Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

If she wasn’t qualified to write it, she would find someone who was.

Although she was shocked by Jing Si’s decision, she supported it completely. A mental hospital was the best place for An Qi.

Mr. Xie’s expression was beyond ugly. ”You’re abusing your power for personal gain—”

”Wrong. I’m simply making use of my professional capacity,” Mrs. Xie interrupted him.

Seeing there was no changing her mind, Mr. Xie decided to settle for the next best thing. ”Don’t send her to Xiangjiang and bother your mother. I have connections in Shijiu City—”

”Dad, my grandmother doesn’t find it troublesome at all. In fact, she’s happy to help,” Jie Jingchen cut his father off, ruthlessly dashing his hopes. ’If she stayed in Shijiu City, Granny and the others wouldn’t be able to resist visiting her. As soon as An Qi plays the victim, they’ll soften up. Especially Granny. All she’d have to do is cry, throw a fit, and threaten to kill herself in front of Dad, and he would give in. An Qi would be released to continue stirring up trouble.’

’Causing trouble isn’t the scary part; the scary part is An Qi’s revenge. With her extremist personality, the first person she would target is Qin Mei. For Qin Mei’s safety, he won’t give An Qi any chance of getting out this time. The mental hospital in Xiangjiang is the best choice.’

It was a perfect, unrivaled solution. And with his grandmother having put in a word, An Qi would live out the rest of her life in that mental hospital.

”Jie Jingchen!” Mr. Xie couldn’t take it anymore. Ignoring the pain in his knees, he rushed from beside the bed to stand before Jie Jingchen and slapped him across the face.

A five-fingered handprint instantly appeared on Jie Jingchen’s devilishly handsome face, a testament to the force of the blow. Mr. Xie followed it with another slap, splitting the corner of his lip and drawing blood.

”Jie Jianguo!” Seeing that her husband was about to strike again, Mrs. Xie immediately shouted to stop him.

’One slap to vent his anger, she could allow. Two slaps, she could tolerate. But if he wanted to keep going, she wouldn’t stand for it.’

Mrs. Xie grabbed her husband’s hand and pulled him aside. She then said to Jie Jingchen, ”Jing Si, this matter is settled. Go back to your room and have Xiao Mei put some medicine on that.”

”Okay.” Jie Jingchen turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. As he was about to leave, he saw Qin Mei standing in the courtyard in her pajamas. Qin Xiang stood beside her, and Jing Qi was behind them. Jie Jingjue was leaning against a doorframe, looking at him with an expression of pure admiration. Xu Chunyan stood under the eaves, holding Jie You’s hand. Everyone’s eyes were on him.

They had come out after hearing the argument, but no one had stepped forward to intervene. A fight between father and son was just a fight; they wouldn’t hold a grudge.

However, the content of their argument had truly shocked them all.

Yet no one sympathized with An Qi. Clearly, she had threatened all of them before.

It wasn’t just the adults—even Jie You disliked his aunt, An Qi. Every time they went to Second Great-Uncle’s house to visit Grandpa and Granny, An Qi wouldn’t hesitate to hit Jie You. When Xu Chunyan confronted her about it, An Qi would just start an argument. But Xu Chunyan, being a teacher, was far more articulate than An Qi.

When An Qi couldn’t win the argument, she’d make a scene and threaten to kill herself, making Xu Chunyan the target of everyone’s blame. After that, Xu Chunyan never dared to argue with An Qi again. She just reminded Xiao You to take a detour whenever he saw An Qi. ’If you can’t afford to provoke her, can’t you at least hide from her?’

Jie Jingchen ignored everyone’s gazes and walked straight to Qin Mei.

Qin Mei’s heart ached as she looked at his swollen cheek. Before she could say a word, she heard Jie Jingchen tattle, ”Meimei, my dad hit me again.”

Everyone was speechless.

Jie Jingjue went back into his room, closed the door, and went back to sleep. Jie You laughed mockingly, ”Shame on you, Fourth Uncle!”

Xu Chunyan clamped a hand over his mouth. Looking at Jie Jingchen, she gave an embarrassed laugh. ”Come on, let’s go to school.”

Jie You pulled her hand away from his mouth and blinked up at her. ”Mom, we haven’t had breakfast yet.”

”There’s no time to make breakfast. I’ll buy you some steamed buns,” Xu Chunyan said.

The promise of steamed buns satisfied Jie You. As he walked past Jie Jingchen, he said, ”Fourth Uncle, I’m going to school now.”

”Mm,” Jie Jingchen grunted in acknowledgment.

’Fourth Uncle’s house has good food, so I need to stay on his good side.’ Remembering what his uncle had said, the little guy then flashed a toothy grin at Qin Mei. ”Fourth Aunt, I’m off to school!”

Qin Mei was stunned. ’The little guy doesn’t like me; he’s called me a vixen before. For him to greet me on his own initiative today... Has he had a change of heart?’

By the time Qin Mei snapped out of it, he was already on the back of a bicycle, and Xu Chunyan was pedaling her son off to school.

Qin Mei’s gaze returned to Jie Jingchen’s swollen cheek. ”Does it hurt?” she asked, her voice full of pity.

”It hurts,” Jie Jingchen nodded.

Qin Xiang rolled his eyes. ’I can’t bear to watch this.’ He shot Jie Jingchen a disdainful look and strode toward the kitchen.

”Come on, let’s go back to the room. I’ll put some medicine on it for you,” Qin Mei said, taking Jie Jingchen’s hand to lead him away.

”Meimei.” Jie Jingchen stopped her.

”What’s wrong?” Qin Mei looked at him, confused.

”No need for medicine,” Jie Jingchen said with a smile.

”Why?” Qin Mei didn’t understand. But then she saw the deep, cunning look in his eyes and instantly understood. He was planning to go to work with that swollen face.

Most people try not to air their dirty laundry in public, but Jie Jingchen always insisted on doing the exact opposite.

Seeing the look of realization on her face, Jie Jingchen pulled her into his arms. ”My wife really does understand me best.”

Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. ’It’s not like this is the first time he’s pulled something like this.’ She looked up at his swollen cheek, and a wicked idea flashed through her mind. ”Want me to fan the flames a little?”

”How would you fan the flames?” Jie Jingchen asked, looking down at the lovely wife in his arms. His eyes were full of adoration; whatever she wanted to do, he would support her completely.

A hint of slyness appeared in Qin Mei’s almond-shaped eyes, and the corners of her lips curved into a wicked smile. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned close to Jie Jingchen’s ear.

”So? Are you willing?” Qin Mei asked.

”Will it be disfiguring?” A flicker of worry crossed Jie Jingchen’s eyes.

”Just for a day. After one day, I guarantee your face will be back to normal,” Qin Mei promised. Seeing him lost in thought, she didn’t press him. ”Forget it. Just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

”Come on, let’s go inside,” Jie Jingchen said, pulling Qin Mei into the room.

A short while later, Qin Xiang came to their room to call them for breakfast. When he saw Jie Jingchen, he was dumbfounded. He pointed at him and asked, ”Little Sis, who is this?”

”Didn’t you say you’d recognize me even if I were burned to ashes?” Jie Jingchen shot Qin Xiang a cold glance before his eyes returned to the mirror. ’I have to admit,’ he thought, looking at his reflection, ’I’m a pretty gruesome sight.’

”Little Sis, what did he do wrong? Why’d you beat him up like this?” Qin Xiang asked, staring at Jie Jingchen, whose face was swollen like a pig’s head. He was completely unrecognizable.

”Who said Meimei hit me? It was obviously my dad,” Jie Jingchen said, glaring at Qin Xiang before looking back at his own gruesome reflection in the mirror. ’The effect is just too perfect.’

His face looked horrifically mangled, but it didn’t hurt at all.

Qin Xiang froze for a second, then instantly understood. Looking at the couple, he felt that the old saying was really true: birds of a feather flock together. He couldn’t help but laugh and played along. ”Right, right, your dad hit you. We’re all witnesses.”

Jie Jingchen was satisfied. He handed the mirror back to Qin Mei. ”When Second Uncle sees my face like this, we’ll see if he still has the nerve to come and cause trouble for me.”

Hearing this, Qin Xiang couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing without reservation. ”You two... have really put a lot of thought into this!”

His face was swollen like a pig’s head, but it didn’t affect his ability to speak or eat. Besides his appearance, nothing else was affected. After breakfast, Jie Jingchen rode his bicycle to the machinery factory for work.

Not long after Jie Jingchen left, Mr. Xie’s driver, Xiao Wang, arrived. Mr. Xie had just left when Mrs. Xie also departed. A little while later, Jie Jingjue hastily washed up and then went to work.

It was a rare occasion for Qin Mei to be up so early. She planned to go to Qin Xiang’s room to get the medicine furnace and bring it out to the courtyard. She wanted to refine some medicine. With only her, Qin Xiang, and Jing Qi at home, no one would complain if she filled the courtyard with the smell of herbs.

”Little Sis, come on, I’ll teach you how to ride a bike,” Qin Xiang said. Before leaving for work, Jie Jingchen had reminded him not to forget to teach his sister how to ride.

’If I learn how to ride a bike, getting around will be much more convenient,’ Qin Mei thought.

There were two bicycles in the courtyard. One belonged to Jie Jingwei, and the other to Jie Jingjue. Jie Jingjue hadn’t ridden his to work, leaving it at home for Qin Xiang to use.

”Little Sis, pick one,” Qin Xiang told her.