1057 Pay for Damages
“Money? What?” Qiao Zijin was shocked.
Qiao Dongliang knew that Qiao Nan had gone back to the house. He looked at Qiao Zijin in exasperation. “What do you mean by that? Nan Nan’s clothes are torn. Don’t you need to pay for the damages?”
“Do I need to pay for this? I did not do it on purpose.” Qiao Zijin was slow to react. These clothes should cost a bomb. If she had the money to pay for the damages, she would have used the money to buy clothes for herself. She would not need to wear Qiao Nan’s old clothes.
“Do you mean you do not need to pay for it because it was an accident? Which teacher teaches you this?” Qiao Dongliang was angry.
Although the younger daughter seemed to treat him like usual, Qiao Dongliang could tell that their relationship was no longer as close as it used to be.
But he only had two daughters in this life. His elder daughter was disappointing and the siblings were not close with each other. After he passed away, given that the elder daughter was prone to troubles, he could only count on the younger daughter to take care of her sister.
For the two daughters to mend their relationship, Qiao Dongliang felt that it was alright that he suffered and worked extra harder.
He knew that Nan Nan blamed him for changing his attitude toward Qiao Zijin. However, he was a father and he had two daughters to take care of.
If he only had one child, he would not behave like that.
Now that he had two children, he would do his best so that they would lead a better life.
Qiao Dongliang might have good intentions and was willing to sacrifice himself to pave the way for Qiao Zijin. However, Qiao Zijin, the noob teammate, had been making things worse for him.
She was wrong in the first place. She should take the initiative to make up with Qiao Nan and treat her well, showing more concern for her.
However, Qiao Zijin refused to do that. Instead, she wore Qiao Nan’s clothes and came up with a lousy lie that she fell and tore the clothes.
If Qiao Dongliang had already given up on Qiao Zijin, he would have scolded her for coming up with such lame excuses.
To think that Qiao Zijin was a college student. She was so lousy in coming up with excuses. What had she been studying all these years?
Qiao Zijin stiffened and finally realized that she had made a mistake. “W-what if I don’t have any money?”
Qiao Zijin could forsake her pride to suck up to Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan.
But she would not fork out money or do anything that was not beneficial to her. Besides, she really did not have the money.
Qiao Dongliang had a bad headache. Qiao Zijin was smarter than Nan Nan when she was young. Why was it that the situation was reversed after they grew up? Right now, Nan Nan was smarter and cleverer. Could it be that the old saying was true, that being bright at an early age did not necessarily bring success upon growing up?
She might want to mend the relationship with Nan Nan, but her attitude said otherwise.
Even if she had no money, she should not have put it that way in front of Nan Nan.
Qiao Dongliang stifled his anger. “If you don’t have any money, you should get it from your mom. No matter what, you have to pay for the damages. If you don’t have it right now, you can take some time to raise the money. You can pay for the damages after you raise enough money.” Without waiting for Qiao Zijin to react, Qiao Dongliang took the torn clothes and pushed Qiao Zijin out of the house, closing the door right after her.
After shutting the door so that Qiao Zijin would not have the chance to say the wrong words in front of Qiao Nan, Qiao Dongliang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Qiao Nan, who stood behind Qiao Dongliang, smiled. In the past, she used to think that her father was pretending to be muddleheaded.
To wash a pig is to waste both water and soap. She was in such a situation in the previous life. As for her father, he could not be bothered with what happened at home. This was why he allowed her mother and her sister to bully her.
It was in this life that Qiao Nan realized that it did not seem that way.
Her father knew very well what was happening and he took the initiative to be in control. At least, when it came to Qiao Zijin, he was smart and fast to react.
He knew that Qiao Zijin would continue to say hurtful words to affect their relationship. Therefore, he acted swiftly and closed the door on her before things got worse.
“Nan Nan, don’t worry. I permitted your sister to borrow your clothes. Therefore, I will make sure that she pays for the damages. Your sister has been spoiled by your mom.” Qiao Dongliang felt embarrassed and weary in front of his younger daughter.
Qiao Nan cast a glance at the clothes that Qiao Dongliang had in his hands. “Since they are torn, just throw them away.”
Qiao Nan could not be bothered to talk about Qiao Zijin!
“Qiao Nan, I am back!” An hour later, Shi Qing’s voice that was growlier than before could be heard resonating outside the small quad.
Ever since she studied at the PLA National Defence University, Shi Qing seemed to have unleashed her real self. She was more agile than before. She did not come in from the front door. Instead, she jumped over the wall like a monkey into the Qiao family’s residence. “Qiao Nan, come and take a look at the present that I have for you.”
“What brings you back here? The Lunar New Year is coming. Why are you still in Ping Cheng?” Qiao Nan was surprised to see Shi Qing. “Aren’t you supposed to go to the capital or Mo Du?”
The Shi family was based in Mo Du, while the Feng family was based in the capital.
Shi Qing and Shi Peng had no other family members in Ping Cheng. Weren’t they supposed to go back home for the Lunar New Year?
“No!” Shi Qing glared at Qiao Nan angrily, blaming Qiao Nan for bringing up those topics that would dampen one’s spirits. “You should have seen the true colors of the Feng family this year. I don’t want to go back. As for the Shi family, my aunt and Qiu Chenxi are there. My grandparents do not need me. I would rather spend the Lunar New Year with my dad, your dad, and you.”
Shi Qing did not spend much time studying in the capital, but in that short period, she was already very disappointed with the Feng family.
She tried to put Qiu Chenxi at the back of her mind.
But after she transferred to the PLA National Defence University and did not have Qiao Nan to accompany her and chat with her, she had a lot of time to do some serious thinking.
She had finally seen through the Feng family’s true colors. Even though they said that they loved her, the Feng family adopted the same attitude as the Shi family when Qiu Chenxi claimed that she was Zhai Sheng’s fiancée—they hoped to bask in Qiu Chenxi’s light and be on close terms with the Zhai family with the help of Qiu Chenxi.
When faced with personal and family interests, Shi Qing was considered as someone unimportant in the Shi family and the Feng family.
The Feng family had themselves to blame for Shi Qing’s disgust toward them.
The Feng family cherished Shi Qing because she was the only female in the Feng family and she was their only granddaughter.
Although the Feng family did not help Shi Qing or seek justice for her when Qiu Chenxi bullied her, they would console and comfort her.
Moreover, the Feng family would criticize the Shi family for being small-minded and not showing concern for Shi Qing.
The Feng family was very specific in their criticisms of the Shi family. Shi Qing had heard too much of them that she could tell which were truths and which were lies.
Back then, the Feng family kept criticizing the Shi family. Shi Qing was influenced by them and became disappointed with her paternal grandparents. Now, she was just as disappointed with the Feng family.