“Having said so much, isn’t he just a stinking soldier?” Qiao Zijin did not care. “I don’t want to marry a military officer. He will be in the camp all year round and have no time for me. To put it bluntly, do you want me to become like you, Mom? After giving birth to a baby, I will have to raise the baby alone? The Zhou family is obviously rural people. I’ve been doing well as a city dweller. Why should I be married to the countryside and become a village girl? Mom, what exactly are you thinking? What’s so great about a company commander? I don’t even care if he’s a battalion commander. Mom, didn’t you say that Dad would have become a battalion commander if you did not give birth to Qiao Nan? But look at the situation now! Dad had to depend on his daughter to borrow the money for his hospital expenses. What kind of success is this? Don’t even talk about raising a child! He’s so poor that he can’t even afford to feed himself!”
In the future, if she were to find a partner, not only the other party must have a good social status, but also, most importantly, must be from an extremely wealthy family. Otherwise, she would rather not marry.
She already had a hard time in the Qiao family. After marriage, she certainly did not wish to continue living in the same way.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Ding Jiayi’s expression changed. “You’re still a child. What about having or not having children? Aren’t you afraid of letting others hear you? Besides, your dad will always be your dad. Don’t you think you’re too much to talk about your dad like that? Why isn’t your dad capable? Didn’t he raise Qiao Nan and you till this age? Wasn’t your dad the one who forked out all the money for both your studies? Zijin, you’re not allowed to say all these again. You’re letting your dad down by saying these.”
“Fine, I won’t say it. I don’t want to bother saying it.” Qiao Zijin was unconvinced. “My father is good to me because Qiao Nan is not a son. If Qiao Nan was a son, there would be no place for me in this family. Since Dad wants to have a child, then he must raise the child. Raising me and letting me attend school is all expected of him!”
Seeing that Ding Jiayi was about to give her a scolding again, Qiao Zijin simply said, “Fine, Mom, don’t talk about it anymore. I’m troubled to death by this. Anyway, I will only say these words to you. I won’t say it again. Will this do?”
What was the world coming to? She did not even have the right to express her true opinion. It’s so annoying!
“Alright, quickly get some hot water. Regarding what you’ve said earlier, I’ll take it that you’ve not matured and don’t know the hardships Dad and Mom face. When you are older and become a mother, you’ll realize what you’ve said today is too heartless.” Ding Jiayi reprimanded Qiao Zijin with a few sentences before pulling her to leave.
“Uncle Qiao…” Zhou Jun’s face was filled with awkwardness. The hands he was using to hold Qiao Dongliang’s hands seemed to be stuck. He could not move.
With the current situation, they could not move forward. It was even worse to leave.
In the end, Zhou Jun persisted and asked, “Uncle Qiao, do you still want to go to the restroom?”
While Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin were getting water with a vacuum flask, Qiao Dongliang felt the urgency to use the restroom after drinking the soup brought over by Qiao Nan earlier, and Zhou Jun took notice of this.
Hence, Zhou Jun directly volunteered to bring Qiao Dongliang to the restroom before he accompanied Qiao Nan to shop for the watermelon. Unexpectedly, the two of them heard that conversation between Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin at one of the corners of the hospital.
“Go.” Qiao Dongliang’s expression softened a little. He then sighed.
Now, he knew that his elder daughter was not only sweet-tongued and had a bitter heart but also totally heartless. If he was not going to the restroom, was he going to die by holding his pee?
At the thought of Qiao Zijin’s assessment of him earlier, Qiao Dongliang felt so sad that his heart was constantly overturning. It was as if he had swallowed a piping hot dumpling which he had not managed to bite, and the dumpling was stuck in his heart. It was so hot that Qiao Dongliang wanted to cry. He was unable to vomit it out, and neither could he swallow it. It continued to be stuck in the same position in his heart. He felt so uncomfortable and was choking in a panic.
When he heard Qiao Dongliang said that he was still going to the restroom, Zhou Jun did not delay further. After helping Qiao Dongliang to the restroom, he then helped him back to the ward and let Qiao Dongliang lie on his bed.
“Qi-Qiao… Qiao Nan, can we go and buy the watermelon now?” While facing Qiao Dongliang, Zhou Jun was quite normal. But as soon as he looked at Qiao Nan, Zhou Jun’s tongue became entangled.
“Sure, sorry to trouble Brother Zhou.” At a glance, Qiao Nan saw that Qiao Dongliang’s expression did not seem too good after he came back. She did not reject Zhou Jun and went out with him to look for a fruit-selling shop.
While picking watermelons, Qiao Nan asked, “Brother Zhou, did you encounter anything on the way when you helped my dad out? Why do I feel that my dad seemed unhappy?”
“This…” Zhou Jun hesitated for a while. Still, he told Qiao Nan exactly what happened.
“…” Qiao Nan’s face turned black. “Brother Zhou, I am really sorry.” Qiao Zijin talked bad about two people at the same time. She looked down on her father and Zhou Jun. Unfortunately, she was caught red-handed by the two of them. Did this mean that Qiao Zijin deserved it? That when a man brings it upon himself, there is no hope of escape?
“No worries. She was not wrong in saying that. It is true that my family is from the village.” Zhou Jun had a positive mindset. Although he was looked down upon by Qiao Zijin, he was not angered and had a stable temperament. “However, when Uncle Qiao heard it, he seemed to be quite sad. He was already injured. You have to show him more concern these few days.”
“Thank you, Brother Zhou.”
“No issue. This watermelon is heavy. Let me carry it.” Zhou Jun picked up the watermelon in one hand as if he was picking up a bottle of mineral water. He did not seem to have used much effort.
“Nan Nan.” Qiao Nan and Zhou Jun did not walk for long before they heard someone calling them.
“Brother Zhai?”
“Regiment… Regiment commander?”
At the sight of the person who called Qiao Nan, both Qiao Nan and Zhou Jun were stunned.
Qiao Nan immediately smiled happily. “Brother Zhai, why are you here?”
“I have something to tell you.” Zhai Sheng knitted his brows. “Zhou Jun, why are you here?” Furthermore, he was with Qiao Nan.
“Reporting, Regiment Commander, my dad is injured and in the hospital now. I am here to visit my dad!” Zhou Jun was older than Zhai Sheng, but he was more serious and restrained in front of Zhai Sheng than when he was before Qiao Nan.
“Yes, it’s such a coincidence. Uncle Zhou and my dad stay in the same ward.” Qiao Nan nodded in affirmation.
“Zhou Jun, I have something to talk to Nan Nan about. You go back to the hospital first. Thereafter, tell Uncle Qiao that Nan Nan has gone home.” Zhai Sheng took a large step with his long leg, silently moving forward. He secretly created a path to separate the current distance between Qiao Nan and Zhou Jun, feeling that the two were too close. This naturally made the two of them move in opposite directions and back away a little so that Zhai Sheng could walk over.
“Ah, okay.” Zhou Jun was already aware that Qiao Nan and the regiment commander seemed to know each other. When he first met Qiao Nan, he was helping the regiment commander send something to Qiao Nan.
But, what was the relationship between Qiao Nan and the regiment commander?
He kept having the feeling that the regiment commander looked strange today. Compared to when he first joined the army as a new recruit and was training under him, he was much fiercer now. His whole body exuded sinister murderous aura, looking as if he was ready to kill someone.
Well… Maybe he had got it wrong. The regiment commander was a famous smiling Yama, the King of Hell, in the army.