If one could not tell the difference, even if they spent a huge sum of money to get them, they might be fake, ones that were dyed artificially.
Doctor Wang dared not prescribed such stuff.
Shi Peng smiled and touched his dear daughter on the head. His younger sister and niece were not important to him. For him, the one he held dear was his daughter, Qing Qing. “Okay, there’s no hurry. Doctor Wang has said that as long as I rest well, I will get better. I don’t need to have those tonics and I will be able to recover. I am tired. Help me go back and rest.”
“Alright, Dad, I will help you back,” Shi Qing answered her father and went to support Shi Peng on one side.
Qiao Nan hesitated for a moment before she supported him on the other side.
Even though Qiao Nan supported Shi Peng by his side, it still took him great effort to walk. Qiao Nan was finally certain that on the journey to the sickbay, Shi Peng indeed felt uncomfortable. He was not pretending to be sick to deceive Qi Minlan. He even needed someone to support him to walk.
“Dad, if you feel uncomfortable, you must tell me.” On the way back, Shi Qing acted like an old woman and kept nagging her father nonstop. She urged him to listen to her and to rest well. There was a worried expression on her face.
“Alright.” Shi Peng agreed to all of her instructions.
Qiu Chenxi, who hid behind a big tree, noticed that similar to his journey to the sickbay, Shi Peng still needed Qiao Nan and Shi Qing to support him on his way back. He still looked pale and frail. Shi Qing, particularly, was talking nonstop. Even though Qiu Chenxi could not hear what she was talking about, she could probably guess it.
Seeing how tensed and worried Shi Qing was, Qiu Chenxi wondered whether her uncle was really in such a bad condition.
She felt gloomy at the possibility of that.
She had run into serious trouble in the army. Her uncle had yet to help her to solve her problem, but he had submitted his resignation report and was riddled with illness.
She was her uncle’s relatives, yet when she ran into trouble, he refused to help. She could not understand why she had such a useless uncle.
She had to blame it on her luck!
Shi Qing and Qiao Nan helped Shi Peng back to the office. The latter sat down and said, “Qing Qing, bring two glasses of water here. Look, both of you are perspiring profusely that your clothes are almost wet.”
“Okay.” Shi Qing was feeling thirsty as well. She went to pour some water for them.
After Shi Qing left, Shi Peng looked at Qiao Nan and said suddenly, “Qiao Nan, you are still young. You do not have enough experience. In the future, you must remember. Since you have started it, you must put on a full show. Do you understand?”
Qiao Nan paused momentarily. She noticed that Shi Peng’s expression and gaze had changed totally. Qiao Nan knitted her eyebrows.
It took Qiao Nan a long while before she said, “Did Qiu Chenxi or Qi Minlan give us a back thrust?”
“In your case, you shouldn’t make such a stupid mistake.”
Qiao Nan lowered her eyes and listened quietly.
“You are young, and it’s true that there’s nobody to teach you, but you have to bear in mind that given your situation, you have no chance to make mistakes,” Shi Peng said sternly. Qiao Nan could sense the seriousness of his words. It was as if a huge weight was suddenly pressed down on her shoulders.
“Thank you, Officer Shi. I understand.”
“But I want to thank you for what happened today. Without you, the mother and daughter wouldn’t leave easily. It’s true that I don’t feel well.” After lecturing Qiao Nan, Shi Peng went on to thank her.
If not for Qiao Nan, Shi Peng knew that Qi Minlan and Qiu Chenxi would not have left so easily. Instead, they would be pestered by them for a long time.
The bystander was always clear-minded. This was very true.
Of course, Qiao Nan was clever to be able to react in the shortest possible time and make the best decision for them.
“No, I want to thank Officer Shi for giving me an unforgettable lesson. I was too careless.” She might be smart, but Qiu Chenxi and Qi Minlan were not stupid either. It turned out that this was the reason why Qi Minlan pinched Qiu Chenxi’s shoulders when she left.
Qi Minlan was telling Qiu Chenxi to observe Officer Shi’s condition after she left so as to determine whether Officer Shi was really sick or was feigning illness. She was telling Qiu Chenxi not to be fooled easily.
“At your age, you should have the chance to make mistakes and learn from them, but there are things that I don’t have to spell them out for you to understand. I’m sure you are capable of that. Since you have made a choice, you have to face the path you have chosen. Unless you decide to give up, you can only walk forward with your teeth set no matter how difficult it is. The path that you have taken has already been set and it is destined that in the future, there is no room for any mistakes.”
Given the Zhai family’s status and position, she would have to deal with complicated human relations in the future.
If one did not pay attention, one would fall into the abyss.
If Qiao Nan did not handle them well, not only would she be damned to perdition, but she would also bring great disaster to the Zhai family.
What happened with Qiu Chenxi was merely a small test. It was simply to let her try her hand at dealing with complicated human relations.
Fortunately for Qiao Nan, though she did not understand, she subconsciously knew that she had to help Officer Shi back to his office. Otherwise, Qiao Nan’s effort today would go down the drain. As for Qi Minlan and Qiu Chenxi, they would go from bad to worse and make things difficult for them.
Seeing that Qiao Nan kept her silence, Shi Peng was curious. “Do you regret it? You may not have the room to make mistakes, but you still have the chance to regret your decision.”
“No regrets. I’m just slightly nervous and startled.” Qiao Nan shook her head. She could not give up Brother Zhai because of such a small incident, or more accurately, a small setback. If she did, she would spurn herself for her whole life.
“Since you are nervous and startled, it means that you understand and know what I mean. Recently, you have been guiding and giving Qing Qing good advice. Treat this as my show of gratitude toward you.” Actually, Zhai Yaohui should be the one to guide his daughter-in-law. This had nothing to do with him.
However, Qiao Nan was indeed smart, and she was especially kind to Qing Qing.
No matter what the reason was, as the elders, he should give Qiao Nan timely advice.
In fact, Shi Peng thought highly of Qiao Nan’s reaction and attitude today. She was able to hit the tender spots of Qiu Chenxi and Qi Minlan, forcing them to leave awkwardly.
“What show of gratitude are you talking about?” Shi Qing, who came back with the drinks, was puzzled.
Seeing that his daughter was back, Shi Peng could not help but sigh. He had already lectured other people’s daughter-in-law. There was no reason that he did not lecture his own daughter. Besides, Qing Qing was interested in learning about it as well. “Qing Qing, do you know what your biggest mistake was today? Why did Qiao Nan stop you from speaking twice?”
“I made a mistake?” Shi Qing asked unbelievably. “What have I done wrong?”
It was her auntie and Qiu Chenxi who were overbearing and aggressive. How was it her fault?
“Qiao Nan, teach her.” Shi Peng, who wanted to teach his daughter, was speechless at her expression.