Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Qin Xiang hadn’t become his brother-in-law; instead, he had become Qin Xiang’s brother-in-law.

Qin Mei didn’t respond. Jie Jingchen understood Qin Xiang better than she did.

”Jing Qi, come on out for some roasted duck! I bought your favorite!” Qin Xiang’s cheerful voice rang out.

Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen froze. They looked at each other, and Jie Jingchen, reacting in a flash, let go of Qin Mei and dashed out of the room. A moment later, he dragged Qin Xiang inside, and with a SLAM, shut the door.

”Jing Si, what are you doing? Let go, let go! And what are you doing shutting the door in broad daylight? It looks so shady. If my little sister saw this, she’d wonder what’s going on between us... Oh, sis, you’re in here?” Qin Xiang spotted Qin Mei sitting on the bed and gave an awkward smile.

Qin Mei looked at Qin Xiang, and the thought that he was fated to die made her nose tingle and her eyes well up.

”Sis, I bought roasted duck.” Qin Xiang waved the duck, which was wrapped in oil paper, and placed it on the desk. ”I’ll go get Jing Qi. We can all eat together.”

Jie Jingchen’s face was grim. He blocked the door and said coldly, ”You’re not going.”

Qin Xiang blinked his charming ”peach blossom eyes,” pointed at Jie Jingchen, and grew agitated. ”Jing Si, you can’t be planning to hog it all for yourself, can you? Jing Qi is your own sister. That’s a real dick move.”

”Brother, Jing Qi needs to study. Don’t disturb her,” Qin Mei said as she got off the bed and put on her shoes. This really wasn’t a good time for Qin Xiang to see Jing Qi.

”Eating roasted duck doesn’t take that long. It won’t get in the way of her studies,” Qin Xiang retorted.

”Jing Qi is preparing for the university entrance exams. Every second counts,” Qin Mei blurted out.

Qin Xiang shot Qin Mei a sidelong glance, a helpless look on his face. ”Sis, the college entrance exam has been suspended for almost ten years.”

Getting into university required a recommendation. It wouldn’t be hard for the Jie Family to secure a spot for Jing Qi, but she was only fourteen—a little young for college.

”It’ll be reinstated,” Qin Mei said with certainty.

Qin Xiang looked wary. He saw that Jie Jingchen was perfectly calm, as if this wasn’t the first time he’d heard Qin Mei say something like this. The fact that Jie Jingchen, who was even more cautious than he was, didn’t stop her was surprising.

”Sis, watch what you say. It’s fine to talk like that in front of us, but never say it to outsiders. You’ll get in serious trouble,” Qin Xiang warned.

Qin Mei didn’t argue with him. She wasn’t in the mood to discuss the reinstatement of the college entrance exam right now.

Seeing Qin Mei fall silent, Qin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief. ”I’ll go get Jing Qi.”

’He’s so persistent. Does he absolutely have to get Jing Qi to come out and eat roasted duck?’ Qin Mei thought. At a time like this, Jing Qi was probably in no mood for it. ”Don’t get Jing Qi.”

”Why?” Qin Xiang didn’t understand. He thought the couple was being a little selfish. He’d bought roasted duck, and they wouldn’t even let him invite Jing Qi to eat with them.

Loving to study was a good thing, and studying was important, but you had to balance work and rest.

”Jing Qi doesn’t like roasted duck,” Qin Mei said, making up an excuse on the spot.

”Nonsense. Roasted duck is her favorite,” Qin Xiang shot back, glaring at Qin Mei.

”She doesn’t like it anymore,” Jie Jingchen interjected coldly.

Qin Xiang wanted to curse them out. ”When I took Jing Qi out, she told me herself that roasted duck was her favorite. She even told me which deli’s duck is good and which one’s isn’t.”

Jie Jingchen’s eyes darkened, and a menacing aura emanated from him. ”I said, she doesn’t like it anymore.”

Qin Xiang was stunned. ’He actually got mad.’ He looked over at Qin Mei and saw a complex series of emotions flicker in her eyes before they gradually calmed under his confused gaze.

”What happened?” Qin Xiang asked in a cold voice. He’d only been out for a short while, but when he came back, he felt like they had both changed.

Jie Jingchen remained silent. Qin Mei thought for a moment, weighing her words, before speaking. ”Brother, pack your things. We’ll take you to the train station.”

Qin Xiang was stunned again. This was them kicking him out.

Jie Jingchen was also a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected Qin Mei to tell Qin Xiang to leave so directly. She was more decisive than he was.

”What do you mean, train station? I have a month of family leave. I’ve only been here for two days, and you’re already kicking me out? Is that right?” Qin Xiang plopped down on a chair, leaned back, and crossed his legs.

His family leave wasn’t over. If he were to leave early, it would be his own choice, not because they were chasing him away.

”Brother, what was your purpose in coming here?” Qin Mei asked.

”To see you,” Qin Xiang replied, then added, ”And to deliver your dowry.”

”Well, you’ve seen me. And you’ve delivered the dowry. Mission accomplished. You should go home and tell our parents how I’m doing so they don’t worry. Besides, you should spend a few more days with them. You’re in the army year-round and rarely get a chance to be a filial son. It’s a waste to spend your precious one-month leave on me, isn’t it?” Qin Mei reasoned.

Qin Xiang raised an eyebrow and asked again, ”What exactly happened?”

Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingchen. They exchanged a glance, and Qin Mei bit her lip before saying, ”I won’t hide it from you. Jie Anqi is pregnant.”

”Jie Anqi is pregnant? What’s that got to do with me? Is that any reason to kick me out?” Qin Xiang was completely baffled.

”She says the baby is yours.” Before Qin Mei could even finish, Qin Xiang exploded.

”What?” Qin Xiang’s brows knitted together, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. He couldn’t suppress the emotion in his eyes.

”She says the baby is yours,” Qin Mei repeated.

Qin Xiang completely lost it, his brow furrowed deeply as he cursed, ”Bullshit! My baby? I’m still a virgin, for Christ’s sake! That’s absurd! Utter nonsense! No, wait—you guys actually believe something so completely outrageous?”

”We don’t believe it,” said Qin Mei.

”We don’t believe it,” said Jie Jingchen.

”If that’s the case, why are you still trying to kick me out?” Qin Xiang demanded. It wasn’t just that he didn’t want to leave—now he absolutely couldn’t. He refused to take the fall for this. If he left now, how would that be any different from fleeing to escape punishment? He’d never be able to clear his name. If word of this got back to his military unit, he’d be completely unable to defend himself.

Qin Mei fell silent. The reason she wanted Qin Xiang to leave wasn’t because of this, but because of Jing Qi. But she couldn’t tell him that.

”I’m not the one kicking you out,” Jie Jingchen clarified his position. Before Qin Xiang became his brother-in-law, he hadn’t been afraid of offending him. But now that Qin Xiang was his brother-in-law, and he wanted to have a good life with Qin Mei, he couldn’t afford to get on his bad side. If he offended Qin Xiang, who could then bad-mouth him to his in-laws, it just wouldn’t be worth it.

Jie Jingchen hadn’t forgotten that he still hadn’t paid a formal visit to his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Qin Xiang shot Jie Jingchen a cold look. ’This guy’s changed for the worse since marrying my sister. All he cares about is his wife now.’ ”You two can have the roasted duck. I’m leaving.”

”Where are you going?” Qin Mei asked. ’Who has the appetite for roasted duck at a time like this?’

”To the hospital, to settle the score with Jie Anqi.” Qin Xiang’s brow twitched, a sharp glint in his eyes. ”She’s trying to frame me for something this big. I won’t stand for it.”

Jie Jingchen’s expression was grave, his voice low. ”How are you going to settle the score? Kill her?”

Qin Xiang narrowed his peach blossom eyes. ’Does he really think I’m that hot-headed?’ ”Killing someone is against the law. I don’t break the law. Facts speak louder than words. If she thinks she can frame me, she’s dreaming.”

”If you go to the hospital to confront her, do you think you can talk your way out of it?” It wasn’t that Jie Jingchen doubted Qin Xiang’s ability to argue his case. Rather, if Jie Anqi was determined to pin it on him, she would absolutely twist the truth. With his second uncle’s family backing her up, Qin Xiang would have a hard time winning.

”So I shouldn’t go argue my case? Am I just supposed to wait and hope my name clears itself?” Qin Xiang asked irritably. ’Talk about getting dragged into trouble out of nowhere.’ He had zero interest in the ready-made position of ”father.”

After this stunt from Jie Anqi, his reputation in Shijiu City would be shot.

Jie Jingchen clapped Qin Xiang on the shoulder. ”Jie Anqi is insisting the baby is yours. No matter how you explain it, even if you present evidence, people who don’t know the full story will just side with the ’weaker’ party. They’ll just decide you’re an irresponsible deadbeat.”