Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Jie Jingchen had already made his position clear. If Qin Mei still insisted on having him arrange a meeting with her brother, she would be acting far too unreasonable.

”Alright. My brother’s safety is the most important thing,” Qin Mei said, her head hanging low.

”Meimei...”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! The sound of knocking was followed by Mrs. Xie’s voice. ”Xiao Mei, Jing Chen.”

Having learned her lesson from last time, Mrs. Xie wouldn’t just open the door and walk in while the young couple was in the room. It would be too awkward if she walked in on them being affectionate again.

”Hurry up and get the door. Your mom’s looking for you,” Qin Mei said, giving Jie Jingchen a little push.

Jie Jingchen shot her a look. ”Are you sure my mom is looking for *me* and not for *you*?”

”Stop dawdling,” Qin Mei huffed, glaring at him.

Jie Jingchen flashed a roguish smile. He hooked her chin with his long fingers, tilting it up slightly, and leaned in to give her red lips a quick peck before striding over to open the door.

”Mom.” Jie Jingchen opened the door.

Mrs. Xie didn’t even spare Jie Jingchen a glance. She pushed him aside and walked into the room, heading straight for Qin Mei. ”Xiao Mei.”

Qin Mei smiled at the approaching Mrs. Xie, her own eyes lighting up. She saw the God of Wealth walking right toward her. ”Mom.”

”Xiao Mei, Jiali can’t speak,” Mrs. Xie said. ”I checked her over but couldn’t find anything wrong. You’re a brilliant doctor, could you please take a look and see what’s going on?”

Qin Mei froze for a second, then tapped her forehead. ’How could I have forgotten about Xu Jiali?’

”Mom, don’t worry, she’s fine. I just need to give her a quick jab with a needle and she’ll be all better.” With that, Qin Mei got up and ran out of the room.

A thoughtful glint appeared in Mrs. Xie’s eyes. She looked at her son standing in the doorway and asked softly, ”Is Jiali’s muteness related to Xiao Mei?”

Jie Jingchen stood with his hands in his pockets, a mocking tone in his voice. ”She thought Jiali talked too much and was being too loud.”

A complex emotion flickered in Mrs. Xie’s eyes as she looked at him, her gaze probing.

Downstairs in the living room, Qin Mei administered a single needle in front of everyone, and Xu Jiali was able to speak again.

”Xiao Mei, that move is incredible! Will you teach me?” Xu Jiali asked, looking at Qin Mei with pure admiration. She sincerely wanted to learn the skill from her.

Her grandmother breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Xu Jiali could speak.

Qin Mei put away her silver needles and scoffed, not holding back at all. ”You can’t even tell a 6 from a 9. Learning acupuncture would be way too difficult for you.”

”Hehe.” Xu Jiali laughed awkwardly. She didn’t argue with Qin Mei, but she also didn’t give up on her idea of learning how to make someone mute with a single needle. She held up her index finger. ”I don’t need to learn all of acupuncture. I just want to learn that one move to make someone mute.”

”Who do you want to make mute? Your future in-laws?” Jie Jingchen scoffed, sitting down beside Qin Mei. His gaze on Xu Jiali grew a few shades darker.

Xu Jiali’s eyes went wide. ”Jing Chen, don’t be ridiculous! My future in-laws are wonderful to me. They’re completely satisfied with me as their future daughter-in-law. My future mother-in-law especially treats me even better than her own daughter! She even said that once I marry into their family, they’ll let me run the household.”

Qin Mei looked at the smug Xu Jiali, a profound look in her almond-shaped eyes. She was a daughter-in-law herself, and her own mother-in-law was right there. It wouldn’t be right to give Xu Jiali too blunt of a reality check, lest her mother-in-law take it personally and it affect their relationship.

’A mother-in-law’s promises are nothing but lies.’

”The Gao family’s business hasn’t been doing well these last few years.” Jie Jingchen’s focus wasn’t on in-law dynamics, but on the Gao family. Xu Jiali was his grandmother’s niece and had been brought into the Qiao Family at the age of eight. They had spared no expense in raising her. The Gao family was on the verge of collapse, yet the Qiaos didn’t object to her dating Gao Qiang, even allowing them to discuss marriage.

Grandfather coughed lightly, his deep, sharp eyes clouded with the wisdom of age. ”Ever since Old Master Gao passed away, the Gao family has seemed to lose its backbone. None of his sons have his strategic mind or sharp cunning, and there are no standouts among the grandchildren’s generation. The Gao family has nearly gone bankrupt several times.”

”Grandfather, did you lend them a hand?” Jie Jingchen asked. The Gao family was in such a precarious state; it was impossible for them to survive nearly going bankrupt multiple times unless the Qiao Family had intervened.

Grandfather glanced at the naive and innocent Xu Jiali and shook his head, a hint of resignation in his voice. ”Jiali is a young lady of the Qiao Family. With Gao Qiang and Jiali together, even if our family doesn’t directly intervene, anyone with a discerning eye will cooperate with the Gao family out of respect for us.”

Jie Jingchen snorted in contempt. He looked at Xu Jiali with his dark eyes and said bluntly, ”The Gao family is using you as a life raft.”

Qin Mei thought to herself, ’Good thing I didn’t say anything to Jiali. Her future mother-in-law genuinely treats her like her own daughter. And whether that sincerity is watered down or not, as long as the Qiao Family stands, they are Jiali’s rock-solid backing. That future mother-in-law of hers will have to keep up the act until the very end.’

’Xu Jiali is the Gao family’s anchor. Of course they have to worship her like an ancestor.’

’The Qiao Family’s power is undeniable. If the Gao family wants to use Xu Jiali to rise to their level, it would take them decades of struggle.’

’Besides, as long as the mother-in-law doesn’t torture the daughter-in-law to the point of suicide, what mother-in-law in the world can outlast her daughter-in-law? Youth is a daughter-in-law’s greatest asset. She can literally just wait for her mother-in-law to die.’

Xu Jiali was not having it. She declared righteously, ”What the hell does the Gao family have to do with me? The person I love is Gao Qiang!”

”Isn’t Gao Qiang part of the Gao family?” Jie Jingchen asked sarcastically.

”The Gao family is the Gao family, and Gao Qiang is Gao Qiang.” Xu Jiali had a one-track mind. To her, the Gao family represented business interests, while Gao Qiang represented love. She naively believed the two could be kept separate.

Jie Jingchen looked at his lovesick aunt and rephrased, his voice now filled with anger. ”Your boyfriend is the one using you as a life raft.”

Xu Jiali glared at Jie Jingchen. ’Why does he keep calling me a life raft?’ ”Jing Chen, you don’t know Gao Qiang, so I don’t blame you. But since you don’t know him, I hope you won’t badmouth your future uncle.”

’Future uncle, my ass.’ Jie Jingchen was so exasperated he actually laughed. He turned to Qin Mei beside him and said, ”Meimei, make her mute again.”

’Huh?’ Question marks popped up all over Qin Mei’s head.

Qin Mei just wanted to listen to the gossip in peace, not get involved. Of course she wasn’t going to obey Jie Jingchen and make Xu Jiali mute.

Xu Jiali was head-over-heels for Gao Qiang; if he told her to kill someone, she probably would. Since Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen were so close, Xu Jiali couldn’t be sure if Qin Mei would actually listen to him and make her mute for real.

The feeling of wanting to speak but being unable to was just too suffocating. Xu Jiali had no desire to experience that again.

Xu Jiali cupped her cheeks and scurried over to sit by Mrs. Xie, using her as a human shield. ”Cousin, you need to have a talk with your son! He’s being so mean. I’m his aunt, and he actually told his wife to make me mute!”

”Making you mute is letting you off easy. Dislocating your jaw—now *that* would be a pathetic sight,” Mrs. Xie said, smiling at her panicked cousin.

’This daughter-in-law of mine has a mind of her own,’ she thought. ’It’s not like she does whatever my son tells her to.’

Xu Jiali had never experienced the pain of a dislocated jaw, so she couldn’t relate. She only had the experience of being rendered speechless, and that was miserable enough!

Xu Jiali took a deep breath and said with utmost seriousness, ”Cousin, none of you understand Gao Qiang. He’s truly a good person. He loves me so much, and he spoils me rotten. Let me put it this way: based on my understanding of him, he would never do what Jing Chen said and use me as a life raft. His love for me wouldn’t allow it. He would rather drown in his struggles than...”

”Jiali.” Mrs. Xie couldn’t listen anymore. A fierce light flared in her beautiful eyes, her cold gaze landing on Xu Jiali for a moment. Then, the harshness in her eyes slowly receded, replaced by a distant, hazy look. ”Jiali, don’t speak in such absolutes. You can never imagine the terrible things a person who is constantly struggling on the verge of death will do just to survive.”