Chapter 2130: Nightmare
How was Qiao Dongliang to know that what Ding Jiayi meant was that Qiao Zijin’s results had indeed been good, but that had nothing to do with the scholarship? In fact, not only did Qiao Zijin have nothing to do with the scholarship, but her results had even been a long shot from those who had won the scholarship. No matter how hard Qiao Zijin tried, she would never be able to overcome the vast difference and catch up with them.
Ding Jiayi had been confused the first time Qiao Zijin talked about it this way, but Ding Jiayi had fallen under Qiao Zijin’s spell and thought that Qiao Zijin was always right and that whatever Qiao Zijin did was right too.
Qiao Zijin had only told a half-lie, and even after Ding Jiayi learned of the truth, she had been in cahoots with Qiao Zijin to keep the truth hidden from Qiao Dongliang.
After Qiao Zijin graduated, the mother and daughter felt that they had lucked out on this matter. Qiao Dongliang had not found out about it while Qiao Zijin was still studying. Now that Qiao Zijin had graduated, Qiao Dongliang would never find out about it.
Unfortunately for Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin, they had someone who truly loved to study but lacked the opportunity to do so in their family. That had been why their deeds had finally been exposed. Now, Qiao Zijin was already forty-two and Ding Jiayi did not see the need to deceive Qiao Dongliang any further. This was the past, and it would probably not have any adverse impact anymore even if she were to reveal the truth now.
Upon hearing that answer, Qiao Dongliang faced a huge blow. “So, that’s what you meant by Zijin having good grades in school? She was almost unable to graduate because she couldn’t pass the Level Four English certification exam. The two of you are really amazing. You’ve been lying to me like a fool. I never suspected anything in the past and believed everything you said. You two must have been very pleased that you were able to trick such a big fool!”
If he had known that Zijin’s grades had been such a mess, he would definitely have found a way to give Nan Nan the opportunity to study too. It was not that she lacked the talent. Nan Nan was obviously very talented in her studies. But he had been taken in by this mother-daughter pair!
Ding Jiayi flared up. “It’s been so many years. Why are you trying to bring up the past now? No matter what, Qiao Zijin is our family’s only university graduate! You can’t demand too much of Zijin. She’s already done so well. Didn’t she manage to graduate in the end? Zijin graduated with her own efforts. There were some students who couldn’t pass that exam no matter how hard they tried and their families had to bribe the management for them to graduate!”
“Compared to those children, Zijin is very sensible. You should be happy to have such a sensible daughter.” She was not even the worst. When she had heard about such a situation, Ding Jiayi had been proud that Qiao Zijin had not wasted the family’s money and had relied on her own efforts to graduate.
At that time, neither Qiao Zijin nor Ding Jiayi had ever stopped to think about why they always compared her with those with bad results. Why had they not compared Zijin with those top students who had graduated with honors?
“Hehehe…” Qiao Dongliang tugged on the corners of his lips. “She’s a good daughter and you’re a good mother. The two of you are amazing. Zijin might have graduated a long time ago, but Nan Nan has never had the chance to do so. Nan Nan has been away from school for a longer time than Zijin, so she should probably have less knowledge than Zijin. If Nan Nan could pass the Level Six test, Zijin must sign up and take the test. I want to see just how big the difference between Nan Nan and Zijin is. Don’t think I don’t know anything about it. I can tell who’s better from just the scores alone. If you can’t bear to pay for the entrance fee, I’ll pay for it. It can’t cost much.”
Once Qiao Dongliang had set his mind on something, there was no way Qiao Zijin or Ding Jiayi could change his mind.
When Ding Jiayi told Qiao Zijin about this afterward, Qiao Zijin nearly died of anger. “My dad must be crazy! All I did was seal the cracks in the door yesterday. It’s not like I committed an unpardonable crime. Why is my dad holding it against me? Do you mean Dad knows all about how my grades weren’t good and how I don’t like to study? Why is he trying to get me to sit for an exam after so many years? And it’s even an English exam! He’s out to embarrass me!”
English proficiency exams were one of the greatest nightmares in Qiao Zijin’s life. It was still possible to cheat during a final exam in university, but that was not the case in such an exam. It was impossible for her to cheat. If anyone was caught cheating by an external invigilator, they would simply escort them out of the examination hall.
They were all adults and could not afford to be embarrassed in this manner. On the other hand, if one were to be caught cheating by their own teacher, the teacher would confiscate the slip of paper before letting one carry on with their test. That had been how Qiao Zijin had passed her exams in university.
One could only imagine how comfortable a life Qiao Zijin must have led in her five-year-long university life, given her way of taking exams. She had had to rely on her own abilities in the middle school and high school examinations, but that had not been the case in university! Initially, when Qiao Zijin had first found out about such a method, she felt that insisting on going to university was the best decision she had made in her life. She had lucked out!
She hardly listened in class and resorted to cheating during exams. When she returned home, she would complain to her parents about how hard it was and ask for more pocket money to buy treats to indulge in. That was the life Qiao Zijin had always dreamed of.
Not only had her father, Qiao Dongliang, not cooperated with her, but he had even stood in her way by presenting her with such a huge problem. Qiao Zijin could not help but kick up a fuss now that Qiao Dongliang was forcing her to recall her biggest nightmare.
Ding Jiayi tugged on Qiao Zijin, trying to keep her voice down. “Softer. Softer. What if your dad hears you? Do you really not want to make up with him and get him to help you? You know that your dad likes studious kids.”
At that time, Qiao Nan’s results had surpassed Qiao Zijin’s, and Ding Jiayi had spent a lot of effort brainwashing Qiao Dongliang into allowing Qiao Zijin to continue her studies.