Jiajia was momentarily stunned and her body stiffened. Then, she smiled at Qiao Nan helplessly. “Auntie, my uncle is threatening me and so are you. Wouldn’t I be letting you down if I were to get into a relationship before university now that you’ve praised me?”
Her aunt was not helping her in front of her uncle. She was clearly on her uncle’s side.
Qiao Nan was reluctant to admit to the trap she had set. “Jiajia, do you mean that you intend to do otherwise? Or do you mean that you intend to do something when you’re in your last year of junior high school or when you enter high school?”
The moment Qiao Nan said that, everyone in the Zhai family, including Zhai Hua, had their eyes pinned on Jiajia. What could she do?
Zhai Hua had only fallen for Wei De at that time because she had insisted on only getting into a relationship at almost thirty. Jiajia was still in her teenage years and was still young. As compared to her mom who had gotten married at thirty and her uncle who had gotten married at forty-five, it seemed as though Jiajia’s life had not even started yet at her age. Which fool dared to snatch her away from the Zhai family while she was still so young?
“…” Jiajia felt like vomiting blood from hearing all these. Were these all not just hypothetical situations? Why were her grandparents and mom treating her uncle’s words as though they were real? Why did she not know of the existence of such a boy in her life? Humph! There was no way she was in an early relationship. “Auntie is right. I think that I should only think about dating after university.”
She had never intended to get into an early relationship in the first place.
Qiao Nan patted Jiajia on the head. “Good girl. I knew that you wouldn’t distract yourself from your schoolwork when it matters the most.”
Qiao Nan was rather strict while disciplining children. In her dream, few boys got into relationships after university, much less before university. Qiao Nan had always taught her children that it was all right to date, but they had to keep their responsibilities in mind at all times.
If they were unprepared or just wanted to have some fun, there were so many other things they could have fun with. There was no point in playing with someone else’s feelings.
Qiao Nan was in the government service and had a business on hand. As long as the children were willing, Qiao Nan could simply hand some work over to them. That would be enough to tire them out.
Did those youths have inexhaustible energy? That problem would never arise in Qiao Nan’s family. No matter how energetic those youths were, Qiao Nan would always have a way of exhausting those rascals.
Qiao Nan had had such strict demands on boys. It was only natural that she cared even more about girls.
Seeing Qiao Nan in this manner, both Zhai Yaohui and Miao Jing sighed in relief. Miao Jing whispered into Zhai Yaohui’s ear. “I won’t have to worry when Nan Nan has children in the future. Nan Nan will be a good mother and will raise our grandchildren well.” Miao Jing was turning seventy. Although she did want to raise her grandchildren, she might not have the physical capability to do so anymore.
The same went for Zhai Yaohui.
Because neither Zhai Sheng nor Qiao Nan had any experience parenting, Miao Jing had already been worried before they even had children. She would have to worry even after the couple had children. But today, Miao Jing could finally rest assured, knowing that Qiao Nan could not possibly be too bad of a parent after witnessing how well she educated and disciplined Jiajia.
In the Wei family, Mother and Father Wei could not care less about their granddaughter, Jiajia. As long as Jiajia did not threaten Wei Wei’s interests, the old couple could not even be bothered to speak to Jiajia. They felt that not scolding Jiajia was one way of treating Jiajia ‘well’.
Wei De was often away from home, and as such, there was no way for him to control Jiajia even if he wanted to. Zhai Hua was willing to take control of disciplining Jiajia, but the problem was that Zhai Hua was in charge of taking care of the entire Wei family alone.
As such, it was the first time Jiajia was experiencing someone disciplining her alone in this manner. It felt strange and uneasy, yet sweet and sour at the same time. What Jiajia could be sure of was that she did not mind her auntie disciplining her in this manner.
Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng’s matters had pretty much been settled, and the only thing left was the wedding in half a month’s time. Miao Jing grew a little hesitant while speaking about the invitations. “Nan Nan, how’s your dad?”
The Zhai family had not forgotten about Zhai Sheng following Qiao Nan to the hospital earlier that day. They had simply chosen not to talk about it because they were afraid of putting Qiao Nan in the spot if they were to discuss how Qiao Zijin cared so much about money that she was not even willing to pay for Qiao Dongliang’s hospitalization bills and waited for Qiao Nan to do so instead.
But with something even more awkward ahead, Miao Jing had to pose the question no matter how embarrassed it made her feel. “Your wedding with Zhai Sheng will be happening in half a month’s time. Who are you planning to invite from the Qiao family? Will your dad be able to attend the wedding in his condition?”
Qiao Dongliang had been hospitalized before Qiao Nan got married, and this was actually rather unlucky. The elder daughter had gotten into trouble, but the younger daughter had to bear that burden. The Qiao family’s situation was truly a mess.
At the mention of the invitations for Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan’s wedding, the atmosphere in the Zhai family immediately stiffened. It seemed as though everyone tried to soften their breathing, afraid that they might interrupt Qiao Nan’s thoughts.
Qiao Nan forced a smile out. “Let me think this through. We’re holding the wedding in Ping Cheng, after all. It’s not far away, but my dad’s in the hospital now. Give me a few days to think about it. I can inform them just two to three days in advance.”
To be honest, Qiao Nan herself did not even know who to invite to her wedding. If possible, she would choose not to invite anyone. In her dream, her dad had attended her wedding. However, her dad in her dream seemed a little different from her dad in reality, yet similar at times. Qiao Nan could not make up her mind just yet and did not know if she should simply invite her dad as she had in her dream.
As for Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin, Qiao Nan did not even bother considering it. These two people would never give her face and would never try to be on their best behaviors just because she was getting married to Zhai Sheng. Given their tempers, they would simply be angry that someone like her could get married to a tall, handsome, and rich man like Zhai Sheng to live a life they could never even dream of.
As such, Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin would only cause a ruckus. There was no point in inviting these two people who would only ruin the wedding she was going to have after so much trouble.
The Zhai family was not in the position to intervene in the Qiao family’s matters. Since Qiao Nan said she would think about it, Miao Jing did not pursue the matter any further.
