Chapter 25 - 213: Brother 4, Save Me (3)
Jie Jingchen’s pupils constricted. He hadn’t expected Qin Mei to demand a consultation fee. In his heart, he hadn’t even realized he already saw her as family.
"When you go to the hospital, you have to pay the doctor. I’m treating her leg, so shouldn’t you pay my fee?" Seeing Jie Jingchen’s silence, Qin Mei assumed he was unwilling to pay.
Jie Jingchen raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We’re family."
For a moment, Qin Mei was touched by the word "family." Then she grinned. "Don’t play the family card with me. Even brothers settle their accounts."
She had a point. Jie Jingchen asked, "How much do you want?"
"Heh." Qin Mei chuckled, rubbing her nose without giving him a definite number. "The more, the better."
’No one ever complains about having too much money. The more, the better.’
’Money gives a woman security, no matter the circumstances. It makes things easier, and you need money to make money.’
"Alright. As long as you can heal Jing Qi’s leg, I guarantee the fee will be to your satisfaction." Jie Jingchen emphasized the last part. While his face was unreadable, Qin Mei could hear the emotion in his voice.
"Deal." Qin Mei was very satisfied. She couldn’t care less about Jie Jingchen’s feelings. ’Making money is what’s important. First, I’ll earn it from inside the family, then I’ll find ways to earn it from outside.’
Qin Mei stood up and walked to the bedside. She first took Jie Jingshan’s pulse, then examined her leg. To her relief, the condition was better than she had anticipated.
"How is it? Can you treat it?" Jie Jingchen asked anxiously.
"Yes." Qin Mei didn’t keep him in suspense. She had no interest in using cheap theatrics to emphasize her medical skills.
’A simple yes or no. Clear and direct.’
"How certain are you?" Jie Jingchen asked.
"Seventy percent," Qin Mei answered. ’In truth, I’m ninety percent sure, but I can’t be overconfident. There’s always that ten percent chance of an unforeseen complication. What if Jie Jingshan is just unlucky enough to fall into that ten percent?’
At her words, the tension in Jie Jingchen’s expression visibly eased, and a hint of a smile touched his eyes. It was like seeing a ray of dawn after finding oneself at a dead end, on the brink of despair.
"Thank you." Jie Jingchen couldn’t suppress his excitement. Never mind seventy percent—even a thirty percent chance would have been a glimmer of hope.
’His mother was a doctor with outstanding skills, yet even she had been helpless when it came to Jing Qi’s leg.’
’Traditional Chinese medicine truly is profound.’
They’d had buns for breakfast, and for lunch, they wanted rice. Qin Mei didn’t know how to cook it, and you couldn’t expect anything from Jie Jingshan. It was also inconvenient for Jie Jingchen. Qin Mei suggested they eat out, but then they considered that Jie Jingshan refused to leave the house, and they weren’t comfortable leaving her home alone. In the end, they decided Jie Jingchen would go buy takeout.
Qin Mei moved a table into the courtyard so they could eat outside. Jie Jingshan was visibly uncomfortable. Ever since her leg had been crippled, she hadn’t eaten at a table with her family. Her meals were always brought to her room for her to eat alone.
It wasn’t that her family looked down on her; she was the one who refused to leave her room.
Qin Mei had told Jie Jingshan about the plan to treat her leg, but Jie Jingshan had shown no reaction. She didn’t believe Qin Mei could heal her. After four years of trying one thing after another to no avail, it seemed she had already accepted her fate.
Qin Mei hadn’t begun the treatment yet. She wasn’t going to worry about whether Jie Jingshan would cooperate. ’Right now, I need to come up with a treatment plan.’
At four o’clock in the afternoon, members of the Jie family began to return from work, each carrying an aluminum lunch box. Qin Mei was sitting under a tree in the courtyard while Jie Jingchen was lounging comfortably in a rattan chair.
"Xiao Si, is this your wife?" asked a handsome man. He was followed by an utterly charming woman who was leading a young boy by the hand.
The boy was about seven or eight years old, with an army-green satchel slung over his shoulder.
Qin Mei rose to her feet, giving the couple a beaming smile before turning a questioning gaze to Jie Jingchen.
"Second Brother, Jie Jingwei. Second Sister-in-law, Xu Chunyan. And their son, Jie You." Jie Jingchen didn’t get up, remaining reclined in the rattan chair with his eyes closed as if resting.
’Jie Jingchen’s second brother.’ Qin Mei sized up Jie Jingwei. He bore no resemblance to Jie Jingchen at all. Jie Jingwei was handsome, but Jie Jingchen was devastatingly so. She couldn’t help but wonder, ’Are they really blood brothers?’
"Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law." Qin Mei’s smile widened, her eyes curving into crescents. It was a dazzling, bewitching smile.
Jie Jingwei smiled and nodded. ’So this is the wife Xiao Si found,’ he thought. ’She’s bewitching to the bone, voluptuous yet gentle—a true femme fatale.’
"Xiao You, come here. Greet your Fourth Aunt," Jie Jingwei said, beckoning to the son Xu Chunyan was holding by the hand.
"Hmph!" The little boy snorted, glaring at Qin Mei before shouting, "She is not my Fourth Aunt! She’s a vixen! A vixen who seduced my Fourth Uncle! Teacher Lin is supposed to be my Fourth Aunt!"