Chapter 1866: Mausoleum
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She could not possibly continue staying in someone else’s house. Even though the Zhai family had not chased her out, Qiao Nan still had some self-awareness. It would be humiliating for her to stay long enough for the Zhai family to get frustrated with her and chase her away.
“Auntie Miao, I’m still living in Qingshui Town. How about this? I can come to visit you whenever I have the chance.” She probably would not have the chance to do so. Zhai Sheng was only in Qingshui Town to recuperate, after all.
Recently, Zhai Sheng had been spending more time walking around. When the doctor performed a checkup the previous day, he had said that Zhai Sheng was recovering rather well. As a doctor, he would not stop Zhai Sheng from returning to the military after another short while of recuperation.
In other words, Zhai Sheng would be leaving Qingshui Town very soon. If Zhai Sheng were to leave, would Zhai Yaohui and Miao Jing still stay behind? Qiao Nan was leaving not only because it was the right thing to do, but because she felt that what she had told Zhai Hua was true. After this farewell, she would probably never have the chance to meet the Zhai family again.
In actual fact, this meeting outside of her dream and being able to celebrate the new year with the Zhai family had already been enough for Qiao Nan. It was best to be content with what one had. Qiao Nan was already extremely content that she had been able to have a reunion with the Zhai family outside of her dream. This experience alone would be enough for her to relive for the rest of her life.
Miao Jing had no idea what Qiao Nan was thinking and finally smiled upon hearing that Qiao Nan intended to return to visit her. “All right, then. You must come to visit me. If you don’t, I’ll visit you instead.” Miao Jing might have been old, but she was no fool. Miao Jing had taken note of Qiao Nan’s passivity.
Miao Jing was rather frustrated by a lady like Qiao Nan who ‘knew her limits’ all too well. Actually, there was no need for Qiao Nan to act in this manner. Qiao Nan could very well be more motivated. It was true that Zhai Sheng was slightly old, but he was a good man and extremely suitable as a husband. Why was Qiao Nan not moved at all in the face of such a good prospect?
“…” Qiao Nan pursed her lips and remained silent for a while before answering, “All right. I won’t come to visit you, then. You can come over to my place.”
Auntie Miao was just being courteous, right?
In the end, Xiao Xu sent Qiao Nan back to her rented apartment. Upon seeing the door that had been repaired, Qiao Nan sighed in relief. “Xiao Xu, this door has been changed, right? It looks sturdier than the previous one.” Although Chen Jun had already been transferred out of Ping Cheng and would probably never return to find her or even kick on her door, it was still better for her to have a sturdier door. She felt safer that way.
“That’s right.” Xiao Xu nodded.
In actual fact, the very afternoon Qiao Nan had been picked up, the Xu family had found someone to remove the door and replace it with a sturdy metal door.
Of course, it was done as per Xiao Xu’s request.
This house was the house of his chief’s future wife. If the chief’s wife ever came back to stay and were to get into an accident because the door was not sturdy enough, the people in the army would definitely come looking for him. Most importantly, he would never be able to face the chief if the chief’s wife were to get into an accident in his territory.
Because of their son’s vehement request, the Xu family did not dare to delay the matter any further and immediately helped their son complete the task.
When the landlady heard that her tenant was about to become the wife of her son’s boss, she was stunned and did not return from her trance for a long while. She could not believe that something so dramatic had happened right before her eyes! She had not known that the short span of taking care of the chief would turn into a whole life’s work!
Thankfully, Xiao Xu had always kept in mind Qiao Nan’s ‘dutiful’ attitude and told his mom to keep it to herself that the chief had such plans since Qiao Nan had not agreed to the matter yet. If they said anything and scared the chief’s wife away, he would never be able to make a living for himself anymore. Their family would just have to pretend that they knew nothing about the matter and act just like they had before.
“Will other tenants make a fuss that you’ve installed a metal door for only my house?”
“No, we’ve already thought of an excuse. There won’t be any trouble. Sister Qiao, take a look around and let me know if there’s anything else that needs to be fixed.” He had to ensure that Sister Qiao was well-fed and treated well before she got married to the chief.
Qiao Nan felt much more at ease now that she had returned to her own rented apartment. “There’s no need for that. This house is pretty good, and there aren’t any other problems. Xiao Xu, you should head back. Xiao Zhao won’t be able to handle it alone if anything happens. I’m a grown-up. Do you think I won’t be able to take care of myself?” Besides, this was like putting the cart before the horse. Xiao Xu did not have to care so much about her.
If there was really something wrong, she would contact Xiao Xu’s mom directly.
“All right, then. I’ll take my leave, Sister Qiao. See you again when we get the chance.” Hopefully, when that time came, he would be able to address Sister Qiao as the chief’s wife instead of ‘Sister Qiao’.
Qiao Nan was in a trance now that she had returned to the rented apartment. But her expression darkened when she remembered that she had only moved to the Zhai family’s old villa because of Chen Jun.
If it had not been for the fact that she had moved into the Zhai family’s old villa and had no time to think about Chen Jun, Qiao Nan would have wondered what was wrong with Chen Jun long ago that he had returned to ask for reconciliation. The most ridiculous thing was that the Chen family had not objected to it!
Thinking about how Chen Jun had probably only appeared before her because of Wang Yang, Qiao Nan felt like she had been stabbed in her heart. In this life, Zhu Baoguo…
Qiao Nan’s face paled because of these three words. It had been almost half a year before she had finally thought of Zhu Baoguo. He had yet to appear in this lifetime. Did that mean…
She gritted her teeth. Perhaps she should leave Qingshui Town and go back to Ping Cheng to take a look. Qiao Nan did not dare to ask around about Zhu Baoguo and the Zhu family. If her guess was right, Zhu Baoguo had not been resuscitated in time after being beaten up by a hooligan. It did not seem appropriate to talk about such a matter during the new year period.
Besides, the Zhu family wielded quite a lot of influence in Ping Cheng. It might draw suspicion if she were to ask about the Zhu family. What should she do to understand Zhu Baoguo’s situation then?
Qiao Nan kept pondering this question while on her way back to Ping Cheng. When she was on the bus, Qiao Nan had no idea what she was going to do. But the moment she alighted from the bus, she seemed to have gotten an answer. Qiao Nan headed straight for a mausoleum.
In her previous lifetime, she had visited this place at least once a year because Zhu Baoguo’s mother was buried here. Later on, when Old Li had passed on, he had been buried here too. Old Li had said that Zhu Baoguo’s mother had passed away early on in her life and he had sent a younger person off. When he was dead, he hoped to be able to spend more time with his daughter.