Chapter 77 - 40: Holy Crap, What a Piece of Work
Jie You just cried without speaking. Seeing Jie Jingwei raise the thorn stick again, the little guy choked out a shout between sobs. "WAAAH... no, no! I didn’t meet any bad guys, and Teacher Lin didn’t save me!"
You couldn’t blame him for being spineless. It was the first time he’d been hit, and he was terrified. Forgetting everything else, he decisively sold out his teacher.
Xu Chunyan froze, looking at her son with bitter disappointment. ’So spineless, and after Teacher Lin has been so good to him.’
"Did you hear that? Satisfied now?" Jie Jingwei tossed the thorn stick aside, looking at Xu Chunyan with a sneer.
Xu Chunyan clenched her jaw and retorted stubbornly, "You beat a confession out of him."
"You’re hopeless. Teacher Lin sold you out, and you’re still helping her count the money." Jie Jingwei gave up trying to convince her, turned, and walked over to the bed to lie down.
He hadn’t rested well last night from taking care of her at the hospital.
"WAAAH, Mom... WAAAH... Dad hit me," Jie You cried, pitifully burrowing into Xu Chunyan’s arms.
"Xiao You, stop crying. Your dad is a meanie. Xiao You, let me see if you’re hurt." Xu Chunyan pulled down her son’s pants. He was wearing two pairs, and Jie Jingwei had gone so easy on him that he hadn’t even left a red mark.
"WAAAH..." Jie You buried his face in Xu Chunyan’s embrace and continued to sob.
Xu Chunyan comforted him. Once Jie You stopped crying, she glanced over at Jie Jingwei on the bed, then leaned close to Xiao You’s ear and whispered, "Xiao You, if your grandpa asks, you’re to say you ran into bad guys and Teacher Lin saved you."
"But..." Jie You was scared and snuck a glance at his father on the bed.
No one knew what else Xu Chunyan whispered in his little ear, but Jie You’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked innocently, "Really?"
"As long as Xiao You listens to Mommy," Xu Chunyan said with a smile.
"Xiao You will listen," Jie You promised.
"Our Xiao You is such a good boy. You really are Mommy’s good little boy." Xu Chunyan patted her son’s head with a satisfied smile.
Jie Jingchen entered the room to see Qin Mei holding an empty IV bottle, forcefully pressing down on something. As he got closer to look, he saw she was grinding a white powder on a piece of paper.
"What are you doing?" Jie Jingchen asked, curious.
Without stopping, Qin Mei looked up and glanced at Jie Jingchen. "Grinding herbs into a powder."
"For Jing Qi?" Seeing that she wasn’t pressing very hard, Jie Jingchen offered to take over, but Qin Mei stopped and carefully wiped the powder from the IV bottle onto the paper.
"Jing Qi doesn’t need it for now. This is for you first." Qin Mei put the IV bottle down and looked up, meeting Jie Jingchen’s amber eyes. His confused expression made her face darken. "What? Worried I’m going to harm you?"
"You wouldn’t," Jie Jingchen said with conviction.
Qin Mei froze for a moment. Jie Jingchen’s absolute trust made her feel a little awkward. "I’ll go get you some water."
Qin Mei first carefully folded the paper to secure the powder. The herbs were expensive, and now that they were ground so fine, a single gust of wind could blow them away.
She carried a bucket to the kitchen. It was empty, but a full pot of water was boiling on the stove. Shen Qing had boiled it, but she wasn’t here. ’Should I tell Shen Qing before I take some?’
’Taking something without asking is the same as stealing.’
’Shen Qing would let Jie Jingchen take some, and since I’m his wife, she should let me take some too. Besides, I’m just getting the water for him.’
"The water’s boiling, sister-in-law. What are you spacing out for?" Jie Jinghun’s gentle voice broke the silence.
"Third Brother." Qin Mei gave a guilty smile. Seeing that Jie Jinghun was also carrying a bucket, she stepped aside to let him go first.
"It’s all right, you go ahead," Jie Jinghun said considerately.
Qin Mei felt a little awkward, since it was Shen Qing who had boiled the water. "Third Brother, you go first. I’m not in a rush."
Jie Jinghun didn’t refuse a second time. If they kept insisting, neither of them would get any water, and his wife was still waiting in the bathroom.
Jie Jinghun ladled out over half the pot of water and carried his bucket toward the bathroom. Qin Mei then filled her own bucket halfway. She didn’t add any cold water to it. After a moment’s thought, she refilled the pot with some fresh water before leaving.
"Jie Jingchen, go ahead and wash up. Be careful not to get your wound wet. I’ll put the medicine on for you when you’re done. There’s no rush, so take your time. I’m going to go check on Jing Qi." Qin Mei said all this in one breath, then walked out and closed the door.
But Qin Mei didn’t go look for Jing Qi. Instead, she stood guard by the door, waiting.
It was getting dark, but Mrs. Xie still hadn’t come back. Qin Mei was starting to worry.
A short while later, Mrs. Xie returned. Qin Mei saw her and ran over, helping her lift her bicycle over the doorstep. She couldn’t help but ask, "Mom, you were gone so long. Did something happen to Su Kexin?"
Mrs. Xie said nothing, her gaze probing as she sized up Qin Mei.
"Mom?" Qin Mei frowned. It wasn’t that Mrs. Xie’s searching gaze made her feel guilty—she just didn’t like it.