Chapter 136: Hoping for May–December Romance

“Really?” Qiao Nan’s eyes lit up. “Can you help me now—Wait, are you really so kind?” Wang Yang was not the type who would be kind to anyone.

“Believing it or not is up to you. Do you really want me to help you contact him?” Wang Yang snorted.

“Yes!” Qiao Nan knitted her brows. “When can you give me a reply?”

“You can wait. Even if I manage to contact Zhu Baoguo now, it would probably take some time for Zhu Baoguo to get back to you. You can go home and wait.”

“...” Qiao Nan clenched her fists. “Are you playing a prank on me?”

“Again, believing it or not is up to you.” With this, Wang Yang simply left.

When he was further away, Wang Yang turned his head back and gave Qiao Nan a glance. “Pey, what are you? Just take your time and wait! You won’t die of anxiety!”

Wang Yang was deliberately making fun of Qiao Nan. He saw that Qiao Nan was very anxious and purposely said that to delay her. Even if he could not do anything to Qiao Nan, it was good enough to make her feel disgusted. Well, Qiao Nan was the one who disgusted him first.

Wang Yang was happy, but Qiao Nan felt like she nearly lost all her hopes.

After Wang Yang left, she had the feeling that Wang Yang would not help her contact Zhu Baoguo. Even if she chased over to ask him for Zhu Baoguo’s contact, Wang Yang would definitely not reveal it to her.

There was no one else in the Lee family’s residence now, and Zhu Baoguo was also not at home. Besides, the Qiao family’s situation was tantamount to having severed ties with their relatives. Since it was such a huge sum of money, who else could she request to borrow from? She could not possibly just let it be and leave her father to die.

For a moment, Qiao Nan panicked. Tears pooled in her eyes as she cried very miserably.

At this time, Zhai Sheng, who was resting in the army camp’s office after training a batch of new recruits, heard the phone rang before he could take a sip of warm water.

Zhai Sheng drank his water as he picked up the phone. His voice sounded deep and resonant. “Hello.”

“...”

There was no sound from the other end of the phone, and Zhai Sheng could hear a deeply suppressed breathing. When he heard a sob, Zhai Sheng tested and asked, “Qiao Nan?”

“Zhai... Brother Zhai...” Right after she called Brother Zhai, Qiao Nan broke down emotionally.

“Don’t cry first. What happened?” Zhai Sheng put down his cup and sat up properly.

“My... my dad was hit by a car.” Qiao Nan was crying till she could hardly talk, causing her speech to be intermittent. Fortunately, Zhai Sheng was good at listening and understood her.

“Your dad was hit by a car and is in the hospital now?” Knowing that Qiao Nan was definitely very emotional now, Zhai Sheng spoke for Qiao Nan. After he received a snuffled affirmative reply, he continued to ask, “Do you need a lot of money?”

It seemed that all of the Qiao family’s money had been spent on the elder daughter so that she could attend The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.

Uncle Qiao was hit by a car and the surgery fees alone would be a major expense.

“Yes...” Qiao Nan bit her lips and did not want to cry. When she heard Zhai Sheng’s voice, she was not sure of the reason, but her tears could not stop falling—she simply could not stop crying.

“Which hospital?”

After Qiao Nan gave the name of the hospital, Zhai Sheng resumed, “Go to the hospital and wait first.”

Qiao Nan, who had been crying nonstop, had not regained her senses even after Zhai Sheng hanged up. Only after she heard the beeping sound coming from the other side did Qiao Nan proceed to hang up and passed 0.50 yuan to the phone owner.

“How’s it? Did you borrow any money? How much did you borrow?” When Qiao Nan reached the hospital, Ding Jiayi grabbed Qiao Nan’s shoulder and asked.

“Sister-in-law!” The colleague who was there earlier saw the situation and his expression changed. “Qiao Nan is just a child! Qiao Nan, don’t be anxious. Uncle went back to the factory to raise money just now. I have raised and paid two hundred yuan for you. There will be other ways. If there is not, we can ask the factory owner to lend us money and make a loan agreement or something.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Qiao Nan gave a dry smile. “Uncle, please keep a watch here. I am leaving for a while.”

Qiao Nan was in a terrible mood. She was unwilling to see Ding Jiayi, this mother of hers, at this point in time.

Such a thing had happened in the family. Ding Jiayi—the mother—only knew to expect Qiao Nan—the younger daughter—to borrow the money needed for Qiao Dongliang’s surgery expenses. Ding Jiayi was probably the only mother who would do that in the whole world.

“Alright, don’t be too worried.” The colleague seemed understanding. Earlier, he felt odd that Qiao Nan was particularly calm. When he saw Qiao Nan’s eyes were obviously red and swollen from crying, he sighed.

Qiao Nan was not only good at her studies but also good in concealing her emotions. When she was worried and scared, she would rather hide and cry alone than do in front of others.

At the entrance of the hospital, Qiao Nan stood for quite a while until she saw a green military jeep arriving. Her eyes lit up and she went over.

However, the person who alighted from the jeep was not Zhai Sheng, but a stranger in military attire.

The soldier was stunned for a moment when she saw the young lady with tearful eyes. He went up to her and asked, “Are you Qiao Nan?”

“Yes.”

“That’s right. Officer Zhai sent me here. Take this envelope and keep it well.” The soldier took out a thick envelope and passed it to Qiao Nan. “Officer Zhai just received a mission, so he is unable to come. He asked you not to worry. If you have any other urgent matters, you can look for me if you can’t find Officer Zhai.”

“Thank you.” Qiao Nan bowed to the soldier. Qiao Nan could not remember how many bows she had made today, including those for embarrassment and gratitude. Other than this action, she did not know what else she could do.

“No, no need.” The soldier was in a fluster. There were so many burly men in the army camp that it was rare to be able to see a gentle lady. The soldier was feeling shy. He did not expect the beautiful young lady to be so polite. He received a bow just by helping Officer Zhai send her something.

The soldier’s face was red with embarrassment. “You... do you need my help for anything else?”

“There is no need. Sorry to have made you run this special trip. Thank you.” Qiao Nan held on tightly to the envelope in her hands because in it was the money for saving Qiao Dongliang’s life.

“If there is nothing else, then... then, I shall leave.” The more polite Qiao Nan was, the more awkward the soldier felt. After he boarded the green jeep and was driving halfway, he slapped his head angrily. “So stupid! How could I forget to ask for her name when it was such a good opportunity?”

He often complained about having no chance to come into contact with members of the opposite gender in the army camp. It was rare for him to meet with such a beautiful lady today, but he actually became dumb when he really did.

She was very beautiful but she looked a little young.

The soldier whose heart was moved was in a dilemma. He never thought about the relationship between his Officer Zhai—who was as cold-blooded as Yama, the King of Hell—and this young lady.

When the soldier saw Qiao Nan again many years later, he felt sore whenever he had to call her ‘sister-in-law’ courteously. His own officer was shameless enough to be in a May–December romantic relationship!