Chapter 214: 90: A Family by the Spring Chapter 214: Two Years of Feelings, Finally Putting a Period in Regret

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

Zhao Yuncheng truly deserved his reputation as the boss's jokingly-called double-faced spy; he was skilled at tailing and eavesdropping.

He staked out outside Li Xiao's home, followed him to and from work, and on his dates with that woman; within two days he really dug up quite a bit of inside information.

Li Xiao's parents had indeed introduced him to a blind date; that female doctor had a very good impression of him and often asked him to meet.

Li Xiao still had feelings for his female cousin, deliberately told her about this, and indeed harbored the intention of testing her.

The female cousin refused to marry, her stubborn attitude deeply stimulated him, the two mutually accused each other of not being considerate, the argument escalated, and ultimately led to their breakup.

Two years of feelings ended in this way; Li Xiao felt bad inside too. To say he didn't regret it at all would definitely be a lie. But the female cousin was also a stubborn person who didn't easily ask others for help.

The two just remained stiff like that, passing day after day in torment.

Lin Xiyu knew the truth and took the initiative to call Li Xiao, arranging to meet him at a teahouse near Jiefang Pavilion.

The two chatted for a long time at the teahouse. Under her persuasion, Li Xiao sparked the last glimmer of hope and made an appointment with her to wait for the female cousin at the teahouse.

Lin Xiyu then informed the female cousin that if she still wanted to salvage this relationship, she absolutely had to come to the teahouse before 9 PM to meet him.

After receiving the call, the female cousin fell into a long silence.

At this moment, she was on the road returning from Weihai to Jinan and would normally arrive at 8 PM.

But Heaven was blind, and she happened to encounter a traffic accident with severe traffic jams.

Time passed minute by minute; the waiting person sank into despair minute by minute as time slipped away.

At exactly 9 PM at night, the teahouse closed for the day.

Li Xiao stood up from the chair, took one last look in the direction of Jiefang Pavilion, shook his head with a bitter smile, and left the teahouse.

At the same time, the female cousin raised her wrist in the car to look at her watch, pulled at the corner of her mouth with a bitter smile, then closed her eyes to rest again.

Li Xiao had a flash marriage and held a wedding with the female doctor one month later.

The female cousin did not attend, but only sent someone to give him a flower basket, with grand red celebratory blessings like "a hundred years of harmony" written on it.

Two years of feelings finally came to a period in regret.

From then on, the female cousin put all her energy into her career. Under Aunt Da's year-after-year nagging, she didn't meet a suitable partner again until she was 35, then married and had children.

——

Wangfu Pool West Street.

"I tutored Xiaoyi for two days. What do you think of him? Does he have potential to get into his ideal school?"

Although Lin Xiyu deeply regretted her female cousin's missed opportunity, as a female cousin she couldn't meddle too much in her feelings. Not long after, she put the matter behind her.

What she cared about now was her younger brother's studies. The opening date of the Shanghai Secondary Vocational School was approaching, and she also had to pack her bags and prepare to set off to return to school for classes.

"Do you want to hear the truth or..."

Guben helped her pack her luggage. Hearing this, his movements paused.

"Of course the truth..."

Lin Xiyu smiled and glared at him: "What's the use of listening to your flattery? Buying some gifts would be more practical."

"You're hinting at me..."

Guben joked with a smile: "You're saying I didn't buy you gifts and want gifts."

"I'm asking you about Xiaoyi's studies."

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded: "Stop spouting nonsense here and deliberately twisting my meaning."

"Sigh."

Guben pretended to be vexed and sighed: "You'd be better off asking me for gifts."

"What's wrong?"

Lin Xiyu's heart thumped, and a bad premonition surged: "Is Xiaoyi not learning well? Is the tutoring not effective?"

"Can't say it's not good. This child is still quite smart..."

Guben's eyes showed conflict, hesitating whether to speak the truth.

After all, he wasn't his own younger brother. If he said the wrong thing, he would not only offend his wife but also his mother-in-law, which would be even more disadvantageous for him as a son-in-law.

"Stop hesitating, just say it quickly."

Lin Xiyu could see through his thoughts at a glance: "If you don't tell the truth, that's what will really harm Xiaoyi."

"It's you who asked me to say it..."

Guben cautiously glanced at her, showing a rare guilty expression that made Lin Xiyu amused.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's you who asked me to say it. Hurry up. After we finish packing, I still have to coax Xiao Ruirui to sleep."

"Actually, I think..."

Guben no longer hid anything: "Given Xiaoyi's current age, starting high school first year is still too young. Before, he could skip grades, which should be your mother's credit. He's already used to cram-style education, memorizing problem-solving steps and answers by rote. Such a method was passable in junior high, but in high school, the drawbacks immediately show up."

"High school teachers advocate self-directed learning, different from junior high teachers' teaching methods. The pace is fast, and the amount of knowledge is large. Most importantly, given your mother's ability, she probably can't tutor high school courses anymore. She can only force him to do endless problems, trying to copy the junior high model to improve his grades."

"Using formulas for high school problems is fine, but rote memorization of answers doesn't work. Especially for history and geography, multiple-choice answers all look similar, and whichever you pick feels right. This tests the student's comprehension ability greatly."

——

"Mm-hmm."

Lin Xiyu studied liberal arts in high school and deeply understood what he said.

"You also think what I said is right. That would be great."

Guben felt reassured and added: "So I'm saying, given Xiaoyi's current grades, keeping up with the high school pace is not easy. It's best if he can repeat first year of high school."

"Can't you tutor him?"

Lin Xiyu frowned: "Xiaoyi himself feels embarrassed, I bet he won't be willing, let alone my mom."

"I'm not a god; tutoring him for a few days won't bring his grades up."

Guben rubbed his brow with a headache: "What we can do now is, within the limited time, teach him learning methods as much as possible; whether he learns well still depends on his own realization."

"Must he repeat a year?"

Lin Xiyu knit her brows tightly and asked again seriously.

"It's best that way......"

Guben no longer dwelled on it and gave sound advice.

"Alright."

Lin Xiyu, trusting him, did not refute again: "Let me think, how should I persuade Xiaoyi."

"He doesn't want to repeat a grade because he doesn't want his classmates to look down on him......"

Guben had already thought of this problem: "He can keep his student status and audit at another school, best not in JN City, so he won't have the worry of being looked down upon."

Lin Xiyu tentatively asked: "How about we take him to Shanghai?"

"No."

Guben decisively rejected: "Shanghai's exam mode is different from Shandong's; he can't leave the province. When the college entrance exam comes, he still has to return to the place where his student status is registered to take the exam."

"Hiss."

Lin Xiyu sucked in a breath of cold air, her teeth aching a bit: "That's quite troublesome. Leaving Jinan, but we can't let him follow us to Shanghai. Our family has three generations all in JN City; we don't have a single relative elsewhere. Where can he go to school?"

"Find a high school where he can board......"

Guben gave her an idea: "Best in the Jiaodong area; there are quite a few famous high schools there, and prestigious schools have high admission rates."

"Yantai No. 1 High School isn't bad......"

Lin Xiyu still had worries: "The problem is it's only February now, and there's still half a semester of courses. Even if Xiaoyi agrees to repeat the first year of high school, what about the second half of the semester? If he can't keep up with the progress and ranks at the bottom of the exam, he'll still lose confidence......"

"That depends on his own psychological endurance."

Guben thought for a moment, then said: "You are her older sister; now is the time for the older sister to step in. You should persuade him more, help him analyze the pros and cons; it's good for his future growth."

"Fine."

Lin Xiyu had no choice but to agree helplessly.

——

Guest Room.

"Sister, just say whatever you want to say."

Chen Xiaoyi saw his sister sitting by the book desk, propping her chin with her hand, staring straight at him, and was quite speechless: "You've been looking at me like that for nearly half an hour; my face is almost being looked at until it blooms."

Lin Xiyu deliberately joked: "My younger brother is so handsome; can't my older sister like to look?"

"Cough cough."

Chen Xiaoyi had tender skin and couldn't stand teasing; his sister's sudden joke made his face turn bright red.

"Xiaoyi is only 13 years old; still too young....."

Lin Xiyu found it amusing and sighed from the bottom of her heart: "For your age, your mind isn't fully mature yet, yet you've forced yourself into that high school cage; it's really quite tragic, and your sister feels indignant for you."

"Sister......"

Chen Xiaoyi wasn't stupid; he saw at a glance that his sister had an ulterior motive: "Did Brother-in-law say something to you? Stop beating around the bush; just say whatever you want to say."

"Your brother-in-law praised you as smart, with strong comprehension ability......"

Lin Xiyu didn't want to hurt his self-esteem, so she first praised him thoroughly, causing Chen Xiaoyi to frown continuously.

"But......"

Lin Xiyu finished praising, then immediately turned the conversation.

"I knew there would be a but......."

Chen Xiaoyi nodded understandingly, with an expression of 'I knew it would be like this.'

"Cough cough."

Lin Xiyu covered her mouth and coughed awkwardly twice.

"Sister......"

Chen Xiaoyi straightened his spine and assumed a posture of listening attentively: "What exactly do you want to say? Say it quickly; no matter good or bad, I can bear it."

"Your brother-in-law really praised you as smart......"

Lin Xiyu was about to make another joke when her younger brother glared at her impolitely.

"Alright, actually......"

She coughed awkwardly twice again, no longer dwelling on it: "Your brother-in-law's meaning is to suggest you repeat the first year of high school."

Chen Xiaoyi's eyes dimmed slightly, showing some resistance.

"Xiaoyi, listen to me....."

Lin Xiyu hurriedly explained: "I discussed it with your brother-in-law; we're striving to get Mom to agree, allowing you to study elsewhere."

"Study elsewhere?"

Chen Xiaoyi looked blank; obviously, he had never thought before that one day he would leave Jinan to study elsewhere.

"Yes."

Lin Xiyu tried to analyze for him: "Our SD Province has many good high schools, scattered throughout the province, especially in the Jiaodong area; Yantai No. 1 High School's college admission rate is even better than Jinan No. 1 High School. Moreover, if you go elsewhere, you can board at school and won't be forced by Mom to study at home every day."

"Board at school?"

Chen Xiaoyi, hearing that he wouldn't be forced by Mom to study, was fiercely tempted.

"Do you want to board at school?"

Lin Xiyu saw there was hope and secretly rejoiced.

"Want to."

Sure enough, the next second, Chen Xiaoyi said the expected answer without the slightest hesitation.

—

Lin Xiyu obtained her younger brother's agreement, mustered her courage, and on the evening of the next day came to Donghua Street once more and knocked on the door of her maiden home.

Chen Xiulan saw that only she had returned alone, and her expression was still unpleasant.

"Mom, this time I'm back, I'm not here to quarrel with you."

For her younger brother, Lin Xiyu patiently explained to her mother and frankly stated her intentions.

"No, I don't agree."

Chen Xiulan's attitude remained stubborn, and she opened her mouth to veto: "Xiaoyi is at home, and even with me watching him all day he still doesn't study well; if he goes to another place with no one to restrain him, wouldn't he be even more free to run wild and not put his energy into his studies, so how could his grades possibly be good?"

"You'd better agree..."

Lin Xiyu came prepared, and one sentence seized her mother's deadlock: "Otherwise I'll take Xiaoyi to Shanghai, and from now on my younger brother and I will never come back."

"Are you threatening me?"

Chen Xiulan's expression changed greatly, and she trembled all over with anger.

"You can understand it that way."

Lin Xiyu met her gaze, neither flinching nor avoiding.

"You unfilial daughter..."

Chen Xiulan was so angry she raised her arm to hit her.

"Go ahead and hit me."

Lin Xiyu's eyes showed determination: "I'm putting my words here: as long as you hit me once, I'll do what I say, and today I'll take Xiaoyi away from Jinan and never come back."

"You dare!"

Chen Xiulan's arm, raised halfway, froze in midair.

"See if I dare?"

Lin Xiyu deliberately stepped back two paces, adopting a posture of wanting to leave.

Chen Xiulan was so angry her voice trembled: "You've all grown up, your wings have hardened, and you dare to talk back to me."

"You know we've grown up..."

Lin Xiyu's eyes showed pain: "You still treat us like when we were children, either beating or scolding us; don't you think you've gone too far?"

"You can leave, but your younger brother cannot leave."

Chen Xiulan guiltily averted her gaze.

Lin Xiyu refused to back down: "If you still treat him like before, I cannot leave my younger brother here."

"Don't make it sound like I'm abusing him..."

Chen Xiulan's voice choked with sobs as she said angrily: "Am I not good to him? I won't eat or drink well myself, but I serve him good food and drink, spending all the money on him."

"To tutor him in his studies, I relearned the entire junior high curriculum myself; I taught him with such painstaking effort that he was able to achieve such good grades, skipping two levels and entering a key high school."

—

"Sure enough, Guben's analysis was correct..."

Lin Xiyu was not moved by her words, but instead showed an expression of extreme helplessness: "It's precisely because of your cram-style education that Xiaoyi has lost the ability to learn independently and can't keep up with the high school's pace."

"Guben, Guben, I think you've been bewitched by that person."

Hearing Guben's name made Chen Xiulan even more furious: "You don't think for yourself, but you should think for your mother and your younger brother? Everyone in the old neighborhood knows his family's situation; letting someone like that be our son-in-law, how can Mother hold her head up in front of the neighbors?"