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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nWhat Zhu Chengqi did not know was that, to Qiao Nan, looking after Zhu Baoguo was akin to looking after a son.

n“Alright, I won’t bring it up. I am the least bit interested to hang out with Wang Yang. It was Wang Yang who always stuck to me at home, addressing me as his brother. He even lodged a complaint to Grandpa, saying that I ignored him. What a cunning, deceitful, and vicious mean boy!” A childish Zhu Baoguo used all the negative expressions he could think of to describe Wang Yang, wanting Zhu Chengqi to understand that Wang Yang was a bad person.

nZhu Chengqi pressed his lips, creating a thin line. “You should really learn from Qiao Nan; in particular, learn Chinese from her. I believe she would definitely come in the first place for her essay.”

nQiao Nan could let him know of Wang Yang’s character and behavior in one sentence, yet his son had to use all the expressions he could think of to describe Wang Yang. Zhu Chengqi found it amusing.

nTheir standards were worlds apart.

n“Do you know which high school Qiao Nan is going to?”

n“Xiao Qiao has told me long ago. It is Ping Cheng High School.”

n“Isn’t The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China better?”

n“Xiao Qiao said that if she studies at Ping Cheng High School with her results, she could be exempted from paying tuition and incidental fees. Xiao Qiao’s family is not well-to-do, and her mother is a fool. She spent all the money they had to ask Grandpa to arrange for her sister to study at The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China. If she did not have the ability, she should not insist to study there. She must be a fool. But the biggest fool is Xiao Qiao. Her sister could spend all the savings they had at home, so why does she have to save up for the family by studying at Ping Cheng High School and getting a scholarship? She is too nice and too filial. This is what we call unquestioning filial piety!”

nZhu Baoguo was pleased and proud of himself that he could use the expressions accurately. Time spent with Xiao Qiao was not wasted; his Chinese had improved tremendously.

n“Unquestioning filial piety?” Zhu Chengqi gave a meaningful smile. “Baoguo, after learning Chinese for such a long time, do you know the meaning of ‘no eggs can remain unbroken when the nest is upset’?” ( NovelFull )

nThe young lady was not foolish. On the contrary, she was very smart.

nQiao Dongliang was the sole breadwinner of the Qiao family. If anything happened to him, not to mention Qiao Nan, both sisters would not be able to continue with their studies.

nQiao Nan made it easier for Qiao Dongliang to ensure she would have the opportunity to study.

nIf this young lady was fit, she would make a good soldier in the army. She was very quick-witted.

nIt might seem like she was at a disadvantage, but in fact, even if she did not gain any advantage, she had protected her own interests at the very least.

nUnder such dire situation, Qiao Nan was able to protect her interests to the very best. She was not to be underestimated.

nQiao Nan went to great lengths to make sure she could continue with her studies, yet his own son had brawns but no brains. Zhu Chengqi did not know what to say.

nBy right, with such a grindstone like Wang Yang at the Zhu family, he should see some improvements in Baoguo, but reality proved him wrong.

n“Alright, we have arrived.” Zhu Chengqi patted his son’s shoulder. Zhu Chengqi pulled Zhu Baoguo into the Zhu family’s residence. By the time they reached home, Wang Yang and Zhu Qin were nowhere to be seen.

nNot to mention Wang Yang, even Zhu Qin was too ashamed to stay at Zhu family’s residence. She was too disgraced to face her nephew, Zhu Baoguo.

nZhu Baoguo overslept on the day of middle school exams because he ate fruits that had doses of sleeping pills in it.

nTo think that Wang Yang came up with the idea of soaking the fruits in sleeping draught and had Zhu Baoguo eat the fruits… There was no way that one could say Wang Yang did it unintentionally.

nEven if Wang Yang was to argue that he did it because he was worried Zhu Baoguo would be too nervous to sleep—and if he told Zhu Baoguo the truth, he would not eat them—one could tell that the doses were too high from the fact that Zhu Baoguo fell into a deep sleep.

nThese were sleeping pills. If anything went wrong, life would be at stake.

nMore importantly, like what Zhu Baoguo had said, such a coincidence as there was no one but Wang Yang at Zhu family’s residence that day—telling everyone he saw Zhu Baoguo went off to school early in the morning—was almost improbable.

nEven if he had a good reason, one could not help but be suspicious of him. Besides, not only was his reason not good enough, it was full of loopholes.

n“Baoguo, you are back?” Wang Yang and Zhu Qin left straight away. Elder Zhu who had nowhere to go to was awkward. He did not know what to say when his beloved grandson came home.

n“Oh,” Zhu Baoguo responded dully.

n“You and your dad have met the younger daughter of the Qiao family, have you not?” Elder Zhu smiled bitterly. It seemed like Baoguo had some grudges toward him, but Wang Yang…

nElder Zhu had a bad headache. He did not know whether he should believe that Wang Yang’s mistake was committed out of good intentions, or that he really harbored evil intentions toward his cousin.

n“We have seen her. The young lady is pretty smart. It would be good for Baoguo to hang out with her often. He would be able to learn from her and will not be easily plotted against in the future. But Dad, regarding Wang Qinglin, there is no need to consider further. We would go by the book. His promotion would be dependent on his abilities.” Zhu Chengqi sat down and poured tea for Elder Zhu and himself. This was going for peaceful measures before using force.

nElder Zhu had always pampered his daughter, Zhu Qin.

nOtherwise, Elder Zhu would not have been so generous to Wang Yang.

nZhu Chengqi would always look out for his brother-in-law, Wang Qinglin, on account of his younger sister, Zhu Qin.

nHe spent most of his time in the army; he seldom stayed at home. In the army, he would look after Wang Qinglin. Contrariwise, Wang Qinglin’s son had the impudence to bully his son at Zhu family’s residence.

nZhu Chengqi’s eyes darkened when he thought of what Qiao Nan told him today.

n“Chengqi, it is normal for youngsters to quarrel. You should not…” Elder Zhu hurriedly put in a good word for his son-in-law when he heard that his promotion might be affected.

nElder Zhu had retired long ago, and he had handed everything over to his only son, Zhu Chengqi. Zhu Chengqi was the master in the house, not Elder Zhu. When all was said and done, Elder Zhu was still Zhu Chengqi’s father. Thus, Zhu Chengqi could not disregard his father’s words.

n“Dad, tell this to Baoguo. If you can do that, I will help with Wang Qinglin’s promotion.” Zhu Chengqi was not angered by his father’s words. He maintained his calm and composure as if Elder Zhu did not side with Wang Qinglin.

n“Oh…” Elder Zhu wanted to talk to Zhu Baoguo, persuading him to help his uncle.

nHowever, when he saw how angry Zhu Baoguo was, he could not bring himself to say a word. After all, he was still closer to his grandson as compared to his maternal grandson.

nIn the past, Elder Zhu would always dote on Zhu Baoguo. He would always go according to his wishes. It had become a habit. He had made an exception because of Wang Yang’s incident today. If he was to say anything more, it would be too much to ask of Elder Zhu.

nElder Zhu sighed, giving in to Zhu Chengqi. He would not object to how Zhu Chengqi handled Wang Qinglin’s promotion.

n“Dad, Zhu Qin was a married woman. She is a part of the Wang family now.”

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