Hearing Jie Jingjue’s cries for help, Mr. Xie, Jie Jinghun, and Shen Qing came out to see what was going on. In the courtyard, they saw Jing Wu howling as Jing Si beat him senseless, but none of them moved to intervene.
"What did Jing Wu do to set Jing Si off this time?" Mr. Xie asked, frowning.
"I’m guessing our fifth brother went into our fourth brother’s room and disturbed the couple," Jie Jinghun said tactfully. As a man of experience, there was no way Mr. Xie would miss the implication, especially since Jie Jinghun had deliberately stressed the words "the couple."
’A couple, behind a closed door... could they really just be chatting? Besides, his fourth son is young, vigorous, and hot-blooded.’
"Serves him right." Mr. Xie had no interest in watching, leaving the two brothers to fight it out.
Seeing her father-in-law go back inside and ignore the situation, Shen Qing turned to Jie Jinghun. "Aren’t you going to go break it up?"
"It’s no use." Jie Jinghun slung a long arm over Shen Qing’s shoulder. "Jing Si is bottling up a lot of anger. If I tried to break it up, I’d probably just get beaten up myself."
Shen Qing noticed Qin Mei looking over at them, a crack forming in her ice-cold expression. Shen Qing always felt there was something odd about the way Qin Mei looked at her.
Their eyes met. Qin Mei broke into a wide grin, while Shen Qing’s brows just knitted together.
Having vented his frustration, Jie Jingchen let go of Jie Jingjue. He got up as if nothing had happened and returned to the kitchen to finish his meal.
Jie Jingjue had taken a real beating. He simply lay on the ground, not moving a muscle.
Qin Mei stood at the kitchen door, glancing from Jie Jingchen, who was eating elegantly inside, to Jie Jingjue, who was playing dead in the courtyard.
"Meimei," Jie Jingchen called to Qin Mei.
Qin Mei froze for a second before flashing a brilliant smile. She practically skipped over to Jie Jingchen, her manner utterly obsequious.
Seeing her trying so hard to please him, a flicker of helplessness crossed Jie Jingchen’s eyes. "Did I scare you?"
"Not at all," Qin Mei said, shaking her head. ’That’s a lie. I was terrified. The way Jie Jingchen was hitting Jie Jingjue, it looked like he was trying to kill him. If he ever hit me...’ Qin Mei didn’t dare to imagine it. ’With my skinny arms and legs, how many of his punches could I possibly take?’
"Jing Wu was asking for it." Jie Jingchen set down his bowl and chopsticks, took Qin Mei by the hand, and pulled her down to sit beside him.
’If you’re asking for it, you’re going to get it,’ Qin Mei thought. ’Sometimes, I feel like I’m asking for it, too.’ A sudden sense of peril washed over her.
"Jie Jingsi, let me be clear about something. With domestic violence, it’s either zero times or countless times. I have absolutely zero tolerance for it," Qin Mei declared, making her stance clear. ’If Jie Jingchen ever dares to hit me, I’ll fight back. Even if I can’t win, I’ll still put up a fight.’
’And then I’ll divorce him and leave.’
Jie Jingchen caressed her cheek, his expression filled with adoration. "I would never hit you."
’For her, he could only ever cherish her. He would never, ever hit her. He couldn’t bear the thought of it.’
Qin Mei offered a noncommittal smile. ’I can’t take his words to heart. A man who’s lost control is the most terrifying thing in the world. Qin Xiang might dare to trade blows with Jie Jingchen, but Jie Jingjue doesn’t. At first, Jie Jingjue tried to fight back, but that only got him beaten more severely. He eventually learned from experience that if he didn’t resist, Jie Jingchen’s fists wouldn’t land quite as hard.’
"Are you finished eating?" Qin Mei changed the subject. When Jie Jingchen nodded, she stood up to clear the dishes. "I’ll wash up."
’Jing Qi doesn’t know how to do the dishes, and Jie Jingjue is too beaten up to even consider it. As for asking Jie Jingchen to do them... I’m afraid I’d get a beating myself.’
Jie Jingchen’s expression darkened. He grabbed her wrist and took the dishes from her hands. "I’ll do it."
Jie Jingchen let go of Qin Mei, gathered the dishes, and walked toward the sink.
"You’re the best!" Qin Mei tossed out the three words and darted out of the kitchen. Since he offered, she wasn’t about to argue. It wasn’t like she enjoyed doing dishes, anyway.
Jie Jingchen froze, his gaze sharp as he watched Qin Mei beat a hasty retreat. ’Couldn’t she just stay and keep me company?’
Qin Mei went back to her room first, then came out into the courtyard. Jie Jingjue was still playing dead on the ground. Looking at his fair complexion, she thought that if she hadn’t witnessed Jie Jingchen beating him with her own eyes, she would have doubted the whole thing ever happened.
Jie Jingjue was naturally fair-skinned—the type who never seemed to tan, no matter how much sun he got. Jie Jingchen and Jing Qi weren’t so lucky. Jing Qi was pale too, but it was the sickly pallor of someone who rarely saw the sun. It was only under her care that he was slowly starting to regain some healthy color.
Qin Mei nudged Jie Jingjue with her foot. "Are you still alive?"
Jie Jingjue opened his eyes. ’He felt so wronged. He wanted to hug Qin Mei and have a good cry, but his fourth brother was incredibly petty; if he dared, he’d just get beaten again.’ "Where’s my mom?"
"Outside, having a moment." Qin Mei glanced toward the courtyard gate.
"A moment for what? I’m about to be beaten to death by her fourth son!" Jie Jingjue whined. He said to Qin Mei, "Sister-in-law, can you go get my mom for me? Tell her that her fourth son is beating her fifth son to death, and she should come back to collect the corpse."
Qin Mei looked at him scornfully. "How old are you? Still crying for your mommy after getting beaten up."
"I don’t care! I want my mom!" Jie Jingjue threw a fit. ’I got beaten up. Who else am I supposed to call for if not my mom? Dad? That father of mine is completely useless. He just stood by and watched. It’s one thing not to help, but he wouldn’t even try to stop the fight. And my third brother was too scared of getting caught in the crossfire.’
"Here’s some ointment." Qin Mei crouched down and pressed a small bottle into Jie Jingjue’s hand. ’The one who beat him up is my husband. Am I the type to side with reason over family? Besides, Jie Jingjue wasn’t in the right. He deserved it. Of all the people to provoke, he just had to pick his fourth brother.’
’The only reason she was giving him the ointment was that he was renovating her house near the train station.’
’The Reform and Opening-up policy hadn’t been fully implemented yet, so she’d left the house in Jie Jingjue’s hands, letting him have free rein. She would pop over to check on it when she had time and offer a little guidance. Jie Jingjue had a real knack for it; he was a quick study.’
"I don’t want ointment, I want my mom!" Jie Jingjue wailed, even as his hand tightened around the bottle.
"Then you can just keep lying here. Mom will come back when she’s ready." Qin Mei got up to leave.
"Sister-in-law," Jie Jingjue called after her, asking curiously, "What’s Mom so upset about?"
Qin Mei propped her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. "Your marriage."
"My marriage?" Jie Jingjue was stunned. He tried to sit up, but the slightest movement made him feel like his bones were about to fall apart. He winced in pain and collapsed back down, not daring to move again. He lay there, staring at the sky. "Sister-in-law, you’re kidding me. My mom would never worry about me getting married."
"Believe what you want." ’She was just messing with him, anyway.’
"I’m only twenty-two," Jie Jingjue said. "My fourth brother didn’t marry you until he was twenty-five. It’s way too early for Mom to be worrying about me."
"You’ll be twenty-three after the New Year. In the countryside, plenty of guys get married at twenty, let alone twenty-three," Qin Mei retorted.
"Sister-in-law, I’m not twenty-three, I’m twenty-two," Jie Jingjue corrected her. ’As far as he was concerned, until the day he turned twenty-three, he was still twenty-two.’
The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. "Is there really a difference?"
"Yes," Jie Jingjue nodded.
Qin Mei fell silent. There was no point arguing with him.
"So, Sister-in-law, when are you and my fourth brother going to have a baby?" Jie Jingjue asked abruptly.
Qin Mei’s brows furrowed and her almond-shaped eyes narrowed. ’Another one nagging about babies. Everyone from this era thinks the same way: once you get married, the next step is having kids.’
’Is it a crime not to have children?’
’Having a baby should be a decision between her and Jie Jingchen. She hated it when other people meddled.’
"Jie Jingjue, are you looking for another beating?" Jie Jingchen’s voice was frigid and menacing. He had just finished the dishes and came out in time to overhear the question.
Jie Jingjue’s breath hitched. He snapped his eyes shut, let his head loll to the side, and went back to playing dead.
Qin Mei stared, dumbfounded. ’Now that’s what I call a will to live. Impressive!’
Jie Jingjue cracked one eye open. Seeing Qin Mei just standing there, he looked at her as if she were a mortal enemy and started winking and gesturing frantically.
Qin Mei looked completely baffled. "Is your eye twitching?"
’You’re the one with the twitching eye,’ Jie Jingjue thought resentfully. He blinked furiously again, and when Qin Mei still didn’t get it, he hissed, "Sister-in-law, don’t just stand there! You’re going to get me killed!"
"Hmph!" Qin Mei finally understood and snorted. "Don’t you dare try to blame me. I didn’t do anything. You brought this on yourself."
"Sister-in-law..." Jie Jingjue sounded so desperate he was on the verge of tears.
"Do you need me to jog your memory?" Qin Mei asked. ’He was the one who barged in, causing her to kick Jie Jingchen *there*. And during the meal, he had the gall to keep provoking him.’