Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 184: Chapter 75: Qin Mei, Thank You_2

Jie Jingchen fell silent. As for Qin Mei’s family, he only knew Qin Xiang. He had never met anyone else, nor had he ever been to Qin Mei’s home. It was hard to say whether the Qin Family would even welcome him as a son-in-law.

”We’ll see,” Jie Jingchen said tactfully.

Her family was in Yangcheng City, and they were both busy with work. Arranging a meeting between the two families would be genuinely difficult.

Mrs. Xie patted Jie Jingchen’s shoulder. ”When your father and I aren’t so busy, we’ll go to Yangcheng City to pay our respects to your in-laws.”

Qin Mei returned from the toilet to find the door locked from the inside. She pounded on it hard. ”Jie Jingchen, what is wrong with you? You actually locked the door from the inside! What do you mean by this?”

Jie Jingchen looked completely innocent. Mrs. Xie got up to open the door for Qin Mei.

”Jie Jingchen, you... Mom...” Qin Mei froze, regretting her crude and irritable outburst. ’Why couldn’t I control my temper?’

”Xiao Mei.” Mrs. Xie was also a bit embarrassed. She had locked the door while her daughter-in-law was out of the room, which clearly indicated she had been badmouthing her to her son. If it had been anything good, would there have been a need to lock the door?

”Mom, were you and Jie Jingchen discussing something important? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I must have interrupted you. Please, continue. I’ll wait for you in the yard.” Qin Mei was about to close the door as she spoke, but Mrs. Xie stopped her.

”Xiao Mei, hurry inside. It’s cold out,” Mrs. Xie said, pulling Qin Mei into the room.

”Mom, it’s okay, I’m not cold.” Qin Mei grabbed the doorframe, refusing to come in.

”Xiao Mei, I wasn’t looking for Jing Qi, I was looking for you,” Mrs. Xie said.

”Me?” Qin Mei pointed to herself, looking at Mrs. Xie in surprise. ’That’s not very convincing. Looking for me, but she locks the door to whisper with her own son? Don’t kid me.’

”Xiao Mei, at the hospital today, you saved...”

”Mom, I didn’t go to the hospital today,” Qin Mei cut Mrs. Xie off, secretly glancing at Jie Jingchen. She saw a trace of amusement appear on his bewitching face.

Mrs. Xie’s gaze faltered. She had promised Qin Mei she would keep it a secret, but just a moment ago, she had told Jing Si everything. Feeling guilty, Mrs. Xie’s eyes darted away from Qin Mei’s.

”Mom, was there something you needed me for?” Qin Mei asked with a smile, looking at Mrs. Xie. She wasn’t even sure if her mother-in-law had sold her out.

Her exceptional medical skills weren’t a bad thing. In any case, her principle was simple: if someone wanted her to treat them and paid, she would do it. But if they wanted to exploit her for free, that was out of the question.

’Working at a hospital? Forget it. Being a free-spirited traveling doctor is just fine.’

Mrs. Xie thought for a moment, then took out two wads of cash from her purse. ”Xiao Mei, this is for you.”

Qin Mei was both surprised and not surprised. ’Is this a thank-you for saving that person? I gave all the credit to my mother-in-law, so it makes perfect sense for her to give me the reward money.’

”It’s to build you a kitchen and toilet,” Mrs. Xie said.

Qin Mei gave a wry smile. ’She had been overthinking things.’ It wasn’t a reward. Qin Mei didn’t take the money, looking instead to Jie Jingchen.

”Take it. We happen to be short on cash,” Jie Jingchen said.

Qin Mei’s lips twitched. ’Are we short on cash? Well, who would ever complain about having too much money? If Jie Jingchen says we’re short, then we’re short.’

”Thank you, Mom.” Qin Mei expressed her thanks and took the money from Mrs. Xie.

”It’s getting late. You two should get some rest.” Mrs. Xie patted Qin Mei’s shoulder and left.

Qin Mei watched Mrs. Xie’s figure disappear into her room before she went inside, closing and locking the door behind her. Qin Mei sat under the electric lamp and counted the money. It was exactly one thousand, no more, no less.

’Rich people are so generous. Handing over a thousand without even blinking.’

After stashing the money away, Qin Mei washed her hands, felt her hair—it was dry—and climbed into bed to lie down. ”Jie Jingchen, turn off the light.”

Jie Jingchen wasn’t reading; he was just holding the book, lost in thought. Seeing that his attention wasn’t on the book, Qin Mei told him to turn off the light.

Jie Jingchen tossed the book onto the desk, turned off the light, and lay down. Satisfied, Qin Mei closed her eyes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Jie Jingchen spoke. ”Qin Mei, thank you.”

Qin Mei froze. She turned her head to look at Jie Jingchen, but it was pitch black, and she couldn’t see the expression on his face. ’His sudden ’thank you’ felt completely random.’

Qin Mei thought for a moment, then reached out, feeling for Jie Jingchen’s forehead in the dark. She touched his chin first. Jie Jingchen’s whole body stiffened. Before he could react, her soft hand pressed against his forehead. Then she heard Qin Mei say in a puzzled voice, ”You don’t have a fever!”

Jie Jingchen’s mouth twitched. He pulled Qin Mei’s small hand down, but instead of letting go, he placed it over his heart. ”Qin Mei, I’m serious.”

Qin Mei was stunned. Through the fabric, she could feel his body heat and the heart that was beating against her palm.

’Jie Jingchen was clearly just thanking her, so why did he make it feel like some kind of heartfelt confession?’

Qin Mei’s cheeks flushed red. She snatched her hand back and hid it under the covers. ”Jie Jingchen, you’re being ridiculous.”