Chapter 678 - 235: Xu Jiali, Stay Away From My Wife

"Xu Jiali." Grandma’s gentle voice was laced with fury.

"Auntie, I was wrong," Xu Jiali admitted.

Jie Jingchen and Qin Mei returned to their room. Jie Jingchen eagerly pulled Qin Mei toward the bathroom, wanting to bathe together. He started undressing and was about to help Qin Mei with her clothes when a knock echoed from the door. Jie Jingchen’s expression soured in frustration, and Qin Mei burst out laughing, gloating at his misfortune.

"You go ahead and wash up. I’ll get the door," Qin Mei said, patting Jie Jingchen’s cheek.

Jie Jingchen said with a hint of impatience, "Go on, but hurry back."

"Mm-hmm." A faint blush colored Qin Mei’s cheeks.

"I’ll wait for you." Jie Jingchen watched her go, his gaze lingering until the bathroom door closed. Then, his handsome features iced over, and a treacherous chill emanated from him.

Qin Mei went to the door, straightened her clothes, patted her cheeks, took a deep breath, and opened it.

"Mom." Seeing Mrs. Xie, Qin Mei wasn’t surprised at all.

Mrs. Xie pulled Qin Mei into the room. Not seeing Jie Jingchen, she asked curiously, "Where’s Jing Si?"

Qin Mei froze for a moment, then pointed to the bathroom, her voice a little awkward. "He’s using the restroom."

’I didn’t say he was taking a bath,’ she thought. ’Bathing together was too intimate; "using the restroom" sounded much more normal.’

Mrs. Xie didn’t think much of it, nor did she realize she had interrupted her son’s romantic plans. The young couple had just gone upstairs, and she had followed right behind them. She figured that since they had only just returned to the room, they wouldn’t be in *that* much of a hurry. If she had waited any longer to come look for Qin Mei, she might have actually disturbed them.

"Qin Mei, this bankbook is for you." Mrs. Xie handed the bankbook to Qin Mei.

Qin Mei was slightly stunned. She took the bankbook, opened it, and counted the zeros. One million US Dollars.

The bankbook wasn’t in her name, but in Jie Jingchen’s.

Qin Mei didn’t mind. She put the bankbook away. "Thank you, Mom."

’This money had been acquired at the cost of her mother-in-law’s reputation. Her mother-in-law didn’t want it, but she herself had shamelessly insisted, finally convincing her after much persuasion. She considered offering half to her mother-in-law but then remembered the older woman viewed money as nothing more than dirt and certainly wouldn’t want it. So, Qin Mei didn’t bring it up.’

"Xiao Mei, I’m going back tomorrow," Mrs. Xie said.

"Huh?" ’So suddenly?’ Qin Mei was taken aback. She’d thought they would stay in Xiangjiang for a while; she hadn’t expected to return tomorrow.

’Shijiu City was so hot. Before coming to Xiangjiang, she could tolerate it. But now, she wasn’t sure she could resist sneaking back to Xiangjiang just to escape the heat.’

’She had even hoped they could spend the rest of the summer in Xiangjiang before going back.’

’Oh well. If they had to go back, they had to go back. Let it be hot. My mother-in-law has work, and so does Jie Jingchen. I’m the only one who’s unemployed.’

"Mom, what time are we leaving tomorrow?" Qin Mei asked.

Mrs. Xie gave a gentle smile and said to Qin Mei, "You two aren’t going back just yet."

Qin Mei was a little surprised. "Mom, are you going back by yourself?"

Mrs. Xie smiled and nodded. "There’s a patient at the hospital with a special status whose condition is serious. I can’t rest easy."

’My mother-in-law’s work ethic is truly admirable,’ Qin Mei thought.

"Mom, if you’re rushing back for work, will Grandpa and Grandma even agree?" Qin Mei didn’t think her grandparents would let her mother-in-law leave so easily. After all the trouble they went through to lure her back to Xiangjiang, would the old couple really approve of her rushing back to Shijiu City after just two days?

"If I leave you two here to keep them company, they’ll agree," Mrs. Xie said.

Qin Mei remained silent. ’It sounds like my mother-in-law plans to leave tomorrow and has only told me so far, not Grandpa and Grandma.’

"Mom, let me write down an herbal formula for you to take back to Second Auntie," Qin Mei said. ’Whether her mother-in-law could leave or not, she wanted to get the formula written down. They had left in such a hurry that she hadn’t given Second Auntie clear instructions. Given Second Auntie’s sales pace, the prepared medicine wouldn’t last long. She had purchased plenty of raw herbs—they were piled high in the room—but the problem was that Second Auntie couldn’t identify them, nor could she measure out the correct portions.’

’As for Granny Ning, she wasn’t worried in the slightest. Her part just required a skilled hand, so there shouldn’t be any issues.’

"Alright," Mrs. Xie nodded.

Qin Mei found a pen and paper and quickly wrote out the formula in front of Mrs. Xie, then handed it to her.

Mrs. Xie took the formula. "Xiao Mei, are you expecting Second Auntie to get this filled at an apothecary?"

Qin Mei shook her head. "I have all those herbs in my dispensary."

Mrs. Xie knew that Qin Mei had bought many herbs. She said, "Your Second Auntie can barely read. Are you sure she can prepare this?"

Second Auntie’s literacy was limited, and compounding herbal formulas wasn’t something you could do just by being able to read.

"Second Auntie can’t, but Zhang Haoyuan can," Qin Mei said.

Mrs. Xie fell silent. Jing Si had told her about Zhang Haoyuan. After a moment of thought, she reminded her, "Xiao Mei, he’s your younger uncle now. His name is Qin Haoyuan."

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. ’Her mother-in-law was even more cautious than she was. Better safe than sorry, she supposed. It’s a good thing.’

"Mom, please give the formula to Second Auntie. Have her give it to Ah Bing and tell him to help prepare the medicine. For the next delivery, have him prepare the batch and deliver it directly to Second Auntie. As for the other herbs he’s collected, tell him to just store them for now; he can deliver them after I get back," Qin Mei instructed.

"Okay." Mrs. Xie didn’t ask any more questions, memorizing Qin Mei’s words so she could repeat them to Second Auntie verbatim.

Mrs. Xie didn’t leave right away. Instead, she pulled Qin Mei aside to chat. Though she called it a chat, it was really to warn Qin Mei to be on guard against the people from the family’s second branch.

"Meimei," Jie Jingchen’s impatient voice came from the bathroom.

Mrs. Xie and Qin Mei had almost forgotten he was still in the bathroom. Qin Mei was thinking he was taking an awfully long bath, while Mrs. Xie was thinking her son was taking an awfully long time in the restroom.

"What is it?" Qin Mei called toward the bathroom.

"Come take a bath," Jie Jingchen said bluntly.

Qin Mei was mortified. ’My mother-in-law is still here, yet Jie Jingchen just bluntly told me to come bathe with him. I instantly regret asking what he wanted.’

Mrs. Xie gave a knowing smile, patted Qin Mei’s shoulder, and said suggestively, "Xiao Mei, I won’t disturb you and Jing Si any longer."

"Mom, I’ll wake up early to see you off tomorrow," Qin Mei said.

"No need to get up early. I still don’t know if your grandpa and grandma will even agree to me leaving tomorrow." Mrs. Xie gently declined her daughter-in-law’s kind offer.

Qin Mei saw Mrs. Xie out the door. Before she could even lock it, a figure flashed by and she was swept up into Jie Jingchen’s arms. Qin Mei cried out in surprise and lightly pounded on his chest, protesting coquettishly, "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" Jie Jingchen said through gritted teeth. He swiftly locked the door and carried Qin Mei to the bathroom.

The next day, Qin Mei didn’t wake up until noon.

Her whole body ached. ’That animal,’ Qin Mei silently cursed Jie Jingchen. She soaked in a medicinal bath in the bathroom for a while before she finally felt human again.

Qin Mei got changed and was about to leave the room when the door opened and Jie Jingchen came in carrying a tray.

"You must be hungry. Come and eat." Jie Jingchen placed the tray on the table and set out the food.

"Is this breakfast or lunch?" Qin Mei asked. ’I haven’t looked at the time, but my gut tells me it has to be lunch.’

’Everyone else is eating downstairs, but my meal was brought to the room. Am I getting special treatment? That won’t do. I can’t risk leaving a bad impression on Grandpa and Grandma.’

"Lunch," Jie Jingchen said, handing the chopsticks to Qin Mei.

Qin Mei took them. She was starving, so she pushed her worries to the back of her mind.

Qin Mei didn’t wolf down her food, nor did she eat with deliberate slowness. She ate at her usual pace. Jie Jingchen sat quietly to the side, watching her, finding the sight utterly delightful.

Only when Qin Mei had finished eating did Jie Jingchen finally speak. "Mom went back."

Qin Mei paused in the middle of wiping her mouth and glanced sideways at Jie Jingchen. "Mom convinced Grandpa and Grandma?"

"Yeah, she convinced them," Jie Jingchen nodded, lightly tapping the tip of her nose. "It’s the first time Grandpa and Grandma have ever willingly agreed to let Mom go back. Do you know why?"

"Because they’re completely disappointed in her," Qin Mei guessed offhandedly.