Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man-Chapter 140 - 60: Jie Jingchen, You Bastard

"By the time you bike to Xiao Wang’s house and back, I’ll have already gotten Xiao Mei to the hospital. Xiao Mei, hold on tight." With that, Mrs. Xie pedaled away on her bicycle with Qin Mei, and they quickly vanished from the courtyard gate.

Mr. Xie’s face darkened, filled with irritation. He untied his apron, threw it on the ground, and gave it a frustrated kick. After calming down, he picked the apron back up, retied it around his waist, and turned to walk back into the kitchen to continue washing the dishes.

Mrs. Xie pedaled faster than usual. By the time they reached the black market, the sky hadn’t even darkened yet. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law squatted outside, bored, drawing circles in the dirt.

Gradually, the sky darkened, and people began to sneak into the black market. Some who passed by shot them a few extra glances. The more timid folks mistook them for undercover agents lying in wait and held back, while the bolder ones ignored them completely.

Qin Mei sighed to herself once again. ’Fortune favors the bold, while the timid starve.’

Qin Mei moved closer to Mrs. Xie, leaned in toward her ear, and asked in a low voice, "Mom, aren’t we going in?"

"We can’t get in now," Mrs. Xie said, her eyes on the person approaching them.

Qin Mei didn’t quite understand Mrs. Xie. ’You go in if you want, and you don’t if you don’t. What does ’can’t get in now’ even mean?’

Soon enough, Qin Mei understood exactly what Mrs. Xie had meant.

"Mom. Qin Mei."

Qin Mei’s entire body went rigid. ’That voice... It’s Jie Jingchen.’

’This is the outside of the black market. Can someone please tell me why Jie Jingchen is here?’

Mrs. Xie stood up, dusted herself off, and looked at the man standing behind Jie Jingchen. "Xiao Gao."

"Hello, Auntie," Gao Hai greeted politely before launching into a stream of compliments. "Auntie, you look younger every time I see you! You look even younger than my sister. Auntie, if I wasn’t Jing Si’s comrade-in-arms, I’d never guess you were his mom. I’d think you were his older sister."

"Hehe, Xiao Gao, you’re such a smooth talker." Mrs. Xie was overjoyed by Gao Hai’s praise.

Qin Mei remained squatting, her body stiff. She had stopped drawing circles, though.

’He’s right,’ Qin Mei thought. ’Mrs. Xie really does look younger than Jie Jingling.’

"How long are you planning to squat there?" Jie Jingchen’s voice was calm and clear, betraying no emotion.

Qin Mei tossed aside the stick she’d been drawing with and shot to her feet. She stood up too abruptly. After squatting for so long, the blood rushed from her head. Her mind went fuzzy, her vision went black, and a pins-and-needles pain shot through her legs. As Qin Mei began to sway, Jie Jingchen’s quick reflexes kicked in, and he caught her to keep her steady.

"Sister-in-law, are you okay?" Gao Hai asked with concern.

"She’s fine, she’s fine! She just squatted for too long and her legs fell asleep. Let’s go, let’s go. Xiao Gao, take me home," Mrs. Xie said, pulling Gao Hai away with her.

Gao Hai, ever perceptive, took the hint and left with Mrs. Xie. He deliberately chose flattering words, coaxing her until she was all smiles.

Qin Mei clutched Jie Jingchen’s sleeve tightly to steady herself, not daring to move an inch. After a good while, the painful numbness slowly subsided.

Qin Mei shook her head, pushed Jie Jingchen away, took a step back, and raised a hand to rub her temples.

After a long moment, Qin Mei finally asked, "What are you doing here?"

Jie Jingchen didn’t answer. Instead, he asked in a frigid tone, "Qin Mei, do my words just go in one ear and out the other?"

Her hand paused at her temple. Qin Mei looked up, her eyes meeting Jie Jingchen’s in the moonlight. "As for what you say? I consider it all a load of crap."

Hearing her vulgar words, Jie Jingchen’s face darkened, and his cold gaze bore into her.

Suddenly, Jie Jingchen turned around coldly and strode away with heavy steps.

Watching his retreating back, Qin Mei was stunned. ’So decisive... He was worried about me and Mom coming to the black market, but he’s fine with just leaving me here all alone?’

"Jie Jingchen, you bastard!" Qin Mei yelled at his retreating figure. ’Okay, maybe what I said was out of line, but him just ditching me here is even more outrageous.’

Qin Mei felt a profound sense of abandonment. Her mother-in-law had ditched her to walk off laughing and chatting with someone else—how could she? They came together, they should have gone home together. And then, after a single disagreement, Jie Jingchen had also turned his back and left her.

Her already suppressed emotions, compounded by the feeling of being abandoned, became unbearable. A sting pricked her nose, and Qin Mei bit her lip as tears of pure grievance streamed down her face.

’It’s all a lie. Only my own flesh and blood would never abandon me. I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss my grandparents on both sides.’

The more she longed for them, the more heartbroken she became. At this moment, Qin Mei’s defenses crumbled. The homesickness she had suppressed for so long burst forth like a flood breaking through a dam, powerful and overwhelming.

Ever since she had transmigrated to this era, she had felt despondent, but she had never cried.

Qin Mei squatted down, wrapped her arms around her legs, buried her face in her knees, and broke down, sobbing her heart out.

Qin Mei’s sobs were desolate and grief-stricken. A young girl crying alone outside the black market was a dangerous sight. Some unsavory characters began to stir with ill intent. A few kind-hearted people considered approaching her to ask what was wrong, but they all hesitated and held back.

Jie Jingchen returned as suddenly as he had left. He stood before Qin Mei like a guardian deity, shielding her from the ill-intentioned onlookers.

Jie Jingchen’s bewitchingly handsome face was dark and troubled. A deep weariness and helplessness resided in his eyes. "Stop crying," he said in a low voice.

Hearing Jie Jingchen’s voice, Qin Mei’s body stiffened, but she didn’t stop crying. In fact, she cried even louder.

"Qin Mei." A hint of powerlessness crept into Jie Jingchen’s deep voice. Whether it was the her before her amnesia or the her after, he had never seen her cry.

The her before her amnesia always bullied others until they cried. The her after, while her tongue was sharper and her temper worse, never threw irrational fits.

Jie Jingchen squatted down and, with a stiff, large hand, gently patted the back of hers.

Qin Mei suddenly threw herself at Jie Jingchen. He reflexively caught her, but the sudden movement caught him off guard, and he stumbled backward, landing on the ground.

"HISS." Jie Jingchen let out a muffled grunt. He didn’t let go of her. Instead, he pulled her tighter into his embrace, gritting his teeth to endure the pain.

"Waaaah! I miss my mom! I miss my dad! I miss my grandparents, and my other grandparents too!" Qin Mei cried until she was gasping for breath, yet her words remained clear.

Jie Jingchen listened quietly. ’She listed everyone, but she didn’t mention her friends. If Qin Xiang heard that, he’d probably beat his chest and stamp his feet, cursing her for being so heartless.’

Jie Jingchen didn’t try to comfort her or stop her. He just let her cry. After who knows how long, Qin Mei cried herself out. Her sobs slowly subsided, and she lay quietly in his arms, letting her emotions settle.

’His embrace is warm, and it feels safe.’ Qin Mei even took a deliberate sniff. ’It’s his familiar scent, with no strange perfumes mixed in. I guessed wrong. He didn’t go find a mistress.’

The gloom that had been troubling her dissipated. But then she remembered how he had abandoned her, and her mood darkened again.

"Get lost!" Anger flared in Qin Mei’s almond-shaped eyes. She shoved Jie Jingchen away and scrambled to her feet.

The girl who was just sobbing in his arms a moment ago had flipped like a switch. Jie Jingchen was completely baffled. He placed a hand on his lower back and slowly pushed himself up.

Watching him hold his back, Qin Mei had the urge to retort. ’I can’t tell if his back really hurts or if he’s faking it. Then again, he really did injure his back.’

Qin Mei turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Qin Mei, where are you going?" Jie Jingchen raised an eyebrow. He reached out to grab her, but she dodged him.

"None of your business. I’ll go wherever I want. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t follow me. I don’t want to see you." Qin Mei didn’t watch where she was going, stumbling forward unsteadily.

"Qin Mei, it’s late. Let’s go home," Jie Jingchen said, following behind her.

"Go home? What home? That’s not my home," Qin Mei retorted sulkily. She raised a hand and wiped her tears with the back of it. After that emotional outburst, she felt much better, though her nose was stuffy from crying for so long. "Didn’t you just ditch me and walk away? What are you doing back here?"

"I didn’t ditch you. I was just trying to scare you," Jie Jingchen explained. In truth, her words had infuriated him, and for a moment, he really had walked away. But he hadn’t gotten far before he calmed down.

’How could he let his anger get the better of him? Especially here, outside the black market. If something had happened to her, he would regret it for the rest of his life.’

’And when he heard her desolate sobs, he knew she really had been frightened by his actions. He was filled with remorse.’