Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Auntie Qiao, I can’t wait to go to university. When the time comes, I won’t pick universities in the capital. I’ll choose some other place to study. That way, I can choose to come home only twice a year. Otherwise, I’ll always be bullied for being single. Didn’t you say that my mom didn’t really like my dad before they got married and that my mom even had other boyfriends?”
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They had already been married for so many years, yet their relationship was only improving by the day, and they seemed to be even clingier than young people nowadays.
Gao Feng thought that his parents had a huge role to play in him getting into an early relationship with Ma Yuanyuan. If they had not constantly shown off their affection for each other in front of him, would he have been in such a hurry to find a girlfriend and experience falling in love for himself?
Because of the sparks that constantly flew around at home, Gao Feng’s greatest wish was to be the one to create these sparks one day and show them some public displays of affection too. It was only right to reciprocate what had been given to him, after all.
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“…” Upon hearing Gao Feng’s excuse, Qiao Nan had only one word: respect. “All right, you might as well have dinner at my house tonight.” Knowing that Fang Fang’s relationship with Gao Yan was getting better and better, Qiao Nan was naturally happy for Fang Fang. Gao Yan had really remained faithful after marriage and still cherished Fang Fang deeply.
Qiao Nan was happy to see Fang Fang living a blissful life and being as happy as a lark after her marriage to Gao Yan. Fang Fang’s blissful life proved that those things that she had done in the past had not harmed anyone, and neither were they meddling in someone else’s business.
But because Gao Feng had mentioned Ma Yuanyuan to Qiao Nan, Qiu Chenxi was once again brought to Qiao Nan’s attention after ten years.
Peng Yu had wanted to deal with Zhai Sheng several times, but he had always failed to do so. Deng Wenchang was someone that Peng Yu had helped in joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now, Deng Wenchang had been the minister of foreign affairs for several years. Unfortunately, Peng Yu’s plan had never developed.
Deng Wenchang had suddenly ended the Deng family’s collaboration with the Peng family at the very last minute. It was at this time that Qiao Nan stepped down from her previous position and supported Deng Wenchang into the position.
Because of that, Peng Yu had finally seen the dawn of victory. But it was exactly because of this that all his previous efforts had gone down the drain. The most infuriating part was that the helper whom he had found was no longer working for him and had even supported the one whom he was trying to defeat! This almost drove Peng Yu to his grave!
After Deng Wenchang took over that position, many people knew that Deng Wenchang might have been the minister, but the one who had the most power in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was still Qiao Nan. In the face of such a situation, Deng Wenchang had not tried to change anything and had even accepted it over the years.
Based on this alone, it was clear that Deng Wenchang was on the Zhai family’s side.
This change caused the Peng family to become a joke in everyone’s eyes, making everyone realize just how powerful the Zhai family was. It was not just anybody who could pull an enemy’s ally over to their own side to become their own stepping stone.
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In short, Peng Yu and the Peng family became somewhat of a joke in the military circle because of Deng Wenchang. If Deng Wenchang was the Peng family’s first joke, then Qiu Chenxi was undoubtedly Peng Yu’s second.
More than a decade had passed, and both Peng Yu and Qiu Chenxi had gotten married to their respective partners. Their children were all grown up too. The problem was that at that time, Peng Yu’s parents had always brought Qiu Chenxi around by their side, acting as though Qiu Chenxi was their daughter-in-law.
Everyone was wondering what was wrong with Peng Yu. He was clearly at war with Zhai Sheng, but why was he acting so high and mighty after ‘picking up’ a woman that Zhai Sheng dumped?
Was Peng Yu trying to prove to everyone that Zhai Sheng was blind, and Qiu Chenxi, whom Zhai Sheng had abandoned for Qiao Nan, was truly the best woman on earth?
To tell the truth, they might have agreed with Peng Yu’s way of thinking and actions in the past. But when the news spread that Qiu Chenxi was going to be the Peng family’s daughter-in-law, Qiao Nan’s career had taken off and had already reached a certain height. There was no way for Qiu Chenxi to match up to that, much less surpass that.
All they could say about Peng Yu having such thoughts was that all his efforts would eventually be in vain. After all that effort, Peng Yu would not be able to prove that Qiu Chenxi was more outstanding than Qiao Nan, or that he had better judgment than Zhai Sheng. What if he got a slap in the face? How embarrassing would that be?
Just as everyone was caught up in the uproar surrounding Peng Yu and Qiu Chenxi, Peng Yu got into a shotgun marriage with a girl who had just returned from abroad and gave birth to a son within a year.
What was even stranger was how people were still discussing about when Peng Yu and Qiu Chenxi would hold their wedding banquet. Peng Yu had gotten into a shotgun marriage, and so had Qiu Chenxi with an official with the surname ‘Ma’.
Peng Yu’s wife had given birth to a son. Within a few months, Qiu Chenxi and that official with the surname ‘Ma’ also gave birth to their daughter. It seemed as though these two people were competing with each other. Neither would lose to each other in terms of getting married or giving birth to their children. It was so bizarre that people could not even pick up with whatever was going on. When had getting married and having children become a competition?
Initially, Peng Yu had wanted to compete with Zhai Sheng. But now, it seemed as though he was competing with Qiu Chenxi. Such a phenomenon made people who initially did not believe that Peng Yu was together with Qiu Chenxi become suspicious of whether the two of them were indeed in a relationship.
Otherwise, why did it seem as though Peng Yu and Qiu Chenxi were having a competition to get married and have children? Only lovers who had fought would do something so childish and foolish!
There were also many people who were paying attention to Peng Yu, hoping to watch a good show. Upon hearing about the news regarding Peng Yu, Zhai Sheng, whom Peng Yu had always treated as his rival, did not show any response. He was so calm that it seemed as though Peng Yu was a stranger to him.
Peng Yu thought of Zhai Sheng as his lifetime rival, but Zhai Sheng had never paid any attention to Peng Yu and did not think so highly of Peng Yu that he would be a rival of his.
Whatever other people told Zhai Sheng about Peng Yu went in one ear and out from the other. Occasionally, when he remembered what was said, Zhai Sheng would subconsciously talk to Qiao Nan about it.
That was why Qiao Nan had immediately realized whose daughter Ma Yuanyuan was the moment Gao Feng mentioned Ma Yuanyuan. Her mom was also a government official, and her dad’s surname was ‘Ma’, and they lived near the capital. There were not many people who fulfilled all these criteria. Moreover, Ma Yuanyuan’s mom’s surname was ‘Qiu’. Qiao Nan was absolutely sure that Ma Yuanyuan was Qiu Chenxi’s daughter.