"Fifth Uncle is a bad guy! I don’t like him anymore." SLAM! Jie You angrily slamd the window shut. He had never been hit before, but the thought terrified him.
"Jing Wu, do you still want to be with Aiyun?" Xu Chunyan asked. Her attitude was so infuriating, Qin i wanted to kick her.
’This is why you have to think twice when your sister-in-law introduces you to soone. The mont you disagree, she uses that person to control you.’
Jie Jingjue scratched his head, a hint of exhaustion on his face. He decided to just be honest. "Second Sister-in-law, Aiyun and I broke up again."
Qin i smiled, gloating. ’Good,’ she thought. ’Better that they broke up.’
Xu Chunyan eyed Jie Jingjue suspiciously, asking in disbelief, "Broke up again?"
Clearly, Xu Chunyan was in the know. While they were dating, they were constantly breaking up and getting back together, as if it were all a ga. She had never interfered, knowing deep down they were just being childish. They’d make up in a few days at most and be as lovey-dovey as ever.
"We’re broken up. For good this ti," Jie Jingjue said, ruffling his short hair.
"But didn’t you say that you and Aiyun..."
"I was lying," Jie Jingjue cut her off.
Xu Chunyan was furious but could only swallow her anger for the mont. ’They can’t really be broken up.’ With no hope left for Teacher Lin, she was counting on Aiyun marrying into the family so they could team up against Qin i.
Xu Chunyan coaxed him in a soft voice, "Jing Wu, Aiyun loves you. Having a little spat now and then helps prepare you for married life. Tell you what, I’ll pay a visit to Aiyun’s family tomorrow."
"Second Sister-in-law, it’s over between us. I’m tired. I’m going to my room." Jie Jingjue shoved the thorn stick into Xu Chunyan’s hand and headed for his room.
"Jing Wu!" Xu Chunyan called after him, but Jie Jingjue didn’t stop. She imdiately rushed to catch up, following close behind and pleading with him to reconcile.
With the show over, Qin i ushered Jie Jingshan back into her room. Jie Jingchen headed for the kitchen, determined to claim it first this ti, but he was still too late.
"Third Sister-in-law."
Shen Qing was boiling bathwater. Her gaze was as cold as ever, but her voice had softened a bit. "Bring a bucket to fill."
"Thanks." Jie Jingchen didn’t stand on ceremony and turned back to his room to get a bucket.
Jie Jingchen brought two buckets, filling each a little over halfway with hot water. There was a faucet in the bathroom, so Qin i could add cold water herself.
"Jing Si, your wound?" Shen Qing asked, a hint of worry coloring her cold gaze.
She had seen everything that happened yesterday. Jie Jingchen had shielded Qin i, intentionally letting Xu Chunyan wound him in a ruse of self-inflicted injury. She didn’t know what he had been thinking at the ti, but in any case, she felt it wasn’t worth it.
"It’s nothing, just a minor wound," Jie Jingchen said nonchalantly, moving to lift the buckets.
"Jing Si." Jie Jinghun ca into the kitchen carrying his own bucket and imdiately stopped him. "What are you doing? Piling a new wound on top of an old one? Don’t you want to heal? Put those down. I’ll carry them."
Jie Jinghun wasn’t a naturally charitable person. But after Jie Jingchen’s advice, he’d had a sudden awakening, finally seeing the situation clearly from an outsider’s perspective.
He didn’t feel any deep brotherly affection for Jie Jingchen, his half-brother. When they were children, he and Second Brother had bullied him plenty. Now that Jie Jingchen was grown, sharp and capable, they couldn’t bully him anymore. It was a blessing he didn’t turn the tables on them.
If Jie You hadn’t bullied Xiao Duo, and if Second Brother and his wife hadn’t just stood by and watched, he and Second Brother would still be scheming against Jie Jingchen together.
"Thanks." Jie Jingchen let go, standing aside with a hand on his lower back.
Jie Jinghun gave Jie Jingchen a subtle glance, then effortlessly lifted both buckets and carried them out of the kitchen, taking them straight to the bathroom.
Jie Jingchen went to Jie Jingshan’s room to tell Qin i the bath was ready. Qin i was surprised and asked in confusion, "So soon?"
Jie Jingchen’s gaze darkened slightly as he said flatly, "Third Sister-in-law was boiling the water."
"Oh." That explained it. Though Shen Qing was as cold as ice, she was a good person. Qin i turned to Jie Jingshan and said, "I’ll explain the rest after my bath."
"Okay." Jie Jingshan smiled and nodded.
Qin i went back to their room to get a change of clothes. Not seeing the buckets, she frowned. "Where are the buckets?"
"Just go straight to the bathroom," Jie Jingchen said.
Qin i’s gaze flickered as she frowned at Jie Jingchen. "Did you carry them?"
Jie Jingchen shook his head. "No. I filled them, and Third Brother helped carry them to the bathroom."
Qin i said no more. As long as it wasn’t Jie Jingchen, she didn’t care who had done it. They were family; it was normal to help each other out. ’Still,’ she thought, ’so brothers and sisters-in-law are better than others. Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law certainly don’t asure up.’
While Qin i was bathing in the bathroom, Jie Jingchen stood guard outside. Xu Chunyan was a vindictive woman, and her grudge against Qin i ran deep. There was no telling if she’d try to pull a dirty trick while Qin i was in the bath. ’You can never be too careful,’ he thought. ’It pays to be vigilant.’
After her bath, Qin i washed her clothes as well, since no one was waiting to use the bathroom after her.
The bathroom door opened, and steam billowed out. Qin i erged in her pajamas, a bucket in each hand. Her damp black hair was tied up ssily, a style that only enhanced her bewitching beauty. A few wet strands clung to her cheeks, making her look all the more alluring and captivating.
Her cheeks were flushed, her lips glistening, and she radiated an intoxicating charm.
Frad by the billowing steam, she was like a winter plum blossom: proud, solitary, and overwhelmingly fragrant.
’She really is a temptress,’ he thought. ’The kind of siren that could topple nations.’
When Qin i saw Jie Jingchen standing guard outside the bathroom like a knight, her expression faltered for a mont. Then her eyes danced, shimring with light. "Do you want to take a bath?"
Jie Jingchen’s gaze was deep. Shaking himself from his reverie, he stepped forward and draped the army greatcoat he was holding over her shoulders. "It’s cold. Don’t catch a chill."
Qin i didn’t refuse, allowing him to drape the greatcoat over her. "Are you going to bathe? I can go fetch the water for you."
"Let’s go back to the room." ’She’s too alluring like this,’ Jie Jingchen thought. ’I don’t want any other man to see her.’
Qin i hadn’t felt cold in the steamy bathroom, but when Jie Jingchen tugged her by the wrist out into the courtyard, a cold wind hit her, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
Back in their room, Qin i hung her undergarnts to dry inside. The Jie Family was particular about such things; only outerwear was to be hung in the courtyard.
Qin i turned to see Jie Jingchen picking up one of the buckets. Her eyes widened in alarm. "Jie Jingchen, my clothes!"
"You stay here. I’ll hang them up." Jie Jingchen didn’t hang the clothes in the main courtyard but under the eaves. No one in the family hung laundry out in the open after dark.
It was Qin i’s habit to wash her clothes right after bathing. The others, however, did not. They would wash their clothes in the morning before work and then hang them in the courtyard.
Before, Aunt Zhang used to wash everyone’s clothes. She had gone back to her hotown, saying she’d only be gone a few days, but no one knew when she would actually return. They couldn’t just let the laundry pile up until she ca back. Not only would it start to sll, but after a few more days, they’d run out of clothes to wear—especially their work uniforms.
Xu Chunyan was sitting by the window, helping her son with his howork and knitting a sweater. After keeping her head down for so long, her neck was sore. She looked up and rolled her neck, just in ti to see Jie Jingchen hanging clothes under the eaves. She realized with a sneer that they were Qin i’s.
A malicious glint appeared in her eyes, and her lips curled into a sneer. "Helping his wife hang laundry. How pathetic."
In Xu Chunyan’s eyes, a husband who helped his wife was a pathetic wimp. Ever since she had married Jie Jingwei, she had boiled his bathwater, filled the buckets, and carried them to the bathroom for him. All Jie Jingwei had to do was grab his clothes and go wash. She’d never even made him wash his own underwear; she waited on him hand and foot.
Jie Jingwei glanced out the window, the corner of his lip twitching in disdain. His chauvinism was on full display. "Hanging his wife’s laundry. He’s a disgrace to the n of the Jie Family."
"Hmph!" Xu Chunyan snorted. "He’s just asking for trouble. That Qin i is a walking disaster. One look is all it takes to see she’s not the type to settle down and live a proper life. Teacher Lin is so much better—virtuous, gentle, and deeply in love with Jing Si. If he had married her, Teacher Lin would never dream of making him lift a finger. She would have waited on him hand and foot. But no, he had to pass up the good life and go looking for trouble, marrying such a vicious woman."
"That’s enough. Stop going on about ’Teacher Lin’ all day," Jie Jingwei snapped. He might despise Jing Si for doing his wife’s laundry, but that didn’t an he approved of him marrying Teacher Lin either.
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