Chapter 104: 90: A Family by the Spring Chapter 104: Her Wish Fulfilled, Engagement Arranged

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"Admit it, you like me."

Wu Meng spoke the truth in one sentence: "Actually, I've seen through it long ago. You're very dissatisfied with Qu Peng's errands, often helping me openly and secretly, speaking up for me."

"Back then I was foolish, blinded by lard, unable to see who truly treated me well. Now I understand—I won't make mistakes again. Just as your grandma said, if you like someone, you must bravely grab hold of him. I don't want to miss another chance and regret it all over again."

"Cough cough."

Li Liang was left a bit dazed by her straight punch.

He had never imagined Wu Meng could be so fiery, completely different from the gentle little lamb and pushover she usually was.

At this moment, she was radiantly dazzling, making people's hearts race involuntarily.

"Give me a straight answer—do you like me or not? I don't want to wait anymore. Those days of confusion and helplessness, unable to see the future, I've had enough of them."

Wu Meng saw through his heart, certain he wouldn't refuse.

"Mm."

Sure enough, Li Liang looked at her soft, tender lips, thinking of that sudden kiss just now, and his heartbeat skipped a beat involuntarily.

Under her scorching gaze, he fell silent for a moment, finally fulfilling her wish, nodding with reddened ears.

"Thank heaven and earth."

Wu Meng let out a long breath, her eyes red with excitement: "Heaven has finally favored me once, and hasn't misjudged the person again."

—

"Heard that? I said those two kids are a perfect match."

Outside the door, Li Grandma listened with a beaming smile: "No one knows my stinky brat better than I do. He likes the girl but dares not say it, just keeps it bottled up. If I hadn't given him a push, who knows when he'd have waited until."

"You still complain I'm too impulsive, messing up the matchmaking."

Wu's mother also felt smug, smiling and casting a reproachful glance at Wu's father: "If it weren't for my shout, could we have brought about the children's good match? That's called foresight. Mengmeng has a good home now, and we can rest easy."

"Before the two kids go away to school, settle the marriage arrangement."

Li Grandma couldn't wait: "First set up the wedding banquet, then get the certificate when they reach the legal marriage age."

"We have no objections."

Wu's mother was overjoyed: "Judging by what the two kids mean, as long as they're willing, that's fine."

"Then it's settled."

Li Grandma breathed a sigh of relief, as if unburdened: "Liangzi is engaged, we old couple have settled one worry, and we can give an account to his parents too."

—

The Li household was full of joy, but the Qu household was under dark clouds.

Wu's mother and Li Grandma's meddling had slapped faces quite hard.

Qu Jianguo's face burned, and the more he looked at his son, the more displeased he became. He held in a mouthful of ill will, and just as Guben had expected, he used a broom to drive the unworthy descendant out of the house.

Qu Peng felt chilled to the bone. As he ran out the door, he cast a resentful glance at Lin Xiyu.

"Stay at Wang Fan's place for these two days..."

Guben patted his shoulder, expressing comfort in a brotherly way: "After he's busy with the decoration company's opening, call up Li Liang, and we'll go together to BJ to meet Sixth Grandfather, and on the way visit the Forbidden City and the Great Wall for a couple of days."

"Fine."

Hearing they were going to BJ, Qu Peng's eyes suddenly lit up, and all his resentment vanished like smoke and clouds.

"Buy a few changes of clothes, and tidy yourself up."

Guben teased with a smile, then took out 500 yuan from his wallet and tossed it to him: "Fix your hair too, cut it into a crew cut."

"OK."

Qu Peng agreed to everything.

"Go."

Guben waved his hand to shoo him away.

Qu Peng quickly stuffed the money into his pocket, got on his bicycle, and rode away in a flash.

"Will Qu Peng resent me?"

Lin Xiyu had mixed feelings, racking her brains but never expecting this ending.

"No."

Guben knew his good buddy inside out: "Wu Meng isn't suitable for him. This kid is very restless, unwilling to be confined to this small place. The wife he marries will definitely be someone who helps him. Getting into Public Security University is just a stepping stone."

"So you're taking him to meet your Sixth Grandfather?"

Lin Xiyu's thoughts were clear, and she instantly understood his deeper meaning.

"Sixth Grandfather has no children of his own and likes to support ambitious young people the most."

Guben smiled and nodded: "Qu Peng is very good at handling things. Once he goes to BJ, he'll definitely be able to make the old man happy. With him there, I'll feel less guilty, so Grandfather won't keep blaming me."

"This task should have been yours to do?"

Lin Xiyu understood, teasing him with a smile: "Push it onto Qu Peng, let the old man support him on the side—two birds with one stone. Your skill at winning people over, I can't catch up to even on a fast horse."

Guben chuckled: "Want to go to BJ?"

"Can I go too?"

Lin Xiyu was a bit tempted.

"Sure? Why not?"

Guben smiled indulgently: "Grandpa Six likes ambitious young people, regardless of gender."

"Ah?"

Lin Xiyu's heart skipped a beat: "I have to meet your Grandpa Six too?"

"Grandpa Six isn't a flood or a savage beast; are you afraid he'll eat you?"

"He's your relative, after all......"

"An ugly daughter-in-law must meet her parents-in-law sooner or later."

"You're saying I'm ugly?"

Lin Xiyu bristled, raising her fist to hit him.

"Hehe."

Guben laughed and stepped back a few paces, then turned and ran.

"Don't run......"

Lin Xiyu chased after him, huffing with anger.

The two ran off one after the other, disappearing into a nearby alley in the blink of an eye.

"Let's go too."

Director Du, still smacking his lips with unfinished relish, led the large crowd of rubbernecking onlookers out of County West Lane.

The clamor at the gate of Courtyard No. 3 had vanished, and the usual quiet returned.

——

The sun set in the west, and darkness gradually fell; every household in the alley began cooking, with cooking smoke curling upward.

"Sister Leilei."

Lin Xiyu returned to her maternal grandmother's home, saw her female cousin busy in the kitchen, and, taking advantage of her grandmother's absence, sneaked in quietly.

"Interview me? Forget it."

Hearing that the Program Group wanted to interview her about her romantic history, her female cousin refused without a second thought: "What's there to say? If it really gets exposed, he'll definitely be angry with me. I practically forced myself on him in the first place, and now this—my tiny, meager hope is gone."

"Do you really want to hang yourself on one tree?"

Lin Xiyu felt it wasn't worth it for her female cousin: "What's so good about that guy that's worth you doing this for him?"

"He's very smart, does well in school, and is ambitious."

Thinking of the person she liked, her female cousin's eyes softened: "He says he wants to become a Software Engineer, go to Beijing to develop after graduation—Zhongguancun, just thinking about it is exciting. That's not a place ordinary people can go; they're all high-tech talent."

"Sigh."

Looking at her female cousin's obsessed expression, Lin Xiyu sighed helplessly.

"I just like people who are smart."

Her female cousin opened her mouth and couldn't stop for a while: "Maybe it's because I'm not good at studying myself, but boys with good grades have a fatal attraction for me. I want to marry someone with a high IQ, improve the next generation's genes, and let my children become smart too."

"You......"

Lin Xiyu laughed and cried at the same time: "You're thinking pretty far ahead."

"Right."

Her female cousin raised her eyebrows proudly: "I'm a person with long-term planning, far-sighted."

"Have you ever thought......"

Lin Xiyu asked tentatively: "What if he passes the Software Engineer exam, goes to BJ, sees more, meets more people, forgets you, and changes his mind? What will you do? You've given so much for him, made wedding clothes for another—can you accept such a result?"

"He's not that kind of person."

Her female cousin didn't care: "Besides, he never promised to date me; we can only be considered friends."

"Is this person's heart made of stone?"

Lin Xiyu grew angrier the more she listened: "You've been so good to him, worked so hard to help him, and he isn't moved at all?"

"He said he doesn't want to drag me down."

Her female cousin was strong like an indestructible cockroach, showing no sign of being struck: "I wanted to help him myself. Even if he doesn't date me, I won't blame him."

Lin Xiyu didn't understand: "What are you getting out of this?"

"Just a clear conscience."

Her female cousin chuckled: "I've helped him for so long, it's become a habit. If I really washed my hands of him, didn't care about him, and left him to live or die, I'd feel awkward in my heart. It's like adopting a stray dog—once you abandon him, he loses his support and freezes to death on the street. Could you still bear to throw him away?"

"That's not love, is it?"

Lin Xiyu helplessly rubbed her forehead: "Excessive maternal love, overflowing sympathy—you're treating him like a pet?"

"Fine, call him a pet then."

Her female cousin smiled good-naturedly, not wanting to argue: "Anyway, I enjoy it immensely and feel a great sense of achievement."

"You're hopeless."

Looking at her female cousin's stubbornness, Lin Xiyu felt a deep sense of helplessness.

"Forget about him, let's talk about something serious."

Her female cousin glanced outside the window and closed the kitchen door: "Wang Fan came to see me and asked if I wanted to follow him in renovation work. He said he'd give me a Marketing Manager position, a base salary of 1000 yuan a month, and commission for every deal closed."

"You want to quit your job?"

Lin Xiyu's expression changed, and she instantly guessed her female cousin's thoughts.

"Mm."

Her female cousin nodded: "I've already agreed to him. I'm going to the factory tomorrow to handle resignation procedures."

"Aren't you going to tell Aunt Da and the others?"

Lin Xiyu sucked in a breath.

"If I tell her, she definitely won't agree."

Cousin had her own plans: "1000 yuan is enough for me to work at the factory for two and a half months; such a good opportunity, I don't want to miss it."

"At least Cousin should let him know, right?"

Lin Xiyu's small heart trembled, wanting to find an accomplice for herself.

Just in case Aunt Da finds out, even if she gets beaten, she'll have someone to back her up.

Cousin is tough and can take a beating.

"My brother went down to the countryside."

Cousin poured a basin of cold water on her: "He applied to transfer to the Southern Mountain Area himself; there's a subsidy for patrolling lines in the mountains, and he wants to earn more money while he's young."

"How long will Cousin be gone?"

Lin Xiyu had a basin of cold water poured over her, chilling her from head to toe.

"Probably about two years."

Cousin felt somewhat dejected: "I heard they can't come back for the New Year or holidays, and have to live in the mountains all the time."

"Sigh."

Lin Xiyu sighed in despair.

Hope Aunt Da doesn't find out too early, giving her time to fatten herself up a bit.

With her current frail little body, she really can't take a beating, ah ah ah.......

—

Wang Fan's family has many people; his mother has one son and one daughter, and his father has two sons and two daughters.

It sounds a bit confusing, but it's actually easy to understand.

In his father's words, he made a mistake every man would make.

He kept a mistress, and the mistress gave birth to a son and a daughter for him.

Wang Fan has an older sister above him, eight years his senior.

The son the mistress bore for his father is five years older than him, and the daughter is three years older than him.

That is to say, among all his father's children, he ranks fourth and is the youngest.

After his father made his fortune in the building materials business, he became swollen with pride; disregarding his wife's opposition, he brought the mistress home.

The two children the mistress brought back and Wang Fan and his siblings couldn't stand each other.

They schemed against and framed each other, causing utter chaos.

Wang Fan was tired of the foul atmosphere at home, bought a house himself, and has lived outside since high school, living independently alone.

The house he bought is near No. 1 High School, not far from the Internet Cafe.

Qu Peng came to his house; even though he was mentally prepared for the filth and mess of a bachelor's place, he was still shocked by the room comparable to a dog kennel.

Fortunately, this house is a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit, and every bedroom has a bed.

He was sweating profusely from exhaustion, and after fussing for over an hour, he finally tidied up the room once, clearing out a place for himself to stay.

"Not bad, Qu Peng; I didn't expect you to be quite virtuous."

Wang Fan came back from outside, looking at the brand-new room, and couldn't help but click his tongue in praise: "From now on, let's partner up and live together as companions?"

"Get lost."

Qu Peng looked at him with disdain: "You just want to find a free nanny, right?"

"You saw through me......"

Wang Fan has a thick skin and laughed arrogantly: "Don't say it, that's exactly what I was thinking."

"With your disgusting behavior......"

Qu Peng couldn't stand his show-off look and stabbed him in the heart: "No wonder the Study Committee Member doesn't like you."

"Weren't you dumped too?"

Wang Fan retorted: "We're both in the same boat; don't mock each other."

"Sigh."

Qu Peng couldn't laugh anymore; thinking about what happened this afternoon, his heart felt a bit blocked.

"Come on, let's have a drink as brothers in misfortune."

Wang Fan patted his shoulder: "Brother treats you; let's go to the Night Market for mutton skewers."

"Eat."

Qu Peng slapped his thigh and stood up, with a hint of gnashing his teeth.

"Guben is also at the Night Market tonight."

Wang Fan couldn't help but be sharp-tongued: "Li Liang probably can't come; right now he has his fiancée accompanying him and looks down on us single dogs."

Qu Peng ground his teeth: "You're doing this on purpose, right?"

"I didn't expect it, but you care quite a bit?"

Wang Fan continued with black-bellied intent: "Could it be that you like Wu Meng? Feeling uncomfortable because someone snatched her away?"

"I don't like her at all."

Qu Peng snorted, feeling a bit stifled.

Wang Fan didn't believe him: "If you don't like her, why are you angry?"

"She could have gotten engaged to anyone, but she had to get engaged to Li Liang."

Qu Peng was extremely depressed: "Li Liang is my Lao Pengyou; he was just snatched away by her like that......."

"My god, so it's Li Liang you care about?"

Wang Fan deliberately misinterpreted his meaning: "You little brat, you wouldn't be bent, liking men, would you?"

"You can shut up now."

Looking at the fact that Qu Peng lived in his home, he endured and endured, finally forcibly suppressing the impulse to strangle him to death.