Qiao Dongliang huffed. “Nan Nan was discharged yesterday. Did she come back yesterday?” Qiao Dongliang did not want to talk about anything else. Or rather, he had nothing to say about this situation.
His explanations would be in vain and could not cover up the fact that Qiao Nan had been suffering alone for so many years. He really had no idea that Nan Nan had been living in such an exceptionally small place.
When he had occasionally asked about Qiao Nan, Old Ding would always tell him that the place that Nan Nan had rented was not bad and neither was it particularly small. Even if it was small, Nan Nan was staying alone, after all. Nan Nan was really leading a good life now that she had left the Qiao family’s small courtyard and was renting her own place. But he had never expected that Nan Nan was ‘enjoying life’ in this manner!
At this moment, Qiao Dongliang had the urge to capture Ding Jiayi and throw her into this small space under the staircase to let Ding Jiayi ‘enjoy’ ten years of her life there. Then, he would see if Ding Jiayi would still dare to use such a cynical tone when describing the ‘good life’ that Qiao Nan was enjoying alone. He could let Ding Jiayi enjoy such a ‘good life’ too!
“Hehehe…” The landlord sneered. “Didn’t you hear that this was where Nan Nan used to live in? Nan Nan did indeed return yesterday, but she ended her lease. I’m telling you that Nan Nan didn’t tell me anything about where she’s moving to. If you let your wife kick up a fuss here, don’t blame me for being rude to your wife then. I may not have much here, but what I do have are people!”
She had been frustrated with Qiao Nan’s mom long ago. If it had not been for the sake of leaving Qiao Nan some dignity, she would have dealt with that woman a long time ago when that woman had first come over.
Now, not only had Nan Nan moved away, but she did not even know where Nan Nan had moved to. This just went to show how deeply the Qiao family had hurt Qiao Nan. Such an obstinate and stubborn person had finally given in and decided to forge a path for herself. Qiao Nan’s sudden realization did not mean that Qiao Nan had finally figured it out. It only proved that the Qiao family was exceptionally evil.
Since Qiao Nan was no longer around, there was no need to keep up any more pretenses. If such an unreasonable shrew like Qiao Nan’s mom were to come again, she would not bother trying to reason things out. She much preferred to use her fists!
If she were to give that shameless old woman a taste of her power, there was no way Qiao Nan’s mom would ever return to create any more trouble for her.
“She ended her lease and moved away? When was this?” Qiao Dongliang was in a frenzy. Everything had happened too suddenly all at once. It seemed as though everything had been concentrated into a single day! These events that followed one after another caught Qiao Dongliang off guard. He had not even come to terms or even decided on how to resolve one matter before another trouble popped up.
His younger daughter had been wronged, but his elder daughter also needed a kidney for her kidney transplant urgently. Even if they had a kidney donor, they would still have to fork out a sum of money for her surgery. Now, his younger daughter had moved away. But where had she moved away to?
Whether it was the Qiao family or the Ding family, their family of four had no relatives. Once she left Ping Cheng, his younger daughter would not even have a friend to go to, let alone a relative. It was inevitable that he would worry about his younger daughter since she was so unfamiliar with her surroundings.
“Are you deaf? I just said that Nan Nan moved away yesterday. Yesterday. So if you want to look for your daughter in the future, don’t bother coming over here. Other than Qiao Nan, there’s not a single person in your family who has left a good impression on me. You’re all blood-sucking devils! Scram! Apart from Qiao Nan, none of you from the Qiao family are welcome. If any of you ever dare to step into my territory again, I’m not going to say anything more. I’ll simply call the police and report you for trespassing. Do you understand?”
The landlord’s patience had run dry. She had deliberately shown Qiao Dongliang the living conditions Qiao Nan had been living with for ten years in an attempt to provoke Qiao Dongliang. But very quickly, the landlord wondered if anyone in the Qiao family had any conscience at all. Without such a thing like conscience, was she really hoping that the Qiao family would suddenly realize their mistakes and pity Qiao Nan for everything she had suffered through or even treat Qiao Nan better in the future just because of her provocation?
What a joke!
But whatever she had just done had just been a waste of her time and effort. It would truly be a waste of her life if she were to exert any energy on trying to get the Qiao family to understand this fact.
After coming to that realization, the landlord could hardly bother to look at Qiao Dongliang and tried to chase Qiao Dongliang away. The person Qiao Dongliang was looking for was indeed not here. Even if Ding Jiayi herself were to come, she would not find even a single strand of Qiao Nan’s hair, let alone Qiao Dongliang.
In the end, Qiao Dongliang himself was not very sure about how he managed to leave. When he finally returned from his trance, he was directly confronted with an endless stream of vehicles along the main road. His eyes were in such a daze that he had no memory of where he was, where he was going next, and what he was supposed to do.
Qiao Dongliang could not figure it out and his eyes turned red and puffy. He was already a grandfather, but at that moment, he could not help but grab his hair while squatting down by the side of the road in anguish. Burying his head between his legs, he stayed in that position for a long while. Passersby could not help but stop to ask Qiao Dongliang whether he was all right.
When Qiao Dongliang finally lifted up his head, his eyes were much redder and puffier than before. Qiao Dongliang sniffled. His expression was gloomy and his mood was rotten. Each step he took toward the hospital was heavier than the previous one.
All these years, Qiao Dongliang had ignored many details. And now, Qiao Dongliang was finally willing to take some time to think about them once again. Qiao Nan had been earning quite a lot, so it was obvious that it was entirely Ding Jiayi’s fault that Qiao Nan had to stay in such a horrible place despite her high salary.
Qiao Zijin’s house had been entirely paid for by Qiao Nan. This much Qiao Dongliang knew. But what he did not know was that Ding Jiayi had emptied Qiao Nan’s pockets just to buy Qiao Zijin a house. He had always thought that Qiao Nan would have her own limits as to how much she would sacrifice for the family. He had always thought that she would at least have some money on hand so that she would not lead such a hard life.
Qiao Dongliang had not agreed to Qiao Nan moving out not because he felt that there were insufficient rooms at home, but because he understood that Qiao Nan would always be under Ding Jiayi’s control if she were to stay at home. Even the simplest act of eating a mouthful of rice would all depend on Ding Jiayi’s mood.
He had thought all along that Qiao Nan would be able to live her own life upon moving out. Then, Qiao Nan would never have to care about what Ding Jiayi thought and would be able to eat and drink freely. When she had free time, she would even be able to take good care of herself and enjoy her life.
