Chapter 31

After two hours of mental work, Qiao Zhenzhen fell asleep from exhaustion on the way home. Qin Jing noticed the silence from the back was too complete and didn't immediately turn, only when they pulled up at home and there was still no movement did she glance back.
She found her beloved daughter sleeping soundly with half a piece of bread in her mouth. Qin Jing couldn't help laughing and scolding, and had to wake her: “Go inside and sleep.”
“Mmm…okay.” Zhenzhen rose groggily, and even getting out of the car she didn't forget her backpack.
Seeing her like that made Qin Jing ache with concern. “You really don't have to work yourself so hard. If you can't get into a university here, I'll figure something out and send you abroad to study.”
“…Most parents want their kids to work harder, why are you doing the opposite?” Zhenzhen chuckled. “If Grandpa hears that, he'll definitely scold you.”
“I'm worried about you, aren't I? Besides, with your dad around, as long as you don't slack off, things will be easier in the future,” Qin Jing said, frowning.
Still half-asleep, Zhenzhen snorted softly: “You're relying on him now, is that easy?”
Before the words even finished, she was suddenly fully awake. When she looked up, she met Qin Jing's stunned expression.
“…Mom, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant.” She panicked a little.
Qin Jing's surprise lasted only a moment; once she collected herself she glanced at her. “I have food and drink, and people treat me with respect when I go out, am I not comfortable?”
“Mom, I just said it offhand, I didn't mean to question you,” Zhenzhen sincerely apologized regardless of what Qin Jing truly felt. “I'm sorry, Mom. Don't be upset.”
“Don't be ridiculous, go back inside and sleep!” Qin Jing snapped, urging her along.
Zhenzhen hesitated, glanced at her, and only after seeing she hadn't taken it to heart did she go back inside.
After she left, Qin Jing sighed, tidied up the house a bit, and then went to bed.
Zhenzhen had tutoring the next day and couldn't go to Grandpa's with Qin Jing, so Qin Jing set off around noon by herself. But no sooner had she stepped in and sat down than Qiao Jian's call came through.
She frowned, for the first time she didn't want to talk to him.
“Sis, your phone is ringing,” Qin Zhao reminded her.
Qin Jing came back to herself, murmured an affirmative, and hurried outside. She only connected the call when she was near the door: “Hello?”
“Did you go to the Qin family's again?” Qiao Jian said in a nasty tone.
Qin Jing took a deep breath. “I'm going back to my own family; is that not allowed?”
“Qin Jing, make it clear to yourself: our place, mine and Qiao Zhenzhen's, is your home!” Qiao Jian exploded.
Qin Jing frowned. “Can you calm down? Zhenzhen has school every day, and you're never home; can't I go back to my parents' place for a while?”
“No! Don't forget you're my wife!” Qiao Jian replied without a second thought.
Qin Jing scoffed. “Just because I'm your wife does that mean I have to cut off ties with my own father? Qiao Jian, when did you get so unreasonable?”
“I don't have time for this. Come back right now or I'll divorce you!” With that, Qiao Jian hung up.
Being threatened with divorce by him for the second time made Qin Jing tremble with anger. When Qin Sheng came out to find her, he immediately saw something was wrong. “Did Qiao Jian call you again?”
Qin Jing pressed her lips together. “He told me to come home.”
A string of curses rose to Qin Sheng's throat, but recalling his little granddaughter's plea, he forced them down. “...It's fine. Then go home.”
Qin Jing, who had expected a scolding, froze. “Dad...”
“What are you looking at? If he doesn't care for you, I will care for my daughter!” At the thought of her depression, Qin Sheng's eyes got a little teary. “Go back. I won't be angry, I just want you to be happy.”
Qin Jing, who hadn't heard her father speak softly in years, stared at him for a long time. Finally, a trace of resolve flickered in her eyes. “I won't go back, Dad. Let's eat.”
Qin Sheng paused and then lit up with surprise. “You're really not leaving?”
Seeing the smile on his face made Qin Jing a little melancholy; once again she realized how poorly she'd done as a daughter, she had never, in all these years, firmly chosen her own family.
“No, I'm not leaving,” she repeated.
Overjoyed, Qin Sheng led her back inside and told Qin Zhao and the housekeeper to bring her food. Qin Jing couldn't help but smile and joined in the kitchen work, and the family ate together in a harmonious atmosphere.
Toward the end of the meal, Qin Zhao suddenly said, “Sis, you must be pretty bored at home these days, huh?”
“Yeah, there's not much to do,” Qin Jing replied.
"So will you come work at the company and help me? The finance department needs a manager, and I don't trust anyone else to take the job. Can you do it?" Qin Zhao said, and when he saw Qin Jing's stunned look he hurried to add, "You graduated from a top school and worked here for a few years before you married, I believe in your abilities."
"...I haven't worked in years," Qin Jing hesitated.
Qin Zhao looked serious. "The financial policies haven't changed much. You won't need to learn a lot of new stuff; you'll pick it up quickly."
"Maybe later. Right now my focus is still Zhenzhen," Qin Jing still hesitated. Years as a housewife might look glossy, but they'd quietly ground away all her pride. "The house needs a woman to run it, so I won't consider working for now."
Qin Zhao and Qin Sheng exchanged a glance and didn't press the matter, discreetly shifting the conversation away.
Qin Jing stayed at the Qin house until after ten. After sending a message to Qiao Zhenzhen she drove to the Chi Shen complex to pick her up. She had barely parked when Zhenzhen came running over.
Qin Jing couldn't help smiling. "Where's Chi Shen? Why didn't he walk you down today?"
"He was a little tired," Qiao Zhenzhen answered solemnly, picturing his stiff, flushed face,
[Affection remaining: 770]
Qin Jing didn't think much of it and simply took her home.
Once in the car, Qiao Zhenzhen quietly complained to Xiao Ba, "Chi Shen adapted way too fast. The first kiss added 500 affection, the second only 200, does that mean there'll be none next time?"
"...Think about when it was 0.01," Xiao Ba said, staring at the huge pile of affection numbers and feeling a little dizzy.
That cheered Zhenzhen up instantly, until she realized they weren't heading home.
"Mom, where are we going?" Zhenzhen asked.
"To your grandpa's," Qin Jing answered. "You'll sleep at grandpa's tonight."
Zhenzhen paused. "What about you?"
"I'm going home," Qin Jing replied.
Zhenzhen's heart sank. "Mom, did something happen?"
"Nothing. Your grandpa missed you," Qin Jing said with a smile.
Zhenzhen pressed her lips. Once she decided her mother wouldn't tell the truth, she didn't press the matter.
Qin Jing quickly dropped her at her grandfather's house and left without getting out of the car. Worried, Zhenzhen ran into the living room and asked Qin Sheng what had happened.
"Your mom probably went back to argue with your dad. She didn't want to disturb your rest, so she brought you here," Qin Sheng answered.
Zhenzhen frowned. "That's not right. If they start fighting, my mom won't come out ahead. Grandpa, please take me back."
"Don't worry. I've already asked your uncle to keep an eye on things. If he dares anything, he'll be taught a lesson," Qin Sheng shrugged.
Only then did Zhenzhen relax, though she still felt uneasy.
Qin Sheng sighed at her furrowed brow, comforted her patiently, then sent her back to her room to sleep. Though anxious, she was exhausted from the day and eventually fell asleep unwillingly.
With worries on her mind she woke at five the next morning and the first thing she did was call her mother on video.
Qin Jing was roused awake, blinking as she answered. Seeing her daughter's face, she looked annoyed. "Why are you calling so early?"
"Mom, you didn't get the worst of it, did you?" Zhenzhen asked, worried.
Qin Jing kept her eyes closed. "As if I'd be the one to suffer."
"What about... my dad?" Zhenzhen asked.
"He's sleeping in the living room," Qin Jing replied.
Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow. "He actually didn't storm out?"
"He wanted to go, but I was leaving before him. He was afraid I'd go back to the Qin house, so he stayed to keep an eye on me," Qin Jing snorted.
Zhenzhen was speechless.
Qiao Jian really was... a master at harming others while benefiting himself not at all. He clearly no longer loved Qin Jing, but his need for control made him unable to accept her ignoring him, he'd rather sleep on the sofa and watch her.
If she guessed right, Zhao Ying's fetal sex test results should have come back by now, proving she was carrying a boy. It's a wonder Qiao Jian could be in the mood to stay home and argue at a time like this.
Zhenzhen couldn't be bothered to complain. After making sure her mother was all right, she went to school. That evening, when she came home, she found Qiao Jian sitting on the sofa with a grim expression.
He still hadn't left.
Zhenzhen silently raised an eyebrow at Qin Jing. Qin Jing pursed her lips and, after going upstairs with her, said, "He didn't go to work today."
"...Is he trying to wear you down?" Zhenzhen couldn't help laughing and crying at the same time.
"Let him do whatever he wants; it won't affect me," Qin Jing said. People adapt quickly, after a few fights she no longer felt the sky was falling like the first time; at worst she'd get furious for a while. "I'm just not going to the Qin house anymore, but I still call your grandpa three times a day, he can't stop that."
She said it with a little gleam of satisfaction in her eyes.
Seeing her mother not too affected, Zhenzhen decided not to interfere. In fact, she secretly hoped the more they argued the more their relationship would cool.
Thinking that, she calmed down, but some people were anything but calm.
Zhao Lianqiao had been anxious these past few days. The blood sample Zhao Ying had sent abroad had come back proving she was carrying a boy, yet Qiao Jian showed no special joy; instead he'd been holed up at home, saying he was arguing with Qin Jing.
Zhao Lianqiao couldn't believe an argument could be more important than Zhao Ying's pregnancy, so she grew increasingly uneasy, convinced Qiao Jian would regret it. Especially since Zhenzhen had been so happy lately, if there were really a big marital fight, how could she be like that?
The more Zhao Lianqiao thought about it, the more anxious she became. One night, when she saw Zhenzhen leave with Chi Shen, she couldn't help but follow them.
"The midterms are tomorrow. I'm so nervous," Zhenzhen said, taking a deep breath.
Chi Shen slung both their backpacks over his shoulder. "Don't be nervous. It'll be fine."
"...How can you be so sure it'll be fine?" Zhenzhen frowned. "If I do badly, my mom won't let me keep studying with you."
Chi Shen gently patted her head: "Don't worry, I'll give you some likely questions."
Qiao Zhenzhen's eyes lit up. "Can you focus on the important ones?"
"Mm." This exam only covers the first semester of tenth grade; there aren't that many key points, so going through them systematically once is enough.
Qiao Zhenzhen immediately brightened and steered him upstairs. A faint curve lifted the corner of Chi Shen's mouth; just as he was about to speak, he suddenly looked back as if sensing something, only there was nobody behind them.
"What are you looking at?" Qiao Zhenzhen asked curiously.
"...Nothing." Chi Shen lowered his eyes and walked upstairs with her.
In a corner downstairs, Zhao Lianqiao covered her mouth in shock,
Qiao Zhenzhen and Chi Shen are living together!