Chapter 188: 90: A Family by the Spring, Chapter 188: This Sweet Fragrance, He Had Madly Missed for Five Years

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"Bang bang bang."

The clock struck midnight, brilliant fireworks shot into the sky, and dazzling colors illuminated the entire night sky.

Deafening cheers rose along both banks of the river; people screamed and shouted excitedly, as if the terrible accident had never happened.

"Xiyu, happy new year."

Guben was also infected by the cheers; he gently lowered his head and kissed her hair: "I'm truly fortunate that the person by my side right now is me."

Lin Xiyu lifted her head with reddened eyes, a crystal-clear teardrop flowing down her eyelid.

"Xiyu, I was wrong."

Guben's heart clenched painfully, surging with endless regret: "Just now seeing you with that person discussing marriage, I admit, I was jealous, I was too impulsive, I shouldn't have done that. Can you forgive me? Give me another chance to pursue you?"

"Don't you already have someone?"

Thinking of the scene she saw in the elevator, Lin Xiyu felt an indescribable sourness well up again; she subconsciously turned her head away, avoiding the question.

"What person?"

Guben was stunned, about to press further, when his jacket pocket vibrated with the ringtone of his mobile phone.

"Wait a moment, let me take a call..."

He took out his phone somewhat apologetically and pressed the answer key.

"Guben, where are you?"

A woman's gentle and coquettish voice came from the earpiece: "The welcome banquet is almost over; are you coming back or not?"

"I'm outside, not going back..."

Guben's cold voice carried a hint of distance.

"Alright..."

After a brief silence on the other end of the earpiece, the woman's somewhat disappointed voice came after a while: "You're busy, I won't disturb you then. Happy new year."

"Happy new year."

Guben exchanged a few polite pleasantries and ended the call.

"Who is she?"

Relying on a woman's sixth sense, Lin Xiyu instinctively believed that this woman was the person she had met at the elevator entrance.

"She is my senior sister from my time in the United States, Liu Rushi..."

Guben didn't want her to misunderstand; smiling, he explained: "She's also one of the partners at Hanyu Law Firm. This time I returned to China to develop at her invitation."

"She asked you to come back, so you came back?"

Thinking of that woman intimately linking arms with him, Lin Xiyu felt very uncomfortable in her heart.

"Actually, it was I who wanted to come back."

Seeing her cold gaze, Guben decisively distanced himself: "It just happened to be a good opportunity to use the olive branch she extended to resign properly and leave the United States."

"What about Zhao Yuncheng?"

Lin Xiyu didn't want to hear his explanation; she deliberately used her best friend's younger brother to stimulate him: "After I left, what else did you two talk about?"

Guben indeed stopped smiling, his gaze darkening: "I told him to come to the law firm with his business card in three days to find me."

Lin Xiyu's eyes showed shock: "You really want him to work at the firm?"

"Why not?"

Guben looked deeply at her and smiled meaningfully: "Placing a love rival by your side, with someone always watching him, is the safest..."

Lin Xiyu: "......"

This move is really something!

Fortunately, Zhao Yuncheng and she were only an exchange of interests, with no emotional involvement.

Otherwise, a green and ignorant young whippersnapper falling into the hands of a workplace elite with deep scheming would surely be tormented to the point of being neither alive nor dead.

"What are you thinking?"

Guben seemed to have seen through her thoughts, narrowing his eyes dangerously: "Could it be that you feel sorry for him and are dissatisfied with my arrangement?"

"Is there?"

Lin Xiyu didn't want to lose the momentum; just as she was about to retort, "Which eye of yours saw that?" a sharp honk interrupted her train of thought.

Someone was injured in the accident and called the police.

The police arrived and cordoned off the scene; the seriously injured and unconscious personnel were carried onto ambulances.

"Does your foot hurt very much?"

Seeing the police breathe a sigh of relief, Guben no longer bothered to press further; he lowered his head to look at her right foot.

"It hurts."

Lin Xiyu moved her ankle slightly, and a heart-piercing pain came.

"Go to the hospital."

Guben's expression changed; without thinking, he scooped her up with both arms and walked toward the ambulance.

—

The emergency room was crowded; many people injured in the accident came to the hospital for treatment one after another.

Lin Xiyu's ankle was injured, swollen like a steamed bun; fortunately, an X-ray was taken, and her bones were fine, giving her some psychological comfort.

The doctor prescribed painkillers, both oral and topical; Guben helped her queue, register, pay, and collect the medicine, handling everything throughout.

Lin Xiyu watched him silently, her gaze momentarily dazed, as if returning to the days before he went abroad when the two were intimately close.

Back then, he was just as considerate and gentle, taking care of every detail for her, cherishing her.

She once thought they would go on like that, hand in hand, entering the hall of marriage.

Unexpectedly, the final result still lost to cruel reality.

—

After staying at the hospital for over an hour, when they left, the clock already pointed to 2 AM.

The bustling city quieted down, and occasionally a few stray firecrackers could still be heard near the hospital.

Guben hailed a taxi at the hospital doorway, opened the car door, intending to take her home.

"No need, I can go back myself."

Lin Xiyu thought of her cramped rental and subconsciously wanted to refuse.

"It's too late; it's not safe for you to go back alone."

Guben's attitude was very firm, allowing no objection, and he carried her into the taxi, getting in himself.

"I'm already used to..."

Lin Xiyu wanted to struggle a bit more, not wanting him to see her predicament.

"Master, please go to No. 1 Longhua West Road, XH District."

Guben gave her no chance and told the driver the address.

Lin Xiyu was shocked to the core: "How do you know I live there?"

"Have you perhaps forgotten?"

Guben's heroic brows showed a hint of joking: "Wu Meng is not only your best friend, but also my classmate."

Lin Xiyu: "......."

That hit home!

Suddenly there was the illusion of being betrayed by her best friend and choosing friends unwisely.

—

Shanghai's housing prices, since the cancellation of welfare housing allocation in 1998, have skyrocketed, making them unaffordable.

Lin Xiyu graduated with a master's from East China Normal University and, through her supervisor's recommendation, stayed in Shanghai as a teacher at a public secondary vocational school.

A new hire just starting out, her monthly salary was only three thousand yuan.

The school had no single dormitories, so she could only rent; her meager pay minus daily expenses left almost nothing.

Housing prices were high, and rent was also high.

The cheapest rental near the school cost over a thousand yuan a month.

Fortunately, she had been frugal since childhood; during school she cooperated with her maternal aunt to sell clothes and saved some money, which allowed her to find a suitable house and sign a one-year contract.

She rented a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit, totaling 35 square meters; the landlord was stationed abroad in Singapore and locked one room, leaving her only a small south-facing room.

The small room was only 8 square meters; besides the closet, the desk could only fit a bed.

—

The taxi moved through the night, passing brightly lit streets and alleys, entering No. 1 Longhua West Road.

No. 1 Longhua West Road was the old site of Shanghai Longhua Airport.

In 1985 it was rebuilt as Civil Aviation Shanghai Secondary Vocational School, under the Civil Aviation East China Regional Administration Bureau.

Lin Xiyu, a graduate student, was assigned to work at the East China Bureau; since she was a normal school student, after her internship ended she was assigned to the secondary vocational school as a teacher.

Longhua Airport covered a huge area; the gate faced west, and at the doorway there was a not very clear small river ditch, locally called the Yin-Yang River.

Crossing the bridge and entering the gate, to the left were the school and airfield, to the right was Shanghai Aircraft Repair Plant No. 2.

Continuing west along the small path in front of the repair plant, passing the Civil Aviation Staff Dormitory Area, the westernmost end was the secondary vocational school's student dormitory.

—

The house Lin Xiyu rented was in the Civil Aviation Staff Dormitory; the taxi stopped below one of the buildings.

Guben paid the shipping fee and carried her down.

"Which floor?"

He glanced at the unit doorway, clearly not intending to put her down.

"I can walk myself."

Lin Xiyu struggled to get down.

"It's the middle of the night, neighbors are all asleep..."

Guben pointed out the fact: "Are you sure you want to argue with me over this small matter, make it known to everyone, and wake everyone up?"

"5th floor."

Lin Xiyu was struck at her deadlock by him, and her momentum obviously weakened.

She was a teacher, educating people; her reputation was very important, and she couldn't let people gossip.

Guben's mouth corner curled slightly, carrying her into the stairwell and up to the fifth floor.

—

"Thank you today, it's very late, you should go back and rest."

Arriving at her doorway, Lin Xiyu gained some confidence and resolved not to let him in.

"Not inviting me in for a sip of saliva?"

Guben carried a person up five floors; even though he was strong and healthy, he broke out in a thin sweat.

"My family temple is small and cannot hold a great Buddha like you."

Lin Xiyu stood motionless, showing no intention of yielding.

"Want to burn the bridge after crossing it again?"

Guben's aura shifted abruptly, a cold and oppressive breath instantly closing in, pinning her firmly against the wall.

Lin Xiyu's breath caught, and she lifted her eyes to meet his.

His jaw tightened, his brow furrowed, and the ink-black in his eyes was deep enough to be impossible to dissolve.

Lin Xiyu felt a sour ache in her heart, and an uncontrollable sense of grievance welled up.

He left for the United States without a word, and there was no news for five years; why should he return and expect her to forgive him?

"I've thought it over; we're not suitable, so we shouldn't......"

She spoke as if sulking, and before her voice faded, her soft lips were covered by someone.

Guben pinned her against the wall, greedily sucking on her rosy lips.

No one knew how madly he had missed this sweet taste for five years.

——

The familiar feeling swept over them, easily shattering one's nerves and creating an illusion that the two were still a couple in the heat of passion, never having parted.

Under his fiery assault, Lin Xiyu crumbled completely, her breathing gradually becoming labored.

"Catch your breath......"

Guben noticed her abnormality and eased his strength slightly.

Lin Xiyu's chest trembled slightly; she seized the chance to take a few breaths, but before she could accuse him, she was covered again.

This time Guben kissed her very gently, leading her breathing with his own rhythm.

Lin Xiyu had not been this intimate with a man for a long time; she could not resist his teasing, and soon her legs went weak, collapsing into his arms.

"You're not allowed to say we're not suitable anymore."

Guben half-supported, half-embraced her, tightening his hold on her waist: "Dare to deliberately anger me again, and it won't be just this kind of punishment."

"You're bullying me......"

Lin Xiyu was both ashamed and annoyed, pounding his chest.

"Stop fooling around, open the door quickly."

Guben's husky voice carried restraint: "I don't mind letting the neighbors hear, or maybe you want some excitement, to continue here?"

Lin Xiyu was struck right at her deadlock by him again and completely gave up struggling.

——

The door opened, and Guben scooped her up with both hands, carrying her into the room; the cramped space seemed even more crowded because of his presence.

"You live here?"

The moment the wall lamp lit up, even though he was mentally prepared, he was still stunned by the shabby environment.

"I told you not to come in."

Lin Xiyu felt as if her covering cloth had been torn, running naked in public, an extreme sense of shame.

"This bed is too small; it's a bit cramped for two people."

Guben was shocked for only one second, then quickly composed himself, bent down, and laid her on the bed.

"Whether it's cramped is none of your business?"

Lin Xiyu became angry from embarrassment and shoved him hard: "You go, I'm tired, I want to sleep."

"It's so late, where do you want me to go?"

Guben tugged at his tie, a hint of joking flashing in his eyes.

"Go wherever you want......."

Lin Xiyu was in a bad mood, took off her coat, and threw it onto the book desk.

"I'm leaving, who will take care of you?"

Guben ignored her provocation, squatted down, and helped her take off her shoes.

"None of your business......."

Lin Xiyu kicked her legs irritably; touching her ankle injury, the intense pain made her whole body tremble.

"Does it hurt very much?"

Guben's expression changed; he took off his long boots, carefully held up her right foot, and placed it on his leg.

"Of course it hurts."

Lin Xiyu's emotions completely exploded at this moment, and tears fell uncontrollably.

"Good, don't cry anymore."

Guben flustered, extremely annoyed: "It's my fault, I shouldn't have provoked you......."

"Of course it's your fault, it's you, it's you, no news for so many years, and as soon as you return you bully me......"

Lin Xiyu used both hands and feet, kicking and hitting, venting the grievance suppressed in her heart for many years.

"Hiss."

Guben's lower abdomen was kicked by her, and the pain made his brow furrow tightly.

Lin Xiyu realized something was wrong and suddenly lifted his upper garment.

A scarlet scar came into view, shocking her so much her pupils shrank and her heartbeat almost stopped.

Why was there such a large scar on his body?!

What had he experienced all these years in the United States?

An indescribable heartache spread through her whole body in an instant, and tears fell uncontrollably, even more surging than before.

"It's fine now, it's all in the past?"

Guben did not defend himself; instead, he gently pulled her into his arms.

Lin Xiyu wiped her tears haphazardly, and an inexplicable irritability surged up.

How could she fail to guess his hardships? In such circumstances, he had no choice but to drop out of school and accompany his mother to the United States for medical treatment.

She knew he had his reasons and did not blame him for leaving without saying goodbye.

The hurdle she could not get over in her heart was that he unilaterally declared their breakup, giving the reason that he did not want to drag her down.

—

"Xiyu, let's talk."

Seeing her lower her brows and eyes, her mood gloomy, Guben felt a bit panicked.

Afraid she might impulsively reject him again on the spur of the moment, causing irreparable regret.

He took out a bank card from the inner pocket of his upper garment, placed it in her palm, using it as proof to express his intentions.

"Regarding the contract marriage, what I said in the Western restaurant was all true; I believe I am more suitable than that person."