Hearing this, Jie Jingjue breathed a sigh of relief. He patted his chest and promised, "That’s easy. I’ll go buy it right away."
"Buy?" Qin i raised an eyebrow. Jie Jingjue wasn’t the sharpest, so he wouldn’t understand if she beat around the bush. She raised a hand and pointed at the rooster in the courtyard. "Why look far for what’s right here? Look over there. Doesn’t that look like a rooster?"
Jie Jingjue didn’t even turn around. He just slapped his forehead. ’It doesn’t just *look* like a rooster—it clearly is one.’ He had a perfectly reasonable suspicion about Qin i’s motive. "Sister-in-law, the dicinal ingredient is just an excuse. The truth is you want to use to kill this rooster."
’He’s gotten smarter,’ Qin i thought, but she refused to admit her true purpose. "Wrong. The dicinal ingredient is real, and so is killing this rooster. It crows its head off before the sun is even up. Don’t you think it deserves to be butchered?"
Jie Jingjue nodded in agreent but said, "Kill it yourself, or get Fourth Brother to do it. Sister-in-law, I’m going to be late for work. I’m off."
"Jing Wu." Qin i stopped Jie Jingjue. After hesitating for a few seconds, she said in a rush, "It won’t work if I kill it, and it won’t work if your Fourth Brother kills it. It has to be you."
"Why?" Jie Jingjue asked.
"Because..." ’Because of what?’ Qin i’s mind raced. She couldn’t tell him the truth, but she had to be convincing.
"If you’re told to kill it, just kill it. Why are you being so difficult?" Jie Jingchen interjected out of the blue.
Qin i whipped her head around and stared in astonishnt at Jie Jingchen, who was standing behind her. ’Shouldn’t he be stopping Jie Jingjue? Doesn’t he want to win?’
Jie Jingchen’s attitude made her seem despicable, like she would do anything to win.
"Fourth Brother," Jie Jingjue called out. For a mont, he suspected Qin i had ill intentions. Had she made so kind of bet with his brother? It seed like Qin i had bet he would kill the rooster, which was why she was trying so hard to convince him. But then, his brother’s attitude made him feel like he was just being paranoid. "Fourth Brother, I have to go to work. I don’t have ti to kill a rooster and take its heart. You’re at ho recovering anyway, so you’ve got nothing but ti. You can sharpen the kitchen knife and take it slow. No need to rush."
Jie Jingchen shot Jie Jingjue a cold look and said nonchalantly, "I’m a Buddhist. I don’t kill."
The corner of Jie Jingjue’s mouth twitched. His brother’s claim was hardly convincing.
"Jing Wu, are you scared of Aunt Zhang? Afraid to kill the rooster she brought ho?" No matter how you looked at it, Jie Jingchen’s words were clearly ant to provoke him.
Qin i thought Jie Jingjue would just ignore him and ride his bike to work. But who knew that the blockhead was so utterly dense? Even knowing it was a provocation, he still fell right into Jie Jingchen’s trap.
"Hmph!" Jie Jingjue let out an arrogant snort, rushed into the kitchen, and ca back out with a cleaver. Aunt Zhang, confused, followed him out to see what was happening. She watched as Jie Jingjue grabbed the rooster. With a swift, clean motion—a flash of the blade—he lopped the rooster’s head right off. Bright red blood sprayed everywhere, though only a few drops splattered onto the back of his hand.
Qin i was stunned. Aunt Zhang was stunned. Only Jie Jingchen watched him with a profound look in his eyes.
’At my urging... no, to be more precise, at Jie Jingchen’s provocation, Jie Jingjue killed the rooster in the yard.’
Aunt Zhang let out a cry. "Oh, for heaven’s sake! Jing Wu, what do you think you’re doing? That was a perfectly fine rooster, why did you have to kill it? I was going to feed it for a few more days."
"Aunt Zhang, I’m craving chicken soup. Let’s stew it," Jie Jingjue said with a grin, placing the cleaver in her hand. Then he walked over to the sink, turned on the tap, and washed his hands.
Jie Jingjue shot a defiant glance at Jie Jingchen, then strode over to his bicycle. He pushed it over the threshold and rode away with a cool flair.
For once, Jie Jingjue had managed to stand up to Jie Jingchen, and he was so smug he was practically floating.
Aunt Zhang’s hand tightened around the cleaver as she glared fiercely at the blood on the ground. ’If you had to kill the chicken, fine, but couldn’t you have done it over the drain? Now look at this ss. Blood all over the floor. He just loves making more work for .’
"Jie Jingchen, I won." Qin i held her hand out, palm up, waiting for him to pay up. When he didn’t move, she raised an eyebrow. "A bet’s a bet. Jie Jingchen, you’re not going to welsh on it, are you?"
"Welsh on it?" Jie Jingchen stared at Qin i. "Do I seem like the type to go back on my word?"
’Yes, exactly like that,’ Qin i wanted to nod but forced herself to shake her head against her better judgnt. She said with flattery, "Of course not. You’re the fourth young master of the Jie Family, wealthy and powerful. A re ten ten-yuan notes wouldn’t even catch your eye."
Jie Jingchen smiled and lightly slapped her waiting palm. "Don’t worry, I won’t welsh on the bet. I’ll just owe you for now."
"Owe again?" Qin i’s face fell, her good mood vanishing in an instant.
"When I get so money, I’ll pay you for this and for Jing Qi’s consultation fee all at once," Jie Jingchen promised.
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