Ding Jiayi was dumbfounded. When had Old Qiao become so heartless and indifferent towards Zijin?
“Zijin still has you, as long as you are able to take care proper care of the finances, I believe Zijin can definitely continue in her studies. Furthermore, the school will not make the student drop out immediately when the school fees are not paid. You can just think of a way to resolve this. But knowing Zijin, she is usually concerned about her face, she will not have any mood to study if the school fees are owing. Heed my advice, manage your money properly and don’t let Zijin be in a difficult position. What happened during the essay competition has already left the teachers with a bad impression of her. Having said this, you should think about what you need to do.”
In the past, he had really indulged Old Ding too much and allowed her to spoil Zijin.
Although he would be taking in a son-in-law for Zijin and Nan Nan would be married to another family, both were his own daughters. There was no reason that Zijin could have a few sets of new clothes in a year while Nan Nan could not get any.
Uncle Lee was right. He was too muddle-headed in the past.
If he continued to let Old Ding manage the household, the family would be in a mess.
Qiao Dongliang had made up his mind to suppress Ding Jiayi’s bad temper. Even though the five fingers on one hand are of different length, and favoritism is inevitable in parent-child relationship, Old Ding was too extreme in her treatment towards Nan Nan.
Leaving Ding Jiayi behind, Qiao Dongliang washed up and went to bed. He did not bother about Ding Jiayi.
This time, Ding Jiayi was really furious and heartbroken. She sat in the living room alone, slouching, and wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes from time to time, crying silently.
For some time, only the sounds of Ding Jiayi’s sobbing and breathing could be heard intermittently from the living room.
Ding Jiayi sat alone until she was cold and numb, then she slowly got up and went to the bedroom without even washing her face.
Looking at the bump covered by the blanket on the bed, Ding Jiayi sniffed, took off her clothes and got into bed silently.
Although the person lying next to her had a high body temperature and she should feel the warmth, Ding Jiayi felt so bitterly disappointed that she was chilled to the bone.
She was married to this man for more than decade. For the sake of him, she managed the household affairs and was busy all the time, didn’t she do all these for the family and this man?
Ding Jiayi sobbed a few times and gave a long sigh before she closed her eyes and slept.
One semester had passed in the blink of an eye, Qiao Nan finished her exams earlier than Qiao Zijin. Qiao Zijin’s exam ended two days later and also reached home late, she finally had a good night’s sleep.
“Mom, we finished our exams. Today’s weather is good, shall we go shopping for new clothes?” On the next day, Qiao Zijin’s mind was all on shopping for new clothes when she woke up. “Mom, the newly arrived clothes for the Lunar New Year are so beautiful. My classmates are all so well-dressed and they have so many clothes, Mom… ”
Qiao Zijin stretched her tone and spoke like a spoiled child.
In fact, Qiao Zijin already knew what she wanted to buy, she had her eyes on four sets of clothes that she liked very much.
Qiao Zijin was not confident that her mother would buy all four sets of clothing, but she was sure that she could get at least three sets if she tried hard enough.
“How many sets did you have your eyes on?” Of course, Ding Jiayi understood Qiao Zijin well, she knew what Qiao Zijin was thinking when Qiao Zijin behaved this way.
“Not a lot, just, just four sets.”
Ding Jiayi was asking for the number of pieces, but Qiao Zijin signaled that she was keen on four sets of clothing.
Ding Jiayi gasped. When they had savings at home previously, she also did not have the habit of buying four sets of new clothes for Zijin at once. “Zijin, I need to let you know a situation, you then consider for yourself how many new clothes to buy this year.”
Because of Qiao Dongliang’s words, Ding Jiayi was compelled to do some calculations on how much money she had on hand.
Ding Jiayi doted on Qiao Zijin very much. Whenever Qiao Zijin made a request, she would always accede to them if they were within her means to provide.
As such, during the past four months, Ding Jiayi did not save a lot. If she hoped to pay off Qiao Zijin’s tuition fees for the next semester, she would have to work longer and she dared not even take a break from work early to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Hence, Ding Jiayi could not afford to buy any new clothes for Qiao Zijin.
Ding Jiayi’s words stunned Qiao Zijin. “No money, you can ask from Dad.” Her father, not her mother, earned the most in the family. “You pay for my clothes and then ask Dad for my tuition fees.”
In this way, we could have the best of both worlds.
“Your dad already said. I will take care of your matters and he will not interfere. If I am not able to cough up your tuition fees, he will not help and I have to think of a way to settle it myself.”
“Dad really said that? Impossible! You told me last time that he wanted to take in a son-in-law for me.” As such, how could her father be so heartless and really not care about her.
If she knew that this would be the case, she would rather swap with Qiao Nan to let her father manage her affairs while her mother managed that of Qiao Nan.
Yes, why hadn’t she thought of that earlier?
If she was taken care of by her dad, she need not worry about having no money to spend. If Qiao Nan was managed by her mother, her mother would spend all the money on her anyway.
“I heard this from the horse’s mouth. I don’t know what drugs Qiao Nan gave your dad, your Dad only has one daughter in his heart now. If I am unable to pay your tuition fees, he asked me to let it be in arrears, while I think of ways to pay gradually.”
“I don’t want!” Before Ding Jiayi could finish her words, Qiao Zijin rejected this notion. “If that’s the case, then I would not be able to face anyone in school. I am already in the bad books of my Chinese Teacher. If this really happens, I, I might as well quit my studies!”
“How can you quit school! If you quit, how are you going to find a good job in future? To put it bluntly, you will have let Qiao Nan have her wish if you quit your studies, because all the money in the family will then be used to support her education. It’s the Lunar New Year period and there are many odd jobs available, I will work for a few more days. It should not be a problem to settle your school fees. But your clothes for Lunar New Year… I probably cannot afford any.”
Qiao Zijin frowned instantly. “Can’t we talk about this further? I don’t want four sets now, can I have two instead?” This was one set less than what she had expected. Qiao Zijin was extremely unhappy.
“Two sets?” Ding Jiayi smiled bitterly. “Most likely not even one set, unless you really want to owe the school one semester of tuition fees.”
“I don’t want, if you can’t pay the tuition fees, I will rather not study!” Qiao Zijin’s face turned stiff and said firmly, “What about Qiao Nan’s tuition fees?!”
“There would not be a problem for Qiao Nan’s tuition fees. Your Dad had already prepared it.”
“Mom, this won’t do. We still need to buy the clothes, not two, but at least one set for the Lunar New Year? Regarding the tuition fees, how much are you short of? Can we borrow from Dad? If my Dad won’t lend, then borrow from Qiao Nan, let her pay the tuition fees late.”
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