Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Huh? It’s so late. Aren’t Jing Er and his wife asleep yet?” Jie Jingjue couldn’t help but ask.

He was in the dark about the situation with Jing Er’s wife, but Qin Xiang knew. Qin Xiang shot a quick glance at Mr. Xie and patted Jie Jingjue’s shoulder. ”Uncle, Jing Wu, I’m heading back to my room.”

”I’m heading to my room too,” Jie Jingjue said, stretching. He walked toward his room, guided by the moonlight.

Mr. Xie had wanted to go to Jing Er’s door and yell for the couple to stop fighting. But on second thought, he decided against it. ’Couples fight, but they always make up,’ he thought. ’What business is it of mine to get involved?’

Mr. Xie slowed his pace, tiptoeing back to his room. Afraid of disturbing his wife, he didn’t turn on the light, instead feeling his way toward the bed in the dark.

His wife wasn’t asleep. She was sitting on the edge of the bed. Startled, Mr. Xie reached for the light’s pull cord and gave it a tug. The room was instantly illuminated, revealing Mrs. Xie sitting there with a cold expression on her face.

Mr. Xie noticed she was still wearing the same clothes from the daytime, and his heart sank. ’But then again,’ he thought, ’I haven’t done anything wrong. What’s there to be guilty about?’ ”Honey, why are you still up?”

”I can’t sleep.” Mrs. Xie maintained an elegant posture, but she had been sitting for so long that her body had grown stiff.

Mr. Xie figured she wasn’t waiting up for him. ’It must be the sound of Jing Er and his wife arguing,’ he thought. ’Their voices are hoarse, and they’re still at it. Just how serious can this be?’

He silently blamed his second daughter-in-law. ’Jing Er just got back from a business trip, and she immediately starts a fight with him. So inconsiderate.’ ”Honey, I’ll go tell them to stop,” he said.

Mrs. Xie stopped him and told him everything that had happened. When she finished, Mr. Xie sank into deep thought.

”What do you think about this matter?” Mrs. Xie asked.

”If they want a divorce, so be it. It’s not like I can stop them.” Mr. Xie sat on the edge of the bed, his expression grave. His heart ached for Xiao You.

’Once Jing Er gets divorced, my grandson will have to live with a stepmother. Not all stepmothers are like Yan Qiu. The only reason Yan Qiu treats Jing Er and the others so well is because their own mother, Hong Yan, saved her life. She treats them as her own children to repay that debt.’

”After the divorce, Jing Er will marry Teacher Lin,” Mrs. Xie reminded him.

”Mm,” Mr. Xie grunted.

”Are you aware of Teacher Lin’s feelings for Jing Si?” Mrs. Xie asked.

Mr. Xie looked at her. ’Everyone in the neighborhood knows about that, how could I not?’ ”Yan Qiu, what are you getting at?”

”It will be awkward for them to live under the same roof.” Mrs. Xie paused, then added, ”To avoid that awkwardness, have Jing Er move out with Teacher Lin and Xiao You. They can live in the house the machinery factory assigned to him.”

Mr. Xie fell silent. He knew full well that Jing Er would have to be the one to move out; asking Jing Si to leave was out of the question.

”Yan Qiu...”

”Jie Jianguo, I’m not discussing this with you. I’m informing you,” Mrs. Xie cut him off, her face cold.

”But...”

”You go and tell Jing Er,” Mrs. Xie interrupted him again.

Mr. Xie knew that once his wife made a decision, he couldn’t change it. ”I can’t bear to be apart from Xiao You,” he said.

”That’s simple,” Mrs. Xie said. Mr. Xie’s eyes lit up. ’If I can’t keep Jing Er here, at least I can keep Jie You.’ ”If you can’t bear to be apart from Xiao You, then you can move in with them.”

The smile froze on his face. Defeated, Mr. Xie said, ”The house the factory assigned to Jing Er only has two rooms, and it’s in a courtyard shared by four families. There’s no space for me to move in.”

”What’s the matter? Gotten so used to this big courtyard that a little one can’t hold a ’great Buddha’ like you?” Mrs. Xie retorted sarcastically.

Mr. Xie was rendered utterly speechless.

”That’s easily solved. Have Jianjun’s family move out of the house that was assigned to you. You can move back there with Jing Er and his family. That way, you can be there for your parents to fulfill your filial duties and have your grandson by your side. It’s the best of both worlds.” Mrs. Xie’s stunning face betrayed no emotion.

Mr. Xie was completely exasperated, his defeated expression a mask of helplessness.

”So, the matter is settled. Let’s sleep.” Mrs. Xie pulled back the covers and lay down.

’What’s settled?’ he thought. He didn’t agree at all. Not unless she moved back there with him.

”Honey, I was wrong. I’ll talk to Jing Er tomorrow, I promise. I’ll make sure he moves out by tomorrow.” Mr. Xie was selfish, too; he would much rather sacrifice his son than himself.

Mrs. Xie rolled over onto her side, ignoring him, the corners of her mouth twitching into a slight smile.

”So it’s settled. Yan Qiu, let’s go to sleep.” Mr. Xie shamelessly pulled back the covers, but before he could lie down, Mrs. Xie sat up, clutching the quilt. He froze for a moment. ”What’s wrong?”

The hint of a smile on Mrs. Xie’s face vanished. ”The main hall still needs to be cleaned.”

Mr. Xie breathed a sigh of relief and put on an appeasing smile. ”We’ll have Jing Er clean it up in the morning.”

’It’s not realistic to ask Xu Chunyan to clean up anymore,’ he thought. ’Once she and Jing Er divorce, she’ll no longer be a daughter-in-law of the Jie Family.’

Mrs. Xie said nothing, just stared at him with a blank expression.