Rebirth: The Ascent of a Socialite-Chapter 580 - 234: Qiao Chu’s Diary (Part 2)

Qiao Zhizhi fetched the only hot water bottle in the house, boiled a pot of water, handed it to Su Ziceng to keep warm, and started rummaging through the house. In the twenty square meter room, there was a musty smell. Apart from two foldable beds used by Qiao Zhizhi and her eighteen-year-old son for resting, there were only their daily necessities scattered about.

Su Ziceng felt a bitterness rising in her throat, making it difficult for her to speak, "Aunt, how did Uncle Zhi’an die, and why did he suddenly change his mind and go to the United States?"

"With the kind of personality my brother had, how could he change his mind? He stayed in Mo City for decades, just to hold onto a love with my cousin that was completely impossible. While he was alive, he was waiting for your father and your mother’s affection to sour. When he died, he was still hoping to catch up to your mother," Qiao Zhizhi found several photo albums with black and white photos of various sizes stuck on them, and at the end were a few colored photos, which were quite rare back then.

"Do you mean to say, Uncle Zhi’an didn’t come to America willingly?" Su Ziceng gazed at the photos of the men and women of the Qiao Family, her eyes lingering on the face of Qiao Chu. As a teenager, Qiao Chu must have been happy, surrounded by people who loved her so dearly, each without any ulterior motives, just purely loving her.

"It was said that while he was perfectly fine in the mountains, he was knocked out by someone. When he woke up, he found himself on a ship bound for the United States. I also suddenly received a message, rushed to the immigration office, and brought him over. When my brother first arrived, I even thanked those who had brought him over, but after arriving in the United States, he refused to eat or drink, speaking nonsense every day, mentioning my cousin, and then mentioning you, saying you resemble my cousin a lot, and mentioning that you went to look for the Wen family’s people, not knowing if you should take back anything from the Qiao Family," during the days she cared for Qiao Zhi’an, Qiao Zhizhi came to roughly understand what Su Ziceng looked like.

It can be said that Qiao Zhi’an was literally tortured to death by homesickness. He wanted to return to Z country, to Mo City, but he was already powerless to do so.

"As you can see my current situation, I can’t return to Mo City anytime soon. This time meeting Ziceng must be fate. I will soon go to collect my brother’s ashes, and when the time comes, you can take my brother’s ashes back to Mo City. If your father agrees, I hope to find a spot next to my cousin’s tomb, so my brother can fulfill his lifelong wish." To not live together in life, but to share the same land in death would probably satisfy Qiao Zhi’an.

After arriving in the United States, Qiao Zhizhi’s life from studying to getting married was quite good, but in recent years her American husband failed in his business and fled alone, making her life difficult. Having never been out much, she could only work as a clothing salesperson to support her daughter and their living, but her eloquence and experience were lacking, so she ended up in a place like Espr, a store with low wages.

"I will definitely do as instructed," Su Ziceng still had some doubts, wondering who it was that took Qiao Zhi’an away from Z country, or more specifically, why it had to be Qiao Zhi’an who left Z country. It would not have been Su Qingzhang, because if it were Su Qingzhang who wanted Qiao Zhi’an to leave Z country, he could have done so many years ago, or even earlier. A man quietly admiring his wife should pose no significant threat to Su Qingzhang.

Nor would it have been Chang Mei, if Chang Mei hated Qiao Chu, she might have made the Qiao Family leave Mo City earlier, but the feeling of guilt mixed with love for Qiao Chu wouldn’t allow her to do any harm to the Qiao Family.

So, who was it really? Who indirectly caused the death of Qiao Zhi’an. Recalling that before leaving, Qiao Zhi’an once instructed her to recover the Qiao Family’s property stored at the Wen family’s place. If Qiao Zhi’an knew about this, did it mean that Qiao Zhizhi would also know?

Regarding the belongings of the Qiao Family stored at the Wen family’s, Qiao Zhizhi surprisingly knew nothing. Turns out Qiao Zhizhi had left Mo City earlier, and after arriving in the United States, she didn’t have much contact with Qiao Zhi’an. "However, there might be a record of it," Qiao Zhizhi hastily searched under the bed again, rummaging around for a long time yet not finding what she was looking for.

"Where did that diary go?" Qiao Zhizhi searched all over the house again, front to back, left to right, in every large and small cabinet. There wasn’t much space in the house to store items, and after searching everywhere, she still couldn’t find the diary she mentioned. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Diary?" Su Ziceng found it strange, wondering how Qiao Zhizhi also had a diary. Could it be she was also a student of Kelly Women’s College?

"I was only sixteen when I left Z country, too young to attend Kelly at that age, but I always had a fondness for Kelly Women’s College. After learning that my cousin had enrolled at Kelly, I constantly pestered her wanting some stuff from Kelly," Qiao Zhizhi cherished things like family treasures, and took out a Kelly uniform, "What I wanted most was the Rose Handbook that could be used for recording things from Kelly."

"Rose Handbook?" Su Ziceng felt a warmth in her chest, her mind buzzing. She had seen Chang Mei’s diary, and Ye Taina’s diary, but had never seen Qiao Chu’s diary.

So, her diary was actually in Qiao Zhizhi’s hands. "I constantly asked for it, but my cousin said each person only gets one diary, and she couldn’t give it to me. I kept repeating it, even in letters, and later, the diary was sent over, but it came with a complex lock. I have consulted many craftsmen but none could open it, so the diary has been kept in the storage box under my bed." Qiao Zhizhi was very anxious, everything else was there, only the diary was missing.

"Mom, I’m back," the eighteen-year-old Melin had just finished her class and walked in through the door. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)