Chapter 2253: A Suggestion

Atlas Studios Atlas Studios

Qiao Dongliang sighed. “There’s nothing else. You can go ahead and do whatever you need to. Everything’s fine in the family. You don’t have to worry about us.”

Qiao Dongliang was, of course, worried about his daughter, Qiao Zijin. His years of experience told him that it wouldn’t end so easily once Qiao Zijin had something up his sleeve. All he could do was comfort himself that Qiao Zijin would be fine. Qiao Zijin wasn’t that smart academically, but she was street-smart. As such, she would definitely be able to find solutions to her own problems.

“Alright, I’m hanging up, then.” Qiao Dongliang knew that he would be wasting his breath, so he simply hung up.

After hanging up the phone, Qiao Nan quickly tossed the matter to the back of his mind. She knew that Qiao Dongliang would never hesitate nor keep it from her if the matter was truly urgent. Before getting married, she had never been the one who created the problems, but she had always been the one solving them. The Qiao family was already used to relying on her. They had never considered whether they would be able to solve the problem without bringing her into the picture.

Realizing that, Qiao Nan was in quite a good mood on the way to school.

“Here, Qiao Nan!” As soon as Qiao Nan got out of the classroom, she bumped into Li Yayan again. Every time Qiao Nan had classes in the afternoon, Li Yayan would ‘coincidentally’ be there to meet Qiao Nan. Thankfully, Li Yayan was no princess in front of Qiao Nan. It was only because her class had ended late that Qiao Nan had been forced to head out instead of eating in the canteen the previous time. Normally, Qiao Nan would simply settle for the food in the canteen. “I heard that there’s braised pork in the canteen today. But we’ll have to hurry. Otherwise, it’ll be sold out by the time we get there.”

“Really?” Qiao Nan’s eyes glimmered. The canteen was rather famous for their braised pork. For Qiao Nan who needed to replenish her energy, there was nothing better than meat. “Let’s go!”

The pair rushed down to the canteen and Qiao Nan ordered a double portion of braised pork. Qiao Nan salivated upon looking at the delicious and fragrant dish.

Unlike the greedy Qiao Nan, Li Yayan was much more graceful. Apart from the lean portion of meat, she simply threw the fatty meat aside. Li Yayan glanced and sized Qiao Nan up as she ate. Wang Yang had told her that Qiao Zijin had arrived in the capital the day before. So, had Qiao Zijin gotten in contact with Qiao Nan?

“Qiao Nan, did you know I met a close friend from my hometown who was here for a holiday recently? I had a lot of fun with her for a few days!”

“Is that so? That’s great.” Qiao Nan smiled. “Why didn’t you spend a few more days with her? Has she returned to your hometown?” If she didn’t have lunch in school, she would never bump into Li Yayan. As such, Qiao Nan was still unclear of whether Li Yayan was actually a student of this school.

Li Yayan smiled and took another bite of her meal. After giving it a few chews, she replied, “People at our age have their own families and careers. I’m not working, but she has to return to work. It’s only because she accumulated quite a lot of vacation days that it would be a waste to give them up. That’s why she went on a vacation. Apart from the capital, she visited other cities for a total of seven days too. If she didn’t return, she would probably have been fired!”

“Oh, I see.”

Li Yayan had not talked about her friend for nothing. She had done so to bring up the topic of Qiao Zijin. But even after Li Yayan finished, Qiao Nan seemed to have no intention of mentioning Qiao Zijin at all. Did that mean that Qiao Nan had no idea that Qiao Zijin was in the capital?

Just as expected, Qiao Zijin didn’t share a close relationship with Qiao Nan. She hadn’t even contacted Qiao Nan after reaching the capital yesterday. She couldn’t help but feel grateful that the sisters weren’t close. Otherwise, the five million yuan would never be hers.

Because of their poor relationship, Li Yayan was confident of getting the five million yuan. “Oh right, I haven’t heard you mention your family. I’m actually quite envious of you. Although I don’t have to work, I have so many things to worry about at home. My husband ran into some trouble lately, and I feel so bad watching on from the sidelines, so I had no choice but to help him out. Have you ever encountered such a situation?”

Qiao Nan wiped her mouth. Alright, she had always joked that her in-laws were like rice buckets. But now that she had married into the family, she was truly a rice bucket when compared to Li Yayan. “My family’s alright. My husband is quite capable and he solves any problem he encounters himself. If I encounter any problems, he’ll help me too. I never have to worry about him. Of course, every couple is different, and I think you have quite a good relationship with your husband. Whether or not you can help, it’s always good to have someone around.”

Li Yayan felt like slapping herself. She had never expected Qiao Nan to give such an answer. She also hoped that she would have a husband who could handle everything for her. But Wang Yang’s kindness toward her had always been limited and conditional. It had never been so simple.

“What’s good about that? I’ve never been able to help even when he’s in trouble. Sometimes, I even frustrate him even more. I’m upset that I’m so useless, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Qiao Nan, why don’t you give me some advice on what I can help my husband with?” Only Qiao Nan alone would be able to come up with a good solution.

Qiao Nan was confused. “What can I possibly do if even you can’t solve the problem?”

“Don’t they say that two heads are better than one?” As long as Qiao Nan was willing, they would come up with a solution to this problem at any moment. But she wondered if Qiao Nan would agree to it.

Qiao Nan picked up her glass and smiled meaningfully. Li Yayan had finally shown her true nature. “Alright. I can’t promise that I have a plan, but if you want to talk about it, I can be a listener, at least. Perhaps, I could even give my analysis on the matter.”

Qiao Nan was curious about the kind of person Li Yayan was.

Of course, Qiao Nan knew that Li Yayan had an ulterior motive for approaching her, but she didn’t immediately ask for Zhai Sheng’s help. Zhai Sheng had enough to deal with in the military, and she didn’t think that Li Yayan was being too much of a bother. She could easily deal with Li Yayan herself.

“Well, my husband met with some obstacles in his career.”