Her mom was petty and had a bad temper. Her anger probably wouldn’t dissipate for a while. It was unfortunate that this incident had taken place just the previous day. In another two days’ time, she wouldn’t even need to cajole her mom anymore. Her mom would probably have calmed down by then. Then, she would simply go home.
Qiao Zijin sighed, feeling that she was too unlucky. Her mom had such a bad temper while her dad was biased toward Qiao Nan. Even after she had finally returned to Ping Cheng after much difficulty, she had unexpectedly found herself homeless and would have no choice but to spend the night in a hotel.
The only thing that comforted Qiao Zijin was that she knew of all the cheap and clean hotels in Ping Cheng. Not only would it be more comfortable than living in the capital, but she would even be able to save money. With such a comparison, Qiao Zijin was no longer in a foul mood nor did she think that it was unfair for her to spend money on a hotel even though she could go home. She would simply treat it as though she was spending money to make herself comfortable.
Qiao Zijin thus paid for three days’ worth of rent. In these three days, she wouldn’t disturb her mom anymore. She would simply wait for her mom to calm down and pick her up. Yes, that was exactly what she had to do. She couldn’t afford to be like Qiao Nan or her dad, allowing her mom’s temper to worsen even further. Now, only she was able to control her mom.
Since there was no more noise outside the door, Ding Jiayi knew that Qiao Zijin must have left. Ding Jiayi couldn’t be clearer about the kind of person Qiao Zijin was and the kind of temper she had. After all, she had raised her. Qiao Zijin was a princess. It was considered not bad that Qiao Zijin had been willing to leave before flaring up when she had refused to open the door.
But it was exactly because Qiao Zijin had left and apologized so casually for the sake of doing so, believing that Ding Jiayi would forgive her just because she had done so, that Ding Jiayi felt even more miserable. Qiao Zijin had gone overboard and had even treated her own mom in that manner but was still apologizing so insincerely. Qiao Zijin’s attitude proved that she didn’t care about her mom, Ding Jiayi, at all.
Ding Jiayi sniffled, feeling as though her life was truly bitter.
Her most beloved daughter didn’t take her seriously, while Qiao Nan was petty and calculating toward her own biological mother. Qiao Dongliang, whom she had served her whole life, was heartless too. Qiao Dongliang knew just what kind of person Qiao Zijin was, and he knew that she had been wronged and bullied by Qiao Zijin too. Even if he didn’t pity her, it wasn’t right for him to be angry at her, allowing her to be bullied by their two daughters.
Ding Jiayi wondered if life was supposed to be so painful. If she were to die right now, would the heavens take pity on her and let her reincarnate into a good family, marry a good husband, and have a filial son? If the heavens gave her an affirmative answer, Ding Jiayi felt that it would be much better to die and get a fresh start rather than live such a miserable life.
But these were nothing more than her thoughts. Ding Jiayi would never be able to kill herself if it came to it.
Because Qiao Zijin had left, there was no longer the need for Ding Jiayi to act as though the house was empty. Although she did not feel hungry, her stomach was empty. She heated up the steamed bun that she had bought that morning and paired it with some pickles for dinner. Ding Jiayi’s empty gaze made her no different from a wooden puppet. After finishing her meal, she didn’t even remove her clothes before lying on the bed and going to sleep.
How Ding Jiayi wished that all of this was nothing more than a nightmare that would end the moment she woke up. How she wished that things would return to how they had been before she had left for the capital, that Qiao Dongliang hadn’t left, and that Qiao Zijin hadn’t gone overboard and disappointed her.
In reality, Ding Jiayi wasn’t the only one with such a thought. Wang Yang and his wife were not in a better mood than Ding Jiayi.
As they lay on their bed, the couple couldn’t help but think about how the court hearing would start the moment they awoke. How they wished this night would never end.
Perhaps, it was because Wang Yang and his wife both had something in their minds that they had the same ‘nightmare’ when they finally fell asleep in a daze. In that dream, they had indeed lost the lawsuit, and the judge had ruled Zhu Chengqi’s will valid. In that way, the deceased’s will had to be followed and all of his assets were ruled to Qiao Nan. From then on, Qiao Nan would be the owner of the Zhu family, and Wang Yang would have nothing to do with the Zhu family.
When they awoke from the nightmare, the couple was drenched in a cold sweat. Seeing each other’s appearance, they both had a tacit understanding and didn’t ask each other why they looked so shocked.
Li Yayan simply got up and took a bath, but that bath only made her even more depressed. “Dear, are you still going to sleep?” Anyway, she wasn’t. She couldn’t sleep. In fact, she was afraid of falling asleep. That nightmare had scared her out of her wits and had given her goosebumps all over. Because of that dream, Li Yayan no longer dared to go to sleep.
Wang Yang was just as afraid but didn’t want to say a thing in front of Li Yayan for the sake of his pride. “I’ve had enough sleep. I should get up early and get ready. I’ll go take a shower.”
Wang Yang and his wife were like two wandering souls. After waking up and refusing to go back to sleep, the couple sat on the sofa in a daze, refusing to chat with each other. And that was how the couple endured the passing of time up until the court hearing started.
Perhaps, it was to avoid adding any more pressure on Wang Yang that the Wang family did not call Wang Yang before the court session. As the court session began, Wang Yang took his seat in the plaintiff’s position, while Li Yayan sat in the audience. At that moment, Li Yayan’s phone rang.
Seeing that it was her mother-in-law, Li Yayan was so frightened that she tossed her phone out, making a loud noise. Everyone turned to stare at Li Yayan, who had gone pale. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
Li Yayan picked up her phone and ran out to answer the call. Members of the audience were not allowed to switch on their mobile phones during court hearings, and everyone apart from Li Yayan knew not to make that mistake. Li Yayan’s behavior had soured the expression on the face of Wang Yang’s lawyer. “You’d better not let this happen again. It will leave a bad impression on the judge and the jury.”
