1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 214: Two years of relationship came to a regretful end.

Zhao Yuncheng truly lives up to the boss's nickname for his two-faced SPY; he's quite adept at stalking and eavesdropping.

He staked out Li Xiao's house, followed him to and from get off work, and even went on dates with that woman. Within two days, he actually managed to uncover quite a bit of inside information.

Li Xiao's parents did introduce him to a blind date, and the female doctor had a very good impression of him and often asked him to meet.

Li Xiao still had feelings for her cousin, and deliberately told her about this, indeed with the intention of testing her.

My cousin refused to get married, and her firm attitude deeply hurt her. The two blamed each other for not understanding them, and their arguments escalated until they finally broke up.

Two years of relationship ended this way, and Li Xiao was heartbroken. To say she had no regrets would be a lie. However, her cousin was also a stubborn person who rarely asked for favors.

The two remained in this stalemate, enduring each day in agony.

Knowing the truth, Lin Xiyu took the initiative to call Li Xiao and arranged to meet him at a teahouse near Jiefang Pavilion.

The two chatted for a long time in the teahouse. Under her persuasion, Li Xiao rekindled her last hope and made an appointment with her to wait for her cousin in the teahouse.

Lin Xiyu then told her cousin that if she wanted to salvage the relationship, she must come to the teahouse before 9 p.m. to meet him.

My cousin received the call and fell into a long silence.

At this moment, she is on her way back to Jinan from Weihai, and she should arrive at 8 o'clock normally.

Unfortunately, fate was unkind, and a traffic accident occurred, causing a severe traffic jam.

Time ticked by, and the waiting person sank deeper into despair with each passing second.

The teahouse closed at 9 p.m. sharp.

Li Xiao stood up from the chair, took one last look in the direction of Liberation Pavilion, shook her head with a wry smile, and left the teahouse.

At the same time, my cousin raised her wrist to look at her watch in the car, gave a wry smile, and then closed her eyes to rest again.

Li Xiao got married in a flash, and held a wedding ceremony with the female doctor a month later.

My cousin didn't attend; she just sent him a flower basket with a bright red, festive blessing written on it, wishing him a long and happy marriage.

Their two-year relationship ended with regret.

My cousin then devoted all her energy to her career. Despite her aunt's constant nagging, she didn't meet a suitable partner until she was 35, when she got married and had children.

-

Wangfuchizi West Street.

"I've tutored Xiaoyi for two days. What do you think of him? Does he have the potential to get into his ideal school?"

Although Lin Xiyu deeply regretted her cousin's missed opportunity for love, as her cousin, she couldn't interfere too much in her relationship, and soon she put the matter out of her mind.

Now she is more concerned about her younger brother's studies. With the start of the new semester at the Shanghai vocational school approaching, she has to pack her bags and prepare to return to school.

Do you want to hear the truth, or...?

Gu Bin was helping her pack her luggage when he heard this and paused.

"Of course it's the truth."

Lin Xiyu smiled and gave him a reproachful look: "What's the point of listening to your flattery? It's more practical to buy you some gifts."

"Are you targeting me?"

Gu Bin chuckled teasingly: "You're upset that I didn't buy you a gift, so you want one."

"I'm asking about Xiaoyi's studies."

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded, "Stop talking nonsense and deliberately misinterpreting what I mean."

"Ugh."

Gu Bin sighed, feigning annoyance: "You might as well ask me for a gift instead."

"What's the matter?"

Lin Xiyu's heart skipped a beat, a bad premonition rising within her: "Is Xiaoyi not doing well in his studies? Is the tutoring ineffective?"

"It's not that it's bad; the child is quite smart."

Gu Bin looked conflicted, hesitating whether or not to tell the truth.

After all, he's not his own brother. If he says the wrong thing, he'll not only offend his wife, but also his mother-in-law, which would be even more detrimental to him as the son-in-law.

"Stop hesitating and just tell me."

Lin Xiyu could see through his thoughts at a glance: "If you don't tell the truth, you're the one who's really hurting Xiaoyi."

"You made me say it."

Gu Bin glanced at her cautiously, his unusually guilty expression amusing Lin Xiyu.

"Yes, yes, I told you to say it. Hurry up and pack your luggage, I still need to put Rui Rui to sleep."

Actually, I think...

Gu Bin no longer hid anything: "At Xiaoyi's current age, it's still too young to be in the first year of high school. The fact that he was able to skip a grade before was probably thanks to your mother. He's already used to cramming education, memorizing problem-solving steps and answers by rote. This method might work in junior high, but its drawbacks become apparent in high school."

"High school teachers advocate more independent learning, and their teaching methods are different from those of junior high school teachers. The pace is faster, and the amount of knowledge is also greater. Most importantly, given your mother's abilities, it's probably difficult for her to tutor high school courses anymore. She can only force him to do a lot of practice problems, trying to replicate the junior high school model to improve his grades."

"In high school, you can still use formulas to solve problems, but rote memorization of answers won't work, especially in history and geography. In multiple-choice questions, all the answers look similar, and you feel like you're right no matter which one you choose. This puts a lot of pressure on students' comprehension abilities."

-

"Uh-huh."

Lin Xiyu studied humanities in high school and deeply understood his words.

"If you agree with me, that's great."

Gu Bin felt relieved and said, "That's why I said that with Xiaoyi's current grades, it won't be easy for him to keep up with the pace of high school. It would be best if he could repeat the first year of high school."

"Can't you even tutor him?"

Lin Xiyu frowned: "Xiaoyi himself feels ashamed and probably wouldn't agree, let alone my mother."

“I’m not a god, I can’t improve his grades in a few days of tutoring.”

Gu Bin rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache: "All we can do now is teach him the learning methods as much as possible within the limited time we have. Whether he can learn well or not still depends on his own understanding."

Do I have to study for another year?

Lin Xiyu frowned and asked again seriously.

“It better be this way”

Gu Bin stopped worrying and offered sound advice.

"Ok."

Trusting him, Lin Xiyu didn't argue further: "Let me think about how to persuade Xiaoyi."

"He didn't want to repeat a grade because he didn't want his classmates to look down on him."

Gu Bin had already thought about this issue: "We can let him retain his student status and study at another school, preferably not in JN City, so that he won't have to worry about being looked down upon."

Lin Xiyu tentatively asked, "How about we take him to Shanghai?"

"No."

Gu Bin decisively rejected the idea: "The exam format in Shanghai is different from that in Shandong. He can't leave the province. He still has to go back to his original school registration location to take the college entrance exam."

"hiss."

Lin Xiyu gasped, her teeth aching slightly: "This is a bit of a problem. We can't leave Jinan, and we can't let him go to Shanghai with us. Our family has been in Jinan for three generations, and we don't have any relatives outside of Jinan. Where can we send him to school?"

"Find a high school where students can live on campus."

Gu Bin suggested to her: "It would be best to go to the Jiaodong area, where there are many famous high schools with a high acceptance rate to prestigious universities."

Yantai No.1 High School is good.

Lin Xiyu still had concerns: "The problem is it's only February, there's still half a semester left. Even if Xiaoyi agrees to repeat the first year of high school, what will happen in the second half of the semester? If he falls behind and gets the lowest score in the exams, he'll still lose confidence."

"That depends on his own mental capacity." Gu Bin thought for a moment and then said, "You are her older sister, and it's time for the older sister to step in. You should give him some guidance and help him analyze the pros and cons. It will be good for his future growth."

"Okay."

Left with no other choice, Lin Xiyu had to agree.

-

Room.

"Sister, just say what you want to say."

Chen Xiaoyi saw his sister sitting at the desk, resting her chin on her hand and staring straight at him, and was speechless: "You've been staring at me like that for almost half an hour now, you're practically scrutinizing my face."

Lin Xiyu joked on purpose, "My little brother is so handsome, is it wrong for his older sister to like looking at him?"

"Cough cough."

Chen Xiaoyi is easily embarrassed and can't stand being teased. His sister's unexpected joke made him blush bright red.

"Xiaoyi is only 13 years old, he's still too young."

Lin Xiyu found it amusing and sighed from the bottom of her heart: "For someone your age, your mind is not yet fully mature, yet you've already forced yourself into the cage of high school. It's really a bit tragic. I feel sorry for you."

"sister"

Chen Xiaoyi wasn't stupid; he could tell at a glance that his sister had ulterior motives: "Did your brother-in-law say something to you? Don't beat around the bush; just say what you want to say."

"Your brother-in-law praised you for being smart and having a strong comprehension ability."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to hurt his pride, so she first showered him with praise, which made Chen Xiaoyi frown.

"but."

After praising her, Lin Xiyu immediately changed the subject.

I knew there would be a "but".

Chen Xiaoyi nodded knowingly, with an expression that said, "I knew it would be like this."

"Cough cough."

Lin Xiyu covered her mouth and coughed awkwardly twice.

"sister"

Chen Xiaoyi straightened his back, adopting an attentive posture: "What exactly do you want to say? Hurry up and say it, whether it's good or bad, I can take it."

Your brother-in-law really praised you for being smart.

Lin Xiyu was about to say another joke when her younger brother glared at her without hesitation.

"Okay, actually..."

She coughed awkwardly twice, then stopped dwelling on it: "Your brother-in-law means he's suggesting you repeat your first year of high school."

Chen Xiaoyi's eyes darkened, revealing a hint of resistance.

"Xiaoyi, listen to me."

Lin Xiyu hurriedly explained, "Your brother-in-law and I have discussed it and are trying to get Mom's approval to let you go to school in another city."

"Go to another city?"

Chen Xiaoyi looked bewildered, clearly never having imagined that one day he would leave Jinan to study in another city.

"Yes."

Lin Xiyu tried to explain to him: "Our SD province has many good high schools, scattered throughout the province, especially in the Jiaodong area. The college entrance rate of Yantai No.1 High School is even better than that of Jinan No.1 High School. Moreover, if you go to another place, you can live on campus and won't have to be forced to study by your mom at home every day."

"Do you live on campus?"

Chen Xiaoyi was thrilled to hear that he wouldn't have to be forced to study by his mother.

Do you want to live on campus?

Seeing that things were looking promising, Lin Xiyu was secretly delighted.

"think."

Sure enough, the next second, Chen Xiaoyi gave the expected answer without the slightest hesitation.

-

With her younger brother's permission, Lin Xiyu mustered her courage and went to Donghua Street again the following evening to knock on her parents' door.

Chen Xiulan's expression remained unpleasant when she saw that only she had returned.

"Mom, I didn't come back this time to argue with you."

For her younger brother's sake, Lin Xiyu patiently explained to her mother and frankly told her about her future plans.

"No, I don't agree."

Chen Xiulan's attitude remained firm, and she immediately rejected the idea: "Xiaoyi can't study well at home with me watching over him all day. If he goes to another place and there's no one to restrain him, won't he just be allowed to run wild and not focus on his studies? How good can his grades be?"

You'd better agree.

Lin Xiyu came prepared, and with one sentence she hit her mother's sore spot: "Otherwise I will take Xiaoyi to Shanghai, and my brother and I will never come back again."

"Are you threatening me?"

Chen Xiulan's face changed drastically, and she trembled with anger.

"You can understand it that way."

Lin Xiyu met his gaze without flinching or avoiding it.

"You unfilial daughter!"

Chen Xiulan was so angry that she raised her arm to hit her.

"You go ahead and fight."

Lin Xiyu's eyes were resolute: "I'm telling you right now, if you hit me even once, I mean it. I'll take Xiaoyi and leave Jinan today and never come back."

"you dare!"

Chen Xiulan's arm, which was halfway raised, froze in midway.

"Do you think I dare?"

Lin Xiyu deliberately took two steps back, making a gesture as if she wanted to leave.

Chen Xiulan's voice trembled with anger: "You've all grown up, your wings have hardened, and you all dare to talk back to me."

"You know we've grown up."

Lin Xiyu's eyes showed heartache: "You still treat us like we did when we were kids, always hitting and scolding us. Don't you think you've gone too far?"

“You can leave, but your brother can’t.”

Chen Xiulan glanced away guiltily.

Lin Xiyu remained firm: "If you continue to treat him the same way as before, I can't leave my brother here."

"Don't make it sound like I'm abusing him."

Chen Xiulan's voice trembled with anger, "Am I not good to him? I don't eat or drink much for myself, but I serve him the best food and drink, and I spend all my money on him."

"To tutor him, I went through all the junior high school courses myself. It was through this painstaking effort that he was able to achieve such good grades, skip two grades, and get into a top high school."

-

"As expected, Gu Bin's analysis was correct."

Lin Xiyu was not moved by her words, but instead showed an extremely helpless expression: "It is because of your cramming education that Xiaoyi has lost the ability to learn independently and cannot keep up with the pace of high school."

"Gu Bin, Gu Bin, I think you're about to be bewitched by that person."

Hearing Gu Bin's words, Chen Xiulan became even more furious: "Don't you think about yourself? At least think about your mother and your brother! Everyone in the neighborhood knows about his family's situation. How can your mother hold her head up in front of the neighbors if we let someone like that be our son-in-law?"