Qiao Nian remained silent, lowering her head and quietly sobbing.
The way Li Yong and Aunt Zhou looked at Qiao Yuemin grew increasingly strange.
Qiao Yuemin had no choice but to swallow his anger and force a smile.
“Of course. If this really had anything to do with Weiwei, how could we possibly take out our life savings to give Niannian a wedding dowry? We haven’t even had the chance to spoil her enough!”
Inside, he kept reassuring himself.
Even if I give her the money today, I’ll find a way to get it back from her later.
But Weiwei was destined to accomplish great things in the future.
Her reputation absolutely couldn’t suffer even the slightest blemish.
Qiao Nian looked at Qiao Weiguo and cautiously asked,
“Dad… do you feel the same way?”
Qiao Weiguo said nothing.
His entire body seemed to radiate cold fury.
He’s her father. What’s wrong with giving her a beating?
And now she actually wants five hundred yuan from him?
Does she think he’s made of five hundred yuan?
Qiao Nian’s eyes grew even redder.
Sniffling pitifully, she said,
“Dad has always treated Weiwei better than me since we were little. People even asked me before… Is Weiwei actually Third Uncle’s daughter, or is she Dad’s daughter?”
Qiao Weiguo: !!!
“What the hell did you just say? You’re talking nonsense! I’ll beat you to death today!”
Qiao Weiguo’s eyes turned red with rage.
He took a large step forward and raised his hand to slap Qiao Nian.
He actually wished Weiwei were his daughter.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t.
All he had was this troublesome daughter who had always embarrassed him and caused him endless headaches.
Whoa!
What a huge scandal!
Uncle Li and Aunt Zhou exchanged glances, both seeing the disbelief in each other’s eyes.
Could it be that the second branch of the Qiao family had cheated on the third branch…
And now the third branch’s daughter wanted to cheat with the second branch’s daughter’s husband?
Was the Qiao family really this messed up?
Qiao Nian wasn’t stupid.
She immediately ducked behind Aunt Zhou again.
After all, in front of outsiders, the Qiao family still cared about saving face.
She cautiously poked her head out and asked uncertainly,
“Third Uncle… could it be that you’re actually my father?”
“You’re the only person in the entire Qiao family who treats me well. And now that I’m getting married, you’re even giving me such a generous wedding dowry…”
Qiao Yuemin: …
Qiao Weiguo: ???
Uncle Li: !!!
Aunt Zhou: !!!
Aunt Zhou’s eyes immediately lit up with gossip.
Her strange gaze shifted back and forth between the two Qiao brothers.
This must be something even the Qiao family themselves have secretly suspected, and Niannian must have overheard it.
After all, Niannian was such a simple and honest girl.
She was so timid that you could hit her three times with a stick and still not get her to say anything.
There was no way someone like her would simply make up such outrageous nonsense.
If even the fathers in this family were interested in each other’s wives…
Then it would hardly be surprising for Weiwei to be interested in her cousin’s husband.
Aunt Zhou looked as though she’d just uncovered the ultimate truth.
Her expression became even more contemptuous.
“A crooked beam makes a crooked house. Instead of wasting your time lecturing Niannian, you two should spend more time straightening yourselves out!”
“Tsk! What a shameless family!”
After saying that, she spat heavily toward them as if she had just seen something filthy.
“Aunt Zhou, don’t you dare make baseless accusations!”
Qiao Weiguo was so furious that he felt like his lungs were about to explode.
First, his reputation had been ruined.
And now people were accusing him of wearing a cuckold’s hat.
But Aunt Zhou wasn’t afraid of him at all.
Did he really think her several big, strong sons were harmless?
“I’m making baseless accusations?” Aunt Zhou scoffed.
“Second Brother Qiao, do you think everyone in this courtyard is blind? For all these years, you’ve treated your niece Qiao Wei like she’s the apple of your eye. You’ve even favored her over your own son!”
“Tell me, is that normal?”
She suddenly paused.
“Wait… Is your son actually your son?”
Qiao Weiguo felt as though a mouthful of blood had become stuck in his throat.
Today, he had finally learned what it felt like to be unable to explain yourself no matter what you said.
Before he could respond, he noticed Qiao Yuemin beside him looking at him suspiciously.
Qiao Weiguo: !!!
Damn it!
Everyone else might not know why, but you, Qiao Yuemin, should know perfectly well!
Qiao Weiguo was furious enough to spit blood.
Yet he could only change his tune.
Through gritted teeth, he declared,
“Stop talking nonsense! Of course Qiao Nian is my biological daughter!”
“Third Brother is giving her five hundred yuan? Fine! I’ll give her six hundred!”
If he gave her less than his younger brother today, he’d probably never be able to shake off the accusation that he had been cuckolded.
Qiao Nian was stunned.
Her eyes sparkled.
She took a deep breath.
This felt damn good!
Qiao Nian thoughtfully considered everything, as though she’d suddenly understood something.
Then she hurriedly spoke up.
Throwing her arms around Qiao Weiguo, she beamed with happiness.
“So I misunderstood you, Dad! Thank you, Dad!”
Hehe.
One thousand one hundred yuan secured.
Aunt Zhou looked at Qiao Nian sympathetically.
Poor silly girl.
She actually thought Second Brother Qiao genuinely cared about her.
She even believed she’d misunderstood him.
Once she returned to the Qiao family, they’d probably strip her of everything until not even her bones remained.
Aunt Zhou sighed.
Since she had already decided to help, she might as well go all the way.
She turned back toward the two Qiao brothers, her expression once again filled with contempt.
“Then why aren’t you giving her the money already?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to trick her into coming home first and then refuse to give it to her?”
“You—Aunt Zhou! You haven’t even cleaned up your own family’s mess, so stop sticking your nose into other people’s business!”
“Tsk! What an immoral family. I must have hit a nerve, didn’t I? That’s why you’re getting so angry!”
“Dad, is what Aunt Zhou said true? You’re not going to wait until we get home and then tell me that the money should be saved for Weiwei, are you? You’ve always done that before. You always said that I’m the older sister, so I should give everything to Weiwei.”
The way Uncle Li and Aunt Zhou looked at Qiao Weiguo became even stranger.
Qiao Weiguo couldn’t bear to stay there another moment.
“Wait here.”
He spat out the words angrily before storming away.
Qiao Yuemin followed closely behind him.
Qiao Nian watched their retreating figures, her eyes dark and thoughtful.
It seemed that ever since she was a child, anything involving Qiao Wei made everyone around her instinctively take Qiao Wei’s side.
Qiao Wei is Qiao Weiguo’s daughter?
Of course not.
She had only said it to stir things up.
She couldn’t figure out what the truth was, so she decided not to waste time thinking about it.
One thing was certain:
Every single person in this family was her enemy.
None of them should expect her to make their lives easy.
Aunt Zhou gently comforted her.
“Once you’re married, just try to live your life well. Be careful and keep your eyes open when things happen. Once those older children grow up, you can have a child of your own. Then you should be able to get through life.”
Sigh.
The Qiao family really was committing a terrible sin.
Everyone knew that this son-in-law was even older than his father-in-law.
That girl had suffered ever since she was little.
Aunt Zhou didn’t even know what advice she could give her.
All she could do was hope that once the girl married, her life would at least improve.
Aunt Zhou had a young daughter of her own.
Just imagining her own daughter being treated this way made her feel like she could kill someone.
So when she spoke, there was genuine concern in her voice.
“If you ever encounter something you can’t get through after you’re married, come find Aunt Zhou. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do my best.”
Qiao Nian felt warmth spread through her chest.
How many years had it been?
Her heart, which had long been as cold and lifeless as ashes, suddenly felt a warm current flowing through it.
“Thank you, Aunt Zhou. I understand. I understand everything.”
Hearing her answer, Aunt Zhou felt a little more at ease.
At least the girl understood.
Perhaps she wouldn’t be completely devoured by that family until nothing remained of her.
As they talked, Qiao Weiguo and Qiao Yuemin finally came out of the house.
From inside came occasional sounds of things being thrown and smashed.
The two Qiao brothers had grim expressions.
That money represented more than a year’s worth of their salaries.
And today, they had actually been forced to hand it all over to this useless daughter.
Qiao Weiguo violently threw the thick stack of bills into Qiao Nian’s arms.
His voice was venomous.
“1,100 yuan. Take it!”
You’d better live long enough to spend it!
Qiao Nian didn’t care about his expression at all.
She happily accepted the money.
The more miserable they were, the happier she became!
Qiao Nian giggled and gave Qiao Weiguo the brightest smile she could manage.
“Thank you, Dad! I knew you loved me the most!”
Qiao Weiguo was so furious that he nearly became dizzy.
Damn it.
That one little “Dad” sure turned out to be expensive!