Miao Jing happened to feel thirsty and there was a cup of warm water by her side. She gulped down half a cup of water.
Miao Jing was wide awake now. “Nan Nan, why are you here?”
Qiao Nan brought a bowl of porridge over to Miao Jing. There were beads of perspiration on her forehead. “Mom, as there is not enough time, some of the ingredients are ready-made. It will not taste as nice as before. Please make do with it. I will prepare a tastier bowl of porridge tomorrow. It is still very hot. Take these two types of medicine before having the porridge. They have to be taken before meals.”
Qiao Nan put the porridge aside. She counted the pills and took them out carefully, passing them to Miao Jing.
Miao Jing swallowed the pills.
“Mom, have some porridge.” Qiao Nan’s specialty was shredded chicken porridge. Most importantly, Zhai Sheng and Zhai Hua loved the porridge that she prepared. Miao Jing would not dislike it as well. Moreover, Miao Jing liked the porridge that she cooked previously.
There was no time to slaughter a chicken. Qiao Nan bought a tender boiled chicken and asked for chicken soup from the boss. She then brought everything back with her to the house.
If not for the ready-made ingredients, Qiao Nan would not have been able to prepare a pot of shredded chicken porridge in such a short amount of time.
Miao Jing felt hungry. She blew on the porridge and ate it.
In no time, she had eaten more than half a bowl of porridge before she stopped eating.
Qiao Nan did not say anything. Instead, she took out the medicine that was supposed to be taken after meals and passed them to Miao Jing. “Dad is busy with work. He will be home late today. But I will stay behind to take care of you. Mom, do you want to take a walk or sleep some more?”
Miao Jing stretched her hands toward Qiao Nan. “Help me walk around. I had been sleeping on the plane, and I slept as soon as I reached home. My bones are so stiff from sleeping for such a long time.” Miao Jing felt much better after having the porridge. She had more strength in her arms and legs. “Nan Nan, aren’t you supposed to be in school? Did your dad leave you to take care of me?”
Zhai Yaohui was a workaholic. He would place the people and the country above everyone. The people that he had to meet and his work were of utmost importance. This was not the first time that she was sick. It was impossible for Zhai Yaohui to disregard his work and take care of her who had caught a cold.
Miao Jing felt bitter and resigned. Back then, did she make the right decision by marrying this man?
People would start to let their thoughts run wild when they were sick. They would feel insecure and melancholic.
Qiao Nan might be young and inexperienced, but she was well-aware of the downcast feelings that patients would feel. One look at Miao Jing, she knew the reason behind Miao Jing’s depressed look. “Mom, don’t think too much. Dad is a good man-no, he is a very outstanding man.”
Qiao Nan was serious.
In the previous life, Chen Jun was her boyfriend. He was unsatisfied with what he had. He dated her but impregnated Qiao Zijin.
Qiao Nan had real-life experiences and she had heard of similar stories as well.
Once men had money and power, many of them would turn into a different person. When they made it to success, they would abandon their old and haggard wives, who had gone through hardships with them, and marry younger women.
These men were at fault, yet they insisted that women were vain as they wanted to find a partner who had the money, a car, and a house.
Compared to these men, the men in the Zhai family were so much better. “Dad is occupied with work, so he could not take care of you. I believe if he has time, he would stay by your side even if you only had a minor cold. They have their difficulties. Mom, it has been so many years. You should know better than me.”
Talk was cheap, but it was not so in the case of Qiao Nan. She knew that if she married Zhai Sheng, she would face the same situation as Miao Jing: at times, her husband would not be with her when she needed him the most.
However, Qiao Nan did not regret her decision in choosing him and putting on the ring.
Miao Jing smiled. “I should be the one who consoles you. But now, it is the other way round.” Miao Jing felt much better after Qiao Nan’s words of consolation.
There was something that was very true in what Qiao Nan had said. Miao Jing had been with Zhai Yaohui for so many years. She should know better.
It was just that she was sick and thus felt vulnerable and melancholic. She was embarrassed that her daughter-in-law had seen such a side of her. “Nan Nan, Zhai Sheng and you… have been together since a long time ago. Why didn’t you tell me?” Wei De might have a lot of flaws, but he did one thing right
– it was because of him that she found out about Zhai Sheng’s relationship with Qiao Nan.
“…” Qiao Nan did not expect that Miao Jing would ask her this question. “Back then, Mom disapproved of our relationship. Therefore, Brother Zhai and I felt that it would be better for you to come to accept me gradually.”
Miao Jing sighed. She knew that she was indeed very stubborn back then.
She forbade Zhai Sheng and Hua Hua from having a relationship with people that she disliked, but they went against her wishes. In the end, she sought solace in talking to Qiao Nan.
The daughter-in-law that Miao Jing had been complaining to Qiao Nan about was, in fact, Qiao Nan herself. Miao Jing felt sorry for Qiao Nan. “Back then, how did you handle all these?” If it was her, she would not be able to stand it.
In the past, there were many things that she had not noticed. In retrospect, she finally realized the reason behind all these.
Whenever she was unhappy with her son’s girlfriend, and she wanted to chat with Qiao Nan, her children would behave strangely. They were unhappy that she wanted to chat with Qiao Nan.
Any misgiving that Qiao Nan had vanished now that Miao Jing brought it up. She no longer felt upset about the past. “It’s fine. You told me your reasons back then. You did not look down on me. You simply do not want me to end up with the same fate as you and to go through the hardships that you have been through. Besides, have you forgotten the type of mother that I have? If I found you being displeased with me hard, how could I have survived all those years living with my mom?”.
It was true. Miao Jing was so much better than Ding Jiayi. Qiao Nan never felt that Miao Jing’s disapproval of them back then was too much to bear.
Miao Jing burst out in laughter. “You are the only person who will smile when speaking of this.” Everyone would be crying their guts out at having such a bad mother.
“No matter what, the outcome is good.” Her future mother-in-law had accepted her and she was engaged to Brother Zhai. The two of them could finally be together openly.
