Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 44: Chapter 29: Jie Jingchen, Save Me

”Jie Jingchen, go boil some water. I want to soak my feet,” said Qin Mei.

”Your second sister-in-law is boiling water for a bath,” Jie Jingchen said, his deep gaze falling upon her fair feet. Her heels were blistered, and a strange emotion flickered in the depths of his eyes.

”Oh,” Qin Mei acknowledged. ’If it were anyone else, I’d just have Jie Jingchen get a bucket and take some water. But since it’s Xu Chunyan, forget it,’ she thought.

”Don’t you know acupuncture? Why didn’t you use it on yourself when you were feeling carsick?” Jie Jingchen asked.

Qin Mei didn’t say a word. She had a fear of needles. She could perform acupuncture on others without a second thought, but sticking herself? She’d faint flat out from a single needle.

”Qin Mei,” Jie Jingchen prompted, reminding her he was waiting for her answer.

’This carsickness problem has to be solved. We can’t walk every time we go out; it’s too time-consuming and tiring. I don’t mind, but I’m worried about her getting exhausted.’

”Next time we go out, I won’t eat breakfast. You don’t throw up from carsickness on an empty stomach,” Qin Mei said, dodging the question.

Jie Jingchen did not approve of her solution.

Qin Mei didn’t mention that she had permission to use her father-in-law’s sedan. ’Am I supposed to let a privilege like that go to waste? Next time we go out, I’ll drive his car.’

”By the way, what’s the deal with Jing Wu?” Qin Mei changed the subject.

At the mention of Jie Jingjue, a flash of worry crossed Jie Jingchen’s eyes, and he raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Qin Mei watched Jie Jingchen, then after a moment’s thought, she deliberately complained, ”I asked him to help with the wheelchair, and his reaction was so hurtful. You’d think he’d remember that the person in that chair is his own full sister.”

Jie Jingchen stared at her, his expression complicated. ’What can I even say?’

Qin Mei went on, ”Doesn’t he supposedly care so much for his sister? I never thought he’d be so unreliable when it counted. It’s really disappointing. Jing Qi’s third brother is only her half-brother, and even he’s better than this.”

Jie Jingchen was about to speak when a knock came at the door.

”Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, are you two asleep?” Speak of the devil—it was Jie Jingjue’s voice.

Qin Mei rolled her eyes. ’It’s not even dark out. Asleep? Seriously?’

”It’s not locked,” Jie Jingchen called out from the side of the bed, not even feeling like getting up to open the door.

With her aching feet, Qin Mei was even less willing to get up.

Jie Jingjue pushed the door open and walked in. Qin Mei didn’t look at him, continuing to rub her sore calves. ’He must be here for his fourth brother, not for me,’ she figured.

”Sister-in-law.” Jie Jingjue’s voice was choked with emotion.

It was the voice of someone who had clearly been weeping. Qin Mei looked up, the hand rubbing her calf freezing mid-motion. A flicker of astonishment crossed her almond-shaped eyes as she gazed at Jie Jingjue. His eyes were red. He’d been crying.

’What is going on?’ Qin Mei was completely baffled. She glanced sideways at Jie Jingchen on the edge of the bed.

What Jie Jingjue did next left Qin Mei stunned speechless.

”Sister-in-law.”

Jie Jingjue suddenly fell to his knees, wrapped his arms around Qin Mei’s legs, and started bawling at a deafening volume.

Qin Mei froze, especially her legs, which were trapped in Jie Jingjue’s embrace. She didn’t dare move a muscle.

They say a man doesn’t cry easily, but only because he hasn’t been truly heartbroken.

And here was Jie Jingjue, a grown man, kneeling on the floor, clinging to her legs and sobbing like a child, with no regard for his dignity.

”Ah!” Qin Mei screamed, kicking her legs. She knocked Jie Jingjue over, and he sat on the floor, looking up at her with a tear-streaked, aggrieved expression. ”Jie Jingjue, are you insane? Jie Jingchen, your fifth brother is bullying me! Aren’t you going to do something?”

”Jing Wu, you’re scaring her,” Jie Jingchen reminded him, but he made no move to stop him.

”Sister-in-law, I’m not bullying you,” Jie Jingjue said, looking at Qin Mei with an innocent expression. ’She’s my sister-in-law. Would I dare bully her? Fourth Brother would skin me alive.’

”If you have something to say, say it. And don’t get all handsy; I’m not used to it.” Qin Mei curled up in the chair, afraid to even put her feet on the floor. ’I can’t risk him grabbing my legs and crying all over them again. He’d get tears and snot all over my pants. Tears I can accept, but snot? No way. I’d be completely grossed out.’

Jie Jingjue looked even more aggrieved. ’What an injustice! When was I being ”handsy”?’

”Did you just get your heart broken?” Qin Mei asked. ’For a grown man to cry like this, it’s either his parents died or he got dumped.’

Jie Jingjue fell silent.

She took his silence as confirmation and said, ”Jie Jingjue, I’m just your sister-in-law, not your mother. If you’ve had your heart broken and need to vent, go cry to your mom. If she’s not home, go find one of your other sisters-in-law. Don’t come to me. I’ve only been in this family for two days. We’re practically strangers.”

’Heck, I barely even know Jie Jingchen, let alone Jie Jingjue.’

Watching her detached attitude, the look in Jie Jingchen’s deep eyes darkened.

Jie Jingjue instantly understood that his sister-in-law had misunderstood. He wiped away his tears and snot and explained, ”Sister-in-law, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not heartbroken. These are tears of joy.”

”Tears of joy?” Qin Mei looked blank, then said, ”We barely know each other. Did you come to the wrong person to share your good news? Your fourth brother is sitting right there. Go hug him and cry. I can even step out and give you two the room.”

Qin Mei quickly slipped on her shoes, but before she could even stand up, Jie Jingjue lunged forward and grabbed her legs again.

”Sister-in-law.”

Qin Mei couldn’t take it anymore and cried out to Jie Jingchen for help. ”Jie Jingchen, help me!”

”It’s about Jing Qi,” said Jie Jingchen.

”Jing Qi?” Qin Mei froze, abandoning her attempts to kick Jie Jingjue away. She looked down at him clutching her legs. ”Let go. Say what you have to say, but keep your hands to yourself. Otherwise, I won’t be so nice.”

’For Jing Qi’s sake, I can talk to him properly.’

Jie Jingjue didn’t let go, afraid she would bolt the second he loosened his grip.

”Jing Wu, let her go.” Jie Jingchen’s voice was low and intimidating.

Now that Jie Jingchen had spoken, Jie Jingjue didn’t dare disobey.

Qin Mei settled back into her chair, looking composed. Jie Jingchen was leaning lazily against the headboard, while Jie Jingjue remained kneeling on the floor.

Qin Mei told him to get up and speak, but Jie Jingjue refused. His stubborn insistence on kneeling left Qin Mei at a loss for words.

”Sister-in-law, if you can cure Jing Qi’s legs, I’ll work like a dog for you to repay this incredible kindness,” Jie Jingjue declared.

Qin Mei was surprised. ’He’s not questioning my ability. He’s just making a promise straight out.’

’Where is he getting the confidence that I can cure Jie Jingshan’s legs?’

”Alright. I’ll be waiting for you to work like a dog for me to repay my ’incredible kindness,’” Qin Mei said with a confident smile, speaking bluntly without any fancy embellishment.

”Sister-in-law!” Jie Jingjue was overwhelmed with excitement and was about to lunge toward Qin Mei again.

This time, Qin Mei was prepared. A step ahead of Jie Jingjue, she jumped off the chair. Jie Jingjue lunged into empty space, his chin smacking against the chair.

”Ow!” Jie Jingjue cried out in pain, rubbing his aching chin and looking at Qin Mei with a wronged expression. ”Sister-in-law.”

”Are you willing to do your part to help treat Jing Qi’s legs?” Qin Mei asked.

Jie Jingjue was stunned for a moment, then began nodding furiously. ”Sister-in-law, just tell me what to do.”

Qin Mei pressed her lips together in a smile, her almond eyes glinting with a cunning light. She pointed to a few new enamel basins on the side. ”Take the foot basin, fill it halfway with hot water, and bring it in here.”

”Okay!” Jie Jingjue was overjoyed. He immediately got up, hastily wiping his tears. He looked at the new enamel basins, all with different patterns, and asked with a lost expression, ”Sister-in-law, which one is the foot basin?”

Qin Mei didn’t say a word. She just walked over, picked up the enamel basin with the ”happiness” character on it, and handed it to Jie Jingjue.

Qin Mei was very particular; all her basins had separate uses. Back at the Sun Family home, she alone used four different enamel basins and a bucket.

The Jie Family members were also particular and wouldn’t just use other people’s things. Since there was only one bathroom for everyone, people would take their personal items back to their rooms after use to avoid any mix-ups.

Jie Jingchen had brought her to the Jie Family home without any advance notice, so none of her own toiletries were prepared. For the past two days, she had been using Jie Jingchen’s things.

Qin Mei leaned on the windowsill, gazing toward the kitchen and muttering to herself, ’Xu Chunyan is no pushover. Now Jie Jingjue is going to get the water she boiled... I wonder if they’ll start a fight in there? If they do, I should probably go and take his side.’

”They won’t,” Jie Jingchen said with certainty.