Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

After meeting the Gao family, she understood Jie Jingchen. If it were her, she would have broken them up just like Fa Hai broke up Xu Xian and Lady Bai.

Xu Jiali had misjudged. The Gao family was too hypocritical, and Gao Qiang had approached her with an ulterior motive.

”Hmph!” Grandma Gao snorted, her voice laced with disdain. ”Never mind that Xu Jiali has a terminal illness—her status alone makes her completely unworthy of my grandson. And the Qiao Family still wants to use this opportunity to demand such a high bride price? Are they trying to rip off our Gao family?”

”Search your heart and tell me: Is Gao Qiang unworthy of Xu Jiali, or is Xu Jiali unworthy of Gao Qiang?” Qin Mei demanded coldly.

”Xu Jiali is unworthy of Gao Qiang.” Grandma Gao didn’t hesitate for a second. In her eyes, her grandson was good enough for anyone—never mind Xu Jiali, he could even have Qiao Wei.

”How shameless,” Qin Mei cursed. ’Old Mrs. Gao is unbelievably thick-skinned.’

”You Qiao family members are the shameless ones! You knew she had a terminal illness, yet you still tried to marry her into our Gao family. And you demanded an exorbitant bride price without offering a single penny for a dowry,” Grandma Gao sneered.

”The one who refused to provide a dowry was Jie Jingchen. My grandma never said a word about it. Old Madam Gao, do you have any idea how large a dowry my grandma had prepared for her?” Qin Mei wanted the Gao family to regret their stupidity. ’Faced with such a massive dowry,’ she thought, ’they wouldn’t have been able to refuse even if it were a ghost marriage, let alone a bride with a terminal illness.’

Mrs. Gao thought back. It was true that Madam Qiao hadn’t stated her position. Xu Jiali was her grand-niece, whom she had raised from a young age. Their bond was undeniably strong. It did seem a bit unreasonable for her to marry off her own grand-niece without providing any dowry.

Grandma Gao also fell silent.

Lying face down on the hospital bed, Gao Qiang’s body convulsed in pain, making it impossible for him to even process Qin Mei’s question.

”The dowry my grandma prepared for her would have been enough for your Gao family to make a complete comeback.” Qin Mei didn’t specify an amount, but her words ”make a complete comeback” filled Grandma Gao with endless regret.

’Marry Xu Jiali, she dies a few days later, and her dowry...’

Qin Mei gave Gao Qiang an injection, snapping him out of his daze. Gao Qiang let out an agonized scream. Qin Mei roughly yanked the needle out, tossed the syringe onto the medical tray, and walked out of the room with it.

Qin Mei returned the supplies to the head nurse. Instead of going to Dean Zhang’s office, she headed to Xu Jiali’s room.

Xu Jiali sat on her bed, staring blankly into space. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice Qin Mei enter. The two nurses watching over Xu Jiali saw Qin Mei and were about to say something, but Qin Mei stopped them.

They had been part of the team that tried to resuscitate Xu Jiali. Even Dean Zhang had been powerless, yet Qin Mei had managed to save her. They practically worshipped Qin Mei now.

Qin Mei gestured toward the door, indicating they should leave. The two nurses exchanged a look, then got up, left the room, and closed the door behind them.

The sound of the door closing startled Xu Jiali. Her vacant gaze instantly lit up the moment she saw Qin Mei.

”Xiao Mei,” Xu Jiali said, her throat dry.

Qin Mei glanced at Xu Jiali’s IV drip, then met her gaze, her own eyes clear and pure as water. ”How are you feeling?”

”It hurts here,” Xu Jiali said, pointing to her heart and looking at Qin Mei with a pitiful expression.

Qin Mei walked over to a sofa and sat down, the corners of her lips ticking upward in a faint smile. ”It’s just a breakup. Do you really have to act like your life is over?”

”Xiao Mei, Jing Chen went too far! He actually had Qiao Wei seduce Gao Qiang,” Xu Jiali said, feeling utterly wronged.

”The facts prove Jie Jingchen was right. Gao Qiang couldn’t pass the test.” Qin Mei couldn’t see things from Xu Jiali’s perspective. If Gao Qiang had been someone worth spending a lifetime with, she would have sided with Xu Jiali. But as it turned out, he wasn’t.

’When two people are truly in love, their families’ opinions don’t matter at all. If things got bad enough, they could have just eloped. Come back a few years later with a kid, and their families would have no choice but to accept them.’

”But that’s Qiao Wei we’re talking about! Forget Gao Qiang—even Jie Jingchen couldn’t resist her.” Xu Jiali was still bitter. She didn’t say this to drive a wedge between him and his wife, but simply to emphasize how incredibly skilled Qiao Wei was at seducing men.

Qin Mei fell silent, remembering how Qiao Wei would call Jie Jingchen ”cousin.” ’Are they related within three generations, or are they more distant relatives?’

Qin Mei couldn’t figure it out, and she didn’t want to. ’Given Jie Jingchen’s ice-cold demeanor that keeps everyone at arm’s length,’ she thought, ’Qiao Wei would have to be crazy to try and seduce him.’

”Sigh,” Qin Mei lamented. ”The blossom yearns for the stream, but the stream flows on, unfeeling.”

”If Qiao Wei hadn’t interfered, the stream would have returned the blossom’s feelings,” Xu Jiali retorted, growing more upset the more she thought about it. She and Gao Qiang had been on the very last step, only for Qiao Wei to barge in and ruin everything.