Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Jie Jingchen smiled indulgently. He really wanted to ask her, ’Are you sure you’re happy, and not just enjoying the trouble you’re causing?’

Snapping completely, Lin Yaru let go of Jie Jingwei. Heedless of her pregnancy, she jumped out of the back seat and lunged savagely at Qin Mei like a beast on steroids. ”You bitch, you ruined me! I’ll kill you!”

She’d been thoroughly provoked. Qin Mei’s first instinct was to kick Lin Yaru. She couldn’t care less if Lin Yaru was pregnant; if someone attacked her, she would kick back, no questions asked.

But on second thought, ’Why should I do the dirty work myself?’

’If I attack her, it’s just physical damage. But if I get Jie Jingchen to act, the damage won’t just be physical. The psychological blow would be far worse.’

Qin Mei spun around and leaped onto Jie Jingchen, clinging to him like a koala. ”Jing Si, I’m scared!”

’She wasn’t sure if Jie Jingchen would actually hit a pregnant woman, but she knew he would protect her.’

Jie Jingchen was stunned by this maneuver. ’She wasn’t even afraid of the burly Xu Chunwang,’ he thought. ’Why would she be scared of someone as harmless as Lin Yaru?’

Jie Jingchen couldn’t bring himself to strike a pregnant woman. Holding up Qin Mei’s thighs where they were wrapped around his waist, he dodged to the side, evading Lin Yaru’s charge.

”Ah!” Unable to stop her momentum, Lin Yaru tumbled to the ground, scraping her palms on the concrete. She gasped in pain.

”Yaru!” Jie Jingwei, startled, rushed forward to help her up. ”Did you hurt the baby?” he asked anxiously.

He wasn’t concerned for Lin Yaru herself, only for the child in her womb. This was especially true after Qin Mei had mentioned it was a boy, which made the pregnancy even more important to him.

Lin Yaru shoved Jie Jingwei away in disgust. Her tear-filled eyes, full of accusation, locked onto Jie Jingchen as he held Qin Mei. Her voice trembled. ”Jing Si, what about the bond we once had?”

With her arms still around Jie Jingchen’s neck, Qin Mei looked up at him and repeated sarcastically, ”The bond you once had?”

A frosty expression instantly settled on Jie Jingchen’s devilishly handsome face. Flames of fury ignited in the depths of his amber eyes, and his tone was bone-chillingly cold. ”Second Sister-in-Law, watch your words. Don’t just say whatever pops into your head. There has never been any sort of ’bond’ between us.”

Tears welled in Lin Yaru’s bloodshot eyes as she shrieked hysterically, ”Heh... Jing Si, does saying it never happened make it true? The neighbors all know about us! Do you really think your denial changes anything?”

”Meimei, don’t believe a word she says,” Jie Jingchen immediately declared to the girl clinging to him. ”She’s just trying to drive a wedge between us. Her intentions are vicious! Meimei, you have to believe me. I’ll only ever love you.”

Hearing Jie Jingchen declare he would only ever love Qin Mei, Lin Yaru went mad with jealousy. ’Only love Qin Mei? And what about me? Am I just some kind of joke?’

’She loved him so much—she would have given her life for him. Yet he married Qin Mei and cast her aside like a worn-out shoe.’

’She admitted her love for Jie Jingchen had always been one-sided. He had never responded to her feelings or made any promises, and the Jie Family elders had never officially stated their position. And yet, she had been so confident, so certain that they had all tacitly approved of her marrying him.’

’Her love for him was deep-rooted. Since she had given her love, she demanded it be returned. Even if he didn’t love her, she had to possess him.’

’Before, she had wanted his heart and his body. Now, if she couldn’t have his heart, she would at least have his body.’

”I believe you.” Qin Mei hugged his neck with one arm, using her free hand to pinch Jie Jingchen’s cheek. ”I’ll only ever love you, too,” she added, though not very sincerely.

Jie Jingchen knew perfectly well that she wasn’t saying it to reciprocate his love. In fact, she probably wasn’t even saying it for him at all—it was purely for show, to provoke Lin Yaru. Still, just hearing the words made his heart bubble with happiness.

’The girl was utterly shameless and hard-hearted. He wasn’t even sure he’d ever be able to melt her icy heart.’

Hearing Lin Yaru’s shrieks, nearby neighbors who were home braved the scorching sun, gathering by the courtyard wall and craning their necks to watch the show.

Lin Axiu came out of the house, opened the courtyard gate, and saw the four of them. She immediately sensed trouble. Fiercely protective, she rushed to shield her daughter. She glared at Jie Jingchen and Qin Mei, and when she saw Lin Yaru’s scraped palms, her fury skyrocketed. ”Jie Jingchen,” she roared, ”Yaru is your second sister-in-law! How dare you hurt her!”

”You’d better have proof for an accusation like that!” Qin Mei yelled back. ”Which one of your eyes saw my man lay a hand on your daughter?” If it was going to be a shouting match, she was more than ready to oblige.