Chapter 286: Call 110
“Besides, the students are currently studying in class. This parent over here, please go back. You won’t want to disturb your daughter while she is studying as well, right? Our school has its own regulations. Except for teachers and students, nobody is allowed to enter and leave the school grounds at will. So please go back. If you have something to say, you can tell your daughter when she comes home from school. Today is Thursday. There is no class tomorrow.”
Since the principal had said so, the guards certainly did not dare to open the gate and let Ding Jiayi enter the school.
Regarding the last time when Ding Jiayi entered the school, although the principal did not hold anyone responsible for it, he had verbally warned the guards that they should not allow any outsiders into the school.
Take the parent-teacher conference as an example. Since the child’s father had already arrived, why would the mother sneak in behind the father’s back? Besides, the school only requested for one of the parents to attend the parent-teacher conference.
Even if the parents cared about their children’s performance and insisted on coming, they would usually turn up together. They would not sneak in one after the other.
Therefore, not only was the principal angry at seeing Ding Jiayi, but the guards were also fearful that this parent would create troubles. They refused to open the door.
“Aren’t you going to open the door?!” Ding Jiayi, who was denied entry to the school, fumed. “This is not my first time here. Don’t try to lie to me. When I was here last time, I told you that I am Qiao Nan’s mother and I was allowed entry. If you refuse to let me enter the school, I will call the police!”
“There’s nothing that we can do if you want to report to the police.” The guards wanted to know if Ding Jiayi really dared to call the police.
“You!!” Ding Jiayi sneered. “Fine. Since you refuse to open the door and do not allow me to see my daughter, I have other ways!” Ding Jiayi gritted her teeth and pulled at her sleeves. Without a care for the passersby who were staring at her, she climbed the iron gate, trying to make her way into the school.
“Oh my god!” One of the guards was dumbfounded and shouted to his colleague. “What are you waiting for? Call the principal right now.”
“I have never seen such a parent before!” The principal slammed the table in anger.
“Principal, what do we do now?” The guard at the other end of the phone was troubled. “We advised her not to climb, lest she falls. Even though we have not touched her, she screamed like a banshee, saying that we’re harassing her.”
The guards felt angry that they were maligned.
By heavens and hells, they did not even touch the parent! How could they possibly harass her?
Furthermore, at his age, he could tell right from wrong clearly. He would not do something so indecent, unless he was blind. Otherwise, he would not be interested in a shrew like this parent.
“Call the police!” The principal was fuming.
“Alright, we will report to the police.” With the principal’s consent, the guard felt that he was in control of the situation.
After hanging up, he dialed 110 to call the police. The guards did not say much but told the police that someone was creating a fuss at the school gate, disturbing the students. Most importantly, she damaged the public property and the school gate. Everyone who tried to calm her down was attacked by her. Their clothes were torn during the struggle.
China placed great importance on education. As soon as the police heard that someone created a fuss at the school gate, they arrived in a police car in less than a quarter of an hour.
Before the police had time to ask Ding Jiayi for an explanation, she attacked them without any thoughts, disregarding the fact that they were police officers.
The guard did not malign Ding Jiayi when he reported that she attacked people. It was true that she used force on others.
It was very dangerous of Ding Jiayi to climb the gate. The guards wanted to help her down, but she hit and screamed at the guards, crying and scratching the guards. Their uniforms had a slight tear during the tussle.
When the police arrived, Ding Jiayi scratched and screamed at them as well. In particular, one young police officer asked Ding Jiayi politely to tell him what happened exactly.
But Ding Jiayi reached out toward him and scratched at his face, leaving a streak of blood on the face of the young police officer.
“Damn, is this person a patient who ran out of the psychiatric hospital? Is it because she didn’t take her medicine?”
“She is not in the right state of mind. She is too aggressive. Handcuff her lest she hurts others.” Sensing that the situation was not right, the senior police officer gave the orders and restrained Ding Jiayi with the help of other police officers.
“Harassment! The teachers at school are harassing the parents!” Ding Jiayi, who was beyond reasons, cried for help blindly. The passersby were alarmed by her shouts.
When they heard Ding Jiayi’s cry for help, they had thought that the teachers from the school had harassed the parents. After all, nobody would make a joke about such a thing. But when they took a closer look, they were speechless. The ‘teachers’ were in police uniforms. Did the parent mean that the police officers had harassed her?
“Quiet down! We will send you to the hospital now. The doctor will prescribe a medicine for you.” The senior police officer was helpless. He could only send such a lunatic to the psychiatric hospital. If he brought her to the police station, she would bring disaster to his fellow police officers.
“It turned out that she is mentally unsound.” The passersby finally realized what was going on.
“Police?” The handcuffs felt cold to the touch. Ding Jiayi finally came to her senses. She realized that she was handcuffed by two police officers and they wanted to bring her to the hospital. “Police officers, I am not sick. I have got the wrong person. I was not referring to you. I was referring to the guards. My daughter studies at this school. She is a student here. I want to see my daughter, but they stopped me from seeing her. It is a misunderstanding.”
“Police officers, we don’t know this parent.” The guards denied right away.
“What nonsense are you talking about! I was here a few days ago for the parent-teacher conference. I have been here before!” Ding Jiayi retorted.
“There were too many people at the parent-teacher conference that day. We can’t remember. Did you sneak your way in? Police officers, as you have seen, this person is way too dangerous. We are not worried about ourselves, but the students are still young and may be frightened by her. What if she launches an attack at the students and injures the students? Our school will not be able to answer to the parents. Police officers, you have to help us,” the guard said without blinking his eyes.
“Don’t worry. We will not let her into the school.” The young police officer wiped his face and realized that there was a streak of blood on his face.
“Qiao Nan, you wretched girl! Your mom is here! Come out of your hiding place now!”
Chapter 287: Celebrate Too Soon
Seeing that the police sided with the school, Ding Jiayi had no choice but to shout loudly, hoping that Qiao Nan would hear her.
“…” The guard’s expression turned grim. He took an old towel and shut her up with it as if she was a prisoner. “Police officers, I am really sorry. Our school places great importance on education. The students are having their lessons now. We have no other choice but to do this. What’s more, we want to protect her, lest she turns hoarse from her shouts. Others may not understand the situation and misunderstand that we are doing harm to her.”
“We understand. Alright, we will send her to the hospital,” the police officers said nicely.
“How can you be police officers? Didn’t you hear what I said just now? If my daughter is not studying at this school, how will I know her name?” Ding Jiayi spat out the towel in her mouth and fumed in anger.
The guard was worried. Would the police officer believe her words? How did she easily spit out the towel in her mouth?
“Qiao Nan is the provincial top scholar in middle school examination. She has done Ping Cheng proud. You are not the only one who knows her name. We know her as well. Does that mean we are her father?” The police officers laughed. Qiao Nan was on the Ping Cheng newspaper. Everyone in Ping Cheng knew that Qiao Nan was the provincial top scholar in the middle school examination. How could this woman claim that Qiao Nan was her daughter?
“Damn!” Ding Jiayi screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. If these two police officers were the father of Qiao Nan, what would become of Ding Jiayi?
“I have placed it securely!” The guard stuffed the towel that Ding Jiayi spat out back into her mouth. He did not stuff it properly on his first try hence she could easily spit it out. This time, he was sure that she would not have the chance to spout nonsense anymore.
“Good.” The police officers led Ding Jiayi into the police car.
“Have a safe journey.” The guards wiped the beads of perspiration on his forehead as he watched Ding Jiayi left with the police officers. They had never encountered such an unreasonable parent in their career. If she were to create more troubles next time, they would definitely resign.
The principal breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the police had finally taken Ding Jiayi away.
Ding Jiayi was a curse to Qiao Nan and to the school.
“Haha, it is our fortune that Qiao Nan did not come to our school.” The principal of The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China heard the news and was elated.
The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China and Ping Cheng High School were among the top high schools in Ping Cheng. The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China was a private school, whereas the latter was a public school. But when it came to the reputation of the school, The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China was a notch higher than Ping Cheng High School.
Therefore, most of the good students would choose to go to The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China. Ping Cheng High School was the next best alternative.
Ping Cheng High School had always wanted to catch up with The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, but the latter did not care about the former.
This year, due to Qiao Nan, the relationship between the two high schools had become strained.
In the past, it was rare for students in Ping Cheng to come in the first place in the middle school examination. Usually, the top scholar would be from the province. In general, there was an 80% chance that the student would choose The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, and a 20% chance that the student would choose some other high schools but not Ping Cheng High School.
However, Qiao Nan was an exception. Not only was she the middle school examination top scholar from Ping Cheng, but she also chose to study at Ping Cheng High School.
Because of the previous incident, whereby Qiao Zijin used Qiao Nan’s essay as her own and took part in the essay competition and the matter was then escalated to the Education Bureau, the director of the Education Bureau had a bad impression of The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China and Qiao Zijin. Hence, it put The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China in an awkward position. On one hand, they hoped that Qiao Nan was their student as she was very outstanding. On the other hand, they harbored resentment toward Qiao Nan as they suffered shame due to the essay incident.
What made matters worse was that after the results were out, Qiao Nan chose to enroll in Ping Cheng High School instead of The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.
The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China wanted Qiao Nan to join them, but because of the essay incident, they did not take the initiative to approach Qiao Nan.
To The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, it was a pity not to have a middle school examination top scholar as their student.
Ever since Qiao Nan’s enrollment in Ping Cheng High School, some of the teachers in The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China would track Qiao Nan’s results diligently, more so than the teachers of Ping Cheng High School. Whenever there was an important exam in Ping Cheng High School, the teachers would find a way to know Qiao Nan’s performance as soon as the results were out.
Every time they knew of Qiao Nan’s ranking in Ping Cheng High School and her total score, only those parties concerned would know the mixed feelings they felt deep down.
As the form teacher of the first year’s class one in The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, the teacher was not only concerned about Qiao Nan’s results, but also managed to get the test papers of Ping Cheng High School and let his student who ranked first in the level do the test papers.
The form teacher turned pale at the results.
The form teacher thought that no one would know that he was secretly monitoring Qiao Nan’s results, but in fact, the principal had learned about it. After finding out the difference in the score between the student who ranked first among the level in their school and Qiao Nan who ranked first among the level in Ping Cheng High School, the principal felt even more gloomy and depressed than the form teacher.
Every year, The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China would do well in the college entrance examination. No matter how well the students from Ping Cheng High School did in the exams, they were no match for The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.
However, things were different this year. The principal of The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China could not help but feel worried given that Qiao Nan had such good grades.
He had been the principal for a long time. He could tell that Qiao Nan was a good student. As a principal and a teacher, it was one’s greatest regret and chagrin that such a good student did not study in his own school.
Three years from now, would the college entrance examination top scholar be from Ping Cheng High School? Did that mean that The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China would have to relinquish the top spot to Ping Cheng High School?
Definitely not!
The principal of The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China was still upset about this matter, pondering whether he should think of ways to make Qiao Nan transfer to their school when Ding Jiayi stirred up trouble at Ping Cheng High School.
The form teacher and the principal always had the firsthand information about everything that was related to Qiao Nan, whether it was good or bad. They were even more concerned about Qiao Nan than some of the teachers in Ping Cheng High School.
They learned that Ding Jiayi had tarnished the reputation of Qiao Nan and she almost could not study at Ping Cheng High School. She then made a ruckus at Ping Cheng High School and was taken to the police station. Ding Jiayi was the mother of Qiao Nan, and Qiao Nan was a student at Ping Cheng High School. Once everyone knew about this, Ping Cheng High School would be in trouble!
Fortunately, Qiao Nan did not study at The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China. Otherwise, they would be the one who had to face all these troubles.
While the principal from The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China was still gloating over others misfortune, crossing his legs, and enjoying his tea while humming a song in his office, his phone rang. “Hello, what did you say?! Can you repeat what you said?”
Chapter 288: Refused to Go to the Police Station
The principal spat out the tea in his mouth and asked in disbelief again, “Did you say that the police station just called to inform Qiao Zijin from the second year’s class eight to go to the police station to bail her mom, Ding Jiayi?”
“Yes, principal. What should we do now?”
“What do you mean? It has nothing to do with the student in our school. The student is still a child. Where are the other family members? Is she the only one who can bail her mom?”
One should not gloat over the misfortune of others. It had only been a while since he was feeling happy over Ding Jiayi’s incident and he was struck with such a heavy blow.
The students in The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China had only been to the police station for good reasons. They had never been there for any bad conduct. Be it in the past, now, or in the future, this would never happen.
“But the police officers said that they cannot reach Qiao Zijin’s father to bail Ding Jiayi out.” They only knew that Ding Jiayi had a daughter named Qiao Zijin. The police had nobody else to look for beside her.
The most troublesome thing for the form teacher of the second year’s class eight was that to bail someone out, not only did one need to be present, but one also had to sign and pay for the bail. Furthermore, there were a series of procedures to follow. Since Qiao Zijin was only a child, she could not handle all these by herself.
In other words, if the school did not manage to find Qiao Zijin’s father, Qiao Zijin would have to go to the police station. As her form teacher, she would have to go as well. She might even need to pay for the bail as well.
At the thought of this, the form teacher had a headache.
She had never been to the police station, yet she had to go to the police station because of a student whose results were below average. The form teacher could not help but feel that it was her misfortune to have Qiao Zijin as her student.
The form teacher had barely finished her sentence before she heard a beeping sound coming from the other end of the phone.
The principal was so angry that he hung up the phone.
Ding Jiayi was just like the God of Plague. Whoever was in contact with her would be unlucky.
It was true that she had a daughter in Ping Cheng High School, but what was upsetting was that she had a daughter in The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China as well!
It was not long ago that the form teacher was gloating that Teacher Liu from Ping Cheng High School had to deal with a troublesome Ding Jiayi. But shortly after, she finally understood that one should not celebrate too soon as things could still go wrong!
The principal had hung up on her. What should she do next? She could not possibly do nothing. If the police made a second call to the school, it would be a disgrace to them.
Teacher Cen, the form teacher of second year’s class eight, had no other choice but to interrupt the lessons and get Qiao Zijin to come with her. “Qiao Zijin, you don’t have to go to your classes today. You need to come with me to a place.”
Qiao Zijin smiled and felt proud as she stood and followed Teacher Cen to the office. She thought that the teacher must have good news for her. “Yes, Teacher Cen.” Did the school have any upcoming competition and Teacher Cen wanted her to participate in it?
It would be nice if that was the case. This time, she would not make the same mistakes again.
She was two years older than Qiao Nan. She believed she could do whatever that Qiao Nan was capable of. In fact, she would work harder and put in more effort than Qiao Nan.
“Your mother is at the police station. They just called for you to bail your mother out. Let’s go.” She only had herself to blame for being Qiao Zijin’s form teacher. Otherwise, she would not have needed to go to the police station at all.
Teacher Cen told herself that after the current batch of students graduated, no matter how high the pay was, she would not be the form teacher of class eight again!
“P-police station? I… I will not go!” Qiao Zijin was shocked. She did not ask why Ding Jiayi was taken to the police station. Instead, she made her stand clear that she did not want to go to the police station.
Teacher Cen smiled bitterly. “I do not want to go either but she is your mom.” She was not her mother! She had never been to the police station for her mother’s sake before. If possible, she would rather not go to the police station.
“Let’s go.”
“No, Teacher Cen. I am afraid! I will not go. If I go to the police station, how will others look at me in the future? The students will look down on me.” Qiao Zijin shook her head, hoping to hide in one of the corners of the office.
“Don’t worry. You are not the one who was in the wrong. You are only there to bail your mom.” Teacher Cen was getting impatient. She walked over and pulled Qiao Zijin’s hands. “It’s getting late. The day will be gone by the time we bail your mom out. Let’s get this done as soon as possible. When you return, you may still have some time to do your homework.”
“No, I won’t go.” Qiao Zijin grabbed the desk with her other hand, refusing to go. “Teacher Cen, what happened to my mom? Besides, you should be looking for my dad. He should be the one to settle problems like this. I am just a child. I don’t know anything at all. I will not be of any help.”
Where was her father?
Where was he now when her mother was taken to the police station?
“The police station couldn’t reach your dad, so they looked for you instead!”
“I am not the only daughter. The police officers can look for Qiao Nan.” Qiao Nan was deemed as more capable than her. Since her mother was in trouble, Qiao Nan should be the one to go to the police station. She refused to go. Never.
Qiao Nan would have to go to the police station. Even if Qiao Nan refused to go, she would not go as well!
Teacher Cen sneered. “Your mom was taken to the police station all because of your sister. Alright, there’s no way you can avoid it. Let’s quickly resolve it so that we can be at ease. This concerns the reputation of the school. Qiao Zijin, you have to go!”
“Why?!”
“If the police station calls our school for the second time and finds out that as her daughter, you refuse to bail your mother, what will the others think of you? What will others think of our school?” A few days ago, Ding Jiayi tried to smear the reputation of Qiao Nan. Now, Qiao Zijin would be the talk of the town instead, and the school would be affected as well.
If not for all these, Teacher Cen would rather wash her hands off this matter.
If the reputation of the school was affected because of Qiao Zijin, as her form teacher, Teacher Cen would have to bear the responsibility.
“Is it so serious?” Qiao Zijin was dumbfounded. She simply refused to go to the police station. Why would this tarnish the reputation of the school?
“Okay, let’s get going. I am not willing to go either. I am just unlucky to be your form teacher. You have brought nothing but trouble. Don’t worry. I will accompany you to bail your mom. But I hope that your family will not create troubles and implicate the school again in the future! Do you understand?!”
Teacher Cen glared at Qiao Zijin. The latter was too scared to speak and could only nod her head in acknowledgment.
From the teacher’s words, Qiao Zijin knew that if her family created any trouble again, she would not be able to study at The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China anymore.
Chapter 289: Terrible Teammate
Over at the police station, Ding Jiayi finally realized the seriousness of the matter. Unlike the arrogant attitude she had at Ping Cheng High School, she sat down quietly by the side like a small kitten, keeping to herself and not making any sounds.
As the police officers had witnessed Ding Jiayi’s crazy antics previously, even though they did not send her to the hospital, they kept a watch on her lest she turned crazy and hurt others.
“Hello, we are here to bail Ding Jiayi.” Teacher Cen took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face, indicating her purpose.
“Zijin!” Hearing her name, Ding Jiayi looked up and saw her beloved daughter, Qiao Zijin. She rushed forward and hugged Qiao Zijin. “Zijin, you are the only one in the family who cares for me. It’s good that you still treat me as your mom. Zijin, do you know that your dad and Qiao Nan, that wretched girl, are so ruthless that—”
“Mom!” Qiao Zijin was so embarrassed that she tried to bury her face in Ding Jiayi’s arms. She did not dare to look up for fear that the police officers would remember her face. “Okay. Don’t say anything now. If there’s anything, you can tell me when we are home!!!”
It was so embarrassing. Why must her mother say all those things at the police station?!
The people in the police station were slightly surprised. This woman who seemed to be mentally unstable was not to be underestimated. Her daughter was very smart. She studied at The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, the best high school in Ping Cheng. Qiao Nan, the top scholar in the middle school examination, had the same surname as well. Was she her daughter?
…
She was such a crazy woman, yet she gave birth to two smart daughters. Did she give all her intelligence to her children?
“Hello, police officers. Qiao Zijin is the daughter of Ding Jiayi. I am the form teacher of Qiao Zijin. I will help with whatever procedures needed.” Teacher Cen smiled reluctantly. If possible, she wished to leave this suffocating place as quickly as possible.
“Okay, please come with me.” The police officers did not give Teacher Cen a hard time. They respected her as the teacher of The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.
Teacher Cen grabbed the bag in her hand nervously and followed the police officers to fill in the necessary documents.
Ding Jiayi held on to Qiao Zijin’s hands helplessly. She had a lot to tell Qiao Zijin. She wanted to tell her all the grievances that she had suffered and that she was sick.
But whenever Ding Jiayi started to speak, Qiao Zijin would pinch her, hinting for her to keep quiet. Ding Jiayi had no choice but to keep quiet.
Fortunately, Ding Jiayi did not commit serious offenses. She had damaged the public property and attacked the police officers. As long as they decided to let the matter rest, bailing her out should not be much of a problem. Therefore, Teacher Cen did not need to hire a lawyer for Ding Jiayi. After filling in the necessary documents according to the police officers’ instructions, she handed in the bail money and left with Ding Jiayi.
It was rare that the daughter who was still in her school would be the one who bailed the mother out from the police station.
“Teacher Cen, I have fallen sick and have yet to recover. There is nobody at home. Can Zijin take two days off from school to take care of me?” When they were about to part, Ding Jiayi could not bear to be separated from Qiao Zijin, so she made the request to the teacher.
“Mom…”
“Okay.” Teacher Cen faked a smile. “Today is Thursday. She will be able to go home tomorrow. There’s no need to ask for two days off. One day will do. Anyway, your daughter will not be able to do much learning at school either.”
After that, Teacher Cen walked off without waiting for their reply.
“Teacher Cen!” Qiao Zijin wanted to catch up with Teacher Cen, but Ding Jiayi held on to her hands. “Mom, what are you doing? How will Teacher Cen think of me now? Can you stop doing all these? You are not helping me but bringing harm to me. Do you know it is very embarrassing for me to go to the police station to bail you? This could have affected the school as well. Do you know that if things like this happen again, the school will most likely expel me?!”
“What have I done? I have told the teacher that I am sick and I need you to take care of me for two days. Is there anything wrong with that?” Ding Jiayi began to cry and made a lot of noises. “It was all for your sake that I quarreled with your dad. If not for you, would your dad move out with that wretched girl? If not for you, would he not tell me what his new address is? I lost my husband all because of you. Now that I am sick, I just want you to take care of me for two days. Is it too much to ask of you? Zijin, you said that you will be filial to me in the future, but how is this being filial to me?”
“Okay, we are in the public. There are so many people looking at us. Let’s go back. Don’t you want me to wait on you at home? Let’s go back now.” Qiao Zijin was so embarrassed that she tried to cover her face with her sleeves. She pulled Ding Jiayi and hurried home.
“I’m so tired.” Qiao Zijin did not relax a bit upon reaching home. “Mom, what happened to Dad? You said that he moved again? Where did he move to? Dad did not even turn up when you were taken to the police station. Isn’t that too much of him? I am only a child, yet I had to go in his stead?”
“I have no idea. When I went looking for your dad two days ago, the house was empty and the landlord told me that your dad has moved. But I have no idea where he moved to. If it wasn’t for the fact that your dad has moved, I would not sit through the windy night by the pavement and end up with a cold and a fever. I have not fully recovered yet. Feel my forehead. It’s still burning with fever.” Ding Jiayi took Qiao Zijin’s hand and placed it on her forehead.
“Mom, what have you done to make Dad so angry that he moved again?!” Qiao Zijin was so exasperated that she felt like crying. “Didn’t you say that you would behave yourself for now and keep a low profile? Didn’t you say that you would leave Qiao Nan alone? Don’t push all the blame to me and tell me that you did all these for me. I was at school, and I did not tell you to do anything for me. Mom, do you not want your family and your husband anymore? Dad is so furious that he moved, yet you were up to no good again after two months?”
Qiao Zijin was scared out of her wits at the fact that Qiao Dongliang moved with Qiao Nan to a new place for the second time.
Last time, when Qiao Dongliang moved out with Qiao Nan, she had thought that Qiao Dongliang would definitely divorce Ding Jiayi in no time. She did not have any friends or classmates who came from a single parent family. She did not want to be the exception.
“Mom, I beg of you to behave yourself. Will that do? If Dad really wants to divorce you, you will regret it later. Tell me, what have you done?” Qiao Zijin was worried that her father would really divorce her mother. Hence, she had been very well-behaved for the past two months. In the past, she had always been thinking of ways to bring down Qiao Nan. She had never been this proper and dutiful ever since Qiao Nan was born.
A terrible teammate was worse than a tough rival.
Qiao Zijin had been behaving herself in front of Qiao Nan, but Ding Jiayi tried to pull tricks on Qiao Nan behind her back and antagonized Qiao Dongliang. Qiao Zijin did not know what to do with this mother of hers.
Chapter 290: I Did Not Provoke Qiao Nan
Ding Jiayi felt terribly wronged. “I didn’t do anything. I have no idea what’s wrong with your dad. Why would he move without telling me? You can’t blame me for this. It must be that wretched girl who bad-mouthed me in front of your dad. I must have owed that wretched girl in my previous life. She is born to collect debts from me!”
For the past two months, she felt that she had been very well-behaved. This time, the problem certainly did not lie with her.
“Has Nan Nan been back from school? Impossible, if I remember correctly, like me, Nan Nan will only be back this week. Mom, when did Dad move without telling you?” Qiao Zijin counted with her fingers. She felt perplexed.
Ding Jiayi thought hard about it. “No, that wretched girl never took leave to come back.”
“If so, how could Nan Nan badmouth you in front of Dad?”
“Don’t forget that your dad went to Ping Cheng High School for the parent-teacher conference last weekend. I tried to please your dad by volunteering to go with him, but he refused!”
“Parent-teacher conference?” Qiao Zijin frowned. “Then, she might have the chance to talk to Dad. But over the years, Qiao Nan did not complain about us to Dad. This time around, something serious must have happened to make Dad move to a new place. Mom, think again. Did you provoke Dad or Nan Nan during or after the parent-teacher conference?”
“I didn’t provoke her!” Ding Jiayi said. “I didn’t even get to see her, so how could I provoke her? Are you helping me or helping her?”
“Are you lying to me? Did you really not provoke Qiao Nan?” Ding Jiayi said matter-of-factly with not even a slight twinge of guilt in her tone. Qiao Zijin began to have doubts. If her mother really did something, she would keep it from others, but she would not lie to her.
“I swear I didn’t do anything!”
“Then, it would have to do with Dad and Qiao Nan.” Qiao Zijin pursed her lips. “Let’s forget about what happened previously. This time, it is too much of Dad to move to a new place without telling us. Mom, we have to think of some ways to find Dad and get him to give us an explanation. I don’t believe that Dad will abandon you and me for Qiao Nan.”
“No, your dad will not do that. I am his only wife. In the future, that wretched girl and you will have your own family. I will be the only one who will stay by his side until the end. They say that when young couples turn old, they will be each other’s companion. Your dad will not abandon me. It must be that wretched girl who gave your dad this idea. Your dad won’t abandon you and me.” She did not believe that the wretched girl would stay by Old Qiao’s side until he grew old, and that she would choose to stay single all her life for her father.
“You should know that Dad values Qiao Nan very much. He will listen to whatever Qiao Nan says. Why did you still anger her? Right now, even if you do a hundred good things, it will not be comparable to Qiao Nan putting in a good word for you. Do you understand? If you want to reconcile with Dad, it’s not enough to please Dad. You have to work on pleasing Qiao Nan as well. I am not asking for much. If you give Qiao Nan a tenth of the attention and care that you give me, Qiao Nan will certainly be happy too.”
As long as it was for their long-term benefit, she did not mind her mother giving some attention to Qiao Nan.
Anyway, when her mother had reconciled with her father, her mother would revert to the usual ways and give her all the attention again.
“I have treated her as if she was my ancestor. I didn’t beat her or yell at her. I served her food and waited on her every day. What more could I do?!” The fear and worry that plagued Ding Jiayi the past few days vanished as soon as Qiao Zijin was by her side. Ding Jiayi calmed down and felt more confident.
“If you insist, there’s no way that we can continue this conversation. Mom, you have to remember. Dad will only be happy when Qiao Nan is happy. Whether your relationship with Dad will change is totally dependent on yourself. Something must have happened to make Dad move to a new place without telling you. You may be able to find him this time, but you can’t guarantee that you will always be able to find out his whereabouts. Most importantly, Qiao Nan is only in the first year. No matter where Dad moved to, it should be within Ping Cheng. But if Qiao Nan enters the college in three years’ time and leaves Ping Cheng, will Dad still stay in Ping Cheng? Will you be able to find him then?”
“Then, we must forbid that wretched girl from studying in a college that is not in Ping Cheng!”
“You don’t even know where Dad is. How are you able to stop Qiao Nan from enrolling in the college of her choice? If Qiao Nan has good results and you refuse to let her continue with her studies, Dad is not going to let you off. Enough of all these foolish words. It’s been a year. Do you think that Qiao Nan is still the young lady who obeys us? If you thwart her study plans, she will lodge a complaint to Dad and you will be the one who suffers. After being plotted against by Qiao Nan for so many times, haven’t you learned your ways, Mom?”
Qiao Zijin had a headache. After what happened at the Zhai’s residence, she finally realized that unless she had absolute confidence, she had better not provoke Qiao Nan.
There was one thing that she regretted the most. Qiao Nan would always keep her silence even when being bullied at home, but she had such good connections outside. She was on friendly terms with the influential Zhai family.
If she knew that Qiao Nan was acquainted with the daughter of the Zhai family, she would have asked Qiao Nan to introduce her to the Zhai family so that she could be on friendly terms with them.
Qiao Nan could only manage to be close to the children in the family. If it was her, she would have a way to win the favor of the elders in the Zhai family to the extent that they would treat her as their goddaughter.
That day, Qiao Nan had left and Qiao Zijin did not realize it in time.
Though the Zhai family had seen the disgraced and ugliest side of her, she was thick-skinned enough to pester Zhai Hua and Miao Jing, trying to be close to them. However, Zhai Hua and Miao Jing did not pay much attention to them. They merely gave polite and short replies. They did not have the time to have a proper chat before Zhai Hua mentioned that they had something on and shut the door on them.
Qiao Zijin looked at the tightly shut door and knew that she had missed a golden opportunity.
Qiao Nan had the approval of Elder Lee, while Elder Zhu was full of praise for her. On top of that, she also knew people from the Zhai family.
Qiao Zijin could not take it lying down. She was certainly very outstanding. However, she never had the opportunity to get to know those influential people. She was not as lucky as Qiao Nan who had endless chances.
If she had known that Qiao Nan was so capable, she definitely would have tried to get along with Qiao Nan. With her temper, it would be easy to coax some information from her.
Be it the Lee family, the Zhu family, or even the Zhai family. If she had connections with any of them, she would not need to worry about her future or getting a good husband.