Chapter 525 - 186: Picking Up Eldest Sister at the Train Station
"She’s throwing up inside," Jie Jinghun reported.
"What?" Mr. Xie looked startled. "She has food poisoning too?"
"I don’t know." Jie Jinghun shrugged.
"Jing Si," Mr. Xie called.
Jie Jingchen helped Qin Mei get settled. Hearing his father’s call, he stepped out of the room. "What is it?"
"Where’s your wife?" Mr. Xie asked as he walked toward Jie Jingchen.
"If you need something, just say it," Jie Jingchen said coldly, his tall frame blocking the doorway.
"Tell your wife to come with me. We need to check on your second brother and his wife," Mr. Xie ordered.
A cold smirk touched Jie Jingchen’s lips. "If you want to go, go yourself. My wife isn’t going."
"They’re your second brother and his wife!" Mr. Xie was furious. ’This son is just here to give me grief,’ he thought. ’He won’t listen to a single thing I say.’
Jie Jingchen couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. He stepped back into the room and slammed the door with a BANG, leaving Mr. Xie fuming but utterly helpless.
Worried about his second son and daughter-in-law, he asked Jing San to come with him. But Jing San just clutched his stomach, claimed it hurt, and ran for the bathroom. This was the last straw for Mr. Xie. He cursed at Jing San before heading out alone to check on the situation.
Inevitably, Mr. Xie joined their ranks.
The commotion alerted Granny Ning from the neighborhood committee, who prepared to send everyone to the hospital. The moment they heard the word "hospital," the vomiting stopped, and everyone scurried home. They knew perfectly well it wasn’t food poisoning or a real illness—just a case of nausea.
The ground was covered in vomit, so Granny Ning arranged for someone to clean it up.
Still worried, Mr. Xie personally escorted them back to the Lin family’s home. Jie Jingwei and Lin Yaru were weak and exhausted from all the vomiting. Seeing their state, Lin Yaru’s parents were deeply concerned. "What happened to them?"
Mr. Xie couldn’t answer. He was just as confused about the situation as they were.
"We need to get them to a hospital," Mr. Lin said decisively. He wasn’t worried about his son-in-law, but he was worried about his daughter—she was pregnant.
"A hospital? Why waste money like that?" Li Axiu interjected. "Where’s Doctor Qiao? Just have Doctor Qiao come and take a look at them."
"Yan Qiu isn’t home," Mr. Xie said, raising a hand to rub his temples.
’If he’s not home, he must be at the hospital.’ Li Axiu settled for the next best thing. "What about Jing Si’s wife? I hear her medical skills are just as good as Doctor Qiao’s. Have her come take a look."
"Well..." Mr. Xie hesitated. With Jing Si in the picture, he had no authority over his fourth daughter-in-law. Besides, he doubted Jing Si would ever agree to let his wife come to the Lin family’s home.
Seeing Mr. Xie’s hesitation, Li Axiu’s anger flared. "Director Jie, you’re the director of a machinery factory, for heaven’s sake..."
"Axiu," Mr. Lin said, tugging on his wife’s arm to cut her off. "Let’s just take them to the hospital."
"Yes, to the hospital. I’ll pay for it," Mr. Xie said.
"Who’s going to take them?" Li Axiu asked.
Mr. Xie glanced at his son, who was slumped bonelessly in a chair. "I’ll have Jing Wu drive them to the hospital."
"Fine, then," Li Axiu said, satisfied. ’I’ve never ridden in Director Jie’s car before,’ she thought. ’There really are perks to being in-laws with the Jie family. I’m definitely going to put on a good show for the neighbors and make them all jealous.’
Back home, Mr. Xie ran into a problem. Xiao Wang, who had driven Xu Chunyan and her son, still wasn’t back. Mr. Xie found this odd. ’He should have been back by now,’ he thought. ’Did something happen?’
Mr. Xie started worrying about his grandson, so he told Jing San to go to the Xu family’s home and check on things. This time, Jing San didn’t refuse. He’d much rather take a walk to the Xu residence than escort Jing Er and his wife to the hospital.
"Jing Wu," Mr. Xie said, entering Jing Wu’s room. "Get up. Drive your second brother and his wife to the hospital."
Jie Jingjue lay prone on the bed, not daring to move an inch. He posed a soul-crushing question: "Dad, am I really your son?"
"Of course you are," Mr. Xie snapped, rolling his eyes at Jie Jingjue.
"Dad, you’re so biased," Jie Jingjue accused. "When Fourth Brother was beating me up, you just stood by and watched. Afterward, you didn’t show the slightest concern for me. But now that Second Brother and his wife are sick, you want *me* to drive them to the hospital."
Mr. Xie didn’t waste his breath arguing. He knew exactly how to handle his youngest son. He pulled two large bills from his pocket. "Are you going or not?"
Jie Jingjue’s mouth twitched. In the past, he would have been unable to resist the lure of money and would have scampered off to do the job. But money held no appeal for him now. "Dad, take a look at me. Don’t you think I’m the one who should be going to the hospital?"
"Get up and stop faking it," Mr. Xie said, slapping the two large bills onto the bed.
"Faking it? You try faking it and see how it feels," Jie Jingjue retorted, turning his head away. "Dad, I am so disappointed in you. You should probably leave, before I get any ideas about patricide."
"Jie Jingjue!" Mr. Xie roared, grabbing his son’s ear.
Jie Jingjue didn’t flinch. Catching sight of Mrs. Xie passing by the window, he raised his voice and yelled, "Mom, help! Dad’s taking advantage of my helpless state to murder me!"