1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 97: The Youth of Eighteen, Frozen in This Moment

Wasn't Fudan University his first choice?

Lin Xiyu was a little nervous: "Tsinghua is ranked later, so it's not their turn in order."

"He's the top scorer in the province, so he's definitely different from us."

Wang Fan gave her a meaningful look: "As long as the file hasn't been taken away, anything is possible."

"Good grades mean you're awesome."

Qu Peng sighed with emotion: "I can choose any good school I want. Tsinghua University promised me a scholarship of 5 yuan a year, allowing me to pursue a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree in one year, and I can also study abroad on government scholarships."

Did he agree?

Lin Xiyu's palms were sweating nervously.

"do not know."

Qu Peng didn't notice anything unusual about her, and said with a smile, "With such good conditions, who wouldn't be tempted? If it were me, I would definitely agree."

"Look at your pathetic self!"

Wang Fan rolled his eyes at him disdainfully: "5 yuan is all you're worth? You're only worth that much."

"Is 5 too little?"

Qu Peng, being stubborn, argued with him: "When I go to university in Beijing, my dad only gives me 500 yuan a month for living expenses, while he gives me 5 yuan a year, and that's just the scholarship."

"Okay, stop talking."

Seeing that Lin Xiyu's face had turned pale, Wang Fan shoved him.

"Uh."

Qu Peng belatedly realized something was wrong and awkwardly shut his mouth.

"I'll wait for him in the principal's office."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to reveal more of her emotions in front of outsiders, so she turned around and ran into the teaching building.

"Are you dumb?"

Wang Fan watched her leave, glaring at Qu Peng with dissatisfaction: "She usually seems like a smart person, but she makes a fool of herself at a crucial moment, rambling on and on about so much nonsense in front of the class representative."

"I was just excited."

Qu Peng touched his nose sheepishly.

Wang Fan scoffed, "He's the top scorer in the province, what are you getting so excited about?"

Qu Peng chuckled: "If he can go to Beijing, then he'll be studying in the same city as me."

"He won't go."

Wang Fan ruthlessly poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"why?"

Qu Peng asked, puzzled, "Just for Lin Xiyu? Gu Bin doesn't seem like the type to give up his future for a woman, does he?"

"You're mistaken. He really is a romantic."

Wang Fan retorted irritably, a complex and unreadable light flashing in his eyes.

Others may not know the origin of the dragon bed, but he knows it perfectly well.

Although Gu Bin never mentioned this matter, he vaguely guessed that there was something fishy going on.

The thought of how deep that person's scheming was terrifying upon closer examination, and it involuntarily filled him with dread.

Before this happened, he could joke with him without restraint, relying on their years of friendship to compete with him for the woman he liked.

He really wouldn't dare to do it again. Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to pluck a tiger's tail, or he wouldn't even know how he died.

-

The teaching building, third floor.

Lin Xiyu hid at the corner of the stairwell, glancing towards the principal's office every now and then, nervously rubbing her hands together.

"Squeak."

The door opened, and a familiar figure walked out.

"Gu Bin".

Her eyes lit up, and she ran over happily.

"How long have you been waiting?"

Gu Bin recognized her, his lips curled up slightly, and he opened his arms to pull her into his embrace.

"I just arrived, not long ago."

Unable to contain her nervousness, Lin Xiyu asked impatiently, "Did you agree? To go to university in Beijing?"

Do you want me to go?

Gu Bin raised an eyebrow slightly, asking a question instead of answering.

"You decide for yourself"

Lin Xiyu swallowed hard, her words carrying a hint of insincerity: "No matter where you go, I'll support you."

"Really?"

Gu Bin didn't believe it: "Then why do you look like you're about to cry?"

No, I didn't cry.

Lin Xiyu was embarrassed and lowered her head awkwardly.

"I'll just say I'm reluctant to part with it."

Gu Bin jokingly said, "As long as you say you don't want me to go, I won't go."

"I"

After hesitating for a long time, Lin Xiyu finally uttered two words: "I don't want to."

"hehe."

Gu Bin smiled and affectionately pinched her cheek: "I knew you would say that, so..."

Lin Xiyu's eyes widened suddenly as she looked at him expectantly.

"I refused."

Gu Bin did not disappoint her, saying the words she most wanted to hear at that moment.

"Really?"

Lin Xiyu was overjoyed: "You're not lying to me?"

Gu Bin frowned slightly, feigning displeasure: "When have I ever lied to you?"

"Great."

Lin Xiyu was overjoyed: "We don't have to be separated anymore! We can go to school in Shanghai together! My wish has finally come true!"

"Your wish?"

Gu Bin astutely grasped the key point: "It seems the class representative has been eyeing me for a long time, huh? Did he already know I applied to Fudan University and deliberately apply to the same city as me?"

No, that's not true.

Lin Xiyu's ears turned red, and she glanced away guiltily.

"no?"

Gu Bin raised his voice slightly, expressing his doubt: "Why do I feel that what some people say is so unreliable?"

Why don't you want to go to school in Beijing?

Lin Xiyu didn't want him to see through her, so she turned the tables on him: "Don't tell me it's for my sake, I don't believe it."

"hehe."

Gu Bin was amused by her proud little appearance and frankly admitted, "Yes, I don't want to go to school in Beijing, not only for you, but also for my own reasons."

"what reason?"

Lin Xiyu thought to herself, "As expected." She knew she didn't have that much charm and couldn't influence his decision.

“BJ, I also have family.”

Gu Bin frowned slightly: "I don't want to jump from one cage to another. Only by moving to another city and getting away from them can I break free from the shackles of family ties and pursue the life I want."

"Your family is really big!"

Lin Xiyu felt a moment of sadness: "I also have relatives in Beijing, unlike me. I grew up with my maternal grandmother and have lost contact with my paternal grandfather's side of the family for many years."

"why?"

Gu Bin frowned, slightly surprised.

"The year my father died, my grandmother and my mother had a falling out over the compensation."

Lin Xiyu smiled bitterly: "They looked down on me because I wasn't a boy. They took all the compensation money and left us nothing. My mother was so angry about this that she insisted on having a son before she got married again and completely cut off contact with my grandmother's family."

"Is there still this?"

Gu Bin's eyes flashed with indignation: "Your grandma is going too far! Your father's compensation should rightfully belong to you all, why should she take it away?"

"It's because of the preference for sons over daughters."

Lin Xiyu lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, then asked teasingly, "Isn't your family like this too? If your maternal grandfather hadn't favored boys over girls, would you have the surname Gu?"

"Cough cough."

Gu Bin coughed awkwardly twice, a feeling of heartache welling up inside him: "No wonder I've never heard you mention anything about Grandma's family before, so there's more to it than meets the eye."

"So many years have passed, and I've come to terms with it."

Lin Xiyu smiled with relief: "What I care about most now is my family who raised me. My grandmother's safety and health are more important than anything else."

"Only Grandma?" Gu Bin feigned jealousy: "In your heart, there is no place for me."

"Have."

Lin Xiyu smiled slyly, gesturing with her hand to indicate a distance of one centimeter: "Just a tiny bit."

"so little?"

Gu Bin feigned displeasure: "From now on, I will love you even more than your grandmother, so that you will only see me in your heart and eyes."

"Okay."

Lin Xiyu winked playfully: "I'm looking forward to the day your wish comes true."

"Naughty."

Gu Bin laughed in exasperation, curling his fingers as if to give her a sharp rap on the head.

"Hurry up and come downstairs, it's time to take pictures."

Lin Xiyu smiled slyly and dodged away.

"No hurries?"

Gu Bin deliberately slowed his pace, hands in his pockets, looking both arrogant and cool: "If I don't go down, they won't take pictures."

"You don't want the whole class to wait for you alone, do you?"

Lin Xiyu rolled her eyes at him from behind and pushed him forward forcefully.

"This is the treatment given to the top scorer in the province."

Gu Bin enjoyed her attentive service and instead of being in a hurry, he walked even slower.

"You're good enough, I admire you."

The two were too far apart in height and weight, and after only a few steps, Lin Xiyu was already panting heavily and gave up on her plan to push the person down the stairs.

"You're already tired?"

Gu Bin was having a great time teasing her and stopped walking, wanting more.

"Cut~~"

Lin Xiyu muttered under her breath, somewhat frustrated, "Don't you know your own limitations? You're so heavy, who can move you?"

"Are you scolding me?"

Gu Bin suddenly turned around, narrowed his eyes, and looked at her coolly.

"No."

Lin Xiyu categorically denied it.

"You were a little naughty today."

Gu Bin suddenly lifted the person onto his shoulders with both hands.

"Ahhh, let me down!"

The next second, Lin Xiyu felt dizzy and her terrified scream echoed throughout the corridor.

"hehe."

Gu Bin laughed mockingly, ignoring her struggles, and carried her downstairs.

-

When the two arrived on the first floor, the other students in the class had already lined up and were ready to take photos.

Gu Bin put her down as he walked out of the stairwell, avoiding a public embarrassment, which gave Lin Xiyu some comfort.

"Xi Yu, I'm here."

Wu Meng's eyes lit up when she saw the two of them, and she stretched out her arm to greet Lin Xiyu.

Her meaning was clear: she wanted her to stand by her side.

"coming."

Lin Xiyu didn't hesitate and ran over there, following her heart.

"whee."

When Wu Meng saw her coming, she smiled and her eyes crinkled, and she affectionately took her arm.

The homeroom teacher deliberately arranged for Lin Xiyu to stand in the middle of the front row.

Wu Meng benefited from her presence and was able to stand in the center position for once.

Gu Bin was tall, so he stood on a stool and joined a group of boys in the last row.

The students lined up, and the teachers came over one after another and sat down in turn.

The principal and the dean of students were seated right in front of Lin Xiyu and Wu Meng.

When Wu Meng looked down at the two executives' noticeably bald, shiny foreheads for the first time, she almost burst out laughing.

Fortunately, Lin Xiyu covered her mouth in time, preventing the teachers from turning their heads.

"Look at the camera, cheese!"

The teacher in charge of taking photos hilariously shouted out a classic line.

The students cooperated very well, smiling broadly as they followed his commands.

The graduation season for senior high school students; the youth of eighteen years old is frozen in this moment.

-

The summer heat was oppressive, and then it started to drizzle again at night.

The next morning, as the rain gradually subsided, before Lin Xiyu and her cousin had even gotten out of bed, her aunt entered the house crying.

"What, divorce?"

When Grandma heard why Auntie had come, her voice instantly rose eight octaves.

"I want a divorce."

The aunt wiped away her tears, heartbroken: "I can't live like this anymore."

"No, Mom!"

My cousin jumped up from the floor in shock: "Why are you getting a divorce? I've only been away from home for a short time, how did you and Dad end up like this?"

"Why didn't you say so sooner, given how things have turned out?"

After my aunt explained the whole story, Grandma was furious.

"I didn't expect that either."

The aunt complained indignantly, "He actually stayed at that woman's house for two days in a row and didn't come back."

"You're not a kid anymore, but you've lost all your drive and are still so impulsive."

Grandma's face was very unpleasant, and she kept scolding her: "She's just a female colleague, what's wrong with getting close to her? You didn't catch them sleeping together, how can you believe what you hear?"

"I didn't just hearsay."

Auntie gritted her teeth in hatred: "Aunt Zhang saw him leave that woman's house with her own eyes. He didn't go home after work, but went to a widow's house. What good thing could he be doing?"

Even so, we can't lock the door and prevent him from coming home.

Grandma tapped her with a palm-leaf fan: "Aren't you just pushing him away by doing this? He has nowhere to go at night, so he'll have no choice but to go to that woman's house?"

"He was the one who started having an affair with that woman."

The aunt wailed at the top of her lungs, "Why do you always talk about me? I'm your daughter!"

"Didn't you understand what Mom meant?"

Grandma scolded her impatiently, "Don't make trouble before you figure things out. It's wrong of you not to let him come home. What will happen to Liu Jian and Lei Lei if we really get divorced? Have you thought about the two children?"

"I can't take this breath."

The aunt was full of resentment: "He and that woman have been together for who knows how long. If Aunt Zhang hadn't told me, I would have been kept in the dark and made a laughing stock of myself."

Go now.

Grandma waved him away, saying, "Call him here. I want to ask him in person."

"I dont go."

The aunt stood there motionless: "He made a mistake, why should I bow down to him?"

Grandma was so angry she wanted to hit her again: "You don't even know what their relationship is, and you still have the nerve to talk back?"

"Mom, if my eldest sister doesn't want to go, then so be it."

The uncle was also awakened by the crying and came out of the inner room: "I'm going to find my brother-in-law and ask him what happened."

"Go ahead."

Grandma was so angry with her eldest daughter that she had a headache and waved her hand weakly.

"Mom, don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Fearing that his mother would get sick from the anger, the uncle ran out of the house in the rain without even washing up.

-

My aunt's husband is a kind person. He does well in the railway art troupe and gets along well with his colleagues.

He has a female colleague who has been widowed for many years and is raising her daughter alone, making life quite difficult.

The two lived in the same dormitory and often went to the countryside and performed in various places together, so they became familiar with each other over time.

When a female colleague was in trouble, her uncle was happy to help. Over time, this was noticed by outsiders, and gossip inevitably started to circulate.

The day before yesterday, my female colleague's daughter fell ill, and her uncle helped her take her to the hospital. He got home a little late, and our neighbor, Aunt Zhang, who is very talkative, spread the gossip to my aunt's ears.

(End of this chapter)