Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man-Chapter 126 - 56: Admitting You’re Afraid of Pain Isn’t Shameful (2)

Jie Jingchen froze, his hand halting mid-air as he applied the ointment. Seeing Qin Mei awake, he looked as flustered as someone caught red-handed. "Applying your ointment."

"Go ahead," Qin Mei said. She wasn’t making a fuss, nor was she feigning any demure shyness.

A thick layer of ointment was slathered on her knee. Qin Mei was speechless. ’I know the ointment is from my mother-in-law,’ she thought, ’but even free medicine doesn’t need to be wasted like this.’

’If I remember correctly, medicine is very scarce these days.’ Then another thought occurred to her. ’Then again, in this era of scarcity, what isn’t in short supply?’

Jie Jingchen carefully lowered her pant leg, then looked at Qin Mei and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Nowhere else," Qin Mei said, shaking her head. ’When I fell off the bike, my knees hit the ground first. It’s a good thing I was wearing long johns, or they’d be in much worse shape.’

Jie Jingchen didn’t believe her. He pulled up her sleeve, but seeing no injuries on her fair, delicate arm, he was finally convinced. After all, when you fall off a bike, it’s usually the elbows and knees that get scraped up.

"Satisfied?" Qin Mei pulled her sleeve down and rolled over, turning her back to Jie Jingchen.

Jie Jingchen stared at her back with a deep, inscrutable gaze for a long moment before placing the ointment under his pillow. He pulled the light cord, plunging the room into darkness, then shook out the blanket and lay down.

Jie Jingchen had a habit of shaking out the blanket before getting into bed. He hadn’t done it earlier because Qin Mei had been asleep, but now that she was awake, he doubted she could fall asleep again in an instant.

Qin Mei wanted to curse him out. When Jie Jingchen shook the blanket, a draft of cold air rushed in, and the once-cozy space under the covers suddenly felt chilly.

"Jie Jingchen, if I catch a cold, you’re taking responsibility," Qin Mei said, tucking her head down. She clutched the blanket tightly, leaving only her head exposed.

Jie Jingchen froze for a moment before realizing what she meant. "Sorry, it’s a habit."

Qin Mei huffed and pulled the blanket up over her head.

In the pitch-black room, Jie Jingchen couldn’t see but sensed her movement. He tugged at the blanket. "Is it really that cold? Aren’t you afraid you’ll suffocate under there?"

"None of your business," came Qin Mei’s muffled voice from under the blanket.

"Come out. If you end up suffocating, I’ll be the one stuck taking care of you." Jie Jingchen tugged the blanket again, but Qin Mei held on tight, so he gave up. He then reminded her, "Qin Mei, don’t forget, I’m the patient here."

"Serves you right." ’I’m not going to feel sorry for him,’ Qin Mei thought. ’He doesn’t deserve it. Back in Shanghai, if he’d only listened to the doctor, would his health be in this state?’

’This is what happens when you don’t listen to your doctor.’

’If only I’d known how complicated the Jie Family’s relationships were, I never would’ve let him talk me into coming to Shijiu City.’ Qin Mei was filled with regret. ’I spent half a year with the Sun Family for nothing. I saw Jie Jingling every day—why on earth didn’t I ask her what the Jie Family was like?’

’But even if I had known, could I really have stayed away from the Jie Family?’

’Doubtful. We’re husband and wife. Sooner or later, I would have ended up at the Jie Family’s home anyway. The only way to escape them is to divorce Jie Jingchen.’

"So heartless," Jie Jingchen muttered, his complaint almost too quiet to hear.

Tucked under the blanket, Qin Mei naturally didn’t hear him. If she had, she would have insisted on setting him straight. She would never admit to being heartless—if she really were, she never would have gone all the way to Shanghai to take care of him.

Qin Mei fell asleep. Once she was out, her guard was completely down. As the air under the blanket grew thin, she unconsciously wriggled her head out. In one motion, she rolled over, wrapped her arms around Jie Jingchen, and slung a leg over his thigh. She snuggled into his arms, finding a comfortable spot.

Jie Jingchen’s body went rigid, every muscle tensed. In the darkness, his eyes grew even more profound.

’The sleeping Qin Mei and the awake Qin Mei are like two different people,’ he thought. ’Awake, she deliberately keeps her distance from me in bed. Asleep, she lets down all her guards and uses me like a personal heater.’

She was warm now, but Jie Jingchen felt like he was being tormented by a burning desire.

The second brother’s family and the third brother’s family were both visiting their respective in-laws. The second aunt, having taken money and ration tickets from Mrs. Xie, had woken up early to buy groceries. Before anyone else was awake, she had already prepared breakfast for the whole household, leaving it to keep warm in a pot. After that, she went home to cook for her own son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons.

Mr. and Mrs. Xie got up, ate the breakfast the second aunt had prepared, and then left for work together.

Late in the morning, Qin Mei finally woke up. She stretched languidly, then got out of bed to wash up.

"Time for breakfast," Jie Jingchen said as he brought the food into the room.

It was vegetable congee with shredded potatoes. Qin Mei loved it and quickly finished every last bite.

"It’s so nice having someone at home to cook," Qin Mei sighed.

"Aunt Zhang should be back soon," Jie Jingchen said.