Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”I’m starting to wonder if my dad is really her son.” Jie Jingchen’s gaze was ice-cold as he looked at Granny. ’This grandmother of mine... she’s always going on about how we’re all one family, how we need to be of one mind, love and support each other. She’s certainly been wonderful to Second Uncle’s family, but she has no qualms about screwing over her eldest son.’

Granny patted Jie Jingchen’s shoulder, her expression smug and triumphant. ”Jing Si, this isn’t a choice between your brother-in-law and your cousin. It’s a choice between your brother-in-law and your own father. If you choose your brother-in-law, you’ll be putting your father in peril. But if you choose your father, the worst that can happen is your brother-in-law marries An Qi. You married his sister, and he’ll marry your cousin. We’ll be adding to our family ties. What’s not to love?”

Jie Jingchen remained silent. ’If Granny really guilt-trips Dad, he won’t just stand by and watch her suffer—not even if it costs him his career.’

Granny pressed her advantage. ”Oh, Jing Si! What’s so bad about An Qi? Don’t be so biased against her. Just think of her the way you think of Jing Qi, and you’ll see that An Qi and Qin Xiang are actually a great match. If you’re worried about the baby in her belly, that’s an easy problem to solve. If Qin Xiang can accept it, An Qi will have the child.”

Granny paused before continuing, ”But he has to promise to treat the child as his own after it’s born. If he can’t accept it, that’s fine too. I’ll convince An Qi to have an abortion. And it’s not like he’s perfect, either. He has a childhood fiancée, doesn’t he? Who knows if anything’s happened between them? So neither he nor An Qi has any right to be picky about the other.”

Qin Mei looked up at Qin Xiang, whose anger was simmering just beneath the surface. ’Jie Jingchen’s granny is really something else. She’s got it all figured out. Get an abortion... she actually dared to suggest that. Is Qin Xiang disgusted by the baby? No, he’s disgusted by the baby’s mother.’

’They say love me, love my dog. If Qin Xiang had fallen for Jie Anqi, he would accept her baby. The problem is, Qin Xiang doesn’t like Jie Anqi, so how could he possibly treat her child as his own?’

Qin Mei wanted to say something to Qin Xiang, but she didn’t know what.

’Should I promise Qin Xiang that Jie Jingchen won’t cave? That even if it means going against his own father, he’ll choose to stand with him without hesitation? I can’t make a promise like that, because I have no idea what Jie Jingchen would do.’

’Between Qin Xiang and Jie Anqi, Jie Jingchen would choose Qin Xiang. But between Qin Xiang and his father... she didn’t know who he would ultimately choose.’

’I really have to hand it to Granny,’ Qin Mei thought. ’Dragging Jie Jingchen’s father into this...’

”Um, Brother, if Jie Jingchen dares to turn on us, I’ll... I’ll divorce him,” Qin Mei declared righteously.

Hearing the word ”divorce,” Qin Xiang frowned, a dark shadow passing over his eyes. He flicked her forehead. ”Don’t be ridiculous. You and Jing Si need to make your marriage work.”

Qin Mei rubbed the sore spot on her forehead. ”His granny is threatening him with his father, so I’ll threaten him with divorce. Let’s see how he likes being caught in the middle.”

”Bite your tongue! Don’t throw the word ’divorce’ around like that. It’s bad luck, and it’ll hurt your relationship.” Qin Xiang was truly at his wit’s end with her.

Qin Mei didn’t answer. ’Do we have feelings for each other? Maybe. Right now, our relationship is more physical than emotional.’

”Here.” Qin Xiang shoved the other duck foot into Qin Mei’s hand, spat out the bone he’d been chewing, and walked out of the room.

Qin Mei didn’t stop him. She couldn’t blame him; she was at her breaking point too. She thought he was going to beat someone up, but instead, she watched him walk toward the room where he was staying.

When Qin Mei saw him go inside, her face was a mask of confusion. ’What’s he going to do?’

When Granny saw Qin Xiang walk out of Jing Si’s room and go into his own, she couldn’t suppress a smile. ’So, Jing Si was lying to us after all.’

”Who’s that man?” Jie Jianjun whispered to his son beside him.

”Jing Si’s brother-in-law,” Jie Anlin replied.

Jie Jianjun was taken aback for a moment, then said with approval, ”He’s quite a distinguished-looking man. No wonder An Qi has her eye on him.”

Jie Anlin said nothing. ’If he wasn’t handsome, would An Qi even be willing to let him take the fall for her?’

Guilt washed over Jie Jingchen’s face. ’Qin Xiang came out now because he didn’t want to put me in a difficult position.’

Jie Jingchen glanced toward the window, knowing Qin Mei was sitting just below it. ’I didn’t fight back against Granny’s relentless pressure. Is she angry with me?’

Jie Jingchen couldn’t see her, but Qin Mei could see him. His face was unreadable. When she saw Qin Xiang emerge wearing a military uniform, Qin Mei’s lips twitched. ’So he went to change his ’skin’.’

’But I have to admit, with that military uniform on, Qin Xiang looked completely imposing. A profound sense of authority radiated from his composed demeanor, and his presence was incredibly powerful. That’s the intimidating power of the ’skin’ for you.’