Chapter 819 - 282: Jie Jingsi, Are You Out of Your Mind?

"Shen Qing, go ahead with your work. I’ll wash the dishes after I finish the noodles," Qin Mei said to her. It felt a bit awkward having Shen Qing stare at her while she ate.

Shen Qing didn’t say anything. She took her own bowl and chopsticks to wash, and even washed the pot before walking out of the kitchen.

Having eaten the vegetables and two fried eggs, Qin Mei was almost full. She really couldn’t eat the noodles. She wondered if she should throw them away. Wasting food was shameful, especially in this era of scarcity.

Just as Qin Mei was fretting over this, Jie Jingchen returned. Seeing the travel-worn Jie Jingchen, Qin Mei’s eyes flickered slightly. She then flashed a bright smile and waved at him.

"You..." Jie Jingchen looked at the large bowl of noodles in front of Qin Mei. She didn’t like wheat-based food, yet she had cooked noodles to eat. She must have been starving. His eyes filled with heartache. "I’ll cook something for you."

"I’m full," Qin Mei said, pulling Jie Jingchen to sit down and pushing the bowl of noodles in front of him. "I can’t eat anymore. You have it."

Given their current relationship, Jie Jingchen wouldn’t mind eating after her. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time he finished her leftovers.

"I’ll cook something else for you," Jie Jingchen insisted.

"No need, I’m really full," Qin Mei said, stopping him as he tried to get up.

"You don’t like noodles," Jie Jingchen said, gently stroking her beautiful hair.

"I ate the vegetables and the two fried eggs." Qin Mei patted her stomach. Eating until seventy percent full at dinner would lead to a long life.

"You know how to fry eggs?" Jie Jingchen was surprised. She would usually crack the shells when boiling eggs, and frying a perfect sunny-side-up egg was much harder.

"I don’t. Shen Qing fried them," Qin Mei said, urging him to eat the noodles. "Hurry up and eat, the noodles are getting soggy."

"Shen Qing cooked the noodles?" Jie Jingchen was a little surprised. Qin Mei didn’t get along well with her sisters-in-law. Her relationship with Xu Chunyan was like fire and water, she practically avoided the current Lin Yaru at all costs, and she only maintained a superficial politeness with Shen Qing.

"Yeah," Qin Mei nodded. "It tastes great. It’s just a pity I don’t like noodles. I was just worrying about what to do with it when you came back. Jie Jingsi, arriving early isn’t as good as arriving at the perfect time. Hurry up and eat. I only ate the vegetables and the fried eggs; I barely touched the noodles."

Shen Qing had told her to taste it, so she couldn’t just taste the vegetables or the fried eggs.

Jie Jingchen looked at Qin Mei, hesitating to speak.

Seeing that he was still not picking up his chopsticks, Qin Mei’s little face fell. "Jie Jingsi, you’re not disgusted by me, are you?"

Jie Jingchen froze for a moment, then picked up his chopsticks and began eating in large mouthfuls, using his actions to show her whether he minded or not.

When others ate noodles, the portion shrank. But when Qin Mei ate noodles, they somehow seemed to expand. A large bowl of noodles was enough to fill Jie Jingchen up.

After washing the bowl, Jie Jingchen started heating water for a bath.

Qin Mei wiped the table and asked, "Jie Jingsi, you’re back, but where are your dad and your third brother?"

"At the police station," Jie Jingchen replied.

They were still at the police station. Qin Mei paused her wiping and stared at Jie Jingchen. "Then why did you come back?"

"It had nothing to do with me, so why would I stay there? To keep my dad company? With my third brother there, he doesn’t need me," Jie Jingchen said, adding firewood to the stove.

"Shouldn’t you father and sons be working together to bail him out?" Qin Mei took the rag to the sink, washed it clean, and hung it up to dry.

"Bail someone out? Bail who out? Jie Jingwei? He deserves it." Jie Jingchen hadn’t gone to the police station to bail anyone out, but to remind Gao Yang to handle the matter strictly by the book.

Qin Mei had sent the man in; if he bailed him out, wouldn’t all her efforts have been for nothing?

Qin Mei leaned against the sink, staring intently at Jie Jingchen. She had reported Xu Chunyan, which meant Jie Jingwei couldn’t escape unscathed either. According to Granny’s logic, she was a troublemaker who tore the family apart.

Granny didn’t like her grandson, Jie Jingwei, so she wouldn’t care if something happened to him. If it had been Jie Anlin instead, Granny probably would have sneaked out of the hospital long ago to settle the score with her.

"How will they be dealt with?" Qin Mei asked.

Jie Jingchen pondered for a few seconds before saying, "Dad will protect Jie Jingwei."

"Will your dad protect Xu Chunyan along with him? After all, it takes two to tango in this kind of situation. If your dad only protects Jie Jingwei, would the Xu family agree? Xu Chunyan’s mother is no pushover." If it were her, they would either be bailed out together, or they would go down together. Otherwise, she would definitely fight it to the bitter end.

"Dad will convince Liu Guihua to abandon Xu Chunyan and protect Jie Jingwei," Jie Jingchen said.

"Abandon her own daughter to protect her ex-son-in-law? Would Liu Guihua agree to that?" Qin Mei was dumbfounded. Just thinking about it, it seemed impossible for her to agree. Not protecting her daughter but protecting her ex-son-in-law—she must have lost her mind.

"For the sake of Xiao You, Liu Guihua will agree." Even Jie Jingchen felt that his father was being somewhat selfish, ruthlessly grasping Liu Guihua’s weakest point.