Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man-Chapter 38 - 27: Qin Mei’s Promise

Listening to Qin Mei’s distant yet polite thanks, Jie Jingchen’s gaze darkened. He felt a sense of unease.

"Fourth Brother, aren’t you eating?" Jie Jingshan asked.

"I’ve already eaten." Jie Jingchen smiled. Seeing Jie Jingshan happy lifted his spirits as well.

He glanced at Qin Mei from the corner of his eye, a question once again rising in his mind. ’Is she really Qin Mei?’

After they finished eating, Qin Mei took the aluminum lunchbox to the kitchen to wash it.

"Fourth Brother." Jie Jingshan looked at Jie Jingchen, who was sitting on the stone stool, and hesitated to speak.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing her expression, Jie Jingchen suddenly understood and asked in a low voice, "Do you need to use the restroom?"

"No." Jie Jingshan shook her head. Realizing her fourth brother had misunderstood, she pushed past her embarrassment and said urgently, "I already went. Fourth Sister-in-law helped me. Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law is very nice. She doesn’t look down on me."

Jie Jingchen’s heart ached. He reached out and ruffled the back of Jing Qi’s head, comforting her, "Silly girl, no one would ever look down on you."

Jie Jingshan lowered her head, a flash of hurt in her eyes. ’Mom doesn’t look down on me, and neither does Third Sister-in-law, but it’s hard to say about the others. Even if they don’t say it out loud, I’m not stupid. The way they look at me is clearly filled with disdain.’

Jie Jingchen saw it all and felt a pang of sympathy. Not everyone in the family treated Jing Qi with genuine kindness. Since he was stationed with the army year-round and rarely came home, his gaze drifted toward the kitchen, and his mood inexplicably improved.

’The Qin Mei after the amnesia is a completely different person. Selfishly, I hope she never regains her memories.’

The old Qin Mei was... a real piece of work. That was why when she fell into a coma, he hadn’t contacted his family. Instead, he had contacted his eldest sister, giving the Sun Family ten yuan a month for living expenses and asking his sister to have them look after her.

If the old Qin Mei had been brought to the Jie Family residence, her personality would have undoubtedly turned the house upside down. Faced with the disabled Jing Qi, she would have absolutely kicked her while she was down, taunting her with all sorts of nasty insults.

If he hadn’t been injured on this business trip to Shanghai and seen how much Qin Mei had changed, he never would have risked bringing her back to the Jie Family.

’Things would have gone as she wished. After being discharged from the hospital, we would have gone our separate ways—she to the Sun Family in Dazhuang Village, and I back to Shijiu City.’

After washing the lunchbox, Qin Mei returned to the courtyard. Seeing Jie Jingchen staring blankly, she called his name a few times but got no response. She leaned in close and shouted in his ear, "Jie Jingchen, are you off in outer space?"

Startled, Jie Jingchen snapped back to his senses, his ears ringing from Qin Mei’s shout. He whipped his head around, and his thin lips pressed against Qin Mei’s rosy ones.

The sudden, accidental kiss stunned them both. Qin Mei’s eyes went wide, and her entire body tensed up.

’This is my first kiss!’

He and the original owner of this body had consummated their marriage, but she wasn’t the original owner. Although she was twenty-eight, she had never been in a relationship. She barely had enough time for her studies, let alone dating.

Her first kiss wasn’t given away willingly in some grand, romantic moment, but was taken in a sudden accident. And Qin Mei firmly believed that every accident was premeditated.

Qin Mei reacted instantly. Before Jie Jingchen could even process what had happened, she shoved him away and slapped him across the face.

"Qin Mei," Jie Jingchen said, furious. His mind flashed back to that unpleasant night. He had fallen into her trap, been forced to consummate their marriage, and then marry her. Afterward, he had been so enraged he’d had the urge to strangle her, but in the end, he’d controlled himself.

’She fell off the bed, hit her head, and ended up with amnesia. I didn’t kick her off; she tripped over my leg and stumbled off the bed herself.’

’That accident just now didn’t even count as a kiss. At most, our lips just touched. And she was the main culprit! If she hadn’t shouted in my ear, would I have been so startled that an accident like that would happen?’

’And now she had the nerve to hit me.’

"Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law," Jie Jingshan cried out from the side, startled by the scene.

Qin Mei shook her hand, which was stinging from the force of the slap. She had clearly hit him hard. Once she regained her composure, she admitted to herself that her reaction might have been a bit extreme.

"There was a mosquito on your face. I was just helping you get it. No need to thank me," Qin Mei said, forcing herself to come up with a lame excuse.

"Is that so?" Jie Jingchen’s face was cold as he spoke through gritted teeth.

"What else could it be? Don’t tell me you think I hit you on purpose over that accidental kiss. That’s ridiculous. Is that even possible? We’re a legally married couple. Would a wife hit her husband over a single kiss? Of course not," Qin Mei said without missing a beat, even pulling Jie Jingshan into it. "Jing Qi, you tell me, is that possible?"

Jie Jingshan remained silent, not offering an opinion.

Jie Jingchen pressed his tongue against his back molars, a cold light glinting in his amber eyes. "So you *do* remember we’re married."

Qin Mei smiled but said nothing, keenly aware of the hidden meaning in Jie Jingchen’s words.

’Is he implying that I haven’t been fulfilling my wifely duties? How absurd. He injured his waist. It’s not that I doubt his abilities, but even if I wanted to satisfy him, could he even perform?’

’I should be the one implying *he’s* not fulfilling his duties as a husband.’

"Fourth Brother." Jie Jingshan tugged at Jie Jingchen’s sleeve.

Jie Jingchen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the anger was gone.

"Fourth Brother, go get Fifth Brother to come back," Jie Jingshan said, changing the subject. She was reminding Jie Jingchen that treating her leg was the most important thing. He couldn’t afford to offend Fourth Sister-in-law, or she might get upset and refuse to treat her.

Jie Jingshan had underestimated Qin Mei’s medical ethics. Her willingness to treat Jingshan’s leg had little to do with Jie Jingchen. Even if they divorced, she would see things through to the end and still help treat Jie Jingshan’s leg.

"Jie Jingchen." Qin Mei shot him a look. ’We can’t just force Jing Qi out of the house; we have to make her *want* to go with us. A coerced ’yes’ is still a ’yes’.’

Jie Jingchen had already caught on to Qin Mei’s plan. His gaze on Jing Qi deepened as he said, "Jing Qi, your Fifth Brother has to work. We should just wait for Aunt Zhang to come back."

Disappointed, Jie Jingshan let go of his sleeve. "When is Aunt Zhang coming back?"

"In a few days." Jie Jingchen wasn’t sure either.

"There is another way," Qin Mei said, seizing the opportunity.

"What way?" Jie Jingshan looked up, her face full of anticipation.

Qin Mei didn’t beat around the bush. "You can come with us to the traditional medicine shop to buy the herbs."

Jie Jingshan’s face fell. "I’m not going."

"Then there’s nothing to be done." Qin Mei didn’t press her, shrugging nonchalantly. "We’ll just have to wait for Aunt Zhang to come back. It’s not like your leg issue just started yesterday. Seeing how patient you are, a few more days won’t make a difference."

Jie Jingchen’s eye twitched. ’So blunt and obvious... Does she really think Jing Qi is an idiot?’

Jie Jingshan lowered her head. No one could possibly understand how she felt at that moment. Waiting even one more hour was torture, let alone several more days.

Qin Mei stretched languidly and yawned. "I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m going back to my room to catch up on some sleep. Wake me up for lunch. I want steamed rice. As for the other dishes, whatever’s fine. I’m not a picky eater."

’Not a picky eater? She really has the nerve to say that,’ Jie Jingchen thought. ’I’ve never met anyone pickier than her.’

Before Qin Mei could even step over the threshold, Jie Jingshan called out to her. "Fourth Sister-in-law."

Qin Mei stopped but didn’t turn around. She didn’t want Jing Qi to see the triumphant look on her face.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, I’ll go with you to the medicine shop to buy the herbs," Jie Jingshan said, her hands clenched into tight fists. It was clear how much courage it took for her to make that decision.

Qin Mei wiped the triumphant expression from her face, then turned around to look at Jie Jingshan calmly. "You’re not forcing yourself?"

"I’m not," Jie Jingshan nodded.

"Are you sure?" Qin Mei asked again. Seeing Jie Jingshan nod, she warned her, "You’d better think this through. Once we’re out that door, you can’t back out. You know how I am. Either we don’t go, or once we do, I won’t give in even if you regret it and throw a fit, threatening to kill yourself. If you push me, I’ll dislocate your jaw."

Jie Jingshan instinctively touched her chin. ’Having my jaw dislocated, drooling like an idiot... That would be so humiliating.’

"I won’t regret it," Jie Jingshan said, her tone firm.

"Promise?" Qin Mei’s brow furrowed.

"I promise," Jie Jingshan vowed.