Chapter 1767 - Moved Away Long Ago
Chapter 1767: Moved Away Long Ago
Ding Jiayi shrank her neck while looking all around as though she was a thief hiding from Qiao Nan’s landlord. It had been a full minute, but there had not been a single peep from the small space under the staircase.
In the face of such a situation, Ding Jiayi could hardly resist the urge to kick the door down. If it was not for the landlady, she would have kicked the door down long ago and would probably have torn the whole apartment building down by now.
What was she up to? Did she really think she would not need to deal with everything that was going on as long as she continued to hide inside like a tortoise? Fat chance! Even if she continued staying in her shell, Ding Jiayi would stop at nothing to break Qiao Nan’s tortoiseshell apart!
“Landlord, that ‘amazing’ mother of Miss Qiao is here again! Aren’t you going to deal with her?” Ding Jiayi thought that she had restrained her voice and would not be easily discovered. In reality, everyone who had been at home had heard Ding Jiayi’s voice crisp and clear. It was unrestrained and was just as noisy and piercing as usual.
Unlike the landlady who often fought for justice on Qiao Nan’s behalf, when the other residents saw what Qiao Nan was going through, they were in no mood to help Qiao Nan. Neither did they have the means to help her even though they pitied her. They themselves rented apartments in Ping Cheng and worked hard to provide for themselves. They were incapable of earning a high salary, but Qiao Nan was. It was her own pliable nature that caused her to give up all her money to her mom and live in suffering alone.
Only fools would pity people like Qiao Nan, who was too weak to stand up for themselves.
In short, ordinary people like them should focus on getting their lives together before commenting on whether other people were facing some sort of injustice or unfair treatment.
That was simply what the renters thought. No one had any intentions of helping Qiao Nan, but they all respected the landlords’ fighting spirit. Once, their landlady had gotten into an argument with Ding Jiayi just to train her voice, providing the tenants with good entertainment. Today, Ding Jiayi had already been causing trouble for more than five minutes, yet their landlady was nowhere to be seen. Many tenants were curious. Could it be that their landlady’s heroic heart had finally been crushed by Qiao Nan’s soft character?
The landlady fanned herself. “The autumn tiger’s gone, but this autumn weather is still crazy. It’s easy to get dehydrated with this weather. Won’t I just be creating trouble for my liver if I were to get angry at some shameless old lady? She can make as much noise as she wants to. But if she damages any of my things, she’ll have to pay for it all the same.”
She had stepped in purely because she could not bear to see that old b*tch bullying Qiao Nan just because of her identity. Now that Qiao Nan was no longer around, that old b*tch would no longer be able to bully Qiao Nan. Or at least, she would not be able to witness it. Thus, the landlady was no longer as stubborn or passionate about some things.
Knowing that Ding Jiayi’s tantrum would not have any outcome other than tiring herself out, the landlady was content to simply watch on from the sides without even moving a finger, just seeing Ding Jiayi getting upset.
In short, as long as Ding Jiayi did not damage anything of hers, she could not care less about how big a fuss Ding Jiayi kicked up. She would just treat it as though she was watching a drama. Of course, if Ding Jiayi dared to damage any of her things, that would be even better. Then, she would be willing to call out to Ding Jiayi and pluck a few feathers off that miser.
Sure enough, Ding Jiayi clamored for twenty minutes. As the minutes ticked by, Ding Jiayi’s frustration only grew and her shouts only got louder. Ding Jiayi entirely ignored the existence of the landlady. Despite shouting until her throat hoarse, there was not a single response from within the space under the staircase.
Ding Jiayi could not hold it in any longer, and in the spur of a moment, she finally decided to kick the door down with her own foot. But the door did not budge. As such, Ding Jiayi decided to use something to smash the door open.
Immediately, the landlady stepped in. “What are you trying to do by damaging my property? Be careful before I report you to the police.”
Upon seeing the landlady, Ding Jiayi’s anger almost immediately dissipated. “I’m here to look for my daughter…” At the thought that Qiao Nan was simply renting and had not bought that tiny space under the staircase, Ding Jiayi said, “Don’t worry. It’s just a door. If I really damage it, I’ll pay you a hundred yuan.” In short, Qiao Nan should give up the thought that everything would eventually tide over as long as she hid away in her house. That was simply impossible!
She was more than willing to pay for a door just to drag Qiao Nan out.
There was no such thing as a free lunch. Whatever she spent on Qiao Nan today, she would demand several times of that from Qiao Nan one day. No matter what happened, she would never let herself be at a disadvantage and let that wretched girl, Qiao Nan, take advantage of her.
At the mention of needing to pay for any damages, Ding Jiayi, who had never let herself suffer because of Qiao Nan, did not back down. Instead, she brazenly smashed the door and did so with all her might.
The landlady laughed. “Our doors aren’t made from just any cheap material. We buy good quality and ready-made doors. You’re thinking of just paying me a hundred? This will cost at least two hundred!”
“All right. Two hundred it is, then.” Ding Jiayi was in a hurry to drag Qiao Nan to the hospital to retrieve her kidney. A mere two hundred yuan was no match for her daughter, Qiao Zijin’s, life. Without any hesitation, Ding Jiayi dug out two hundred yuan from her pocket and stuffed it into the landlady’s hands. Then, she pushed the landlady aside and demanded that she not get in the way.
After receiving the money, the landlady protested that this amount was insufficient. Ding Jiayi had gotten much more from Qiao Nan, after all. “All right, smash this door as much as you want. Anyway, I’ve had plans to demolish this small space under the staircase.” Not only would Ding Jiayi’s fuss allow her to recoup her losses from the damage to the door, but it would also save her the trouble and money from hiring someone to demolish the place.
This truly was no mean feat. Ever since knowing that there was such a ‘character’ in Ping Cheng that was Ding Jiayi, this was the first time Ding Jiayi was still rather pleasing to the eye. Even such a bad person did something ‘good’ once or twice, after all.
Ding Jiayi, who was entirely focused on smashing the door, was about to stop herself after hearing the landlady’s words. But just at that moment, she had not been able to stop in time and sprained her back instead. Ding Jiayi’s face was all scrunched up, but she did not care about her pain at all and turned to face the landlady in a panic. “Wait a minute. You said that you’re going to demolish this place? Why?” In such a big city like Ping Cheng, Qiao Nan wouldn’t be able to find and rent a place as cheap as this one once it was demolished. In that case, she would have to return to the Qiao family’s house.
Thinking about how Qiao Nan’s rent would increase and she would thus be able to get less money off of Qiao Nan, Ding Jiayi’s heart ached as though someone had cut off a piece of her flesh. “Don’t do that. Don’t you like Qiao Nan? She’s been renting this place for so many years. Don’t you guys have a good relationship with each other by now? Don’t demolish it. She’ll have nowhere to go.”
“Your family is really strange. A father doesn’t know where his daughter is living and what kind of conditions she’s living in. Your husband just came over a few hours ago, and now, it’s your turn. Why? Haven’t you met your husband? Didn’t he tell you that Qiao Nan’s already moved away and is no longer staying here?”