Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When she heard Qiao Dongliang’s words, Qiao Nan was in shock and trepidation.
She had been Qiao Zijin’s sister for two lifetimes. Who could possibly be in Qiao Zijin’s heart? Qiao Zijin did not care about anyone but herself. Her father had just come back from the hospital yesterday and should rest for a few days before considering rehabilitation.
But Qiao Zijin was suddenly so concerned about her father. Furthermore, her father clearly did not fall down. Why did Qiao Zijin tell her that her father fell down and then asked her for help?
“Why?” Seeing that Qiao Nan’s expression had changed, Qiao Dongliang held on to Qiao Nan. “Is there any urgent matter so early in the morning? Don’t blame your sister. I am tired out from the walking, so your sister asked you to come along to help me.”
Qiao Dongliang misunderstood that Qiao Nan did not look happy because Qiao Zijin had disrupted her learning schedule today, angering her in the process. Hence, he tried to explain to her on Qiao Zijin’s behalf.
“Dad, I have something on and have to go home first. Sit here for a while. I will come back for you later.” Qiao Nan could not determine what the issue was, but she knew that Qiao Zijin certainly had an ulterior motive for having done so many things.
Qiao Zijin spent so much effort and made use of her father to deceive her to leave the house. Obviously, she was Qiao Zijin’s target today.
What did she have currently that made Qiao Zijin feel worthy of going to such great lengths?
Qiao Nan thought about it carefully. Other than that sum of money that Zhai Sheng gave her yesterday, there was no other possibility.
However, how did Qiao Zijin know that she had money?
Qiao Nan did not have time to think so much. She stood up and ran home.
At this juncture, Qiao Zijin, who seemed to have disappeared to the point of no return, ran out and stood in Qiao Nan’s way. “Nan Nan, where are you going? I can’t help Dad up on my own. Let’s bring Dad back together. Anyway, it’s still early today. Since it’s the vacation period, don’t always coop up at home to read books. It’s bad for the eyes. Let’s take a walk.”
No, she must stop Qiao Nan from going back now. What if her mother had not found the money?
“Where are the buns that you’ve bought?” Qiao Nan saw that Qiao Zijin was empty-handed. She was certain that there was a problem with Qiao Zijin. “Qiao Zijin, you are really ‘good’!”
“Where are you going?” Qiao Zijin was so scared that her face turned pale. When Qiao Nan was about to leave, Qiao Zijin pulled her back with all her might without care. “No, you can’t leave! I won’t let you leave!”
“Do you really think that I’m a pushover?!” Qiao Nan was red with anger. She did not hesitate to mercilessly bite Qiao Zijin’s hand that was grabbing onto her.
“Ouch!” Qiao Zijin shouted in pain loudly, quickly withdrawing her hand.
It was summer now and Qiao Zijin was wearing a short-sleeved top. Qiao Nan’s bite directly bit into her flesh. The teeth marks on Qiao Zijin’s arms were deep and obvious.
If Qiao Zijin had withdrawn her arms a little later, she would have bled.
“What are you doing?! What are the both of you doing?!” Qiao Dongliang was stupefied. Everything was fine earlier. In the blink of an eye, his two daughters started fighting with each other.
Qiao Dongliang wanted to stop them, but his injuries had not recovered and he felt extremely breathless after taking a few steps. He was thus unable to separate the two of them.
Qiao Nan glared at Qiao Zijin. Without saying a further word to Qiao Dongliang, she took off and ran toward home.
In an outburst of energy, Qiao Nan ran home at her fastest speed and returned to her bedroom.
True enough, once she reached home, Qiao Nan saw that her room had been turned upside down and was in a big mess. The place where she had hidden the money was empty, not a single cent could be found.
Looking at the situation, Qiao Nan sat on the bed and wiped her tears. After a couple of wipes, she could not tolerate it any further and suddenly burst into tears.
The current scene made Qiao Nan recall the countless consecutive nights in her previous life where she swallowed her tears.
She worked so hard every day, painstakingly, because she wished to have a home of her own. But no matter how much she earned, her mother would always clean out the money in her pocket, not even leaving her the steel shovel.
Qiao Zijin squandered away her earnings. When she was having steak, Qiao Nan was living on instant noodles for a month.
Qiao Zijin was married to Chen Jun and stayed in a villa, yet she took her hard-earned money to buy a house as her dowry.
Why was her mother so merciless to her? Why wasn’t she picked up from the streets? She would rather be an orphan without parents than to be a daughter of such a mother!
“What exactly is happening?” On the other end, when Qiao Dongliang saw Qiao Nan’s expression changed, then ran back home, he was very anxious. Nan Nan was such a sensible child. What could have forced her to have that kind of expression? “Zijin, tell me, why did you stop Nan Nan from going back?”
“Dad, why are you still siding with her?! Look, she bit me!” Qiao Zijin felt unjustified. Till this age, she had never been bullied by Qiao Nan. Even her parents could not bear to touch a strand of her hair. “Dad, it’s entirely your fault for spoiling Qiao Nan. She nearly made me bleed with her bite!”
“I’m asking you. Why did you stop Nan Nan just now and refuse to let her go home!” Qiao Dongliang was angry. Nan Nan was too much to have bitten Zijin, but he also saw what happened clearly. Zijin was the one who pulled Nan Nan back and refused to let her leave. Nan Nan was so anxious that she had no choice but to bite Zijin.
Although this was the case, Qiao Dongliang had no idea why the two sisters were kicking up a fuss in front of him.
“I… Didn’t I mention that it’s rare for the three of us to spend time together? The morning air is good and we can take a walk together.” Qiao Zijin pursed her lips and continued to use the same excuse to fool Qiao Dongliang.
“Good, very good!” Qiao Zijin was shaking with anger. He had just put in some good words for Zijin in front of Nan Nan, and Zijin was already lying with her eyes opened. “Didn’t you say that you will be buying buns for Nan Nan and me? You were away for so long, so where are your buns?”
“I didn’t manage to buy them. Business was good today, and all the buns were sold out.” Qiao Zijin said without thinking.
“Really?” Qiao Dongliang sneered. His eyes glanced toward Qiao Zijin’s skirt.
He could see that the rim of Qiao Zijin’s skirt, especially the area at the back, was all wet.
It was already autumn. There was always some dews and mist in the morning. The rim of Qiao Zijin’s skirt was wet. There was only one reason for that: Qiao Zijin had hidden in the grass and squatted there for a long time!
Qiao Zijin did not buy the buns at all. For a long time, Qiao Zijin was clearly hiding, squatting behind the grass and bushes while keeping an eye on Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan.
“I’m going back.” Something must have happened at home. He had to go back and find out.
“Dad, don’t. The weather is so good. We… we can continue to take a stroll…” Qiao Zijin was not sure whether Ding Jiayi had found the money. If Qiao Nan was the only one that went back, Qiao Zijin believed that Ding Jiayi would definitely be able to take the money before Qiao Nan’s eyes.
