Mrs. Xie rushed forward and cupped Jie Jingchen’s face in her hands, her lovely eyes overflowing with worry. "Jing Si, does it hurt terribly? There’s already a lump on your forehead. And you, Jie Jianguo! When will you change this habit of resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement? This is an enamel mug. What if it had been a cleaver? Would you have just picked it up and swung it at your own son?"
"Honey, don’t you know what he’s like?" Mr. Xie cried foul. "He did it on purpose! He got himself hurt on purpose to make you feel bad for him. Honey, don’t let him fool you."
"You hurt him, and you think you’re in the right?" Mrs. Xie questioned coldly. Gazing at her son’s devastatingly handsome face, she felt she would die of heartache if it were scarred. "Jing Si, let me put some ointment on that for you."
"Mom, don’t worry about it. I’ll have my wife put something on it later." Jie Jingchen gently pulled his mother’s hands from his face and held her by the shoulders, speaking with an air of great seriousness. "Mom, please consider my proposal."
"Consider my ass! Marrying into her family is absolutely out of the question!" Mr. Xie bellowed. If a son of the Jie Family moved in with his wife’s family, they would be utterly disgraced. His own parents would never agree, either.
’Because Grandma dislikes Hong Yan, she doesn’t even like the three children Hong Yan gave birth to. Even so, she would never allow Jing Er to marry into the Lin Family. To them, a member of the Jie Family marrying into another family is a humiliation.’
"The Lin family is willing," Jie Jingchen said out of the blue.
Mr. Xie was so angry he could spit blood. Gaining a son for free? Forget the Lin family agreeing—if Jing Ling or Jing Qi brought home a son-in-law willing to marry into their family, he’d be thrilled.
"This is not up for discussion. Now get out!" Mr. Xie’s face was dark with rage, as if he were about to have a stroke. He pointed a trembling finger at the door. If Jie Jingchen didn’t leave that instant, he was going to kick him out himself.
’I should have just strangled him at birth,’ he thought. ’It would’ve saved me all this aggravation now that he’s grown.’
"Mom," Jie Jingchen said, looking to his mother.
Mrs. Xie gave Jie Jingchen a reassuring look and patted his arm. "Jing Si, head back to your room for now. Leave your father to me; I’ll work on him."
Jie Jingchen glanced at his father, a sly smile playing on his lips. Mr. Xie looked ready to explode with rage. With a nonchalant turn, Jie Jingchen walked out of the room.
Mr. Xie took several deep breaths to suppress his fury. Meeting Mrs. Xie’s gaze, he stated his position. "Honey, this is non-negotiable."
Mrs. Xie didn’t try to persuade him right away. She, too, found Jing Si’s proposal for Jing Er to marry into the Lin family unbelievable. Jing Er had divorced Xu Chunyan and moved into the housing assigned by the machinery factory, and now he was supposed to marry Lin Yaru and move in with her family? If word of this got out, not only would the Jie Family be ridiculed, but she herself would be the subject of endless gossip.
’It’s so hard being a stepmother!’
"You get some rest. I’ll go heat up the bathwater," Mrs. Xie said, a gentle, faint smile on her lips.
Mr. Xie froze. ’What does she mean by that? Does she disagree with it too? Or is this the calm before the storm?’
Jie Jingchen returned to their room just as Qin Mei, having finished her shower, was coming out of the bathroom. Seeing him there, Qin Mei decisively gave up on the idea of using the electric fan. Jie Jingchen would surely lecture her for using it right after a shower.
But she was so hot! She picked up a cattail leaf fan and began to wave it. ’This thing is terrible,’ she thought. ’Hardly any breeze, and my arm is already getting tired.’
As Jie Jingchen walked over to Qin Mei, she finally noticed the lump on his forehead. His clothes were damp, too. At first, she thought it was just sweat, but as he got closer, she could smell the faint scent of tea mixed in with his own.
"What happened?" Qin Mei asked, pointing to the lump on his forehead. If it weren’t for the smell of tea, she would have assumed he’d just bumped his head somewhere.
"My dad. He hit me with his enamel mug," Jie Jingchen said, looking at Qin Mei with a slightly wronged expression, waiting for her to comfort him.
"You went looking for trouble again, didn’t you," Qin Mei stated flatly. She didn’t even have the energy to side with him. He’d brought this on himself, a total waste of her sympathy. In the short time it took her to shower, he had managed to run over to his parents’ room and stir things up.
"Looking for trouble? I’m not that bored." Jie Jingchen tried to hug her but was pushed away in disgust. She had just showered, and he hadn’t. Plus, he had tea stains on him.
"Then tell me, what were you doing?" Qin Mei pressed her hand against his chest, keeping him from getting any closer.
Jie Jingchen took her hand, brought it to his lips for a kiss, and his thin lips smugly uttered two words: "Strategic advice."
"What kind of advice?" Qin Mei asked, her interest clearly lacking.
"To have my second brother marry into their family." Jie Jingchen toyed with her fingertips. She didn’t have a habit of keeping long nails; they were always trimmed neatly.
’Her nails might not be long, but when she scratches me, it hurts like hell.’
Qin Mei stared at him, dumbfounded. She opened her mouth but was at a complete loss for words. After a long, conflicted pause, Qin Mei finally managed to get four words out. "Wow. I’m actually impressed."