Bai Wanwan’s face instantly turned pale. “I… I didn’t…”
Before she could finish, Qiao Qingyan let out a cold laugh, grabbed her wrist, and delivered a vicious slap across her face.
Bai Wanwan’s head snapped to the side, her cheek rapidly swelling red.
“Didn’t? You think I don’t have proof? There’s still a mark on your other hand—exactly matching mine. You think the police won’t figure it out?”
She pointed at the inside of Bai Wanwan’s left wrist, where there was indeed a faint red mark.
The scene fell into a terrifying silence. Qiao Rongze stared blankly at Bai Wanwan, his eyes filled with shock.
Bai Wanwan panicked, knowing she couldn’t deny it anymore, and could only start sobbing. “I really didn’t mean to… I just thought Sister’s jade pendant was pretty, so I wanted to take a look. I’m sorry, I’ll never dare do it again…”
Qiao Qingyan didn’t say a word in response. She turned and walked out.
Qiao Rongze hurriedly reached out and grabbed her arm, saying stiffly, “Qiao… Sis, we’re all family. Let’s just let this go. Sister Wanwan just came to our house—can’t you just treat it as giving her a welcome gift?”
Qiao Qingyan’s lips curled into a cold sneer.
“Don’t call me sis. It gives me goosebumps. Weren’t you just saying you don’t recognize me? From now on, your only sister is Bai Wanwan. I won’t meddle in your affairs anymore, and I won’t let you use my weakness as a joke.”
“I’ll write to my mother and ask her to come get me. From this day forward, we go our separate ways—no more ties. I’ll transfer my household registration as soon as possible, and I won’t take a single extra share of the family’s grain ration or cloth coupons.”
“You… what did you say?”
Qiao Rongze’s eyes bulged wide. He never expected she could really be so ruthless.
Their father, Qiao Dehai, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up. “Yanyan, it’s such a small matter. Don’t throw a tantrum. We’re a family—better to keep things harmonious. You’re the older sister, so just be a bit more tolerant of them.”
“Besides, your mother remarried into that family. They say it’s a cadre household, but I’ve heard the kids there are hard to get along with, and the stepfather punishes the children at the drop of a hat. If you really go over there, you’re bound to suffer. You’re young and naive now, but by the time you regret it, it’ll be too late.”
Qiao Qingyan turned to look at him, her tone polite but cold. “It’s fine, Dad. I’m not afraid of hardship. There are so many children in this family, and it’s hard for you to support us all. Me leaving is just saving you some worry. You won’t have to fret over adding another bowl of rice for anyone, or stay up at night counting whether the grain coupons are enough.”
Qiao Dehai’s words got stuck in his throat. He hemmed and hawed for a long while before squeezing out, “How about… Yanyan, can we settle this privately? Your aunt hasn’t officially married into the family yet. If this goes to the police, outsiders will gossip.”
Qiao Qingyan stared at his cowering demeanor, curled her lip, and coldly spat out two words: “No way.”
“She tried to kill me, and I’m supposed to smile and let her off? If you can’t handle it, let the state handle it. Her parents didn’t teach her manners—the police will.”
She had seen this act too many times.
In her past life, every single time, her father would say the same thing—that they were all family—while behind closed doors, he made her swallow every bitter pill.
She ignored the blazing glare from Qiao Rongze behind her and strode off to the village chief’s house, where she borrowed the phone and called the police station.
As soon as the officers heard the situation, they rushed over, cuffed Bai Wanwan, and prepared to take her back to the station for a full investigation.
At that, Bai Wanwan completely lost her composure.
“I didn’t really mean to hurt her! I was just playing around! Don’t arrest me! Please! Rongze, brother, save me!”
Qiao Rongze ground his teeth so hard they creaked, then shouted at Qiao Qingyan, “Do you have to take this so far? If you don’t back off today, I’ll never acknowledge you as my sister again!”
Qiao Qingyan let out a scoff. “You think I care? From now on, we have no relationship whatsoever.”
Qiao Dehai and Qiao Rongze both stood frozen in place.
“Have you lost your mind?”
Qiao Dehai’s voice trembled. “You’d cut ties with your own family over something this small? Have you forgotten that blood is thicker than water?”
“Then tell me—when I was being hit and scolded at home, where were you? Where were the younger brothers?”
She had also heard about the Meng family her mother had remarried into.
Rumor had it the family had a strict code and many rules. Besides the adopted son, there were two other sons, both with fiery tempers and hard to control.
But no matter how hard it was, could it be harder than her past life? At worst, when the college entrance examination was restored, she’d pass it and get out—she could survive on her own.
She went to the county post office and wrote a letter, sending it to her mother.
Just as she stepped out of the post office, she ran straight into her second brother, Qiao Rongwei, who was grabbing hold of a man and refusing to let go, shouting, “Why are you so stingy? I told you I’m buying a gift for my sister. Can’t you just lend me five yuan? I’m starting at the supply and marketing cooperative at the end of the month—I’ll definitely pay you back!”
The man scratched his head and muttered, “Do you have connections at home? The cooperative isn’t a place just anyone can get into.”
Qiao Rongwei puffed out his chest and held his head high, looking smug. “If you help me out now, once I make it big in the future, you’ll get plenty of benefits!”
Qiao Qingyan furrowed her brow, suddenly remembering—in her past life, Qiao Rongwei couldn’t find a job anywhere. She had been frantic with worry, and in the end, she sold her own position at the silk spinning factory and used the money to buy him a spot at the cooperative.
Back then, she thought that a stable job at the supply and marketing cooperative only required a silver tongue, and her second brother had always been good at schmoozing—he was a perfect fit.
And as it turned out, that was exactly how things played out.
Qiao Rongwei built on that starting point, slowly rolling the snowball until he became a famous tycoon in Su Province.
But no one knew that the first bit of capital for his start-up came from her humbling herself to beg every relative and friend for loans, and that his entire network was built piece by piece on the foundation of his position at the cooperative.
In the early days of the company, she followed him around day and night, running east and west. Later, when things got a little easier and the business dinners piled up, she drank in his place, fended off toasts, and managed the books.
Thinking back, she blamed herself for being too naive in her past life—she actually believed his nonsense, thinking he was nice to others just to be polite, and never saw that he had never truly regarded her as family.
But judging by his tone, was he also reborn?
Qiao Qingyan pressed her lips together lightly, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
As luck would have it, the buddy beside him had sharp eyes and spotted her right away. He immediately called out with a grin: “Oh, Qingyan-jie? You’re here too? Isn’t today your day off? Why are you out and about?”
He then winked and nudged Qiao Rongwei: “I say, Brother Rongwei, weren’t you just asking to borrow money from me to buy a gift for your eldest sister? So Qingyan-jie’s birthday is coming up? Not easy, man—you actually remembered.”
Qiao Rongwei blurted out with a shout: “Who said I was buying her a gift!”
The moment the words left his mouth, he froze, only then realizing the atmosphere had turned awkward.
If Qiao Qingyan found out he was planning a surprise for Wanwan-jie, she’d probably throw another tantrum…
The rebirth had him so excited he could barely sleep.
At this point in time, Bai Wanwan had already moved into their home. In his past life, he’d been brainwashed by that bitch Qiao Qingyan and ended up yelling at Wanwan-jie, breaking her heart.
This time around, he had to give her a gift in advance—he couldn’t let her suffer any more grievances.
Who would’ve thought he’d run into bad luck and bump into Qiao Qingyan of all people?
Qiao Rongwei quickly corrected himself: “Sis, that’s not what I meant. I was thinking—Dad’s about to remarry, so I should prepare some welcome gifts for our new stepmother and Wanwan-jie, right? We’ll be one family from now on.”