Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 150: Chapter 64: Egging on Jing 5 to Slaughter a Rooster

Jie Jingchen stared at her, his face taut and exuding a gloomy chill. A complex emotion flickered in the depths of his dark eyes. He pressed his thin lips together, not replying to Qin Mei.

He looked down on others, and Qin Mei looked down on him. Her line, ”You’re the one robbing the cradle,” had hit Jie Jingchen hard.

Jie Jingchen turned and strode away.

Qin Mei froze, stunned. ’Is he angry?’ She had spoken the truth, but clearly, he didn’t want to hear it.

Her left eye ached, and it was a strain to see with her right. Qin Mei closed her eyes to rest them, and before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.

The extent to which Mr. Xie doted on his sister-in-law, Zhang Hongying, was beyond Qin Mei’s imagination. Zhang Hongying had only been back in her home village for about ten days, but upon her return, Mr. Xie was taking the entire family to the state-run restaurant to welcome her back.

Mrs. Xie couldn’t go because she had to work overtime. Jie Jingchen politely declined, using his injury as an excuse, and Qin Mei did the same, citing her injured eye. No one asked for Jie Jingshan’s opinion; they clearly had no intention of bringing her along.

Jie Jingjue went with them, which made Qin Mei worry for him. He was practically an outsider. ’How does he manage to fit in with them?’

When Mr. Xie came home from work, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Hu Wan’er. Evidently, Zhang Hongying had sought his approval before bringing Hu Wan’er to the Jie Family’s home, and he had agreed. No wonder Zhang Hongying dared to arrange for Hu Wan’er to share a room with Jing Qi.

Qin Mei had always assumed Zhang Hongying’s goal was to make Jing Qi’s life miserable. It wasn’t until she overheard the conversation between Zhang Hongying and Mr. Xie that she realized the woman had an ulterior motive.

”Brother-in-law, I brought Wan’er to the Jie family home and had her stay in Jing Qi’s room so she could easily take care of him, helping with his bedpan and all. But it turns out the Fourth Wife of Jing was unhappy, and Jing Qi resisted, too. Brother-in-law, should I not have brought Wan’er here? Maybe I should just send her home... But, my poor Wan’er... her life is so hard. That good-for-nothing dead father of hers was a monster, trying to force her to marry the village bully,” Zhang Hongying sobbed.

”What are you talking about? Marriage is no small matter. Hong Ying, don’t let your mind run wild. We have a spare room in the house, so just let Wan’er stay here without any worries,” said Mr. Xie.

Zhang Hongying seized the opportunity. ”Brother-in-law, could you see if there’s anyone at your factory who might be a good match for Wan’er? If so, you could introduce them. If they hit it off, and if his parents don’t object to her... Brother-in-law, Wan’er’s marriage prospects are a constant weight on my heart. If my sister’s spirit is watching from heaven... Oh, look at me. Why did I have to bring her up again? I’m sorry, Brother-in-law. I couldn’t stop myself.”

Jie Jingchen came into the room with an aluminum lunchbox and saw Qin Mei sitting under the window, lost in thought. He called her name a few times, but she didn’t hear.

”Qin Mei.”

Qin Mei jumped, startled. Shaking off her thoughts, she glared at Jie Jingchen. ”You scared me.”

”What were you thinking about? You were totally lost in thought.” Jie Jingchen set the aluminum lunchbox on the desk.

”Your dad’s conversation with Aunt Zhang,” Qin Mei blurted out. Worried he would get the wrong idea, she quickly added, ”Don’t misunderstand, I wasn’t eavesdropping. They were standing right in the courtyard, talking so loudly right outside our window. It would’ve been hard not to hear them. I’m starting to wonder if they did it on purpose so I’d overhear.”

”Dad doesn’t have that much free time,” Jie Jingchen said, rolling his eyes at Qin Mei. He gestured for her to join him. ”Come on, eat.”

Qin Mei stood up, pulled a chair over to the desk, and opened the aluminum lunchbox. Looking at the food inside, her appetite instantly vanished. It was so plain. ”Did Second Aunt make this?”

”No.” Jie Jingchen shook his head.

”You bought it then?” Qin Mei asked. Jie Jingchen didn’t answer, simply urging her to eat. Qin Mei tried again, ”Have you and Jing Qi eaten yet?”

”We have,” Jie Jingchen replied. Seeing her look of disbelief, he added, ”We had dumplings.”

At the mention of dumplings, Qin Mei’s appetite suddenly returned.

After eating about a third of the food, Qin Mei couldn’t manage another bite. Jie Jingchen didn’t press her, simply taking the lunchbox to the kitchen to wash it.

Jie Jingchen heated water for a bath and called for Qin Mei to wash up. As always, he stood guard outside the bathroom, waiting for her. When she emerged, he draped a large coat over her. His own wound had finally scabbed over. Having not bathed in days, Jie Jingchen felt unbearably grimy, so he took a long, comfortable bath himself.

When Mrs. Xie got home from work, Jie Jingchen was just stepping out of the bathroom.

”Who told you you could take a bath?” Mrs. Xie demanded, her face cold.

”Mom, the wound has already scabbed over,” Jie Jingchen said, exasperated.

”It doesn’t matter if it’s scabbed. Couldn’t you have waited a couple more days to be safe? You hurt your back, it’s not like you can perform your husbandly duties anyway. What’s the big rush?” Mrs. Xie scolded.

Mrs. Xie had a clear double standard. She would never let anyone else point out her son’s sore spots, but she felt perfectly free to poke them herself.

Jie Jingchen stared at his mother, speechless. ’It’s not just that I can’t do anything to Qin Mei with my injured back,’ he thought. ’Even if my back was fine, and I wanted to do something... it’s not like she’d be willing.’