Chapter 1745: Private Collection
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Mom…” Zhai Yi was rather moved. He would never have thought of such a thing had his mom not said something about it. He had never known that the younger sister that he had always wanted to protect had sacrificed so much just so that he and Zhai Xin could fulfill their dreams. He had thought that he understood everything, but as it turned out, what he understood and knew was just the tip of the iceberg.
He thought about how other younger sisters could party all day and throw tantrums willfully and recklessly. It might be chaotic, but at least, they were free. Then, he looked again at his younger sister. She was simply too obedient. She was so obedient that he really wanted to tell her that there was no need for her to be so obedient. She could live her life like other children did and throw a tantrum every once in a while.
The princess of the Zhai family should not have to lead such a life!
“Da Bao, remember all that San Bao has done.” Qiao Nan said seriously and firmly while clasping onto Zhai Yi’s hand.
Zhai Yi laughed bitterly. “Mom, what’s the matter with you? San Bao is our only younger sister. If we don’t treat her well, who’ll we treat well? But I can’t deny that I don’t know enough about how much San Bao has sacrificed for us and how hard she’s worked. Mom, thank you for telling me about this today. San Bao should lead a more carefree life! She’s worked too hard just for Zhai Xin’s and my sake.”
Qiao Nan took a deep breath, feeling that she might have gone a little over the top with her words today. “I don’t know. Perhaps my age is catching up on me. It’s normal for older people to nag and reminisce, after all. I’m fine now. Let’s go have our dinner. Let’s see if San Bao’s back.”
There were too many surprises in life.
In the past, she had not even lived to the age of forty and had remained single with neither partner nor children her entire life. In this life, she had two sons and a daughter and even had such a good husband like Zhai Sheng. Perhaps it was because her life was too blissful that it felt too surreal and unrealistic to her.
Qiao Nan was not afraid of anything else, except for the fact that she might wake up and suddenly realize that she was not Zhai Sheng’s wife, nor the triplets’ mother. What would she do if this was nothing but a dream, and she would never get a chance to see her family and children again?
It was because her thoughts had suddenly been stirred that Qiao Nan had said such worrying words to Da Bao.
“Mom, you’re not old! My new colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have no idea about our relations.h.i.+p, but they’ve been asking me if we’re sisters because of our resemblance to each other! It’s true! Where on earth would we find another mother who looks just as fresh and young as her daughter? Mom, how did you take care of yourself? You should at least teach me! I’m your only daughter!” Zhai Yu’s eyes were slightly red, and her voice was also slightly hoa.r.s.e.
Obviously, Zhai Yu had heard Qiao Nan’s conversation with Zhai Yi. That was why Zhai Yu had been so moved that her eyes reddened and her voice was hoa.r.s.e.
“They’re blind.” Upon seeing her only daughter, Qiao Nan burst into a warm and wide smile as though spring had come. “How many people in this circle don’t know that we’re both working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Those who say such things are just trying to suck up to us. Do you really think they mean what they say? I’m just like the bark of an old tree. How could I ever compare to a young lady like you? Don’t deceive yourself and treat other people’s flattery as the truth!”
Qiao Nan had never taken it to heart when others called them sisters. She was already in her fifties. In another two years, she would reach the age of retirement. How ridiculous was it to say that she was still young and was just as fresh and tender as her daughter!
Maintenance?
All she could say was that those bottles on her dressing table were all gifts from either s.h.i.+ Qing or Fang Fang. She had never spent a single cent purchasing any toners or creams for herself.
At times, Qiao Nan felt that this was the advantage of having best friends. No matter what they bought, they would also have her in mind and would buy some for her too.
Unlike Zhai Hua, s.h.i.+ Qing had made better progress in the military as compared to Zhai Hua. But s.h.i.+ Qing cared much more about beauty than Zhai Hua. Even when she was in the military, s.h.i.+ Qing paid great attention to her face. Not only had s.h.i.+ Qing never neglected the use of makeup and skincare, but all the products that she used only got more expensive by the year!
It was s.h.i.+ Qing who had taught Qiao Nan that she needed to layer all these skincare products onto her face layer by layer until there were about seven to eight layers.
Apart from s.h.i.+ Qing, the other one who paid the most attention to dressing up was undoubtedly Fang Fang. Fang Fang was the kind who would always buy two sets of anything she bought so that she could give a set to Qiao Nan.
For a period of time, Fang Fang had fallen so deep into her hole that she stocked Qiao Nan up with a good two years’ worth of supplies! The money that Fang Fang spent was Gao Yan’s. Gao Yan did not even control Fang Fang’s spending, but the funniest part was that Qiao Nan had gotten so afraid to receive her gifts! After all, these were products with expiration dates. Qiao Nan felt that it would be better to use fresher products.
It was fine if Fang Fang could not help herself and still wanted to shop. Qiao Nan simply hoped that Fang Fang would not purchase two sets of the same thing and send them over to her house.
At that time, these two women bought only expensive anti-aging products. It was not even suitable for Qiao Nan herself to use, so it was even more so unsuitable for her to give them to San Bao.
Of course, once San Bao grew up and started paying attention to her appearance, Qiao Nan never needed to worry about it. Fang Fang and s.h.i.+ Qing had it all covered.
Qiao Nan herself did not mind, but whenever someone asked her about her secret to staying so fresh and young, Qiao Nan could not help but wonder if it was thanks to the products that her two friends had been sending her.
It was not just s.h.i.+ Qing who gave her these products. Fang Fang did as well! And with all these products piling up at home, Qiao Nan was not one to be wasteful. In her previous lifetime, Qiao Nan would never have used such expensive products. Even if she were to walk past the brand in the shopping mall, she would have made a detour to avoid it at all costs!
To someone who felt that buying a new piece of clothing was an unnecessary expense, splurging on such expensive skincare products was simply unthinkable!
Now that she had this opportunity in this lifetime, Qiao Nan felt that she might as well be more daring when using these products, lest they go to waste after their expiration dates. Qiao Nan slapped those products thickly onto her face as though they cost nothing at all. A single set of toner and cream would last Qiao Nan no more than three months.
It was only by maintaining that speed that the stockpile in Qiao Nan’s house had not increased. She had used good products and had used them sufficiently. Qiao Nan touched her face. Was there really a right way to do this?
Seeing Qiao Nan touch her face, Zhai Yu was over the moon. She might not have admitted to it, but they were all women, after all. She could not believe that her mom really felt no joy upon hearing other people’s praises about how she looked young. There was not a single woman on earth who would hate hearing such things. “Mom, don’t be humble about it. My dad has been entranced by you for decades! Sigh. Why does the good guy have to be my dad?”
“That’s right. This good man has already become your mom’s private collection. Don’t even think about it.” Upon hearing his daughter’s words, Zhai Sheng was not moved. Instead, he added on very seriously.