1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 116 Buying a house, does it mean you like my sister?

"It's not too late to get a divorce now."

My cousin was indignant: "Why stay with someone like that? Anyway, you've already had a son, and someone will take care of you in your old age. You might as well just get a divorce."

"Divorce should be based on personal wishes."

Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. Director Du wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, not daring to make a hasty judgment.

"Divorce is not good for Xiaoyi."

The aunt hesitated, saying, "He's still a child. His parents' divorce is bad for his development. Nowadays, many people still have old-fashioned ideas and look at others with prejudice. As soon as they hear that someone comes from a single-parent family, they feel contempt and gossip behind their backs, saying very hurtful things."

"I'm not afraid."

Xu Yi listened intently to the adults' conversation, and when he heard something related to himself, he immediately perked up: "Let them say whatever they want. I only care about my mom and my sister. As long as they're happy, I don't care what others say."

"Wow, that's impressive, little guy!"

Director Du chuckled and gave a thumbs-up in appreciation: "You've got the makings of a little man."

"hey-hey."

Xu Yi chuckled, tilted his head back, and gave his sister a flattering smile, waiting for her praise.

Lin Xiyu had already been healed by the two people who were sandwiched between her.

Standing in front of her, with his arm around her waist, was her well-behaved and adorable younger brother.

Standing behind her, close to her, was her gentle and considerate sweetheart.

The warmth from both sides flowed through her body like a gentle stream, soothing her heart comfortably.

"Xiao Yi is so good, sister is alright now."

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and, following her brother's little thoughts, affectionately patted his head: "With your words, even if I suffer any more grievances, it's all worth it."

"Sister, I want to live with you from now on."

Xu Yi, despite his young age, was quite precocious. Upon hearing about renting a house, he also had the idea of ​​escaping the clutches of the father and daughter.

"Row."

Gu Bin answered for Lin Xiyu: "I asked your cousin to rent two houses. One of them was originally for you and your mother. From now on, you will be the only man in the family. You will have to take on the responsibility of looking after the house and protecting your mother and sister."

"How old is he?"

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded, "I'm speechless that you let an 8-year-old child watch the house."

"I can do it."

Xu Yi straightened his back to make himself appear taller: "Don't underestimate me just because I'm small. I'm very smart, and dealing with a tall, strong adult is a piece of cake for me."

"Heh, let's start blowing it now."

My cousin chuckled and said, "Who was hiding behind Grandma just now, too scared to show their face? You might as well have a dog to guard the house."

"It's not that you can't keep a dog."

Xu Yi's eyes lit up, and he seized the opportunity: "I like German Shepherds, so why don't we get one?"

"Hey."

My cousin laughed in exasperation: "So he thought I was praising him."

"Hahaha."

Director Du and the others were amused by his cousin's humorous tone, and the atmosphere in the courtyard immediately became lively, no longer so oppressive and dull.

"Xiao Bin, you young people should go eat."

Grandma took the opportunity to wink at Gu Bin, saying, "We elders won't go and join in the fun."

"Row."

Gu Bin glanced at Chen Xiulan and instantly understood his grandmother's deeper meaning.

The elders stayed behind, presumably to discuss the divorce; it's not appropriate for the younger generation to get involved.

"Director Du, let's go to the hotel together."

He turned around and greeted the crew with a smile.

"Aunt Jing, we're leaving now. Until we meet again."

"See you soon!"

Director Du and the others were all shrewd people. They quickly packed their things, said goodbye to Grandma, and slipped away faster than anyone else.

Li Liang pulled Wu Meng into the fray and also dragged Wang Fan away.

The Wang and Zhang families, who originally wanted to join in the fun, never expected this to happen. Fearing they would be disliked, they quietly returned to their rooms and closed their doors and windows.

In an instant, all the idlers in the courtyard disappeared, leaving only the family with heavy hearts.

"Xiulan, come in with me."

The smile on Grandma's face vanished instantly. She glanced at her second daughter with a complicated expression, then lifted the curtain and went inside.

"Xiulan, go inside quickly, don't make Mom angry."

The aunt sighed helplessly, grabbed her sister's arm, and pulled her inside.

"Xiulan, what are you really thinking?"

"Tell Mom the truth, are you going to get a divorce or not?"

“If you’re foolish again this time and swallow your pride, don’t come back. I’ll pretend I never had a daughter!”

Soon after, the sound of Grandma's stern rebuke and Chen Xiulan's mournful weeping came from the main room.

-

"Grandma is really angry this time."

My cousin craned her neck and kept looking out the window: "I haven't seen Grandma so angry in a long time. It seems she was really angered by that father and daughter."

Will Mom get a divorce?

Xu Yi also listened attentively.

"Should I?"

My cousin muttered under her breath, "They've been bullied like this, and they still won't get a divorce. That's not stupid, that's just plain dumb."

Is there a difference between being stupid and being foolish?

Xu Yi has completely confused her.

"Xiaoyi."

Lin Xiyu squatted down and looked earnestly into his eyes: "Do you want Mom to get a divorce?"

"I do not mind."

Xu Yi is still young and doesn't really understand the true meaning of divorce. He just wants to get rid of Xu Jie and stop being bullied by her.

"If you get divorced, you won't have a complete family anymore."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to lie to him: "You can only choose to be with either Dad or Mom. If they remarry in the future, you'll become a burden like your sister, the child who isn't liked by your stepmother or stepfather. Are you okay with that? Can you handle it?"

"I want my mom."

Xu Yi understood and grabbed her arm in a panic: "I want to stay with Mom, not Dad, no, absolutely not."

"No one can force you to do this unless you want to."

Gu Bin patted his little head reassuringly.

"Sister, will Mom remarry?"

No matter how clever Xu Yi was, he was still just an 8-year-old child. His little hand, which was gripping Lin Xiyu's arm, trembled slightly, revealing his fear.

"I do not know either."

Lin Xiyu gently shook her head: "We are just juniors, we can't make decisions for her, nor can we make decisions for her."

Xu Yi's eyes dimmed, his previous fearlessness gone.

"I hope my second aunt won't get married again."

My cousin couldn't bear it and whispered to comfort her, "She married Xu Weiguo out of spite, wanting to have a son. Now that she has a son, what else is she upset about? Why does she have to endure other people's coldness, raise their daughters, and work as a nanny?"

"We can't interfere in matters of the heart. Let's go eat first and not keep Director Du and the others waiting."

Gu Bin didn't want to eavesdrop, so he dragged his three siblings away, seemingly indifferent, but in reality, he had already taken the divorce to heart.

Xu Yi is already eight years old. If they really get divorced, Xu Weiguo will not give up custody. It will be difficult for the little guy to live with his mother legitimately.

-

"Sister Lei, come here."

Wang Fan's thoughts were also churning, and he gave his cousin a wink.

"What's the matter?"

My cousin mistakenly thought something had happened at the company and rushed over. "I'm skipping lunch, come with me somewhere."

Wang Fan walked out the gate, pointed to the motorcycle, and gestured for someone to get on.

"Row."

My cousin was taken aback for a moment, but because he was her boss, she didn't dare to be negligent and agreed without even frowning.

Wang Fan took a helmet out of the trunk and handed it to her; he also brought one for himself.

"Thanks to you, I'll also take a ride on a motorcycle."

My cousin had never ridden a motorcycle before, and she awkwardly climbed on the pedals.

"Sit tight."

Wang Fan stepped on the pedal, and the motorcycle roared away from the alley.

"Tsk, this guy."

Li Liang watched the two figures walk away and chuckled, teasingly remarking, "You value romance over friendship."

"What did they go to do?"

Hearing the sound of the motorcycle, Wu Meng chased after it from the yard.

"Leave them alone."

Li Liang guessed that Wang Fan's departure at this moment was probably related to Lin Xiyu's family matter, but he didn't want to say it outright: "The hotel is in Xixiang, shall we walk there or ride our bikes?"

"You ride, I'll ride on your bike."

Wu Meng was wearing a skirt, which made riding a bicycle inconvenient.

"Row."

Li Liang nodded resignedly, pushed out his bicycle, and waved to Xu Yi: "Xiao Yi, come here, I'll take you, sit in front."

His bicycle was a 28-inch model that could seat three people.

"I want to ride in my sister's car."

Xu Yi looked at Lin Xiyu expectantly.

"We're so close, there's no need to ride so many bikes."

Li Liang grabbed the boy by the collar and dragged the clueless little light bulb into the car.

"Hey, hey."

Xu Yi was dissatisfied with his domineering attitude and was about to struggle again when he saw his sister put her arm around Gu Bin's waist and sit on the back of his seat.

Xu Yi: "."

Heartbroken!
It feels like someone has stolen my sister away.

-

Qinglonghou Street is one of the earliest developed areas in Jinan. After the low-rise bungalows were demolished, high-rise buildings rose up from the ground.

Although it was only six stories high and had no elevator, it was considered a high-end building for that era.

Wang Fan took his cousin to a real estate development on Qinglong Back Street. They went straight to the point in the sales office and settled on two adjacent apartments in less than half an hour.

The two apartments are on different floors, with three units per floor.

It's a slightly larger three-bedroom apartment on the first floor with a small courtyard. It's 67 square meters, with good ventilation from north to south, two balconies, and a living room in the middle with no windows. The bathroom is very small, only big enough for one person to stand in.

The other unit is on the fourth floor, 46 square meters, in a central location with one elevator serving three households.

Two bedrooms face south, the living room faces north, and there is only one balcony.

The kitchen window faces the stairs. When each household cooks, the exhaust fan spins loudly, and the smell that comes out can be smelled by everyone in the building. It's really pungent.

Wang Fan wasn't very satisfied with the two-bedroom apartment, but due to the demolition of the old city area, there were many people buying houses recently, and all the good apartments had been taken.

If you don't choose these two, it will be difficult to find a ground-floor apartment with a small yard that is close by.

Moreover, he didn't want Lin Xiyu to know that he was renting his house. To make the whole thing a complete charade, buying two different apartments would make it easier to get away with it.

"Wang Fan, something feels off about you."

Her cousin witnessed his lavish spending of 130,000 yuan, and couldn't help but be suspicious: "Even if Gu Bin asked you to rent a place, you're being way too attentive. You wouldn't happen to be..."

Wang Fan's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition welled up inside him.

He simply disliked Xu Weiguo and his daughter and wanted to do something for the Chen family; he had no other ulterior motives.

Don't let anyone misunderstand that he also likes Lin Xiyu.

He dared not offend Gu Bin, who was a cunning Tyrannosaurus Rex who would really bite if pushed too far.

"You don't actually like him, do you?"

As he was pondering this, his cousin suddenly said something that nearly made him spit out blood.

"I like...who?"

"Gu Bin!"

His cousin's gaze towards him was filled with an unspoken, ambiguous feeling.

"Sister Lei, what are you thinking?"

Wang Fan looked incredulous: "I'm a straight guy, I change girlfriends every day, and I don't have the same one twice in a month, how could I like him?"

"If you don't like him, why are you being so attentive?"

His cousin didn't believe him and deliberately scratched him.

"Isn't it all for..."

In his haste, Wang Fan almost blurted out what was on his mind.

My cousin grinned slyly: "For whom?"

"for."

Wang Fanjun blushed and stammered.

"Wang Fan."

My cousin squinted at him suspiciously: "You don't happen to like my sister too, do you?"

"Cough cough."

Wang Fan was surprised that his cousin was so good at gossiping and actually guessed the truth.

"Is that really true?"

My cousin was pleasantly surprised: "No wonder you care so much about our family's affairs; it turns out you also have feelings for my sister."

"Sister Lei."

Wang Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly interrupted her: "You can't say things like that. Your sister and I are classmates. Isn't it normal for classmates to help each other out?"

"classmate?"

My cousin raised an eyebrow, looking completely disbelieving: "If you were saying you were doing this for Gu Bin's sake, I might believe you to some extent. But as classmates, to go this far? Who would believe that? You're kidding me!"

"Are you trying to make me admit that I like your sister?"

Wang Fan laughed angrily: "What good will it do you to go up against Gu Bin and be tortured to death by him?"

"this one"

My cousin suppressed a laugh and deliberately provoked him: "Let me think. Someone has something on me and doesn't want me to tell anyone. I'll have to give them something in return."

"You haven't gotten anything in return?"

Wang Fan was speechless with anger: "You've benefited the most. If it weren't for the fact that you're the class representative, I wouldn't be able to offer you such a high salary. A base salary of 1000 yuan plus extra commission, that's 2000 yuan a month. Even high-level executives in state-owned enterprises don't earn that much."

"So, you're admitting you like my sister."

My cousin deliberately made trouble for him, just to see him have a good time.

"Fine, fine, I'm not talking to you anymore."

Wang Fan was so angry with him that he got on his motorcycle and rode away like the wind.

"Hey, this kid's so easily provoked, he's really angry."

My cousin stroked her chin thoughtfully: "Being angry means it's true. He really likes Xiyu. Interesting. Two childhood friends falling for the same woman. Such a melodramatic thing, and I actually encountered it. I just don't know what Xiyu thinks. One is rich, the other is talented. How will she choose?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

No. 9, Donghua Street.

At 3 p.m., my cousin came back from outside with two rental contracts in a very professional manner.

"You've already rented a place so quickly?"

When my aunt saw the contract, her eyes almost popped out of her head.