Chapter 14
Ms. Kim, as a young and passionate teacher, felt sorry for Jing Yunzhao and was worried about her future.
How did Jing Yunzhao survive in a toxic family like this without her real mother? Although she had a younger brother and sister, it seemed like they were not close at all. Qiao Hongye and Qiao Zizhou had just stood aside and watched everything happen since they arrived at the hospital.
Although concerned, there was nothing much that Ms. Kim could do at the moment and she returned to the school after comforting Jing Yunzhao.
Ye Qin was barely breathing as night fell and had no choice but to stay in the hospital. Qiao Weimin was a male chauvinist who hated taking care of others, but he was worried that Jing Yunzhao might give Ye Qin the medicines on the prescription she found so for the first time ever, he volunteered to look after Ye Qin in the hospital.
Qiao Hongye, who only cared about her reputation, volunteered to stay too. Qiao Zizhou was too selfish to take care of someone and wasn’t bothered about what others would think of him, so he went home at 11pm.
Ye Qin was declared dead the next afternoon, and her body was covered with a white cloth.
Jing Yunzhao sighed deeply knowing that Ye Qin only passed away so early because of her unreliable husband.
They held a simple funeral for Ye Qin where only some close friends and relatives came to pay their condolences. The Qiao Family were all exhausted after entertaining the visitors those few days and were relieved when the funeral was finally over.
Qiao Weimin didn’t need to pretend to be grieving anymore and was relaxing at home, sipping wine. Qiao Hongye and Qiao Zizhou were with him at the dining table. While the Qiao siblings were sad about the passing of their mother, they were exhausted after the funeral and were relieved that it was over.
“Can me and Zizhou go back to school tomorrow, Father? We have been missing classes and won’t be able to catch up if we continue to miss classes,” said Qiao Hongye sweetly.
“Fine. All three of you should go to school,” Qiao Weimin slurred and nodded, his face flushed.
“Who is going to take care of the household chores now that Mother is not around, Father? It must be difficult to support our studies after spending so much to treat Mother… I wish I was old enough to help you out,” said Qiao Hongye apologetically.
Knowing that Qiao Hongye was only one year younger than her, Jing Yunzhao sneered scornfully.
Did Qiao Hongye think that she wouldn’t understand what she was trying to say? Wasn’t she just trying to convince Qiao Weimin to make her, as the eldest child, quit school to stay at home and take care of the three of them?
Ye Qin had once tried to make her quit school but she finally gave up on the idea because Jing Yunzhao did not spend a single cent to go to school, and also because she was worried about the gossip that might spread.
It was a known fact that Jing Yunzhao was the top student in her school. She might have been accused of being biased if she forced someone as talented as Jing Yunzhao to quit school and she did not want that to happen.
“My daughter, you are such a good girl…” Since Qiao Weimin was drunk, he did not understand what Qiao Hongye was implying. Qiao Hongye wished that she could say it more explicitly, but she told herself not to since her father was just going to forget all about it when he was sober the next day.
The next morning, Qiao Hongye couldn’t help but sulk when she saw Jing Yunzhao leaving the house before the Qiao siblings. She rushed to Qiao Weimin’s room after Jing Yunzhao left and frowned when she smelled the overwhelming scent of alcohol in his room.
Qiao Weimin was lying on his bed in his underwear. The windows were closed and the room was in a mess. Qiao Hongye, being a neat freak, began to feel sick as soon as she stepped into the room.
“Wake up, Father!” Qiao Hongye took a deep breath and said loudly to wake Qiao Weimin up.