Chapter 1616: Simply Leaving
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He had thought that his father-in-law was the only adult in the world who would never be angry at the children and also whom the three children would never despise.
Qiao Nan caught Zhai Sheng’s gaze but did not provide Zhai Sheng with any information.
The moment he saw Qiao Nan’s reaction, Zhai Sheng understood that the person that his father-in-law had offended was not the three children. He had been bullying Qiao Nan again. Among the five people present, there was no one, including the three children and his son-in-law, Qiao Dongliang dared to provoke apart from his biological daughter, Qiao Nan.
Guessing that Qiao Dongliang was plotting something again, Zhai Sheng immediately changed his tone. “Dad, I’m here with the triplets to bring Qiao Nan home. Have the two of you finished chatting?”
But that was not the truth. Qiao Dongliang was devastated about Qiao Zijin’s death. Now that Qiao Zijin was dead, his relationship with Ding Jiayi was even more strained. Perhaps it was because he felt that Qiao Zijin did die under Qiao Nan’s wheel after all. Miao Jing was worried that Qiao Dongliang would be too heartbroken. Considering how he was already living such a lonely life, he might do something foolish.
It was exactly because Qiao Zijin could not sort out her thoughts that she had refused to let the doctors save her even after being pushed into the operation theatre. A daughter like this was bound to have a similar father. Miao Jing had to consider this thoroughly to avoid having to organize another funeral before the year came to an end.
Knowing that Qiao Nan had gone to visit Qiao Dongliang, Miao Jing directly ordered Zhai Sheng to bring the three children to visit Qiao Dongliang. It was way too troublesome and time-consuming to cook at home, so Miao Jing asked Zhai Sheng to bring Qiao Nan and the triplets out for a meal with Qiao Dongliang. With his daughter and grandchildren by his side, Qiao Dongliang’s spirits would probably be lifted.
No matter how upset the three children were, they still had feelings toward their grandpa, Qiao Dongliang. Knowing that Qiao Dongliang’s mood was down, the triplets naturally did not have any reason to refuse. They had initially wanted to give their grandfather a surprise. But who would have expected their grandfather to have given them an even greater ‘surprise’!
Da Bao had already thought of saying that from the start, but before he could even say anything, his father had expressed what Da Bao had wanted to say before even figuring out the situation. Since his father felt the same way, Da Bao was naturally overjoyed and looked at his father in awe. Dad was dad after all. He had not even said anything, and his dad had guessed the situation through observation alone and had made such a decisive decision.
“Dad, grandpa and grandma are still waiting for us at home. Grandma and grandpa aren’t in good health. It’s not good to keep them waiting to have their meals. What if they get too hungry? I think we’d better hurry back. Grandpa, you should have a good meal tonight too. No matter what happens, your body is the most important. You must be in good health to carry on with other things.”
Da Bao’s mood had improved and his expression had warmed up significantly. Before leaving, he could even say such reassuring words to comfort Qiao Dongliang.
Now that he had heard Da Bao’s concern, Qiao Dongliang, who had been uneasy at first, began to think that he had been overthinking the situation earlier. Da Bao had not been angry at him after all. Smiling, Qiao Dongliang said, “Don’t worry. Grandpa understands. You three are still young. Grandpa wants to see you grow up, go to university, and become outstanding people like your parents. When you have children in the future, grandpa will help you look after them.”
The three children had not grown up yet, but they were part of the Zhai family after all. He pulled a long face and felt uneasy, as though he was facing the three old chiefs at the same time. Thankfully, the three children were still young and did not hold grudges for long. Perhaps, they did not really understand the conversation between Nan Nan and him either.
In the future, he would have to be more careful when talking to Nan Nan. As the triplets grew older, they were sure to know more about the world. If the three children overheard the conversations between Qiao Nan and him, they were sure to get mad at their grandpa sooner or later.
If anything were to happen, he knew that the three children would be upset. He would find an opportunity to speak to Nan Nan when the three children were not around.
“Grandpa, we’re still young. Mom said that she won’t oppose to us getting into relationships early, but she will never allow our results to deteriorate just because of our relationships. We won’t dare to get into relationships so early, so it’ll take another ten more years before we get married and have children. Grandpa, we really can’t spend any more time with you. We have to hurry back to have dinner with grandma and grandpa. Grandpa, we’ll visit you again next time.”
Er Bao held Qiao Nan in one hand and tugged the latter toward the door.
Once Er Bao did that, Qiao Nan could only follow along with Er Bao in order not to fall.
San Bao smiled at Qiao Dongliang and obediently waved at Qiao Dongliang. “Bye, grandpa. We’ll come and visit you with Mom another time. Grandpa, eat more nutritious food and stay healthy!”
Saying a few more words did not require any money, and neither would it kill her. The way the three children spoke to their grandpa, no one would be able to tell that the three children were upset with their grandfather, Qiao Dongliang.
If Zhai Sheng had not known that his mother had tasked him with bringing Qiao Dongliang for a meal today, the three children would have successfully deceived him. The three children were not just angry at Qiao Dongliang, but they were infuriated.
“Dad, we’re leaving.” Zhai Sheng was supportive of what the three children were doing. There was no way Zhai Sheng was going to allow him to have a meal with his family after bullying his wife. Zhai Sheng was elated. He was just his father-in-law. Even if he was his own birth father, Zhai Sheng was not going to let this matter go so easily. “Dad, take this money. You’ve lost some weight recently. Buy some good food for yourself to nourish your body.”
Before Zhai Sheng left, he took out a thousand yuan from his pocket, but he did not put it in Qiao Dongliang’s hands. Instead, he simply placed it on the table. He took out half of the money that he had planned on spending on the meal and asked Qiao Dongliang to take care of himself. To Qiao Dongliang, this was no small sum.
Anyway, both Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin loved money very much. Since Qiao Dongliang was their family, even if he did not like money as much as they did, he would not hate it either. This thousand yuan was sufficient for Qiao Dongliang to have quite a few good meals, and it would even make Qiao Dongliang happy. As such, Zhai Sheng had no qualms doing so. Any problem that could be settled with money was not a problem at all.
Qiao Dongliang would realize in the future that what he lacked was not money but the companionship of his loved ones. But when Qiao Dongliang finally realized that, he would never be able to find what he had lost.
Qiao Dongliang looked embarrassed and wanted to return the money to Zhai Sheng. “There’s no need for that. I don’t spend much money. What Nan Nan gives me is more than enough. You guys should take this money back. The three children are still young. They’re still in junior high school. When they enter high school and university, they’ll need to spend even more money. You guys had better save this money.”
Qiao Dongliang knew that he did not have much money and could not help with his daughter’s expenses. Even the money that he spent on buying gifts for his grandchildren was from his daughter. But he really did not spend much and had always been frugal with his money. Especially in front of his grandchildren, all the more did Qiao Dongliang feel that he could not receive the money.