Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 191: Chapter 77: Qin Mei, Are You a Dog?

”The Xu Family isn’t afraid, but your daughter is.” Qin Mei tried to use Xu Chunyan as leverage.

”I’ll disown her.” Between his daughter and his son, Xu Anshan valued his son more. Even if his son was crippled and couldn’t carry on the family line, the son still held a higher place in his heart than the daughter.

Qin Mei was taken aback. ’He’s that ruthless?’ Clearly, using Xu Chunyan wouldn’t work. She didn’t hold enough weight to persuade Xu Anshan.

A cold glint flashed in Qin Mei’s eyes. With a flick of her hand, silver needles shot out from her fingertips.

”A petty trick,” Xu Anshan snorted dismissively, easily catching the silver needles.

Qin Mei was shocked, then stunned. In that instant, she understood why Jie Jingchen had tried to stop her back then. Xu Anshan had caught her silver needles with ease. He was too strong, far beyond her imagination.

Before Qin Mei could even feel fear, Xu Anshan returned the needles he had caught.

Qin Mei had a phobia of needles. The moment a silver needle pierced her neck, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Looking at Qin Mei collapsed on the ground, Xu Anshan was shocked. He suspected she might have coated the silver needles with a fast-acting poison that killed on contact.

「At the entrance of the machinery factory」

Jie Jingchen arrived at the gatehouse. ”Sir, who’s looking for me?”

Gao Hai popped out from somewhere, waving at Jie Jingchen. ”Jing Si, it’s me.”

Seeing it was Gao Hai, and noticing the cuts and bruises on his face, Jie Jingchen’s heart sank. He ran toward him, a layer of frost instantly covering his devilishly handsome features.

”Did Xu Anshan make a move on her?” Jie Jingchen asked coldly. It was his first day back at work, and Xu Anshan had already struck. It was obvious Xu Anshan had been waiting for him to go back to work.

’Qin Mei was at the Jie Family residence, and Xu Anshan wouldn’t dare go there. Did he lie in wait for her, or did he use some scheme to lure her out?’

”Jing Si, don’t worry, she isn’t hurt. It’s just...” Gao Hai looked conflicted, unsure how to explain.

”It’s just what?” Jie Jingchen’s heart was racing with anxiety.

”Sigh! Come with me.” Gao Hai led Jie Jingchen to a guesthouse. When Qin Mei fainted, he hadn’t dared to carry her back to the Jie Family residence, and certainly not to his own Gao family’s home, to avoid suspicion. His only option was to take her to a guesthouse.

A male comrade carrying an unconscious female comrade was bound to be questioned at a guesthouse. Gao Hai had shown his identification and briefly explained the situation, which was why the woman at the front desk didn’t insist on seeing Qin Mei’s letter of introduction and just gave him a room.

When Qin Mei woke up, she shot upright, warily scanning the unfamiliar room. The furnishings looked like those of a guesthouse.

Qin Mei touched her neck, then checked the rest of her body. She wasn’t injured, nor had she been assaulted. ’What is Xu Anshan playing at? I fainted from the needle, but he didn’t take advantage of the situation? And he even arranged for me to be brought to a guesthouse, completely unharmed?’

Hearing footsteps, Qin Mei quietly slipped out of bed, every cell in her body on high alert.

Hearing the sound of a key in the lock, Qin Mei tensed up, readying a defensive posture.

The moment the door opened, Qin Mei swung her hand, scattering a powder. Jie Jingchen reacted instantly, covering his nose and mouth as he dodged to the side.

”COUGH COUGH COUGH.” Gao Hai choked on the powder, and then his vision went black as he collapsed to the floor.

Qin Mei froze, her face a mask of utter confusion.

”Gao Hai,” Jie Jingchen cried out worriedly.

Gao Hai... Jie Jingchen’s comrade-in-arms. ’Can someone please tell me what is going on?’

”Qin Mei, are you all right?” Compared to Gao Hai, Jie Jingchen was more worried about Qin Mei.

”I’m fine.” Seeing Jie Jingchen, Qin Mei felt a sense of relief. ”Jie Jingchen, what’s going on?”

After confirming Qin Mei was unharmed, Jie Jingchen helped the unconscious Gao Hai up. Qin Mei stepped forward to help, and together they got him onto the bed.

”You ran into Xu Anshan. Gao Hai saved you. You don’t know that?” Jie Jingchen asked in return.

Qin Mei paused, touching her neck. She spoke sheepishly, ”I have a needle phobia. I don’t know what happened after I fainted.”

”A needle phobia?” Jie Jingchen raised an eyebrow at Qin Mei.

”Jie Jingchen, Xu Anshan is incredibly strong.” Qin Mei told Jie Jingchen what had happened. When he learned that Xu Anshan had used him to lure her out, a strange feeling stirred in Jie Jingchen’s heart. ’Do I really have that much influence over her?’

”Learn from your mistakes. Don’t be so quick to trust strangers.” Jie Jingchen didn’t reprimand her too harshly. It was because of him that she had let her guard down. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything severe to her.

Qin Mei stared at Jie Jingchen. ’With his temper, he should be pointing at my nose and calling me an idiot for believing anyone and having no judgment of my own.’ ”Jie Jingchen, you’re acting very strange today.”

”As long as you’re okay.” Jie Jingchen ruffled Qin Mei’s hair. It would be a lie to say he hadn’t been worried. He knew exactly what kind of person Xu Anshan was. Falling into his hands meant you’d be lucky to escape with your life, let alone without being skinned alive.

Qin Mei’s gaze turned dazed as she stared at Jie Jingchen, utterly captivated. ’This is so sentimental. If Jie Jingchen tried to make an indecent proposal right now, I’d probably be dizzy enough to agree.’

Their eyes met. A tender emotion flickered in Jie Jingchen’s gaze, while Qin Mei’s was filled with infatuation. The more she looked at his face, the more she liked it.

Compared to Jie Jingchen’s restraint, Qin Mei was much bolder. She tilted her head up and pressed a kiss to his thin lips.

Jie Jingchen went rigid with astonishment. Just as Qin Mei was about to pull away after the brief, light touch, he wrapped an arm around her waist, his lips gently landing on hers.

Qin Mei was a classic case of ”do as I say, not as I do.”

SMACK! Qin Mei’s hand shot up, and she reflexively slapped Jie Jingchen across the face.

Jie Jingchen froze, clearly not expecting Qin Mei to hit him. ’She kissed me, and I didn’t hit her. I kiss her, and she hits me?’

”Qin Mei,” Jie Jingchen said, his voice laced with anger.

Realizing she had just hit Jie Jingchen, Qin Mei was surprised herself. Her hand had reacted before her brain could even process it.

”Mmph...” A low sound escaped Qin Mei’s throat as his lips crashed down on hers unexpectedly.

Jie Jingchen’s kiss was anything but gentle. It was fierce with retaliation, domineering as if he wanted to devour her whole.

Jie Jingchen’s grip on her slender waist was tight. The more Qin Mei struggled, the harder he held on. Unable to break free, Qin Mei stopped resisting and joined in.

Her hands, which had been beating against his chest, crept up to wrap around his neck as she responded with an inexperienced but passionate fervor.

This move from Qin Mei left Jie Jingchen a bit dumbfounded. He had just wanted to scare her, to punish her a little. He never expected her to struggle half-heartedly and then start responding. As they kissed, the feeling began to change.

Qin Mei had never had a boyfriend and had no experience. She just went with her gut, doing whatever felt good. It was less of a kiss and more like she was gnawing on him.

Finally, Jie Jingchen couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed Qin Mei away, his face full of disdain. ”Qin Mei, are you part dog or something?”

Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingchen’s thin lips, which were now red, swollen, and marked with suggestive teeth marks from her ”kissing.” ’Him being disgusted is getting off easy. If it were me, I would have just started swinging.’ ”That’s right, I’m part dog. I was bitten by a rabid dog when I was little, and I just had a flare-up.”

Jie Jingchen was speechless and exasperated. He wiped the saliva from his lips and pointed at Gao Hai. ”Is he going to be okay?”

”He’s fine. It wasn’t poison I scattered. He’ll be okay when he wakes up.” Qin Mei glanced guiltily at Gao Hai. ’He saved me, and I knocked him out. Am I repaying his kindness with enmity?’

”Where are you going?” Jie Jingchen asked, grabbing her wrist as she turned to leave.

”Home,” Qin Mei replied, glancing again at Gao Hai on the bed. ”If you’re worried, you can stay and watch over him until he wakes up.”

Jie Jingchen’s expression darkened. Compared to Gao Hai, he was far more worried about Qin Mei. ”Are you sure you want to go home looking like that?”

”Is there a problem?” Qin Mei narrowed her eyes. ’What does he mean by that?’

Jie Jingchen glanced around, found a small, round mirror, and pulled Qin Mei in front of it. He handed it to her. ”See for yourself.”

Qin Mei looked at the mirror Jie Jingchen handed her. It had some kind of quote printed on it. After hesitating for a few seconds, she took it. Looking at her reflection, her lips twitched. ”Who is that?”

’I’m a complete mess!’

Before leaving, she had fought with Aunt Zhang. Then Jie Jingchen got hurt, and she was so worried that she just gave Jing Qi some instructions, locked the door, and left without even thinking to tidy herself up.

Qin Mei put down the mirror, her gaze on Jie Jingchen strange.