Chapter 709 - 245: I’m Afraid I Can’t Help But Beat You Up

"Here, have it if it’s so good." Qin Mei shoved the apple straight toward Jie Jingchen’s mouth.

The apple pressed painfully against Jie Jingchen’s teeth. He grabbed her wrist, pulled her hand down slightly, and took the apple from her. Before he could say a word, a sweet, enchanting voice rang out.

"Cousin."

Qin Mei couldn’t help but shiver at the sound of that voice.

"She’s here," Jie Jingchen said to Qin Mei.

Qin Mei sat up straight, her face full of anticipation. ’What kind of stunning beauty did Jie Jingchen find?’

Not only was she a great beauty, but a sexy one at that—especially with those long legs.

She wore a wild, sexy red miniskirt, her long, voluminous hair like seaweed. And that chest... Qin Mei seriously suspected it was surgically enhanced. Her waist was so slender you could wrap a hand around it, and her long, beautiful legs were fair and dazzling.

Her eyes were like silk, seductive and bewitching—a peerless beauty.

’She’s an absolute bombshell, but her profession... She seems like a courtesan,’ Qin Mei thought.

’She’d definitely succeed in seducing Gao Qiang. Getting the Gao family to give up on Xu Jiali is all about social standing.’

As Qin Mei sized up Qiao Wei, Qiao Wei was doing the same to her. ’What a stunning woman. No wonder she has my cousin head over heels.’

"So you’re my cousin’s wife?" Qiao Wei’s voice was sweet and enchanting.

"I am. And you are?" Qin Mei replied with graceful composure.

"Qiao Wei. I’m his cousin." Qiao Wei gave Qin Mei a friendly smile.

Qin Mei paused for a moment, remembering that cousins from the maternal side were all called that. "Hello."

"Hello, sister-in-law!" Qiao Wei said, giving Qin Mei an enthusiastic hug.

Qin Mei’s body went rigid. She wasn’t used to being hugged by strangers. Thankfully, Qiao Wei let go after just a moment.

"So, Cousin, when are you setting me up to seduce your future uncle-in-law?" Qiao Wei couldn’t even finish her sentence before she burst out laughing.

"He and Xu Jiali aren’t married yet. He’s not my uncle-in-law," Jie Jingchen reminded her, his face cold.

"That’s why I said *future* uncle-in-law," Qiao Wei said with a smile.

Qin Mei watched them. ’They really get straight to the point. Such impatient people.’

"I don’t have time. Arrange it yourself. The sooner, the better. Xu Jiali is on a hunger strike," Jie Jingchen said, not wasting any words with Qiao Wei.

"A hunger strike?" Qiao Wei blinked, rubbing her chin. She thought for a few seconds before saying to Jie Jingchen, "Cousin, let’s get one thing straight. You’re the one asking me to seduce Gao Qiang. After he dumps Xu Jiali, if she can’t handle it and something happens to her, you can’t come blaming me."

"I won’t," said Jie Jingchen.

Qiao Wei still looked worried. She turned to Qin Mei. "Sister-in-law, you’ll have to be my witness."

"Don’t worry. Your cousin’s word is his bond," Qin Mei said.

"His word is his bond? Yeah, right! You think I don’t know him? He changes his mind faster than you can flip a page. When we were kids, I fell for his tricks all the time and was always taking the fall for him." Qiao Wei had been duped so many times she was practically traumatized.

Qin Mei glanced at Jie Jingchen. ’Was he really that bad, that scheming, even as a kid?’

’To be honest, the Jie Jingchen of today is pretty bad and scheming too.’

Qin Mei decided to keep quiet. ’Best not to make promises I can’t keep.’

"Stop wasting time," Jie Jingchen said, shooting Qiao Wei a sidelong glance. In return, she gave him a soul-stealing, seductive look. Jie Jingchen’s expression darkened, and he immediately averted his eyes to look at his wife.

Qiao Wei laughed brazenly and said to Jie Jingchen in a flirtatious tone, "Cousin, did I just steal your soul?"

Jie Jingchen’s brow furrowed deeply. His thin lips parted to spit out a single, icy word. "Boring."

"Then why won’t you look me in the eye?" Qiao Wei wasn’t about to let him off the hook so easily. ’Any man she cast a seductive glance at would be utterly captivated.’

"I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from hitting you." Jie Jingchen’s low voice was steeped in ice, so bone-chillingly cold it could freeze the blood in your veins.

’How dare she make that kind of joke in front of my wife? If my wife gets the wrong idea, I’ll skin her alive.’

"Sister-in-law, you be the judge. Was my cousin captivated by me just now or not?" Qiao Wei was nothing if not bold, asking Qin Mei directly.

A sinister look flashed in Jie Jingchen’s eyes. He warned her, enunciating each syllable. "Qiao. Wei."

Qin Mei’s lips twitched. ’I have no idea if Jie Jingchen was captivated by her or not. All I know is that when she batted her eyes at him just now, I got goosebumps all over.’

Not wanting to crush Qiao Wei’s confidence, Qin Mei decided not to tell the truth. "He was probably captivated. You’ve captivated me, too."

"..." Jie Jingchen was speechless.

"..." So was Qiao Wei.

"For real?" Qiao Wei seductively flipped her long hair and shot a flirtatious look at Qin Mei.

Qin Mei felt conflicted. ’Jie Jingchen’s cousin really knows how to work her eyes. I bet she’d flirt with anything that moves.’

’But if you do it too much, it loses its charm. Especially with people who don’t get it—they’d probably just think you have an eye twitch.’

Qin Mei wanted to give her some well-meaning advice, but she was afraid of crushing her spirit and making her quit the job.

A glint appeared in Qin Mei’s eyes as she lied, "Really."

Qiao Wei moved around Jie Jingchen and sat down next to Qin Mei. She rested her long, slender, pale fingers on Qin Mei’s shoulder, her enchanting voice laced with suggestion. "Sister-in-law, why don’t we go to a room... and have a *deep* conversation."

Qin Mei froze. ’Going to a room for a "deep conversation"... with someone of the opposite sex, that’s a suggestive invitation. With someone of the same sex... that’s just perverted!’ Qin Mei frowned and asked, "A conversation about what?"

"About our feelings for each other." Qiao Wei struggled to hold back her laughter. She knew exactly where Qin Mei’s mind had gone, but she had done it on purpose, deliberately leading her astray.

’This sister-in-law is so cute, and she has such a wild imagination. If this were Xu Jiali, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it.’

"She doesn’t know you well. There are no feelings to discuss." Jie Jingchen started to push Qiao Wei away, but after a glance at her revealing clothes, he decisively changed his move. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Qin Mei’s shoulder and shot Qiao Wei a possessive glare.

"That’s exactly why we need to get to know each other better." Qiao Wei tried to pull Qin Mei toward her, but Jie Jingchen tossed the half-eaten apple at her instead. Qiao Wei caught it out of reflex. When she saw what it was, her expression soured, and she threw it away in disgust. "Cousin, are you serious? You threw your half-eaten apple at me!"

"Xu Jiali is on a hunger strike. If you waste any more time, she’ll starve to death." Jie Jingchen pulled Qin Mei to her feet and headed for the stairs.

Qiao Wei stood up and called out to Jie Jingchen’s retreating back, "She’s only protesting with a hunger strike now. After I’ve got Gao Qiang wrapped around my finger, I’m afraid she won’t be able to take the blow and might actually try to kill herself."

"She won’t try to kill herself. She’ll just give up on Gao Qiang. If she gets really pissed off, she’ll take a knife to him, not herself." Without turning back, Jie Jingchen led Qin Mei upstairs, his arm still around her.

After sitting for a little while longer, Qiao Wei left.

Back in their room, Qin Mei asked urgently, "What is *with* that cousin of yours? She’s a real piece of work."

"You saw for yourself." Jie Jingchen raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. If he’d had a better option, he wouldn’t have involved Qiao Wei.

"Does she take on all comers?" Qin Mei rubbed her arms as another wave of goosebumps broke out.

Jie Jingchen’s face darkened, and his gaze grew deeper. "She just likes to have fun. She’s not a pervert."

Qin Mei breathed a sigh of relief. ’Well, as long as she’s not a pervert.’ "How crazy are we talking?"

Jie Jingchen thought for a moment. "Let me put it this way. Xu Jiali likes to have fun too, but she’s all talk. Qiao Wei, on the other hand, plays for keeps."

Qin Mei fell silent. She was thoroughly impressed by Qiao Wei.

Jie Jingchen added, "Room 206 is Xu Jiali’s regular private suite. The people in there perform, but they don’t sell their bodies. Room 205 is Qiao Wei’s regular suite. The people in there are the opposite."

Qin Mei was flabbergasted. She knew Xiangjiang was an open-minded place, but she hadn’t realized it was *this* open-minded. ’If you have enough money, you can do whatever crazy thing you want.’

A question occurred to Qin Mei, and she couldn’t help but ask Jie Jingchen, "Rooms 206 and 205 are right next to each other. Could it be the same group of people in both?"

Jie Jingchen’s brow twitched slightly as he stared at Qin Mei with a quiet intensity.