“Change? Will you listen to me and change?” Qiao Dongliang did not believe her words. “It has been so many years. This is not the first time that I commented about your shortcomings. You could not be bothered with it when I mentioned them in the past. If I mention it now, at most, it will be another chance for you to dismiss me. When we return home, you will revert to your old ways. We all know very well about this. Forget it. It’s meaningless.”
At the end of the day, Qiao Dongliang only felt that he was a miserable father.
He had foolishly hurt Nan Nan’s feelings because of such a daughter.
One only learned from one’s mistake. Although Qiao Dongliang knew that Qiao Zijin was such a daughter and that she would not change, Qiao Dongliang had no intention of going to the capital, spending more time with his grandchildren, and staying close to his daughter.
Right now, Qiao Dongliang did not even have any confidence in himself. He was afraid that after a period of time, when he saw that Qiao Nan was doing well while Qiao Zijin was sloughing her guts out, he would be softhearted and say hurtful words to Qiao Nan, doing things that would put her in a difficult position and hurt her feelings.
Since he could not stop himself from making such a mistake, it was best to keep a distance from his daughter and grandchildren so as to reduce the probability of this happening as much as possible.
Qiao Zijin widened her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Dad, what do you mean by this? Are you saying that there is no way that we can talk about this? You know what kind of person I am. You should understand that as long as I don’t get what I want, I won’t be content with my current situation and Qiao Nan won’t be able to lead a peaceful life either.”
To Qiao Zijin, Qiao Dongliang was committing the same mistake again.
It seemed that her father would be biased toward her when he spent more time with Qiao Nan. But when he spent more time with her, he would feel guilty toward Qiao Nan again. He kept changing his mind and his stand. He was even more unreasonable than a woman!
Qiao Dongliang stiffened. “What do you want?” Qiao Dongliang continued. “I would advise you to be more practical. It is unnecessary to say those nice but useless words.”
They knew very well what kind of person each one was, particularly Qiao Dongliang. He knew Qiao Zijin very well.
“Alright, let’s cut to the point.” Qiao Zijin trembled in anger. Her father said such hurtful words. She did not do any outrageous acts. There was no need for her father to look at her with such an expression.
Qiao Zijin took a deep breath and stifled the pain. “Let me be direct. I want to marry into a good family. You must help me. If not, as long as I remain unmarried, I will definitely disturb Qiao Nan. Even if she will not accede to my requests, as long as I am around, I will make sure that it is pandemonium for her. She will not have a good life ahead!”
She was merely a nobody. She was unable to hurt Qiao Nan or give her a harsh lesson.
It did not matter. A nobody had her way to do things. She could be a scoundrel and act shamelessly, making life difficult for her. She did not believe that Qiao Nan would not be affected.
Qiao Zijin felt strangely satisfied that Qiao Dongliang was angered by her. He widened his eyes like an enraged tiger and his face was flushed. “If you don’t want me to do this, you should help me accordingly so that I can realize my dream. I can assure you that once I am married to a good man, I will no longer find trouble with Qiao Nan.”
“How can I believe you?” Qiao Zijin had already threatened him, so how could he believe her words? “Carnal cravings are never satisfied and are the main obstruction on the path to enlightenment. By the time you marry into a good family, you will wish for your husband and your in-laws to do better in life. By the time you have children of your own, you will want to give them the best education, the best teachers, and the best job in society. Hehehe, I can’t help you with your request. Because no matter how I help you, you won’t be satisfied.”
Ding Jiayi turned pale as she stood by the side, watching as the father and daughter quarreled with each other. The atmosphere was hostile and they treated each other as their enemies. “What’s with the two of you? Why did you say all this nonsense? We are one family. Old Qiao, Zijin is our daughter. It is our wish for her to marry well and lead a good life. Zijin, he is your dad. He raised you and took care of you. How could you use that attitude with him and threaten him?”
Qiao Zijin smirked, mocking Ding Jiayi. “Mom, stop it. Save your time and don’t shame yourself by saying this. It will be better if you keep quiet. We have never been a harmonious family. Do you think it is suitable to say that we are one family and are blood-related? We have never been close to each other. It is so ridiculous.”
Qiao Zijin was perplexed. It was her mother who caused the family to be torn apart and for her to view everything based on her own benefits. She was the one who made them be a cold and indifferent family, yet she was talking about kinships and family ties.
After lecturing Ding Jiayi, Qiao Zijin looked toward Qiao Dongliang. “There is a difference. I don’t deny that I want a lot of things. But after going through so many hardships, I realized that the only person that I can rely on in this world is no one but myself. Whatever that you have said just now, if needed, I will find a way out by myself. I will not ask you for help. I can swear today that I will not ask Qiao Nan for help in the future as well.”
She had a lot in mind, but the first step was to find a good husband and in-laws for herself. “If you help me, then you can make appropriate suggestions according to Qiao Nan’s situation. I will not stop you from making considerations for Qiao Nan while helping me. On the contrary, if you don’t want to help me and leave me to make a din, then I can only say sorry. In order for me to obtain my goal, I might make it difficult for Qiao Nan to survive in the capital. This is totally out of my consideration. Dad, have you come to a decision?”
