“Bring me the IOU later. Pass it to your mom so that she can leave her thumbprint on it. As a daughter, you have to be like your elder sister. You have to be as filial as her. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Qiao Nan took a breath before she responded.
“You…” Ding Jiayi had sustained serious injuries. She was in a worse situation than Qiao Dongliang when he was in a car accident two years ago.
During the two months when Qiao Dongliang was in the hospital, she and her two daughters waited on him and catered to his every need. In particular Qiao Nan, she would bring all the nutritious food and tonics to the hospital for Qiao Dongliang.
Ding Jiayi felt that since she was in a worse situation than him, she would have the same treatment as well. In fact, judging from her injuries, she should be treated much better than Qiao Dongliang.
However, Qiao Dongliang was cold as ice to her. She was angry that Qiao Nan only cared for her exams and did not bother to visit her. She suppressed her anger for two days, with no one to complain to.
Now that Qiao Dongliang made such remarks, Ding Jiayi, who was infuriated, felt immense pain at the abdominal area where her rib bones were broken. She rolled her eyes in pain and anger.
Qiao Dongliang looked at Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng, telling them to ignore Ding Jiayi.
Ding Jiayi had to be in great pain after breaking two rib bones.
She had hurt her lungs. There was nothing wrong with her heart. She might have faster blood circulation from being angry. However, apart from feeling the pain, her life would not be in danger.
Ding Jiayi had just come back from the brink of death. However, nothing good came out of her mouth. She deserved to suffer in pain!
Ding Jiayi kept silent for a good whole ten minutes. She must have felt the pain from overexerting herself. By the time the pain subsided, her eyes were teary. “Do you and your daughter intend to gang up and anger me to death? Don’t forget, I am a patient. I am seriously injured and I almost died. I am your wife, and I am her mother. Is that how you should be treating me? Do you really can’t wait for me to die?”
“In this world, there are people who are smart and people who are stupid. When a person is stupid, they will be so stupid that it will result in their own demise.” Qiao Dongliang’s tone turned icy cold at Ding Jiayi’s words of censure and blame.
Nobody wished for her to die. Ding Jiayi already landed herself in this state, yet she still could not figure it out. She had wasted her time in this world!
Qiao Dongliang noticed that Ding Jiayi still had more to say. He raised his voice to stop her. “Over the years, you haven’t been disciplining or caring for Nan Nan. You do not have the right to scold her. You are a patient. You need lots of rest now. I have already checked with the doctor. If you keep seeing people who will anger you, it will not aid in your recovery. You shouldn’t be unhappy or keep losing your temper. Nan Nan, you should hurry back. Unless your mom has recovered, you should not see her. This is for her own good. You have your reasons like your sister. You are being filial to your mom by not visiting her.”
Since Ding Jiayi always drove people up the wall, Qiao Dongliang decided to learn from her.
“Okay.” With Zhai Sheng by her side and the protection of Qiao Dongliang, Qiao Nan, who was afraid of seeing Ding Jiayi, grew to be more courageous. She even played along with Qiao Dongliang.
“You…” Ding Jiayi grew even more furious. “I am not expecting you to help mediate when your parents are arguing, but how can you add fuel to the flames? You have been studying for so many years. Is that what the teachers have been teaching you? Do you still treat me as your…” My goodness, she was in immense pain…
“Nan Nan, look at your mom. In order for her to make a quicker recovery, you should not visit your mom in the hospital. You have to wait until she is discharged.” Since Ding Jiayi was being stubborn, Qiao Dongliang had no wish for his daughter to be scolded by Ding Jiayi and to suffer under her hands.
“Okay. Dad, Mom, goodbye.” Qiao Nan had no wish to visit Ding Jiayi. She agreed readily. “Mom, before you make a full recovery, I will not be here to anger you further. Mom, you must rest well. As for the IOU, I will get someone to bring it to you.”
The money that she gave her father to pay for the medical bills belonged to the family. She did not understand why her father said that the money was lent by someone else. However, she believed that her father must have done that for her sake.
“Wait…” Ding Jiayi was unwilling to let Qiao Nan leave. She was hospitalized. As her daughter, Qiao Nan should stay by her side and wait on her like her servant. How could she let Qiao Nan off so easily?
However, Ding Jiayi had forgotten that she was injured in her rib bones. If she exerted force to her abdominal cavity, she would be in great pain.
Therefore, whenever she was angry, her chest movements would result in immense pain at her rib bones.
By the time the pain subsided and Ding Jiayi had the energy to speak, Qiao Nan had already left with Zhai Sheng. “Old Qiao, are you doing this on purpose? You have been pampering that wretched… Qiao Nan. I am her mother. She should stay to take care of me now that I am heavily injured.”
“I have already said that I want Nan Nan to learn from Zijin. All along, you like Zijin and dislike Nan Nan. It must be that she has been doing a better job than Nan Nan to be able to please you. Isn’t that so?”
“Yes!” Zijin was good at everything that she did!
“Since this is the case, Nan Nan will treat you in the same way as to how Zijin treats you. Nan Nan is learning from Zijin, who has been doing a good job. It will not go wrong. You have not been home for three days. Zijin must have her reasons for not visiting you. It is not possible that she is out playing and has no idea that you are ‘missing’, is it?”
“Zi… Zijin is participating in a… she is on a trip with her classmates!” Ding Jiayi would not admit that Qiao Zijin had not been treating her well. She would not spoil Qiao Dongliang’s impression of Qiao Zijin.
“I see.” Qiao Dongliang pretended to believe her. Ding Jiayi felt a burst of joy. She knew that she still had her influence on Old Qiao.
However, Ding Jiayi’s smile froze on her face when Qiao Dongliang continued with his sentence. “It turns out that the reason you find Nan Nan a nuisance is that she did not go on a trip. Alright, I will borrow a hundred yuan so that Nan Nan can go on a trip with the young lady who lives next door. The young lady has good results and she is from Mo Du. Her grandparents are from the capital. More importantly, she is athletic and knows some martial skills. If Nan Nan travels with her, I do not have to worry about her safety. You are right. Nan Nan just finished her exams and should relax. You are indeed her mom. You care so much for her. You can rest assured that I will make a phone call to Nan Nan tomorrow morning, telling her not to worry and to borrow money from her neighbor so that she could go on a trip. We will help her repay the money that she owes. We are still around. We cannot possibly ask her to pay for the debts. Is that right, Old Ding?”
There were censure and resentment in Qiao Dongliang’s tone. His words were harsh and blunt. Ding Jiayi’s face turned red at his words. Her hands that were placed on her wounds shook in anger.
