Chapter 821 - 282: Jie Jingsi, What’s Gotten Into You?

Qin Mei scratched her messy hair. "Jie Jingsi, have you lost your mind?"

Jie Jingchen grasped her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes, and said solemnly, "I haven’t lost my mind. I’m serious."

"A sudden whim?" Qin Mei looked into Jie Jingchen’s amber eyes, which reflected her own silhouette.

"Carefully considered," Jie Jingchen said, his gaze deep and unwavering.

"As if I’d believe you. If it were truly carefully considered, why did you wait until the day of the college entrance examination to tell me?" If he had only told her last night, Qin Mei would have believed him.

"I wanted to give you a surprise," Jie Jingchen said with a smile.

Qin Mei fell silent, looking at him with a complex expression. He didn’t let Jing Qi take the exam to gild his resume, yet he was taking it himself. Was his ideological awareness really that high?

She couldn’t figure it out. She washed up mechanically, ate breakfast mechanically, and accompanied Jie Jingchen to the examination center mechanically. It all felt unreal. It wasn’t until she watched Jie Jingchen enter the examination venue that she finally pinched her own thigh. It hurt. It wasn’t a dream; this was real. Jie Jingchen taking the college entrance examination was simply unbelievable.

With the restoration of the college entrance examination, there were many candidates taking the test and just as many people sending them off. Gao Yang and Jie Jinghun had both come to the scene to maintain order.

"Qin Mei, are you here to take the exam too?" Gao Yang approached her.

"No." Qin Mei shook her head. "I’m just here to drop someone off."

"Drop someone off? Who?" Gao Yang asked curiously.

"Isn’t Jing Qi in Xiangjiang?" Jie Jinghun also walked up to them. Hearing their conversation, he couldn’t help but interject.

Qin Mei observed the two men with a probing gaze. Seeing that they didn’t seem to be faking it, she realized they also didn’t know Jie Jingchen was taking the exam. Her mood suddenly brightened. "Jie Jingsi."

The two men mistakenly thought Qin Mei was calling out for Jie Jingsi. They turned around in unison to look behind them, but didn’t see Jie Jingchen. They searched through the bustling crowd, yet there was still no sign of him.

"Qin Mei, where is Jing Si?" Gao Yang turned back and asked her.

"I mean, I’m here to drop Jie Jingsi off for the exam," Qin Mei clarified.

"What?" Both men exclaimed in shock, looking at each other in dismay. Gao Yang turned to Jie Jinghun. "Did you know?"

"No idea." Jie Jinghun shook his head and looked at Qin Mei. "A sudden whim?"

Qin Mei was incredibly enthusiastic about urging people to take the exam. Within the family, with the exception of their second brother and his wife, Aunt Qiao, their dad, and Xiao You, she had tried to persuade nearly everyone. As if that weren’t enough, she had even convinced Jie Jinghun’s sister-in-law. His sister-in-law and Jing Qi both listened to Qin Mei’s advice. Because of this, his sister-in-law had even given up on going abroad, instead going down to the countryside as an educated youth to wait for the restoration of the college entrance examination. Thank goodness it had actually been restored; otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how to face his mother-in-law.

"He said it was carefully considered." Qin Mei smiled sweetly.

Jie Jinghun looked at Qin Mei, his gaze filled with scrutiny and deep thought. Why didn’t he believe that? "Qin Mei, are you sure you didn’t interfere with or force my brother?"

Qin Mei’s mouth twitched, and she demanded, "Jinghun, what is that supposed to mean?"

Jie Jinghun wanted to say that she had a track record of urging people to take the exam. With the rest of them, she merely persuaded them. But with Jing Si? Was it still just earnest persuasion?

"No matter what, it’s a good thing that Jing Si is taking the exam. But really, he didn’t even notify us in advance. I was assigned to maintain order here; I should have at least offered him a few words of blessing," Gao Yang said with some regret, even more disappointed that he missed the chance to tease Jie Jingchen a little.

"How about you guys wear qipaos?" Qin Mei suggested.

"Us wearing qipaos? Qin Mei, are you living in a fantasy?" Gao Yang felt like she was insulting them.

"Wearing a qipao symbolizes a victorious start. It’s great," Qin Mei explained.

"Why aren’t you wearing one?" Gao Yang asked through gritted teeth.

"I wanted to, but Jie Jingsi wouldn’t let me." Qin Mei easily shifted the blame to Jie Jingchen. In reality, the main reason was that Jie Jingchen hadn’t discussed it with her beforehand. She had been forcibly dragged out of bed by him this morning and told at the last minute. She did have a qipao in her closet, but the thought of wearing it simply hadn’t crossed her mind.

"If Jing Si wouldn’t let you wear one, would he let us?" Given their gender, wearing a qipao would make them the laughingstock of the town. Gao Yang couldn’t afford to lose that much face; he would definitely be called into his leader’s office for a severe dressing-down afterward.

"Not necessarily." Before Qin Mei could even finish her sentence, Gao Yang and Jie Jinghun turned around simultaneously. They never should have come over to greet her in the first place.

Qin Mei looked at the candidates, feeling deeply moved. Getting into college meant changing one’s destiny and changing one’s life.

"Qin Mei!" Shen Tong ran over to her, with Shen Qing following close behind.

"Shen Qing, Xiao Tong." Qin Mei looked at them with a smile.

"Qin Mei, are you here to take the exam too?" Shen Tong wore a sweet smile. With Qin Mei’s abilities, she could definitely achieve an ideal score.

Qin Mei was a bit speechless. Why did everyone assume she was the one taking the exam? "No, it’s Jie Jingchen."

"Jingchen?" Shen Tong was somewhat surprised.

"What? You don’t have faith in him?" Qin Mei deliberately misinterpreted Shen Tong’s reaction.

Shen Tong shook her head and hurriedly explained, "No, Jingchen is very capable. I’m just curious. Qin Mei, why aren’t you taking it?"

"I don’t want to study." Qin Mei gave a reason worthy of disdain. She simply didn’t want to walk the same path she had in her previous life all over again.

"Qin Mei, studying is an honor," Shen Tong tried to persuade her.

Studying was an honor, but it was an honor she didn’t want. Refusing to listen to any more persuasion, Qin Mei waved her hand and urged, "Hurry into the examination venue. I wish you success on the test."

"Thank you for the blessing, Qin Mei. Shen Qing, I’m going in." Shen Tong waved to Qin Mei and Shen Qing, then happily walked into the examination center.

Waiting anxiously outside the examination venue was out of the question. Shen Qing went to work, and Qin Mei headed home.

In the alley, Qin Mei stumbled upon Jie Jingwei and Lin Yaru struggling with each other.

"Lin Yaru, let go." Jie Jingwei was irritated. He needed to go to work, but Lin Yaru was pestering him, trying to drag him off to get a divorce.

"I won’t let go unless you come with me to get a divorce!" Lin Yaru clung to Jie Jingwei’s leg, sitting on his foot without any regard for her image.

"Keep dreaming if you think we’re getting a divorce." Jie Jingwei refused to agree. If he divorced again, it would be his third marriage. With the Jie Family’s status, remarrying wouldn’t be difficult, but until he found a suitable partner, he wouldn’t divorce Lin Yaru under any circumstances. Lin Yaru was the one who had provoked him. The Lin family had forced him to divorce Chunyan and take responsibility for Lin Yaru. In that case, he would take responsibility to the bitter end. Since they had strayed onto the wrong path, they might as well sink into the mud together.

"Jie Jingwei, what exactly will it take for you to divorce me?!" Lin Yaru screamed hysterically.

Sister Xu had said that as long as the baby was gone, divorcing Jie Jingwei would be a breeze. Now that something had happened to Sister Xu, her strategist who had schemed for her was gone. Having lost her main pillar of support, she truly had no other options left but to shamelessly pester Jie Jingwei for a divorce.

Jie Jingwei’s eyes were brimming with icy malice. He crouched down and patted Lin Yaru’s cheek. Looking like an Asura from hell, he said cruelly, "When I’m tired of playing with you, I’ll consider letting you go."

Lin Yaru was terrified. A chill shot up from the soles of her feet straight up her spine. The memory of what he had done to her last night sent a wave of sheer terror washing over her. She released Jie Jingwei’s leg and scrambled away to curl up in a corner by the wall, trembling with fear. "Jie Jingwei, you’re not human. You’re a devil."

"A devil that you provoked yourself," Jie Jingwei said heartlessly. The gaze he fixed on Lin Yaru grew dark. It wasn’t the look of a man staring at his wife, but a predator eyeing its prey. She had ignited a bloodthirsty flame within him.

Lin Yaru was paralyzed with fear and timidly begged for mercy. "I was wrong. I shouldn’t have... I’m sorry. I’ve already tasted the bitter consequences. I’m begging you, please let me go. I’m a victim of a scheme too. It was... it was Qin Mei! The main culprit who caused all this is Qin Mei! Go find her, go punish her! I beg you, let me go."

Punish Qin Mei? Jie Jingwei certainly didn’t have the guts for that. Thinking back to last night, the look in his eyes shifted. The more Lin Yaru resisted, the more it aroused his possessiveness. It provided a uniquely twisted thrill. Compared to Xu Chunyan, who had been completely submissive to him, Jie Jingwei was much more interested in her.