Chapter 89 – Debt of Gratitude (恩情)
Qiao Weimin maintained a confident demeanor as if he had faced a lot of hardships while raising Jing Yunzhao, with the “sincere look” on his face, as if he looked scary.
“You said you paid for my school fees? Alright then, let’s see. May I know when was the last year you paid for my school fees? Don’t tell me that it’s eight to nine years ago!” Jing Yunzhao asked with her bright smiling eyes filled with confidence.
Qiao Weimin stood in shock. He wanted to refute her claim but suddenly realised that he had only spent a small amount of money on her school fees when Jing Yunzhao first started her three years of primary school and he never cared about her since then.
“Regardless of that I still raised you!” Qiao Weimin still did not think that he was in the wrong and refuted, “No matter if it’s just a drop of water or a grain of rice, it is also kindness isn’t it?”
“So even this can also be considered kindness?” Jing Yunzhao’s mouth hooked upwards forming a smirk, the corner of her eyes carried an indescribable meaning.
“In that case, I will be straightforward … If I remember correctly, I have already learnt how to cook and wash the laundry even before I had learned how to write. From that moment on all the way until the moment I left the Qiao family, for all these years, I get punished whenever my job was not done properly. Yet, when the job was done well, it was always taken for granted. In one particular year, I accidentally ruined Qiao Hongye’s favourite floral dress while washing it. You punished me by making me kneel on the balcony for a night. I fainted from a fever and yet, you still splashed a pail of cold water to wake me up. This resulted in me falling ill for a week. If it weren’t for our neighbours who secretly gave me some medicine, it would be uncertain if I would still be alive today.”
“To sum it up, you raised me for nine years and paid for three years of my school fees. I also worked like a dog for the Qiao family for almost 10 years, received countless beatings and scoldings for more than 10 years, and never ate my fill. Also yes, one more thing that I forgot to mention…”
Jing Yunzhao voiced it so calmly, as if all of this did not concern her, “I don’t know if I could sue you for child abuse with the remaining scars on my body from your old abusive ways.”
In the past, Qiao Weimin and Ye Qin (dead wife) cared about their face (reputation).They were afraid of people making irresponsible remarks. Therefore, they had at most let her suffer some superficial injuries. After enduring the pain for a few minutes they would let her off.
However, she was reluctant to give in when she was little. She had tried to retaliate a few times but ended up incurring the wrath of Qiao Weimin instead. Qiao Weimin left a few cigarette burn marks on her arms. There was even once, where he kicked her legs and made her kneel over shattered glass pieces on the ground.
Up till today, her scars still look horrifying.
When this was mentioned, Qiao Weimin’s face changed.
“These injuries were made by yourself when you were little because of your mischievousness… ” Qiao Weimin denied immediately.
Jing Yunzhao had an “I knew it” expression across her face and looked at him with despise. “Whether it was I who had caused these injuries, everyone here knows the truth clearly in their hearts. There isn’t a wall in the world that doesn’t have a crack. If you insist on finding trouble for me, then I can only try to find more convincing evidence …”
Qiao Weimin’s mouth started twitching, showing that he was very furious.
“How can you be so irrational? I’m your dad….”
“Don’t, Mr Qiao. Let’s not talk about you being my biological father, you don’t even count as my stepfather. To ensure my happiness in life, haven’t the school and the leaders of the town happily made the decision to send me away? On the outside, you claimed that I was kicked out of the house but I don’t care. However, since there is no longer any relationship between us, please don’t fawn over me whenever you see money.” Jing Yunzhao spoke the truth without leaving him any face.
Once her words were spoken, everyone understood.
The truth was that Qiao Weimin did not kick Jing Yunzhao out of the house, but it was discovered by the school that she was abused by Qiao Weimin.
To be exact, the Qiao family should be the ones who got kicked out instead…
The place was such a small town that everyone in town would have at least heard of the Qiao family being biased towards their children rather than Jing Yunzhao. Although it was never a secret, they never thought that this bias would be so severe to the point that these incidents happened.
Looking at Jing Yunzhao, her body looked so thin as if she would be blown away by the wind anytime. Saying that she never had enough to eat in the past, was a statement that was becoming more and more believable.
