Chapter 221: Wound Treatment
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Now that his father had left, Qiao Yu suddenly felt that his persistence all these years had been meaningless.
He couldn't understand his father's insistences, and he couldn't understand the insistences his father had imposed on him.
As for Old Master Qiao, he was now surrounded by everyone as Lu Ying treated him.
The old master closed his eyes in pain and seemed to be mumbling to himself.
Qiao Yue clenched her hands tightly.
Nothing must happen to Old Master Qiao!
She didn't know that things would turn out like this. If she did, she would have knocked Qiao Yi unconscious before he tried anything.
She didn't want to see Old Master Qiao so angry even if she was punished.
Qiao Jing stood behind her and patted her shoulder gently. He mouthed to her, "Everything will be fine."
Qiao Yue looked at Qiao Jing and nodded.
Lu Ying frowned and inserted the last needle.
Everyone held their breath and looked at the old master.
The pain on the old master's face gradually disappeared, and his face relaxed as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.
Lu Ying gestured for everyone to be quiet and led them to the hall outside.
"The old master fainted from agitation. The problem is neither big nor small."
Qiao Yue looked at Lu Ying with a frown.
"The old master was on his way to full recovery, but he was still taking some supplements, mainly for his heart and kidneys. The effects are quite strong, so he should be resting." After saying that, Lu Ying sighed. "But after this happened, the supplements he took before was too strong and the old master couldn't take it. I will reduce the dosage later."
"However, he will have to recuperate for a while. Try not to agitate the old master during this time." Lu Ying continued.
Qiao Jing frowned. "Then when will Grandpa wake up?"
"He should be able to wake up tomorrow. Don't worry about that." Lu Ying replied.
Qiao Yue heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that. Her grandfather just needed to rest and not go through the previous suffering.
After everyone left, Qiao Yue sat by Old Master Qiao's bed and held his hand.
"Grandpa, you must get better."
She looked at her grandfather lying in bed and felt a little sad.
After spending time with the Qiao's, she had regarded the old master as her most important relative. She hoped that she could accompany him for a longer time.
Qiao Jing stood nearby, looked at Qiao Yue and patted her head. "Don't worry too much. Grandpa will get better."
Qiao Yue nodded.
The two of them stayed with the old master a while more before they left.
They walked in silence until they reached Qiao Yue's room.
Qiao Jing watched Qiao Yue enter her room. "Rest early. I'll pretend I didn't hear a lot of things today."
Qiao Yue looked at Qiao Jing, who also looked exhausted.
He found out tonight the story between his father and his aunt. It probably didn't feel good.
"Would you like me to give you a massage? Like last time?" Qiao Yue asked.
Qiao Jing looked at Qiao Yue's sincere eyes and nodded.
Qiao Yue led Qiao Jing into her room, sat him down and massaged his shoulders and neck.
Qiao Jing's shoulders and neck were even more tense than last time.
"You've worked hard recently," Qiao Yue said.
Qiao Jing closed his eyes. "It's alright. It's my responsibility to the Qiao family."
When Qiao Yue pressed on Qiao Jing's back, she seemed to have touched a wound and Qiao Jing let out a gasp.
"What's wrong? Did you get injured just now?"
Qiao Yue reached out to lift Qiao Jing's shirt.
Qiao Jing clutched his shirt tightly. "It's okay. Second uncle must have got me. It's okay."
"It's okay, I have a first aid kit here. Let me treat your wound." Qiao Yue was really worried.
"No need," Qiao Jing tugged at his shirt tightly, as if Qiao Yue was going to molest him.
After a few minutes, Qiao Jing finally realized that Qiao Yue didn't know that he already knew that she was a girl. If he refused now, it would only arouse her suspicions.
He let go of his shirt and smiled. "I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't want you to worry. Second uncle's beating just now was quite painful."
Qiao Yue felt a little upset when she heard this.
Qiao Jing was tough and this was the first time she heard him cry out in pain. "You must say when it's painful. I'll help you treat the wound."
Qiao Yue asked Qiao Jing to take off his shirt as she went to get the first aid kit.
She was a little anxious and her actions were flustered.
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Chapter 222: Danger
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qiao Yue's fingers were dipped in antiseptic cream as she applied it to Qiao Jing's wounds. Her hands weren't as delicate as most girls'. Qiao Jing could feel the rough calluses and slightly lower body temperature and his heart beat very fast.
Qiao Yue stood behind him, treating his wounds gently and he could feel her warm breath.
Qiao Jing always felt that he had good self-control, but at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little restless.
"Does it hurt?" Qiao Yue asked.
"It's alright." Qiao Jing said.
The air quieted down just like that, leaving only the light sound of fingers rubbing against skin.
Qiao Yue felt her own face turn red.
She was so concerned just now that she had completely forgotten about the safe distance between men and women.
She tried not to look at parts of his body she shouldn't as she applied antiseptic cream on his wounds.
Although Qiao Jing sat in the office all day, he had a good body. His chest and abdominal muscles were well defined and taut.
The areas that Qiao Yi had hit him looked badly bruised.
Qiao Yue was gentle and careful when applying the cream.
Qiao Jing seemed to feel no pain and allowed her to treat his wounds.
"Don't take today's matter to heart." Qiao Jing broke the silence.
Qiao Yue knew what Qiao Jing was talking about.
In fact, she was also very curious about what had happened between her mother and Qiao Ren, and what kind of thing Qiao Yi kept talking about.
Before today, they said that her mother had stolen something from the family. And now, none them were willing to tell her exactly what had happened. She couldn't find any evidence on the school forum or any other places.
The search for her mother's true identity seemed to have become an unsolved case.
She should have had a talk with Qiao Ren.
As she pondered, her movements slowed.
Qiao Jing could feel her hands slowing down. "Qiao Yue? Qiao Yue?"
Only then did Qiao Yue snap back to reality. "I'm sorry, I was distracted."
Qiao Yue quickly finished treating Qiao Jing's wounds and helped him put on his shirt.
Qiao Jing's body was once again in full view of her, and she felt her face heat up again.
"Thank you," Qiao Jing said.
"No worries." Qiao Yue lowered her head, still thinking about her mother.
"I'll get to the bottom of this. Don't worry." Qiao Jing's voice was calming.
Qiao Yue looked up at Qiao Jing, her face full of disbelief.
Qiao Jing's parents had always been at odds with each other, probably because of Qiao Qing.
It would hurt Qiao Jing to ask his parents about this.
"This might not be a good idea..." Qiao Yue lowered her head.
She really wanted to know what had happened to her mother, but she didn't want Qiao Jing to hurt like that.
Qiao Yue felt that she was being shameless.
Qiao Jing patted her on the head. "It's okay."
Tao Xi and Qiao Ren's conflict had been going on for a long time. When Qiao Jing was young, he had hoped that his parents would make up.
But now, Qiao Jing only hoped that his parents were safe and sound. This kind of loveless marriage was meaningless. Qiao Jing had long lost hope in the two of them.
However, based on what Qiao Ren said tonight, it seemed that their feud had something to do with his aunt, Qiao Qing.
He still felt bad for a moment.
However, it wasn't because of his parents. It was because of Qiao Yue.
Qiao Jing hoped that Qiao Yue could live a carefree life under the Qiao's roof. He didn't want her dragged into these things.
But now, it seemed that they were all inevitably pulled into an emotional whirlpool from the past.
"I will help you," Qiao Jing said. "Qiao Ze has probably chosen Qiao Yi's side. Should we continue as planned?"
Only then did Qiao Yue remember Qiao Ze's matter and she frowned.
End of December was a good opportunity to take down Qiao Yi and his cronies in one fell swoop. If they didn't take this opportunity to punish Qiao Yi, it might be very difficult later on.
"Aside from Qiao Yi, there seems to be something wrong with Qiao Li as well. I've looked into that AT Company. It's not that simple." Qiao Yue said.
Qiao Jing nodded. "Leave these things to me. If there's any operation, let me handle it."
Qiao Yue looked at Qiao Jing, not understanding what he meant.
"Let me handle all the dangerous things from here on out." Qiao Jing added.
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Chapter 223: Conspiracy
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The next day, Old Master Qiao woke up in the morning and had breakfast with everyone.
Other than Qiao Yi's family who had left, everyone was eating as usual, but they all looked tired.
Qiao Ying was so stressed out about what happened yesterday that she couldn't eat.
She sat in front of her plate, hands trembling. She was unable to pick up any food.
When Qiao Li saw Qiao Ying like this, he was so angry that he slapped away Qiao Ying's chopsticks. "Don't eat if you can't. You're such a good-for-nothing."
After Qiao Ying was scolded by her father, she trembled even more violently. Her entire body was on the verge of collapse, and she was close to tears.
"Alright, Qiao Li. Xiao Ying just got a shock yesterday. Don't scare her like this." Qiao Ren said.
Qiao Ying looked at Qiao Ren with gratitude.
"Big brother, you should take care of your own children first. I know my kid." Qiao Li snorted.
The old master put down his chopsticks with a slam.
Qiao Yue quickly reached out to support the old master and stroked his back. "Grandpa, don't be angry. The doctor said that you can't be angry."
Old Master Qiao reached out and patted Qiao Yue, acknowledging what she said.
"After what happened yesterday, you guys should restrain yourselves. I can't watch any dirty nonsense now."
Qiao Li knew that Old Master Qiao was recuperating, so he didn't say anything more and lowered his head in silence.
"I hope all of you remember that the Qiao family doesn't rear livestock. If you insist on being a livestock, then get out of the Qiao family like your second brother!"
Qiao Li had no stable foundation, and he still needed protection from the Qiao family, so he shut his mouth and didn't speak anymore.
Qiao Ying seemed to have calmed down a little. She grabbed her chopsticks shakily and began to eat.
The dining table fell silent again.
Qiao Yue looked at Qiao Ying with a little heartache.
She had such a serious anxiety disorder that she was showing physical symptoms, yet Qiao Li was not willing to let her see a doctor.
It seemed that the incident that triggered her anxiety had not been resolved. Qiao Yue frowned. It's not good if this continued. She must find someone to treat Qiao Ying.
After breakfast, Qiao Yue packed up quickly and got into the car.
Qiao Ying and Qiao Yu also got into the car as usual, but Qiao Xin didn't show.
After waiting for a few minutes, Qiao Xin's servant finally came over to tell them that Qiao Xin wasn't going to school today.
Qiao Yue frowned. Although Qiao Xin wasn't a very good student, she wasn't the type who would skip school altogether.
Besides, the school's anniversary party was coming up. Wasn't Qiao Xin anxious to practice her performance?
Qiao Xin was practicing indeed, but at home.
She would be signing a formal contract with AT in December. Before that, AT had given her a social account to post some of her singing videos to gain some fans in C-Country.
Many of these fans were girls who liked to sing and dance like Qiao Xin. As long as they were willing, AT would give them a chance to audition.
Qiao Li placed great importance on this matter.
It looked like Qiao Xin was signing a contract with AT, but behind the scenes, there was also a deal between him and Andy.
When Andy visited C-Country a few days ago, Qiao Li had specially found someone to introduce him to Andy.
After he got to know Andy, he found out that the tycoon, Trand, was actually Andy's brother.
Qiao Li usually didn't watch the news, so he didn't know who Trand was, and that he had been arrested. He was still dreaming about his daughter cozying up with these two big shots.
After all, Qiao Li didn't have much to offer, except his two daughters.
Qiao Xin looked tough on the outside but was actually weak on the inside, and Qiao Ying was very timid.
Qiao Li didn't think that his two daughters could make it big in the business world, so the best way was to marry them into rich families. Then, he could rely on the in-laws to stand his ground in the Qiao family.
Qiao Li had started his search for his daughters' suitors a few years ago. Now that he had met Andy, he felt that he was a good candidate.
After all, Andy had assets and political power abroad. Once Qiao Xin married into such a rich family, he would live the rest of his life in luxury.
Qiao Xin sat in the practice room and used an autotune to correct her "intoxicating" singing. She had no idea that in her father's eyes, her dream of becoming a superstar was just a laughable tool.
Qiao Li looked at Qiao Xin with an encouraging smile.
He must make good use of this daughter and get himself a long-term meal ticket. This way, he would not have to be at the mercy of others in the Qiao family!
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Chapter 224: Competition
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Oswald's words infuriated Qiao Yue's classmates instantly.
If it wasn't for Hong Ning, they would have already surrounded Oswald and given him a beating.
"What are you talking about? If you know how to do it, why don't you help?" Xu Hao frowned as he looked at Oswald.
"It's not my business. Besides, you guys didn't ask me for help."
Xu Hao didn't know if it was he was imagining things but when Oswald said this, he was looking in Qiao Yue's direction.
But Qiao Yue's eyes were staring at the error page displayed on the computer screen.
The computers in the security control room have probably been infected by a virus, and a primitive virus at that.
It would be easy to remove the virus, but the virus had a self-destruction code that would corrupt the data that was originally stored on the system. If the virus was simply removed, it might destroy the programs and data that were originally stored on the computers.
She didn't know who Qiao Xin found to help her.
In less than 20 minutes, they beat someone up and implanted a virus. It was a rather impressive move.
Qiao Yue knew of another solution. She had studied this type of virus with YQ before and they had come up with many different solutions.
It was just that these methods involved some advanced frameworks and programming, which were probably unfamiliar to a college student of their age.
If she were to solve the problem now, she would be revealing her true capabilities in front of these people.
Qiao Yue took a deep breath. Hong Ning was a friend she made in Harvey, and she didn't want her friend to get hurt.
She walked up to one of the workstations and was about to remove the virus when Oswald walked up. "I can help, but I have a condition."
Qiao Yue ignored this random person and continued to deal with the virus.
"Aren't you going to listen to my condition?" Oswald reached out and held down Qiao Yue's hands.
"You college students probably can't see the nuance of this virus."
Qiao Yue pushed Oswald's hand away. "Mr. Oswald, if you're unwilling to help, please don't disturb us here."
Oswald chuckled. "You guys probably can't tell, but if this virus was simply removed, you wouldn't be able to retrieve the information you want."
The few students with better grades who had been trying to solve the problem frowned. They had indeed thought of a way to crack it, but they had not expected it to be so dangerous.
Oswald sat in front of the workstation and took off his watch and necklace.
He quickly set up his watch and necklace. The necklace was a mini mainframe and a projector, while the watch was a monitor. Oswald had a satellite computer on him.
He connected his remote computer to the system in the security control room and raised an eyebrow at Qiao Yue. "You've never seen this before, right?"
How could Qiao Yue not have seen this before? These gadgets were produced by KA, which served advanced hackers.
Qiao Yue turned her head and continued to deal with the virus.
"I know you've already discovered the secret of this virus." Oswald whispered to Qiao Yue while coding frantically.
Qiao Yue frowned and ignored his words.
However, Oswald wasn't unhappy because of this. He coded while leaning back in his chair, as if he was relaxing on his couch at home.
Qiao Yue's hands moved so fast that the students around her were stunned.
"Qiao Yue, do you really know how to do this?"
"Yeah, I know you've made great progress in your studies, but it's such a tricky virus. Why don't we get a teacher to help you?"
Everyone looked at Qiao Yue worriedly. They didn't want the surveillance video to be destroyed.
Qiao Yue ignored their words and continued to focus on dealing with the virus.
Oswald was also very quick. It didn't take long for him to type out a bunch of code.
Xu Hao looked at their screens with his mouth wide open. There were so many lines of code he didn't recognize on both their screens. And the programming framework they were using was also something he had never seen before.
He remembered Qiao Yue's performance when St. Faustina's Institution attacked the Harvey forum.
Qiao Yue was not a substandard, country bumpkin student like he had imagined. Her mastery and understanding of programming definitely surpassed many people.
As time passed, everyone held their breath, waiting for the virus to be resolved.
Finally, the computer screens refreshed, and the surveillance video was displayed.
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Chapter 225: Backing Her Up
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Oswald had also solved the virus. Both worked very quickly, but Qiao Yue was faster.
Everyone gathered in front of the computer and looked at the surveillance video that was playing.
The moment Hong Ning walked out from the audience, she was led away by two girls.
Qiao Yue pressed a key on the keyboard, and the scene changed to one outside the hall. Hong Ning was pulled to the side door by the two girls. One of the girls was Chen Shan. There were already a few big men waiting there.
The men raised their baseball bats and hit Hong Ning's leg a few times, then pushed her down the stairs.
The burly men's actions were very decisive. They attacked quickly and ruthlessly without any hesitation.
Everyone covered their mouths. In less than twenty minutes, these people had destroyed Hong Ning's leg.
Oswald's eyes were fixed on the few big men, and his eyes flickered for a moment.
Qiao Yue had seen these men before. They were the same men who had recently entered the Harvey campus with the excuse of recording songs for Qiao Xin.
Did the people sent by AT know what kind of illegal things these men were up to? Qiao Yue narrowed her eyes. This Qiao Xin was indeed stupid and vicious. Could she even bear the consequences of using these people?
Qiao Yue made a copy of the video. "Let's take this to the principal. Chen Shan definitely knows something."
Meanwhile, Hong Ning's parents had also arrived at Harvey. Although they were blue-collar workers, they loved their daughter very much and supported her dreams. They supported Hong Ning's dancing wholeheartedly.
After learning that their daughter was in trouble, they rushed over immediately.
Hong Ning had already woken up. After telling her parents what had happened to her, her parents immediately went to the principal to ask for an explanation.
When they arrived, the principal was with Qiao Jing, updating him on some of the school's recent projects.
Hong Ning's parents told the principal about what happened to their daughter.
Qiao Jing frowned as he listened, and the principal was a little embarrassed.
"That Qiao Xin you're talking about is the younger sister of our school chairman."
"Even the chairman himself can't hurt a student, right? Besides, our Hong Ning only had a minor dispute with Qiao Xin, but how is Hong Ning going to dance after this?"
The principal was afraid that Qiao Jing would be angry, so he gave Hong Ning's parents a look as he said, "Qiao Xin has always been excellent in both character and academic performance. It's better not to slander the younger sister of our school chairman if you don't have any evidence."
Qiao Jing looked at the principal with a frown. He understood what Hong Ning's parents meant.
Based on his understanding of Qiao Xin, she could have done something like that, but the principal seemed to be exonerating her just to please him.
"Hong Ning's parents, Hong Ning's a special admission student, and it's because of the school board's financial support that she's able to study here. Don't you think it's a little inappropriate for you to do this?"
The principal smiled awkwardly at Qiao Jing.
"Who said there's no evidence?" Qiao Yue led the group into the principal's office.
The principal looked at Qiao Yue, then at Qiao Jing. Why were they all gathered here today?
"Qiao Yue..."
"This is a surveillance video I copied from the security control room. Qiao Xin's friend, Chen Shan, was involved in this matter, and those big men were also found by Qiao Xin. They've been accompanying Qiao Xin in and out of the school many times."
When Qiao Jing saw Qiao Yue, his cold face softened.
At this moment, he was looking at the video on Qiao Yue's laptop.
The girl in the video was beaten up so badly that it hurt just to watch the baseball bat falling on her leg.
"Chairman Qiao... This..."
"Principal, please deal with Chen Shan and Qiao Xin, as well as those strange men," Qiao Yue said.
Qiao Yue's classmates were also looking at the principal with burning eyes.
The principal was in a difficult position. One was Chairman Qiao's fifth brother and the other was his sixth sister. He would offend the other if he punished anyone.
"Qiao Yue, maybe there's a misunderstanding. After all, only Chen Shan is seen in this video."
Qiao Yue glanced at the principal. "Do you want me to find the footage of those burly men accompanying Qiao Xin in and out of school?"
The principal looked at Qiao Jing with a troubled expression.
Qiao Jing was already standing beside Qiao Yue as if he was backing her up.
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