Wang Yang understood that Zhai Sheng had never been a good-for-nothing ever since he was young. In fact, he had never been Zhai Sheng’s rival. Even when they had grown older, their results had always been worlds apart. They would never be able to coerce the Zhai family into doing anything they refused to do. That wouldn’t even work against Qiao Nan.
As such, they could only use a soft approach.
That day, the adult school that Qiao Nan had applied for was distributing materials. As such, Qiao Nan had gotten the chauffeur to send her to school so that she could collect the materials. Qiao Nan’s course was not a full-time one, but a part-time one.
Because she had left to give birth to the three children, Qiao Nan felt as though an entire lifetime had passed now that she was returning to the school compounds again.
“Excuse me, are you carrying so many books alone? Is no one else helping you? Do you need some help?” For fear of slipping, Qiao Nan walked extremely carefully as she cradled a huge stack of books in her embrace. At this moment, a woman about thirty years old walked up to her and offered Qiao Nan her assistance.
In the face of that lady’s friendliness, Qiao Nan naturally replied with a smile, “That won’t be necessary. I’m not alone. I have someone to help me. He just went to get the car. He’ll be here soon. Thank you.”
“Oh, I see.” A tinge of disappointment flashed past that person’s eyes. “It’s about to turn to spring, but it’s still rather cold, especially when the wind blows. No wonder people often say that it’s the coldest when winter turns to spring. I felt rather uncomfortable standing there in the wind earlier. It’s just as well. I have some free time. I’ll wait with you and we can chat so that you won’t feel too lonely. But you look rather familiar. Shall we be friends? My name’s Li Yayan.”
“Oh, hello.” Qiao Nan nodded while smiling. “I’m…”
Qiao Nan had initially wanted to tell Li Yayan that spring wind was no different from the northern winds and that there was no point in them waiting together and facing the brutal winds together. Besides, she had already been standing against the wall, not in the direct path of the wind. As such, it wasn’t particularly cold when the wind blew. Besides, it would take only another two to three minutes for the chauffeur to bring the car over. Qiao Nan felt rather embarrassed getting a stranger to wait with her for a couple of minutes. She had never been such a delicate or spoiled person.
But the moment Qiao Nan saw Li Yayan’s face, she was stunned.
There was a strange sense of familiarity.
Li Yayan did look familiar, but she was sure that she didn’t know anyone named Li Yayan. So, where did this sense of familiarity come from? After scanning the other party’s face once more, Qiao Nan finally understood why she had such a feeling.
Li Yayan stroked her own face subconsciously. “What’s wrong? Did I smudge my makeup while moving those books earlier?” Qiao Nan would probably feel the slightest bit of affection for someone who bore some resemblance to her, right? After all, this was fate.
Li Yayan felt that she had already done a good job and had presented a good attitude. There was nothing to nitpick about. In that case, Qiao Nan would probably make friends with her, right?
After realizing the situation, Qiao Nan laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with your makeup. Thank you for your kind intention, but I don’t really need it. My family is here to pick me up. Goodbye.” Familiarity? Could it not be familiar? She saw this face when she looked in the mirror every day. As Qiao Nan looked at this younger lady who resembled her and thought about how they had ‘bumped’ into each other, Qiao Nan was at a loss for words.
She resembled her and even offered to wait with her in the brutal winds while chatting. Most people born after the seventies were only children. She was born in the seventies, so that meant that this woman had to be born in the eighties. As such, there was an even higher likelihood of her being an only child. Qiao Nan felt out of place because of that lady’s friendliness. After all, she had probably been pampered as an only child.
Even while she had been in the Qiao family, her own family hadn’t treated her that well, much less strangers.
Apart from the people she knew well, Qiao Nan felt uneasy receiving care and concern from others. As such, Qiao Nan chose to maintain her distance from Li Yayan in spite of her friendliness.
“I’m sorry. There was a bit of a traffic jam when I drove out earlier. Let me help you move the books to the car.” The chauffeur was apologetic. He knew that the winds were still cold because it was only the beginning of spring and that it had been less than three months since Qiao Nan had given birth. That meant that she was much weaker than an average person. There was no way he would be able to make up to the Zhai family if Qiao Nan fell sick from waiting in the cold.
“It’s fine.” Qiao Nan didn’t refuse the chauffeur’s help and handed the stack of books over to him. The chauffeur then placed the books in the passenger seats. After ensuring that Qiao Nan had enough space, he gestured for Qiao Nan to take a seat. “Madam, I’ve switched on the heater in the car. Would you like some water?” There were bottles of mineral water prepared for her in the car.
Qiao Nan took out her handkerchief to clean her hands. “No, there’s no need to have the heater blasting. You can turn it down slightly. Let’s go home.”
After getting in the car, Qiao Nan waved goodbye to Li Yayan, who was still standing outside.
With that, Li Yayan could only watch helplessly as Qiao Nan left in the Zhai family’s car. Li Yayan sighed in frustration. She had already known that things wouldn’t go so smoothly. Thankfully, she had already taken the first step and had talked to Qiao Nan. As long as she had another chance, she was sure she could become Qiao Nan’s close friend.
Li Yayan knew that Qiao Nan had started interacting with others and was probably trying to make new friends. This was Wang Yang and her best shot!
Upon ensuring that Qiao Nan’s car had gone off into the distance and she could no longer be seen, Li Yayan stomped her foot and harrumphed. “This weather! It’s already spring but it’s still so cold! If not for… I wouldn’t even have left the house! I just hope I didn’t stand in the cold for nothing today!” With that, Li Yayan made a call and a car immediately appeared to pick her up.
Qiao Nan, who had collected her books, returned with a chill.
Logically, three-month-old infants shouldn’t have been able to recognize anyone. But the moment Qiao Nan appeared, the triplets could no longer keep still in their grandparents’ arms. They waved their chubby arms and kicked around, staring in Qiao Nan’s direction with their bright eyes and crying out.
