Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Granny, she’s not—”

”I am,” Qin Mei cut in, interrupting Xu Jiali. She shot Xu Jiali a look that only she could understand—one that told her to shut up.

Qin Mei had only said yes, not that she was her grandmother’s granddaughter.

She also wanted to see what tricks this old woman had up her sleeve.

”Your name is Jie... what was it again?” Grandma Gao genuinely didn’t know the name of Madam Qiao’s granddaughter. She only knew the surname was Jie. Before now, she had never dreamed of her family marrying into the Qiao Family.

Her grandson’s relationship with Xu Jiali had brought the Gao family some benefits, but people are always greedy. The Gao family wanted to gain even more, and marrying Xu Jiali was not enough to satisfy her ambitions. Marrying the true young miss of the Qiao Family was the wisest move.

”Grandma Gao, you can call me Xiao Mei.” Qin Mei beamed at Grandma Gao. She hadn’t intended to impersonate Jing Qi; it was the old woman before her who had made the mistake.

”Xiao Mei... Jie Mei. That’s a lovely name,” Grandma Gao said.

Qin Mei simply smiled without a word.

Grandma Gao took Qin Mei’s hand. Qin Mei felt a sense of revulsion but didn’t pull away. ”Xiao Mei, you look so much like your maternal grandmother when she was young. Both of you as beautiful as fairies.”

”Is that so?” A mocking smile touched Qin Mei’s lips. ’It’d be a miracle if I looked like her grandmother. Before I married Jie Jingchen, we were completely unrelated.’

Xu Jiali found the whole thing baffling. ’Shouldn’t Gao Qiang’s granny be holding my hand, doting on me? Why is she holding Xiao Mei’s hand?’

’It must be nice to be that beautiful,’ she thought. ’Everyone loves you on sight. Even Gao Qiang’s granny can’t help but want to get closer to Xiao Mei the moment she sees her.’

”Let’s go, let’s go. It’s too stuffy out here,” Gao Qiang hurried them along. He held Xu Jiali’s hand, occasionally leaning down to speak to her, but his gaze kept drifting, intentionally or not, toward Qin Mei.

Before seeing what Qin Mei looked like, Gao Qiang had only been humoring Grandma Gao. But the moment he saw her, he instantly felt that Xu Jiali wasn’t right for him anymore.

Gao Qiang was self-aware enough to know that a woman with Qin Mei’s looks was out of his league. In terms of status or appearance, he simply wasn’t good enough for her.

’Every pot has its lid,’ he thought. ’And a pot like me can only be matched with a lid like Xu Jiali.’

’Of course, if Granny really has what it takes to get me Qin Mei, I’ll dump Xu Jiali without a second thought. A man has to aim high, and Qin Mei is the ladder that can take me to the clouds.’

”Xiao Mei, what do you think of my grandson?” Grandma Gao asked, testing the waters.

”Grandma Gao, are you trying to play matchmaker for me?” Qin Mei retorted playfully.

Grandma Gao paused, stunned. ’Girls from Huaxia really are sharp,’ she mused. ”Xiao Mei, do you have a boyfriend?”

”No.” ’I don’t have a boyfriend, that’s true,’ Qin Mei thought. ’I only have a husband.’

’All the better that she doesn’t have a boyfriend.’ Grandma Gao was delighted. ”Xiao Mei, what if I introduce you to a boyfriend? Would you be open to it?”

’If you dare introduce me to a boyfriend,’ Qin Mei thought, ’Jie Jingchen will take his anger out on your entire Gao family. He already has a very poor opinion of you all because of Xu Jiali.’

’Would Jie Jingchen really tolerate you trying to steal his wife?’

”Grandma Gao, you aren’t thinking of introducing your own grandson to me, are you?” Qin Mei asked with feigned surprise.

”Would you be willing?” Grandma Gao asked.

Qin Mei shook her head. ”No.”

Grandma Gao’s expression flickered but instantly returned to normal. ”Why not?”

’Why not?’ Qin Mei thought. ’For what reason? Obviously, because Jie Jingchen wouldn’t allow it.’ But what she said was, ”I’d rather not become sisters-in-law with my aunt.”

”And what if you didn’t have to become sisters-in-law?” Grandma Gao asked probingly.

Qin Mei shot Grandma Gao a sideways glance. For a moment, she couldn’t quite figure out the old woman’s true intentions. Feigning surprise again, Qin Mei asked, ”Grandma Gao, do you like me that much? You’d even abandon your own grandson for my sake?”

”What do you mean by that?” Grandma Gao was baffled.

”My aunt is going to marry your grandson, but you like me and want to introduce your grandson to me. And since I don’t want to be sisters-in-law with my aunt, you’d have to give up your grandson,” Qin Mei explained.

Grandma Gao’s face twisted. ’This girl is truly naive,’ she thought. ’Has it never occurred to her that we could just not let Xu Jiali marry my grandson, and have her marry him instead?’

”Of all my grandsons, he’s the most outstanding,” Grandma Gao said, pointing at Gao Qiang, who was walking ahead of them.

”What good is being outstanding if he’s already about to marry my aunt?” Qin Mei said, feigning disappointment.

Seeing Qin Mei act this way, Grandma Gao suddenly felt there was hope for her plan. ”They’re not even engaged, let alone married.”

The implication was clear: with just one word from Qin Mei, they would call off the wedding immediately.

”But didn’t you come to the Qiao Family’s home today to discuss their marriage?” Qin Mei asked doubtfully.