Chapter 132 - 58: I’ve Become a Eunuch, and You’re Very Happy
Qin Mei wanted to push him away, but her hands were dirty, and a white shirt would be a pain to wash. She quickly pulled her hand back just as it was about to touch his.
"Give it here." Jie Jingchen held out his hand, palm up.
"What?" Qin Mei asked, confused.
"The matches." Jie Jingchen lowered his gaze, staring at the matches she was holding.
Qin Mei froze for a moment before it dawned on her. She smiled and placed the matches in his palm.
Jie Jingchen first lit the kindling. Once the wood caught fire, he added the charcoal. As soon as the charcoal was burning, Qin Mei immediately placed the medicine pot on top.
"Alright, alright, you can go now." Qin Mei waved her hand, shooing Jie Jingchen away like a fly.
Jie Jingchen’s face fell, a bitter smile playing on his lips. ’So pragmatic. Use me and then toss me aside, just like that. Absolutely ruthless.’
"You don’t actually have to brew Jing Qi’s medicine yourself. You can just prepare the herbs and have Jing Wu brew it," Jie Jingchen said.
Qin Mei looked up, glancing at Jie Jingchen before her gaze returned to the medicine stove. "It’s not for Jing Qi."
Jie Jingchen’s eyes flickered. "Then who is it for?"
"Yours." Qin Mei didn’t look at Jie Jingchen, missing the change in his expression.
Jie Jingchen’s heart began to race uncontrollably. The bitter smile on his lips transformed into one of delight. It felt as if someone had forcibly poured honey into his heart, the cloying sweetness lifting his spirits.
He didn’t know if it was all in his head or for some other reason, but either way, Jie Jingchen felt that the medicine Jing Wu brewed was never as effective as when Qin Mei made it.
When Qin Mei brewed medicine, just as when she performed acupuncture, she was meticulous and focused, exuding a captivating glow.
"Jie Jingchen, this medicine is a little... special," Qin Mei warned him gravely. "After you take it, you have to tell me honestly about any changes you feel in your body. You absolutely cannot hide a single thing from me. Otherwise, you’ll have to face the consequences yourself."
"Special?" Jie Jingchen seized on the key word.
Qin Mei looked up, gazing at Jie Jingchen. She was sitting; he was standing. He was like a king, and she was like a slave.
"Can you not stand over me when you talk? It’s putting a lot of pressure on me."
Upon hearing her words, Jie Jingchen didn’t hesitate to squat down. The height difference was a difficult obstacle; even squatting, he was still taller than her. It seemed it would be difficult for them to ever be at eye level.
"Can you tell me now?" Jie Jingchen prompted.
"It’s just... it might... probably... cause... you-know-what. Um, you know what I mean," Qin Mei said, embarrassed, her cheeks turning red.
"What do you mean, ’it might, it probably will’? And ’you-know-what’? I don’t understand." Jie Jingchen genuinely couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It would be a miracle if anyone could understand her with the way she was talking.
"You really don’t get it?" Qin Mei narrowed her eyes, her shyness replaced by exasperation.
"I really don’t. I swear," Jie Jingchen said, looking at Qin Mei with a completely earnest face.
Qin Mei felt both frustrated and stunned. Jie Jingchen was twenty-five, he was married to the ’original her,’ and they had even consummated their marriage. She’d been indirect, but he should have understood. ’Is he really that naive,’ Qin Mei wondered, ’or is he just playing innocent?’
"Ahem." Qin Mei coughed, debating whether to just be blunt. Her gaze drifted down from his ethereally handsome face, finally settling on the crucial spot between his legs.
However slow on the uptake he might be, Jie Jingchen finally understood. He shot to his feet, his deep eyes turning icily indifferent, his voice sharp with humiliation-fueled anger. "Qin Mei."
"Ahem." Qin Mei coughed a few more times and asked nonchalantly, "Get it now?"
"Last time, you used an aphrodisiac meant for breeding cattle on me, and now you’re at it again... Qin Mei, didn’t you lose your memory? I guess a leopard can’t change its spots." Jie Jingchen was on the brink of sheer fury. Flames ignited in the depths of his dark eyes, and his expression grew increasingly grim and terrifyingly sinister.
Last time, he hadn’t been on guard against Qin Mei, giving her an opportunity. The drug’s effect had been too strong, overwhelming his reason, which was how they had ended up consummating their relationship. She was at fault for drugging him; he was at fault for losing control.
It had been her first time, and his as well. He had married her to take responsibility—a deep humiliation for him.
Before her amnesia, she had been his nightmare—someone to be avoided at all costs. But after she lost her memory, the more they interacted, the more he realized being married to her wasn’t so terrible. He had even secretly resolved that once he recovered, they would become a proper married couple. Even if they couldn’t be passionately in love, a lifetime of mutual respect would be enough.
The mention of a "special" medicine had reawakened that unbearable memory, and he was consumed by rage.
Qin Mei’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her almond-shaped eyes narrowed. It looked as if flames would shoot out of Jie Jingchen’s eyes at any second.
’An aphrodisiac for breeding cattle?’ Qin Mei couldn’t help but gulp. ’The original her was really something else, daring to use that kind of drug on a person.’ Suddenly, it all clicked into place. No wonder when she’d woken up, the body she was in had been a complete wreck, with a huge bump on the back of her head.