「The next day.」
"Jing Si, why hasn't your wife come yet?" Xie Jingchen couldn't help but ask.
Jie Jingchen was speechless for a moment. He shot a sarcastic glance at Qin Mei. His wife had arrived long ago, but she wasn't taking care of him—she was taking care of Xie Jingchen.
The two of them had quite a fateful connection. Their names, both surname and given name, were homophones—they sounded the same but were written with different characters. They were also army comrades who had retired together. He worked at a machinery factory in Shijiu City, while Xie Jingchen was at one in Shanghai. They had run into each other again on this business trip to Shanghai and had both rushed into a sea of fire to save someone. Xie Jingchen ended up with burns, while he was injured by a heavy falling object.
Seeing Jie Jingchen fall silent, Xie Jingchen didn't provoke him further.
He knew about Jie Jingchen and Qin Mei's situation. All he could feel was sympathy.
"Who's his wife?" Qin Mei asked in a low voice, her almond-shaped eyes full of curiosity.
'This man is devastatingly handsome. What kind of woman could possibly be a match for him?'
"She's… never mind, it's not important. Honey, I need to…"
"I'll go get the nurse," Qin Mei said, understanding instantly.
Xie Jingchen was wrapped up like a mummy. Qin Mei only needed to help him eat and drink. As for using the bathroom, that was a job for the nurse. If she messed it up, all the bandages would have been wrapped for nothing, and his wounds could easily get infected.
Not having to help him with that also saved Qin Mei the embarrassment.
'Even though we're husband and wife, I don't really know him. And unfortunately, his looks just don't appeal to me.'
「A few days later.」
"Why hasn't Sister-in-law come to take care of you yet?" Xiao Liu couldn't help but ask.
The corner of Jie Jingchen's mouth twitched. He looked at the busy figure by the next bed. His wife was taking care of another man.
Once Xie Jingchen was asleep, Jie Jingchen looked at Qin Mei and couldn't resist asking, "Are you sure he's your husband?"
"Are you kidding? How could I possibly mistake my own husband?" Qin Mei shot him a glare.
'You actually did,' Jie Jingchen thought. But he didn't say it. Even if he did, she probably wouldn't believe him. She'd likely suspect he had ulterior motives, trying to trick her into taking care of him instead.
Qin Mei didn't think much of it. She just assumed he was envious that Xie Jingchen had a wife to care for him. He had a wife too, but she wasn't willing to come look after him. 'His own wife isn't virtuous, so seeing how devoted another man's wife is has made him bitter and resentful.'
Under Qin Mei's "meticulous" care, Xie Jingchen's injuries recovered well. After Qin Mei finished feeding him, Xie Jingchen took her soft hand and said, "Honey, once I'm out of the hospital, we'll use your vacation time to go home. Let's try to give our parents a grandchild to hold by next year."
Qin Mei stiffened. 'Have a baby? I'm only eighteen. Isn't that too soon?'
Thinking of her situation, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. She went along with it and nodded, but then she remembered Xie Jingchen's eyes were covered with bandages, so he couldn't see her nod.
Qin Mei took a deep breath and said with a smile, "Okay."
Nearby, Jie Jingchen's face darkened. His gaze on Qin Mei seemed to be laced with venom.
'How dare she agree? Does she really think I'm dead?'
Sharply sensing Jie Jingchen's hostile gaze, Qin Mei subtly pulled her hand away from Xie Jingchen's and turned to glare at Jie Jingchen. "What are you looking at? Are you jealous of how loving we are as husband and wife?"
Her words made Jie Jingchen laugh in anger.
In an era without internet or cell phones, taking care of a patient in the hospital was incredibly boring. At first, Qin Mei passed the time by sleeping, but after sleeping too much, she couldn't sleep anymore.
After feeding Xie Jingchen, he fell asleep shortly after. Qin Mei washed the aluminum lunch box and returned to the ward. Seeing that Xie Jingchen was asleep and his IV drip was finished, Qin Mei called a nurse to change the bag. She glanced at Xie Jincheng, then went out for a stroll.
Qin Mei returned before the new IV bag was empty, her mood cheerful. She was humming a little tune, holding a newspaper in her left hand and a plump sunflower in her right. Black sunflower seeds grew in tight rows on its basin-sized head.
Qin Mei placed the sunflower and newspaper on the cabinet. Xie Jingchen's injuries were so severe that he spent more time unconscious than awake.
Qin Mei sat by the window, reading the newspaper while cracking open sunflower seeds. They were raw, in their natural state, and Qin Mei liked them a lot.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jie Jingchen's IV drip was finished. Qin Mei's eyes flickered, and she looked at him, asking, "Where's Xiao Liu?"
Jie Jingchen looked at Qin Mei, his expression inscrutable.
"Your IV drip is finished," Qin Mei reminded him.
The corners of Jie Jingchen's eyes lifted slightly, and his thin lips curled into a disdainful smirk.
Her intuition told her that this man was not easy to get along with. He completely lacked the humility of a tiger stranded in the open, at the mercy of dogs.
'Oh, whatever. For the sake of him being Xie Jingchen's comrade, I might as well see this good deed through,' Qin Mei thought. She stood up and said, "I'll go get the nurse for you."
Jie Jingchen watched Qin Mei leave with a resentful gaze. 'She's spending my money, using my ration tickets, and taking care of a man who isn't me. And she acts so reluctant just to call a nurse for me,' he fumed. Jie Jingchen desperately wanted to slap their marriage certificate down in front of her and make her see exactly whose wife she was.
A moment later, Qin Mei returned alone. Under Jie Jingchen's suspicious gaze, she walked over and pulled the needle right out of his arm.
She was fast, ruthless, and precise, and she didn't even give a word of warning beforehand.
"You…" Jie Jingchen's face was a mask of astonishment.
Qin Mei said, "The nurses are busy."
"…" Jie Jingchen was speechless.
'Even if the nurses are busy, she shouldn't have done it for them. She's not a professional!'
Qin Mei returned to her spot by the window and went back to cracking sunflower seeds and reading her newspaper.
Qin Mei could feel Jie Jingchen's gaze locked on her. At first, she ignored it. But being stared at so brazenly by a handsome man for so long started to make her skin crawl.
Plucking a seed from the sunflower head, Qin Mei met Jie Jingchen's amber eyes and asked with a smile, "Want a sunflower seed?"
The corner of Jie Jingchen's eye twitched slightly. He looked disgusted. He didn't like eating sunflower seeds, let alone raw, unprocessed ones.
Qin Mei raised an eyebrow, staring intently at Jie Jingchen with a puzzled look. The next second, she realized something. The smile froze on her lips as she warned, "I'm a married woman. You'd better not get any improper ideas."
'Jie Jingchen's looks really are dangerously captivating,' she thought. 'I just have a simple appreciation for his face, but if he were to try and seduce me, my willpower is so weak I'd definitely lose control, forget I'm married, and fall for him.'
'If he used all his charms on me, I can't guarantee I wouldn't throw caution to the wind, abandon my current husband, and elope with him.'
"I know you got married six months ago." Jie Jingchen's lips curled into a mocking smile, his expression full of contempt and disdain.
Qin Mei froze, a trace of suspicion flashing in her eyes. "You know a lot about me?"
"Not much," Jie Jingchen didn't deny it.
Qin Mei's heart skipped a beat. She asked tentatively, "Do you know me?"
"I know your brother." Jie Jingchen's voice was low and deep, laced with a probing undertone.
"My brother?" Qin Mei was stunned. 'The original owner of this body had a brother?'
Jie Jingchen's probing gaze locked onto the newspaper in Qin Mei's hands. His expression shifted with complex emotions for a few moments before settling. He stared at her and said with pointed meaning, "Your brother said you were one who slipped through the cracks of the literacy program."