Chapter 736 - 254: Jie Jingsi, Aren’t You Going to Scold Me?

"No." Qin Mei averted her gaze. The way Jiang Yuan was looking at her was too strange.

’To say it didn’t hurt to walk was a lie. After walking for so long, her feet were covered in blisters. If she acted spoiled right now, who would dote on her?’

’Qin Mei missed Jie Jingchen. She didn’t want to walk anymore. She wanted someone to carry her on their back, too. But she wasn’t Qiao Wei, who would accept anyone’s advances. She had mysophobia; apart from Jie Jingchen, she couldn’t accept physical contact from any other man.’

’Next time she went into the mountains to gather herbs, she would definitely bring Jie Jingchen along. She would absolutely not bring along a piece of dead weight with no fighting ability.’

A flash of heartache crossed Jiang Yuan’s deep eyes as he watched Qin Mei put on a brave front. "How about I take a turn carrying..."

"No."

"No."

The two interrupted Jiang Yuan in unison.

"I have mysophobia." Qin Mei decisively shut down Jiang Yuan’s train of thought. ’When it came to relationships, Qin Mei believed in making clean breaks. Whatever ambiguous feelings the original owner of this body had for Jiang Yuan, that person was already dead. She had accepted Jie Jingchen as her husband; she could never accept Jiang Yuan as a lover.’

"My feet hurt. I can’t walk another step." Qiao Wei hugged Jiang Yuan’s neck tightly, looking as if she wouldn’t get down for anything in the world.

Her claim of mysophobia was like a thorn in Jiang Yuan’s heart. It didn’t exactly hurt, but it was galling.

"I’ll lead the way." Carrying Qiao Wei on his back, Jiang Yuan strode past Qin Mei and took the lead.

Qin Mei didn’t try to act tough this time, obediently following behind Jiang Yuan. ’If she led the way, they wouldn’t make it off the mountain by nightfall.’

’To have gone up the mountain to gather herbs with such high spirits, only to return empty-handed... How humiliating.’

She didn’t know if Jiang Yuan was doing it on purpose, but he walked very fast while carrying Qiao Wei. Qin Mei struggled to keep up with his pace, and the distance between them gradually grew.

Exhausted and in pain, yet not daring to stop, Qin Mei felt aggrieved. Her nose stung, and her eyes began to well up with tears.

"Ah Yuan, slow down. My cousin-in-law can’t keep up." Qiao Wei patted Jiang Yuan’s shoulder. ’We can’t lose her. When we ran into that wolf pack, Cousin-in-law didn’t abandon me. If I leave her alone in these woods, Cousin will skin me alive when we get home.’

"She has mysophobia. I should stay far away from her." As Jiang Yuan said this, even he could sense how sour he sounded.

Qiao Wei was about to say something more when her sharp eyes spotted Jie Jingchen’s figure. Perched on Jiang Yuan’s back, she straightened up and excitedly waved at Jie Jingchen. "Cousin, we’re over here!"

Hearing Qiao Wei call out "Cousin," Qin Mei was stunned. She couldn’t tell if she was hallucinating until a familiar pair of arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Jie Jingsi," Qin Mei said bitterly.

Jie Jingchen hummed in response, his arms tightening around Qin Mei. He was filled with the joy of having her back safe and sound.

’Qin Mei was too bold, daring to go up the mountain to gather herbs with just Qiao Wei. No one knew how terrified he had been when he heard the news.’

’All his anger and worry vanished the moment he saw Qin Mei. He couldn’t bring himself to scold her or hit her. He could only indulge and dote on her.’

Watching the two embrace, Jiang Yuan’s heart was filled with a sour, complex feeling.

’Who said Jing Si didn’t love Qin Mei? He was clearly head over heels for her.’

Jie Jingchen carried Qin Mei on his back, and Jiang Yuan carried Qiao Wei, as they headed down the mountain. Jiang Yuan and Qiao Wei were silent, but Jie Jingchen and Qin Mei were chatting.

"Jie Jingsi, aren’t you going to scold me?" Qin Mei lay on Jie Jingchen’s back. ’Compared to walking until her feet ached, being too weak to take care of herself was much more appealing.’

"I’ll scold you when we get home." Jie Jingchen wanted to scold her, but his heart ached for her more.

’As long as she was okay, nothing else mattered.’

"You don’t have to wait until we’re home. You can scold me now. Jie Jingsi, I promise, I absolutely won’t talk back this time." Qin Mei thought Jie Jingchen was holding back from scolding her to let her save face, since his former superior was walking ahead of them.

"I’ll scold you at home," Jie Jingchen insisted.

Qin Mei yawned. "Jie Jingsi, you’d better think carefully. This is a limited-time offer. If you scold me now, I promise not to talk back. But if you wait until we get home, I can’t make any promises."

Jie Jingchen smiled without a word. Qin Mei was tired, and after a short while lying on his back, she fell asleep.

Hearing her steady breathing, the corners of Jie Jingchen’s thin lips curved up slightly.

Carrying Qin Mei, Jie Jingchen quickened his pace. In a few steps, he caught up to Jiang Yuan and walked shoulder to shoulder with him. The two men met each other’s gaze.

Qiao Wei inwardly cried out, ’This is bad!’ Her survival instincts kicked in at full force. "Cousin, you can’t take your anger out on me! It wasn’t me who wanted to bring Cousin-in-law up the mountain. She forced me! I had no choice but to bring her here to gather herbs."

"Forced you?" Jie Jingchen’s deep voice carried a hint of suppressed anger.

Under Jie Jingchen’s imposing gaze, which was intimidating without showing anger, Qiao Wei gulped. "Okay, I admit it, I came willingly. But Cousin, I was doing it for your aunt! Cousin-in-law said there was a miracle cure in the mountains that could save your aunt. Cousin, for the sake of my eagerness to save a life, I beg you to go easy on me."

Jie Jingchen snorted coldly. ’If he didn’t know Qin Mei well, he might have believed Qiao Wei’s words. But even when treating Jing Qi’s leg, Qin Mei never made absolute promises. Qin Mei had told him clearly that Xu Jiali’s illness was terminal. No matter how outstanding her medical skills were, she couldn’t cure a terminal illness.’

’A miracle cure? What miracle cure?’

A cruel smile formed on Jie Jingchen’s lips. Qiao Wei felt a chill run down her spine and shrank back. For a moment, she wanted to jump off Jiang Yuan’s back and flee.

Jie Jingchen bent over slightly, steadying Qin Mei on his back with one arm, and freed his other hand to chop at Qiao Wei.

Qiao Wei tried to escape, but a sharp pain shot through her neck, and she was knocked unconscious.

Jiang Yuan was speechless.

Jie Jingchen continued walking as if nothing had happened, still carrying Qin Mei.

"Jing Si, is she really your cousin?" Jiang Yuan asked doubtfully.

Jie Jingchen’s gaze was deep and inscrutable as he studied Jiang Yuan.

’Jiang Yuan had come to Xiangjiang with Qin Xiang for a mission. He’d been hiding out in the mountains, so Jie Jingchen had expected him to be disheveled, haggard, and exhausted. He hadn’t expected him to be so clean and tidy.’

"She’s the young lady of the Governor’s Mansion," Jie Jingchen said in a low voice.

Jiang Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled. "I know. Your wife is very sharp and vigilant. She’s the one who reminded me."

Jie Jingchen said nothing.

"Did Qin Xiang ask you for help?" Jiang Yuan asked.

"Mhm," Jie Jingchen nodded.

Jiang Yuan looked up. Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, casting a play of light and shadow across his face, making him look even colder and more untamed. "Jing Si, you’re retired from the service, and you’re part of the Qiao Family now. Logically, we shouldn’t have involved you, but..."

"I understand," Jie Jingchen cut him off.

A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Yuan’s deep eyes. Without beating around the bush, he asked directly, "What is the Qiao Family’s position?"

"Huaxia." Jie Jingchen bit out the single word, his voice firm and resolute.

Jiang Yuan hadn’t asked about Jie Jingchen’s position, but the Qiao Family’s. He was very satisfied with Jie Jingchen’s answer. ’With Jie Jingchen’s abilities, he would have had a boundless future if he had stayed in the military. What a shame!’

"Jing Si, the plan has changed. I’m preparing to enter the Governor’s Mansion," Jiang Yuan said.

Jie Jingchen’s eye twitched. ’Enter the Governor’s Mansion? Jiang Yuan sure is ambitious. Does he think the Governor’s Mansion is some place you can just walk into whenever you want?’

"I’ll help you," Jie Jingchen said.

"No need." Jiang Yuan was proud. He shot a sidelong glance at Qiao Wei on his back, his eyes full of calculation.

Jie Jingchen fell silent. Jiang Yuan’s gaze was too obvious. After a moment of thought, he couldn’t help but remind him, "When she’s interested in you, she can lift you to the heavens. When she loses interest, she can stomp you into the mud."

"Then I’ll just have to do my best to keep her from losing interest in me before the mission is complete," Jiang Yuan said jokingly.

"Then I’ll help you create an identity," Jie Jingchen said. ’It’s not that easy to infiltrate the Governor’s Mansion. Even someone brought in by Qiao Wei would definitely be investigated.’

"Your wife said I’m a manager at your machinery factory," Jiang Yuan reminded Jie Jingchen. ’He wouldn’t be like Qin Xiang, running to Jing Si for help every time he hit a snag. He wouldn’t take the initiative to ask Jing Si for help, but if Jing Si offered, he would make a token refusal. If Jing Si insisted, then he wouldn’t turn it down.’

"A manager at the machinery factory?" Jie Jingchen sized up Jiang Yuan. An idea for Jiang Yuan’s identity suddenly came to him.