Seeing Jie Jingjue heading outside, Xu Chunyan casually asked, "Jing Wu, are you going out?"

"Yeah," Jie Jingjue nodded, carrying his bicycle over the threshold.

"Are you going to see Aiyun?" Xu Chunyan pressed eagerly.

Jie Jingjue faltered for a moment, then looked back at Xu Chunyan and replied, "No, Aiyun and I are over. Second Sister-in-law, please don’t worry about us anymore. This time, it’s really and truly over."

Disappointment filled Xu Chunyan’s eyes. She wanted to urge them to reconcile but didn’t know what to say. ’Forget it,’ she thought. ’Jing Wu won’t listen to me anyway, so there’s no point in trying.’ She then asked, "It’s almost dinnertime, and Aunt Qiao and Dad will be home soon. What are you going out for?"

"Fourth Brother told me to go buy groceries." Before his voice had faded, Jie Jingjue was already riding away on his bicycle.

"Buy groceries?" Xu Chunyan raised an eyebrow. ’Isn’t Qin Mei rich? Why is she still making Jing Wu buy groceries?’

Grandpa was in the kitchen making dinner. Wanting to make a good impression, Xu Chunyan went to help him.

The rice was cooked, but Jie Jingjue still hadn’t returned with the groceries. Jie Jingchen went back to their room to wake Qin Mei.

"Qin Mei." Jie Jingchen sat on the edge of the bed. He glanced at the new sheets and the ones drying in the courtyard but didn’t think much of it.

Qin Mei opened her eyes, glanced at Jie Jingchen, and stretched lazily. Thinking she was still dreaming, she rolled over, turning her back to him to continue sleeping.

"Qin Mei." Jie Jingchen gently nudged her back.

Her eyes snapped open. She turned to face Jie Jingchen, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. Looking a little dazed, she asked, "What time is it?"

Jie Jingchen glanced at his watch. Just as he was about to tell her the time, Qin Mei abruptly sat up, threw off the covers, and got out of bed to put on her shoes.

"Jie Jingchen, I have something for you."

Jie Jingchen assumed she was talking about the two sets of clothes she had bought him. His voice was gentle. "I saw them. The size is perfect, and the style is great. I like them a lot."

"Good, I’m glad you like them," Qin Mei replied perfunctorily. She knew he was talking about the clothes.

Jie Jingchen watched as Qin Mei used a key to unlock a cabinet and took out a locked box. He knew this was the box where she kept her money and passbooks. ’What is she doing? Does she want to give me money?’

Qin Mei took out the passbook Jie Jingshan had given her and handed it to Jie Jingchen. "This is for you."

Jie Jingchen looked down at the passbook in his hand. He was all too familiar with it—it was Jing Qi’s. A flicker of displeasure crossed his eyes.

"Jing Qi gave this to you." It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

"Congratulations, you got it right." Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingchen with mock admiration. He knew it was Jing Qi’s passbook without even opening it. On second thought, it wasn’t surprising. The last time Jing Qi gave her a thousand yuan, Jie Jingchen was the one who had taken her to withdraw it.

"If Jing Qi gave it to you, why are you giving it to me?" Jie Jingchen’s eyes darkened as he tried to hand the passbook back to Qin Mei.

Qin Mei held the passbook, trying to thrust it back at him, but Jie Jingchen hid his hands behind his back. She glared at him, her eyes filled with annoyance. "Jie Jingchen, do you know how much money is in this passbook?"

Jie Jingchen’s eyes narrowed slightly. "I do."

"You know, and you still refuse it?" Qin Mei continued to glare at him. It was too much money; she felt like she couldn’t protect it. Rather than live in constant fear and worry, it was better to give it to him for safekeeping.

"What Jing Qi gave you is yours." Jie Jingchen was getting angry. ’She gave it to him right after Jing Qi gave it to her. What was the difference between that and just giving it back to Jing Qi?’

Qin Mei was speechless at the siblings’ behavior. If it had been a small amount, she could have shamelessly accepted it. But this was too much; she didn’t feel at ease holding onto it. Taking a deep breath, she tried to persuade him. "Jie Jingchen, Jing Qi is still young. There are some things she doesn’t understand, but you do."

"Don’t underestimate Jing Qi. Anything you understand, she understands too. And the things you don’t understand, she just might." Jie Jingchen’s amber eyes narrowed into a mischievous line, a strange light glinting through them.

Qin Mei found his words rather sarcastic. ’How old is Jing Qi, and how old am I? The things I don’t understand, she might? Bullshit.’

Qin Mei took a moment to compose herself, suppressing her anger and speaking with forced patience. "Jie Jingchen, Jing Qi only gave me this much money because I healed her legs."

"Exactly. So you can accept it with a clear conscience," Jie Jingchen said.

There was nothing wrong with his logic, but it made Qin Mei want to smack him with the passbook. She hadn’t even been able to convince Jing Qi, and had in fact been convinced by her instead. Faced with Jie Jingchen, who was on a whole other level than his sister, Qin Mei could only admit defeat.

"Fine, I’ll take it! It’s mine then! Tomorrow, I’m going to the bank and transferring all the money from this passbook into my own." Qin Mei angrily put the passbook back in the box, locked it, placed the box back in the cabinet, locked that, and then hid the key.