1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 215 Six months later, the game company, Galaxy Travel

"The neighbors will stop gossiping."

Lin Xiyu said confidently, "I've already solved it. You can walk down the street with your head held high, and no one will say anything."

"Did you solve it?"

Chen Xiulan didn't believe it: "How did you solve it? His mother is a corrupt official, how could you possibly overturn her case?"

“His mother did not accept bribes intentionally; she was framed.”

Lin Xiyu said confidently, "I have explained everything that happened back then to the neighbors. They didn't know the inside story before and made wild guesses, but that won't happen anymore. Now the neighbors and we have a very good relationship. They often play with their children. The things you are worried about will never happen again."

"Don't disregard the facts and fabricate lies for Gu Bin's sake."

Chen Xiulan still didn't believe it, subconsciously thinking that she was making excuses for Gu Bin: "If this gets out, you'll be punished too."

"Everything I said is true."

Lin Xiyu was utterly speechless: "Why can't you trust me?"

Chen Xiulan scoffed: "You've been completely bewitched by Gu Bin."

"Never mind, I'm not going to talk to you about this anymore."

Lin Xiyu was extremely disappointed in her mother: "Anyway, I don't expect you to accept him. I'll be grateful if you just stop deliberately causing trouble and making me divorce him."

"You should go back to Shanghai."

Chen Xiulan waved them away, saying, "As long as you don't hang around in front of me, I can't be bothered with you."

"Okay, I'll leave now."

Lin Xiyu held her breath, feeling uncomfortable if she didn't vent: "Take your brother away too. We won't be around you anymore. You can live alone."

"Your brother can't leave."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiulan became anxious again: "His household registration is in Jinan. How will he live if he goes to Shanghai? He won't even be able to go to school."

"You don't have to worry about it."

Lin Xiyu deliberately provoked him: "Anyway, he's not good at studying and is at the bottom of his grade. It doesn't matter whether he studies or not, so he might as well drop out of school and not go to school."

"How can you not go to school?"

Chen Xiulan grabbed her arm anxiously: "You're hurting him by doing this."

I'm not taking him with me.

Lin Xiyu countered, "Should we let him continue to face the cold stares and ridicule of his classmates at school?"

Chen Xiulan subconsciously said, "If he studies hard, he can improve his grades on his own."

"If he has the ability, how could he be at the bottom of the rankings?"

Lin Xiyu pointed out the truth incisively.

Chen Xiulan stubbornly argued, "He still didn't put all his energy into studying, otherwise he wouldn't have gone out to play games."

"I'd better take my younger brother with me."

Lin Xiyu forcefully broke free from her grasp.

“You can’t take him with you.”

Chen Xiulan became anxious again and tried to grab her again.

Lin Xiyu's patience ran out, and she had no desire to continue the conversation. She rushed out of the room and ran down the stairs.

"Stop right there! You can't take your brother with you!"

Chen Xiulan was so anxious that she chased after him from her home.

The mother and daughter pulled each other downstairs, one after the other. Just as they ran out of the stairwell, a figure walked towards them and blocked their way.

The mother and son were both startled and stopped in their tracks.

"Mom, why are you here?"

When Chen Xiulan saw who it was, her eyes flickered slightly, and she glanced away guiltily.

"If I don't come, will you just keep causing trouble?"

Grandma scolded her sternly and glared at her with displeasure.

"I don't"

Chen Xiulan blushed, still wanting to argue.

Grandma didn't give her a chance to speak and started scolding again: "How dare you say you didn't? If Leilei hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known Xiaoyi ran away from home. How did you raise your child? How did you drive him to this? Luckily, he was found this time. If something had really happened, I'd like to see how you cry then."

"Grandma, don't be angry. There are too many people outside. Let's go home and talk about it."

Lin Xiyu was a little confused when she first saw her grandmother. She wondered how her cousin knew about it and told her grandmother.

Grandma happened to arrive at Donghua Street at this very moment; her appearance was truly too coincidental.

"I'm not going up."

Grandma turned to look at her, her expression softening somewhat: "The fourth floor is too high, Grandma is too old to climb it."

"Let me help you back to Qinglong Back Street."

Lin Xiyu was well-behaved and sensible, and reached out to support her grandmother's arm.

"Let me say something to your mother before I leave."

Grandma patted her arm with relief, then looked at her daughter with a cold expression: "I've made the decision about Xiaoyi. Let him repeat a year of high school. Don't pressure him for the second semester. Let him come to Qinglong Back Street and live with me."

"Don't complain. Mom isn't trying to take your child away from you. I genuinely want what's best for you both. If you keep pushing like this, you'll drift apart, and your child will resent you when they grow up."

-

"Repeating a grade sounds awful."

Chen Xiulan complained, dissatisfied: "I can't bear the shame."

Grandma scolded sternly: "Is your pride more important, or your child's future?"

"Of course, my younger brother's future is more important."

Lin Xiyu strongly agreed.

"Think about it yourself."

Grandma nodded in satisfaction, but her gaze toward her daughter grew even more displeased: "She's almost fifty, and she's not as sensible as a child. She's getting more and more absurd as she gets older."

"Grandma, I feel relieved that my little brother is staying with you."

Lin Xiyu and her grandmother chimed in, "With you comforting him, he'll definitely be able to get through the second half of the semester."

"Is Xiaoyi alright?"

The grandmother felt sorry for her grandson, her eyes filled with concern.

"My younger brother is doing well."

Lin Xiyu deliberately tried to make her grandmother happy: "She's been staying with us these past two days, eating and sleeping well, and she looks even fatter than she did two days after I came back from Shanghai."

"People safe is good."

Grandma patted her chest in lingering fear: "When I heard your cousin say it, I was really scared. I couldn't even sit at home feeling at ease."

Lin Xiyu quickly took out her phone: "I'll call Xiaoyi right now and tell him to come over and stay at your home."

"it is good"

These words really resonated with Grandma. Only after watching her finish the call did she feel truly at ease.

-

Chen Xiaoyi arrived quickly. Upon seeing her grandmother, she rushed into her arms with a sob, almost like someone performing in an opera.

The hoarse voice of a teenager going through puberty, when it comes to this, is especially hard to describe.

Lin Xiyu shook her body, scattering goosebumps all over the floor.

Grandma was very receptive to his charms. She hugged him, showered him with concern and comfort, and then took the two siblings home for quite some time.

With his grandmother's protection and no longer bound by his mother's constraints, Chen Xiaoyi lost his previous despondency and regained the carefree spirit he had as a child.

Little cousin Nana was very happy to have someone to play with. The two children chased and played freely at home, their joyful laughter filling the air, making their grandmother feel especially comfortable.

-

"Grandma, I'm leaving tomorrow."

Lin Xiyu clung to her grandmother's arm, reluctant to part.

"You all go about your business, don't worry about home."

Grandma patted her arm affectionately, reassuring her: "With Grandma here, your mother won't dare to do anything to you and your brother. Just live a good life with Gu Bin, take good care of your health, and try to have a big, healthy baby boy soon. Grandma is looking forward to seeing my great-grandson."

"Great! I'll tell you the first thing I know if I have good news."

Lin Xiyu cleverly concealed her sadness and, going along with her grandmother's wishes, happily agreed.

Grandma didn't think much of it; thinking of her chubby and adorable great-grandson, she smiled with extra joy.

-

Wangfu Pond West Street. "I was wondering how Sister Leilei knew about this; Grandma arrived so just in time. Turns out it was you who told her."

That evening, when Lin Xiyu returned home and saw Gu Bin, she noticed the smile on his lips and suddenly realized what was going on.

"That's called leveraging existing momentum."

Gu Bin smiled meaningfully: "Using Grandma's power to put your mother in her place."

"So that's how you use leverage."

Lin Xiyu almost burst out laughing: "This is the first time I've heard of this. Chinese language and culture are truly profound and profound."

“With Grandma backing Xiaoyi up, you don’t need to worry.”

Gu Bin seized the opportunity to entangle himself with her and put his arm around her: "We have to get up early tomorrow to catch a flight, let's go to sleep early too."

"Stop it"

Lin Xiyu laughed and pushed him away, saying, "I still need to put little Rui Rui to sleep."

"Rui Rui went to her great-grandmother's room."

Gu Bin refused to let go, instead holding the person even tighter: "From now on, you will sleep with Great-Grandma and won't bother us anymore."

"what?"

Lin Xiyu looked worried: "Will Rui Rui be able to adapt? Since he came to the old house, we've never been apart. I'm the one who always puts him to sleep."

"Is there anything you can't adapt to?"

Gu Bin replied matter-of-factly, "He's a boy, he can't rely on you all the time, we'll have to sleep in separate beds sooner or later."

He's only three and a half years old.

Lin Xiyu was about to say, "It's still a bit too small," but before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off.

"Don't think about him anymore."

Gu Bin kissed her lips with a hint of resentment: "Ever since this little one came along, your heart has been elsewhere. I've been neglected by you for a long time."

"Is that so?"

Lin Xiyu deliberately dodged, looking at him with amusement.

"That's the truth, and there's no room for argument."

Gu Bin continued to kiss him: "I need comfort. Tonight, you are only allowed to think about me, not him."

"hehe."

Lin Xiyu was amused by his resentful face and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I've heard from my colleagues that some husbands feel neglected by their wives after they have a child and are jealous of the child. It turns out it's all true."

"Because of this, I don't want to have children anymore."

Gu Bin turned off the light, unaware that his unintentional remark had struck a nerve with his beloved wife.

Lin Xiyu's smile froze. Thinking of what the doctor had said about the difficulty of getting pregnant again, an overwhelming sense of bitterness welled up inside her.

"Still daydreaming at a time like this?"

In the dim light, Gu Bin couldn't see anything unusual about her.

Not wanting to spoil the mood, Lin Xiyu forced a smile, suppressing her heartache.

Overwhelmed by emotion, Gu Bin pulled her close and kissed her lips.

-

Six months later, in Shanghai.

"Wait for me, don't close the door!"

Carrying two large plastic bags full of lunchboxes, Wu Meng rushed into a high-rise office building in Lujiazui, Pudong, and squeezed in just as the elevator doors were about to close.

"Are you someone who travels through the Milky Way?"

There were already two people standing in the elevator. One of them, a young man wearing glasses, politely turned around and greeted her.

"You know our company?"

Wu Meng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The man in front of her was a stranger; she probably had never seen him before.

"I see you pressed the button for the 16th floor."

The young man pointed to the button and said with a smile, "On the 16th floor of Area A, there is only one company, Xinghe Changyou. We often run into people from your company when we come down from the 21st floor."

"Oh oh."

Wu Meng suddenly realized: "So you're from Yingrun Investment."

"You're familiar with our investment company?"

The young man glanced at her with great interest.

"Yingrun Investment is very famous."

Wu Meng laughed and said, "Those who work there are all business elites. Anyone who works in this building knows about it."

"Your Star River team is also quite good; developing games is very promising."

The young man took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to her with a smile: "If there is an opportunity, our two companies can try to cooperate. This is my business card. You can contact me anytime if needed."

"I'm sorry"

Wu Meng held up the plastic bag in her hand, her eyes showing apology: "Both of my hands are occupied, so it's inconvenient for me to take this."

How about this?

The young man smiled good-naturedly and took out his phone from his pocket: "Give me your phone number, and let's exchange numbers?"

"can."

Seeing that he meant no harm, Wu Meng smiled and agreed, giving him her number.

The young man entered the number into his phone and dialed her number.

Wu Meng's phone rang once, and the two exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

"I'm leaving now, bye-bye."

They arrived at the 16th floor, and Wu Meng ran out of the elevator first.

"My name is Hu Qin."

The young man called out from behind her, "Let's keep in touch sometime."

"OK."

Wu Meng gave a polite reply, picked up the two large plastic bags, and ran off without looking back.

"What's wrong? You've got your eye on someone?"

The elevator doors closed again, and the other person who was with Hu Qin glanced at him with interest.

Hu Qin laughed jokingly: "I'm still more interested in their company."

"Do you think Star River Travel is a good option?"

His colleague, Yang Meng, immediately became interested upon hearing this.

Hu Qin has a keen eye for investment; several projects he invested in after joining the company yielded substantial returns.

"At the moment, I'm just somewhat interested."

A glint of light flashed behind Hu Qin's thick glasses as he didn't rule out any possibility: "Whether it's worth investing in depends on the specific content and quality of the research and development."

"That girl is pretty good too."

Yang Meng jokingly remarked, "While securing the project, I'll also conveniently solve my single status issue."

"It's not impossible."

Hu Qin raised his eyebrows arrogantly, looking very confident.

"Go for it, bro, I believe in you."

Yang Meng patted him on the shoulder, expressing his support in a brotherly way.

-

The elevator ascended rapidly and soon arrived at the 21st floor.

As the two stepped out of the elevator, a stylishly dressed woman walked past them and went inside.

"That woman."

Yang Meng turned and glanced at the woman: "Is that Liu Rushi from Huanyu Law Firm?"

"Yes, it's her."

Hu Qin nodded: "I heard that the manager is pursuing her and has given her all of our company's agency business. The two of them have been seeing each other quite often lately."

"Women lawyers rely on their personal connections."

Seeing that the elevator doors had closed and Liu Rushi could no longer hear their conversation, Yang Meng gave Hu Qin a rather ambiguous smile.

The implication is clear: Liu Rushi was able to become the investment company's legal counsel not through ability, but through other means.