"......Qiao Yi, Dad has decided that this matter may only be resolved in court. You can blame Dad, resent Dad, and Dad will understand you. Dad is incompetent and has not been able to provide good living conditions for you three siblings. Not only have I let you suffer with me, but now I can't even provide a home for you."
"Dad didn't go to school and doesn't have the same ideas as you. For that matter with the exam questions, Dad felt it was just something between family members...ai..."
"Later Dad thought about it. You are not the same as Dad. When Dad was little, the family was poor. I was willing to scrimp and save for you uncles first, wanting to give them anything good. Seeing your uncles eat well and live well made Dad happy. Other than life and death, Dad didn't feel anything else was a big deal."
"Dad isn't biased towards your second sister, I just want you siblings to get along harmoniously. You are all Dad's children, and Dad cares about all of you."
"Now that your two sisters are fighting like this, Dad bears a lot of responsibility. Dad has let you down."
Qiao Yi quietly listened to her father's soliloquy through the phone.
This was the first time in her life that Qiao Yi had heard her father say so much without complaining about anyone.
Even about his wife whose behavior was so awful that even outsiders couldn't stand to see it, he still hadn't said a bad thing about her, and even felt that she had suffered following him.
He told them not to blame their mother.
He always took the blame upon himself. In the past when Qiao Yi saw her father being bullied by his brothers, she would also get angry at her father's weakness and incompetence. But most of the time, Qiao Yi felt more distressed for her father.
She had always known the pressure and difficulty her father endured.
Qiao's father: "Is your big sister doing alright?"
Qiao Yi swallowed back her choking sobs: "...Good."
Her father laughed gently: "That's good then."
Qiao Yi: "Dad, divorce Mom."
Just last night Qiao Yi had still felt confused and heartbroken. But now she was able to say this lightly and calmly.
After hearing what she said, her father, who had been talking to her with laughter the whole time, fell silent for a long time, before answering in a slightly choked voice: "...Thank you for understanding your Dad."
Qiao's father covered his face with one hand, wiping away tears: "...Focus on your classes. No matter who you're with, you'll always be Dad's child. You and your big sister stay in Beijing and listen to her, okay?"
In Yuncheng,
The car pulled into the urban village where the Qiao family lived, stopping at the gate of the Qiao residence.
Su Zhan, who had been resting his eyes in the backseat, opened them. He looked out the car window: "Here?"
He rubbed his brow which was fatigued after hurrying around for two or three days.
"Yes, Mr. Su." The assistant quickly got out to open the door.
Hearing they had arrived, Su Zhan perked up and leaned forward to get out of the car. Looking at the dilapidated old courtyard house in front of him, Su Zhan also turned to look at the houses around it, all of which looked much better than this one.
Su Zhan felt quite conflicted. After renovations, the house was still like this. What kind of ramshackle state had it been in before?
Su Zhan just stood at the door, looking at the place where Qiao Ying had lived since she was little. His heart ached with distress and self-reproach.
"I'll go knock on the door." The assistant knocked on the big gate of the Qiao residence.
"Who are you looking for?" Li Lilian came out from a neighbor's house.
She looked Su Zhan's group up and down. They looked prestigious with an extraordinary bearing and dignity. Their clothing also looked expensive, and then there was that car...
Li Lilian craned her neck to look at the car. One look and she could tell they were either wealthy or influential. There was an 80 percent chance they had come looking for that ungrateful wench.
She just didn't know if they had come to give money or...
Su Zhan: "Are you Madam Li Lilian?"
Over the past couple days, Su Zhan had basically learned about the Qiao family's circumstances. Now he recognized Li Lilian at a glance.
This was the first time Li Lilian had ever been addressed so politely as Madam. Moreover, this man clearly had status. She immediately felt flattered and felt as if she had become an entirely different person all at once.
She quickly popped the last peanut on the ground into her mouth. Li Lilian clapped her hands and shook her shoulders. A smile spread across her face and her voice softened. "That's me. How do you know my name?"
"My surname is Su, I'm called Su Zhan. I've come looking for you and your husband, Madam." Su Zhan held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you."
In his youth, Su Zhan had been tall, handsome, and energetic. Now older, he exuded an even more mature charm. His bespoke suit gave him an upright look.
Seeing the extremely gentlemanly and cultivated Su Zhan, Li Lilian shyly tucked back a strand of hair by her ear, feeling ashamed of herself.
"Pleased to meet you too." She held out her hand to shake Su Zhan's.
Li Lilian's voice grew even gentler and more deliberately ingratiating. "What have you come looking for me for? I don't recognize you two."
Su Zhan took back his hand politely. "May we come in to talk?"
"Of course, please come in, come in." Li Lilian agreed readily, pushing the door open to warmly usher them inside.
The only things that had been renovated in the old residential compound were the enclosing wall and the floor tiles. The inside was still dilapidated in a way Su Zhan found unimaginable.
The wooden door, earthen walls, moss-covered steps, the threshing machine sitting in a corner that he had never seen before. There was still a water pump in the yard. After years without use it only further highlighted the desolation of this house.
The refrigerator and television in the living room looked garishly new and out of place here. They were probably the only two valuable things left.
Just now outside, he had seen the gold earrings Li Lilian wore in her ears and that she was dressed quite nicely. He hadn't expected the inside to be like this...
Li Lilian brought out tea leaves to brew some tea. She looked back to see Su Zhan slightly craning his neck as he looked all around.
She thought to herself: Could it be a property developer who has taken interest in this house and wants to demolish it?
Thinking of this possibility, it seemed quite likely.
Li Lilian immediately became even more enthusiastic: "Stop looking. Come have some tea."
Perhaps Li Lilian was being too noisy. She had made so much noise that she drew the room's occupant out.
Qiao Lingling came out of the room in a huff: "Mom, what are you doing? Are you not letting anyone sleep? So annoying!"
Su Zhan looked over.
Li Lilian glared at Qiao Lingling then grumbled softly: "Sleep sleep sleep, all you know is sleeping all day. Don't you see what time it is now?"
Su Zhan frowned.
Li Lilian turned back with a smile pretending nothing had happened: "This is my daughter. Please excuse her rudeness for making you witness this."
Su Zhan nodded. He knew. She looked skinnier than she did in the photos he had seen, and somewhat haggard as well.
"Mom, who are they?" Qiao Lingling looked the two men over.
Could they have come looking for that wretched fatty again?
Li Lilian: "None of your business. Go back to your room."
Qiao Lingling looked at Su Zhan again. She turned and closed the door without shutting it completely, then hid behind the door eavesdropping.
Su Zhan casually asked: "Isn't today the weekend? Why hasn't your child gone to school?"
Pushed for time, Su Zhan had only investigated the basics about the Qiao family and didn't know about the incident where Qiao Lingling had cheated on her college entrance exam questions and as a result got kicked out of Peking University.
Li Lilian gave an awkward laugh: "My child is feeling a little unwell."
You're being weird, she thought.
Su Zhan put down the tea in his hand and first asked: "Where is your husband?"
When it came to Qiao's father, Li Lilian waved her hand impatiently: "He went to work."
Su Zhan nodded and asked: "Madam Li has three children, the elder two daughters are twins?"
Li Lilian: "Ah, what's the matter?"
Su Zhan: "Your eldest daughter is called Qiao Ying and goes to Peking University?"
Li Lilian looked Su Zhan up and down. "That's right."
So he wasn't a property developer after all. He had come looking for that wretched girl again. Li Lilian's enthusiasm faded by more than half all at once.
Su Zhan: "She's the one you gave birth to on March 8, ** year, at 6:20 PM at the health clinic. Correct?"
Li Lilian thought this man was acting mighty strange: "What on earth is your business here? Why are you asking about all this?"
Su Zhan ventured hesitantly: "I've met Qiao Ying before. She looks nothing like her twin younger sister there."
Li Lilian: "Well doesn't it say on TV that there's something called heteropaternal superfecundation twins? That wretched girl used to be fat. You haven't seen her before. She only lost weight this past summer."
Su Zhan: "Wretched girl?"
Li Lilian: "Mister, what exactly is your business here?"
Su Zhan took some documents and reports from his assistant and placed them on the table.
