The word "kill" was too harsh. Mr. Xie was furious; his fifth son had always been reckless with his words. "Jie—"
"Jie Jianguo!" Mrs. Xie stormed into the room. ’This isn’t good,’ Mr. Xie thought grimly. He shot a threatening, warning glare at Jie Jingjue and released his ear.
"Yan Qiu, where have you been? I looked for you outside but couldn’t find you." Mr. Xie’s gentle tone was meant to pacify her.
"What’s going on?" Mrs. Xie asked, looking at Jing Wu, who was lying face down on the bed.
"Mom, Dad doesn’t love me. He only loves Second Brother. I’m hurt, but he still told me to drive Second Brother to the hospital. When I refused, he tried to tempt me with money, and when I didn’t fall for it, he threatened me," Jie Jingjue tattled.
"He’s faking it," Mr. Xie declared, convinced Jing Wu was putting on an act. He believed Jing Si knew his own strength and that Jing Wu was just making a big deal out of nothing.
"Mom, I’m not. Dad is wronging me. I’m so hurt," Jie Jingjue said, putting on a wounded expression.
Mrs. Xie was suspicious. Honestly, between Jing Wu’s words and her husband’s, she was more inclined to believe her husband.
"Mom, if you don’t believe me, you can check." For once, Jie Jingjue wasn’t faking it.
Mrs. Xie didn’t move. Mr. Xie, however, roughly pulled up Jie Jingjue’s shirt. His normally fair skin was covered in marks. Although they were superficial and the skin hadn’t been broken, his complexion was so pale that the marks looked rather alarming.
"This..." Mr. Xie was dumbstruck. ’Jing Si really hit him hard. Even if no bones were broken, these injuries are still serious.’
"Who did this?" Mrs. Xie asked in a cold voice. Her fifth son was unreliable and probably picked a fight with some street punks, but she wouldn’t allow anyone else to bully him. He was the son she had borne; only she was allowed to bully him. No one else could even think about it.
"Fourth Brother," Jie Jingjue answered weakly, looking at Mrs. Xie with a wronged expression.
Her anger vanished instantly. Mrs. Xie looked at Jie Jingjue with deep disappointment. "You deserved it."
Jing Si didn’t hit people lightly. If he’d hit Jing Wu, it was a dead certainty that Jing Wu had provoked him.
"Mom..." Jie Jingjue felt like crying.
Mrs. Xie sat on the edge of the bed and carefully examined her son’s injuries. She breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming they were just superficial, with no damage to the bone.
"Why would you provoke your fourth brother for no reason? You can’t beat him, anyway." Mrs. Xie pulled Jie Jingjue’s shirt back into place. She wouldn’t get involved in her sons’ conflicts. They were both her flesh and blood; it wasn’t right to take sides.
Jie Jingjue didn’t say anything. His feelings were hurt.
"Just stay home and rest up for the next few days," Mrs. Xie told him.
Jie Jingjue remained silent, gazing pitifully at his mother.
Mrs. Xie said nothing more before getting up and leaving the room. Mr. Xie was too embarrassed to ask Jing Wu to drive anyone to the hospital now. He didn’t take back the money he had offered, treating it as compensation for having wrongly accused his son.
"Meimei, what do you want to eat?" Jie Jingchen stood behind Qin Mei, massaging her shoulders.
"I don’t want to eat anything." Qin Mei closed her eyes, enjoying Jie Jingchen’s service. ’His shoulder and back massage skills are getting more and more professional. If he opened a massage parlor, his looks would be the perfect advertisement. Business would definitely be booming.’
"I’ll make you some milk formula." Jie Jingchen kept trying to persuade her to eat something. She had thrown up everything she’d eaten for dinner, and he was worried she would be hungry.
"No," Qin Mei refused.
"How about..."
"Jing Si, I’m not a three-year-old," Qin Mei said, opening her eyes and cutting Jie Jingchen off.
"Really not hungry?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"Really not hungry," Qin Mei answered. It was a lie. She just didn’t want to eat. ’Thinking about... no, I can’t. Just the thought of it makes me sick.’
"I’m hungry," Jie Jingchen said, his words carrying a hidden meaning. His scorching gaze was locked on Qin Mei, a deeply affectionate smile playing on his lips.
Qin Mei naturally understood what he meant by "hungry." She turned her head, her gaze landing on a certain part of Jie Jingchen’s body, a look of concern crossing her face.
"Are you up to it?" Qin Mei blurted out.
Jie Jingchen felt provoked. He swept her up into his arms, deciding to show her with his actions whether he was up to it or not.
「The next day」
Jie Jingchen woke her. "Meimei."
Jie Jingchen had worn her out until midnight, only letting her go when he saw she truly couldn’t take any more. Qin Mei had been so exhausted she couldn’t even move a toe before she fell into a deep sleep.
"Meimei." Jie Jingchen gently patted her cheek.
"Jing Si, have you had enough?" Qin Mei snapped in annoyance. She wanted to sleep, and he insisted on disturbing her. Even a person with the best of tempers would get angry, to say nothing of Qin Mei, whose temper was not good.
"Meimei, get up. We’re going to be late," Jie Jingchen said softly.
"Late for what? I don’t go to work, and I don’t go to school." It was too hot. Qin Mei yanked away the duvet covering her, but she regretted it the moment she did. She wasn’t wearing anything.
Seeing the intimate marks he had left on her body, Jie Jingchen couldn’t help but break into a sweet, happy smile.
Qin Mei tried to pull the duvet back to cover herself, but Jie Jingchen beat her to it, tossing it to the corner of the bed.