Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”We do. Our common enemy is Lin Yaru,” Xu Chunyan said urgently.

”No.” Qin Mei shook her head, an ounce of schadenfreude in her eyes as she looked at Xu Chunyan. ”Lin Yaru isn’t my enemy. She’s your enemy.”

’Lin Yaru doesn’t even count as a romantic rival. Why would I need to go through all the trouble to deal with her? I just don’t want to live with her or be around her. The fact that she’s after my man is disgusting, but to want her dead because of it? I really don’t have that in me.’

”The man Lin Yaru loves is Jing Si! Your man!” Xu Chunyan shrieked hysterically.

”But Lin Yaru married Jie Jingwei. Your former man.” Qin Mei’s words were like a sharp knife, plunging deep into Xu Chunyan’s heart.

Xu Chunyan glared at Qin Mei. ’Coming here to ask for her cooperation was just asking for humiliation.’

”I’d much rather sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight than cooperate with you.” Qin Mei pulled her lips into something that wasn’t quite a smile, her eyes filled with sarcasm.

All for a man, Xu Chunyan and Lin Yaru had become sworn enemies. It was a classic case of ”guard against fire, guard against thieves, guard against your best friend.” Their situation was a bit strange, though. The man Lin Yaru coveted wasn’t Xu Chunyan’s, but she still ended up reluctantly marrying Xu Chunyan’s man.

”Qin Mei, you’re the truly vicious one! You’ve done so many wicked things, you’ll get what’s coming to you!” Xu Chunyan cursed. She had humbled herself, yet Qin Mei still acted this way, so she immediately turned hostile.

Qin Mei sneered. ’As the saying goes, even if a deal falls through, goodwill remains. But Xu Chunyan had completely flipped.’ ”Morals aren’t universal. In a world of crows, it’s a crime to be a swan.”

Xu Chunyan vented her anger by cursing Qin Mei a few more times before proudly walking out of the room, head high and chest out. She didn’t leave, but instead waited in the courtyard for Mr. Xie to get off work.

Seeing a few ripe bunches of grapes on the vine, Xu Chunyan got up, went to the kitchen for a pair of scissors and a basket, and snipped them off, placing them carefully inside.

Qin Mei stood by the window, watching this unfold. She was seriously annoyed. ’I watered that grapevine every day, and now that the grapes are ripe, Xu Chunyan has picked them before I can even have the first taste. This is provocation. Blatant provocation. If someone else had picked them, fine. But Xu Chunyan? Absolutely not.’

Qin Mei stormed out of the room and roared, ”Xu Chunyan, what do you think you’re doing?”

Xu Chunyan flinched but then gave Qin Mei a defiant look. ”Picking grapes.”

After snipping off the ripe bunches, Xu Chunyan deliberately provoked Qin Mei further by cutting down an unripe one.

Qin Mei finally snapped. This wasn’t about picking grapes anymore. Xu Chunyan was dancing on her last nerve.

”Stop that!” Qin Mei rushed forward and snatched the scissors from Xu Chunyan’s hand, grabbing the basket as well. She moved so fast that Xu Chunyan was still in a daze when she found her hands empty.

’She had actually been planning to slash Qin Mei with the scissors when she tried to grab them. As for where to slash her? Her face, of course. If she ruined Qin Mei’s face, there was no way Jing Si would still like her.’

In Xu Chunyan’s eyes, the only reason Jing Si would marry Qin Mei was for her pretty face.

’Since she had been cast aside, she wanted Qin Mei to suffer the same fate.’

But Qin Mei had been too fast, and her snatching technique was peculiar. She had pressed a spot on Xu Chunyan’s wrist, and her hand had gone numb, instantly losing all strength.

”Qin Mei, have you got it straight? Did you plant this grapevine?” Xu Chunyan retorted, unconvinced. She tried to snatch them back, but Qin Mei hid the basket behind her and brandished the scissors.

Xu Chunyan immediately pulled her hand back. Her own thoughts were vicious, so she assumed Qin Mei was just as vicious and wanted to use this chance to ruin her face.

”I didn’t plant the grapevine, but I’m the one who’s been carefully tending to it.” Qin Mei wasn’t brandishing the scissors to hurt Xu Chunyan; she simply wanted to scare her.

”Carefully tending to it?” Xu Chunyan laughed mockingly. ”All you do is water it. You talk as if it’s some great achievement. Qin Mei, it would have borne plenty of grapes even if you hadn’t watered it.”

Jie Jingchen came out of the kitchen with a dark expression on his face. Seeing him, Xu Chunyan immediately dropped her arrogant attitude. ”Jing Si.”

”Ms. Xu, you and my second brother are divorced. You’re not welcome here. Please leave.” Jie Jingchen was being relatively polite; he didn’t tell her to get lost immediately.

”Jing Si, no matter what, I was once your sister-in-law. I don’t expect much respect from you, but you should at least be polite to me as a guest.” Xu Chunyan saw Jie You come out of the kitchen, gnawing on a duck leg. ”I may be divorced from your second brother, but I’m still Xiao You’s mother.”