"Meimei." Jie Jingchen waved to Qin Mei. Qin Mei smiled and walked toward him.
Mr. Xie, grinning from ear to ear, walked up to Mrs. Xie. He stood behind her and began massaging her shoulders obsequiously.
The sight of him irritated Mrs. Xie, and she didn’t give him a pleasant look.
"Honey, is this pressure okay?" Mr. Xie asked, waiting for her feedback.
"It’s barely acceptable," Mrs. Xie said flatly. Mr. Xie massaged her more vigorously. A faint mockery surfaced in her beautiful eyes as she asked, "You agreed to their terms?"
"I did." Mr. Xie nodded. After a moment of thought, he said, "Jing Er has been married before, but this is Yaru’s first marriage. Besides, she’s pregnant. Even though their situation is hardly respectable, the child is still part of the Old Xie Family, after all."
He had agreed to almost all of the Lin family’s demands. The only exceptions were Jing Er moving back in, which he truly couldn’t decide on his own, let alone giving Jing Er the north house.
If the courtyard were his, it would be natural to give the north house to Jing Er. The problem was, the courtyard wasn’t his, and Yan Qiu was a force to be reckoned with. How could he dare make such a decision without her permission?
When Yan Qiu protected someone, she did so with all her heart. He had only mentioned that Jing San was living under someone else’s roof, and she immediately came to his defense. And just like that, the south house was given to Jing San.
Whether the north house would eventually go to Jing Er depended on his behavior. If he behaved well, they would leave the north house to him after they passed away. But for him to be coveting it while they were still alive was far too soon.
Mrs. Xie shot a cold glare at Mr. Xie and told him bluntly, "I’m leaving the north house to Jing Ling."
"What?" Mr. Xie was stunned. He would have believed it if she said she was leaving it to Jing Qi. But to Jing Ling? Mr. Xie suspected she had an ulterior motive.
"Don’t look at me like that. I have no interest in driving a wedge between the siblings," Mrs. Xie huffed coldly. The look in his eyes was all too obvious.
"Honey, you’ve misunderstood. That’s not what I meant. I mean, Jing Ling is married and living in the countryside. She won’t be returning to the city, so leaving the north house to her is pointless." ’It would be better to give it to someone who needs it,’ Mr. Xie didn’t dare say this last part out loud.
"Jing Ling won’t be returning to the city, but her children can." Mrs. Xie was thinking long-term. Jing Ling had been an educated youth. For the sake of her daughter’s future, sending her back to the city was the best arrangement possible.
Mr. Xie didn’t reply. Thinking of his eldest daughter filled him with guilt.
Mrs. Xie spoke again, "Jing Ling’s daughter is twelve now. It’s time to bring her to the city. To prevent Jing Ling from feeling like her daughter is just living under someone else’s roof here, I’m leaving the north house to Jing Ling."
Mr. Xie still said nothing. Her arrangement left a heavy feeling in his heart. If she had left the north house to Jing Qi, he could have shamelessly argued against it. But leaving it to Jing Ling... he didn’t have the face to object.
At the same time, Mr. Xie was deeply moved. Jing Ling had been sent to the countryside as an educated youth, married and had a child there, with no hope of returning to the city. Yet her stepmother wasn’t just letting her fend for herself out there. This was an excellent arrangement.
He had been powerless when Jing Ling was sent to the countryside back then. If they didn’t help out their granddaughter, Sun Tong, who else could Jing Ling rely on?
"Jing Er and Jing San both have other options, but Jing Ling has none. She has walked herself into a corner. We should pave a broad path for Sun Tong," Mrs. Xie said.
"Honey, don’t say any more. I have no objection to leaving the north house to Jing Ling." Mr. Xie walked over to Mrs. Xie, crouched down, and took her hand. A mixture of emotion and gratitude brought tears to his eyes, and his voice choked up. "Honey... thank you."
Mrs. Xie smiled. "I’m glad you understand."
It hadn’t been love at first sight for them. Because of Zhang Hongyan, she’d had a rather poor opinion of him. But after they married, she noticed he was changing, and feelings slowly developed between them. To put it bluntly, they had married first and fallen in love later.
"Honey, if you leave the north house to Jing Ling, I’m worried they’ll cause a scene," Mr. Xie said worriedly.
"Who’ll cause a scene? Jing Er? Or Jing Qi?" Mrs. Xie asked. Of the six children, only Jing Er and Jing Qi wouldn’t get a share.
"Jing Er," Mr. Xie replied. ’Never mind that Jing Qi’s legs were now healed; even when she was disabled, her future had already been arranged. His agreement with her maternal grandparents was almost up, and when the time came, they would take Jing Qi to Xiangjiang.’
"Let him cause a scene. I’m just the stepmother, anyway," Mrs. Xie said nonchalantly.
Seeing her "bring it on" attitude, Mr. Xie felt a bit helpless. "I’m worried he’ll make a big deal out of his mother saving your life."
Mrs. Xie’s expression stiffened. Though her heart still fluttered with lingering fear, she pretended to be unfazed. "I’m not afraid of him making a big deal out of it."
"I am," Mr. Xie blurted out. Seeing a flash of disappointment in Mrs. Xie’s eyes, his chest tightened. "Honey, you misunderstood. I’m not afraid of what people will say. I’m worried about you."
"Dad. Mom."
The two of them froze and looked toward the doorway at the same time. They saw Jie Jingchen leaning lazily against the doorframe, arms crossed, his posture relaxed and casual.
Mr. Xie’s face instantly darkened. Just seeing this son made his skin crawl. He was always popping up at the worst times, offering up all sorts of crooked, terrible ideas—and Yan Qiu would actually listen to them.
The last time, when they were agonizing over An Qi’s situation, a single suggestion from Jie Jingchen had resulted in An Qi being sent to a psychiatric hospital in Xiangjiang. Because of that, Jing Er and his wife, as well as Mr. Xie’s own parents, were furious with him.
Jing Si came up with the idea, his wife adopted it, but he was the one who had to carry it out.
"There’s nothing for you here. Go back to your room and be with your wife," Mr. Xie said, shooing Jie Jingchen away like a fly.
"Mom, I have an idea," Jie Jingchen said to his mother, ignoring his father.
"Shut your mouth," Mr. Xie snapped, his glare at Jie Jingchen full of warning.
Mrs. Xie shot her husband a frosty look, then smiled and beckoned to Jie Jingchen. "Si’er, come in."
"Honey." Mr. Xie’s head throbbed, but he couldn’t stop her. His wife wouldn’t listen to him, but he didn’t dare disobey her. As for this rebellious son, he didn’t respect him as a father in the slightest.
Before Jing Si got married, he was disobedient, but not as outrageously defiant as he was now.
Jie Jingchen entered the room but didn’t close the door. There were no outsiders in the courtyard at the moment, and his third brother and his wife weren’t the meddlesome type.
"Dad, why does the Lin Family want Second Brother to move back in?" Jie Jingchen asked his father.
Mr. Xie rolled his eyes at him. ’Isn’t that asking the obvious? Weren’t Lin Yaru’s parents perfectly clear?’
"Lin Yaru is pregnant. They don’t want her moving into the apartment at the machinery factory. It’s more convenient for them to take care of her if she moves back here," Mrs. Xie explained. ’This son of mine is a blessing, always here to solve my problems.’
This was especially true with Jing Qi’s legs. They had searched for famous doctors everywhere to no avail. Her parents, far away in Xiangjiang, had resigned themselves to the situation, and she had given up hope as well. But then, this wonderful son of hers married a daughter-in-law who managed to heal Jing Qi’s legs.
"That’s simple. Have him move into the Lin family’s home," Jie Jingchen said.
"Nonsense," Mr. Xie shot Jie Jingchen a look. "What kind of married daughter has her husband live with her family? And what married daughter goes through her postpartum confinement at her parents’ house? It’ll bring bad luck to her family’s fortune."
"Dad, if I recall correctly, Third Sister-in-law had her postpartum confinement at her parents’ house," Jie Jingchen pointed out.
"The Shen Family is different from the Lin Family. The Shen Family only has two daughters, while the Lin Family also has a son who’s an educated youth in the countryside," Mr. Xie said, waving his hand in dismissal. "Get out of here. Stop giving your terrible advice."
"Then he can marry into their family," Jie Jingchen said, determined to be shocking.
"Jie Jingchen!" Hearing the words "marry into their family," Mr. Xie went berserk. He grabbed the enamel mug from the table and hurled it at Jie Jingchen.
Jie Jingchen instinctively moved to dodge, but on second thought, he decisively stood still. The enamel mug hit him on the forehead. It didn’t break the skin, but it immediately began to swell and turn red. His clothes were soaked with water and flecked with tea leaves.
A wicked grin curved Jie Jingchen’s lips. He raised a hand to wipe the water and tea leaves from his face.
Mr. Xie froze for a second, then seethed with anger. ’This rebellious son could have easily dodged it, but he deliberately chose not to. He did it on purpose, absolutely on purpose. He’s far too calculating!’
"Jie Jianguo!" Mrs. Xie roared at him, then got up and kicked him hard in the leg.