Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Jie Jingchen’s gaze darkened. He asked, his voice laced with pain, ”How did this happen?”

”I helped your cousin climb a tree, and she stepped on me,” Qin Mei said resentfully. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted letting Qiao Wei take her into the mountains. ’I thought Qiao Wei was a pro, but who knew she was a total noob.’

Jie Jingchen gently applied medicine to her wound. Qin Mei couldn’t help but hiss. Jie Jingchen glanced at her and blew on it, trying to ease her pain. Qin Mei was speechless. ’Saliva has germs.’

”Why were you climbing a tree?” Jie Jingchen asked, though he already knew the answer. In the forest, you only climbed trees to save your life—when you encountered a ferocious beast.

Qin Mei stared at Jie Jingchen, gathering her thoughts for a moment. ”If I said we were raiding a bird’s nest, would you believe me?”

Jie Jingchen shot her a sideways glance, his gaze profound. He furrowed his brow and retorted, ”And do you think I’d believe that?”

”I do.” The word had barely left her mouth when Jie Jingchen flicked her forehead. Qin Mei glared at him, rubbing the stinging spot. ”Jie Jingsi, that hurts.”

’He was the one who told me to say it. I obeyed, and he flicked me for it.’

”Qin Mei, I’m not Jing Qi. Don’t try to fool me,” Jie Jingchen said, his low voice laced with anger.

”We ran into a wolf,” Qin Mei said, the words tumbling out.

Qin Mei had deliberately left out the word ”pack.” Running into a wolf and running into a pack of wolves were two very different concepts.

Jie Jingchen’s eyes searched hers. Seeing that she wasn’t lying or being evasive, he fell silent for a few seconds before asking, ”How many?”

”I didn’t count.” Qin Mei wasn’t lying; she really hadn’t counted. There were too many, and they were too fast. Who could have kept track? ”Jie Jingsi, you really should thank Jiang Yuan. If it weren’t for him, you’d be a widower right now.”

Jie Jingchen said nothing. He crouched down, took Qin Mei’s foot, and began to remove her shoe. The spot where the skin had been rubbed raw was now stuck to her sock, and his gaze grew even darker.

Jie Jingchen carefully started to peel off her sock, then gave it a sharp tug.

”AH!” Qin Mei felt as if a layer of skin was being ripped from her foot. The pain drained the color from her face, and she gripped the fabric of Jie Jingchen’s shirt, enduring the sharp agony of her skin being torn away.

Jie Jingchen’s heart ached for her, but he remained firm, grabbing her other foot.

”Jie Jingsi.” Qin Mei pulled her foot back. She had no desire to experience that kind of pain again.

”Just endure it,” Jie Jingchen soothed. His philosophy on treatment was simple: if you don’t remove the dead flesh, how can the wound heal?

When it was time to be gentle with her, he was nothing but gentle. When it was time to be firm, he was absolutely firm.

’Endure what? I’m not enduring this.’

”Bring me a basin of warm water. If I soak it for a bit, the sock will come off,” Qin Mei said, her voice trembling slightly. She couldn’t handle Jie Jingchen’s brute-force approach.

Jie Jingchen looked up, staring at Qin Mei. After a long silence, he finally spoke. ”The wound can’t get wet.”

”Who says?” Qin Mei demanded. ’I’ll kill them.’

”You did,” Jie Jingchen said.

Qin Mei recalled when Jie Jingchen had been cut by Xu Chunyan. After she’d treated the wound, she remembered the instructions she had given him. She paused. ”This is a different situation. Mine can get wet.”

”Are you sure?” Jie Jingchen thought Qin Mei was applying a double standard. His wound couldn’t get wet, but hers could?

”I’ll put some medicine in the water,” Qin Mei said.

Jie Jingchen didn’t hesitate this time. He got up and went to the bathroom, returning a moment later with a basin half-full of warm water. Qin Mei tossed a pill into it, and the water instantly changed color. She placed both feet in the basin and let them soak for a while before letting Jie Jingchen help her take off the socks.

After she finished soaking her feet, Jie Jingchen applied medicine. Her once fair, delicate feet were now covered in scrapes, and Jie Jingchen’s heart ached terribly.

”Jie Jingsi, was I close with your superior before?” Qin Mei asked curiously. The way Jiang Yuan looked at her held a complex mix of suppressed love and longing.

’Qin Mei had already cooked up a whole melodramatic love triangle in her head. The original owner loved Jie Jingchen, but Jie Jingchen loved someone else, which is why she drugged him. Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan loved the original owner—a classic case of the eternal backup option.’

Jie Jingchen’s hand paused as he applied the medicine. A flash of panic crossed his eyes, but he uttered two words without a hint of emotion. ”Not close.”

Qin Mei’s eyes, full of scrutiny, were fixed on Jie Jingchen. He kept his head down, focused on applying the medicine, so she couldn’t see his expression. Qin Mei probed, ”Not close? I don’t know, the way he looked at me felt as familiar and kind as an old friend’s.”

Jie Jingchen looked up, his amber eyes bottomless. He met Qin Mei’s gaze for a few seconds and enunciated clearly, ”An illusion.”

”An illusion?” The suspicion in Qin Mei’s eyes was undisguised.

”I’m not close with him either,” Jie Jingchen said emotionlessly.

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. ’She really wanted to ask him, *Do you even believe that yourself?*’