Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

There was still hope, but it was slim.

Xu Jiali was Jie Jingchen’s maternal aunt, which was the only reason Qin Mei was even considering extending her life. If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t have. The wealthy could use their money to stay alive, but for ordinary people, the medical expenses in the later stages would be an enormous sum. It would drag down the entire family, and it was too cruel to make a patient wait for death in agony.

Jie Jingchen thought for a moment, then said, ”Send her abroad.”

”...” Qin Mei.

Qin Mei wanted to bite Jie Jingchen’s head off. ’He’s so desperate he’d try anything,’ she fumed internally. She said irritably, ”With this disease, it doesn’t matter where you send her. The result will be the same.”

”What if there’s a miracle?” Jie Jingchen asked.

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. ’This guy actually believes in miracles.’ ”You might as well say I misdiagnosed her.”

Regarding Xu Jiali’s illness, Qin Mei had expected her own grandmother to get hung up on false hope, but she never thought Jie Jingchen would do the same. ’But with me around, can he really get away with it? Even if he tries, I’ll just pull him back out and force him to face reality.’

”Eat,” Jie Jingchen said, pushing the aluminum lunchbox in front of Qin Mei.

Qin Mei was genuinely hungry, so she wasn’t picky anymore. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

Grandma Gao, Mr. Gao, and Mrs. Gao received a call about Gao Qiang’s injuries. The latter two supported Grandma Gao as they rushed to the hospital immediately.

Whether by coincidence or by design, Gao Qiang was placed in the room next to Qin Xiang’s.

”Qiang’er.” Grandma Gao’s heart ached as she looked at her grandson, who was beaten black and blue. Aside from the injury on his head, he had multiple fractures, but thankfully, his internal organs weren’t damaged.

”Xiao Qiang.” Mr. and Mrs. Gao also felt their hearts ache seeing their son beaten so badly.

”Granny, Dad, Mom.” Gao Qiang wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. ”I messed everything up.”

Grandma Gao froze for a moment. ”Did Xu Jiali do this?”

Mr. and Mrs. Gao knew Xu Jiali was a capable fighter, but they couldn’t believe she would be so ruthless as to beat their son this badly. Wasn’t she head over heels for him?

”No.” Gao Qiang didn’t dare shake his head; even wiggling a toe made him grimace in pain.

”Then who was it?” Grandma Gao demanded, looking as if she would get revenge for him the moment he named the person.

”It was Young Master Qiao,” Gao Qiang said.

”Why would Young Master Qiao hit you?” Grandma Gao asked.

Mrs. Gao seemed to realize something. She looked at her son and asked, a little embarrassed, ”Could it be that you were with Jiali, and he...?”

”Mom, it’s not that,” Gao Qiang cut his mother off.

”Then what is it?” Grandma Gao grew anxious.

”It’s... that... I...” Gao Qiang found it hard to say and stammered, afraid that if he told the truth, his Granny would beat him with the Buddha Beads in her hand.

”Qiang’er.” Grandma Gao was losing her patience.

Gao Qiang took a deep breath, looking as if he were facing death, and said, ”Granny, I’ve offended the Governor Mansion and the Qiao Family.”

”What?” the three of them exclaimed in shock, all at the same time.

If they offended the Qiao Family, the Gao family might have a way out. But if they offended the Governor Mansion, there was only a dead end for the Gao family.

Gao Qiang didn’t dare say another word. Grandma Gao took her Buddha Beads and started hitting him with them. ”You brat! Why would you go and provoke the Governor Mansion for no reason? What gave you the nerve?”

”Granny, I would never dare provoke the Governor Mansion! It was Young Master Qiao! He had Qiao Wei seduce me,” Gao Qiang said, feeling deeply wronged.

They knew who Qiao Wei was but had never met her. Even Grandma Gao was left speechless by the stories of Qiao Wei’s promiscuous exploits.

”And you fell for it?” Mr. Gao looked at Gao Qiang sympathetically. ’Forget Gao Qiang; even I probably couldn’t have resisted.’

”Xiao Qiang, how could you have so little self-control?” Mrs. Gao said, looking at her son with immense frustration. ”What is Qiao Wei’s relationship with the Qiao Family? If she seduced you, it must have been arranged by Young Master Qiao. Was Jiali there when she seduced you? And... did you two sleep together?”

”Mom, Qiao Wei said it was love at first sight. I was thinking about her status... if I could become the son-in-law of the Governor Mansion, our Gao family’s fortunes would turn around,” Gao Qiang tried to explain.

”You fool! You actually believed a word Qiao Wei said?” Mrs. Gao wanted to slap her son.

”All I could think about was latching onto the Governor Mansion. I didn’t think too deeply about what she said. How was I supposed to know it was a trap Young Master Qiao set up specifically for me?” Gao Qiang said guiltily.

”Qiao Wei could have seduced you at any time, but she just had to do it at this critical moment? Qiao Wei is famous for being promiscuous. Do you really think she could fall in love with you at first sight? What’s your status? And what’s hers?” Mrs. Gao was so angry at her son she felt like she was about to have a heart attack.

That was the Governor Mansion! Was that a connection the Gao Family could really make?

If they succeeded, fine. But if they failed, they wouldn’t even know what hit them.

”Alright, stop blaming Qiang’er. He was just doing it for the good of our Gao family,” Grandma Gao said, cutting off her daughter-in-law.

”Mom, you’re still defending him.” Mrs. Gao was clearly resentful toward her mother-in-law. Her perfectly fine son was being spoiled rotten by his grandma.