Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When she lost her marriage, she had to think of a way to minimize her losses, right?
At that time, Xu Shengnan was fortunate that she had an amazing, daring, and capable junior. Otherwise, even after facing such humiliation, she would probably just cry and throw a tantrum but swallow the hurt herself in the end.
After she found out about Xu Shengnan’s situation, Qiao Nan did not immediately cast it aside. She was extremely concerned about Xu Shengnan.
If Xu Shengnan and her man had really gotten to that stage, it was what would happen afterward that would be the most troublesome.
“Mom, after Auntie Xu came to find you, you haven’t smiled. Did something bad happen to Auntie Xu?” Qiao Nan was feeling down and her children could sense that. Because of that, the children were especially obedient. They did not bother Qiao Nan to play with them just because she had come down.
As the only young lady in the house, there was nothing San Bao was worried about. Seating herself next to Qiao Nan, she was not much shorter than Qiao Nan herself. She coquettishly leaned against her mother and asked her what was going on.
Qiao Nan stroked San Bao’s head, sighing. “San Bao, I’ve said it before. As long as you are sensible and have your own limits, I won’t stop you from dating early. But I have to say that it’s easy to be taken advantage of as a girl. When you find a boyfriend in the future, there’s really no hurry. You have to watch out for yourself and learn to protect yourself. Especially when marrying someone, you really have to look carefully.”
Hearing about what had happened to Xu Shengnan, Qiao Nan thought that she had completely forgotten about her past. But now, it was bloodily dug up yet again. The betrayal of Chen Jun, Ding Jiayi as a partner in crime, and Qiao Zijin’s shamefulness—these three most important people to Qiao Nan had hurt her deeply at that time.
Thinking back about it, Qiao Nan felt that she had been extremely strong at that time to not have been beaten down. If she were to face such a situation again now, she might never stand up again after such a heavy blow. After all, after the betrayal of these three people who were the closest to her, there was still her father who simply watched on from the sidelines.
San Bao was confused by her mother’s words, but after she thought through it with her brilliant mind, she finally understood parts of it. “Mom, did something happen to Auntie Xu? Is that why you’re so worried?”
“Yes, a little. I think it’s a hard life out there for women in this world. You’re my only daughter. I’m worried for you.” Having given birth to a girl, Qiao Nan inevitably worried about her, especially after what Xu Shengnan had done. She was really worried that her daughter would meet a bast*rd in the future.
If that really happened… Qiao Nan laughed coldly. That bast*rd son-in-law of hers would have to be prepared to face his two older brothers-in-law and his father-in-law.
San Bao nodded obediently. “I’ll listen to Mom. When the time comes and I start dating, I’ll ask you to help check. If you think he’s bad, I’ll break up with him immediately.”
Qiao Nan laughed, amused. “How can there be such a thing? They always say that girls care more about outsiders. I’m just afraid that if I’m really against you being with your boyfriend, you might just throw a tantrum and run away from home!” Whether this was true, Qiao Nan was definitely happy that her daughter was willing to say such things to pacify her.
San Bao was upset. “I was clearly speaking the truth. Just wait and see if you don’t believe me. I’m such an obedient girl. If Mom doesn’t agree to it, I won’t do it. But when Da Bao and Er Bao get girlfriends in the future, I’m not sure if they’ll be as obedient as me. Mom, I’ll definitely be the most obedient child!”
“Nonsense!” Er Bao was unhappy, even though he did not have any interest in finding a girlfriend now. “I’ll listen to Mom too. So many girls in school have confessed their love to me, but I haven’t accepted a single one. When I get married in the future, my wife will spend a lot of time with Mom. So if Mom doesn’t like her, I’ll only be adding to Mom’s burden by trying to marry her. You’re so mean, San Bao. Why are you trying to tarnish my image in front of Mom? I’m a good son!”
Da Bao knocked his brother and sister on their heads and laughed. Did they think he was dead and could speak ill of him just because he was keeping mum? When had he ever done anything that made his mom unhappy? If his mom did not like it, he would never do it.
It was also because of the influence of their elders that this concept was deeply rooted in the three children. Zhai Sheng wanted the children to remember that he was often away from home and that it was difficult for their mother to raise the three of them. So when they grew older, they not only had to be filial to her but also had to refrain from doing anything that might anger her.
Miao Jing would also occasionally talk to the three children about the ‘past’. In front of the three children, what Miao Jing most often praised Zhai Sheng about was that he had married a wife whom his mother liked very much. If Zhai Sheng had married someone else, Miao Jing would not be living such a good life now.
In summary, grandma’s and Dad’s words together meant that they had to listen to their mom and find a partner that their mom was satisfied with.
Of course, Qiao Nan did not treat the words of the three children seriously. But now that they had coaxed her with their words, all her anger had dissipated. “Mom is the luckiest woman for having the three of you precious ones.”
“Me too, Mom. Kiss!” San Bao was the first one to rush into her mom’s embrace and plant a kiss on her face. Er Bao had always liked competing with San Bao, so he roughly planted a kiss on the other side of Qiao Nan’s face. While his dad was not around, he had to make the most out of it and kiss his mom more often.
In recent years, their father had been spending less time at home. Every time he stuck to his mother, his father would look at him in jealousy. It was truly frightening. Since his father was not at home today, he would not be punished for kissing his mother.
Da Bao hesitated for a moment, but after seeing his brother and sister kiss their mother and become happy as if having stolen candy, he could not help but plant a kiss on his mother’s face as well.
With their elder brothers and sister taking the lead, the three younger ones could not hold back and rushed in unison toward Qiao Nan, especially Zhu Yu and Gao Feng. They took advantage of the fact that they were still young and slobbered all over Qiao Nan’s face while kissing her.
Now that the whole bunch of children had rushed over to her, Qiao Nan almost drowned in the sea of children.
“Tut!” Gao Yan was infuriated. “This fool! Does he really not know who gave birth to him, feeds him, and provides for him? He can’t even distinguish between who he should be closer to! He treats an outsider better than he treats me!” An occasional hug was still all right, but when Gao Yan wanted to kiss his son, he would almost reject it.
Sometimes, when Gao Yan stole a kiss, Gao Feng would always be full of disdain when he finally came to his senses.
