Song Qiao finally rushed to his daughter's school before dismissal.
"Sorry, I'm late." From a distance, he saw the sisters Xia Yuqing and Xia Xueqing standing at the school gate with grim faces.
"Dad, you're finally here." His daughter Xixi suddenly rushed out from the school gate and hugged a panting Song Qiao.
"Oh, good Xixi, sorry Dad is late." Song Qiao picked up his daughter, his voice full of apology.
Xia Xueqing, standing aside, rolled her eyes at Song Qiao: "Oh, Mr. 'Busy Man' is finally here. This is really not easy!"
While speaking sarcastically, she raised her hand to cover her nose, her face filled with disgust.
Song Qiao frowned slightly. The stinky tofu shop wasn't open today. He had specifically taken a shower last night, so there was no way he could still smell of stinky tofu.
Xia Xueqing was clearly provoking him and humiliating him.
Fortunately, he had become completely immune to Xia Xueqing's sarcastic attitude and ignored her.
Turning around, he explained to his wife with a look of apology: "Sorry, wife, I was busy and forgot. Don't worry, I will definitely pay the money."
"Tch, still playing tough now, your words are no better than farts. Running away all the time, what kind of man are you?"
Seeing that Song Qiao was ignoring her, Xia Xueqing became like a dog with its tail stepped on and continued to mock him.
"Have you had enough?" Song Qiao suddenly lowered his voice and yelled at her. The commanding aura he had cultivated over the years instantly suppressed her.
Xia Xueqing, who was originally acting aggressively, couldn't help but shiver when she looked at his stern eyes. Her voice was instantly silenced.
Song Qiao took a deep breath, calming himself down. Xia Xueqing was going too far. He had always tolerated her because she was his wife's sister, but his repeated concessions had only made her more presumptuous.
He knew he owed Yuqing and his daughter, but he didn't owe his sister-in-law.
"Enough, stop arguing."
Xia Yuqing, who had been standing aside and silent, rushed forward, separating her sister and husband who were on the verge of a fight.
Then, with disappointment in her eyes, she took out a sum of money with exact denominations from her bag and stuffed it into Song Qiao's hand, saying coldly, "This is my last bit of savings. Take this money and pay Xixi's teacher."
This afternoon, when Xia Yuqing came to school, her parents had taken out the tuition fees they had prepared for their granddaughter.
But for some unknown reason, Xia Yuqing inexplicably refused, and now she had taken out her living expenses that she had saved for several months.
Song Qiao didn't take the money Xia Yuqing handed him. He shook his head and said, "No need, wife, I have money."
After speaking, he turned to enter the school.
"It's this time, and you're still boasting! Where did you get so much money?"
Seeing that Song Qiao was still being stubborn and enduring suffering at this point, Xia Yuqing scolded him loudly.
Unexpectedly, Song Qiao didn't look back. He walked closer to the class teacher who was watching the commotion from inside the school gate and paid his daughter's tuition fees to her.
Then, to the stunned gazes of Xia Xueqing and Xia Yuqing, he took out a thousand yuan from his pocket and handed it to his wife.
"Wife, you've suffered during this time. Take this thousand yuan for now. If it's not enough, just call me anytime."
Xia Yuqing looked at the man with firm eyes in disbelief, unable to believe her eyes. For a moment, she was stunned.
After a long while, she asked doubtfully, "You, where did you get so much money?"
Song Qiao stuffed the money into Xia Yuqing's hand and replied with a smile, "Didn't I tell you yesterday? I opened a stinky tofu shop in the market. This money is all earned in the past few days."
"Nonsense, do you really think we're three-year-olds? I don't believe selling snacks can earn so much money in just a few days. And it's that smelly stinky tofu."
"In my opinion, he probably went gambling again these past two days."
Xia Xueqing, having recovered from Song Qiao's scolding, couldn't help but mock him again.
Xia Yuqing was also half-believing Song Qiao's words. After all, 1,000 yuan was not a small amount, and it was impossible for a small snack shop to profit that much in a few days.
Thinking of this, she felt even more disappointed in her husband.
Gamblers' words couldn't be trusted. Song Qiao, who had thrown money around in casinos, thought 1,000 yuan was easy to earn, and couldn't even make up a decent lie to her.
Hearing her sister's ruthless accusations, she was extremely annoyed.
She turned her head and said coldly, "Whatever he does, as long as the money is paid."
After speaking, she pulled her daughter and sister away from the school. Seeing this, Song Qiao also pushed his cart and followed.
Back home.
Her mother-in-law was already waiting at home.
As soon as she entered, she asked her daughter, "Yuqing, why are you back so late today? Did Song Qiao pay the money today?"
Xixi proudly said to her grandma, "Dad definitely went. Dad paid my tuition fees."
Xia Xueqing pouted disdainfully from the side, "We still don't know where he got the money. I'd say he probably went gambling again."
"Alright, Xueqing, say less." Xia Yuqing couldn't bear to let Song Qiao lose face in front of her mother and stopped her sister's sharp tongue.
Song Qiao awkwardly greeted his mother-in-law and crouched down to chat with his daughter.
"Xixi, how have you been at school lately? Is anyone bullying you at school?"
"Did you miss Dad?"
The little girl hadn't interacted with Song Qiao for a long time. Since Song Qiao became addicted to gambling, he had been indifferent to his daughter, completely neglecting his fatherly responsibilities.
Now, the kind and loving father of the past had returned.
She excitedly answered her dad's questions, her voice filled with joy.
"Ahem, Xixi, you haven't finished your homework yet. Don't forget you have to go to school tomorrow." Xia Yuqing interrupted their father-daughter chat.
"Ah, can Dad take us out to play this weekend? Our family hasn't gone out to play for a long time." Xixi said with some disappointment, tugging at Song Qiao's clothes.
"We'll talk about going out later. Go inside and do your homework." Xia Yuqing put on a stern face and said to Xixi.
The little girl was still quite afraid of her mother. She stuck out her tongue at Song Qiao and turned to go into the room to do her homework.
"Song Qiao, you'd better take care of yourself first and don't make promises easily. If this situation happens again, I can't guarantee I'll wait for you."
Xia Yuqing's voice was clear and cold, and she showed a clear indifference to Song Qiao, pushing him away.
Song Qiao nodded and promised his wife, "I definitely won't forget next time. Next Sunday morning, I'll come to pick you and your daughter up."
After speaking, he turned and left the Xia family.