Chapter 622 - 217: Qin Mei Mocks Lin Yaru (4)

Seeing that the show was over, the neighbors all went back into their houses. It was torture watching a spectacle under such a scorching sun.

"Jie Jingsi, put me down," Qin Mei said, patting Jie Jingchen. She wanted to get down, but he was holding her too tightly.

In this blistering heat, being held so close was sweltering. The part of her clothes pressed against Jie Jingchen’s chest was already soaked with sweat.

Jie Jingchen set Qin Mei down—not because he felt hot, but because he was afraid of running into the aunties with the red armbands.

Once steady on her feet, Qin Mei snatched the palm-leaf fan from Jie Jingchen’s hand and began fanning herself furiously.

Jie Jingchen lowered his gaze to the large, sweat-soaked patch on Qin Mei’s chest. He could vaguely make out... and his eyes darkened.

"Let’s go home." Jie Jingchen took Qin Mei’s hand and strode forward.

Jie Jingchen had long legs. Qin Mei had to take two steps for every one of his and simply couldn’t keep up, yet he kept pulling her along. "Jie Jingsi, slow down."

Jie Jingchen didn’t say a word, but he did slow his pace. Keeping a sharp lookout, he would pull Qin Mei behind him whenever they passed someone on the road.

「At the Lin Family home.」

After shutting the courtyard gate, Li Axiu dragged Jie Jingwei and Lin Yaru into the main room, slammed the door, and immediately let them have it.

Lin Yaru sat to the side, dazed and lost in her own world of sorrow.

For once, Jie Jingwei didn’t argue back with Li Axiu. His mother-in-law was not someone to be trifled with. If he dared to talk back, she would absolutely go and complain to his father later. And even though he hadn’t been the one to start trouble with Jing Si—Jing Si had come looking for him—he didn’t want the matter brought before his father.

Jie Jingwei stood up, picked up an enamel mug, filled it halfway with water, and handed it to Li Axiu. "Mom, have some water."

Li Axiu froze. Seeing the placating smile on Jie Jingwei’s handsome face, her anger suddenly evaporated.

She had just been scolding Jie Jingwei quite harshly and had expected him to turn on her. She was even mentally prepared for it; worst-case scenario, they would have a massive argument. She refused to believe he would do anything more. After all, she was his elder—surely Jie Jingwei wouldn’t dare to strike her.

But she never expected that not only would Jie Jingwei not talk back, but he would even pour her a glass of water.

Li Axiu’s throat was dry from all the yelling. She took the enamel mug, took a large gulp of water, and calmed down. After a moment’s thought, she said, "Jing Er, I’m not trying to pick on you. I’m just too angry to let it go."

"Mom, don’t be angry anymore. Nothing serious happened to Yaru; she just scraped her palm. I’ll put some ointment on it in a little while," Jie Jingwei said soothingly.

’You can’t be too assertive when you’re living under someone else’s roof. Besides, he was counting on his mother-in-law to help with the baby after it was born.’

The moment she heard the word "ointment," Li Axiu immediately stopped Jie Jingwei. "No ointment, absolutely not! It will affect the baby in Yaru’s womb."

’If it were a girl, she wouldn’t be this cautious. But since it’s a boy, they couldn’t afford to be careless in the slightest. Anything that could possibly affect the baby had to be forbidden.’

"It’s a topical ointment, you don’t ingest it. It won’t have any effect on the baby," Jie Jingwei explained, looking at Li Axiu.

"Even topical ointment is no good! Jing Er, you listen to me. There are medicines pregnant women can’t use. My cousin is a living example! She took some medicine while she was pregnant, and her baby was born a fool." A chill ran down Li Axiu’s spine just thinking about it. ’Raising a simple-minded child would be a burden on the entire family.’

"Fine, no ointment then." Jie Jingwei didn’t press the issue. ’In any case, he didn’t really care about Lin Yaru. He only cared about the child in her womb.’

’If Lin Yaru had just been obedient after they married, if she had just listened to him in all things, he would have been happy to live a good life with her. But unfortunately, she hadn’t given up on Jing Si. She wouldn’t even let him touch her. She was already carrying his child, yet she still acted like she was saving herself for Jing Si. It was a blatant challenge to his authority as her husband.’