Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

’Qin Xiang was at a loss for words. He couldn’t stand her. She was Jing Si’s Granny, not *his* Granny. If it weren’t for his sister, he never would have come to Shijiu City.’

Qin Xiang silently pulled his hand back and went on cracking sunflower seeds. ’Forget it. I’ll let her have the tea. I’m not drinking anymore.’

”Xiao Xiangzi, my An Qi is a wonderful girl. She’s pretty, has a great figure, and her family background is quite good. More importantly, she has an urban household registration. You’ve seen what our Jie Family has to offer. And her paternal uncle’s wife is the only daughter of the Qiao Family. You’ve heard of the Xiangjiang Qiao Family, right? That connection will definitely help you in the future.” Granny dangled the bait in front of Qin Xiang.

Standing by the window and listening to Granny, Qin Mei scoffed. ”Your Granny is using the Qiao Family to tempt my little brother. Does your mom know about this?”

”Just humor her. Don’t take anything she says seriously,” Jie Jingchen said, standing behind Qin Mei and combing her hair with a wooden comb.

Grandpa still hadn’t returned from taking Jie Anqi to the hospital, and Granny, unable to keep still, was already up to her old tricks.

’Doesn’t Granny know perfectly well what Jie Anqi is like? Where does she get the confidence to think Jie Anqi is good enough for Qin Xiang? And what makes her so sure she can talk him into marrying Jie Anqi just like that?’

Qin Mei was tempted to go out and argue with Granny, but on second thought, she decided against it. It wasn’t worth the effort. She’d let Qin Xiang handle it himself.

Qin Xiang leisurely cracked sunflower seeds, completely tuning out Granny’s words.

Granny went on and on, endlessly exaggerating Jie Anqi’s supposed virtues. When she couldn’t think of any real ones, she wracked her brain to invent them. She had no idea if Qin Xiang believed her, but she had certainly managed to convince herself.

’A granddaughter this wonderful... she was almost starting to feel reluctant to marry her off to Qin Xiang.’

Deep down, Granny knew perfectly well that this ”wonderful granddaughter” was a complete fabrication of her own making.

Granny talked until her mouth was dry and her throat was hoarse. She grabbed her enamel mug and chugged a mouthful of tea. Catching sight of Qin Xiang dozing off out of the corner of her eye, she slammed the mug down on the stone table. She was losing face. So the boy hadn’t been listening to her sing her granddaughter’s praises at all! He’d been treating her words like hot air. ”Xiao Xiangzi.”

”Hm?” Qin Xiang jolted awake and shot upright, staring at Granny with a blank, puzzled expression. He looked completely bewildered.

”Xiao Xiangzi, you weren’t listening to me,” Granny said, her face grim. It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.

Qin Xiang rubbed his eyes and denied it. ”I was listening. I was listening very carefully. Granny, you keep on singing her... uh, I mean, you keep on talking.”

’Keep on talking, my ass!’ Granny wanted to curse him out right then and there. ’That boy has no manners at all! I said all that for nothing. He didn’t hear a single word. A complete waste of my breath.’

But she had to convince Qin Xiang to marry her granddaughter, so she couldn’t afford to lose her temper. Granny took a deep breath, reined in her anger, and forced a benevolent smile. ”So, Xiao Xiangzi, when should we arrange for our families to meet?”

Qin Mei was floored. ’Granny’s moving fast, I’ll give her that,’ she thought, impressed in a sarcastic way. ’Qin Xiang hasn’t even said a word, and she’s already trying to arrange a meeting between the families. At this rate, why not just have them go get their marriage license right now?’

Qin Mei took a step forward, and a sharp pain shot through her scalp, making her cry out. ”Ah!”

”I’m so sorry.” Jie Jingchen massaged her head, his expression a mix of guilt and concern. He had been combing her hair when she suddenly stepped forward, and since he was still holding a lock of it, he’d accidentally yanked on her scalp.

”Just stop.” Qin Mei shot Jie Jingchen an annoyed glare, snatched the comb from his hand, and tossed it angrily to the side.

”Okay, okay, no more combing. I’ll tie it up for you.” Jie Jingchen picked up a hair tie, but his movements were stiff and clumsy, and he ended up painfully pulling her hair again.

”I’ll do it myself!” At the end of her rope, Qin Mei pushed Jie Jingchen away, ran her fingers through her hair a few times, and deftly tied it into a high ponytail.

”Meimei, you don’t like braids?” Jie Jingchen asked curiously.

”I don’t know how,” Qin Mei admitted. She only knew how to put her hair in a ponytail; braiding was completely beyond her. She’d rather cut her hair short than try to braid it.

Jie Jingchen hugged Qin Mei from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. His gentle voice was filled with affection. ”I’ll learn how. Once I do, I’ll braid your hair for you.”

”Whatever you want,” Qin Mei said dismissively. Her attention was on the courtyard, her ears pricked to listen in.

Sitting in the wicker chair, Qin Xiang started to nod off again.

”Xiao Xiangzi!” Granny raised her voice and gave the wicker chair a hard shove. The chair tilted precariously, and Qin Xiang nearly toppled over with it.

”Granny, I’m getting sleepy. I’m going to head inside for a nap. We can talk about whatever it is when I wake up.” Qin Xiang stood up and stretched lazily.

Livid, Granny snatched up her enamel mug and flung its contents at Qin Xiang.