Chapter 2276: Scared Stiff

And now that Qiao Zijin had said such frightening words, Ding Jiayi had the urge to huddle up and start sobbing. Qiao Nan refused to acknowledge her and thought of her as her enemy. As for her elder daughter whom she had always doted on, she regarded her mom as an enemy too. What sins had she committed to have gotten such unfilial and heartless daughters?

Now, Qiao Zijin was finally in the mood to drink water. “Alright, Mom. Stop acting as though you’re the most pitiful person in this world. You’re an impressive old woman. Just think about how well you used to manipulate Qiao Nan. What’s the point of scolding Qiao Nan and me in your heart? Why don’t you scold us outright if you want to so that we can correct it?”

Ding Jiayi was short of breath and dizzy.

Was this still her daughter? Even her ancestors weren’t as amazing as her own daughter. “Fine, you’re good. I can’t win against you. I’ve wronged you as a mother. I’ve never done anything to benefit you. Will that do? Don’t bother calling me your mom in the future. It’ll make much more sense for me to call you my mom. You can do whatever you want. The capital isn’t for humans. I can’t stay here. I’m returning to Ping Cheng!”

This conversation with Qiao Zijin scared Ding Jiayi to death. She couldn’t understand whether the capital was a good place. If it was, why had Qiao Zijin turned into such a frightening character that she couldn’t recognize? If the capital was a bad place, why was Qiao Zijin insisting on staying here?

But Ding Jiayi was clear of one thing. The capital wasn’t a good place for her. It was a place filled with nightmares, and a place she couldn’t wait to get away from.

Qiao Zijin placed her cup down, her gaze filled with disappointment. “Mom, are you really in a rush to return to Ping Cheng today? I’m your daughter. There’s something that will benefit both of us, and I won’t even have to put in much effort. It can’t get any better than this. Mom, I think you can afford to stay here for a few more days. If you have nowhere to stay, you can stay in my rented apartment. It’s a million yuan we’re talking about. With a million yuan, do you still need to care about what your two daughters do? And let me remind you that there aren’t any buses back to Ping Cheng in the afternoon. You’ll have to take a flight back. Didn’t you say that you haven’t gotten in touch with Qiao Nan?”

Actually, Qiao Zijin was sure that the Zhai family would be more than willing to give Ding Jiayi a free plane ticket if they were to know that Ding Jiayi wanted to return to Ping Cheng instead of making trouble for Qiao Nan. After all, it would benefit them to send Ding Jiayi away in case she stirred up trouble for Qiao Nan again.

After she had married into the Chen family, her parents-in-law had never treated her especially well, but Qiao Nan had extremely good fortune. Besides, Qiao Nan’s parents-in-law had a higher status than her former parents-in-law. Not only did the Zhai family not pick on Qiao Nan, but they even treated her as though she was their biological daughter. It was everything a woman who got married could ever ask for.

Qiao Nan was already living such a blissful life. If she were to inherit such great wealth, bad luck was sure to strike her.

Didn’t they always say that trouble and misfortunes never came alone, while blessings never came in a pair? If she was too blessed, she would surely be cursed too! It was best for Qiao Nan to give up the Zhu family’s inheritance. Only then would she be able to live her life peacefully and blissfully.

This wasn’t just superstition. If not for the Zhu family’s inheritance, Wang Yang would never have had his eye on Qiao Nan or wanted to deal with her. Sometimes, letting go was the best choice. Without that sum of money, she would gain a much more peaceful life. She was sure that Qiao Nan would not be at a loss even if she were to agree to this deal.

As Qiao Nan’s only sister, there was nothing wrong with her getting some benefits while helping Qiao Nan out of a tight spot. She could swear to the heavens that she would never cause any trouble for Qiao Nan in the future, and neither would she ever need Qiao Nan’s help if Qiao Nan agreed to her conditions and she managed to get ten million yuan.

From then on, she would stay in her own lane and treat Qiao Nan as any other stranger along the road.

That would be a win-win situation for everyone. Qiao Zijin couldn’t think of a reason for Qiao Nan to turn her down. If Qiao Nan provoked Wang Yang and won the lawsuit, she would still be able to get the Zhu family’s inheritance. But what if she lost? In that case, there was no way Wang Yang would agree to give Qiao Nan ten million yuan for a settlement fee.

It was better to be practical and realistic. Ten million yuan was quite a huge sum of money. Anyway, she had done nothing to deserve or earn it. If she risked it all and ended up not getting a single cent, it would be too late to beg anyone then.

Ding Jiayi’s hand trembled uncontrollably. She no longer wanted to speak with Qiao Zijin. “I-I’m heading back.”

“What’s the hurry?” Qiao Zijin laughed and crawled out of bed, decisively taking out the money and identity card from Ding Jiayi’s pocket. “Mom, you know how old you are. You should admit that you’ve gotten old. It’s normal for people to become muddleheaded when they get old. You don’t have to be so polite with me. We can always solve your problems together. Didn’t Dad lose his identity card the previous time? This is the capital. It won’t be as easy for you to replace your identity card if you lose it here. I think I’d better keep it for you.”

Qiao Zijin was much younger than Ding Jiayi. Ding Jiayi was no match for Qiao Zijin when she tried to snatch Ding Jiayi’s identity card and money from her. Even if Ding Jiayi was upset, Qiao Zijin had taken away everything she needed to return to Ping Cheng.

Just earlier, Qiao Zijin had said that she wouldn’t stop Ding Jiayi from returning to Ping Cheng as long as she was sure about it. It hadn’t even been half an hour since then, but Qiao Zijin had already forcefully taken Ding Jiayi’s identity card away. Qiao Zijin’s overbearing attitude scared Ding Jiayi stiff.

She understood from Qiao Zijin’s attitude that Qiao Zijin would never allow her to return to Ping Cheng unless she helped convince Qiao Nan to settle the Zhu family’s matter.

Just a few months earlier, Ding Jiayi had stolen Qiao Dongliang’s identity card from his pocket. But at that time, she hadn’t been as bold as Qiao Zijin to snatch it from him. She had been so furtive and frightened while taking it from him.