Free Web NovelChapter 446: Chapter 160: You Want to Replace the Fourth Sister-in-law
The elderly couple’s hearts softened a little, but they refused to show it. When Grandma Hua finished feeding her husband the porridge, she steeled herself and hurled the empty bowl at them. "What are you shouting about? His surname isn’t Zhang, and mine isn’t Hua. You have the wrong people! Get out of here and stop bothering my husband while he’s resting."
Seeing the bowl flying toward them, Jie Jingchen wrapped an arm around Qin Mei and spun around, letting it smash against his back.
Protected in Jie Jingchen’s embrace, Qin Mei blinked. ’They’ve really been pushed to the edge, resorting to violence now.’
’They’re a tough pair. When pushed this far, they’d even renounce their own names.’
"Out, out, out! Get out!" Grandma Hua shot to her feet, rushed toward them, and relentlessly shoved them out the door. "Don’t come looking for us again. We don’t know you! If you dare to come back, I’ll beat you every single time. I’m old and I’ve lived long enough. I’m not afraid to risk my life to get rid of you."
Qin Mei understood. The old woman was threatening them with her life.
BANG! Grandma Hua slammed the door shut.
"Jing Si, take your wife and go home. Don’t provoke them. It won’t do you any good." A passing head nurse, who was on good terms with Mrs. Xie and recognized Jie Jingchen, kindly advised him.
"Aunt Lan, I understand." Jie Jingchen led Qin Mei away.
Qin Mei didn’t resist. ’The elderly couple is too emotional right now,’ she thought. ’If we don’t leave, it’ll just escalate into a fight. This is a hospital; a commotion would affect everyone. We should give them some time to cool down. I’ll come back to see them in a couple of days.’
Only after the footsteps faded into the distance did Grandma Hua wipe away her tears. She bent down to pick up the undamaged bowl, walked to the bedside, and said in a choked voice, "My dear, I hit Jing Si. Do you think I hurt him?"
"He’ll be fine." Grandpa Zhang’s eyes were rimmed with red as he comforted his wife.
Years ago, he had been reported by one of his students. After the incident, his wife could have divorced him to distance herself, but she hadn’t. She stood by him through thick and thin, a devotion he would never forget for as long as he lived.
Tears welled up, spilling from her eyes. She wiped at them, but they only came faster. Eventually, she gave up, letting them stream freely down her wrinkled face, which was now lit with a joyful smile.
"I haven’t seen him in over a decade. I can’t believe Jing Si has grown so tall and handsome. If I hadn’t looked closely, I wouldn’t have even recognized him. And he married such a lovely wife! My dear, I can tell that girl has a good heart, and she’s very capable. Her acupuncture skills, in particular, are simply out of this world."
Grandpa Zhang was also ecstatic. His hands, thin as twigs, gripped the bedsheet beneath him. "That’s right! I still remember when Jing Ling brought him to our house. He wasn’t very tall back then, but he was so stubborn."
"More than stubborn," Grandma Hua added. "He was pigheaded and obstinate."
Jie Jingling had been his last disciple and the only one who hadn’t kicked them while they were down. It was a shame he’d only taught Jing Ling for a few years before she was sent to the countryside as a sent-down youth. Less than two years after that, his life was turned upside down.
It was as if they had fallen from a pedestal into an abyss, forced to experience the full spectrum of human kindness and cruelty.
After leaving the hospital, Qin Mei pushed Jie Jingchen away and scanned the area, searching for Qin Xiang.
Qin Xiang was about the same height as Jie Jingchen, so he should have been easy to spot. ’That’s strange,’ Qin Mei thought. ’Why can’t I find him?’
’Where did that guy go? Don’t tell me he got impatient from waiting and just left me here to go home by himself.’
"Meimei, what are you looking for?" Jie Jingchen asked, trying to get back on her good side.
Qin Mei shot him a cold glare and snorted, ignoring him completely as she continued to search.
"Meimei, I was wrong." Jie Jingchen took her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
People were constantly coming and going at the hospital entrance. Qin Mei didn’t want to argue with him in public. Some of the doctors and nurses knew them, and making a scene would reflect poorly on her mother-in-law.
Qin Mei raised a hand and pushed Jie Jingchen away. She took two steps back, putting some distance between them, then turned and walked toward the bicycle parking area.
"Meimei..."
"Don’t let it happen again," Qin Mei said, cutting Jie Jingchen off. ’It wasn’t a malicious mistake, nor was it some huge disaster,’ she thought. ’Holding a grudge for too long is just tiring for me and annoying for him.’
For a moment, Jie Jingchen’s brain short-circuited. ’Did my wife just forgive me?’ he thought. ’That was way too fast. I thought I’d have to spend a lot more time explaining myself.’
Qin Mei stopped in her tracks and turned to face Jie Jingchen. "What? Are you hoping for a next time?"
Jie Jingchen’s survival instincts were on high alert. "No."
Seeing that his apology was sincere, Qin Mei decided not to give him a hard time. Still, she couldn’t resist poking him in the chest. "Jie Jingsi, I’m not trying to pick on you, but out of everyone you could have hit, it had to be a pregnant woman? A pregnant woman carrying twins, no less."
Jie Jingchen didn’t try to defend himself. He had hit her. There was no excuse for it.
"At five months, a pregnancy like that is incredibly difficult to manage. If she had given birth then, the babies would have died. And if saving the pregnancy had gone wrong, we could have lost all three of them." Qin Mei poked his chest again. "If my medical skills were even a fraction less effective, I couldn’t have saved the day. You wouldn’t be standing here admitting you were wrong to me. You’d be facing the family’s wrath while being eaten alive by guilt."
