Chapter 226 - 89: She Pursued Me
"But why?" Gao Hai asked, confused. ’If we don’t talk about Jing Si, what are we supposed to talk about? Me? That’s not right either!’
"If you keep this up, you’re going to talk my fourth brother’s marriage apart," Jie Jingshan said, her tone sharp.
"Huh?" Gao Hai exclaimed. "Is it that serious?"
"It is." Jie Jingshan nodded. Gao Hai was lost in thought.
Gao Hai’s logic was simple. Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen were married, so he thought that by bragging in front of Qin Mei about how popular Jing Si was with women, he would make her realize what a great catch she had and cherish him even more. He wasn’t sure what other people might think; that was just his reasoning.
’If she’s the jealous type, shouldn’t that make her cherish him even more? How could it possibly lead to their marriage falling apart?’
Gao Hai took Jie Jingshan’s words to heart. When Qin Mei returned with the roast duck, he tactfully avoided Jie Jingchen’s dating history and switched to talking about his heroic deeds in the army.
With the topic back to normal, Jie Jingshan was satisfied. Qin Mei listened patiently, adding a word here and there.
No matter the topic, Gao Hai chatted with gusto.
When they arrived at the Jie family home, Gao Hai handed his bicycle to Qin Mei. He then lifted the wheelchair, with Jie Jingshan still in it, over the threshold. After that, he lifted the bicycle over as well and placed it in the courtyard. There were too many bike thieves around, and they were almost impossible to catch, so Gao Hai, who cherished his bicycle, didn’t feel comfortable leaving it outside.
"Oh, Gao Hai, you’re here?" Hearing the commotion, Aunt Zhang came out of the kitchen to see what was going on. She saw Qin Mei was back with Jie Jingshan—they’d been out grocery shopping for nearly the entire day—and was about to scold them. But the moment she spotted Gao Hai, Aunt Zhang froze for a second before her face lit up with enthusiasm.
"Aunt Zhang," Gao Hai greeted politely.
"Gao Hai, since you’re here, don’t be in such a rush to leave. Stay and have dinner with us," Aunt Zhang invited.
Gao Hai was taken aback. Faced with Aunt Zhang’s warmth, he was momentarily at a loss for words. He looked at Qin Mei blankly and asked, "Sister-in-law, haven’t you already separated your household from the main family?"
"We have," Qin Mei confirmed with a nod. Then her tone shifted. "But if you’d like to have dinner with them, I won’t stop you."
The corner of Gao Hai’s mouth twitched. "Sister-in-law," he said helplessly, "Jing Si is my comrade."
Qin Mei just smiled without saying a word. She pushed Jie Jingshan into her room, then carried the groceries into the kitchen.
"Aunt Zhang, thank you for the kind offer, but I was hoping to have a few drinks with Jing Si," Gao Hai said, politely declining.
"Oh, I see." Aunt Zhang thought for a moment, then spoke again as if she were the lady of the house. "Gao Hai, how about this? When Jing Si gets home from work, tell him not to bother with cooking. We can all eat together."
Hearing this, Qin Mei rolled her eyes. She shot Aunt Zhang a cold glare and kept walking. She set the groceries down, pulled a key from her crossbody bag to unlock their door, then picked the bags back up. Inside, she placed the ready-to-eat dishes on the table and the meat and vegetables on the kitchen counter.
"Aunt Zhang, I can’t make decisions for Jing Si," Gao Hai said. His words carried a double meaning, a subtle reminder to Aunt Zhang about her own place.
"I’ll talk to Jing Si when he gets back." Aunt Zhang understood his point perfectly but chose to ignore it, turning back toward her own kitchen.
Gao Hai was left standing in the courtyard. Jie Jingshan had closed the door after entering her room, and he felt it would be improper to go into Jing Qi’s room. He thought of her as a little sister, but they weren’t blood relatives. And Jing Qi wasn’t a three-year-old kid anymore—she was fourteen now, a young lady.
To avoid any impropriety, he couldn’t go into the kitchen to help Qin Mei cook. And he certainly wasn’t going to go chat with Aunt Zhang. Standing there stiffly, he felt completely out of place. For the first time ever, a visit to the Jie family home felt awkward for Gao Hai.
Just as he was agonizing over what to do, Jie Jingchen came home early from work. They both froze for a moment. Jie Jingchen was surprised to see Gao Hai at his home, while Gao Hai looked as if he’d just seen his savior. He hurried forward to help Jie Jingchen carry his bicycle into the courtyard.
"What are you doing here?" A faint smile touched Jie Jingchen’s lips, but his tone was even.
"I finished that business you asked me to take care of," Gao Hai said with a chuckle. "On my way back, I ran into Sister-in-law and Jing Qi. She was so insistent that I come over as a guest, I couldn’t very well refuse, so I had to agree."
Jie Jingchen balled his hand into a fist and gave Gao Hai a friendly punch on the chest. "As if I don’t know you. You couldn’t refuse? Or you didn’t *want* to refuse?"
"Heh. My parents may have given me life, but you, Jing Si, are the one who truly knows me." Gao Hai also balled up his fist and returned the punch to Jie Jingchen’s chest.
Jie Jingchen glanced around the courtyard and, not seeing Qin Mei, noticed their room was locked. "Where’s my wife?" he asked.
"Your wife is in the kitchen, cooking," Gao Hai said, pointing.
"She’s cooking?" Jie Jingchen was stunned.
"Is there a problem with that?" Gao Hai asked.
"She can’t cook," Jie Jingchen said, striding toward the kitchen. ’Qin Mei doesn’t even know how to start a fire. I’ve taught her so many times, but she never got the hang of it. If I let her try, I’m afraid she’ll burn the whole kitchen down.’