Chapter 409: Miao Jing’s Reminder
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Don’t worry. Zhai Hua is very quick-witted. She will be fine. It has been so many years. Have you seen anything happen to her before?” Zhai Sheng kept silent for a while before comforting Miao Jing.
“Yes, it’s just that nothing serious happened to her. Nevertheless, she is a young lady. I am worried that nobody will want her with her scars.” Over the years, Zhai Hua might have been fine, but she still had her share of injuries and scars. It did not look good on her to have so many scars.
As her mother, she felt sorry for her daughter.
“To soldiers, scars are their medals.” Zhai Sheng disagreed.
“What crap are you talking about!” Miao Jing could not help but use Qiao Nan’s tone of voice. “If you are so capable, no matter how difficult the mission is, you should not hurt yourself. You are clearly a rookie. Hence, you suffered those injuries. It has nothing to do with glory.”
“Rookie?” Zhai Sheng looked up toward Miao Jing. He had never heard Miao Jing used this word, but from her tone, it did not seem to be a good word. “Where did you learn it from?”
In order to be comparable to his father, his mother specially learned etiquette. She had stopped using all those swear words and dirty words.
Those who did not know his mother would have thought that his mother had a good family background.
Of course, Zhai Sheng heard this from Old Master Zhai. Old Master Zhai was worried because Miao Jing spent all her time on Zhai Yaohui and neglected her children. He always shared with his grandchildren about what happened when Miao Jing and Zhai Yaohui were young, and that Miao Jing did not have an easy time.
It was all thanks to Old Master Zhai that Zhai Sheng and Zhai Hua never once complained about Miao Jing.
“What do you mean by that? Stop evading my question.” Miao Jing refused to admit that she learned it from others.
Since Miao Jing refused to admit, Zhai Sheng did not probe further. He could easily guess the answer.
His mother’s life revolved around his father. Apart from him, she did not have many friends and she did not have many chances to interact with others. Come to think of it, his mother led a life revolving her husband and had no time for herself.
But Zhai Sheng was elated that Qiao Nan would have such a huge influence on Miao Jing.
“But you’re right. Zhai Hua and I should be more careful. Mom, is there anything else?”
“I want to talk to you about Qiu Chenxi. I have said that as long as you are unwilling, I won’t force you to be with Qiu Chenxi. But your biggest problem now is not me, but your dad. If you don’t intend to be with Qiu Chenxi, you must do something.” Miao Jing was anxious for her son.
Miao Jing was worried that Zhai Sheng’s engagement with Qiu Chenxi would be finalized without him knowing.
“Don’t worry. Dad may be very happy to see us married, but the engagement doesn’t count if I am not present. In the future, there is no way that we can be married if I refuse to sign the papers. If my dad could make that happen without my agreement, I would have to hand it to him.”
No matter how his father intended to take matters into his own hands, his father and Qiu Chenxi could not do anything without his agreement.
“You don’t understand.” Miao Jing sighed. “There are some things that I have never told you and your sister. Since it’s for your happiness, I don’t care anymore. Actually, your dad has always liked someone else and she is Qiu Chenxi’s mother, Qi Minlan. They grew up together and have always had a good relationship. Basically, they are childhood sweethearts. Your dad had been dating Qi Minlan ever since a young age. However, there was once when your grandpa was injured and was rescued by my father. He stayed at my father’s house for a short while. It was during that period that he grew fond of me and insisted that I became his daughter-in-law. He then forced your dad to marry me.”
In other words, without her, Qi Minlan should be the one who married Zhai Yaohui.
From the first day of her marriage, Miao Jing felt as if her happiness was stolen from someone else.
“Though your dad insisted to marry Qi Minlan, he gave in to your grandpa in the end. I am afraid that you will walk in your father’s footsteps and end up like your dad and me, always having a knot in your heart and feeling unhappy for the rest of your life.” If not for the fact that the happiness she had did not belong to her, she would not have led such a cautious life and neglected her children, putting all her attention on Zhai Yaohui.
“My dad is my dad, and I am myself.” It turned out that there was such a story between his father and Qi Minlan. It was no wonder that his father liked Qiu Chenxi so much. She was the daughter of the woman that he once liked. Did his father intend to sell his son out to make up for his regrets in the past?
“Mom, since Dad and Qi Minlan have such a past relationship, why would you accept Qiu Chenxi and be so good to her?” Qiu Chenxi was the daughter of his mother’s love rival. Instead of being nice to Qiu Chenxi, his mother should be unhappy with everyone who was related to Qi Minlan.
Miao Jing smiled bitterly. She did not answer Zhai Sheng’s question.
She had already taken the plunge by sharing her past with Zhai Sheng. If she was to go into details, it would be tantamount to throwing aside her pride and admitting defeat to Qi Minlan. “Alright, I will stop here. You should make plans for yourself. It’s good that you are certain and confident. I am just worried that you are not prepared, and the final result may not be what you anticipated.”
Despite having deep feelings for each other, Zhai Yaohui still broke up with Qi Minlan all because of his father. He ended up marrying a stranger like her and lived the rest of his life with her.
The reason why she agreed to the marriage between Qiu Chenxi and Zhai Sheng was that she felt that, at least, Zhai Sheng had better luck than Zhai Yaohui. He could marry someone he knew.
Seeing the forlorn look on Miao Jing’s face, Zhai Sheng was lost for words. He did not know what he should say to his mother.
Miao Jing’s life revolved around Zhai Yaohui and the Zhai family. If Zhai Sheng suggested that his mother leave Zhai Yaohui’s side and go back to the Zhai family residence, faced with an empty house without her husband and children by her side, she might become even lonelier, and her thoughts might run wild.
It was at this time that Zhai Sheng hoped that Qiao Nan would grow up soon so that they could get married as soon as possible.
When Qiao Nan gave birth to his child, his mother’s life would not revolve around his father anymore. At least, she could help bring up her grandchildren and direct her attention to them.
Qiao Nan sneezed and rubbed her red nose. It was uncomfortable to have a cold and a runny nose.
“Nan Nan, have you eaten the cold medicine? Do you want to go to the sick bay to get some pills?” Zheng Lingling touched Qiao Nan’s forehead. She felt slightly at ease after she was assured that Qiao Nan did not have a fever.
“No, I have cold medicine with me. I will have them and have a good sleep today. I should be better tomorrow.”
A girl leaned close to Qiao Nan and whispered, “Qiao Nan, someone is looking for you. He is a handsome guy, but he does not seem to be from our school.”