Jie Jingchen fell silent. As for Qin i’s family, he only knew Qin Xiang. He had never t anyone else, nor had he ever been to Qin i’s ho. It was hard to say whether the Qin Family would even welco him as a son-in-law.
"We’ll see," Jie Jingchen said tactfully.
Her family was in Yangcheng City, and they were both busy with work. Arranging a eting between the two families would be genuinely difficult.
Mrs. Xie patted Jie Jingchen’s shoulder. "When your father and I aren’t so busy, we’ll go to Yangcheng City to pay our respects to your in-laws."
Qin i returned from the toilet to find the door locked from the inside. She pounded on it hard. "Jie Jingchen, what is wrong with you? You actually locked the door from the inside! What do you an by this?"
Jie Jingchen looked completely innocent. Mrs. Xie got up to open the door for Qin i.
"Jie Jingchen, you... Mom..." Qin i froze, regretting her crude and irritable outburst. ’Why couldn’t I control my temper?’
"Xiao i." Mrs. Xie was also a bit embarrassed. She had locked the door while her daughter-in-law was out of the room, which clearly indicated she had been badmouthing her to her son. If it had been anything good, would there have been a need to lock the door?
"Mom, were you and Jie Jingchen discussing sothing important? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I must have interrupted you. Please, continue. I’ll wait for you in the yard." Qin i was about to close the door as she spoke, but Mrs. Xie stopped her.
"Xiao i, hurry inside. It’s cold out," Mrs. Xie said, pulling Qin i into the room.
"Mom, it’s okay, I’m not cold." Qin i grabbed the doorfra, refusing to co in.
"Xiao i, I wasn’t looking for Jing Qi, I was looking for you," Mrs. Xie said.
"?" Qin i pointed to herself, looking at Mrs. Xie in surprise. ’That’s not very convincing. Looking for , but she locks the door to whisper with her own son? Don’t kid .’
"Xiao i, at the hospital today, you saved..."
"Mom, I didn’t go to the hospital today," Qin i cut Mrs. Xie off, secretly glancing at Jie Jingchen. She saw a trace of amusent appear on his bewitching face.
Mrs. Xie’s gaze faltered. She had promised Qin i she would keep it a secret, but just a mont ago, she had told Jing Si everything. Feeling guilty, Mrs. Xie’s eyes darted away from Qin i’s.
"Mom, was there sothing you needed for?" Qin i asked with a smile, looking at Mrs. Xie. She wasn’t even sure if her mother-in-law had sold her out.
Her exceptional dical skills weren’t a bad thing. In any case, her principle was simple: if soone wanted her to treat them and paid, she would do it. But if they wanted to exploit her for free, that was out of the question.
’Working at a hospital? Forget it. Being a free-spirited traveling doctor is just fine.’
Mrs. Xie thought for a mont, then took out two wads of cash from her purse. "Xiao i, this is for you."
Qin i was both surprised and not surprised. ’Is this a thank-you for saving that person? I gave all the credit to my mother-in-law, so it makes perfect sense for her to give the reward money.’
"It’s to build you a kitchen and toilet," Mrs. Xie said.
Qin i gave a wry smile. ’She had been overthinking things.’ It wasn’t a reward. Qin i didn’t take the money, looking instead to Jie Jingchen.
"Take it. We happen to be short on cash," Jie Jingchen said.
Qin i’s lips twitched. ’Are we short on cash? Well, who would ever complain about having too much money? If Jie Jingchen says we’re short, then we’re short.’
"Thank you, Mom." Qin i expressed her thanks and took the money from Mrs. Xie.
"It’s getting late. You two should get so rest." Mrs. Xie patted Qin i’s shoulder and left.
Qin i watched Mrs. Xie’s figure disappear into her room before she went inside, closing and locking the door behind her. Qin i sat under the electric lamp and counted the money. It was exactly one thousand, no more, no less.
’Rich people are so generous. Handing over a thousand without even blinking.’
After stashing the money away, Qin i washed her hands, felt her hair—it was dry—and climbed into bed to lie down. "Jie Jingchen, turn off the light."
Jie Jingchen wasn’t reading; he was just holding the book, lost in thought. Seeing that his attention wasn’t on the book, Qin i told him to turn off the light.
Jie Jingchen tossed the book onto the desk, turned off the light, and lay down. Satisfied, Qin i closed her eyes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Jie Jingchen spoke. "Qin i, thank you."
Qin i froze. She turned her head to look at Jie Jingchen, but it was pitch black, and she couldn’t see the expression on his face. ’His sudden ’thank you’ felt completely random.’
Qin i thought for a mont, then reached out, feeling for Jie Jingchen’s forehead in the dark. She touched his chin first. Jie Jingchen’s whole body stiffened. Before he could react, her soft hand pressed against his forehead. Then she heard Qin i say in a puzzled voice, "You don’t have a fever!"
Jie Jingchen’s mouth twitched. He pulled Qin i’s small hand down, but instead of letting go, he placed it over his heart. "Qin i, I’m serious."
Qin i was stunned. Through the fabric, she could feel his body heat and the heart that was beating against her palm.
’Jie Jingchen was clearly just thanking her, so why did he make it feel like so kind of heartfelt confession?’
Qin i’s cheeks flushed red. She snatched her hand back and hid it under the covers. "Jie Jingchen, you’re being ridiculous."
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