Free Web NovelChapter 483: Chapter 172: You Can Drive?
"Meimei, it’s the middle of the day." The sudden bliss was almost too much for Jie Jingchen to handle.
Qin Mei shot him a glare, but her hands didn’t stop unbuttoning his shirt. Watching her eager display, Jie Jingchen wondered if he should take the initiative. He was itching all over.
She pulled off his shirt and, just as she’d suspected, he had hives.
Jie Jingchen stared at the red welts on his body, stunned. He hadn’t seen them when he showered. How had so many suddenly appeared? They were densely clustered and looked a little frightening.
"Don’t look." Jie Jingchen snatched the shirt from Qin Mei’s hands and quickly put it back on. The sight of it made his own skin crawl; it would be a problem if he scared her and made her averse to him.
"Let’s go. To the hospital," Qin Mei said decisively.
None of the pills she’d refined or the herbs she’d bought could treat hives. Qin Mei grabbed the car keys from the table, pulled Jie Jingchen out the door, and said a quick word to Jing Qi on her way out.
Seeing her worried expression, Jie Jingchen felt a secret thrill of joy. ’She really does care about me.’
It wasn’t until Qin Mei settled him into the passenger seat that Jie Jingchen snapped out of it. ’She’s so worried she’s not thinking straight.’ He was in the passenger seat, so who was going to drive?
Jie Jingchen was about to open his door when he saw Qin Mei slide into the driver’s seat. He froze, but what truly shocked him was when she expertly inserted the key into the ignition, and then...
Watching her deft movements, Jie Jingchen was dumbfounded.
Qin Mei knew how to drive. ’Who taught her?’
Her driving skills were in no way inferior to his.
"Meimei," Jie Jingchen’s voice trembled slightly. Qin Mei had given him too many shocks. She was supposed to be completely uneducated, but it turned out she was a woman of many talents. Her medical skills were so profound that even his mother couldn’t hope to compare.
"Hm?" Qin Mei shot a sidelong glance at Jie Jingchen. ’It’s been too long since I last drove. I’m a little rusty, especially with an older model like this.’ Fortunately, there weren’t many cars on the road at this time, and since it was during work hours, there were few pedestrians.
"You know how to drive?" Jie Jingchen tried his best to keep his voice calm.
Qin Mei’s expression faltered. She bit her lip in frustration. ’I slipped up again.’
’Oh well. I’ve already revealed so much to Jie Jingchen, what’s one more secret?’
"I do," Qin Mei admitted with perfect composure.
"Who taught you?" Jie Jingchen asked.
Qin Mei glanced at him. Seeing his determined expression, she knew he wouldn’t let it go. ’Saying I taught myself is unrealistic. If I say Jing Wu taught me, the lie would be exposed immediately. And it wouldn’t make sense to blame Qin Xiang.’ After weighing her options, Qin Mei said decisively, "You."
"Me?" A complex, profound look entered Jie Jingchen’s eyes. His hands clenched into tight fists. "When did I ever teach you?" he asked quietly. "I don’t recall."
"Yesterday. And today," Qin Mei said with unshakeable certainty.
Jie Jingchen was even more baffled.
Qin Mei continued, "When you drive, I watch from the side. I just learned by watching."
Jie Jingchen was not only speechless, he was dismayed. Qin Xiang had tried to teach her how to ride a bicycle, and not only had she failed to learn, she’d even fallen and hurt herself. Yet no one taught her to drive, and she learned just by watching? Who would believe that?
"Funny how the seeds you plant don’t sprout, but a stray twig takes root and grows into a tree," Jie Jingchen said sarcastically.
"What? You don’t believe me?" Qin Mei asked coolly. ’Of course he doesn’t. I wouldn’t believe it myself.’
"I believe you." Did Jie Jingchen dare say otherwise?
"Good." Qin Mei smiled. ’His blind faith in me... to be honest, I quite like it.’
Jie Jingchen, however, felt like crying. She learned to drive just by watching him? It was utterly absurd.
He had a vague feeling that Qin Mei was hiding a secret, one she wasn’t willing to share with him. Jie Jingchen felt a bit disheartened, but then he tried to convince himself. ’It’s alright. Her feelings for me just aren’t deep enough yet. Once we build a stronger bond and she starts to rely on me, she’ll tell me everything one day.’
He decided not to dwell on it. The itching all over his body was unbearable, and Jie Jingchen started scratching again.
"Try to bear it. Stop scratching, you’ll break the skin." Qin Mei saw Jie Jingchen scratching frantically. His nails were neatly trimmed, but he was so strong that if he kept scratching that hard, he was bound to draw blood.
"It itches," Jie Jingchen said, sounding helpless. He didn’t care about breaking the skin; to stop the itching, he would gladly peel off a layer of it.
"The more it itches, the more you’ll scratch, and the more you scratch, the more it’ll itch. Stop it. We’re almost at the hospital." Qin Mei was driving very fast.
"I can’t help it." Jie Jingchen looked at Qin Mei pitifully. Pain, he could endure. Itching, he truly couldn’t.
"You have to endure it, even if you can’t." Qin Mei’s tone was a bit harsh. She’d never had hives, so she couldn’t really empathize with him. ’Sick people are the most vulnerable, and here I am yelling at him.’ Qin Mei reflected on her behavior for a few seconds, then forced a smile that she hoped looked kind. "Jie Jingsi, be a good boy. Just bear it a little longer. We’re almost at the hospital."
