Chapter 337: Chapter 124: Belated Dowry (Part 3)

"Don’t worry, Second Daughter-in-law Jing is a smart woman. She won’t do anything that harms her own interests," Mr. Xie said with conviction. "She made a wise choice when it came to that business with Zhang Hongying."

Mrs. Xie fell silent. She couldn’t deny Xu Chunyan’s role in this. While Xu Chunyan had acted out of self-interest, at least that self-interest had led her to wisely switch allegiances. If Xu Chunyan had helped Zhang Hongying, the family might have truly fallen apart.

Looking refreshed after his shower, Qin Xiang stood at the doorway and called out to Qin Mei, "Little sis."

Qin Mei opened her eyes and turned to look at Qin Xiang. He was waving at her, gesturing for her to come over.

"My brother’s calling me," Qin Mei said to Jie Jingchen.

"Go on," Jie Jingchen said, stopping his massage and patting her on the shoulder.

Qin Mei stood and walked over to Qin Xiang. After a moment’s thought, Jie Jingchen followed her.

"What’s up?" Qin Mei asked.

"I’ve got something for you." Qin Xiang turned and went inside. Qin Mei glanced back at Jie Jingchen, who had followed them, before stepping over the threshold into the room.

"What is it? Don’t tell me it’s money," Qin Mei asked casually. ’Ever since I came back to the Xie family with Jingchen, all I’ve gotten is either cash or savings passbooks. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are like a pair of cash-dispensing gods. With money to spend and savings in the bank, I don’t even feel like working hard anymore. I just want to lie flat.’

’But considering what the future holds, if I lie flat now, I’ll fall behind the times and be completely washed up.’

The corner of Qin Xiang’s mouth twitched. ’Has her mouth been blessed by a psychic or something?’ he wondered. ’She guessed it right on the first try.’

Qin Xiang pulled a thick wad of ten-yuan bills from his army-green bag. "This is your dowry from Grandpa and Granny."

Qin Mei was stunned. She took the money numbly. ’Experience tells me this is a thousand yuan. People from Yangcheng City are notoriously patriarchal, obsessed with having sons, especially elderly folks like Grandpa and Granny. For a granddaughter’s wedding, even a single ten-yuan bill as a dowry wouldn’t have seemed stingy to me.’

’But a thousand yuan? That’s completely unexpected.’

’A thousand yuan in this day and age, especially from the countryside! It’s a fortune!’

’People earn work points just to barely have enough food and clothing for the year. Saving money is basically impossible. How on earth did the original Qin Mei’s grandparents manage to save this much?’

’I’m reminded of Jie Jingchen’s grandpa and granny. Did they also swindle their daughters-in-law? Jie Jingchen’s granny scammed his first aunt out of her money to give it to her grandson, Jie Anlin. I can understand that kind of patriarchal favoritism. But the original Qin Mei’s grandparents giving money to *her*, a granddaughter? That I don’t understand.’

For the first time, the money in Qin Mei’s hands felt incredibly heavy. ’This is money my grandparents saved by pinching every penny. I don’t feel right taking it.’

"Brother, I can’t take this," Qin Mei said, trying to hand the money back to Qin Xiang. "I appreciate the thought from Grandpa and Granny, I really do, but I can’t accept this money. Please take it back to them."

"Stop being so dramatic." Qin Xiang shoved the money back into her hands. "Just take it. You’ve been conning them out of their money since we were kids. Acting all polite now just feels hypocritical, even to me."

Qin Mei glared at Qin Xiang. ’Hypocritical? I’m being completely sincere, okay?’

"I don’t want Grandpa and Granny’s money," Qin Mei insisted, tossing the cash at Qin Xiang.

Qin Xiang caught it and started stuffing it into his pocket. "If you don’t want it, I’ll take it. When I get home and they ask, I’ll just tell them you accepted it with a big smile."

Qin Mei was not about to let that happen. Seeing the money already halfway into his pocket, she lunged forward and snatched it back. "Gimme that!"

"I thought you didn’t want it?" Qin Xiang said, grinning at her.

"I don’t want it, but letting you get it for free? Dream on." Qin Mei glared at Qin Xiang. ’Since he’s going to tell them I took it anyway, I might as well actually take it.’

Qin Xiang shrugged nonchalantly and pulled out two more wads of bills from his bag. "This is your dowry from Mom and Dad."

Qin Mei accepted it gleefully. ’Money from Mom and Dad? I can take that with a clear conscience. Two thousand yuan, just like that. They’re so generous!’

"This is your dowry from our eldest brother and sister-in-law." Qin Xiang then handed Qin Mei two more wads of cash from the bag.

Qin Mei was taken aback. ’Eldest brother is giving me two thousand yuan? Doesn’t his wife have anything to say about that?’ "Please thank our eldest brother and sister-in-law for me."

"And this is your dowry from our second brother and his wife." Qin Xiang handed her another two wads of bills.

Qin Mei accepted it, feeling a bit numb now. "Please thank our second brother and his wife for me."

"This is your dowry from our third brother and his wife." Qin Xiang placed yet another two wads of cash into her hands.

"Thank our third brother and his wife for me," Qin Mei recited mechanically.

Now holding nine wads of cash, Qin Mei couldn’t manage them all and asked Jie Jingchen for help.

Jie Jingchen took off his jacket without a word. Qin Mei piled the money into it, then turned to stare at Qin Xiang and asked bluntly, "And yours?"

"You little money-grubber." Qin Xiang produced two more wads for her. "Here. This is my part of your dowry."

"Thanks," Qin Mei said, beaming as she took it and immediately handed it over to Jie Jingchen. She then looked back at Qin Xiang. "Anymore?"

"That’s it," Qin Xiang said, shaking his head.

Qin Mei did a quick calculation. Eleven thousand yuan. A very auspicious number, symbolizing that she was "one in a million."

Qin Mei pulled Jie Jingchen back to their room, leaving Qin Xiang to shake his head in resignation.

Back in the room, Qin Mei stashed the money away and admired her little personal treasury with satisfaction.

"Meimei," Jie Jingchen called out.

Qin Mei paused in the middle of locking up the money. She turned to look at Jie Jingchen, who was standing right behind her. "What did you just call me?"

"Meimei," he replied, then asked, "Is there a problem?"

Qin Mei raised an eyebrow. "Don’t call me that. I’m not used to it. Just stick to Qin Mei."

"Alright, Meimei." ’I don’t want to call her by her full name,’ Jie Jingchen thought. ’We’re supposed to grow old together. I want to call her by an affectionate name, Meimei.’

Qin Mei stared at him, speechless. ’Fine, whatever. It’s just a name. He can call me what he wants.’

"Meimei." Jie Jingchen wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Meimei, you shouldn’t call me by my full name, either. If other people hear you, they’ll think we’re not on good terms."

Qin Mei rolled her eyes. ’As if we’re on such great terms.’ "What do you want me to call you, then?"

"Anything, as long as it’s not my full name." His standards weren’t high. He nuzzled the side of her neck suggestively with the tip of his nose.

Qin Mei thought about it seriously. "Jing Chen?" she asked.

"That works," said Jie Jingchen.

"Or maybe Jing Si?" Qin Mei asked.

"Either is fine," Jie Jingchen replied.

"Jie Jingsi," Qin Mei called out.

Jie Jingchen’s brow furrowed, and he gave her neck a gentle nip.

"Jie Jingsi," she repeated, shrinking away. It didn’t hurt, but it tickled.

"Meimei," he said, clearly displeased. Qin Mei, however, was quite pleased with herself.

Just as Jie Jingchen was about to punish her, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Qin Xiang’s voice.

"Sis."

"Jie Jingsi, let me go! My brother is calling me." Qin Mei tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge.

Jie Jingchen held her fast, spinning her around to face him with a swift movement. He bent down and gave her red lips a quick peck before reluctantly letting her go.

"Sis, can I come in?" Qin Xiang asked from outside.

"It’s not locked," Jie Jingchen called out in a low voice, taking a step back to put some distance between himself and Qin Mei.

Qin Mei raised an eyebrow at him. ’Was that really necessary? He’s making it look like we were having some secret affair.’

Qin Xiang pushed the door open, grinning at Qin Mei. "Sis, I still haven’t given your parents-in-law their first-meeting gifts."

"You don’t need to give them anything," Jie Jingchen said.

Qin Xiang ignored him, stepping inside and grabbing Qin Mei’s arm to go with him.

"Are you rolling in it or something?" Jie Jingchen asked, catching up to them.

"That’s right, I am," Qin Xiang retorted, pulling Qin Mei along faster. It was his first visit to his sister’s new home, and even though he and Jing Si were best buds, he couldn’t skip the proper etiquette.

He’d thought about buying presents, but he had no idea what to get, so he decided to just give them cash in red envelopes instead.

A small smile played on Jie Jingchen’s lips. "If you’re so rich, give some to me."

"In your dreams," Qin Xiang shot back, glancing over his shoulder to glare at Jie Jingchen. "By all rights, you’re the one who should be giving *me* a big red envelope."

"You’ll get one, I promise." Jie Jingchen wouldn’t dream of shorting his brother-in-law. After all, Qin Xiang was practically the one who set him and Qin Mei up. If it hadn’t been for Qin Xiang, he never would have met her.