Chapter 818 - 281: Qin Mei, Let’s Talk

Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. Jie Jingchen was nearly thirty? He hadn’t even celebrated his twenty-seventh birthday yet; how was he nearly thirty?

Was this some sort of extreme rounding up? Well, fine. If they were rounding up, then Jie Jingchen was indeed nearly thirty.

Suddenly, Qin Mei realized a grave issue. A man’s prime was short, and by the time they hit thirty, their stamina would start to wane. She might be young, but Jie Jingchen was not. If they waited until she reached the optimal childbearing age, he might end up dropping the ball, leaving them struggling to conceive. The last thing she wanted was to be forced into taking extreme measures at an advanced age, or even resorting to IVF. It was better to have children while she was still young, which would also make it easier for her body to recover its ideal shape.

Massaging her temples, Qin Mei looked up at the sky. "Teacher Lin, thank you for the reminder. I really should consider having a baby."

Lin Yaru stood frozen, dumbstruck. Qin Mei had said "I," not "we." It meant that as long as Qin Mei wanted a child, Jing Si would fully cooperate.

"Heh." Lin Yaru let out a hollow laugh. She stumbled out of the Jie Family home, looking completely devastated, her soul seemingly sucked out of her as she moved like a walking corpse.

The neighbors she passed assumed she was overwhelmed with grief from her recent miscarriage and offered words of comfort. But Lin Yaru was entirely trapped in her own world, blind and deaf to everyone around her.

When Li Axiu, who had come out looking for her, saw her daughter in such a state, she jolted in shock and hurried to support her. "Yaru, what’s wrong with you?" This morning, her daughter had been like a battle-ready rooster, but now she looked thoroughly defeated.

"Mom... WAAAH! Liars, they’re all liars!" Drained of all strength, Lin Yaru collapsed into Li Axiu’s arms, weeping bitterly.

"Yaru, what happened? Don’t scare me!" Unable to hold her daughter’s weight, Li Axiu simply sat on the ground, filled with both worry and fear.

"WAAAH! Liars!" Lin Yaru only cried and cursed them for being liars.

Terrified, Li Axiu pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped away her daughter’s tears. But Lin Yaru’s tears fell like rain, quickly soaking the fabric. "Yaru, stop crying. You’re still recovering from your miscarriage, it’s bad for your eyes. Who bullied you? Tell me, and I’ll go fight them with my life!"

Overcome with agonizing sorrow, Lin Yaru fainted dead away in her mother’s arms.

"Yaru!" Li Axiu trembled uncontrollably.

"Axiu, hurry, get her to the hospital!" a concerned neighbor urged.

"Yes, the hospital! To the hospital!" Li Axiu tried to carry Lin Yaru but lacked the physical strength. After several failed attempts, she finally called over a few neighbors. Working together, they lifted Lin Yaru and hailed a tricycle to rush her to the hospital.

Later that evening.

Jie Jingchen, who was usually eager to get home after work, didn’t return on time. Qin Mei wasn’t surprised in the slightest; it didn’t take a genius to figure out he had gone to handle the mess with Xu Chunyan and Jie Jingwei.

The two had gotten divorced, and Jie Jingwei had already remarried, yet they were caught having an affair at a guesthouse. Qin Mei and Gao Yang had gone to catch them in the act, though Qin Mei had left halfway through. Gao Yang, however, was a police officer, and he had caught them red-handed. They could afford to ignore Xu Chunyan’s fate, but what about Jie Jingwei? There was no way her father-in-law would just sit back and do nothing.

Clearly, Jie Jingchen wouldn’t be coming home to cook. Sitting in her wicker chair, Qin Mei weighed her options: cook for herself or freeload. She decisively chose to go mooch off her neighbor’s house.

Just as she stood up, Shen Qing returned.

"Shen Qing," Qin Mei called out.

Shen Qing gave a curt hum of acknowledgment and walked toward their newly built kitchen, carrying a mesh market bag. Assuming Shen Qing was about to cook for her, Qin Mei eagerly trotted after her. Freeloading would be too selfish, but if Shen Qing was cooking, she could at least help out. Even a meager contribution was an honorable one.

Seeing Qin Mei follow her, Shen Qing didn’t say a word. She entered the kitchen, set the mesh bag on the counter, and turned to leave.

Qin Mei froze, staring at the bag on the stove. What did this mean? She wondered if she was expected to cook, which was a major problem since she had no idea how.

A moment later, Shen Qing returned to the kitchen having changed her clothes, making Qin Mei’s eyes light up with relief.

"Jing Si mentioned you don’t know how to cook," Shen Qing said as she tied her apron.

"He didn’t lie to you," Qin Mei replied with a sweet smile.

"Aunt Qiao is on the night shift today. Dad, Jing San, and Jing Si are at the police station." Shen Qing’s underlying message was clear: it would just be the two of them for dinner.

Qin Mei knew her mother-in-law had the night shift, but she was somewhat surprised to hear that the three men were all at the police station. With all three of them tackling the issue together, she figured they could probably reduce a death sentence to a suspended one, and then a suspended sentence to house arrest.

"Jie Jingwei is in trouble," Shen Qing said, casting a sidelong glance at Qin Mei.

"Is that so?" Qin Mei replied dismissively, showing little emotion.

"You reported him," Shen Qing stated flatly. It wasn’t a question.

"I didn’t report Jingwei. He’s Jie Jingchen’s brother, and I’m Jie Jingchen’s wife. Why would I betray my own family to turn him in?" Qin Mei lied effortlessly, feeling no burden on her conscience.

Shen Qing stared at her, a glimmer of deep thought flashing in her eyes. "Captain Gao said you were the informant."

Qin Mei cursed Gao Yang in her head for being so inflexible. She had explicitly requested to remain anonymous, yet he had gone ahead and used her real name anyway. Maintaining her calm demeanor, she explained, "I was indeed the informant, but I didn’t report Jingwei. I reported Xu Chunyan."

Shen Qing was left speechless, wondering if there was even a difference. She didn’t press the matter, however. She had only asked in passing and didn’t really care much. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything’s fine. I’m not a picky eater." Qin Mei smiled brightly, trying to look as easy to please as possible.

"Alright. Go wait outside for a bit, I’ll call you when it’s ready." Shen Qing rolled up her sleeves and began taking the groceries out of her mesh bag.

"Shen Qing, I bought some groceries too," Qin Mei said, pointing to the bag she had placed on the dining table.

Shen Qing glanced at it but remained silent.

Rubbing her nose awkwardly, Qin Mei headed for the door. If Shen Qing didn’t want her help, she would obediently stay out of the way. Even Jie Jingchen complained that she was more of a hindrance than a help in the kitchen; Shen Qing would likely find her just as meddlesome.

"Do you eat spicy food?" Shen Qing asked.

Qin Mei paused, her heart leaping with joy. "Yes! I can handle extremely spicy food."

Jie Jingchen always restricted her spicy food intake. But with Shen Qing cooking today, she could finally satisfy her cravings.

"Don’t Yangcheng people usually avoid spicy food?" Shen Qing asked curiously.

"Heh, I’m an exception." Qin Mei quickly exited the kitchen. If she stayed and chatted any longer, Shen Qing might start questioning her true identity.

The original owner of this body had been from Yangcheng City, but she was a Sichuan person. While she herself could handle the heat, this body simply couldn’t take it—eating anything too spicy immediately gave her diarrhea. Yet, she still loved it to death.

When Jie Jingchen cooked, it took at least half an hour. Shen Qing, however, called Qin Mei to eat in just over ten minutes. The speed was incredible, leaving Qin Mei doubting if the food was actually fully cooked.

That was until she returned to the kitchen and saw two massive bowls of noodles. Her mouth twitched. Moving mechanically, Qin Mei sat down at the table and accepted the chopsticks Shen Qing handed her.

"Try it and see if it suits your taste," Shen Qing offered. "I added two spoonfuls of chili oil to your bowl."

Qin Mei couldn’t quite muster a smile. The chili oil in the cupboard was made by Jie Jingchen. He hadn’t used the fiercely hot facing-heaven peppers, so while it looked fiery red, it wasn’t actually that spicy. Never mind two spoonfuls—even four wouldn’t pack much of a punch.

But that wasn’t the main issue. The real issue was that she didn’t like noodles. No wonder it had been so fast.

She stared at the bowl in front of her. Aside from the greens, there were two sunny-side-up eggs perched on top. To a noodle lover, it would have been a mouthwatering masterpiece, complete with excellent color, aroma, and taste.

Under Shen Qing’s watchful gaze, Qin Mei picked up some noodles and took a bite. The flavor was undeniably good, but she just didn’t like it!

"How is it?" Shen Qing pressed, persistently seeking her feedback.

Qin Mei swallowed, looked up, and forced a faint smile. "It’s delicious."

To her surprise, Shen Qing actually flashed a rare smile. Qin Mei was stunned. The notoriously icy Shen Qing, who always kept people at a distance, was smiling at her.

It was rare. Incredibly rare.

Ever since she and Jie Jingchen had moved into the Jie Family home, she and Shen Qing hadn’t interacted much, despite living in the same courtyard. She had only ever seen Shen Qing smile at Jing Qi; toward everyone else, she maintained a frosty exterior.

Shen Qing finished her meal while Qin Mei was still eating. Only then did Shen Qing notice that Qin Mei was exclusively picking out the greens and eggs. She wondered if Qin Mei simply didn’t like noodles.