Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Okay.” Jing Si gently squeezed her rosy cheek with his long, slender fingers. His heart ached a little. ’She’s so exhausted, yet she’s still thinking about seeing Qin Xiang off.’

”You have to promise,” Qin Mei said, still unconvinced.

”I promise,” Jing Si said, humoring her.

Only after getting his promise did Qin Mei finally close her eyes in peace. She was terrified that this farewell to Qin Xiang might be their last. She had made every possible preparation, yet she still worried something might slip through the cracks.

Before dawn, Mrs. Xie was already out of bed. The noise woke Mr. Xie, who opened his drowsy eyes to find her turning their room upside down. He was thoroughly confused. ”Yan Qiu, what are you doing?” he asked.

”Xiao Xiang is leaving first thing this morning.” Mrs. Xie pulled a jewelry box from the bottom of the cabinet. She opened it, saw it was full of jewelry—unsuitable for Xiao Xiang—and tossed it aside in disgust. Rummaging through the cabinet again, she found a cookie tin. She lifted the lid to find it filled to the brim with cash. A satisfied smile spread across her face.

Mr. Xie sat up, his expression darkening as he looked at the cookie tin in her hands. ”Yan Qiu, you’re not thinking of giving him that entire tin of money, are you?”

”Jing Si only told me last night that Xiao Xiang has to leave first thing in the morning. He said he got orders to go back for a mission. It’s so sudden, I didn’t have time to prepare a proper gift, so I’ll just give him cash.” Mrs. Xie paused before adding, ”We didn’t really do anything for him when he arrived. If we don’t make a gesture now that he’s leaving, it will give our in-laws—whom we’ve never even met—a bad impression. They’ll think we parents don’t know how to handle things.”

”If you offer him cash directly, he probably won’t accept it,” Mr. Xie said. ’Giving money is a bit tactless.’

’Qin Xiang spends so freely; he clearly doesn’t come from a poor family. The Qin family must not be short on money. But then again,’ he thought, remembering how much Qin Mei loved money—she never refused a cash gift. ’I’m not so sure anymore. Qin Xiang and Qin Mei are full-blooded siblings. Their personalities can’t be that different.’

Mrs. Xie patted the cookie tin. ”Exactly. It’s in a cookie tin. If I don’t say anything, Xiao Xiang will just think it’s full of cookies.”

Mr. Xie felt a pang of regret. All that money in the tin was his; he’d been saving it for his own mother’s seventieth birthday this year. But now his wife had found it and was about to give it to Qin Xiang, and he didn’t dare protest.

Mr. Xie made one last attempt to save his money. ”Yan Qiu, I really think cash is too impulsive. We should...”

A sound came from the courtyard. Mrs. Xie grabbed the cookie tin and rushed out, leaving Mr. Xie sitting on the edge of the bed, completely dumbfounded.

Dressed in his military uniform and carrying his luggage, Qin Xiang stood in the courtyard, waiting for Jie Jingchen.

Mrs. Xie stepped out of the house as dawn was breaking. In the faint morning light, her eyes fell on Qin Xiang in his military uniform, and she froze. He looked so dashing and heroic. For a dizzying moment, she pictured Jing Si in his uniform, and a wave of guilt washed over her.

’Jing Si’s right hand was partially disabled, but he could have stayed in the military. It was her own selfishness that had forced him to retire...’

Shaking off her thoughts, Mrs. Xie took a deep breath. She put on an elegant smile and walked toward Qin Xiang. ”Xiao Xiang.”

”Auntie.” Qin Xiang turned, his posture ramrod straight. ”I’m sorry, Auntie. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

”What are you talking about?” Mrs. Xie gave him a playfully stern glare. ”Xiao Xiang, I’m the one who should be sorry. You came all this way to Shijiu City to see Xiao Mei, and we haven’t been good hosts at all. Now you’re leaving already, and after some unpleasant things happened, too. I’m truly sor—”

”Auntie, please don’t say that.” Qin Xiang cut her off, knowing she was referring to the incident with Jing Si’s cousin. ”Let the past be the past. I haven’t given it a second thought, and you certainly shouldn’t blame yourself. Besides, it wasn’t your fault. Auntie, you’re much kinder than I ever imagined. My little sister is truly fortunate to have such a reasonable mother-in-law.”

The flattery was music to Mrs. Xie’s ears. ’This young man certainly knows what to say.’ ”Jing Si is the lucky one to have married Xiao Mei,” she said. ”And having her as my daughter-in-law is a blessing for me.”

Qin Xiang felt a flush of shame. He thought about how his sister had drugged Jing Si to force him into marriage, and how this was her second marriage. Hearing Mrs. Xie praise her so highly was embarrassing. ’It’s not that my sister is terrible...’

’Okay, he had to admit it. Before the amnesia, his sister had been genuinely awful. But after the amnesia, she was genuinely incredible.’

After a moment’s thought, Mrs. Xie added, ”Xiao Mei healed Jing Qi’s legs. She’s a benefactor not only to our entire family but to the Qiao Family as well.”

Qin Xiang fell silent, an unreadable emotion clouding his handsome eyes. He truly couldn’t wrap his head around his sister’s medical abilities. ’To study medicine for only six months and not just learn it, but master it so completely... It’s unbelievable.’