Extra four

After Qiao Ye got the consent letter from the special hospital, he packed up his things with Pei Qing and drove over there.

Qiao didn't say much along the way. To be more precise, she hadn't said much since she received the letter of consent.

Even the car was driven by Pei Qing.

Pei Qing glanced at Qiao Ye, who looked listless beside her. She slowed down the car with some worry. "Are you sure you still want to go?"

Hearing her words, Qiao also turned his gaze back from the scenery outside the window and shook his head gently, "I'm fine. You can continue driving."

Although she said so, Pei Qing did not speed up, but drove at a slower speed.

"If you don't want to go, just tell me and we can always stop and go back."

"Yeah. Okay."

From the moment he received the consent form from the hospital, Joe felt his mind went blank.

It's not that she hadn't thought about what to do if she met Qiao Yang, but she didn't expect it to be under such circumstances.

She knew Pei Qing was worried about her, but she didn't know how to express it, so she could only answer her with endless silence.

Only her name was written on the hospital's consent form, so only she could go in.

Pei Qing parked the car in the parking lot outside the hospital and watched her leave the parking lot and enter the hospital.

After going through layers of examinations, Joe was also admitted to the hospital.

The hospital was filled with the smell of disinfectant, and she was led by the doctor to Qiao Yang's ward.

In fact, she didn't know what disease Qiao Yang was suffering from, but she knew that Qiao Yang didn't have much time left.

In the window not far away, a woman was lying.

She recognized her immediately; it was Jiang Yuan, and she quietly walked behind her.

Perhaps sensing someone coming, Jiang Yuan turned around. He wasn't surprised to see her, but said in a relaxed tone, "You're here. Sit down for a while. Your father is still sleeping and will probably wake up in twenty minutes."

Joe also sat down beside her.

Neither mother nor daughter spoke.

Finally, it was Jiang Yuan who spoke first: "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you about my visit to Country M."

"It's okay. You're an adult and you should know what you're doing."

"I'm so glad to hear that from you."

"But can I ask you a question?"

"you say."

"Why did you choose to come to Country M after what he did?"

It goes without saying who "he" here refers to.

"..." Jiang Yuan looked at the water cup in front of him, as if thinking about how to answer her.

Qiao was not in a hurry either. She had one day today to wait for the answer to this question.

"Because... I still love him."

The woman's voice was faint, as if she was sighing, and as if she was blaming herself.

"Then you can..." Qiao Ye had just said half of her words when she swallowed them back.

There are some things you cannot say to your mother.

"I know what you're trying to say." The woman smiled and shook her head. She looked at her, but it seemed as if she wasn't looking at her. "After you were born, I developed severe postpartum depression. The symptoms tortured me like a madman. If the nanny hadn't been quick to report you and sent you to your father, I'm afraid I would have strangled you to death when you were very young."

From Jiang Yuan, she heard a version of the story she had never heard before.

In this story, Qiao Yang is a victim who is exploited and framed.

But he is a man who loves his wife.

"Perhaps in your eyes, Qiao Yang is not a gentleman, and he will do anything to achieve his goals. But under the circumstances at the time, if he didn't kill others, others would kill him."

"I know you have investigated him and I know you have found out a lot of things, but you didn't find out what I mentioned, right?" Jiang Yuan smiled, his calm demeanor made Qiao silent.

These things were indeed things she had not found.

At the same time, it also made her realize one thing, that everything she found out was what Qiao Yang wanted her to find out.

And she couldn't find even a single thing that Qiao Yang didn't want her to find.

"As for my father's death..." Jiang Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at the table. "From the moment my father vehemently opposed us, it's not hard to see that he didn't trust Qiao Yang at all. Maybe Qiao Yang was indeed involved in my father's death, but if it wasn't his own will..."

Joe also stood up and prepared to leave without saying a word: "So what you mean is that everything I have done so far is just clown behavior? If so, then I think there is nothing more to say between us..."

"Qiao Ye——" Jiang Yuan shouted.

Qiao Ye's footsteps slowly stopped, but she never turned around.

"He's been punished, hasn't he? He was sentenced to seventeen years in prison by Country M. If it weren't for his sudden heart attack, he wouldn't have been released on medical parole."

"What did you say?"

Joe also turned around in shock and looked at her in disbelief.

Everyone told her that her father was dying, but she had no idea why.

"Congenital heart disease. Both Qiao Yang's parents died of congenital heart disease."

Her father illegally produced a special medicine for depression and evaded taxes. In order to help the K Chamber of Commerce gain a foothold in Mishiroda State, he used many despicable means.

These eventually became the knives that stabbed him.

Joe suddenly didn't understand who was a good person and who was a bad person.

At this time, a nurse came over and said, "Patient 0622 has woken up. Who is here to visit?"

Qiao also stood there in a daze, her feet seemed to be stuck and she couldn't move at all.

"Go ahead. Maybe next time you come, you'll only see his corpse."

Qiao also pursed her lips, and finally raised her feet with difficulty, following the nurse to her father's ward, Room 0622.

The man had already gotten out of bed.

He was wearing a blue and white striped hospital gown and sitting by the window eating an apple.

Hearing the sound, he looked up and saw that it was her. He smiled, stretched out his hand to beckon her over, and sat down to eat apples together.

"Today the doctor told me someone was coming to see me, and I said it couldn't be you. But I didn't expect it to be you."

"...Very, unexpected?"

"Yeah. Quite unexpected."

The man pricked a piece of apple with a toothpick and handed it to her.

This is one of the few times that they, father and daughter, can sit down and have a good talk.

Joe also reached out to take it.

The apples should have been peeled for a while, and some parts of them have oxidized, but it does not affect the taste.

It's crispy and tastes good.

"I heard it's a congenital heart disease?"

Hearing her words, the man paused for a moment, then continued nonchalantly, "Well. Life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by heaven. It shouldn't affect you. After all, Ayuan..."

At this point, the man changed his tone: "Your mother is very healthy. You did not inherit this disease."

Qiao also noticed this little detail of his change of words, but she didn't ask about it.

"Why?"

"What?" Qiao Yang didn't quite understand what she meant for a moment.

"Why go to all this trouble?"

Now Qiao Yang understood.

He pushed the remaining apples toward her without answering her immediately. "Eat these. Your mother peeled them all. Don't let her down, and don't make her sad."

After she finished eating the apple, Qiao Yang wiped his mouth and explained, "I only found out about this after... your grandfather passed away. At that time, the Qiao Group had already gone public. Your grandfather was already old, and the Qiao Group was too dazzling. You were just born. Your mother studied art in college, and she was powerless to fight back against these intrigues."

"I have a congenital heart disease, so I won't live long. Even if I survive, I'll be the first to die. I must find a safe and reliable supporter for your mother."

"And her best supporter is you."

"But teenagers in their teens and twenties are just new recruits entering society. I have to help you grow up quickly. The faster the better."

As he spoke, Qiao Yang laughed, his eyes full of satisfaction for her, "In fact, you didn't disappoint me."

"If one day I die in the future and someone bullies your mother, you will be able to deal with him without hesitation."

"So... you use yourself as a whetstone?" Qiao Ye's tone was calm.

But the hand hidden under the table was shaking slightly, and he could hardly hold on to his pants.

"Yes," Qiao Yang admitted without hesitation, "My whetstone is the most efficient. Once others know that you're someone who would even sacrifice your own father for the sake of justice, wouldn't it be easier to deal with them, who aren't even related to you by blood?"

"But have you ever thought about this? I'm your daughter... I'm your biological daughter. Have you ever seen a father do this? Do you really treat me as your daughter..."

Qiao finally couldn't help but question her.

She suddenly wanted to cry, but there was no liquid in her eyes, only dryness.

The man was silent.

After a long while, he finally spoke, not to comfort but to apologize, "I'm sorry. From the beginning to the end, I never treated you as my daughter."

The heart, which had been beating violently, finally calmed down.

"So that's how it is..."

"So, Xiaoye, if there is an afterlife, please don't be my daughter."

Hearing this, Qiao also pulled the corners of his mouth and revealed an ugly smile, "I don't want to be your daughter, but I want to be my mother's daughter."

You and your mother are different.

Although she also dislikes Jiang Yuan for not doing things properly and not knowing how to do anything except making desserts, she doesn't know as much as other people's mothers.

But so what, her mother is the only one who can speak.

If someone says something, he will be beaten.

The man smiled and calmly changed the subject: "How are you and your girlfriend doing lately?"

"I thought you would object to her."

"How could that be?" Qiao Yang laughed. "That's your future path, you choose to walk it yourself. That girl is a good person, treat her well and don't let her down."

"I'm not you." Qiao also curled his lips.

"Well. It better not be me. After all, I'm not a good person."

"She's very nice. She's very nice to people and things..."

"I see."

Qiao also mentioned that they had a little black cat, that they occasionally went on road trips, and when they planned to get their marriage certificate and hold their wedding...

Also talk about some friends' recent situation.

He Shanyi has gone to Country Y to start a new business; Cheng Feng has returned home to inherit the family business; Xue Xiaochen has completely reorganized the Kang Group, and now she has the final say; Shang Yiran and his girlfriend are on vacation in Hawaii...

Qiao Yang listened beside her and occasionally responded.

The father and daughter sat by the window and chatted for the whole afternoon.

During this time, no one noticed that the door of the ward opened for a moment and then closed quietly.

——End of the article