Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She was afraid. She was really afraid. She felt that the Zhou Xing now was exactly the same as Qiao Zijin back then, who seemed to have been demonized.
She had already lost a daughter. God couldn’t let her lose this granddaughter as well. She had the intention to stop her granddaughter from taking this so-called revenge. However, she didn’t know what she should do to stop her. It was just like back when her daughter was pushed into the operating theatre. They had clearly said that the injuries Zijin suffered were not the worst in car accidents and they should be able to save her. However, when her elder daughter was pushed out of the operating theatre again, her face was covered with a white cloth and she was pronounced dead.
“If Xingxing continues this nonsense, she would get into trouble sooner or later. If that happens, what should I do?” Ding Jiayi didn’t want to betray her granddaughter. However, she felt that her granddaughter’s plan would definitely fail. Zhai Xin was her granddaughter’s cousin. Even if Ding Jiayi didn’t have much common sense, she knew that if these two really got together, their child born in the future would most likely have issues.
She didn’t dare imagine what would happen if the Zhai family knew in advance that Zhou Xing was Zhou Ying, Qiao Zijin and Zhou Zheng’s daughter back then. If the Zhai family became furious, it was unknown how they would deal with her granddaughter in the future. Just thinking about this alone made Ding Jiayi shudder in fear on behalf of Zhou Xing.
“No, I have to think of something. I must think of something. I can’t watch Xingxing walk into a dead end. Regardless of the Zhai family or Qiao Nan, none of them are to be messed with. If it was really so easy to deal with Qiao Nan, why would Zijin choose to die under Qiao Nan’s wheels back then? Qiao Nan has already ruined my Zijin. She can’t ruin Xingxing as well.”
Thankfully, Qiao Zijin’s death that year still acted as a bit of a wake-up call for Ding Jiayi. Even though Ding Jiayi didn’t completely come to her senses because of Qiao Zijin’s death, she was not as muddleheaded as ten years ago. She knew that it was impossible for Zhou Xing’s plan to succeed. The Zhai family was so powerful that she had given up the thought of taking revenge.
Now, the only thing she could help Zhou Xing with was to tell the truth to Qiao Nan and let the Zhai family stop Zhou Xing. She believed that Qiao Nan was ruthless and would no longer regard anyone from the Qiao family as her family. However, as long as the bottom line was kept and things weren’t too overboard, Qiao Nan wouldn’t be so ruthless as to destroy someone completely by all means.
Picking up the familiar yet foreign phone number, Ding Jiayi gritted her teeth and dialed it.
Qiao Nan was extremely surprised to receive Ding Jiayi’s call. It had been many years since she received Ding Jiayi’s call or had any contact with her. The one thing she did the most was to transfer Ding Jiayi’s living allowance to her on time.
Qiao Zijin was no longer around. As such, there wouldn’t be someone like Qiao Zijin who was endlessly greedy and wanted to empty Ding Jiayi’s pockets to benefit herself.
The first year after Ding Jiayi returned to Ping Cheng, Qiao Nan had transferred Ding Jiayi’s living allowance on a monthly basis. From the second year onward, she simply transferred the living allowance on a yearly basis so that it was less troublesome. As such, when she received Ding Jiayi’s call, Qiao Nan felt that a lifetime had passed. “Is anything the matter? Are you feeling unwell? Do you need money for hospitalization?”
Upon thinking about Ding Jiayi’s age, this was the only answer Qiao Nan could think of. “How much do you need for hospitalization? Let me know. I’ll transfer you the money after work.” Seeing that Ding Jiayi hadn’t disturbed her for more than ten years, Qiao Nan was too lazy to investigate if Ding Jiayi was really sick or if she purely wanted to cheat a little more money from her own hands.
Qiao Nan always believed in reciprocity. Ding Jiayi gave her a peaceful life for more than ten years. It was only now that she gave Ding Jiayi a little more money. This money was considered well-spent.
“No, this has nothing to do with money. I haven’t finished spending the money you have transferred to me over the years. If there’s really a need to see a doctor, the money you have provided me before is sufficient.” Until now, Ding Jiayi still didn’t feel that Qiao Nan was a good daughter. However, she had to admit that regardless of how cold Qiao Nan was toward her, she had never shortchanged her in terms of money. “I’m calling you today to talk about something else. Zhai Xin is dating someone in school. Have you heard about this matter?”
Ding Jiayi was asking in a careful tone as she was testing the waters. If Qiao Nan didn’t know about this, her call would be equivalent to that of a reminder. She would find some way to change the topic, hang up the call, and never contact Qiao Nan again. However, if Qiao Nan already knew about this matter and had some thoughts about it, Ding Jiayi could only tell Qiao Nan Zhou Xing’s situation, hoping that she would let her off.
After all, what Zhou Xing had in mind wasn’t good. However, if the big mistake hadn’t been committed yet, there was still room for recovery. On account that Zhou Xing was still young and ignorant, had lost her mother at a young age, and was no different from being fatherless, Qiao Nan shouldn’t be too calculative toward Zhou Xing and fight over the smallest trifles with her.
It was a pity Qiao Nan didn’t let Ding Jiayi take any chances. “Of course I know that my son is dating. The other party is quite young, so I don’t want to talk about it. However, it isn’t strange for me, the mother, to know that my son is dating. How did you know about this?” For the past ten years, Ding Jiayi didn’t disturb her or anyone from the Zhai family.
Ding Jiayi was far away in Ping Cheng, and Er Bao was still studying in the capital. As such, how could Ding Jiayi know that Er Bao was in love? “Who told you this?”
She thought that Ding Jiayi had changed for the better. Was that to say that although Ding Jiayi was in Ping Cheng, her eyes were still on the capital and the rest of the family? What was Ding Jiayi’s motive for spending such great efforts? “You’re calling me today and you even know about Er Bao dating. Tell me. What do you want?”
Ding Jiayi blushed. “Don’t look at me as if it’s through a crack in the door. I have no malicious intent toward you or the Zhai family. The good intentions of my call today are naturally not directed at you or the Zhai family. I’m concerned about someone else.”
Her relationship with Qiao Nan was really bad. Ding Jiayi couldn’t be bothered to act as if they were a deeply affectionate pair. “You know that Zhai Xin is dating someone. Then, do you know who the girl he is dating is?” Indeed, Qiao Nan already knew about it when Xingxing and Zhai Xin had just confirmed their relationship less than a month ago. From Qiao Nan’s tone, she should have known about this even earlier.
“A girl named Zhou Xing,” Qiao Nan answered.
