"Auntie, I want more," Jie You said to Aunt Zhang, having already devoured one chicken drumstick.
"Xiao You, no more," Aunt Zhang told Jie You. "We had an agreent—only one drumstick. Go back to your room with your mom and do your howork. When everyone gets ho from work and it’s ti for dinner, you can eat your fill."
"I don’t want to! I don’t want to do howork! I want a chicken drumstick!" Jie You protested.
"No. Howork first," Aunt Zhang said, her tone firm.
Jie You was about to throw a tantrum, but Xu Chunyan grabbed her and forcibly dragged her out of the kitchen. "Go to your room and do your howork."
"I won’t... WAHHH... I want a chicken drumstick!" Jie You wailed.
Xu Chunyan was fuming. It was rare for her to be so firm with Jie You, but she was seething with resentnt. ’She won’t even let Xiao You have one more drumstick? It’s not like Aunt Zhang paid for them—Qiao Yanqiu gave us the money! Aunt Zhang is just the Jie Family’s housekeeper, lording it over everyone just because she’s Jing Er and Jing San’s maternal aunt.’
’She’s already this stingy when she’s not even in charge. If she really took over, we’d be lucky to see a single chicken feather, let alone a drumstick.’ Xu Chunyan wasn’t one to think about the big picture; she had to protect her imdiate interests.
When Jie Jingchen got ho from work, Qin i was just coming out of her room and locking the door. She stretched lazily, and upon seeing Jie Jingchen, her eyes crinkled into a smile. She imdiately went over to help him with his bicycle. "Jie Jingchen, you must be tired from work."
Jie Jingchen froze, watching Qin i push his bicycle for him. ’An unsolicited courtesy is a sign of ill intent,’ he thought.
He studied her with a probing gaze. Only after Qin i had parked the bicycle did Jie Jingchen speak. "Alright, what is it?"
Qin i rubbed her nose and chuckled, not beating around the bush. "Heh heh, Jie Jingchen, I haven’t been to the black market in a long ti."
Jie Jingchen stuck one hand in his pocket. "And?"
"Take to the black market tonight," Qin i said in a rush, as if afraid he’d refuse. She added anxiously, "I’m out of the dicinal herbs I need. I have to go to the black market to buy more."
"Buying" was an understatent; "stocking up" was more like it, given the sheer quantity she purchased.
"Okay." Jie Jingchen didn’t refuse. Qin i almost always went to the black market to buy dicinal herbs. The first ti was the only exception, of course. Mom had taken Qin i to the black market for the first ti, and she’d bought a huge pile of potatoes, gotten caught, and caused a big stir for Third Brother.
Seeing Jie Jingchen agree so readily, Qin i got excited and stood on her tiptoes to give his devilishly handso face a quick peck. As she turned to leave, Jie Jingchen, quick as a flash, wrapped an arm around her waist. Before Qin i could react, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
"Whoa!" Jie Jinghun exclaid, having just stepped over the threshold to witness the scene.
Qin i reacted instantly, shoving Jie Jingchen away and running back to her room with her face in her hands. Caught off guard, Jie Jingchen stumbled back a few steps.
Jie Jinghun, who was standing behind him, reached out to steady him. His dark eyes, glinting with amusent, fixed on Jie Jingchen with a aningful look. "Take it easy," he teased. "Your back injury just healed."
Jie Jingchen’s lips thinned into a line, his bewitching face full of annoyance. "Nosy," he said through gritted teeth.
The corner of Jie Jinghun’s mouth twitched. "This is the courtyard," he reminded him. "If you two want to get intimate, do it in your room."
Jie Jingchen ignored him and strode back to his room. From behind him ca Jie Jinghun’s teasing voice again, "He’s really going back to get intimate."
Suddenly, Jie Jingchen stopped in his tracks. He turned to fix Jie Jinghun with a cold stare, and upon seeing Shen Qing step over the threshold, his lips curled into a wicked smile. "I heard Sister Xingnan is pregnant."
At those words, the color drained from Jie Jinghun’s face. He sensed familiar trouble brewing and inwardly cursed. ’Jing Si is a nace.’ "What does her pregnancy have to do with ?"
The smile on Jie Jingchen’s lips grew even more devilish. "Theoretically, nothing," he said. "Emotionally, however..."
"Nonsense!" Jie Jinghun’s survival instinct kicked into high gear, and he cut Jie Jingchen off. "What emotions? There haven’t been any feelings between her and for a long ti! Honey, you have to believe . You’re the one I love now. Jing Si is just being cruel, trying to cause trouble between us. He’s not a good person!"
Inside, Qin i also thought Jie Jingchen was being too cruel. He was clearly trying to stir up trouble in their marriage.
Jie Jingchen, feeling not the least bit malicious, turned and went back to his room, looking both suave and smug.
Shen Qing parked her bicycle, her gaze as icy as ever. Her lovely red lips parted. "Wen Xingnan is pregnant?"
"I don’t know. It has nothing to do with , so there’s no reason for to know," Jie Jinghun said, walking toward Shen Qing. He habitually reached out to put his arm around her waist, but when he t her rejecting gaze, he didn’t dare move any closer, his hand freezing in mid-air.
Jie Jinghun seed to see through to the emotions hidden in Shen Qing’s eyes. A complex, bitter look flashed in his own before he pressed his lips together, saying nothing more.
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