Chapter 25: A Longing for "He Isn't"
Although Yao Jing is over fifty years old, she is very well-maintained, and the years have not left any obvious marks on her face. She usually speaks softly and rarely speaks so harshly as she did today.
Qiao Yunzheng roughly guessed why Yao Jing had called her back, and sighed helplessly: "Mom, didn't Uncle Zhang say on the phone that you weren't feeling well?"
A fleeting look of embarrassment at being exposed crossed Yao Jing's face, but it was quickly overshadowed by anger: "If I hadn't said that, would you still have come back?"
Her slender white fingers gripped the curtains tightly, until her knuckles turned white.
The window faces the main entrance, where a black SUV is parked. Just now, Yao Jing saw a man get out of the driver's seat and open the passenger door for her daughter.
Although many years had passed, Yao Jing recognized the man's appearance at a glance; he was the son of the Wen family.
Five years ago, her obedient daughter got involved with this man and became rebellious and sharp, as if she had become a completely different person; five years later, she actually secretly got together with this man again.
The anger of being deceived almost consumed Yao Jing's reason.
Qiao Yunzheng lowered her eyelashes, still looking obedient, and asked very softly, "Mom, who said something to you?"
"Haha!" Yao Jing sneered twice, completely losing her composure. Gone was her usual dignified and gentle demeanor. She screamed hysterically, "If they hadn't come to my door to insult me, I would still be in the dark!"
"If it weren't for Wen Jinliang, I, her own mother, wouldn't even have known that my daughter was getting married soon!"
Qiao Yunzheng had no intention of telling her mother about the marriage from the beginning.
From the very beginning, that marriage was just a transaction for her, a mere formality, and letting her mother know would only add to her troubles.
Unexpectedly, the news reached her ears in such an unexpected way.
Qiao Yunzheng was also taken aback when the Wen family came directly to the Qiao residence.
She had never heard Wen Hong mention this matter.
Yao Jing's face flushed with anger. She grabbed Qiao Yunzheng's shoulders and shook her violently, as if trying to bring her to her senses: "Qiao Yunzheng! Tell me, what are you doing? Why are you getting entangled with him?!"
Recalling the arrogant attitude of the Wen family earlier, Yao Jing was furious.
When Wen Jinliang and his entourage suddenly visited the Qiao family, Yao Jing assumed that he was there for the Qiao family's sake. After all, the Wen family was now the dominant force in Kuncheng, so it wouldn't be surprising if they set their sights on the Qiao family.
After all, she had witnessed Wen Jinliang's style of doing things a long time ago.
Even so, Yao Jing maintained excellent manners and treated the uninvited guests with courtesy.
But to his utter surprise, they had come for his daughter.
As soon as he sat down, Wen Jinliang didn't even bother with formalities and went straight to the point: "It's been a few years, but Madam Qiao hasn't changed much."
Even though she was indifferent to matters, Yao Jing could still sense the hostility in his tone.
The last time Yao Jing saw Wen Jinliang was five years ago.
At the time, the Wen family was bidding for a project from the Qiao family. After the company submitted its bid, they secretly visited the Qiao residence under the pretext of personal business.
At that time, Qiao Zhende was still alive. Even though he disdained the Wen family's underhanded tactics, he still gave the middleman face.
Unexpectedly, after exchanging a few polite words, Wen Jinliang began by saying things like, "Once Miss Qiao and my son get married, we'll all be one family."
Qiao Zhende then learned that his obedient daughter, who was recuperating in Luyao Town, had secretly started a relationship with the notorious playboy from the Wen family.
My daughter is far away in Luyao, and coincidentally, the Wen family's son is also there.
It was at this time that Wen Jinliang participated in Qiao's bidding project and, under the pretext of his children's affairs, hinted to Qiao Zhende that "the good stuff should not go to outsiders."
Qiao Zhende was an upright man, and after thinking it over, he understood the key to the matter.
He was disgusted by the Wen family's despicable schemes. Not only did he remove the Wen family from the list of candidates, but he also rushed to Luyao overnight to nip that ill-fated relationship in the bud.
In the following years, the two families fell out and their relationship plummeted. Although they were both in Kunming, they had almost no contact with each other.
First, the Qiao family is embroiled in internal strife and has no time to attend to other matters; second, times have changed and the Wen family probably no longer takes the Qiao family seriously.
With his legs crossed and an arrogant expression, Wen Jinliang said to Yao Jing, "Back when Chairman Qiao was still around, he didn't take me, Wen, seriously at all. He rejected me so firmly back then. But now? Who would have thought that after all this time, your Qiao family would actually send your daughter here personally?"
Yao Jing thought she had misheard: "What do you mean by that, Mr. Wen? My daughter is busy with her career right now. Perhaps you've heard some rumors?"
Wen Jinliang snorted coldly: "My son came home a few days ago and told the family everything. The wedding date has been set, and Madam Qiao doesn't know?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Jing felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and she almost gritted her teeth to pieces. She had been pampered by her family since childhood, and after marrying Qiao Zhende, she had never lifted a finger to do housework. This was the first time someone had come to her door and humiliated her in person.
But she had no experience in confronting people, so she could only stand there dumbfounded and watch the "perpetrator" swagger away.
Before leaving, he couldn't resist adding insult to injury: "If you had known this would happen, why did you put on such a high and mighty act in the first place? You said it was for your children, but in the end, it was all about money and profit!"
After the Wen family left, Yao Jing slumped onto the sofa for a long time, tears streaming down her face. Once she had caught her breath, she hurriedly called over Uncle Zhang, who had been with Qiao Yunzheng the longest.
After Yao Jing explained the reason, Uncle Zhang was also bewildered: "I've never heard Miss mention it before? Not to mention Wen Hong, Miss rarely even mentions the Wen family name. It shouldn't be like this..." As he spoke, he suddenly slapped his thigh, "Oh dear! A while ago, Miss visited a lawyer in Shencheng, and that lawyer's name was also Wen Hong... Could it be..."
Uncle Zhang abruptly stopped talking, his gaze meeting Yao Jing's, his eyes widening in surprise.
That's why I made that phone call to Qiao Yunzheng in the early hours of the morning.
Qiao Yunzheng remained surprisingly calm in the face of Yao Jing's hysteria.
She lowered her eyes, unsure how to explain the series of events between her and Wen Hong. Clearly, Yao Jing wasn't listening at this moment.
Yao Jing's eyes were red-rimmed as she took Qiao Yunzheng's hand: "Xiaozheng... have you forgotten how badly that boy hurt you back then? I would never agree to you marrying such a scoundrel!"
Qiao Yunzheng sighed softly to herself. She actually understood that rather than saying her mother disliked Wen Hong, it was more accurate to say that her mother disliked her being with Wen Hong.
Yao Jing is a very traditional woman. She is gentle, virtuous, and a good daughter and wife praised by everyone.
From a young age, Qiao Yunzheng often heard her mother say "your maternal grandfather said" or "your father said." In her heart, her maternal grandfather came before her, her husband came before her, but her own place in the family was pitifully small.
So, at the moment the building collapsed, seeing Qiao Zhende being wheeled into the operating room, his face unrecognizable, Yao Jing fainted. When the Qiao family was in turmoil, she chose to believe in Qiao Zhenhuai and ignored everything else.
She adhered to this principle, playing what she considered a perfect role, and subconsciously felt that her daughter should also grow up to be such an obedient and well-behaved girl.
I never imagined that one day a girl would have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting her family.
In fact, Qiao Yunzheng did grow up to be as obedient and well-behaved as she had hoped, and never did anything out of line.
She loves her mother, she understands her, and she is willing to make her happy by being the way she likes.
But I can't agree with her.
Qiao Yunzheng knew she couldn't be a parasitic flower or a kite on a string; she had to be herself first and foremost.
The wilderness in Qiao Yunzheng's heart could no longer be hidden on the day she met Wen Hong.
It also allowed Yao Jing to see her daughter, whom she had never seen before.
Rebellious, willful, sharp...
Therefore, she was the one who signed Qiao Zhende's critical illness notice, and she was also the one who took on the heavy responsibility of the Qiao family business.
Yao Jing continued her incessant slander, as if the more she talked, the sooner Qiao Yunzheng would realize the truth.
"So what if he's a lawyer now? Old habits die hard. Are you going to keep falling into the same trap again and again?"
Objectively speaking, there were quite a few rumors and slanders against Wen Hong. Qiao Yunzheng had heard some of them, and at most, she just didn't agree with them. But when such slanderous words came out of her mother's mouth, an uncontrollable anger surged up in her heart.
"Mom, he isn't."
She stared intently into his eyes, her expression serious and her tone cold.
Qiao Yunzheng always acted obediently and well-behaved in front of her mother. Seeing her attitude like this, Yao Jing felt a moment of panic and asked incredulously, "Xiao Zheng, what are you talking about?"
Qiao Yunzheng: "I said, Wen Hong is not the kind of person you described."
"Do you think your mother would lie to you? Or harm you?!" Yao Jing's eyes reddened, and her voice trembled uncontrollably. "Xiao Zheng, have you forgotten? Back then, he could approach you and use you with a purpose, and today he can do the same..."
Although she knew she wouldn't listen, Qiao Yunzheng softened her tone and said, "Mom, what happened back then was a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?" Yao Jing naturally didn't believe it. "I think you've been bewitched by him again..."
Qiao Yunzheng knew that Wen Hong was just a timely trigger.
Knowing she couldn't persuade Yao Jing, she had no choice but to back down and agree to Yao Jing's request that she stay at home for the time being.
After comforting Yao Jing, Qiao Yunzheng looked outside and saw that the courtyard had been locked as Yao Jing had instructed.
Yao Jing seemed to be expressing her dissatisfaction and anger to the man in the car in this way.
The black SUV remained silently parked there, motionless, letting itself be swallowed up by the incessant chirping of cicadas.
Author's Note: Thank you so much to my darling Sunshine for the nutrient solution! I'm so touched I'm crying my eyes out, sob sob sob.
I'll go to bed early tomorrow night! Maybe, perhaps, possibly...
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