Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At that time, would he still need to mobilize Qiao Nan to clean up Zhou Xing’s mess?
He had to think of a way to prevent such a situation from occurring.
“Grandpa, can you stop talking?” What Zhou Xing hated the most was having other people talk to her about life principles. She was no three-year-old. She understood whatever she had to understand, but it did not matter whether she understood them or not. She would still not do whatever she was unwilling to do. “Didn’t you say that we should find somewhere to have a chat? It’s just as well. My stomach has something to say to you.”
The situation today had been awkward enough. Thankfully, only one person had witnessed that scene. If any more people had been present, she would probably lose all respect and not even need to study in her school anymore.
Based on just his appearance, Zhou Xing knew in her heart that her grandpa might act as though he cared for her, but in reality, her grandpa was biased toward Qiao Nan’s family.
Her grandma had told her long ago that even when her mom was still around, her grandpa had favored Qiao Nan and treated her mom badly. That was why after the divorce that year, her grandma had chosen to take her mom. As expected, her grandpa had chosen to take Qiao Nan.
At that time, her grandpa had already made such a decision. Qiao Nan’s three children had been raised by this grandpa. As for her, this was her first time meeting her grandpa. Zhou Xing was no fool. She knew exactly who was important and who was not in her grandpa’s heart. “Grandpa, there’s no one else here. Why don’t you just say whatever you have to say? I’ll listen to whatever pleases me. Whatever I think is inappropriate, I’ll just treat it as though we’re chatting leisurely.”
“What kind of attitude is that? I’m your biological grandpa, your elder. Everything I say is for your good. What do you mean that you’ll listen to whatever pleases you and ignore whatever you think is inappropriate?” Qiao Dongliang stared wide-eyed at Zhou Xing. He almost choked after hearing Zhou Xing preempting him.
Zhou Xing raised her hand in refusal. “That may not necessarily be true. I have so many elders, but my dad. My birth father was intent on taking money from my pocket to help him support that vixen and to raise that favorite son of his from that vixen. My dad treats that mother-and-son pair extremely well. Even the child from her previous marriage is much more lovable than me in my father’s eyes. Elder? Elders have never been reliable. Grandpa, you should know that you’re just about the same. After my mom passed away and my dad remarried, my life in the Zhou family was never easy. However, I never once saw you coming to express your concern as a grandpa, or even just to visit me.”
In her most difficult times when she needed the most help, her grandpa did not even appear. Now that she was grown up and had a little capability, as well as her own judgment, she would not be so courteous to a grandpa with no conscience who suddenly appeared in front of her.
If she had to listen to everyone else’s words, she would have long ago been gobbled up by her own father and that vixen, so much so that there would only be her bones left.
“All right. What do you want to chat about?” She was used to being courteous after being impolite. As long as she stated her requirements right from the start, she could not be blamed for anything that happened afterward. Neither could her grandpa say that she was disrespecting her elders. After all, it was her grandpa who had done it knowingly. What could she do?
Qiao Dongliang’s lips were tightly pursed together. “I cannot confirm what nonsense you’ve heard from Ding Jiayi. You’ve said that you’re grown up and you have your own judgment. That’s fine. I’ll tell you all about how your mom grew up with Nan Nan. I’ll see if you truly have your own judgment.”
Ding Jiayi had definitely only told Zhou Xing that Zijin had died under Nan Nan’s wheel. There was no way this was the only incident between the sisters throughout their childhood together. If Ding Jiayi had not created so much animosity in the first place and caused the resentment in Zijin’s heart to accumulate, all that would never have happened.
“That’s what happened. Your mom… was completely brought astray by Ding Jiayi. I think your mom’s attitude before her death is solid proof of everything. You can’t listen to just Ding Jiayi alone on this matter. You also have to listen to what other people say to get a better picture of the whole situation. I dare say that Nan Nan had never done anything wrong to your mother. Your mom… I won’t pass judgment on whatever she had done. You said you have your own judgment. Take time to think. Your mom is already gone. If it’s possible, I hope that you have a better image of your mom.”
There was no way Nan Nan should be blamed for any of these things happening. It was always Zijin bullying Nan Nan, and all these happened because Ding Jiayi had led Zijin astray. Without the foundations laid by Ding Jiayi, Zijin would never have grown up this way.
Zhou Xing remained silent for quite a while. It was clearly her first time hearing whatever Qiao Dongliang had just told her. After a long while, Qiao Dongliang wondered if Zhou Xing actually believed him. Then, Zhou Xing asked in a slightly different tone, “How do I know that whatever you’re saying is the truth? You can’t possibly deny that Qiao Nan is more important than my mom in your heart, right?”
In that case, whatever her grandpa had said was simply unfair. It was understandable that he was used to speaking for Qiao Nan and thinking from her point of view. Knowing that, she had to take her grandpa’s words with a huge pinch of salt.
“Ha…” Qiao Dongliang could not help but chuckle bitterly. “I’ve always thought that my heart should be biased toward Nan Nan since I took Nan Nan and Ding Jiayi took your mom after our divorce. But in reality, I know that’s not the case. I got a divorce from Ding Jiayi because she made too much trouble, so much so that Nan Nan almost lost the opportunity to further her studies. Think about what benefits I could bring to your younger aunt at the time I divorced Ding Jiayi. I let Ding Jiayi have the Qiao family’s house in the small courtyard. If I had not done so, your mom wouldn’t even have had a roof over her head after I got divorced from Ding Jiayi.”
Similarly, without the Qiao family’s house, he and Nan Nan were both homeless and had no choice but to rent an apartment.
“It can be said that Ding Jiayi spent all our family’s money in order to let your mom study in The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China. That was why I almost died because I had no money to pay for my surgery. The only thing of value in our family was that house that I left to Ding Jiayi and your mom. At that time, all the money I earned was spent on your mom, and the most valuable thing in our family was left to your mom. Zhou Xing, do you really think that I’m biased toward your younger aunt and not your mom after I did all that?”
He had done some of these things subconsciously without proper thought about what his goals and intentions were. Now that he was old and had a lot of free time, Qiao Dongliang could not help but reminisce about the past.
The more he thought about the past, the more he realized that he had done much wrong to Qiao Nan. At his age now, the only thing he could do for Qiao Nan was to settle the matter with Zhou Xing so that Zhou Xing would not be a source of trouble for Qiao Nan in the future.