Jie Jingling looked at Jie Jingchen, then at Qin Mei, and asked in confusion, "Amie, being pregnant is a good thing. Why won’t you let me tell Aunt Qiao?"
Jie Jingchen’s voice was tight as he asked Qin Mei, "You’re pregnant?"
Qin Mei glared at him and said irritably, "You’re the one who’s pregnant."
"..." Jie Jingchen.
’I’m a man. It’d be a miracle if I got pregnant.’
Jie Jingchen’s gaze locked onto Qin Mei’s flat stomach, his feelings deeply conflicted. ’If she really is pregnant, that would be great. Get it over with sooner rather than later. Then Mom would stop questioning my capabilities. I’ve already explained that Qin Mei and I don’t want a child for now, but Mom doesn’t believe me. She’s convinced my back injury left lingering problems.’
"Amie, let me help you." Jie Jingling stepped forward to support Qin Mei.
Qin Mei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Sis, I’m not pregnant."
"Amie, you’re already having morning sickness," Jie Jingling said with a smile.
"Sis, it’s not morning sickness. I just feel nauseous," Qin Mei said.
"Nausea *is* morning sickness. When I was pregnant with Tongtong, my morning sickness was terrible. I threw up so much it felt like the world was ending, so much that I started to question my life choices. A few times, I almost couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to give up on the pregnancy. But my mother-in-law was constantly in my ear, saying that if you don’t keep the first one, it’ll be hard to get pregnant again later. And even if you do, you’ll have habitual miscarriages. It scared me so much I couldn’t sleep for several nights. Thankfully, I stuck with it," Jie Jingling said, her tone a bit bitter.
She’d had a difficult birth with Tongtong and nearly died. They managed to save her life, but the ordeal damaged her body. She would never be able to have a second child.
"Sis, I’m really not pregnant. I was just thinking about..." Qin Mei felt it was useless to explain; her sister would probably just start giving her pregnancy advice. "Sis, do you know how to take a pulse?"
"I do." Jie Jingling wouldn’t boast about much else, but when it came to a pregnancy pulse, she was spot-on every time.
"Take my pulse." Qin Mei extended her hand toward Jie Jingling. ’Rather than waste my breath explaining, I’ll just let her confirm it herself.’
Jie Jingling glanced at Jie Jingchen, took Qin Mei’s hand, and placed her fingertips on her wrist.
She couldn’t feel a pregnancy pulse. Unwilling to give up, Jie Jingling’s expression grew more serious. Still nothing. She asked in confusion, "What’s going on?"
"I’m not pregnant," Qin Mei said.
"It must be too early. The pregnancy pulse can’t be detected yet," Jie Jingling said, trying to find an explanation.
"I’m really not pregnant, Sis. I swear." Qin Mei raised her hand as if to make an oath, but Jie Jingling stopped her.
"Amie, you can’t just swear oaths like that. They might come true," Jie Jingling said, her brow furrowed. She asked with great seriousness, "You’re really not pregnant?"
"Really, I’m not. I promise." Since she wasn’t allowed to swear, Qin Mei made a promise instead.
"Sister-in-law," Sun Dexiang called out.
"Yes! Coming." Jie Jingling patted Qin Mei’s hand and comforted her, "Don’t be disappointed. You haven’t been married long, and you’re both young and healthy. It’ll happen eventually."
Qin Mei was speechless. ’What part of me looks disappointed?’ "Sis, you should go get in the car."
"What about you two?" Jie Jingling asked.
"There are too many people, we won’t all fit in the car. Jie Jingsi and I will ride bikes," Qin Mei said.
"Maybe I should ride a bike too," Jie Jingling said.
"Sis, you take the car," Jie Jingchen said. ’It would be perfect for him to give Qin Mei a ride on his bike. Add Sister Duo to the mix, and the picture wouldn’t be so pretty.’
"Alright. Just be careful on your bikes." After this reminder, Jie Jingling walked out.
After Jie Jingling left, Qin Mei’s expression relaxed. Jie Jingchen raised his hand and gently tucked a loose strand of hair from her temple behind her ear.
"So you’re really not pregnant?" Jie Jingchen’s low voice betrayed no emotion.
"Your sister already took my pulse." Qin Mei glared at him. ’This topic is never-ending. I finally get rid of Jingling, and now he’s starting up.’
"My sister isn’t very skilled in medicine." ’To put it bluntly, Jie Jingchen didn’t trust his sister’s medical skills in the slightest, much less her ability to detect a pregnancy pulse.’
Qin Mei put her hands on her hips and poked Jie Jingchen’s chest. "Jie Jingsi, would you dare say that to your sister’s face?"
"My sister knows her own limits," Jie Jingchen said.
Qin Mei ignored him, turning to wash her face and straighten her clothes. She was wearing pajamas, which were fine for at home, but not for going out.
"Move." Qin Mei pushed Jie Jingchen out of the way, walked to the closet, and found a T-shirt and shorts to change into.
"Meimei, are you pregnant or not?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"No." Qin Mei shot him a glare. ’This is never going to end.’
"Then why were you gagging?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"I was thinking about that time we all threw up together," Qin Mei said. ’And it was all Lin Yaru’s fault.’
Jie Jingchen finally gave up. He stood to the side without a word, watching Qin Mei change her clothes.