Chapter 73 - 39: Teacher Lin Adores You
Jie Jingjue knew he was in the wrong. "Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. Xiao You is fine, so don’t make such a big deal out of it."
"I’m making a big deal out of it? Jie Jingjue, do you have any idea how much trouble Xiao You was in?" Xu Chunyan shouted. Seeing his carefree attitude and how he still hadn’t grasped the severity of the situation, she continued, "When school let out, you weren’t there to pick her up, so Xiao You started to walk home alone. On the way, she ran into child traffickers. They targeted Xiao You and were about to grab her. Luckily, Teacher Lin happened to be passing by and stopped those scoundrels before they could succeed."
Xu Chunyan felt a wave of fear just thinking about it. Her Xiao You had been so close to being kidnapped.
Jie Jingjue’s heart skipped a beat. He dropped his freewheeling act and got serious. "That actually happened?"
"Jie Jingjue," Xu Chunyan said through gritted teeth, "every time I think about how I almost lost Xiao You just because you forgot her, I want to strangle you."
"Sister-in-law, I was wrong," Jie Jingjue immediately admitted. "Where’s Dad? Does Dad know?"
"Dad isn’t back yet," Xu Chunyan said.
Jie Jingjue let out a breath of relief, patting his chest. He was incredibly grateful he had gotten home when he did. "Sister-in-law, I know I was wrong. I promise, it’ll never happen again. Can we please not let Dad find out about this?"
"No," Xu Chunyan refused.
"Sister-in-law, you’re the best. You’re my favorite sister-in-law," Jie Jingjue said, trying to butter her up. Seeing that Xu Chunyan wouldn’t compromise, he thought for a moment, then added, "It’s all Aiyun’s fault. She insisted on dragging me to her house."
"You were with Aiyun?" Xu Chunyan’s eyes lit up.
Qin Mei watched the scene and rolled her eyes. ’That Bai Aiyun is really something, able to manipulate both of them at the same time.’
"Of course. Who did you think I was with, Sister-in-law?" Jie Jingjue said, puffing out his chest. But he was totally bluffing.
"I thought you were out with that bad crowd of yours. If you were with Aiyun, then we’ll just drop it. It was just a scare, and Xiao You is unharmed. No need to get Dad involved," Xu Chunyan’s attitude changed in an instant.
"Really?" Seeing Xu Chunyan nod, Jie Jingjue laid on the praise thick and fast, much to her delight.
Qin Mei watched Xu Chunyan’s face twist into an exaggerated expression. ’I’m almost positive,’ she thought, ’that the bandages on her face are just for show.’
"So you really went to Aiyun’s house with her?" Xu Chunyan asked. Jie Jingjue forced himself to nod, not daring to mention that he and Bai Aiyun had had another falling out. "Jing Wu, don’t be shy. Tell your sister-in-law honestly, how far have you and Aiyun gotten? When are you going to talk about marriage?"
"Sister-in-law, it’s way too early to talk about marriage." ’We literally just broke up,’ Jie Jingjue thought. ’And she wants to talk about marriage? Seriously?’
Xu Chunyan was not happy. "It’s not too early at all! You two have been dating for almost a year. You’re twenty-two, she’s twenty. For something like this, the sooner the better. How about this? I’ll handle it for you. We’ll find an auspicious date and have Dad and Aunt Qiao go to Aiyun’s family to formally propose marriage. We’ll get you two engaged."
This gave Jie Jingjue a headache.
"Teacher Lin is so incredible! A true heroine! Child traffickers are usually savage, brawny men, yet Teacher Lin managed to rescue Jie You all on her own. So impressive, so impressive. I’m full of admiration, truly." Qin Mei had no desire to help Jie Jingjue out of his bind; she just couldn’t stomach Teacher Lin inexplicably becoming the Jie Family’s savior.
Qin Mei didn’t care how Jie Jingwei and his wife thanked Teacher Lin, but she refused to let them use this as an excuse to make Mr. Xie and the entire Jie Family feel indebted to her.
’There were no other witnesses to Xiao You’s supposed kidnapping,’ she thought. ’Only Xiao You and Teacher Lin. And Xiao You listens to everything her teacher says; she could be easily brainwashed.’
’Kidnappers scout their locations and tail their targets over and over. They wait for the perfect time and opportunity to strike. Who just does it on a whim, grabbing the first target they see? It’s too sloppy.’
"Qin Mei, cut the snide remarks. Teacher Lin saved Xiao You. She’s Xiao You’s savior, and the Jie Family’s savior." Xu Chunyan and Qin Mei had a deep-seated grudge against each other; they couldn’t stand the sight of one another.
Sure enough, just as Qin Mei expected, Xu Chunyan was determined to establish Teacher Lin as the Jie Family’s savior.
Qin Mei ignored Xu Chunyan and turned to Jie Jingjue. "If that had been me, I wouldn’t have been so brave. What if you provoke them and they decide to kidnap you along with the child? An eight-year-old girl and a frail woman, completely helpless with no one around to hear your screams... Ugh. That would have been a tragedy."
Jie Jingchen lowered his gaze to stare at Qin Mei, a deep and unreadable expression swirling in his eyes.
’When Teacher Lin brought Xiao You home, we weren’t here. We didn’t hear what she told Second Brother and his wife. I know panic can cloud your judgment, but still... how could Sister-in-law believe a story with so many holes? And what about Second Brother? Did he believe it too?’