Qin Mei rubbed her sore waist. "Jing Si, I’m your wife, not your enemy. Can’t you be a little gentler with me?"
"If I’m too gentle, you won’t like it." A devilishly charming smile played on Jingchen’s lips.
"Jing Si, are you asking for a beating?" ’What kind of nonsense is he spouting? I do like it gentle, thank you very much.’
"Okay, I’ll be gentler next time." Jingchen surrendered. He stretched out a long arm and scooped her, comforter and all, into his embrace. Qin Mei cried out in surprise, but before she could react, his large hand was already gently massaging her waist.
Qin Mei stiffened for a moment. His massage was more comforting than her own. She nestled into his arms and closed her eyes, enjoying it.
Suddenly, a thought struck Qin Mei. She opened her eyes and looked at Jingchen. "What about your older sister?"
Jingchen hadn’t locked the door when he came in. It would be so awkward if Jie Jingling came in and saw this.
"Don’t worry. My sister is an experienced woman. She won’t come looking for you while I’m in the room," Jingchen said.
Remembering how wild they had been last night, Qin Mei covered her face with her hands. Their bed was pressed against the wall of her sister-in-law’s room. They’d made so much noise, and she hadn’t been able to stop herself from crying out several times. ’Her sister must have heard everything.’
Aaaah! ’I’m too embarrassed to face anyone!’
"Mom and my sister won’t laugh at you," Jingchen comforted her, pulling her hands away from her face.
"Mom? What do you mean?" Qin Mei frowned, looking at him.
"You didn’t know?" Jingchen asked. Then he remembered, ’She was taking a shower in the bathroom when Mom went to my sister’s room.’
"Know what?" Qin Mei was even more confused.
Jingchen pinched her nose. "Because."
"Jing. Si," Qin Mei said, drawing out each syllable.
"The congee is getting cold. Let me help you get dressed," Jingchen said, changing the subject.
"I’m not getting dressed." Qin Mei pushed him away and lay back down.
"Then I’ll feed you the congee first," Jingchen said.
"Fine by me." Qin Mei sat up, clutching the comforter, looking ready to be fed by Jingchen.
’The bowl held congee, and he had chopsticks. I’d like to see how he plans to feed me with those.’
"Move the fan. Stop it from oscillating and point it right at me. I’m hot," Qin Mei said.
"Meimei, it’s still morning." The temperature wasn’t that high yet. He was already worried she’d catch a cold with the fan oscillating, and now she wanted it blowing directly on her.
"Jing Si, are my words suddenly not good enough for you?" Qin Mei glared at him.
Jingchen never compromised on things he’d set his mind to, especially when it concerned her health.
Jingchen made a token gesture of moving the fan, then picked up the bowl and sat on the edge of the bed. "Open up."
Qin Mei watched him fumble with the chopsticks in the bowl. He tried several times, but only managed to pick up a few grains of rice. Seeing his clear eyes and clumsy movements, she couldn’t help but be amused.
"Pfft." Qin Mei couldn’t help but laugh.
"I’ll go get a spoon," Jingchen said.
"Here, I’ll eat it myself." Qin Mei had only wanted to give him a hard time. Seeing his flustered expression, her mood instantly lifted.
After breakfast, Qin Mei got dressed and went to the bathroom to wash up.
When Qin Mei came out of the bathroom, she started rummaging through drawers and cabinets. Jingchen returned after washing the dishes to find her packing powdered medicine into a satchel, along with all the cash they had in the house.
"In such a hurry?" Jingchen asked.
Qin Mei paused in the middle of packing the money, glancing at Jingchen out of the corner of her eye. "The sooner, the better. We need to handle this quickly and decisively."
"Haste makes waste," Jingchen reminded her. He knew Qin Mei was impatient, but this was too rushed. ’We only just decided on this last night, and she’s already acting on it today. Can’t it wait a few days?’
"Jing Si, I want to get Zhang Haoyuan’s situation resolved before your sister leaves," Qin Mei said seriously.
"I haven’t even called my contact yet." Jingchen raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose.
"You go to the general store to make the call. I’ll go pay off Zhang Haoyuan’s debt. We’ll act separately," Qin Mei said.
Qin Mei was puzzled. ’The Jie Family is well-off, and my mother-in-law is a rich woman. Why don’t they have a phone installed at home?’
Jingchen’s expression turned grim. "Zhang Haoyuan was set up to get addicted to gambling. Those people don’t want to kill him; they want to toy with him until he’s ruined. If you go to pay his debt, you’ll be walking right into the lion’s den."
Qin Mei snorted. "Who’s the lion and who’s the prey? That remains to be seen."
"Meimei, those people are bad news." Jingchen watched her, struck by her fearless-newbie attitude. ’The Qin Family protected her too well. She has no idea how treacherous people can be.’
"Don’t worry. I return kindness with kindness, and wickedness with wickedness," Qin Mei said, patting her bulging satchel. "I’ve come fully equipped. If they dare to play dirty, I don’t mind giving them a taste of what I can do."
’If they play dirty, I’ll play dirtier. If they want to get physical, I’ll knock them all down. If their eyes pop open at the sight of money, then I’ll just give them money.’
"Meimei..." Jingchen sounded exasperated.
"Are they on the same level as Xu Anshan?" Qin Mei asked. She had suffered a setback at Xu Anshan’s hands; the fact that he could catch her silver needles had been a huge blow to her confidence.
"No," Jingchen answered truthfully. ’You wouldn’t find another Xu Anshan in all of Shijiu City.’
Qin Mei looked a little disappointed. "I was actually hoping for a proper, open fight with someone like Xu Anshan."
Jingchen fell silent.
Qin Mei gave a confident smile and patted Jingchen’s shoulder. "Don’t worry. Even if they were on Xu Anshan’s level, I wouldn’t be afraid. I only lost last time because I underestimated him. This time, I’m fully prepared."
Jingchen’s expression was exceptionally grave. She told him not to worry, but how could he? She was a woman who looked like a strong gust of wind could blow her over. How was she supposed to deal with those vicious gamblers on her own?
"I’ll go with you," Jingchen conceded.
"You’ll go with me?" Qin Mei’s smooth fingertips traced his firm jaw, a devastatingly alluring smile playing on her lips. "Aren’t you worried someone might recognize you and then come after the Jie Family with a vengeance?"
"The Jie Family isn’t afraid of trouble," Jingchen said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it.
"But your father is," Qin Mei said with a flirtatious wink. "He has elders to care for and children to raise."
Jingchen was at a loss for words.
"Jing Si, how about we just wipe them all out in one go?" Qin Mei suggested.
Jingchen’s interest was piqued. He stared at Qin Mei and asked, "How would we do that?"
"We’ll coordinate an attack from the inside and the outside," Qin Mei said, enunciating each word.
"I’ll be on the inside, you on the outside," Jingchen agreed. Only by taking them all out at once could they eliminate the threat for good.
Qin Mei’s fingertip traced his palm. "I’ll be on the inside, you on the outside."
"Absolutely not," Jingchen refused. In his mind, the outside was safe while the inside was dangerous. There was no way he would let his wife walk into danger.
"If you go with Zhang Haoyuan, they’ll be on their guard. But they won’t suspect a frail woman like me," Qin Mei said, pulling her hand from his grasp and patting his cheek. "There, it’s happily decided."
Jingchen’s face darkened. ’Happily? What’s so happy about this? Nothing at all.’
In the end, Qin Mei convinced Jingchen. Before she left, he gave her endless warnings. They didn’t tell Jie Jingling, afraid she would worry. The moment Qin Mei was out the door, Jingchen immediately headed to the general store to call Gao Yang.
Gao Yang had been targeting that group for a while, but they were too cunning. Even when he got a tip-off, by the time he arrived with his men, word would have already gotten out, and they would find the place empty.
When he received Jingchen’s call, he was both shocked and excited. He immediately gathered his men and had them lie in wait, ready to strike.
In the same alley as the day before, Zhang Haoyuan paced restlessly, glancing toward the entrance from time to time. The person he was waiting for still hadn’t arrived. He looked up at the scorching sun high in the sky and couldn’t help but wonder if Qin Mei had lied to him.
’She had promised to help him pay his gambling debts, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was long past their appointed time. Had she changed her mind?’
The hope and anticipation that had filled his heart began to vanish, bit by bit.
Zhang Haoyuan tilted his head back, staring wide-eyed at the scorching sun. The light was so blinding that it made tears stream from his eyes.
"Ha..." Zhang Haoyuan let out a laugh, a sound both desolate and wretched.