Jie Jingchen glanced sideways at Qin Mei. "Your older brother is your side of the family. He came to our house to see you, so naturally, we’ll have him stay in our room."

There was nothing wrong with that statement. Qin Mei thought for a moment and asked worriedly, "Aren’t you afraid your Grandpa and Granny will come make a scene?"

"Can they even make a scene? They’re Mom and Dad’s guests, not our guests." Jie Jingchen stressed the word "guests."

Qin Xiang was a guest, and so were Grandpa and Granny. But Qin Xiang was *his* guest, while Grandpa and Granny were not. It was perfectly reasonable for him to arrange for Qin Xiang to stay in their room. Even his parents couldn’t say a word against it, let alone Grandpa and Granny.

"But..."

"No buts. We’ve moved out on our own. How we live in our own little home is none of their business. Besides, Mom gave us that room. It’s our room, so we call the shots." Jie Jingchen cut Qin Mei off and ruffled her hair. His hands were full, so he had Qin Mei get out her key. "Open the door."

Qin Mei took the key from her crossbody bag, unlocked the door, and opened it. The smell of medicine hit her nose. Qin Mei looked at the messy room. "I’ll tidy up."

"I’ll clean up. You go chat with your older brother. He hasn’t seen you in so long, he must have a lot he wants to say to you," Jie Jingchen said thoughtfully.

Qin Mei shook her head. She would rather clean the room than go out and chat with Qin Xiang. "I have amnesia. What would I even talk to him about?"

"He’s your older brother; you’ll find something to talk about. Maybe as you two chat, you’ll remember something." A warm smile touched Jie Jingchen’s lips, his gaze gentle as he looked at her.

’Is he really forcing me to go out and have an awkward chat with Qin Xiang?’ Qin Mei crossed her arms, leaned against the doorframe, and looked up at Jie Jingchen. A hint of sarcasm flashed in her almond-shaped eyes as she asked, "Jie Jingchen, do you really want me to get my memory back?"

Jie Jingchen froze, the smile stiffening on his lips. ’How could he possibly want her to regain her memory? He’d fallen in love with her *after* she lost it, not the person she was before.’ "Whether I want you to or not isn’t important. What’s important is whether *you* want to."

Qin Mei felt like Jie Jingchen was dodging the question. The topic was too heavy. Qin Mei waved her hand and glanced inside the room. "I’ll clean up instead. Don’t mess up my medicinal herbs."

Jie Jingchen thought about it and didn’t insist. He carried Qin Xiang’s luggage into the room. He wanted to help, but Qin Mei wouldn’t let him. One person was enough to clean the room; if they both did it, it would be obvious to Qin Xiang that they were deliberately avoiding him.

Jie Jingchen made tea in an enamel mug and brought it out to Qin Xiang in the courtyard.

Qin Xiang was sitting in a wicker chair under a tree, his eyes closed, comfortably basking in the sun. "The sun in Shijiu City feels so nice. Not like our Yangcheng City, where the sun is vicious. If you’re out in it for less than an hour, you’re guaranteed to get sunburned and peel."

"Come summer, the midday sun here is just as vicious." Jie Jingchen sat down next to Qin Xiang.

Qin Xiang opened his eyes, shot Jie Jingchen a sideways glance, and asked, "Where’s my little sister?"

"She’s cleaning the room for you," Jie Jingchen replied.

Qin Xiang was startled and sat up straight. "For real? My little sister knows how to clean a room?"

Qin Xiang was highly skeptical. His little sister was the youngest child, the daughter their parents had longed for after so many hopes and wishes. They doted on this long-awaited daughter endlessly. The entire Qin Family spoiled her, and in their eyes, she had been spoiled rotten.

"Don’t underestimate your little sister." Jie Jingchen glanced at him. Qin Mei was great. Aside from not being able to cook, not liking to do laundry, or clean the house, Jie Jingchen felt she could do anything.

To put it bluntly, she just wasn’t good at housework.

"Impressive." Qin Xiang gave Jie Jingchen a thumbs-up, looking at him with a face full of admiration. "My little sister is skilled at taming husbands, and you’re skilled at taming wives."

Jie Jingchen’s thin lips tightened, and he said nothing.

Qin Xiang’s expression suddenly turned serious. He glanced in the direction where Qin Mei was cleaning, then looked at Jie Jingchen and asked, "Brother, give it to me straight. Are you and my little sister putting on an act for me?"

"An act?" Jie Jingchen raised an eyebrow.

Qin Xiang made a fist and gave Jie Jingchen a light punch on the chest. "We’re good brothers. What’s there to hide from me? To be honest with you, I came to Shijiu City to see you guys with a mission."

An unreadable emotion settled in Jie Jingchen’s amber eyes. He stared at Qin Xiang without a word, waiting for what he would say next.

"My little sister drugged you and forced you to marry her. That story caused a massive uproar in our village. We were practically drowning in gossip. Thankfully, my sister has done so many rotten things over the years that we’ve all built up a resistance. Otherwise, Mom and Dad would have been angered to death by her. They’ve become immune to the village’s condemnation, too. But the drugging thing... my sister was a real bastard for that. Mom and Dad were completely disappointed in her, which is why they haven’t meddled in her affairs since you got married." The more Qin Xiang spoke, the more indignant he became.