Chapter 120: There Must Be Another Way

Chapter 120: There Must Be Another Way

Ji Qingqing was filled with anxiety. In the past, her relationship with Su Jianjun had been quite harmonious.

Whatever she said, Su Jianjun would heed her words, and even if she acted a bit spoiled, as long as she coaxed him in bed, Su Jianjun would immediately become obedient again.

But now, those old tricks didn’t cut it anymore.

The more she tried, the more irritable he seemed to become, losing his temper for no reason.

Thinking about how Su Jiao had said she looked much older, Ji Qingqing couldn't help but touch her own face. Had her beauty faded recently? Had Su Jianjun developed a wandering eye?

Ji Qingqing's heart skipped a beat. Su Jianjun had a history of infidelity.

She secretly decided that tonight, she would dress up and make sure to win him back.

"Jiao Jiao, never mind about me. Is there still any room for negotiation in your situation?"

Ji Qingqing gritted her teeth. "Didn't you say before that your teacher thought highly of you? Couldn’t we ask the teacher to put in a good word for us? At worst, we could make up the six hundred yuan."

Su Jiao shook her head. Thinking about how she had been expelled from school like a stray dog, she didn’t have the courage to beg her teacher for help.

When the higher-ups came down, not only was she implicated, but even her homeroom teacher and the school's leadership were severely reprimanded. Her homeroom teacher had been punished for shielding students, and even the school's Director and vice-principal had been dragged into it.

At the time, her homeroom teacher had looked at her as if he wanted to devour her. How could he possibly help her now?

Seeing Su Jiao's despondent expression, Ji Qingqing quickly asked, "There’s got to be another way. There’s got to be another way."

"By the way, Jiao Jiao, what about that close friend of yours? The one whose family has connections? The one who lives in the penthouse suite at Longxiang Mansion? I remember he was very attentive to you before. Couldn't we ask him for help? At worst, we could switch schools. If that doesn't work, we could even switch to a less prestigious school."

"We only have a little over a year left before the college entrance exams. Once we get in, we can choose a school far away. No one will know about this little incident back home."

"My Jiao Jiao is beautiful, smart, and so likable. Once we get past this hurdle, you'll have a bright future ahead!"

Su Jiao instinctively touched her face and lowered her eyes. "Beautiful? Does this face still have anything to do with beauty?"

Ji Qingqing pried Su Jiao's hand away and carefully examined her daughter's face, her hatred unconcealed. "That old hag from the Zhao family is truly cruel. How could she be so heartless to a young girl? She deserves to burn in the deepest level of hell when she dies."

Su Jiao's eyelashes trembled slightly, fragile and helpless. "Mom, I..."

Ji Qingqing automatically ignored the obvious depression in the wound that didn't match the smooth skin around it. She comforted Su Jiao, "It’s alright, it’s alright. That ointment should still be effective. The wound has already healed. There are just a few pink marks left. Because your skin is naturally fair, they stand out a bit. But given more time, they'll definitely fade..."

After comforting Su Jiao, Ji Qingqing's eyes flashed with resentment. "Our family is in this mess, and we mother and daughter have suffered so much, all because of Su An and her brother Su Ping."

"The Zhao family targeted us because of Su An. If it weren't for her, the Zhao family would never have come knocking on our door. If it weren't for her, your face wouldn't be like this! Su Ping was able to escape from this family because of Su An. I never realized before how deep that girl's schemes ran."

"Jiao Jiao, don't worry. I won’t let her off the hook!"

"And this time, we can't just swallow this injustice. Luckily, I had the foresight to make her sign a receipt when she took the money! They can't deny this. They took our money and still had the nerve to report us. I’ll make them pay it back twice over. Otherwise, just watch me ruin Zhao Daxing's career!"

A dark glint appeared in Su Jiao's eyes. "Mom, do you think Su An might be behind this? She resented me for taking her chance to continue her studies, so she stirred up conflict between our families, pitting us against each other so she could reap the benefits?"

Ji Qingqing's eyes showed suspicion. "I've actually thought about that too. All these years, she's always been quiet and obedient at home. Sometimes if we raised our voices, she would tremble. You've seen it before—we could make up any excuse to keep her from eating at the table, and she wouldn't dare say a word."

"But after she got married, it's like she became a completely different person. It’s strange."

"Either Su An has always been deeply scheming, pretending to be meek and submissive all these years at home, and now that she's married and has a backer, she feels emboldened to show her true colors and can’t wait to cause harm."

"There's another possibility," Ji Qingqing said sternly, "and that is that the Zhao family has had their eyes on us for a long time, knowing our family situation, and taking advantage of the leverage they have over us. They not only want to get a daughter-in-law for free but also want to take a chunk out of us!"

"I think it's more likely that they instigated Su An to cause trouble at our house, wanting to take that money back. Last time we couldn't come up with the money, they felt cheated and, driven by resentment, decided to retaliate against us!"

At this point, Ji Qingqing recalled the incident when Zhao Daxing came to demand Su An, "By the way, it was when they came to our door looking for Su An that we found out Su Ping's household registration documents had also been taken away."

Su Jiao asked in confusion, "They were looking for Su An?"

"Yes, they said Su An had run away, accused our family of marriage fraud, demanded we return the bride price, and compensate them for their losses!"

Su Jiao thought of her appearance, scarred by Xiao Jiliang's scratches, and her expression turned fierce.

"How dare they come again!"

"Mom, we shouldn't have let them off so easily last time! They were the ones who came to our door, and after our family suffered such a big loss, they still took six hundred yuan (approximately $90) from us. What were you thinking?"

Ji Qingqing retorted angrily, "Don't you remember being there that day? If we had continued to make a scene, your father would have lost his job. If it weren't for Lin Zhaodi, that old woman, having a sudden stroke, and the factory leaders fearing bad publicity, they might have let us off the hook. Otherwise, we might be on the streets by now!"

Su Jiao fell silent for a moment, then said, "Mom, do you think someone can pretend for so many years? All these years, Su An has been at our house, enduring your beatings and scoldings. The fear in her eyes wasn't fake. If she could endure all that, she must be a natural-born actress. Maybe it really is, as you said, a scheme orchestrated by the Zhao family!"