Qin Mei didn’t try it. The moment Jing Qi brought the dish in, she smelled the vinegar. Jing Qi loved sour food, but Qin Mei didn’t. She preferred spicy.
"I’m full." Qin Mei put down her bowl and chopsticks and said to Mrs. Xie and Jing Qi, "Mom, Jing Qi, you two take your time."
Jing Qi didn’t insist. On a hot day like this, no one had much of an appetite anyway. She had intentionally added a lot of vinegar to make it sour and whet the appetite.
A bite of congee with a bite of sour cucumber tasted wonderful.
Listening to the crisp CRUNCH as Jing Qi chewed on the cucumber, Qin Mei couldn’t help but swallow. It smelled so sour that her mouth watered. Jing Qi truly wasn’t afraid of sour flavors.
"Is it really that good?" Mrs. Xie wanted to try some. Seeing how heartily Jing Qi was eating, she couldn’t resist picking up a piece and popping it into her mouth. Her expression changed in an instant, the sourness so intense it felt like it would dissolve her teeth. She immediately spat it out. "Ptooey! How can it be so sour?"
"Sour? It’s not sour at all!" Jing Qi genuinely didn’t find it sour.
Mrs. Xie had to gulp down several mouthfuls of congee just to get rid of the sour taste. "Is this supposed to be a cucumber salad? It’s more like cucumbers pickled in straight vinegar."
Jing Qi didn’t mind the comment; she was happy as long as she herself enjoyed it. Noticing Qin Mei staring at her, practically drooling, she said, "Fourth Sister-in-law, it’s really delicious. You should try some."
"No, thanks." Qin Mei refused without hesitation. ’If even Mom can’t handle it, I definitely won’t be able to.’
"Fourth Sister-in-law, I saw you staring at me and drooling, so I thought you wanted to eat some," Jing Qi said with a laugh.
Qin Mei coughed lightly and explained, "It’s just a natural reaction to the smell of the vinegar. It’s like how thinking about something sour can make your mouth water."
After lunch, everyone returned to their rooms for an afternoon nap.
Qin Mei lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She kept wondering when Jie Jingling would be setting off and when she would arrive. She needed to go to the train station to pick her up.
「At the Xu family’s home.」
Liu Guihua placed a chicken drumstick in Jie You’s bowl. "Xiao You, is the chicken drumstick Grandma made delicious?"
"Yummy," Jie You mumbled, their speech unclear.
Xu Chunyan’s eyes grew red as she lovingly stroked Jie You’s little head. In just over two months, Xiao You had gotten so much thinner. ’Didn’t Jing Er promise me he would take good care of our child?’
"If you like it, then eat up." Liu Guihua said with a smile, but tears began to well up in her eyes and stream down her face.
’How glorious the Xu Family once was, and now we’ve ended up like this. What a terrible fate!’
"Okay," Jie You said, overjoyed.
Liu Guihua looked at Xu Chunyan. "Chunyan, use this break to take good care of Xiao You. Find a way to make it so they can’t bear to be away from you."
"Mom," Xu Chunyan said, looking at Liu Guihua in shock. "Are you saying you want to fight the Jie Family for Jie You?"
Liu Guihua rolled her eyes at Xu Chunyan. "Fight the Jie Family for Jie You? Do you think we could win? Even when the Xu Family was at its most glorious, we might not have succeeded. Now that our family is in decline, we don’t stand a chance."
"Then what are you suggesting, Mom?" Xu Chunyan asked. She used to be the one with all the plans, but now her mind was blank. She had grown gaunt and haggard.
"Do you still want to get back together with Jing Er?" Liu Guihua asked.
"I do." ’Of course I do. It’s all I dream about.’ A flicker of hope ignited in Xu Chunyan’s dull eyes. "But, Mom, Jing Er and Lin Yaru have already gotten their marriage certificate. And on top of that, Lin Yaru’s pregnant."
Xu Chunyan couldn’t figure it out. Lin Yaru had only been with Jie Jingwei that one time, so how on earth did she get pregnant?
Xu Chunyan had forgotten that the drug had been extremely potent. Under its effects, they hadn’t just been together once.
Liu Guihua snorted. "Hmph! That little tramp, you can tell just by looking at her that she’s no good. And you know it, too. She’s always been arrogant and aimed high. Do you really think she’d be interested in someone like Jing Er?"
Xu Chunyan was silent. She and Lin Yaru used to be close, so she knew her better than anyone. Compared to someone like Jing Si, Lin Yaru would naturally look down on Jing Er. But Jing Si was already married. Their previous scheme, which had seemed so perfect, had not only failed but had backfired completely. She had fallen right into their trap, hoisting herself by her own petard. The more she thought about it, the deeper her hatred grew.
She was especially disappointed in Lin Yaru. After what happened between her and Jing Er, the Lin family had latched onto him, pressuring him to divorce Xu Chunyan. And through it all, Lin Yaru never said a single word against it.
The last time she and her mother had gone to the Lin family’s home to cause a scene, she had screamed at Lin Yaru, calling her every vicious name in the book. But all Lin Yaru did was cry. If she had just said one single fair-minded word, Xu Chunyan wouldn’t have ended up becoming her bitter enemy.
"She might look down on Jing Er, but she’s pregnant with his child," Xu Chunyan said, her face contorted in agony. Her happy marriage had been completely ruined.
"Getting pregnant with Jing Er’s child is no great feat," Liu Guihua said, her words heavy with implication. "Giving birth to it safely, now *that* would be an accomplishment."
Xu Chunyan understood immediately and stared at Liu Guihua in horror. "Mom, are you suggesting..."
"It’s not what I’m suggesting," Liu Guihua interrupted. "It’s that she has done evil, and heaven itself won’t let her get away with it."