Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Suddenly, Mrs. Xie grabbed Qin Mei’s hand, her expression tense. ”Xiao Mei, what if...”

”Mom, there are no what-ifs.” Qin Mei squeezed her mother-in-law’s hand, cutting her off. ”Mom, you have to trust Jie Jingchen. He’s your son. You need to have faith in him.”

Mrs. Xie smiled wryly. She wanted to trust her son, too, but even the best-laid plans can go wrong. If her son let her down, she wouldn’t lose him, but she would lose the daughter-in-law standing right in front of her—the one she was so very pleased with.

”Xiao Mei, I’m just saying... what if our plan goes wrong? Will you forgive Jing Si?” Mrs. Xie stared at Qin Mei, her face tight with worry. Usually so calm, she was now in a panic and simply couldn’t compose herself.

Qin Mei fell silent. ’If it’s really like my mother-in-law fears,’ she thought, ’if Jie Jingchen’s honey trap works, but he doesn’t pull out and ends up... doing it... with Lin Yaru... Just saying the word ’forgive’ would feel hollow. Jie Jingchen had initially refused, and I was the one who persuaded him. But even so, there’s no way I could truly let it go without any resentment!’

Seeing Qin Mei’s silence, Mrs. Xie understood. ”I regret this,” she said, full of remorse. ”We shouldn’t have been so hasty. We should have come up with a more meticulous plan, one where Jing Si wouldn’t have to take such a risk, and it could still succeed perfectly. Now look at this mess. Jing Si might have been sacrificed.”

At the word ”sacrificed,” Qin Mei couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

A confident smile spread across Qin Mei’s face as she said slowly, ”Mom, it’s not that dramatic.”

Mrs. Xie pressed her lips together and said nothing. ’She can’t possibly understand how anxious and worried I am,’ she thought. ’This daughter-in-law of mine seems agreeable on the surface, but she has unshakeable principles. She is especially strict when it comes to marriage—one couple, for one lifetime. She demands absolute fidelity in both body and heart. If she can’t have both, she will simply discard the relationship.’

The more Mrs. Xie brooded, the worse everything seemed, until Jie Jingchen finally came into view, holding Jie You by the hand. Only then did her racing heart begin to settle.

Her gloomy mood instantly evaporated. She pulled Qin Mei along to meet them and whispered, ”Did it work?”

Jie Jingchen glanced at Qin Mei and saw a faint smile playing in her eyes. He hesitated for a moment. ”Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law went back.”

”What?” Mrs. Xie’s voice cracked, drawing curious glances from passersby. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and whispered, ”So that means it was a failure?”

”Hard to say,” Jie Jingchen admitted, unsure.

Now frantic, Mrs. Xie thumped her son’s shoulder. ”You’re killing me with the suspense! Was it a success, or was it a failure?”

”Grandma, what success? What failure?” Jie You asked, gazing up at Mrs. Xie with a face full of childish curiosity.

Mrs. Xie fell silent, realizing she had almost forgotten Jie You was there. She stroked the little boy’s chubby cheek, a flicker of guilt crossing her mind. ”Forget it. We’ve done our part; the rest is up to fate.”

Mrs. Xie led Xiao You into the restaurant, while Jie Jingchen took Qin Mei for a walk nearby.

”Alright, stop frowning.” Qin Mei stopped walking to face Jie Jingchen, reaching up to smooth his furrowed brow. ”Whether this worked or not, it’s not a loss for us either way.”

If Jie Jingwei and Lin Yaru actually got together, then Xu Chunyan and Lin Yaru would turn on each other. Once Lin Yaru’s parents stepped in, whether or not Jie Jingwei could divorce Xu Chunyan would depend entirely on Mr. and Mrs. Lin’s influence.

And if they were stopped by Jie Jinghun and Shen Qing, then it would just serve as a warning shot to Xu Chunyan and Lin Yaru. They had been scheming behind their backs, and it was time to give them a taste of their own medicine—an eye for an eye.

”How could it be such a coincidence?” Jie Jingchen muttered, his expression dark. ”Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law could have come back anytime. Why did it have to be now?”

”Maybe this is fate,” Qin Mei murmured, tilting her head back to look at the darkening sky. ’The air in this era isn’t polluted. It’s so fresh, and the sky is so pretty. At night, it’s full of countless stars, a truly stunning sight.’

Jie Jingchen said nothing. He took Qin Mei’s hand, and the two of them strolled around the area for a while before returning to the private room at the restaurant.

Qin Xiang, Jie Jingjue, and Mr. Xie were all drunk, passed out and slumped over the table.

Mrs. Xie was holding Jie You; the little boy had fallen asleep in her arms. When she saw Jie Jingchen walk in, her face lit up as if she’d seen her savior. ”Jing Si, quick, come take Xiao You. He’s gotten too heavy; I can’t hold him anymore.”

Jie You was a chubby eight-year-old. Mindful of Jie Jingchen’s partially disabled right hand, Qin Mei quickly volunteered, ”Mom, let me take him.”

”You won’t be able to carry him.” Mrs. Xie glanced at Qin Mei, her heart filled with gratification. ’A wife who worries about her husband like this is a good wife,’ she thought.

”It’s fine, I can manage.” Before anyone could object, Qin Mei stepped forward and took Jie You from her mother-in-law’s arms.

As it turned out, she had underestimated Jie You’s weight and overestimated her own strength.

Jie You was unbelievably heavy. Her arms simply didn’t have the strength, and she ended up dropping the little boy flat on the floor.