1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 229 The person who always liked to flirt ended up being flirted with.
Lin Xiyu agreed without hesitation. On her way home, she bought Gu Bin his favorite braised pork knuckle and hummed a little tune as she entered the house.

"What good thing happened? You seem so happy."

Gu Bin has been willingly supporting her in pursuing her dreams lately, and has taken on all the housework.

When Lin Xiyu entered, he was wearing an apron and busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

Seeing his wife humming a song and looking quite happy, he leaned half his body out of the window and looked at her with great interest.

"Braised pork knuckle, this is your reward."

Lin Xiyu smiled sweetly and handed him the bag containing the braised pork knuckle.

"My wife understands me best."

Gu Bin reached out and took it, immediately showering him with flattery: "Knowing I like this kind of food, you specially bought it for me. Such a good wife must be taken good care of. Just tell me what you want to eat tonight, and I'll make it for you."

"Let me think."

Lin Xiyu pretended to seriously consider it: "I'm tired of eating home-cooked meals, how about we try something different?"

"to make."

Gu Bin agreed without even thinking about it.

Lin Xiyu smiled and playfully scolded, "You didn't even ask me what I wanted to eat before you agreed."

"If you want to."

Gu Bin has a knack for coaxing his wife: "No matter what kind of tricks you use, leave it to me. I guarantee I'll satisfy your taste buds and you won't be able to say a word against it."

"You said it yourself."

Lin Xiyu smiled playfully, a sly glint in her eyes: "Then I won't stand on ceremony and will order for myself."

"Okay, you go ahead."

Gu Bin's curiosity was piqued, and he was eager to know what she would say next.

I want to eat.

Under his expectant gaze, Lin Xiyu smiled slyly.

She took a step forward, leaned close to his ear, and whispered a single word.

Gu Bin's back stiffened. Even though she spoke very softly, he heard her clearly; it was the word "you."

The person who usually enjoys flirting ended up being flirted with instead.

The sudden role reversal made him feel uneasy for a moment.

"I want to eat you."

Lin Xiyu knew better than him how ambiguous those words were.

She blurted it out in a moment of impulse, and her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Before he could react, she dashed back to her room.

"hehe."

Gu Bin lowered his head, glanced at the braised pork knuckle in his hand, and smiled meaningfully.

My wife's good intentions should not be wasted.

It seems he'll have to show some real skill and prepare a lavish dinner.

If she wants to eat, she must eat her fill!

-

Grandma Gu left Shanghai, but her dancing didn't stop. Not long after she returned, she became a key figure in the square dancing in her neighborhood.

The old ladies liked to gather and dance along the moat. For Lin Xiyu's health, Gu Bin would accompany her for a walk along the river every day after dinner.

Rui Rui and Niu Niu would occasionally join in, the two little ones running around and playing like crazy.

Lin Xiyu kept a close eye on them, fearing they might fall into the river.

"Rui Rui is eight years old, it's time for her to learn to swim."

Gu Bin found it amusing and decided to tease her again: "Isn't it perfect that they fell in? The neighborhood committee doesn't allow swimming, so it's a good excuse for them to go down and experience the joy we had when we were kids swimming in the river."

"How can these be the same?"

Lin Xiyu was speechless at his bizarre thought process: "Neither of them can swim. Falling in won't be a surprise, it'll be a shock. They might even be traumatized and never dare to swim again."

Gu Bin sighed, "Swimming is not allowed in the Prince's Palace Pond and the moat. Children nowadays miss out on a lot of fun."

"you do not say."

Lin Xiyu wholeheartedly agreed: "It would be great if a free swimming pool open to the public could be built along the moat. Swimming is not only a game for children, but also an essential skill. Children who can swim are more courageous and capable than those who cannot, and they can handle emergencies more easily."

"Just like his aunt."

Gu Bin joked with a smile, "To be able to save someone on the way to the college entrance examination is incredibly brave. Aren't you afraid of delaying the exam?"

"Hey, hey."

Lin Xiyu laughed awkwardly: "I was only eighteen years old back then, which is the age when adolescence is the most impulsive. If I were to jump into the water to save someone now, I would have to think about it. After all, my physical condition is not the same as it was back then. I'm afraid that if I jump in, I might not be able to save the person, but I might end up getting myself killed."

"So you admit that you were very impulsive back then?"

Lawyer Gu Bin is a professionally trained lawyer and is good at seizing opportunities to engage in conversation.

"Uh."

Lin Xiyu paused for a moment, then gave the expected answer: "Although looking back, it was a very dangerous time, and I almost missed the exam, which would have changed my life, I think that if I could do it all over again, I would still jump into the water to save them without hesitation. I couldn't just watch that mother and child fall into the water and do nothing to help them."

Have you ever thought about it?

Gu Bin deliberately teased her, then asked, "Even if you hadn't saved people, someone else would have jumped in. It's just that you were quicker and got there first."

That's certainly a possibility.

Lin Xiyu smiled wryly: "If that were the case, I wouldn't have been so lucky to meet Sister Yan and the others while filming the documentary, and it would have been impossible for our relationship to develop further."

What do you think?

Gu Bin gave her a meaningful look: "Is it because you made a documentary that we have any connection?"

"Isn't it?"

Lin Xiyu was taken aback, failing to grasp his deeper meaning.

"fool."

Gu Bin affectionately ruffled her hair: "After all these years, you still don't understand."

"Understand what?"

Lin Xiyu lifted her eyelids, glanced at the hand raging above her head, and hesitated whether to slap it away.

Gu Bin smiled helplessly: "Didn't you ever think about why I would help you?"

"why?"

Lin Xiyu was very accommodating and pretended to think about it very seriously.

Have you thought of that?

Gu Bin was amused by her feigned ignorance.

"Although, however, the chances are probably very small."

Lin Xiyu stared at him for a few seconds, a sly glint in her eyes: "I'll still dare to ask, did the school heartthrob of our No. 1 High School harbor feelings for me back in school?"

"You certainly have a lot of nerve."

Gu Bin didn't say it explicitly, but the doting look in his eyes was obvious.

"Wow"

Lin Xiyu replied with an incredibly amazed emoji: "This is unbelievable! How could I be so lucky? Did I save the galaxy in my past life? The domineering school heartthrob falling in love with me—the most romantic classic plot in romance novels—has actually happened to me?"

"hehe."

Gu Bin was amused by her exaggerated expression and let out a pleasant laugh.

"Honey, tell me."

Lin Xiyu immediately switched to a clingy, coquettish mode: "When did you start liking me? I want to know."

"It's about high school."

Gu Bin found it amusing and deliberately kept everyone in suspense: "It's been so long, I've almost forgotten about it."

"I do not believe"

Lin Xiyu was unwilling to give up, shaking his arm and continuing to pester him: "With your IQ, how could you possibly forget? It's more like you have a photographic memory."

"The number of human brain cells is limited."

Gu Bin smiled mischievously and continued to tease her: "I only remember selectively. I can remember what I want to remember, and I forget what I don't want to remember."

"You mean it like that?"

Lin Xiyu stopped laughing and pinched his arm hard: "Things about me are unimportant. You're selectively forgetting them?"

"hiss."

Gu Bin hissed in pain, "You pinched me so hard, my arm is all bruised." "Is it?"

Lin Xiyu snorted arrogantly, "How come I didn't see it?"

Don't be smug.

Gu Bin laughed angrily: "We'll settle the score tonight."

These words were somewhat ambiguous, and Lin Xiyu choked, her ears burning.

"What's wrong? Are you mute?"

Gu Bin finally gained the upper hand and regained the initiative: "Weren't you deliberately provoking me, trying to take advantage of me? Now you're chickening out?"

"Did I?"

Lin Xiyu denied it: "You've misunderstood. That's not what I meant."

What do you mean?

Gu Bin continued slyly, "Please explain yourself more clearly, I don't understand?"

"Cough cough."

Lin Xiyu was embarrassed again, and almost choked on her own saliva.

Don't be a coward!

Gu Bin is addicted to flirting and doesn't want to let her go.

"You wouldn't understand."

Lin Xiyu blushed.

"Student Committee Member."

Gu Bin deliberately addressed her by her high school title: "Don't slander me. I'm such an innocent high school student, I don't have that many tricks up my sleeve."

"You weren't innocent even in high school."

Lin Xiyu was startled by his high-pitched address of "Class Monitor," which made her hair stand on end, and she shivered with disgust.

"That's what you said"

Gu Bin found it amusing and continued to tease her: "We need to have a serious talk. How was I not innocent when I was in school? You can't just slander me based on your own assumptions."

"I didn't."

Lin Xiyu looked away guiltily, not wanting to pay him any attention.

"You have."

Gu Bin smiled slyly, put on his clothes, and took a step forward.

"No."

Lin Xiyu denied it and also stepped back.

"Why are you feeling guilty without me?"

Gu Bin was addicted to teasing her. If she took a step back, he would take a step forward, never leaving her even half an inch away.

Lin Xiyu took two more steps back, her back hitting a willow tree, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.

"Keep hiding, keep hiding!"

Gu Bin was leaning against a tree trunk, about to tease his wife a couple more times, when a soccer ball suddenly flew over and hit him on the shoulder.

"Where are these kids kicking their balls?"

Gu Bin initially thought the perpetrator was an ignorant child, and he dodged away without paying much attention.

Lin Xiyu faced him, but her expression changed slightly when she saw who it was.

Gu Bin sensed something was wrong, followed her gaze, his eyes darkened, and his smile froze on his face.

-

"You don't welcome me?"

Wang Fan, a cigarette dangling from his lips, grinned slyly: "Why do you look so constipated when you see an old classmate?"

When did you return to Jinan?

Gu Bin glanced at the soccer ball lying on the ground and glared at him speechlessly.

"That's what I wanted to ask you too."

Wang Fan seemed to be complaining about him, but his gaze was actually fixed on Lin Xiyu: "You didn't even tell me, a shareholder, that you were going back to Jinan. I went to the company to look for you, but I didn't see you. I thought you had disappeared."

Xi Yu encountered some trouble at work.

Gu Bin answered for Lin Xiyu: "She's not in a good mood, so I wanted her to take a leave of absence without pay and rest for a while."

"What happened?"

Wang Fan ignored him and kept looking at Lin Xiyu: "Do you need me to help you sort this out?"

"unnecessary."

Gu Bin frowned slightly and turned to block his ambiguous gaze.

"I'm talking to the class representative, what gives you the right to say we don't need it?"

Wang Fan mimicked his earlier words, referring to Lin Xiyu as the "student committee member."

"Wang Fan, you'd better understand one thing."

Gu Bin, unable to bear it any longer, coldly rebuked, "Xi Yu is my wife, and her affairs are none of the business of outsiders."

"So you mean I'm the outsider?"

Wang Fan said sarcastically, "You can't even take care of your own woman, letting her suffer at work, and you still have the nerve to call yourself her husband?"

"If you came here to cause trouble, you can leave now."

Gu Bin's face darkened completely, and he rudely told them to leave: "We have other things to do, and we don't have time to listen to your nonsense."

"I didn't come here for you, so why are you kicking me out?"

Wang Fan, relying on his substantial wealth, felt much more confident than before.

Ten years ago, he would never have dared to say such a thing. But things are different now. He has become a powerful tycoon with substantial capital by riding the wave of the construction industry.

Even though Gu Bin's game company has gone public and he is worth over 100 million yuan, it's still not enough in his eyes.

Gu Bin narrowed his eyes and glared at him unhappily.

Wang Fan disagreed, and the two stared at each other, sparking a lively exchange.

Is this how you show concern for me?

Lin Xiyu couldn't stand it anymore and separated the two with a cold shout: "Wang Fan, I'm warning you, don't mess with me again, or you believe me, I'll push you into the river and make you drink some water to clear your head?"

"I believe."

Wang Fan immediately backed down and put on a fawning smile: "I'll believe whatever the class monitor says. Even if you say I wasn't innocent in high school, I'll accept it."

"Are you asking for a beating?"

Lin Xiyu laughed in anger and waved her fist to threaten him.

"No."

Wang Fan denied it with a grin: "I'm here to talk business with you."

Fearing Lin Xiyu might not believe him, he quickly added, "It's a legitimate business; I guarantee you'll make a lot of money."

"I'm not interested in doing business."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to talk to him: "If you want to talk, you talk to Gu Bin. You two talk, don't bother me."

"Class monitor, that's not right."

Wang Fan deliberately feigned aggrieved complaints: "When you asked me to invest, you were very insistent, forcing me to cooperate with you. Now that the company has gone public, you want to kick me to the curb?"

"I don't talk to lecherous men who covet other men's wives."

Gu Bin couldn't stand his pretentious manner, and his face darkened even more.

"I admit I'm a womanizer, and you're no better than me."

Wang Fan was stung by his words and retorted, "I only just found out that you were the one who encouraged Li Qing to come to Xi Yu before proposing, thus ruining our relationship."

"You only realize this now, which means you're stupid."

Gu Bin's words hit the nail on the head, striking right at his heart.

"What the hell."

Wang Fan was furious and raised his fist, ready to strike.

"That's enough for you two, that's enough!"

Lin Xiyu's pretty face darkened, and she reprimanded sharply.

Wang Fan froze, abruptly pulling back the fist that was about to strike Gu Bin's face.