Chapter 197

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"There's wine, meat, and good dishes; we're celebrating the New Year too."

Wu Meng saw the fireworks and got excited, pulling a small bottle of baijiu out of her pocket as if performing a magic trick.

"You still drink alcohol?"

Lin Xiyu smiled and teased: "If you get drunk, don't make a drunken scene in the ward."

"There's my cousin here, isn't there?"

Wu Meng laughed cheerfully: "Even if I get drunk, you don't need to worry; let him carry me away."

"Sister..."

Zhao Yuncheng deliberately acted silly: "There's a saying; I don't know if I should say it or not?"

"What do you want to say?"

Wu Meng figured he had nothing good to say, glaring at him with a displeased face.

"You're too fat; I can't carry you."

Sure enough, Zhao Yuncheng's next words made her fur bristle magnificently.

"You dare say I'm fat?!"

"Don't shout so loudly; this is a ward, don't let the nurses hear."

"You still dare say that, I'll beat you to death."

"Ay ay, save me, Sister Xiyu, you all saw it, my sister has been beating me like this since childhood......."

The two siblings were addicted to bickering, neither willing to concede, chasing each other around the ward, jumping up and down; the scene looked especially comical.

Lin Xiyu and Guben were of one mind, silently eating melon and watching the show, with no intention of interfering or advising.

A New Year's Eve dinner, with the two siblings deliberately acting silly, joking and teasing, eating with considerable enjoyment.

Guben's injuries had not healed; Lin Xiyu didn't want him to tire himself out, so she had him lie down and rest early.

The two siblings were tactful in taking their leave and departing.

Seeing them leave, Guben shifted his body, clearing a space, and had his wife lie down beside him.

Lin Xiyu couldn't argue with him and could only agree.

She had stayed up in the ward for several days, exhausted to the extreme; she closed her eyes and fell asleep in no time.

Guben gently kissed her forehead, the tenderness in his eyes almost overflowing.

Lin Xiyu slept soundly, her small mouth open, emitting light snores.

Guben smiled dotingly, kissed her lips once more, then closed his eyes contentedly, entering dreamland with her.

——

Outside the hospital, Zhao Yuncheng hid in a secluded corner, calling the behind-the-scenes boss who ordered the meal.

"Brother Fan, rest assured I handle things; Sister Xiyu drank the pigeon soup and ate the sea cucumber; the braised large shrimp, I personally peeled the shells and put them in her bowl..."

"Sister Xiyu looks fine in complexion, fair with a rosy glow, recovering well, chatting and laughing with us..."

"Thank you, Brother Fan, Happy New Year to you, Brother Fan; I wish you a happy New Year first, wishing Brother Fan great luck in the new year, abundant wealth, and all wishes fulfilled..."

——

"Fine, you little brat; I was wondering when you'd latched onto a big spender paying for your meals; turns out it's Wang Fan..."

Zhao Yuncheng was nodding and bowing while speaking when a figure suddenly appeared, scaring him nearly to death on the spot.

"Oh my god, where did you pop out from?"

"Honestly confess, when did you hook up with Wang Fan?"

Wu Meng didn't answer but asked back; taking advantage of his stunned moment, she snatched the phone away in one grab.

"Beep beep..."

A busy tone came from the earpiece, showing the other party had ended the call.

"Hey, this brat..."

Wu Meng was furious: "Hearing my voice, he actually hung up the phone."

"Sister, are you really my sister?"

Zhao Yuncheng begged with a bitter face: "You absolutely must not tell Brother Bin about this; otherwise I'll be caught between two sides and will definitely be tortured to death by them."

"You answer me first..."

Wu Meng glared at him discontentedly: "When did you get involved with Wang Fan?"

"It's all your fault anyway?"

Zhao Yuncheng glared back resentfully: "If it weren't for you making me come to Shanghai, I wouldn't be suffering this."

"Stop complaining, speak quickly."

Wu Meng, impatient, raised her phone to threaten him: "Dare not tell the truth, I'll smash your phone."

"No no no, don't smash it."

Zhao Yuncheng was scared white: "I say, I say, isn't that okay?"

Wu Meng held the phone, waving it before his eyes, ready to let go at any moment.

Zhao Yuncheng looked terrified, not daring to hide anymore: "I'm really damn unlucky; Sister Xiyu was caught by Brother Fan on the day she got her certificate; no chance to explain at all; he came up and gave me a beating; after beating me, still not satisfied, he wanted to throw me into the Huangpu River to feed the fish..."

"You're not serious, are you?"

Wu Meng listened until her scalp went numb: "Wang Fan, this kid, is actually this brutal? Like a gangster, not taking human life seriously, in broad daylight he dares to kill?"

"I don't know if he's a gangster or not......"

Zhao Yuncheng rubbed the chicken skin bumps on his arm, his face full of terror: "I only know that if I hadn't reacted quickly that day and voluntarily tipped him off, I'd already be at the bottom of the water, fish feed."

"You said it yourself, being his inside man?"

Wu Meng gave him a look of dislike.

"If I hadn't said that, I'd be dead."

Zhao Yuncheng complained resentfully: "Could you really bear to let me die? I'm your own cousin!"

"What exactly did you tip him off about, what information did you report?"

Wu Meng really didn't want to admit she had such a useless cousin.

"I didn't say anything......"

Zhao Yuncheng smiled bitterly: "Just jotted down some trivial little things in Sister Xiyu's daily life, and reported them every now and then."

"That's all......"

Wu Meng didn't believe him, and raised her mobile phone again, making as if to throw it.

"There really isn't anything else."

Zhao Yuncheng's heart jumped: "It's......"

"It's what?"

Wu Meng refused to let up.

"The matter of Brother Bin buying a luxury mansion for Sister Xiyu......"

Zhao Yuncheng was forced by her to have no choice, and had to tell everything from beginning to end: "Brother Fan asked me to deliberately find an opportunity and leak the news to Liu Rushi, as for why he wanted to tell her, I don't know."

"Fine, so it was you who told Liu Rushi?"

Wu Meng angrily slapped his head with her hand: "You silly goose, you still don't understand? He wants to use a knife to kill, using Liu Rushi to drive a wedge between Guben and Xiyu."

"They're fine, they weren't driven apart."

Zhao Yuncheng thick-skinnedly defended: "And after going through so many twists and turns, their feelings have only gotten better."

"You still have the nerve to say that......"

Wu Meng angrily hammered him a few more times.

"Sister, I beg you."

Zhao Yuncheng grabbed her arm, pleading with a bitter face: "Just pity your younger brother, please don't tell Brother Bin, Brother Bin drove me away, in Brother Fan's eyes I have no more use value, who knows if he's unhappy one day and throws me into the Huangpu River to feed the fish again."

"I can't help you with this."

Wu Meng shook off his hand with dislike: "You must admit your mistake yourself, kowtow and apologize to Guben and Xiyu, if they are generous enough to forgive you, then go back to the countryside, don't come back again."

"Sister......"

Zhao Yuncheng still wanted to beg.

"I don't want to hear....."

Wu Meng spoke sternly: "If you're sensible, don't say anything, go back to the ward with me now, kneel down and kowtow to apologize, beg them to forgive you."

"Sigh."

Seeing he couldn't persuade her, Zhao Yuncheng lowered his head in dejection, and didn't make a sound anymore.

——

The standoff between the sister and younger brother ended with the sister's victory.

Zhao Yuncheng was pulled upstairs by her by the ear, and indeed knelt before the two people's bed.

Guben slept lightly, and alertly opened his eyes at the sudden noise.

Lin Xiyu was extremely tired, sleeping very soundly, not noticing at all that the sister and younger brother had returned and come back to the ward.

"Brother Bin, I was wrong, I harmed you and Sister Xiyu, hit me......"

Zhao Yuncheng knelt on the ground, kowtowed with bang bang bang sounds, the bruise on his forehead looked especially shocking in the dim ward.

"Get up, do what you should do in the future, just like before."

Unexpectedly, Guben did not scold him, only a cold ruthlessness of unknown meaning flashed in the depths of his eyes.

With his shrewdness, how could he fail to notice Zhao Yuncheng's strangeness, as the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind.

The news Zhao Yuncheng privately told Wang Fan was all what he wanted Wang Fan to know.

Only by letting him clearly understand how much he loved Xiyu, how good their relationship was, that outsiders had no chance to interfere in their relationship, could he give up hope and no longer have any illusions.

"Thank you Brother Bin, thank you Brother Bin......"

At this moment Zhao Yuncheng's gaze toward Guben was like toward reborn parents.

"Use your brain more in the future......"

Wu Meng felt embarrassed for him, and slapped his head a few times unhappily: "What can be said, what can't be said, don't you have any sense? If you dare to talk nonsense again and hurt them, I won't let you off."

"I know, I know......"

Zhao Yuncheng held his head and begged for mercy: "Sister, don't hit me anymore, if you hit me again I'll really be hit stupid by you."

"Go out."

Guben didn't want them to disturb Lin Xiyu's rest, and wearily waved his hand.

"Ai."

Zhao Yuncheng felt greatly relieved, climbed up from the ground, and scurried away.

"Guben, this matter is my fault......"

Wu Meng felt guilty in her heart, walked to the doorway and turned back: "It was I who didn't consider things thoroughly at first, shouldn't have called this brat over from the countryside."

"This, is probably fate."

Guben had no intention of blaming her: "Heaven arranged it this way, so I can repay my karmic debt through this method."

"Those words really don't sound like they came from your mouth..."

Wu Meng's heart was full of guilt and unease, but his godman-like words left her quite helpless.

"It's late, you should go back and rest too."

Guben didn't want to say more, frowning as he closed his eyes wearily.

"Fine, I'll buy you breakfast tomorrow morning."

Wu Meng sighed helplessly, closed the door, and left the ward.

—

The first day of the Lunar New Year.

Lin Xiyu slept soundly and comfortably, waking up early feeling refreshed.

After a simple wash-up, she started calling relatives and friends one by one to wish them a happy new year, from her high school class teacher to the current principal, not missing a single one.

"Grandma, don't worry, I'm doing well in Shanghai, and Wu Meng is keeping me company for the New Year. After I finish my shift at school, I'll definitely be back before the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

"Mom, stop worrying, I've already found someone. I'll bring him home in a couple of days for you to meet. Really, I'm not lying to you. No, no, no, it's not Wang Fan, don't imagine things. He already has a son, and there's no chance between him and me..."

"Happy New Year, Grandma Hu. Really? Quan Shui Culture Paper Cutting was selected as the most characteristic folk culture of Jinan? That's wonderful, that's a great occasion. When I return to Jinan, I must celebrate properly."

"Auntie, there's no rush about the profit sharing. Let's talk when I return to Jinan. Is Nana beside you? Have her call me older sister. Oh, she sounds so sweet. When I go back, I'll buy you something delicious. How about White Rabbit Milk Candy? Okay, fine, Nana likes to eat it. Sister will buy you a big pack so you can eat your fill..."

—

On her end, she made one phone call after another, chatting animatedly. In contrast, Guben seemed forgotten, lying alone quietly on the bed, with no desire to catch up with relatives and friends.

"Aren't you making New Year calls?"

Lin Xiyu knew he had a knot in his heart. The news of his return from the United States was kept very secret. Except for Sixth Grandfather from BJ, no other relatives knew, including his grandparents and his maternal grandmother who went to live in Guangdong with her eldest uncle's family.

"Go ahead and call."

Guben lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, the teasing in his eyes obvious: "You're more suited to making New Year calls. One person talking like a crosstalk performer, chatting lively with adults and children alike."

"It's the New Year after all. There's only one time like this in a year..."

Lin Xiyu had a cheerful personality. Even talking alone, she didn't let the conversation go cold. In this, she was a bit like her female cousin, seemingly inheriting Da Yifu's genes for Shandong fast storytelling.

"My arm is a bit sore..."

Guben pretended to be in pain as he rubbed his arm: "I don't know who it was, using my arm as a pillow and pressing on it all night."

Lin Xiyu's ears turned red. She glared at him unhappily: "Too lazy to say it directly. Don't use this as an excuse."

"I'm sleepy. I'll sleep a bit more."

Guben simply closed his eyes and waved his hand, refusing to care anymore.

"This person, really knows how to shirk responsibility."

Lin Xiyu smiled helplessly, found the contact information from her address book, and started a new round of New Year calls.

"? If you have time, come stay in Shanghai for two days. We'll take you around the area. There are plenty of delicious snacks here, guaranteed to suit your taste."

"Yes, we didn't return to Jinan. The school teachers have to be on duty, and it just happened to be my turn for these few days, so we didn't go back. Guben is in Shanghai keeping me company. We spent the New Year together and plan to return to our hometown before the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

"It's wonderful that you can come. Once you've set the date to come to Shanghai, let us know in advance, and we'll pick you up at the airport. Okay, okay. I'll tell Guben to answer the phone..."

—

Guben wanted to slack off, but the old man wouldn't allow it. Lin Xiyu slapped his arm a few times with a pa-pa-pa sound, waking him up, and held the phone to his ear.

"Sixth Grandfather, you're coming to Shanghai? Which day? Tomorrow? You're coming tomorrow?"

Guben heard the old man's voice in a daze, suddenly opened his eyes, and was so shocked he almost jumped off the bed.

Lin Xiyu was also stunned: "Sixth Grandfather is coming tomorrow?"

"Now it's really..."

Guben covered the phone and smiled bitterly: "The New Year calls you made summoned the old man."

"Did Sixth Grandfather hear some rumors?"

Lin Xiyu's small heart trembled: "I was just saying it casually, being polite. Who could have thought he would really come?"

"Forget it, if he comes, he comes."

Guben was surprised for only a second, then quickly recognized reality: "This matter has become quite a big deal. It can't be hidden even if we want to. Someone must have heard the rumors and passed them to his old ears."