Jie Jingchen returned to his room and wasn’t surprised at all to see his mother there. "Mom, it’s late. You should go back and get some rest."

Mrs. Xie said nothing, simply rising to her feet and leaving.

Jie Jingchen closed the door and locked it. Qin Mei stood by the window, watching Mrs. Xie’s departing figure. "Jie Jingchen, your mom is in a really bad mood."

’After everything that’s happened, it would be a miracle if she were in a good mood. Zhang Hongying disappointed her, and she feels she has wronged Zhang Hongyan. The debt of having her life saved is suffocating her. It’s easy to repay money, but a debt of gratitude is hard to settle, especially when Zhang Hongyan sacrificed her life for her.’

"I’m not in a good mood either." Jie Jingchen hugged Qin Mei from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Qin Mei didn’t speak or ask questions, simply letting Jie Jingchen hold her. ’If he wants to share, I’ll be a faithful listener. If he doesn’t, I’ll just quietly keep him company.’

After some time, his deep voice, tinged with a slight hoarseness, broke the silence. "Qin Mei, do you have any regrets?"

Qin Mei was taken aback. She glanced sideways at Jie Jingchen. They were so close their cheeks were touching. "Regret what?"

"Regretting marrying me? Regretting coming back here with me?" A smile touched Jie Jingchen’s lips, but his heart ached with bitterness.

A sly glint appeared in Qin Mei’s dark eyes. "A little."

The smile froze on his lips, and anguish seeped into his expression. The arms wrapped around her slender waist tightened. "Qin Mei."

"Your family is too complicated. I can’t handle it." ’To put it bluntly, there was just too much drama. Qin Mei was lazy and didn’t want to deal with these complicated relationships; they would leave her emotionally drained.’

She missed her days in Dazhuang Village. Life had been poor, but it was carefree.

What Qin Mei didn’t know was that only she had been carefree; everyone else had been busy struggling just to get by.

Jie Jingchen let go of Qin Mei, gripped her shoulders, and turned her around to face him. "Qin Mei, you don’t have to handle any of it. Just do whatever you want."

"Do whatever I want." Qin Mei looked down, murmuring the words. ’Can anyone really live just as they please?’

Jie Jingchen released her shoulder, and his well-defined fingers slowly tidied a strand of her hair. The back of his hand caressed her cheek before his index finger tilted her chin up. A doting smile played on his lips. "Even if you can’t do exactly as you please, I won’t let you feel stifled."

Qin Mei was forced to meet his gaze. His amber eyes were deep and bottomless, shimmering with an alluring affection that could captivate one’s soul. Stunned for a few seconds, she swatted away the hand holding her chin.

’Oh my god! This man is seducing me.’

Qin Mei turned her back to him and said sarcastically, "Oh, give me a break! You look plenty stifled yourself, and you’re saying you won’t let me be? Jie Jingchen, do you even believe your own words?"

Jie Jingchen smiled bitterly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "They’re my Grandpa and Granny, after all," he said helplessly. "And my dad is in a difficult position."

’Ties of blood are truly hard to sever.’ Qin Mei understood this well. Before she had transmigrated to this era, her own life had been completely arranged by her family, and she hadn’t even had the courage to resist.

’Jie Jingchen was more capable than her. When faced with pressure, he had the courage to fight back, daring to retort with sharp words. She, on the other hand, couldn’t. Lacking any courage to resist, she could only follow her family’s arrangements to the letter.’

Qin Mei turned to gaze at Jie Jingchen. "Your Granny wanted to stay in the room next to ours. Why didn’t you agree?"

"I’m afraid that once they move in, they’ll never want to leave," Jie Jingchen answered.

Qin Mei froze. She hadn’t expected him to be so blunt. ’Truthfully, she had been thinking the exact same thing, but given her position, she had been too embarrassed to say it out loud, let alone hint at it to Jie Jingchen.’

Qin Mei poked his chest. "Your Granny is going to call you unfilial."

Jie Jingchen caught her hand. "She has sons and daughters, and plenty of grandsons and granddaughters. I’m far down the list when it comes to filial duties."

Qin Mei didn’t argue. ’It was a child’s duty to be filial. As for grandchildren, if a grandparent truly loved and doted on them, the grandchildren would surely show genuine respect in return.’

"Sigh!" Qin Mei let out a breath. "The coming month isn’t going to be peaceful."

’Ever since she and Jie Jingchen arrived at the Jie Family home, life had just gotten more and more "eventful" by the day.’

"It’s not that dramatic. As long as Granny doesn’t mess with you, don’t mess with her. But if she does," Jie Jingchen said, caressing her cheek with a wide grin, "you just talk back to her the same way I do. Don’t worry about her being an elder."

"Jie Jingchen, when you talk back to your Granny so ruthlessly, aren’t you worried your dad will give you a beating?" Qin Mei asked curiously. ’Filial piety was a traditional virtue, after all.’

Jie Jingchen’s voice was low. "My dad knows exactly what kind of person my Granny is. He can be filial, but not blindly so. He knows from deep personal experience what the consequences of blind filial piety are. If he continues down that path, it will only make Granny more outrageous—unless he wants his wife and children to leave him."

’Blind filial piety truly was terrifying. Some elderly people got old and bored, and when they started stirring up trouble, they could tear their son’s happy family to shreds.’

"Jie Jingchen, aren’t you worried I might anger your Granny to death?" Qin Mei asked, half-joking and half-serious.

"You won’t," Jie Jingchen said with certainty. "Granny is very resilient. Even if you managed to anger her half to death, I’m confident that with your abilities, you wouldn’t let anything truly happen to her."

"Hmph!" Qin Mei huffed, pushed Jie Jingchen away, and walked to the bed. She slipped off her shoes and jacket, then climbed under the covers.

Jie Jingchen looked at her carelessly discarded jacket and shoes, then silently went over to arrange them neatly and hang the jacket up properly. Only then did he take off his own shoes and lie down. "Qin Mei, I’m kind of envious of Third Brother."

"Envious of what?" Qin Mei asked, turning on her side to face him.

"His mother-in-law’s house is close by," Jie Jingchen said. ’When things get unpleasant at home, he can just take his wife and go stay there. A classic case of escaping reality.’

Qin Mei’s eye twitched. "Are you complaining that my family lives too far away?" she demanded irritably. "Hmph! Teacher Lin’s house is very close, much closer than Third Sister-in-law’s. You even have to ride a bike to get to her place, but not Teacher Lin’s. Why don’t you just go and marry her, then?"

Jie Jingchen was stunned. Seeing her angry words, he quickly explained, "I’m not complaining that your family lives far away. I was just envious of Third Brother... Ugh, how did we get onto Teacher Lin again? I’m not interested in her that way."

"Were you interested in me ’that way’ when you married me?" Qin Mei demanded, pressing her advantage.

Jie Jingchen’s lip twitched. He started to answer honestly, "Our marriage certificate was issued by the military..."

He trailed off, wisely shutting his mouth.

"Go on, why did you stop? Keep talking," Qin Mei said, narrowing her eyes at him. ’If only she had the original owner’s memories, she would absolutely demand a full explanation from him.’

"The process isn’t important; the result is what matters," Jie Jingchen said. He wasn’t stupid enough to continue that line of conversation.

"Result? What result? We haven’t even blossomed yet, and you’re already hoping for fruit." Qin Mei deliberately twisted his words, using the pun to remind him that their relationship hadn’t been consummated—not since that one time between him and the original owner.

"We will blossom, and we will bear fruit," Jie Jingchen said, full of anticipation. ’He was counting the days, waiting just a little longer for her body’s sake.’

"That’s not a given." Suddenly remembering something, Qin Mei decided it was time to settle an old score. She sat up, clutching the quilt. "Jie Jingchen, I heard from your comrade, Gao Hai, that you were very popular with the opposite sex in the military."

"There are no women in the military," Jie Jingchen retorted, though he was inwardly cursing Gao Hai. ’What was that guy thinking, spouting nonsense to her?’

"The arts troupe. The infirmary," Qin Mei reminded him. ’Did she really have to spell it out?’

Jie Jingchen fell silent. ’This was a time to be smart and stay quiet. The more he said, the more he could say wrong; saying nothing was the safest bet.’

"So what’s the deal with you and Doctor Du?" Qin Mei asked directly.

Jie Jingchen raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering. "Doctor Du? Man or woman? Never heard of them."