At the sight of her most beloved daughter, all the suffering, fear, and pain that Ding Jiayi had accumulated over the past two weeks gushed out immediately. She hugged Qiao Zijin and started to cry. “Do you know that Mom nearly died in a car accident in order to support you in your studies by selling the house? Mom nearly couldn’t see you anymore!”
Qiao Zijin, who had been hugged by Ding Jiayi, felt stiff all over. She was compelled to reach out and pat Ding Jiayi’s back. “Mom, aren’t I’m here now? Previously, I… I was tied up with some matters and I couldn’t come over. I found out about this after I read the news of Ping Cheng. I also know that you wouldn’t have a car accident if not for the selling of the house. Mom, I have let you down. I didn’t dare to come and visit you. I’m even more afraid of facing Dad. If Dad knows that I’m going to sell the house, I’m afraid he will look down on me and treat only Qiao Nan as his daughter. Mom, I still wish to have this father.”
“About this matter…” Ding Jiayi pushed Qiao Zijin away at one go. “You still want to have this father. I still want to have this husband too. During the past two weeks when your dad was taking care of me, he behaved strangely. I nearly died but he did not even say a word of concern or care about me. I keep having the feeling that your dad wants to divorce me. Zijin, what should I do? I don’t wish to get a divorce. If your dad divorces me, I may not be able to support you throughout your college studies even if we sell the house. Furthermore, you also won’t be able to find a job and earn money immediately after you graduate. I’m only afraid that the two of us may not even have a place to stay.”
Ding Jiayi was a little woman. She subjected to the belief that a house and a family coexisted.
If she had not been brainwashed by Qiao Zijin for three days before the car accident, given her temperament, it would have been very difficult for her to make the decision to sell the house.
If she was truly willing to sell the house, the small courtyard of the Qiao family would not have been empty for two years.
Now that she had come to her senses, Ding Jiayi was certainly unwilling to do so.
“Mom, I know. Don’t be anxious. The small courtyard of the Qiao family was a place that you stayed with Dad since both of you got married. It’s also a place where I grew up in. I also feel a lot for that home and can’t bear to sell it. Mom, back to the topic, do you really think that Dad is going to divorce you?” If that was truly the case, it would be horrible!
“Your dad… The second day after I woke up, he said that he would like to have a thorough discussion with me about the matter between him and me when my body is better. Listen, doesn’t this sound like he wants to divorce me? Initially, I thought that he was threatening me so that I would treat Qiao Nan better. However, Qiao Nan did not appear anymore thereafter, but your dad’s attitude toward me remained the same. He’s always looking so cold every day. Unless he needed to take care of me, he wouldn’t even take one glance at me, let alone speak to me. No matter what I said or how I flared up, your dad really… just ignored me!”
Half a month had passed. Ding Jiayi was not as confident as before that Qiao Dongliang’s words were just a form of threat.
If she was not fearful, she could still reflect the threat and then grab hold of the authority in the family again.
At this juncture, she was more concerned about whether Qiao Dongliang’s words were just words of threat.
“Mom, don’t be anxious. There will be a way.” Qiao Zijin was panicking too. Her mother had already been injured to this extent by the car accident. Her father was too hard-hearted. He not only did not cherish and take good care of her mother but also wanted to divorce her. What kind of person was that?
The reason Qiao Zijin would agree to Chen Jun to act in this true drama was that, besides stopping Qiao Nan from taking the college entrance examination, she also wanted to make use of Ding Jiayi’s car accident to bring out true love in the midst of adversity.
At the sight of her mother’s miserable state because of the car accident, her father would feel that life was fragile and many accidents were possible. If he did not cherish the marriage and love between her mother and him properly, they might be separated by life and death at any point in time.
Qiao Zijin wanted to make us of this car accident to make Qiao Dongliang realize the importance of Ding Jiayi so that his heart would soften. He would then forgive the mistakes that Ding Jiayi had committed and understand the meaning that nothing was more important than one being alive.
Unfortunately, out of the many objectives that Qiao Zijin had in mind, she did not achieve any of it. Qiao Dongliang did not bury the hatchet and reunite with Ding Jiayi because of this car accident. Instead, they were going to divorce each other.
Qiao Zijin’s brows were so distorted that they were almost becoming a butterfly knot now. She did not understand which step of the plan was missing to have caused such a different, reversed even, outcome.
“What way?” Ding Jiayi asked anxiously. “This hospital is not bad. Only two weeks have passed. Besides my bones, there aren’t many issues with the rest of my injuries. Now, I can still lie in bed and ask your dad to take care of me. After some time, I won’t be able to do so anymore.”
“Mom, this method is actually quite simple. Didn’t Dad say that he will settle the matter between the two of you when you’re better? What if you ‘don’t recover’ and need someone to take care of you as you are not independent in your daily needs? If the pretext that Dad mentioned does not exist, he can’t possibly strike a man when he is down and divorce you at this juncture? Right, you should do this!”
“What should I do?” Ding Jiayi still did not understand.
“You do this…” Qiao Zijin leaned closely to Ding Jiayi’s ear and whispered something into it.
Ding Jiayi was feeling apprehensive. “Will this work? Don’t forget that this is a hospital. They have a bunch of doctors and equipment. Will we be able to put up with such a pretense as we wish?”
“Why not? Don’t think that the hospital is very great. Many medical conditions and sickness in the hospital can’t be explained or treated by the doctors. This is just one of the special circumstances. Who says this won’t do?” Qiao Zijin insisted. “Anyway, this is the only way out. If you don’t try and Dad really wishes to divorce you, don’t look for me to give you suggestions. I can only come up with this.”
“You, you let me consider it carefully.” Ding Jiayi was hesitant. She was torn between doing it or not. “Zijin, in order to see you, I asked your dad to go home. Why don’t you stay at the hospital to keep me company tonight? I, I’m by myself. There’s no familiar kin by my side. I, I won’t be able to sleep at night.”
Qiao Zijin was both angry and amused. She was already of such an age and a mother of two children, yet she did not even have such courage. It was ludicrous. “Mom, I can’t. I have to go back. The house cannot be empty.” Moreover, she still had to meet Chen Jun early tomorrow morning to understand the current situation.
“Why can’t you? Can that be called your home? It’s a rented apartment and there are not many things inside either. What’s there to be anxious about? Moreover, if you make a trip to and fro, you’ll waste a lot of time. I’ve been staying at the hospital for two weeks. Are you not concerned about me at all? It’s so difficult for you to be here, and your Dad is away. Who is going to take care of me if you don’t? You even said that you will be filial to me after you become successful? Zijin, were you just sweet-talking me?” Ding Jiayi held on to Qiao Zijin and refused to let go because she was truly afraid of staying alone in the hospital.
