Chapter 413 - 149: Jing Qi, Do You Want a New Second Sister-in-Law?
"And you think my house is convenient?" Jie Jingshan asked coldly, her sharp gaze making Lin Yaru feel cornered and frustrated.
"It is," Lin Yaru replied shamelessly.
Jie Jingshan was livid but spelled it out for her. "Teacher Lin, don’t think we don’t know what you’re up to. You want to use taking care of Xiao You to gain an advantage from being close."
Jie Jingshan all but directly accused Lin Yaru of her true goal: Jie Jingchen.
Far from being angry or embarrassed, Lin Yaru smiled broadly at the silent Qin Mei. Her words, however, were a provocative question for Jie Jingshan. "Jing Qi, what are you so afraid of? Worried I’ll ruin the relationship between your fourth brother and his wife? Jing Qi, if their love is truly unshakable, no one can destroy it. On the other hand, if their relationship can’t withstand the slightest test, then even without me, they won’t..."
"So, from the sound of it, Teacher Lin, taking care of Jie You is just a pretense," Qin Mei interrupted. "Your real goal is to test my relationship with Jie Jingchen."
Lin Yaru froze for a second, then her smile widened. "Jing Si and I were childhood sweethearts. Whether as a ’sister’ or a ’former lover,’ what’s wrong with me testing your relationship?"
"Hmph!" Jie Jingshan scoffed, her face full of disdain. "Teacher Lin, test my fourth brother and sister-in-law’s relationship? Are you even worthy?"
"I am," Lin Yaru said, a triumphant look on her face.
Jie Jingshan was furious. She’d met shameless people before, but never anyone as brazen as Lin Yaru. Her nerve was thicker than a castle wall.
The corners of Qin Mei’s mouth lifted into a faint smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "’Childhood sweethearts’? Funny, I heard from Jie Jingchen that your feelings were completely one-sided."
Lin Yaru’s smile froze. In disbelief, her voice rose sharply. "He really told you my feelings were one-sided?"
"What else would he say?" Qin Mei gave Lin Yaru a look one might give an idiot, then added mockingly, "He already has a sister, so you’re not worthy of that title. As for ’former lover,’ that’s complete nonsense. Who do you think you are to test our relationship? You don’t have the right."
Lin Yaru didn’t hear a word Qin Mei said after that. Her mind was completely consumed by those two words: *one-sided*. ’My feelings for Jie Jingchen run so deep. I swore I’d never marry anyone else. When he joined the army, I waited quietly at home for him to come back and marry me. I waited and waited, only to get news that he’d married someone else. How could I accept that? How could I not have a breakdown?’
’Even though we didn’t have a formal arrangement from our parents or a matchmaker, I thought we had a private understanding. I believed that as long as I didn’t pressure him and just waited patiently, our marriage was only a matter of time.’
’Could those two words—"one-sided"—just erase all the years of my youth I spent waiting for him? Impossible. I won’t let it end so easily.’
Lin Yaru took a deep breath, suppressing her roiling anger and bitter sense of injustice. Ignoring the two women, she bent down slightly and asked Jie You in a gentle voice, "Xiao You, are you hungry?"
"I’m hungry," Jie You nodded.
"I’ll go make you something to eat." Lin Yaru took Jie You by the hand and strode confidently past the two of them.
Jie Jingshan was stunned into silence.
Qin Mei was as well.
’The nerve of her.’
Just then, a travel-worn Jie Jingwei returned. With the elders away, Jie Jingwei didn’t bother greeting the two women. He acted as if he hadn’t even seen them sitting in the courtyard.
There was bad blood between him and Qin Mei, so she wasn’t about to go out of her way to curry favor. Jie Jingshan opened her mouth to speak, but seeing her second brother ignore them, she decided against calling out to him.
"Daddy!" Seeing his father, Jie You pulled his hand free from Lin Yaru’s grasp and ran joyfully toward Jie Jingwei.
Jie Jingwei set his cloth bag on the ground and squatted down to catch his son as he ran into his arms.
When Lin Yaru saw that Jie Jingwei was back from his trip, her face fell slightly. ’Didn’t Sister Xu say he wouldn’t be back so soon? Now that he’s here, what excuse can I use to stay?’
"Second Brother Jing," Lin Yaru called out with a smile.
"Yaru, thank you for bringing Xiao You home," Jie Jingwei said, picking up his son. He thanked her as if it were routine, clearly accustomed to her bringing Xiao You home.
"Second Brother Jing, you’re being too formal. Our families are close, and Sister Xu and I are colleagues. Besides, she and I are good friends. Something came up with her family, so she couldn’t look after Xiao You and asked me to help out. It’s no trouble at all. Xiao You is so cute; I’m really fond of him." As she spoke, Lin Yaru couldn’t resist reaching out to pat Xiao You’s head.
The last time Lin Yaru had supposedly "saved" Xiao You, her persona as a "lifesaving benefactor" had completely fallen apart, and Jie Jingwei still held some reservations about her because of it. Catching the main point of her explanation, he asked, "What’s happened with Chunyan’s family this time?"