Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 215: Chapter 85: Bit the Tongue

Qin Mei lingered in the bathroom for a long time. Since she wasn’t wearing a jacket, Jie Jingchen worried she would get cold and was tempted to call out to her several times.

”BRRR, BRRR, I’m freezing to death.” Qin Mei burst out of the bathroom, haphazardly kicked off her slippers, and scrambled into bed. She burrowed under the covers, wrapped her arms around Jie Jingchen, and unapologetically slid her ice-cold little hands inside his pajamas.

Jie Jingchen looked down at a shivering Qin Mei, his gaze filled with tenderness. He held her cold, fragile body tightly.

”Who told you to stay in the bathroom so long without a jacket?” Jie Jingchen’s chiding tone was laced with affection.

Qin Mei nuzzled against his chest, finding a comfortable spot. ’I don’t have a phone,’ she thought. ’If I did, I would’ve stayed in there even longer, probably until my legs fell asleep.’

”Turn off the light,” Qin Mei said.

Jie Jingchen didn’t hesitate. When Qin Mei told him to turn the light on, he turned it on. When she told him to turn it off, he turned it off.

”Jie Jingchen, what were you all talking about in the yard?” Qin Mei asked. Jie Jinghun’s angry roar had woken her up too.

Jie Jinghun’s roar had woken everyone up, except for Jie You.

A complex series of emotions flickered across Jie Jingchen’s face before it settled into a calm expression. He rested his chin on the top of her head. ”Nothing much.”

”If it was nothing much, how did you get your Third Brother so worked up?” Qin Mei didn’t buy it. Her impression of Jie Jinghun was that of a smiling tiger, a particularly gentle and refined one. ”Was it because of me?”

”You?” Jie Jingchen was confused.

”Didn’t you say I influenced Shen Tong? That she went against her family’s wishes, gave up on studying abroad, and went to the countryside to be an educated youth. Third Sister-in-law is too rational to come make trouble for me, but that doesn’t stop her from making your Third Brother’s life difficult. And since your Third Brother doesn’t dare get mad at his wife, he takes it out on you instead,” Qin Mei analyzed.

Jie Jingchen closed his eyes for a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips. ”You’re overthinking things. Third Sister-in-law wouldn’t take her anger out on anyone over this. Yes, you influenced Shen Tong, but she’s the one who made the final decision. Blaming someone is pointless; it can’t change what Shen Tong decided to do.”

”Then why was your Third Brother so angry?” Qin Mei was puzzled. ’The way the Shen family and the Xu family handle things are like night and day,’ she thought. ’If this had been the Xu family, they would’ve been at my door demanding an explanation ages ago.’

Jie Jingchen looked troubled, unsure how to explain it to her. After a few seconds of thought, he told her the truth. ”The neighbors behind Third Brother’s house are back. He wants to build a toilet behind his house, so I suggested he go talk to them about moving the wall. That’s when Third Brother got angry.”

”Is there something wrong with your Third Brother? That’s a perfectly normal thing to do. If he wants to build a toilet back there, his only option is to talk to them about moving the wall.” Qin Mei felt Jie Jingchen’s suggestion was perfectly reasonable. ’Was it really something for Jie Jinghun to get so mad about?’

The corner of Jie Jingchen’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He tightened his arm around Qin Mei and let out a quiet sigh. ”Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law’s relationship with the neighbors behind them... it’s a bit complicated.”

”Is there bad blood between them?” Qin Mei asked. ’If there is, then yeah, moving the wall would be tricky.’

”Yeah,” Jie Jingchen nodded.

”But your Third Brother is so gentle and refined, and your Third Sister-in-law is as cold as ice. Neither of them seems like the type to make enemies easily.” Qin Mei couldn’t wrap her head around it.

A dark look flickered in Jie Jingchen’s eyes as the words escaped in a low voice. ”The man is Third Sister-in-law’s old flame, and the woman is Third Brother’s old flame.”

At his words, Qin Mei froze in astonishment and shot her head up.

”AH!” Jie Jingchen yelped in pain, letting go of Qin Mei and clutching his mouth and jaw.

His chin had been resting on her head, so when Qin Mei abruptly looked up, he bit the tip of his tongue. The pain was so intense that Jie Jingchen’s eyes watered and turned red. He could already taste blood; if he’d bitten down any harder, he might have severed the tip completely.

The top of Qin Mei’s head hurt too, and she rubbed it. But she was more worried about Jie Jingchen. She reached for the light’s pull cord, and the room lit up. Seeing his agonized expression, she asked anxiously, ”Are you okay?”

Jie Jingchen couldn’t speak. He leaned over and spat out a mouthful of blood and saliva.

Seeing this, Qin Mei knew it was a nasty bite. ”You bit your tongue?” she asked.

”Mmhmm,” Jie Jingchen managed, the sound coming through his nose.

Qin Mei got out of bed and poured him a glass of warm water. ”Here, drink some water.”

Jie Jingchen took the glass and sipped some water, holding it in his mouth without swallowing or spitting it out. He glanced toward the bathroom, motioning with his eyes for Qin Mei to get a basin. She understood at once, ran to the bathroom, and came back with a washbasin, which she placed on the floor.

Jie Jingchen spat the water into the basin. When Qin Mei saw it was stained red with blood, her expression darkened. Jie Jingchen took another sip, swished it around for a moment, and this time, he swallowed.