Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
If her parents were to work together to reason with Qiao Nan and attack her with facts, there was no way Qiao Nan could refuse them.
Seeming to know what Qiao Zijin was plotting, Qiao Dongliang, who had recently become especially quiet, spoke up. “I’m glad that Nan Nan got married. After she got married, I often think about the times when you were still married to Chen Jun. At that time, all the young ladies in the northern courtyard were envious of you, talking about how quickly Chen Jun was being promoted…”
Qiao Zijin’s eyelids twitched and she smiled in pleasure. That was right! At that time, she was the pride of the northern courtyard!
“At that time, Chen Jun was being promoted every so often. Nan Nan… As someone who had only graduated from junior high school, she would never have been able to find a good job for herself if not for her diligence and willingness to learn. Zijin, don’t you remember what you told us and Nan Nan at that time?”
“…”
Qiao Zijin, who was immersed in her fond memories, felt as though she had been whacked on the head with a hammer. All those good memories were instantly shattered into little fragments that could not be pieced back together.
Did she remember?
Of course she did!
After successfully snatching Chen Jun away from Qiao Nan and getting pregnant with Chen Feng before getting married, Qiao Zijin had practically reached the peak of her entire life. Every time she returned to the northern courtyard, all her neighbors would treat her as though she were their biological daughter, addressing her affectionately and asking after her. They would always ask, “Zijin, you’re back?”, “Zijin, we bought some fresh fruits. Would you like some?”, or even “Zijin, remember to visit us sometime soon!”.
Qiao Zijin knew exactly why these people treated her so warmly. Just like how her family had been treated before the civil service examination, these people simply wanted Zijin to help them ask the Chen family for a favor so that their children would have good and stable jobs or get into good schools.
Since others already behaved in this manner, Qiao Zijin had no choice but to consider Qiao Nan’s situation. As long as it concerned Chen Jun, it was true that Qiao Zijin could not stand tall in front of Qiao Nan. She had snatched Chen Jun away from Qiao Nan and she did indeed owe it to Qiao Nan. But every time she opened her mouth, she made it seem as though Qiao Nan was the one who owed it to her. It’s as if for the sake of preventing trouble for Chen Jun, Qiao Nan should never get involved in anything related to Chen Jun.
Once, Qiao Zijin had even directly said to her family, “Technically, Qiao Nan’s my only sister, so it’s my duty to treat her well. But it’s Qiao Nan’s fault for purposely trying to get chummy with her own brother-in-law. If I really ask Chen Jun to help Qiao Nan find a good job, wouldn’t it be bad if others were to misunderstand and overthink the situation? You know very well where Chen Jun works. It’s better for him not to get involved in such matters lest others catch a chink in his armor!”
“Honestly, if Qiao Nan’s educational qualifications were a little higher, I might still be able to ask Chen Jun for some help since she’s quite capable. I’m not even talking about being a university graduate. Even being a high school graduate would have been good. Think about it. How bad could a job recommended by Chen Jun be? Out of so many outstanding candidates, including college students, others will definitely talk about it if Chen Jun were to pick Qiao Nan for the job over everyone else. It hasn’t been easy for Chen Jun to get to the position he’s in today. Even if Qiao Nan’s my biological sister, I can’t possibly harm my husband just to help my sister, right?”
Because Qiao Zijin had said that, Ding Jiayi, who had become the most glamorous mother-in-law in the entire northern courtyard because of her son-in-law, Chen Jun, was the first to disagree. “Help? Don’t bother! That wretched girl is so stupid! She has neither the capability nor the qualifications. She’s the most useless person in our entire family! I don’t even mind that she’s embarrassing me by being single at such an old age because of her low qualifications. How could she be so shameless to expect you to help her find a job? Don’t bother about her! Zijin, don’t harm your husband just because of a sister who can’t get married. You’re a mother now!”
Ding Jiayi’s words were exactly what Qiao Zijin wanted to hear and Qiao Zijin replied hypocritically. “Mom, don’t be angry. Of course, I won’t harm my son or my son’s dad. It’s just that we’re a family, and some things should be clear between us. If helping Qiao Nan doesn’t mean a thing to Chen Jun, I wouldn’t mind helping her at all. But as you can see, there’s really no way for me to help Qiao Nan given her circumstances. My goal is to benefit everyone in our family, but there’s really no point in putting someone down just to help another. Besides, I’ve thought about it. Chen Jun might still be promoted in a few years’ time. Perhaps, if Chen Jun were to help Qiao Nan then, no one would dare to say anything because of his position. When that time comes, I promise you that I’ll help Qiao Nan.”
Ding Jiayi did not intend to let Qiao Zijin help Qiao Nan at all. She had already known that Qiao Nan would be useless the moment she had been born. It would be enough for her as long as Qiao Zijin led a good life without Qiao Nan dragging her down. That was all she asked of Qiao Nan.
But Ding Jiayi thought about how Qiao Zijin had been able to graduate from university not because of her mother or her father, Qiao Dongliang. It had been all thanks to Qiao Nan that she had been able to graduate. Even though Qiao Zijin was Qiao Nan’s only sister and it was only right for Qiao Nan to help Qiao Zijin with such a small matter, there was no way she would allow Qiao Zijin to show her ‘good intentions’ toward Qiao Nan now.
Anyway, Qiao Zijin had already said that Chen Jun would most probably be promoted to a position where no one would dare to gossip about him in the future. There was no saying when this ‘future’ would come. As such, Ding Jiayi thought that there was no point in rebuking her daughter about something that might or might not happen in the future.
These were just words anyway. They would cross that bridge once they got there in the future.
Qiao Dongliang remembered clearly that entire conversation, including the disdain on Ding Jiayi’s face and the glee on Qiao Zijin’s face at that time.
At that time, Qiao Dongliang had not said anything because he cared that his elder son-in-law should have been his younger son-in-law. Qiao Dongliang was a man and he was no fool. He had eyes to see whom Chen Jun truly had feelings for.
But what could he do? It was true that Chen Jun liked his younger daughter, but it was his elder daughter who was pregnant with Chen Jun’s child. He could not possibly ask his elder daughter to abort her child to let her younger daughter marry Chen Jun.
He believed that his younger daughter would definitely feel resentful toward Chen Jun because of this matter.. In fact, she would probably have no desire to marry Chen Jun anymore.
