“Nan Nan, we’ll stop here today. When we have the chance, let’s meet up and chat again.” At the thought of Qiao Nan’s family situation, Miao Jing swiftly hung up the phone to avoid increasing the cost of Qiao Nan’s phone bills.
After hanging up, Miao Jing said smilingly, “Nan Nan, this young lady, is truly great beyond words. She’s more concerned about me than the two of you. Zhai Sheng, do you think I should formally acknowledge Nan Nan as my goddaughter?”
In the Zhai family, her only daughter was manlier than a man.
As for Zhai Sheng, Miao Jing did not expect much from him.
Now, it was rare for her to meet a young lady that she liked so much. Miao Jing truly liked Qiao Nan and wanted to formally acknowledge her as her kin.
“Not necessary.” Nan Nan would marry into the Zhai family eventually and be his wife in the future. Hence, there was no need to do this. On the contrary, this would cause many inconveniences.
“Why?” Miao Jing was not pleased. “Are you afraid that your sister will be jealous? Don’t worry about it. Your sister is different from the typical ladies. She won’t be jealous.” After formally acknowledging Qiao Nan as her goddaughter, she would have one more person to keep her company at the quad.
“It’s not about jealousy. It’s troublesome.”
“What’s the trouble? It’s simple, not troublesome at all!”
“It’s not troublesome for you but Nan Nan. Mom, did you forget the situation of Nan Nan’s family?”
At the mention of Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin, Miao Jing hesitated.
In Miao Jing’s impression of the Qiao family, Qiao Nan was good, and she was truly good. She did not have any impression of Qiao Dongliang. As for Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin, Miao Jing would rather not take about her impressions of them.
Zhai Sheng prepared a cup of tea for Miao Jing. When Miao Jing took a sip from the cup and remained silent, Zhai Sheng continued, “Actually, the formality is not important. Nan Nan cares about you and you like Nan Nan. If you wish to be good to Nan Nan, formally acknowledging her as your goddaughter is not the only way. Didn’t you ask me to send things to Nan Nan on the first day of the Lunar New Year? Both of us even visited her house on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. If we’re really on good terms, there is no need to formally acknowledge her as your kin. That’s not important. It’s the thought that counts.”
At this moment, Miao Jing felt much better. “You’re right. It’s me, the mother, who can’t let go. Nan Nan, this child, is not bad. I’m willing to treat her well and this has got nothing to do with others. I really don’t want to talk about that mother and sister of Nan Nan. Nan Nan doesn’t have a good life. She has such a mother and sister. She will definitely have to suffer more in the future. If I don’t treat her well, Nan Nan, this child, is really too pitiful.”
After successfully dispelling Miao Jing’s thoughts of formally acknowledging Qiao Nan as her goddaughter, Zhai Sheng curled his lips. “Mom, do you have any other matter?”
“Why?”
“I’ve some work on hand that has not been settled.”
“Sure, I won’t disturb you then. Focus on your work. Sigh, it’s rare that I visited the army to see the two of you, but the two of you are so busy.” After a long day, besides chatting shortly with Nan Nan, she did not manage to talk much with her son and daughter.
At the thought of this, Miao Jing felt gloomy.
If she knew that this would be the case, she might as well stay in the quad. She could look for Nan Nan directly to chat if she had any matter.
However, when she recalled that Qiao Nan was now a student, and was only home for at most three days during the thirty days in a month, Miao Jing felt even more listless.
Miao Jing’s situation now was a little similar to that of Qiao Dongliang. She did not have anyone to keep her company or anything to do. Whenever she had spare time, her thoughts would wander.
Not surprisingly, Miao Jing, who was feeling depressed, had failed to observe one situation: Zhai Sheng was apparently busy, but why did he have the spare time to call Qiao Nan but not chat with his mother?
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Nan felt so nervous that she paced up and down at home.
Auntie Miao’s reaction earlier was quite normal. Hence, she most likely had not realized that she was Brother Zhai’s girlfriend.
When the phone rang again, Qiao Nan picked it up immediately. “Brother Zhai?”
“Okay, my mom has left. Don’t worry. She didn’t discover anything. No issue.”
“Phew…” Qiao Nan let out a sigh of relief. “Why do I feel that I’m working when I’m involved in a romantic relationship with you? Does it have to be so dangerous and exciting? Brother Zhai, you also know Auntie Miao’s opinions on typical girls. Tell me. If one day Auntie Miao finds out that I’m the one, will Auntie Miao…”
“There’s no hurry. Take it a step at a time.” Zhai Sheng didn’t give Qiao Nan a definite answer just because Miao Jing said that she wished to formally acknowledge Qiao Nan as her goddaughter.
The fact that Miao Jing thought of this clearly meant that she truly liked Qiao Nan and wished to treat her like her own daughter.
In normal circumstances, if a mother who had a son felt that a young lady was very good, her first reaction would certainly not to acknowledge the other party as her goddaughter. Instead, she would think of ways to match her own son with the girl.
This thought of Miao Jing indirectly revealed that Miao Jing was only willing to accept Qiao Nan as her goddaughter, not as her daughter-in-law.
Hence, if Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan’s relationship was exposed, Miao Jing would not accept it immediately. She might even object, run away from this, and say things that would hurt Qiao Nan.
“Brother Zhai?” When he heard that Brother Zhai did not sound so confident, Qiao Nan hesitated too.
“Do you regret it?” Zhai Sheng’s tone was sullen. He was obviously unhappy.
Qiao Nan, who was on the other side of the phone, shook her head. “No regrets. But I’m a little scared. What if Auntie Miao won’t accept us regardless of all circumstances? What should we do?”
“This won’t happen.” Zhai Sheng’s tone was calm. It gave her a strong sense of assurance. “My mom has not come to her senses yet. She did not like Qiu Chenxi but tolerated the Qiu family who acted like our relatives for more than a decade. But last year, didn’t she finally understand after you advised her? My mom likes you. Even if your identity changes one day, she will be willing to accept our relationship after some time.”
“I hope that day will come to pass.”
Before Qiao Nan could get herself out of the phobia of Ding Jiayi, Miao Jing, an unknown object who could be either a phobia or a sun, had engulfed her.
Qiao Nan truly suspected that she had poor chemistry with mothers. Be it her biological mother or her potential mother-in-law, none of them liked her wholeheartedly.
“Brother Zhai, go ahead and be busy with your work. I won’t disturb you anymore. It’s inconvenient for me at school. Most likely, I can write you a letter once every two weeks. If there’s spare time, we could chat occasionally. Is that fine?” Qiao Nan negotiated. If she wrote too much, it would not be good if she was discovered.
“…” The good-looking thin lips of Zhai Sheng formed a sulky, straight line.
Clearly, he was a soldier and should be the busiest between them two. He had time to contact Nan Nan, yet Nan Nan did not have the time to write to him.
Zhai Sheng wished to be together with Qiao Nan. The greatest worries were that Qiao Nan was still young and he had no time to spare as a soldier.