Initially, she had never thought of selling that house for her kidney transplant. Qiao Nan was quite useless, but with some effort, two hundred yuan was not that difficult to attain.
But no one had expected that Qiao Nan would be so heartless and run away secretly with all that money that was meant for Qiao Zijin’s treatment, all the while knowing that Qiao Zijin was waiting for her to save her life! If Qiao Nan had not created this mess, she would never have had to act so pitiful in front of a camera. She did indeed have the money to treat her illness, but hadn’t Qiao Nan taken all of that money away with her?
There was no way she would touch that house.
“Qiao Zijin, would you like to answer this question personally? After getting a divorce, is it really true that you have absolutely nothing and have no means of saving yourself now that you have uremia?” The reporter did not answer Qiao Zijin and instead relentlessly pursued an answer from Qiao Zijin.
“What are you doing? Don’t you know that Zijin’s sick? Is this how you treat a patient? I looked for you guys because we’re truly out of options. I didn’t look for you to get questioned like a suspect. My daughter is sick and frail. What if you scare her and her condition deteriorates even further? I-I’ll get you to take responsibility!” Ding Jiayi was guilty and angry all at once.
It was not as though she was a complete fool. She had understood what the reporter meant. The Qiao family still had a house that they could sell, and the money from the sale would be sufficient to pay for Qiao Zijin’s treatment. Since they had the means to do so, why had they painted such a pitiful portrait of themselves in front of the camera? The house was not cash indeed, but it was worth some money and could be changed into cash.
If they sold it, would they not have money for the treatment?
The problem was that Ding Jiayi could not possibly say that she did not want to sell the house because she would have nowhere to live after selling the house. Ding Jiayi knew that once she said that, everyone who got to know her through this television program would spit at her in the future whenever she left her house.
Was her family’s money money but other people’s money not money? Did other people’s money grow on trees?
What made Ding Jiayi even guiltier was that it was true that the Qiao family did not own just one property. The Qiao family’s small courtyard was actually a rather big plot of land. Although it could not be demolished to make way for a new house, it was still located in a good location and would sell for a good price. But Qiao Zijin’s apartment was an entirely different case. Not only was it big, but it was also in a good location and had the best amenities around.
Actually, Qiao Nan had wanted to buy that house for herself at that time. But knowing that Qiao Nan had been saving money for herself and had even made the down-payment for a house, Ding Jiayi was infuriated by the fact that Qiao Nan had been hiding money from her! Ding Jiayi had put in a tremendous amount of effort in wiping Qiao Nan completely dry. From then on, the moment Qiao Nan received her salary, Ding Jiayi would make a trip down to check on how much Qiao Nan had earned. Then, she would take everything from Qiao Nan, leaving nothing to Qiao Nan.
Later, when Ding Jiayi had told Qiao Zijin about this matter, Qiao Zijin thought about how she had nothing except for a pregnant belly when she married into the Chen family. A thought came into her mind. Instead of saving the money that Ding Jiayi had gotten from Qiao Nan, they might as well purchase that apartment that Qiao Nan had her sights on. It was just as well since she had no dowry anyway.
Qiao Zijin had simply done it on a whim. She had never even considered the location of the apartment or the company that was constructing the building. It did not matter to her since she was not the one paying the down payment, and neither would she be the one paying the mortgage in the future. No matter where the house was located, there was no way she would be on the losing end since this house was free anyway.
Thus, Qiao Nan’s earnings and the house that Qiao Nan had set her sights on all became Qiao Zijin’s. As the property prices rose by the day, Qiao Zijin was gleeful about how she was the one who had benefited from Qiao Nan’s foresight and earning power since the house was hers alone.
Qiao Nan was fated to lead a hard life and be a coolie for her so that she could enjoy the joys of life.
In front of the media, the Qiao family had subconsciously ignored the existence of this house. They had not even mentioned the Qiao family’s small courtyard, let alone this house. Now that the reporter relentlessly asked about whether they truly had no other properties, whether they had no means of paying for Qiao Zijin’s treatment, and whether they truly needed the donations, Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi could not help but panic.
Before today’s incident, the staff from the television station had been very sympathetic toward their plight and had even joined them in calling Qiao Nan a heartless person. It was completely different from today’s expressionless faces and cool tones used when talking to them. It was as though this was the calm before the storm.
Qiao Zijin’s pupils quavered. “I’m sorry. I just underwent treatment today, so I’m not at my peak mentally or physically today. I’m feeling a little dizzy. Shall we continue this interview another day when I’m feeling better? I just want to rest for a while and have some time to myself.”
Qiao Zijin clutched her head. Her tone had been normal just a while ago, but now, her voice was toned down as though she was truly feeling unwell.
Having been in this line for a long time, the reporter had seen many patients over the span of her career. However, she had never seen a ‘patient’ who confidently and spiritedly asked what the reporter meant one minute, and said that speaking was too exhausting for her in the next.
Qiao Zijin stuttered while speaking. Not only was she dishonest and cunning, but she also looked nothing like someone who would take bullying just like that. In that case, the younger sister, who had been lambasted by thousands, could very well be the one being bullied instead!
The elder sister had a property worth two million yuan in her possession but kept going on about how she had no money to treat her illness, and she had even called her younger sister out for taking all of her money away, leaving her elder sister to die. Drawing a connection to the evidence she had in her hands, the reporter sneered. “There’s no hurry. We asked the doctor all about Miss Qiao’s condition before coming here. Miss Qiao’s condition is still the same as before. If Miss Qiao was able to give us an interview before, there’s no reason why you aren’t able to do so today.”
“Miss Qiao, we’re very curious. You only worked for a short period of time before getting married, and your salary wasn’t that high either. After you got married, you immediately resigned from your job to be a full-time housewife. I have some information on hand that has been verified by my colleague. It says that Miss Qiao, you have a house that’s worth two million yuan under your name. Can I ask why your family is acting poor and claiming to have no money for your treatment even though you guys clearly have two houses? And as someone who hasn’t been in the workforce for such a long time, how did you manage to buy that house? Who gave you the money? Was it your ex-husband? But the strange thing is that when we checked on the mortgage on that house, it’s always the Qiao family that has been repaying the mortgage, and the funds have always been transferred from your mother’s account.”
