Chapter 212

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"Do you play games to relieve stress?"

Guben smiled understandingly, looking at him with some sympathy.

"At first......"

Under his guidance, Chen Xiaoyi completely opened up: "Later I found it fun, and slowly got a bit addicted."

"How's it going?"

Guben asked with a smile: "Are your hands fast? How high is your level?"

"Not bad."

Chen Xiaoyi, with a boyish nature, proudly boasted: "Compared to those few classmates of mine, my hand speed is the fastest."

"Playing games is interesting, isn't it?"

Guben guided him step by step: "Have you ever thought of something more meaningful than playing games?"

"What's more meaningful?"

Chen Xiaoyi was indeed piqued by him and asked impatiently.

"Making games."

Guben threw out bait: "Not just being a player, but the behind-the-scenes controller making games."

"Sounds pretty awesome......"

Chen Xiaoyi's eyes lit up, as if, under his guidance, he had opened the door to a new world.

Guben asked again: "Want to make games with Brother Bin?"

"You want to make games?"

Chen Xiaoyi was greatly surprised.

"Until now, I still hadn't figured out what to do after quitting my job......"

Guben stroked his chin thoughtfully: "Thinking about it now, opening a game company and making games isn't bad."

"Okay, count me in......"

Chen Xiaoyi was inexplicably excited: "I also want to make games with you."

"You, not yet......"

Guben analyzed rationally: "To make games, you must have a skill—software development, game special effects, art design, sound production, etc. —all need professional talent. To participate in R&D and production, you need targeted study of professional knowledge, fully unleash your potential, and get into the ideal institution."

"What kind of school teaches game making?"

Chen Xiaoyi listened very seriously, his big eyes shining.

"Art universities, such as China Communication University, Central Academy of Fine Arts......"

Guben changed the subject and said: "But such universities are hard to get into; they all require an art foundation."

"Sigh."

Chen Xiaoyi's gaze dimmed, and he lost his spirit.

"If you don't study painting......"

Guben smiled jokingly and said: "Then you can only grind hard and study science subjects. As long as you master computer applications and learn software development, you can also have your own place in a game company."

"I want to learn......"

Chen Xiaoyi's spirits lifted, and he perked up instantly.

"If you want to learn, just learn......"

Guben encouraged him: "Give it your all and get into the ideal institution."

"I also want to give it my all......"

Chen Xiaoyi's face fell again upon hearing this: "But no matter how hard I try, my grades won't go up."

"High school isn't about rote memorization; learning methods are very important."

Guben had been waiting for this moment and spoke at the right time: "How about this? While I and your sister are still in Jinan, come stay at my place these two days, and I'll tutor you."

"Okay, I want to go....."

Chen Xiaoyi instantly became spirited again, no longer dejected as before.

"Hehe."

Guben saw him change faces faster than flipping a book and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What are you two talking about? Chatting for so long?"

Lin Xiyu heard the laughter, poked her head in from outside the internet cafe, and glanced meaningfully at the two of them.

"This is an agreement between men; we won't tell her......"

Guben deliberately kept her in suspense and exchanged a knowing look with Chen Xiaoyi.

"Hehe."

Chen Xiaoyi instantly felt like he and him had formed an alliance, hehe-hehe laughing stupidly happy.

"When did you two have secrets? Even keeping them from me."

Lin Xiyu's scrutinizing gaze went back and forth over the two faces, she narrowed her eyes, showing a bit of displeasure.

"I said, this is a secret between men."

Guben sneakily winked at her: "Don't ask anymore. Xiaoyi will stay at the old house these two days; tell your mom, and bring his schoolbag and a change of clothes over. I'll tutor him."

"Fine."

Seeing that her younger brother had no objection, Lin Xiyu stopped asking further.

—

The three took a taxi back to Donghua Street; even though Lin Xiyu was reluctant, she had to steel herself to go upstairs and explain the situation to her mother.

Seeing that her son had not returned, Chen Xiulan first put on a cold face; upon hearing that they would live together with her and her husband at Wangfu Pool West Street, her expression turned extremely ugly.

To get her mother to agree, Lin Xiyu deliberately spoke seriously to scare her: "This time your younger brother ran away from home; fortunately he didn't run into bad people. If someone had their eye on him, they might cut out his kidney, and his little life would be gone."

"Didn't he go to the internet cafe to play games?"

Hearing about cutting out a kidney, Chen Xiulan indeed trembled in fright, her complexion changing drastically.

"In the middle of the night, he was wandering the streets..."

Lin Xiyu said half-truthfully: "He really had nowhere else to go, so he went to the internet cafe. When Guben and I went to find him, he was asleep on the table. It was freezing cold, and the internet cafe wasn't warm either; staying inside for one night was suffering enough."

"That's still his own fault..."

Chen Xiulan was displeased: "Having a home and not going back, instead going to an internet cafe."

"Don't always blame Xiaoyi..."

Lin Xiyu patiently advised: "He's already thirteen years old, a big child now, with his own opinions. If you only use corporal punishment, nothing but hitting and scolding, it will only make him resentful and more and more rebellious."

"I didn't hit him with a stick..."

Chen Xiulan argued: "I only slapped him a few times with my hand."

"You know very well how hard your hand is, don't you?"

Lin Xiyu laughed in anger: "Besides, is there a difference between using a hand and using a stick? Both are hitting a child; the nature is the same. Both will affect the child's psychology and leave an indelible shadow."

"Spare the rod and spoil the child."

Chen Xiulan insisted on her own view: "When you were young, how many children hadn't been beaten? Letting the child run wild and not caring at all—that's truly harming him."

"No one is stopping you from managing him; just pay attention to the proper measure."

Lin Xiyu was speechless: "Managing a child and hitting a child are two different things. You don't have to hit to educate a child well."

Chen Xiulan refused to compromise: "I know how to educate my child; I don't need you to teach me."

"Now I understand."

Lin Xiyu was furious: "No wonder at your school, other teachers' bicycle valve stems aren't removed, but yours is singled out. With your stubborn attitude, how many people have you offended? They don't say it on the surface, but they resent you deeply in their hearts..."

"Those are just underachieving students who don't strive for improvement..."

Chen Xiulan had been struck in a sore spot; her voice became even more shrill: "Your mother is the Academic Affairs Director, responsible for discipline. If she doesn't manage strictly, wouldn't the school be in chaos?"

"Even so, you don't need to use the way you manage students on Xiaoyi..."

Lin Xiyu spoke up for her younger brother: "Isn't Xiao Yi excellent enough? He skipped two grades and entered high school at only thirteen. In front of outsiders, he's already given you enough face. What more do you want? What kind of person do you still want to force him into?"

"Haven't you considered him at all? Given his age, can he keep up with the pace in high school? Is the study pressure great? Will he be discriminated against by classmates?"

"He is your son, not a tool for you to show off to others. Can you put away your vanity and truly think for your son, truly consider for him? Don't keep pushing him to the edge of the cliff. Push any further, and he will truly collapse. Who knows, one day you might lose the son you went to such trouble to give birth to."

—

"Are you threatening me?"

Chen Xiulan glared at her angrily.

"I'm not threatening you; I'm just speaking the truth..."

Lin Xiyu had run out of patience and no longer wanted to continue talking: "I've taken Xiaoyi's schoolbag and clothes. You think it over carefully at home. If you don't want your relationship with your son to grow distant, if you don't want your children to resent you, it's time to think things through clearly."

"You all have grown stiff wings and don't take your parents seriously. If you don't want to come back, then don't come back. This old woman doesn't want to serve you anyway."

Chen Xiulan was angry that her daughter talked back to her, and her temper flared even more; she roared at her again.

Lin Xiyu didn't want to say more. Taking her younger brother's schoolbag and clothes, she turned and left.

The moment she closed the door, a glass water cup smashed against the door with a bang and shattered loudly.

She snorted coldly in her heart, her steps not stopping, and she went downstairs three steps at a time.

—

Downstairs.

"Sister, you finally came down."

Chen Xiaoyi waited in the hallway, constantly looking upstairs. Seeing his sister come down, his eyes showed surprise and joy. He hurried over: "What did you say to Mom? Mom's two shouts could be heard throughout the whole building."

"Don't mind her."

Lin Xiyu sighed somewhat vexedly: "Let her calm down alone at home. You're not like me. If I don't go home for a year, she doesn't care. If you don't go home for a week, she'll cry. By then, it won't be her driving you away, but her begging you to go back."

"Ay ay."

Chen Xiaoyi gave an awkward laugh: "Actually, I think I'm not that important in Mom's heart. If she truly cared about me, could she disregard my feelings and keep pushing me?"

"That's her vanity..."

Lin Xiyu was very vexed: "She can't compete with others herself, so she competes through her son. When her son is successful, she has face, and she can boast about it to the teachers at her school."

"You hit the nail on the head with that one."

Guben came afterward and spoke the truth in one sentence: "Your mom just cares about face. She feels looked down upon because she's divorced, and she wants her son to win back some breath for her. That's why she cares so much about Xiaoyi's studies."

"She has face, but doesn't she think about whether I'm that kind of material?"

Chen Xiaoyi laughed self-mockingly: "I'm at the bottom in age now. If I really have to repeat a grade, her face will look even worse. After suffering outside, when I get home, won't she beat me to death?"

"She won't."

Lin Xiyu laughed jokingly: "She can't bear to beat you to death; she'll only beat you half to death."

"Ay, my dear sister..."

Chen Xiaoyi laughed in anger: "You'd be better off not saying that. It makes my heart turn cold. I might as well find a piece of tofu and smash myself to death."

"Don't stand in the hallway. Let's go home first."

Guben saw a neighbor coming in from outside the stairwell, so he turned sideways to make room.

"Let's go, we'll talk at home."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to be laughed at by others, so she gave her younger brother a look, and they went down the stairs one after the other.

Guben took the schoolbag and clothes from her hand, and accompanied the sister and brother home together.

—

Wangfu Pool West Street.

Xiao Ruirui was very curious when she saw Chen Xiaoyi; she hid behind her great-grandmother, poked out half of her little head, and her small gaze kept staring at him.

"Call him Brother."

Chen Xiaoyi squatted down to tease him.

"What brother, call him Uncle."

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded, giving him a white eye: "You've really learned to be silly, you don't even know your seniority anymore."

"I go......"

Chen Xiaoyi looked bewildered: "I'm only thirteen years old, and now I'm an uncle?"

"Stop being affected, hurry up and study."

Lin Xiyu patted his head and chased him away with a smile.

"Sigh."

Chen Xiaoyi wilted as soon as he heard about studying, and sighed with great resentment: "Why am I so unfortunate? I can't escape the clutches of studying wherever I go."

"Don't forget the agreement between men......"

Lin Xiyu teased him jokingly: "As your sister, although I don't know what you two are up to, being so mysterious, it probably has something to do with your future ideals. Since you have a goal, you must work hard, and don't let me look down on you."

"Study, I'll study right now......"

Chen Xiaoyi was young at heart; a few words aroused his sister's competitive spirit: "I don't believe it, I can't learn well. Starting today, I will study with hair suspended from the beam and an awl pricking my thigh, without sleep or rest, studying twenty-four hours a day without interruption. None of you stop me."

"None of us will stop you......"

Lin Xiyu found it funny, and gave him another strong dose of medicine: "As long as you understand that studying is for your own good. If you don't put in hard work and can't get into your ideal university, then you'll cry yourself, and it has nothing to do with us."

"I won't cry."

Chen Xiaoyi muttered discontentedly.

"If you don't want to cry, go study."

Lin Xiyu added: "While your brother-in-law is here, someone can tutor you. After he leaves, if you want to find a Provincial Top Scholar to tutor you, it will be difficult."

"Brother-in-law? Hehe......"

Chen Xiaoyi heard the two words "brother-in-law," chuckled, and his small gaze darted back and forth between Lin Xiyu and Guben, full of ambiguity.

"Is it wrong to call him brother-in-law?"

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded: "Speaking of this, I just remembered that you, kid, seem to have never called him brother-in-law, always calling him Brother Bin......"

"I have called him......"

Chen Xiaoyi quickly confessed: "I used to call him that, but after you two broke up, I changed what I called him."

"Called him?"

Lin Xiyu frowned, looked at him doubtfully, and then looked at Guben.

"I forgot."

Under his wife's Death Stare, Guben chose to preserve himself.

"No way, my good brother-in-law......"

Chen Xiaoyi called out "brother-in-law" in a heartbreaking voice: "We just formed an alliance, and you sold me out. You're really not righteous."

"This is on-the-spot teaching, giving you a lesson."

Guben smiled black-belliedly: "From now on, you must also remember that to have a harmonious marriage, you must follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues for a good husband: when your wife goes out, follow her; when your wife gives orders, obey her; when your wife is wrong, blindly follow her; when your wife puts on makeup, wait for her; when it's your wife's birthday, remember it; when your wife spends money, be willing to spend it; when your wife beats or scolds you, endure it."

"Hehe......"

After he rattled off this jingle, not only did Lin Xiyu find it funny, but even Grandpa Gu showed a smile he couldn't suppress.

"I'm convinced."

Chen Xiaoyi gave a thumbs up to express his admiration: "No wonder my sister willingly waited for you for Five Years. Your skill at flattering your wife, even Chong Ge fighting a fighter jet can't catch up......"