Chapter 795 - 274: Meimei, Stealing Is Not Good

Shen Qing shot Qin Mei a sidelong glance and remained silent.

’She didn’t even fly into a rage over this?’ Qin Mei admired Shen Qing’s restraint. ’She might be willing to give up her husband, but she wouldn’t budge an inch when it came to her daughter. A daughter she had carried for nearly ten months and risked her life to birth? Handing her over to someone else? Dream on.’

"Third Sister-in-law, is your silence a tacit agreement?" Qin Mei asked bluntly.

Shen Qing collected her thoughts, her expression so placid it betrayed almost no emotion. "Silence isn’t tacit agreement. It’s a silent protest."

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. Shen Qing was throwing the words Qin Mei had used against Chen Xiuhua right back at her. Qin Mei felt like she’d just been hit by her own boomerang.

"Third Sister-in-law, divorce isn’t child’s play, especially since you two have an adorable daughter. A silent protest will only put you at a disadvantage," Qin Mei reminded her.

"Do you know Wen Xingnan well?" Shen Qing asked.

Qin Mei shook her head. "Not well."

"Are you sure?" Shen Qing was skeptical.

"Wen Xingnan wants to be my sister-in-law, so she’s been deliberately getting close to me and trying to suck up. To put it bluntly, she’s trying to pave her way into the Jie Family. She thinks she’s using me as a stepping stone, but little does she know, I’m not her stepping stone—I’m her stumbling block," Qin Mei said triumphantly.

The corners of Shen Qing’s lips lifted into a faint smile she didn’t even notice herself. She patted Qin Mei’s shoulder. "Then be a good stumbling block."

For a moment, Qin Mei felt a pang of frustration at being used, but then she thought, ’Better to be used by Shen Qing than by Wen Xingnan.’ "Third Sister-in-law, who was that man I saw you with at the department store?"

Shen Qing’s expression stiffened, but her gaze on Qin Mei was perfectly calm. "No one important."

Having brought it up, Qin Mei had no intention of letting it go so easily. She said teasingly, "No one important? But you’ve been seen at the department store with him several times. Anyone who didn’t know better might think you two are dating."

Shen Qing’s expression was as placid as still water. She seemed to want to explain, but in the end, she just pressed her lips together and said nothing.

’Explaining might not clear her name, but not explaining would definitely leave things murky,’ Qin Mei mused for a few seconds. "Third Sister-in-law, if... and I’m just saying if... one day, you and Third Brother really can’t make it work anymore, let me have Xiao Duo. Don’t let Third Brother take her just to hand her over to Wen Xingnan. Give a child a stepmom, and you’ll get a stepdad. If you give Xiao Duo to me, I promise that Jie Jingchen and I will treat her as our own."

Shen Qing ignored her and walked out of the office.

Qin Mei didn’t follow. She had said her piece; anything more would be pointless. She tapped a finger to her chin, a sly, cunning glint in her smile.

To avoid an awkward encounter, Qin Mei didn’t leave at the same time as Shen Qing. Instead, she waited about ten minutes before getting ready to go.

"Mom." A familiar voice rang out, and Qin Mei, who had just taken a step, quickly pulled her foot back.

Jie Jingchen walked into the office. He didn’t see his mother, but he did see his wife. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. "Meimei, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," Qin Mei said, flashing a brilliant smile.

Jie Jingchen strode over and pulled her into his arms. ’All those warnings he gave her before he left had been for nothing. She never listened to him. He’d told her to go home and wait patiently for him, and what does she do? She runs off to the hospital.’

’And she claimed she was waiting for him? As if he’d believe that. It’s not like she could predict the future; how could she have known he was coming to the hospital?’

"Are you hurt?" Qin Mei’s expression suddenly changed. She could smell blood.

Fearing she would worry, Jie Jingchen said quickly, "It’s not me. It’s Gao Yang."

Qin Mei breathed a sigh of relief. ’As long as it wasn’t Jie Jingchen, she couldn’t care less who got hurt.’

Still, Qin Mei asked out of politeness, "Is it serious?"

"Not serious." In Jie Jingchen’s eyes, as long as you weren’t missing an arm or a leg, it wasn’t serious.

Qin Mei wasn’t concerned about Gao Yang’s injury; she was more worried about the stampede. ’After all, it started because of me. If I hadn’t provoked that woman with the red armband, she wouldn’t have chased me, and if she hadn’t chased me, I wouldn’t have attracted a crowd of "helpful" citizens.’ "Is everything handled?"

"It’s handled." Jie Jingchen didn’t tell Qin Mei how close the situation had come to spiraling out of control. It had been quite serious, enough to alert the higher-ups. They thought someone had deliberately incited the crowd and even suspected an enemy agent was involved.

In the end, he had to find his old squad leader, explain what really happened, and have him vouch for them to dispel everyone’s suspicions. If they had let the situation escalate, it would have been very difficult to bring under control.

Gao Yang’s injury had been an accident. While taking the people injured in the stampede to the hospital, he’d been slashed by a sharp object. The cut ran from his thigh down to his knee and was quite deep. Luckily, it was on his thigh, where there was enough muscle that the blade didn’t hit bone.

"How did you know Mom was back at work in the hospital?" Qin Mei asked curiously. ’Did he run into someone from the Jie Family?’

"A nurse told me," Jie Jingchen replied.