1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 91 Sunrise, overflowing with boyfriend charm
Jade Emperor Peak.

Before dawn, on the solitary peak, the cold wind howled and thick fog filled the air, with layers of white clouds enveloping the entire mountain like smoke.

The crowd fell into a deathly silence, and their mood sank to the bottom with each passing second.

Why hasn't the sun come out yet?

"Could it be a cloudy day, so we can't see the sunrise?"

"No way! We finally made it up here, it would be so tragic to not see the sunrise!"

"I want to cry, is that okay?"

As the clock ticked toward 6 a.m., those who had been enduring the ordeal for an hour finally lost their patience. Some, unable to contain their resentment, began to grumble indignantly.

"The sun is coming out!"

Suddenly, a red sun miraculously broke through the clouds and appeared before everyone's eyes.

The enormous red disc seemed almost within reach, as if it were right in front of you.

The clouds and mist dissipated in an instant, revealing a dazzling red that was visually striking and awe-inspiring.

"so beautiful!"

"beautiful."

The crowd immediately became excited, cheering and raising their arms as if they had been injected with adrenaline, with wave after wave of shouts.

Lin Xiyu was among them, jumping and skipping around happily.

"Hey beautiful, wanna take a picture?"

A small vendor who makes a living by taking photos squeezed in front of her, holding up several photos that had already been taken: "Five yuan for a quick snapshot, keep it as a souvenir."

"Five yuan is so expensive."

Lin Xiyu was reluctant to spend the money and hesitated.

"Like this, holding the red sun in one's hands."

The vendor continued his persuasion: "This little girl is so pretty, she'll look like a fairy in the photos."

Let's take two pictures.

Gu Bin was delighted to hear this and agreed on her behalf: "I don't have any photos of you yet. It's a rare opportunity for you to come all this way, it would be a shame not to take any."

"There are so many people."

Lin Xiyu looked around helplessly: "How am I supposed to take a picture? Aren't they all just group photos anyway?"

"There's no space on that rock, I'll carry you up."

Gu Bin, displaying his incredible boyfriend-like strength, lifted her up with both arms as he spoke.

"what"

Before Lin Xiyu could even gasp, he had already lifted her onto a rock as tall as an adult.

"That's impressive, young man."

The vendor looked at his strong, muscular arms and smacked his lips a few times with a hint of envy: "You lifted someone weighing over a hundred pounds like that. Judging by your height and physique, you must be a sports student, right?"

"Hurry up and take the picture."

Gu Bin didn't want to listen to his nonsense: "It's windy up there, so it's not advisable to stay too long."

"Okay, I'll take the picture now."

The vendor, focused on making money, didn't mind his coldness at all. He raised his hand to demonstrate for Lin Xiyu: "Little girl, take off your military coat, right palm up, facing the sun, and make a lifting motion."

"Ah."

Lin Xiyu had just taken off her military overcoat when the cold wind made her sneeze.

"Hurry up."

Gu Bin, annoyed by the vendor's rambling, urged him on.

"We filmed it right away."

The vendor grinned, holding up his camera: "Little girl, smile, and on my command, say 'cheese'!"

"Click."

Lin Xiyu smiled as instructed, and the vendor pressed the shutter, freezing the moment in time.

-

"Perfect, so perfect."

"She's beautiful from every angle, no bad angles."

"One more, one more!"

The photo was automatically printed, and the effect was surprisingly good, attracting many people to come and watch.

The vendor keenly seized the business opportunity and shamelessly pestered Lin Xiyu to take a few more photos, intending to secretly keep one for himself to attract customers.

Gu Bin could easily see through his little scheme, so he took all the photos without ceremony and paid the bill.

The vendor was reluctant, but fortunately, the beautiful woman attracted attention and people began to imitate Lin Xiyu's actions, taking photos while standing on the rocks.

With money to be made, he gave up the idea of ​​stealing photos and focused on taking pictures for his customers.

"Xi Yu, you took such a beautiful photo."

Wu Meng was envious and wanted to get a photo too: "Give me one, I want to keep a souvenir."

"No."

Without waiting for Lin Xiyu's reply, Gu Bin stuffed the photo into his pocket, refusing decisively.

"Xi Yu, isn't he too domineering?"

Wu Meng complained indignantly, "You didn't even give me a single photo! I'm your best friend, after all. We've been classmates for three years, and you don't even value a single photo?"

"How about we give her one?"

Lin Xiyu was both amused and exasperated, and tried to discuss it with Gu Bin.

"No."

Gu Bin's answer remained resolute.

"Why should I?"

Wu Meng jumped up in anger: "I am Xi Yu's rightful best friend. You don't even have that title yet, so what right do you have to compete with me?"

"puff."

Qu Peng was thoroughly enjoying the show when he heard this and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of water.

Li Liang was embarrassed to laugh, his shoulders trembling as he struggled to hold it in.

"Hahaha."

Wang Fan, without any restraint, slapped his thigh and laughed so hard he almost fell over.

How do you know I don't have a formal status?

Gu Binjun's face darkened, seemingly interrogating Wu Meng, but his cold gaze was fixed on Lin Xiyu: "Who told you?"

"not me."

Lin Xiyu's heart skipped a beat, and she decisively distanced herself: "I didn't say that."

"Does she even need to say that?"

Wu Meng said confidently, "I don't need to guess to know. If you already have a formal relationship, how could Xu Yi not know? The fact that he always calls you Brother Bin is solid proof."

Is there anything wrong with calling him Brother Bin?

Wang Fan was amused and deliberately tried to get information out of her.

"That's definitely not right."

Wu Meng raised her eyebrows smugly and said something surprising: "Brother Bin is an outsider, brother-in-law is family. Calling him brother means you have no real status."

"Pfft."

Qu Peng couldn't help but burst out laughing again.

"Sure, Wu Meng."

Wang Fan felt relieved and gave a thumbs-up to express his admiration: "We underestimated you before. It turns out you are the smartest one in our class."

"Where's Xiao Yi?"

Gu Bin's face darkened completely. He looked around, searching for Xu Yi.

"Don't argue with a child."

Lin Xiyu smiled and scolded, "He's only 8 years old, what does he know?"

"Teach until you understand."

Gu Bin frowned, searching around but unable to find Xu Yi, a bad feeling rising within him.

"Hiss, where's Xiao Yi?"

Wang Fan was so engrossed in watching the spectacle that he didn't realize Xu Yi was nowhere to be seen until now.

"You were just here a moment ago? Where did you go?"

Qu Peng realized something was wrong and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, don't scare your sister, come back quickly."

Lin Xiyu was shocked that her younger brother had disappeared in just a few photos, and her voice changed from worry.

"Everyone search separately."

Without thinking twice, Gu Bin squeezed through the crowd first.

Qu Peng and the others scattered to help search for him. "Xiao Yi, where are you?"

"Excuse me, have you seen an 8-year-old boy? He's not very tall, has big eyes and a pointed chin, and seems quite clever."

Lin Xiyu was extremely worried and searched almost the entire mountaintop, but still couldn't find her younger brother.

"How come there's no one here?"

Where did Xiao Yi go?

"Is nothing going to happen?"

"This mountain is so high, what if someone falls down?"

"What are you saying, you jinx?"

"This isn't just bad luck; we've been searching for so long and haven't found it yet. Anything could have happened."

"Stop searching aimlessly, just call the police, or you can ask the景区 staff for help."

"I think so too. It would be even more troublesome if she were kidnapped."

Time ticked by, and an hour later, still no clues had been found, and everyone's spirits sank to rock bottom.

"No, Xiao Yi will be alright. I'm going down the mountain to find him. Maybe he can't find us and has already gone down the mountain on his own."

Lin Xiyu was on the verge of a breakdown and rushed down the steps without thinking.

"Boys, come down the mountain with me. Girls, take the cable car. We'll meet at the Red Gate when we get down."

Gu Bin didn't have time to say more and led a group of boys to chase after them.

"Ah, they just left like that."

"Are you abandoning us?"

The boys were fast, and the girls chased after them for a few steps, but couldn't catch up. They watched helplessly as the boys ran further and further away until they disappeared from sight.

-

As noon approached, the exhausted group, who had rushed down from the mountaintop in one breath, finally heard the good news.

A loudspeaker hanging in the visitor center at Zhongtian Gate broadcasted a welcome announcement: "Xu Yi's family, your child is waiting for you at the visitor center. Please come to the visitor center to claim him after hearing this announcement."

"It's Xiao Yi! Xiao Yi is at the visitor center!"

Lin Xiyu was both surprised and delighted to hear the broadcast. Her tense heart relaxed, and she felt as if she had been suffocated. Her legs went weak, and she fell down the steps.

"Xi Yu."

Gu Bin was both distressed and annoyed that he couldn't catch her in time.

"Sister, sister!"

Xu Yi saw this scene from the middle gate of the tourist area and ran out crying.

"Xiaoyi."

Ignoring the pain from her wound, Lin Xiyu forced herself to get up and hugged her younger brother.

"Xiao Yi, why are you running around like that?"

"That scared us to death."

"In my eighteen years of life, I've never experienced as much fright as I have this morning."

"How did you manage to come down from the mountaintop all by yourself?"

"It's a miracle I wasn't kidnapped."

Qu Peng and a group of boys gathered around, expressing their unspeakable shock in a flurry of voices.

"You're Xu Yi's sister?"

Two officers in summer uniforms then emerged from the visitor center.

"Yes."

Lin Xiyu recognized the two people and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"This little kid is quite interesting. He quietly followed the group and trailed us down the mountain."

An officer explained with a smile, "If our soldiers hadn't noticed something was wrong and asked him about his situation, we wouldn't have known that he had gotten lost from his family."

"Xiaoyi."

Lin Xiyu found it unbelievable: "Why did you go down the mountain with them?"

"I, I, I just think they look really cool in their military uniforms."

Xu Yi blushed and muttered shyly, "I got so engrossed in watching them that I followed them."

"Holy crap, you can't even do that?"

"I can't figure out the reason even if I rack my brains?"

"The little guy is so fascinated by military uniforms, he should join the army when he grows up."

"I think it's a good idea. This kid is incredibly bold and energetic; he's got the makings of a soldier."

Qu Peng and the other boys were stunned by the truth and had a long speech of their feelings.

"Which unit are you from?"

Gu Bin was meticulous and wanted to thank the soldiers for their help.

"The Twelfth Division".

The officer in charge didn't think much of it and told him the truth.

"Are you from the 12th Division?"

Gu Bin was pleasantly surprised: "What a coincidence! My older brother is in the 13th Flight Squadron, which is very close to your place, also at Zhangzhuang Airport in the western suburbs."

Who is your older brother?

The officer's eyes lit up: "What's your name? Maybe we know each other."

"Fu Zheng".

Gu Bin thought for a moment and then said, "He's not very old; he's still a trainee pilot."

"Fu Zheng?!"

Upon hearing this, the officer's expression changed drastically: "Your elder brother is Fu Zheng? Old Master Fu's grandson?"

"Yes."

Gu Bin did not hide anything and readily admitted it.

"The old man is my former boss."

The officer became more and more excited as he spoke, looking at Gu Bin with great enthusiasm: "I've met your older brother a few times. He's very handsome and looks a lot like the old man when he was young."

"Really? What a coincidence."

Not wanting to attract attention, Gu Bin gave them a subtle signal with his eyes and then went with them to a less crowded area to chat privately.

-

"Is Gu Bin's grandfather that awesome?"

"It seems so. I've heard Qu Peng and the others mention it before."

"His maternal grandfather was a leader, and so was his paternal grandfather. They're both that capable?"

"His family has a truly powerful background, you'd never guess. The most influential one, I heard, is in Beijing."

"Holy crap, what kind of family is this? If word got out, it would scare a lot of people to death."

"In that case, wouldn't the gap between Lin Xiyu and him be even wider? A daughter from a humble family wanting to marry into a wealthy family is simply out of the question."

"Love is all about fate, right? Our class monitor is beautiful, academically excellent, and getting into a prestigious university is like a chicken turning into a phoenix. Who wouldn't want a daughter-in-law like that?"

"Your family may find college students from prestigious universities rare, but others may not. Haven't you seen how eagerly the mayor's daughter is waiting for them? There are plenty of elegant ladies from prominent families who want to marry into their families."

As soon as the three left, the boys in the class started a new round of gossip.

They made no attempt to be discreet and deliberately kept their volume low. When the sound reached Lin Xiyu's ears, she froze, her face gradually losing color.

"What nonsense are you all spouting?"

Qu Peng, with his sharp eyes, noticed the change in her expression and reprimanded her sternly: "Aren't you tired from running down the mountain? You still have the energy to stand here gossiping?"

"Get out of here, don't get in my way."

Although Wang Fan shared the same thoughts as them, he still couldn't bear to see Lin Xiyu's pale face and kept giving them meaningful glances.

"Hehehe, class monitor, don't be angry."

"Isn't that why Xiao Yi is so happy to have found it?"

"We're leaving right now, we're leaving right now!"

The group of boys, after being stared at by the class monitor's death stare, finally realized what was happening and, shamelessly, quickly left.

"Everyone who helped find the person today will receive a reward. Thank you all. Each of you can have two drinks to start with. We'll have a proper meal together after we get down the mountain to treat everyone."

After Gu Bin finished talking with the two officers, he stopped a group of boys on his way back. He took out a hundred-yuan bill from his backpack, handed it to one of them, and gestured for them to take it to buy drinks.

"Great!"

"Thank you, Brother Bin."

The boys were very happy and rushed into the visitor center as soon as they got the money.

-

Goodbye, Uncle PLA!

Xu Yi watched the procession descend the mountain and waved goodbye to them with reluctance.

(End of this chapter)