Ding Jiayi knocked on the door for a long time but she could not get Qiao Dongliang to open it for her. Instead, she woke Qiao Zijin who was sleeping. “Mom, what are you doing in the middle of the night. You’re not letting people sleep!”
As there were not enough tuition fees and living expenses, her mood was already bad enough. Her mother had to make so much noise in the wee hours of the night. What did she mean by that?
“Zijin, go and sleep. I, I have to talk to your dad. You better sleep soon. If not, Mom will knock softly and you can cover your head.” Ding Jiayi was tiring out herself in the middle of the night. Wasn’t it all for the sake of Qiao Zijin?
Although she saw that Qiao Zijin was not understanding was furious with her, the bad-tempered Ding Jiayi was not her usual self. Despite Qiao Zijin’s complaint, she was not angry. She still coaxed Qiao Zijin nicely and assured her that she would lower her volume. What an attitude.
“Fine, then lower your volume,” Qiao Zijin replied sullenly and continued to sleep with her head in the covers.
As to why Ding Jiayi and Qiao Dongliang had to talk to each other outside of their bedroom, Qiao Zijin was not concerned at all.
Qiao Zijin was not concerned, Ding Jiayi did not mind. She stayed outside the study room and continued to knock on the door stubbornly.
Qiao Dongliang’s body was covered with a thick layer of blanket but Ding Jiayi only had her coat on.
Within a few minutes, Ding Jiayi could no longer endure the cold weather. She turned pale and her teeth chattered.
Ding Jiayi had no choice but to return to her bedroom. She wore a thicker layer of clothing and continued to squat outside the door of the study room, knocking at the door from time to time.
On the morning of the second day, Qiao Dongliang opened the door of the study room. He was prepared to wash up, have breakfast and go to work. He discovered that Ding Jiayi, who was wearing a thick layer of clothing, had been squatting and leaning against the door and she slept through the night.
When Qiao Dongliang opened the door, Ding Jiayi, who was leaning against it, fell straight into the room.
At the sight of Ding Jiayi, Qiao Dongliang was both angry and amused.
No matter what, they had been a couple for decades. Facing this sight of Ding Jiayi, Qiao Dongliang certainly did not feel good.
However, when he thought of how Ding Jiayi led Qiao Zijin to squander away all the money, he forced himself to be hard-hearted and decided not to interfere in this matter.
They were not a wealthy and prosperous family. All the family savings were gone. If they do not reduce expenses, how were they going to survive?
It was not easy. He waited so long and his two daughters were becoming successful soon, he must think of a way to allow both of them to continue with their studies.
Whatever it takes, he must correct Old Ding’s corrupted thoughts!
Otherwise, with Old Ding’s foolishness, at least one of the two daughters’ futures would be negatively affected.
Qiao Dongliang gritted his teeth. He did not bother about Ding Jiayi, neither did he call her. As per his usual routine, he washed up, had his breakfast and went straight to work.
“Mom, why are you sleeping here?” Qiao Zijin, who woke up only at eight o’clock, was all dressed up and ready to leave the house when she saw Ding Jiayi lying on the floor and sleeping at the entrance of the study room.
“Aiyoh.” Ding Jiayi screamed pitifully when she was awakened. With that sleeping posture overnight, Ding Jiayi’s entire body felt numb and stiff. “Where is your Dad?”
“Dad? It’s already eight o’clock. Dad must have gone to work.”
“What, already eight o’clock!” Ding Jiayi gave a scream. “I’m done for. I’ll be late. They will deduct money from my salary.”
Having said that, she hurriedly wore her shoes and ran out, without bothering about Qiao Zijin.
Fortunately, she had already dressed up for work last night and could leave the house after putting on her shoes. Otherwise, she would be late by two hours.
“Mom, my, my breakfast?” Even Qiao Zijin, whose tummy was rumbling with hunger, could not stop Ding Jiayi from leaving. “Qiao Nan! Qiao Nan!”
Qiao Zijin looked for Qiao Nan as she wanted Qiao Nan to prepare breakfast. However, when she walked over to Qiao Nan’s room, the door was shut tightly. She had long left home.
Facing this situation, Qiao Zijin was in a terrible mood. She could not tolerate any more. She lifted her feet gave a few hard kicks to the door. “It’s just a bedroom. It was locked so tightly everyday, as if it was hiding tens of thousands of dollars and afraid of attracting thieves. Who is she guarding, so shameless!”
Her father must have passed the tuition fees to Qiao Nan, whereas Qiao Zijin did not know where her tuition fees were.
It was all her mother’s fault. If she was under the her father’s charge, she would have new clothes. She also would not need to worry about the tuition fees.
It was a pity that her father would definitely not allow her to swap with Qiao Nan now. Her mother said her father loved her more and would be taking in a son-in-law for her. However, her father obviously sided with Qiao Nan more. If this was the case, then her father should not expect her to be filial to him in future.
At this juncture, Qiao Nan, who was reading books at the Zhai residence, did not know the thoughts of Qiao Zijin. She also did not know that her existence had been discovered by the Zhai family.
Father Zhai knitted his brows and looked towards the direction of the storeroom. “Why is there an outsider in our house?”
“Dad, you don’t need to bother about this.” Zhai Hua was munching an apple as she stretched herself. She was tired out during the Lunar New Year. “That young lady was let in by my younger brother. Zhai Sheng has already given her the key to our back door.”
“What is going on?” Father Zhai frowned and did not look happy. “Zhai Sheng is not someone so irresponsible.” Was it right to give their house keys to any Tom, Dick and Harry?
“No issue, this young lady is fine. She has been borrowing our place to read books for half a year.” Something would already have happened if there was a problem with her. “That young lady behaves with propriety. Besides the storeroom, she has never even stepped into our front yard.”
It was also because Qiao Nan knew her boundaries, Zhai Hua did not interfere in this.
Otherwise, if Qiao Nan had displayed any sign of inappropriate behavior, even if she had caused any detriments to the Zhai family, or if Zhai Sheng brought her home, Zhai Hua would have chased her out at the first sign of trouble. Thereafter, Zhai Hua would take back the key.
“Dad, don’t worry. You know Zhai Sheng’s temperament. He has a good judgment of character.”
“Borrow the place to read books?” After listening to his elder daughter, Father Zhai’s expression was more relaxed.
The current situation seemed stable, but there were many who were watching them closely and lusting for the opportunity to pull them down.
“This young lady is quite unlucky, she has an unreliable mother at home. The mother sold all her textbooks and wanted her to quit school. As a result, the young lady went to the waste recycling station and bought many pre-loved textbooks.. Dad, do you know, she is quite lucky in one matter. She picked up Peng Yu’s book at the waste recycling station.” Zhai Hua did not hide anything. She told Father Zhai the truth about Qiao Nan’s situation.
“She is quite determined and self-driven. No problem, just let her be.” There was no need for Father Zhai to be unhappy over the young lady. “But this kind of matter. I will only allow it to happen once. There should not be a second time.”
“Dad, this, you can be assured. Does Zhai Sheng seem like a busybody. This is an exception.” Although she did not know how the exception came about.
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