Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Qin Mei sized her up as well. Xu Jiali had two playful dimples on her cheeks, making her smile incredibly sweet and lovely.

”You’re Jing Chen’s wife?” Xu Jiali asked.

”I am,” Qin Mei nodded.

”You’re so pretty. Jing Chen has good taste,” Xu Jiali said.

Qin Mei looked at the energetic, confident, and radiant young woman before her. ”Jie Jingchen is handsome too.”

Xu Jiali burst out laughing. ”Jing Chen is good-looking, alright. If I weren’t his aunt, I’d want to marry him myself.”

A flicker of light crossed Qin Mei’s eyes. ’That’s an awkward comment to respond to.’

Jie Jingshan made the introduction. ”Sister-in-law, this is Xu Jiali. She’s my grandaunt’s daughter.”

’A grandaunt... meaning my mother-in-law’s aunt, who is the sister of my husband’s maternal grandmother.’

”When our aunt was eight, our grandaunt passed away. Our aunt was ostracized by the Xu Family, so Grandma brought her to live with the Qiao Family,” Jie Jingshan explained.

Qin Mei nodded in understanding. She noticed that when Xu Jiali heard Jie Jingshan mention her deceased mother, she didn’t show a trace of sadness. ’It seems she had a good life with the Qiao Family.’

Jie Jingshan then introduced Qin Mei to Xu Jiali. ”Aunt, this is...”

”I know, Jing Chen’s wife. Her name is Qin Mei,” Xu Jiali interrupted Jie Jingshan. Seeing that Qin Mei hadn’t addressed her, Xu Jiali smiled and prompted, ”Xiao Mei, you should call me Aunt.”

Qin Mei looked at Xu Jiali’s bright, innocent smile and felt a strange sense of embarrassment at her words.

”Aunt,” Qin Mei said. ’Her seniority in the family was undeniable.’

”Good girl,” Xu Jiali said, reaching out to pat Qin Mei’s face.

Qin Mei dodged reflexively. Xu Jiali froze for a second but didn’t seem embarrassed. Since Qin Mei wouldn’t let her, she turned to pat Jing Shan’s face instead.

”Aunt, I heard from Grandma that you went to meet your partner’s family. Weren’t you supposed to stay for a while?” Jie Jingshan asked.

Xu Jiali shot Jie Jingshan a look, her delicate brows furrowing as she pouted, ”What partner? He’s my boyfriend.”

”Is there a difference?” Jie Jingshan asked.

”Of course there’s a difference. You call them ’partners’ here in Huaxia, but we call them ’boyfriends’ in Xiangjiang,” Xu Jiali replied.

Qin Mei didn’t interject. ’People call them boyfriends in Huaxia now, too.’

Jie Jingshan didn’t argue with Xu Jiali. She asked, ”Were your partner’s parents nice to you?”

”He’s my *boyfriend*,” Xu Jiali insisted, pinching Jie Jingshan’s cheek.

”I’m from Huaxia, so I’ll call him your partner,” Jie Jingshan said stubbornly, batting away the hand pinching her cheek.

This time, Xu Jiali gave in. ’She was the elder, after all; she should yield to the younger generation.’ ”Fine, partner it is. His family was really nice to me. For the few days I was there, they treated me to good food and drinks every day. I was living in luxury.”

”Aren’t you living in luxury at the Qiao family’s house?” Qin Mei couldn’t help but ask.

Xu Jiali froze, looked at Qin Mei, and pouted. ”I live in luxury with the Qiao Family too, but it’s different.”

”How is it different?” Qin Mei asked.

Xu Jiali was stumped by Qin Mei’s question. She couldn’t quite explain it, but she just felt it was different.

Qin Mei wanted to teach her a lesson—’you can trust a man when pigs fly, and a mother-in-law can be completely different before and after the wedding.’ But on second thought, it would be unkind to give Xu Jiali pre-wedding jitters when she knew nothing about the situation.

’What if Xu Jiali’s boyfriend was a responsible and dependable man? Then I would just be driving a wedge between them. And if Xu Jiali’s future mother-in-law was a good one like Mrs. Xie, I would just be souring their relationship.’

”It’s natural for people to marry when they come of age. That’s great. I wish you both happiness,” Qin Mei offered her blessings.

Xu Jiali was very forgiving. One moment she could be holding a grudge, and the next, she would let it all go with a smile. ”Hehe, thanks. When we get married, you and Jing Chen have to come.”

”We will,” Qin Mei nodded, then couldn’t resist asking one more question. ”When are you getting married?”

”Hehe,” Xu Jiali chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck, and said a little sheepishly, ”I don’t know.”

Qin Mei decided not to ask any more questions. ’Seeing this silly girl’s cheerful appearance, I’m genuinely worried she’ll be taken advantage of by her in-laws. But with her grandmother around, she definitely won’t be allowed to suffer.’

”Xiao Mei, is this your first time in Xiangjiang?” Xu Jiali asked. When she saw Qin Mei nod, she slapped the table and shot to her feet. ”Come on, I’ll take you guys out!”

”It’s too hot outside,” Qin Mei refused. She was truly sensitive to the heat. When Jie Jingchen had left earlier, she’d wanted to go with him, but one look at the sun outside and she’d decisively stayed behind.

”We’ll drive,” Xu Jiali said.

”You can drive?” Qin Mei asked.

”Yes, of course I can.” Xu Jiali patted her chest in assurance. She glanced around before lowering her voice. ”My aunt doesn’t let me drive out alone. Every time I go out, I have to take a driver and bodyguards. There’s no freedom at all.”