Chapter 2227: She Wouldn’t Dare

“And before she hung up, that wretched girl said that there isn’t anything for you.”

As for getting Qiao Nan to buy something more expensive, she had better stop dreaming about it. Turning it into reality was simply too difficult.

Qiao Zijin’s face flushed red. “What right does she have to do that? Mom, did you ask her about it? Did Qiao Nan say why she only bought clothes for you and Dad but forgot about me? I haven’t provoked her recently. She’s really gone overboard. Is she crazy?”

She might not have provoked her recently, but that didn’t mean that she hadn’t done so in the past.

That thought ran through Ding Jiayi’s mind but she dared not voice it out for fear that Qiao Zijin would throw a tantrum because she was siding with Qiao Nan. “How would I know? What I know is that she refused to buy clothes for you and that she didn’t intend to buy you any in the first place. Alright. I’ve already made the call. Since she’s refused, I can’t do anything about it either. You can decide for yourself if you want to have new clothes to wear this new year.”

If Qiao Zijin wanted to wear new clothes, she could fork out her money to buy some. Otherwise, why had they even bothered calling Qiao Nan in the first place?

“Mom, Mom. Don’t go! Let’s discuss it further. You can help me.” Qiao Zijin tugged on Ding Jiayi’s clothes. “Mom, Qiao Nan’s already treating me like this. Don’t you think you should help me and keep Qiao Nan in line?”

“Hehehe. I was thinking of doing that but I’m not an omnipotent mother. It’s been almost two years since she’s stopped listening to me. If she refuses to help you, there’ll be no point in my agreeing to help you either. Stop calling me. No matter how many times you call me, there’s still nothing I can do. That wretched girl already had such a terrible temper before getting married. Now that she’s become the chief’s wife, there’s no way she’ll bother about me or listen to whatever I say.”

She had never even been the wife of a battalion commander, but Qiao Nan had directly become a chief’s wife. Given the change in both their statuses, it was hard to say who would have to listen to the other.

Qiao Zijin gritted her teeth. Qiao Nan was too cruel and heartless to refuse to acknowledge her only sister. But Qiao Zijin was also infuriated at Ding Jiayi for being such a useless mother. In the past, Ding Jiayi had been quite successful as a mother. As long as Ding Jiayi said something, Qiao Nan would never dare to refuse. If only she had managed to keep that up until now.

“Mom, shouldn’t we use some special means to let Qiao Nan understand that she’s done wrong and that we’re angry at her?” Since Qiao Nan had nothing to fear now, it was difficult to deal with her. The best way to deal with her was to find her weakness so that they could instill some fear in her. That way, it would definitely be easier to deal with her.

“What special means?” Was there such a thing? Why had she not known about this before?

“Mom, she’s still your daughter and you’re her mom. Think about how heartless she was when she left, refusing to acknowledge us or even having anything to do with the Qiao family. But even when you didn’t visit her when she almost died during childbirth, she’s still filial enough to you during the new year. Just tell Qiao Nan that you’ll not forgive her unless she buys me a decent set of clothes. Otherwise, we’ll return your set of clothes to her too.”

“Mom, didn’t I get a call just now? It was from my high school classmate. They said that they’ll be organizing a gathering on the fifth day of the new year. I have to attend it. I’m sure you know how well-to-do those families are. I can’t afford to dress shabbily there or I’ll be an embarrassment to our family. It’s just as well. Doesn’t Qiao Nan owe me a set of clothes? Just get Qiao Nan to buy me a set of clothes that’s suitable for my gathering. At my age, it’s better to save money. I’ll just wear the same outfit for the new year as well as for the get-together. I don’t need her to get me two different outfits. After all, she’s a mother too. I’ll just treat it as though I’m helping her save money as an aunt so that she can spend it on outfits for the three children.”

How nice of her! Not only would she help Qiao Nan save some money, but she would even give Qiao Nan the chance to buy more clothes for the triplets from the money that she had saved!

Throughout her life, she had always treated herself the best. But now, she was even willing to sacrifice her own interests for Qiao Nan and the triplets’ sakes. Qiao Zijin felt that she had already gone above and beyond. Where else would Qiao Nan find a sister better than her? There was no way the triplets would ever have a better aunt either!

“If she doesn’t buy you clothes, I should return mine as well?” There were question marks in Ding Jiayi’s eyes, and her tone was hesitant. Why would she have to return her clothes if Zijin didn’t have any new clothes? That made no sense!

Qiao Zijin dragged Ding Jiayi to sit down. “Mom, don’t worry. You’re Qiao Nan’s mom. She won’t dare to not give you new clothes! This is just a means of threatening Qiao Nan. You’re my mother. How could I let you have no new clothes for the new year? Don’t worry. As long as you listen to me, not only will you have new clothes, but so will I! Then, our family of four will be able to celebrate the new year joyfully!”

Qiao Zijin’s words made it seem as though she was the one paying for Ding Jiayi’s clothes and that this whole matter had nothing to do with Qiao Nan.

Qiao Zijin’s ideas were warped and distorted but Ding Jiayi saw nothing wrong with them. “What if she really gets angry and refuses? What if she really takes my clothes back?”

If she were to send Qiao Nan’s clothes back, would Zijin buy her an even better and more expensive set of clothes?

“That’s impossible. Mom, you’re overthinking it. She won’t dare to do it.” How could Qiao Nan dare to take back the clothes and not care about how her mother celebrated the new year? If Qiao Nan was truly that heartless, would this set of clothes even have appeared? Her mom was letting her imagination run wild and worrying unnecessarily. It was just a set of clothes, but her mom was getting overly anxious over it.

No wonder Qiao Nan had transformed into a different person over the past year, so much so that her mom was no longer able to control her. Perhaps, the person who had changed was not Qiao Nan but her mom.

Ding Jiayi dared not say whether Qiao Nan would dare to do such a thing. After all, Qiao Nan had undergone a drastic change. As such, there was no way Ding Jiayi could predict Qiao Nan’s next move or reaction. “Wait a minute. Let me think this through.”