Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Qin Xiang had a feeling. His little sister hadn’t just lost her memory—she seemed like a completely different person.

Jie Jingchen watched Qin Xiang with a scrutinizing gaze, while Qin Xiang, in turn, was scrutinizing Qin Mei. Under Qin Xiang’s stare, Qin Mei felt her conscience prickle. ’If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move.’ She pretended to be calm and continued cracking sunflower seeds.

’These sunflower seeds aren’t very good; the seasoning is too strong. I still prefer the original, plain flavor.’

Qin Mei glanced at the empty patch of dirt next to the grapevine trellis, considering whether she should plant some sunflowers.

”Little Sis, I heard from Jing Si that you’re amazing at acupuncture. He said if you just prick yourself with a needle in the car, you won’t get carsick,” Qin Xiang suddenly spoke up.

Qin Mei eyed Qin Xiang, wondering why he’d brought this up. ’Not only do I get carsick, I’m also afraid of needles. That’s my weakness. Even though he’s my brother, I don’t want to reveal my weaknesses in front of him. I’m sure Qin Xiang would never harm me, his own sister, but if someone with ill intentions were to overhear, it would be impossible for me to guard against them.’

”I’m too scared,” Qin Mei said.

”Scared?” Qin Xiang was confused. He looked questioningly at Jie Jingchen. He had seen his little sister take a pulse and write prescriptions, but he had never seen her perform acupuncture. He didn’t doubt Jing Si’s words; he just found it strange.

”I’m afraid of the pain,” Qin Mei said.

A flicker of light crossed Jie Jingchen’s eyes as he recalled how Qin Mei had performed acupuncture on him and Jing Qi. She had been swift and decisive.

His intuition told him that Qin Mei was lying.

Qin Xiang smiled in understanding. It was true that his little sister was afraid of pain. A tiny scrape would make her wail in agony. He’d finally found something in common between the girl she was before and after her amnesia.

But Jie Jingchen couldn’t bring himself to smile. He remembered the first time Qin Mei encountered Jing Qi. She had been bitten and scratched, but she hadn’t tended to her own hands first. Instead, she’d cleaned up Jing Qi and the room. When he later saw her treating her own wounds, she hadn’t even furrowed her brow. ’Would a person like that really be afraid of pain?’

’Claiming to be afraid of pain was clearly a front. So what was she hiding? Her fear of needles?’

He recalled Qin Mei telling him that she was afraid of needles. ’She told me but didn’t want her own brother to know. Does that mean I’m more important to her than Qin Xiang? She’s wary of her brother, but she confides in me.’

A smile spread across Jie Jingchen’s lips, and he couldn’t suppress his good mood no matter how he tried.

”What are you smiling about?” Qin Xiang frowned at Jie Jingchen’s silly grin. ’Is this really the same cold, icy Jie Jingchen I know?’

Jie Jingchen ignored Qin Xiang, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds and beginning to shell them. When Qin Xiang noticed he was shelling them but not eating them, he guessed they were for his little sister. A smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of his lips.

After tidying up the kitchen, Jie Jingjue came into the courtyard to join them. Jie Jingjue was a natural extrovert, and Qin Xiang was quite talkative himself, so the two hit it off and chatted away cheerfully.

Qin Mei listened for a little while before losing interest. She got up and headed back inside, and Jie Jingchen followed her.

Inside the house, Qin Mei sat on a chair, scratching her scalp. ”Jie Jingsi, my scalp is itchy. I need to wash my hair.”

Jie Jingchen glanced outside. The sky was gradually darkening. He took a few steps forward, stood behind Qin Mei, raised his hands, and began to gently massage her scalp. Qin Mei closed her eyes, enjoying it. ”It’s too late today. Wash it tomorrow after your afternoon nap.”

’Late?’ Qin Mei opened her eyes and looked out the window. ’The sky isn’t even dark yet. How is that late?’

”Jie Jingsi, if you don’t let me wash my hair, I’m going to the barbershop tomorrow and getting it cut short.” Qin Mei paused for a moment, then added, ”Cut just like yours.”

The movement of Jie Jingchen’s hands paused, and the corner of his mouth twitched. ’Cut like mine? What would be the difference between that and a tomboy?’ he thought, then asked aloud, ”Are you sure?”

”I’m sure. And positive.” Of course, Qin Mei was just threatening him. ’If I really cut my hair that short, I’d be too embarrassed to even go outside.’

”It wouldn’t look good on you if you cut it like that,” Jie Jingchen reasoned. ’I don’t mind if she wants short hair, but it can’t be *that* short. Not like mine.’

’She’s a woman, using a man’s haircut as her reference point. What kind of nonsense is that?’

”It’ll grow on you. Once you get used to it, it’ll seem natural, and then you’ll find it good-looking,” Qin Mei said, holding back a laugh.

”I’ll never get used to it.” Jie Jingchen truly couldn’t accept the idea of his wife cutting her hair as short as his. He stroked her soft, smooth black hair, unable to pull his hands away. ’Such beautiful, glossy black hair... could she really bear to cut it all off? I know I couldn’t.’ ”I’ll go boil the water.”

Qin Mei smiled. Her threat had worked. She got up and followed Jie Jingchen to the kitchen.

Qin Mei was especially particular about her bathwater and firmly refused to use a pot that had been used for cooking to heat it. So, when Jie Jingchen had originally bought the large pots, he’d purchased two—one for cooking and one for heating bathwater.

Jie Jingchen swapped out the pots, filled the clean one to the brim with water, covered it with the lid, and added some more coal to the stove.