Chapter 56

When Qiao Baihe said those words, Qiao Yunbai puffed out his chest and snorted at He Baiqiang.
“My sister is a hundred times better than that crybaby of yours who does nothing but bawl! I’m not giving my sister to you—she’s mine!”

“You don’t understand, Yunbai,” Qiao Xinyi said. “Some people might look like all they do is cry, but crying is just their disguise. In reality, their minds are full of tricks, like a beehive. If you ever come across someone who cries over everything and looks like they’re about to faint from sadness, stay as far away as you can. People like that will devour you whole and not spit out a single bone—they’re bad news.”

She gave a little laugh and added, “But Yunbai’s got one thing right—Qiao Baihe is better than He Rou. Some people just want everything. They want what’s theirs, and they still want what isn’t. Greedy to the core.”

Chen Yubing gripped Qiao Baihe’s hand tightly and looked firmly at the He family.
“You’ve heard what the child said, haven’t you? You all should go. Baihe is my daughter. Don’t worry—she won’t have anything to do with your family from now on. You don’t need to worry she’ll ever come looking for you again.”

Chen Yubing’s words brought a smile to Qiao Baihe’s face. She nodded hard.

“I may be poor,” Chen Yubing said, “but I can raise my own daughter. I don’t need your gifts or your money. Take your things and go—I don’t want anything from the He family.”

After Chen Yubing issued her second dismissal, the expressions on the He family adults’ faces turned sour. Even He Baiqiang, who had just been scolded by Qiao Baihe, pouted unhappily. Hearing Chen Yubing telling them to leave, he tugged on He Rou’s arm and started urging the adults to go as well.

Old Lady He pursed her lips, clearly suppressing her anger. She glanced over at He Shengli. He Shengli had a headache—he knew that the best thing today would be to bring Baihe back. That way, he could explain things to his superiors and shut up the gossipers in the family housing compound.

“Comrade Chen Yubing,” he said, “I know my daughter grew up with you, and I’m grateful you raised her. But she is my biological daughter. You have a daughter of your own—you should know it’s not right to fight with someone over their child, is it?”

“Besides, our family is better off than yours. If Baihe came back to live with us, it would be better for her. She just graduated high school—if she doesn’t get into college, we can use our connections to help her get a job. She could live a more successful, prestigious life. If you really care about her, would you want her to stay and suffer with your whole poor family?”

Those two sentences left Chen Yubing speechless. The He family’s material conditions truly were better than the Qiao family’s. Honestly speaking, if the He family was willing to help Qiao Baihe, her future would be completely different from what it would be staying with the Qiao family.

When Chen Yubing turned to look at her, Qiao Baihe gently shook her head and gripped Chen Yubing’s hand even more tightly to show her determination to stay.

“I don’t have any ambitions to be some high-status person,” Qiao Baihe said. “I just want to be an ordinary person. I’ll get into college through my own efforts. Once I graduate, the government will assign me a job. I’ll live the life I deserve, stay by my mom’s side, be with my little brother, and with Xinyi. That’s all I want in this life.”

As soon as she finished, Zhou Yun let out a disdainful snort.
“Easier said than done. You think you can just say you’ll get into college and it’ll happen? What, do you think college is like a vegetable market you can just walk into?”

Every year, how many people take the college entrance exam? And how many actually make it through the gates of a university? He Rou had already worked incredibly hard, and the He family had far better resources than the Qiao family—yet even she hadn’t passed last year and had to repeat the grade to try again this year. The He family could hire tutors for He Rou—could the Qiao family do that? With what the Qiao family had, did Qiao Baihe really think she could get into college?

“Just because your daughter didn’t get in doesn’t mean mine won’t,” Qiao Xinyi said, patting Qiao Baihe, who was clearly getting anxious.

In those days, people prided themselves on humility, so when Zhou Yun challenged Qiao Baihe like that, Baihe didn’t dare speak too confidently and say she definitely would get in.

When Qiao Xinyi was bored, she had looked through Qiao Baihe’s old test papers and also heard Chen Yubing and Qiao Yunbai talk about Baihe’s usual grades. Even Chen Yubing and Qiao Yunbai had no doubt whatsoever that Baihe could get into college. And as for Qiao Xinyi, the word “humility” didn’t exist in her vocabulary.

“Your daughter didn’t get in because she was too busy thinking about dating and playing mind games. If she had gotten in, then your He family must have some divine connections!” Qiao Xinyi spread her hands. “Ugh, isn’t it just infuriating? Your daughter getting into college is as hard as Captain He getting promoted, while ours getting into college is as easy as going grocery shopping. That’s what you get when you’ve got a mom who knows how to raise her kids—you raise them casually, and they still turn out to be college students.”

This made every member of the He family look furious—especially He Shengli. She had hit him right where it hurt. He’d already been troubled for years about how hard it was for him to get promoted, and now this young girl just blurted it out in public. His pride and dignity were thoroughly shattered.

“And also,” Qiao Xinyi added, “if you really loved your child, you’d respect her choice.”

Moral high ground? Who couldn’t play that game?

“If you love her, then respect her decision. That’s what good parents do.”

Now it was the He family’s turn to be speechless. Qiao Baihe was already nineteen. At her age, and under these circumstances, even calling the police wouldn’t help.

Old Lady He snorted coldly.
“Kids these days really dare say anything. I’d love to see what kind of ‘college student’ your Qiao family can actually raise!”

“You’ve really broken your parents’ hearts today, Baihe,” Zhou Yun added, scolding her. “You’ve let the Qiao family trample all over our dignity. I’m telling you now, if you don’t come back with us today, even if you cry and beg in the future, we won’t want you!”

“You may be our biological daughter, but He Rou is the one who actually grew up with us. You don’t have even a fraction of her obedience or filial piety. If you don’t come home with us, we’re not going to beg. Just remember—someday, you’ll regret this!”

After saying this, Zhou Yun grabbed He Rou’s hand and turned to leave first. He Rou walked while crying, constantly looking back at Qiao Baihe. She cried out:

“Qiao Baihe, I’m begging you, if you want to hate someone, hate me! I’ll kneel and kowtow to you, I’ll apologize—just forgive Mom and Dad, come back home with us!”

She pretended to struggle, even saying,
“If you don’t like me, then…”

At that, He Rou started sobbing harder and more pitifully.

“Then I’ll give you your home back, your mom and dad back, okay? I’ll just go die—if I die, you won’t have to care about me anymore!”

Every one of her words sounded like she was pleading with Baihe, but in reality, each one fanned the flames of the He family’s rage.

“No need to beg her! We’re leaving!” He Shengli roared. “From now on, your mother and I only recognize you as our daughter!”

It was at that moment that Chen Ju came hopping out—literally on one foot. She hadn’t even stepped out the door yet when her voice rang out.

“Take your money-losing child and get lost! Don’t think you can dump her on us for free again! And another thing—our Qiao family raised your kid for nineteen years! Pay back every cent we spent raising her!”

Chen Ju had known someone was visiting the house today and initially thought it was someone looking for Chen Yubing. She’d eavesdropped for a bit and realized it was actually Qiao Baihe’s birth parents coming to take her away. She couldn’t sit still anymore—and came hopping out immediately.