money now?”

That would be fine if that was truly the case.

“Do you mean that she’s the only one with half a life ahead of her? Do you think I’m a G.o.d who can live on air and water alone?”