Chapter 112: 90: A Family by the Spring Chapter 112: A Timid Yet Flirtatious Hooligan

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

Guben's expression changed for once, and he bounced backward three meters or so.

"Say it quickly."

Lin Xiyu laughed as she stepped closer: "If you don't say it, I'll step on you."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you, don't come over."

Guben was truly afraid of being stepped on by her, and subconsciously retreated several steps.

"Hahaha."

Seeing his expression of a wronged, resentful young wife, Lin Xiyu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

——

Grandfather's story with his first love was, like most people during the War of Resistance, a tragedy of the times.

Grandfather was then an Underground Party member, posing as a merchant while hiding behind enemy lines.

The girl was a warlord's daughter; the two met by chance, developed feelings for each other, and for him she was willing to give up everything to elope with him.

However, Grandfather had a mission and could not betray the Organization.

Heartbroken and desperate, the girl obeyed her parents and married someone she did not love.

Not long after marriage she grew depressed and listless, fell ill and never recovered, and perished like jade and fragrance destroyed.

——

"."

Lin Xiyu also sighed upon hearing it: "For her, he remained unmarried all his life, living alone."

"Just listen to it, don't tell anyone else."

Guben carefully instructed: "Apart from me, no one knows this matter. I also only guessed at the general truth when I happened to find an old pre-liberation photograph in Grandfather's study as a child, and only then did he tell me the secret he had buried for many years."

"Only you know?"

Lin Xiyu could not hide her surprise: "Your Grandfather is his blood brother, and he didn't tell him?"

"No."

Guben smiled wryly helplessly: "Grandfather, as Second Brother, worried himself sick for Sixth Grandfather, arranging marriages for him from a young age."

"He arranged many blind dates, all of which he refused on the grounds that he was injured during the War of Resistance, in poor health, and could not have children. Over time, no one mentioned it anymore."

——

"Sigh."

Lin Xiyu wisely did not ask again whether Sixth Grandfather truly could not have children.

Exposing someone's scar brings retribution, heavenly thunder and splitting.

"You're blessed."

Guben pinched her cheek and smiled dotingly: "With Sixth Grandfather protecting you, even I wouldn't dare bully you."

"Would he really protect me?"

Lin Xiyu felt as if she were dreaming even now, unable to believe she truly had such good fortune.

A strange old man, after just one meeting, would sincerely protect an outsider with no blood relationship—it was truly hard to believe.

"Sixth Grandfather is a man of utmost emotion and holiness, devoted in love, and cannot tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes."

Guben had his own view: "I bought you this blue-flowered jade ornament not only because the same piece of jewelry was once worn by the woman he liked, but also to show him my attitude toward you."

"If I were not wholeheartedly good to you and cherishing you, but instead harbored thoughts of playing with your feelings, Sixth Grandfather would not only refuse to let us be together, but would even feel disgust toward me. My image in his heart would plummet, and I would never again be the junior he favors most."

——

"Since you understand Sixth Grandfather so well, why did you still go to Shanghai?"

Lin Xiyu had mixed feelings: "Even if you came to BJ, with your mind, even with setbacks, you have the ability to make him change his mind. There was absolutely no need to hide so far away."

"At that time, you were not in my life plan. Facing the constraints of family affection, I avoided them at all costs......."

Guben did not deliberately evade her question. He gently stroked her face, his brows and eyes tender: "It's different now. It was your own personal charm that moved Sixth Grandfather and made him recognize your existence. I can also bask in your glory, no longer need an arranged marriage, and won't have to muddle through a lifetime with someone I don't like."

"Then you before......"

When Lin Xiyu heard the words "you were not in my life plan," she felt a moment of dejection: "I mean, before high school graduation, did you never like me at all?"

"Cough cough."

Guben's eyes flickered slightly.

"Not at all?"

Lin Xiyu asked unwilling to give up.

"That's another question."

Guben met her gaze for several seconds, then smiled faintly: "I've already answered you two fatal propositions. For fairness, you answer one of my questions first, and then I'll tell you my answer."

"What do you want to ask?"

Lin Xiyu's heart thumped, and a bad premonition surged up.

"Before you graduated......."

Sure enough, the next second, what Guben said made her face flush red instantly: "Did you ever like me?"

"I, that......"

Lin Xiyu's heartbeat was in disorder.

Peeking at the college application he filled out, longing to attend university in the same city as him, was the stupidest thing she had ever done.

It was so embarrassing; even if beaten to death, she didn't want him to know.

"Is there?"

Guben refused to let her go, stepping forward.

"High school doesn't allow early romance."

Lin Xiyu hesitated for a long while before finding a good excuse for herself.

"Hmph."

Guben laughed in anger: "Those words sound so familiar; Qu Peng seemed to have said them too. Could this be the current catchphrase, specially made to excuse the philandering scoundrels with flowery intestines?"

"Don't compare him with me."

Lin Xiyu defended herself quickly: "I'm very pure, I've never liked anyone else."

"A very pure high school student..."

Guben pressed on, teasingly retorting: "Do you like to zone out during class and peek at others?"

"I didn't peek."

Lin Xiyu panicked, avoiding his gaze.

"Didn't you?"

Guben stepped forward again, cornering her against the wall: "Who deliberately used a book to cover their face and sneak glances at me?"

"It wasn't me."

Lin Xiyu's spine stiffened, almost pressed against the wall.

"A little rascal who flirts and provokes."

Guben braced his arms against the wall, trapping her in front of him: "Peeking during class, slipping away faster than a rabbit after class, hiding in the office under the pretense of helping the teacher grade papers, only returning when the class bell rings, affecting others' studies, while acting like nothing happened yourself..."

"I didn't hide."

Lin Xiyu didn't expect him to remember so clearly, her beautiful eyes suddenly widening.

"Didn't hide?"

Guben pretended not to notice her change in expression, continuing to press: "Why did you run so fast?"

"The teacher told me to go to the office."

"The teacher didn't tell you to go every class."

"I'm the class study monitor, so of course I should be more proactive."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to admit she was avoiding a certain arrogant and domineering daughter of the Count Mayor.

Zhang Xiaoqian didn't know what medicine she had taken wrong, always targeting her.

She didn't want to openly oppose her, so she had been enduring it, trying to avoid her as much as possible.

"Does a study monitor need to go to the playground for a stroll after school?"

Guben shifted the conversation, the smile in his eyes deepening: "Don't tell me the teacher told you to go supervise us playing basketball; I don't believe it."

"Cough, cough."

Lin Xiyu almost choked on her own spit.

She occasionally went near the playground before leaving school, glancing at him from afar, never expecting him to discover it.

"Peeking at others playing basketball..."

Guben thought he had caught her handle, his expression slightly smug: "Still daring to quibble, aren't you fond of me?"

"You misunderstand."

Lin Xiyu's ears heated up: "Actually, I wasn't going to see you, but to see the show; I heard someone confessed to you, so I wanted to join the crowd to watch the excitement."

"Not going to see me play basketball?"

Guben stopped smiling, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"No, not."

Lin Xiyu lowered her eyelids somewhat guiltily.

"Really not?"

"No, yes."

Lin Xiyu had just wanted to struggle a bit more when her soft lips were blocked by someone.

A punitive kiss surged forth, instantly drowning her.

—

After the Quan Shui Ren Jia Series aired on Central News, it remained popular, and its popularity in Jinan was no less than the Spring Festival Gala.

The steadily rising ratings made Director Du relieved yet pressured; after lying in the hospital bed for less than three days, he endured his back pain and insisted on being discharged.

Guben received the notice with great regret and had to bid farewell to Sixth Grandpa.

Wang Fan and Li Liang returned to Jinan with them, while Qu Peng didn't leave, staying behind under the pretext of familiarizing himself with the campus in advance.

Guben didn't expose his little thoughts; before leaving, he specifically reminded him of some precautions, telling him to be cautious in everything, not to violate taboos, and not to make Sixth Grandpa unhappy.

Qu Peng naturally agreed readily, patting his chest to guarantee he would treat the old man as his own grandfather, serving him attentively and being filial for him.

Guben felt relieved; the group bought train tickets overnight, took the train, and returned to Jinan early the next morning.

—

Director Du had bandages wrapped around his waist and remained on the front line of filming.

The Cultural and Tourism Bureau praised the promotional video highly and suggested filming more folk culture with local Jinan characteristics.

Director Du readily accepted the order and brought the Program Group to Qu Shui Ting Street again to interview craftsmen with traditional cultural heritage.

Jinan's most characteristic traditional crafts include flour sculpture, clay sculpture, blown sugar figures, paper-cutting, New Year paintings, and Lu embroidery, among others.

The most traditional of performing arts is shadow puppetry.

The Program Group came to Qu Shui Ting Street and happened to see someone hawking a shadow puppet performance, attracting a large crowd of children to watch.

"When you were young, did you ever watch shadow puppetry?"

Lin Xiyu came to the side of the children and spoke fluently to the camera.

"Shadow puppetry is also called shadow play or lantern shadow opera; it is an ancient traditional folk art of China, beginning in the Western Han, flourishing in the Tang Dynasty, and reaching its peak in the Qing Dynasty."

"As for the legend of shadow puppetry, there is a love story about an emperor."

"It is said that after Emperor Wu of Han's beloved concubine Lady Li passed away, he missed her so deeply that he neglected state affairs all day. Minister Li Shaoweng happened to encounter children playing with cloth dolls, their shadows vividly reflected on the ground. Suddenly inspired, he cut Lady Li's image from cotton silk and respectfully presented it to the emperor. The emperor loved it and was overjoyed, and from then on shadow puppetry spread widely among the people."

"Jinan's shadow puppetry has unique local characteristics; in Jinan, to watch shadow puppetry, one must understand the Jinan dialect."

"The Jinan dialect also has unique local characteristics. In Jinan, there is a term of address called 'laoshier,' a kind of idle chat called 'la Hang,' a kind of procrastination called 'yi mo,' a kind of capability called 'erli,' a kind of estimation called 'eye measurement,' a kind of roughhousing called 'lang xuan,' a kind of praise called 'tang sai lai,' and a kind of mischief called 'nang yi.'"

"The Jinan dialect is not hard to understand; as long as you can speak Mandarin, ninety percent of Jinan dialect can be understood."

"The Jinan dialect also has a unique local flavor. Not knowing what 'lang xuan' or 'nang yi' means, one cannot grasp the unique humor of the Jinan dialect."

—

"Wang Xiaosan, where did you go roughhousing again? Go home and do your homework......"

Before the words finished, a high-pitched lion's roar came from a siheyuan not far away, vividly interpreting the essence of the word 'lang xuan.'

"Wang Xiaosan, your mom is calling you again."

"Hurry home, or you'll get a beating again."

"Why must I do homework? The summer vacation isn't over yet; can't I write it in a couple of days......"

The children made a ruckus and laughed, and filming had to be temporarily interrupted.

"These brats are so mischievous."

Director Du smiled helplessly, put on a stern face to shoo them away: "Go, go, go, all go home and do your homework; if you don't do your homework, you'll get a beating sooner or later."

"Won't write, won't write, won't write......"

"Just don't want to write......"

"Nyah nyah nyah......"

The children were too playful to be cowed by an old man's stern face; the scene was noisy and chaotic, and finally Guben stepped in, giving each one a sugar figure to coax them away.

—

After the children made a ruckus, Director Du was no longer in the mood to film shadow puppetry.

Seeing him holding his old waist with low spirits, Guben bought a small monkey-shaped sugar figure to cheer up the old man.

"Hehe, you're treating me like a child to coax."

Director Du took the small monkey, full of emotion: "Back in the day, when I was young, I also loved watching people make sugar figures. Every time I saw a stall, I would eagerly go over, buy it home, and not bear to eat it even after it melted."

"Me too......"

Lin Xiyu smiled and echoed: "I remember it clearly. One year was the Year of the Dragon, and Grandma bought me a dragon. I was so happy, holding it with both hands, afraid it would break. Cousin was greedy; after eating his own sugar figure, when I wasn't paying attention, he secretly bit a mouthful of the dragon's tail. The dragon cracked with a snap, making me heartbroken, and I wailed loudly. Angry, Grandma beat him with a rolling pin."

"Your family is quite lively, with chickens flying and dogs jumping every day."

Guben thought of her glorious history of hitting people when young and joked with a smile.

"Cough cough."

Lin Xiyu's ears turned red, and she coughed twice, rarely embarrassed.

"Film one more segment of blowing sugar figures and then we're done for the day; my waist can't take it....."

Director Du was moved by what the two said and turned his gaze to the small stall blowing sugar figures.

"Alright."

The staff of the Program Group had no objections, packed up their things, and moved to a new location.

—

"Rattle drum, windmill turns, glass sugar figure."

Lin Xiyu memorized her lines and followed the main force to the small stall blowing sugar figures.

"The old craftsman uses melted maltose to draw various patterns on a stone slab; blowing air through a thin tube can form vivid and cute little animals."

"This process seems simple, but actually requires very superb skills; the most crucial step lies in the techniques of pinching, pulling, and turning with the fingers."

"As for the history of blowing sugar figures, it can be traced back to the early Ming Dynasty. It is said that Liu Bowen, a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, hid his name and sold sugar for a living to avoid persecution."

"During this period, he creatively heated and softened sugar to make various sugar figures, which were deeply loved by children. From then on it spread widely and became a unique folk art."