Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”If you don’t want me making wild guesses, then just tell me,” Granny snapped.

”It’s...” Grandpa’s gaze fell on Qin Mei.

Qin Mei’s composure cracked. Grandpa’s gaze made it obvious he was telling them that *she* was the one who got Jie Anqi pregnant. ”Grandpa, why are you looking at me?”

”Old man, why are you looking at the Fourth Wife of Jing? Don’t tell me you’re trying to say that the one who got our An Qi pregnant is the Fourth Wife of Jing?” Granny demanded irritably.

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. ’This is completely absurd. Me, getting Jie Anqi pregnant? Is that even possible? I’m a woman! I’m not exactly equipped to get anyone pregnant. Grandpa must be completely muddled. If he’s going to blame someone, at least find a man...’

Jie Jingchen jolted, his eyes narrowing as anger flashed across his fair-skinned face.

Jie Jingchen was on the verge of a breakdown. ’This is no small matter, we have to get this straight.’ ”What nonsense are you thinking? She’s my cousin!”

Granny shuddered. She also felt it was impossible; Jing Si and An Qi’s relationship was very strained. But if the accusation was against Qin Mei, her suspicion could only fall on Jing Si.

”Grandpa.” Jie Jingchen’s gaze was filled with resentment, dark and menacing.

Seeing that a huge misunderstanding was about to erupt, Grandpa threw caution to the wind and blurted out, ”It was Qin Xiang.”

”Impossible,” said Qin Mei.

”Impossible,” said Jie Jingchen.

”Impossible,” said Granny.

Three shocked and agitated voices rang out at once.

”I think it’s impossible, too,” Grandpa said, crestfallen. A selfish part of him wished it were Qin Xiang, but the problem remained: how could it possibly be him?

It was Qin Xiang’s first time in Shijiu City; he’d only arrived two days ago, but An Qi was already three months pregnant. An Qi obviously knew she was pregnant, yet she was adamant that the child was Qin Xiang’s. No matter what Grandpa said, she stubbornly stuck to her story.

An Qi had latched onto Qin Xiang, determined to make him take the fall. Forget Qin Xiang not wanting to be the sucker; even Grandpa felt it was a low blow. He’d tried everything to talk sense into her, but An Qi refused to listen. What was worse, the second branch of the family actually believed her. No matter how he explained, it was useless. Feeling utterly powerless, he’d had no choice but to leave the hospital and return home.

”Grandpa, it’s not a matter of ’thinking’ it’s impossible. It *is* impossible,” Qin Mei said with conviction. From the look in Grandpa’s eyes, she instantly understood. ’So that’s what this was all about. No wonder Grandpa wanted me and Jie Jingchen to stay behind. He was probably trying to get Qin Xiang to stay.’

’Jie Anqi really had some nerve, trying to pin this on Qin Xiang and make him the fall guy for the baby in her belly. Her scheming was so obvious it was practically slapping her in the face.’

’When I became a ”fall guy,” I only had to take on Jie Jingchen. But this innocent fall guy, Qin Xiang, would be taking on not just Jie Anqi, but her baby too. It’s ridiculous.’

Qin Mei had nothing against single mothers, but she despised Jie Anqi’s behavior. It was utterly despicable and shameless.

Jie Jingchen breathed a sigh of relief. He’d almost been mistaken for some kind of degenerate. His name was cleared, but what about Qin Xiang?

’Getting entangled with Jie Anqi...’ Jie Jingchen couldn’t help but feel a surge of pity for Qin Xiang. The guy comes to Shijiu City to visit family and ends up landing in this mess. ’Talk about unfair.’

”Meimei, calm down. Don’t be angry. Jie Anqi won’t be able to pin this on your little brother,” Jie Jingchen said, comforting his wife. ’Nothing is more important than calming her down first.’

”Hmph!” Qin Mei scoffed. ”This whole thing is baseless. How could she possibly pin it on him?”

”Words are powerful weapons. With something like this, if you just say it, someone will believe it,” Grandpa said, looking at Qin Mei with concern. ’She’s being too naive.’

Granny fell silent, her mind already starting to spin a scheme. ’An Qi wants to pin this on Qin Xiang. As her granny, I have to help her. I need to make her wish come true, find a way to make this accusation stick.’

’Besides, I’ve wanted to marry An Qi to Qin Xiang anyway. Since An Qi is so determined to pin this on him, maybe I can use the pregnancy to force his hand. For the sake of the Jie Family, and for An Qi, Qin Xiang will just have to make a sacrifice.’

’This can’t be rushed. I’ll have to discuss it with the second branch of the family and plan this out carefully.’

”With all this going on, I’m just not feeling right. No, I have to go to the hospital and see An Qi. I won’t be able to rest easy otherwise.” Granny straightened her clothes and started to leave.

”Old woman.” Grandpa grabbed her arm. ”Don’t go.”

”Don’t worry, I know how to handle this. I won’t make a scene. I’ll take care of it properly,” Granny said, patting the back of Grandpa’s hand reassuringly.

Grandpa froze. ’Take care of it properly? Could a situation like this even be handled properly? The ”best” solution would be for Qin Xiang to marry An Qi. Then they could all rest easy, An Qi’s reputation wouldn’t be destroyed, and the child would have a father. A perfect outcome for the Jie Family... but it would come at the cost of the Qin family’s happiness and be a terrible injustice to Qin Xiang.’