Chapter 32: A Perfect Match

“Besides, just because Zhang Dafen isn’t a good person doesn’t mean everyone else is the same. Remember last year when your grandmother accidentally set the kitchen firewood alight while cooking? It was her eldest brother who came running with a bucket of water to put out the fire...”

“I know, I’ll go watch the phone booth for my brother so he can come back for lunch.”

Not wanting to listen to her mother’s nagging, her cousin lifted the curtain and dashed out like the wind.

“This child...”

Unable to catch her, and not wanting outsiders to overhear, her aunt could only glare helplessly at the door curtain.

“Let it go, don’t worry about her,” Lin Xiyu’s mother said, amused, deliberately steering the conversation elsewhere. “Since everyone’s here today, the whole family together, let’s discuss something important. The neighborhood committee has issued an official notice: we must move out within two months. Old Huang’s son absolutely refuses to extend the lease, and even Director Zhang couldn’t resolve it. You’re the eldest, so you’ll have to make the decision.”

“Sigh.” The mere thought of the house filled her aunt with a heavy sadness, and she lost the urge to argue with her daughter, letting out a deep sigh.

—

Gu Bin didn’t get to taste Lin Xiyu’s cooking; he was summoned home by a barrage of calls from his grandfather to accompany the old man for a game of chess.

The old man had returned from morning exercises, picked up a roast chicken on the way, and enjoyed a couple of drinks with a drumstick at lunch, putting him in a particularly good mood. He was even humming a little tune contentedly as he set up the chessboard.

“Grandpa, before the college entrance exam results come out, I want to take a trip to Mount Tai with some classmates...” Gu Bin tried to broach the subject while his grandfather was cheerful, testing the waters: “We’ve studied together for three years and will soon go our separate ways. Spending a couple of days together, taking some photos, it’d be a nice way to remember these times...”

“Who are you going with?”

His grandfather, sharp as ever, lifted his eyelids and gave him a suspicious look.

“Just the guys I usually play basketball with, the ones I hang out with,” Gu Bin replied casually, “Qu Peng, Wang Fan, Li Liang, those guys...”

“No girls?” His grandfather grinned slyly, his breath tinged with wine as he blew it in his face.

The little rascal wouldn’t come clean, but the old man wasn’t fooled; he knew very well what really happened the last time the bike went missing.

“There might be some girls... if they want to come, that’s fine too,” Gu Bin said, feigning nonchalance.

“Xiao Bin,” his grandfather said, seeing through his little schemes and offering a pointed reminder, “You have to be careful when making friends. I’m not an old stick-in-the-mud who forbids you from spending time with girls, but some things do matter. Family background, social status—if two people are too different in those ways, it’s hard to get along...”

“Hiss...” The phrase “matching family backgrounds” jolted Gu Bin like a splash of cold water, suddenly clearing his mind.

No wonder Lin Xiyu’s attitude toward him had suddenly changed and she’d started avoiding him. So this was the root of the matter.

That little girl had really thought it through!

She was already considering whether their backgrounds matched—she was thinking even further ahead than he was.

Interesting...

“Hey, did you hear what I said?” His grandfather noticed him spacing out and, displeased, flicked his forehead.

“Thank you, Grandpa!” Gu Bin grinned, flattering him. “You really are wise with age. I should learn more from you in the future.”

“You little rascal...” His grandfather chuckled, half exasperated, and made as if to rap him again. “Don’t play dumb with me. Tell me honestly, what are you plotting now?”

“I’m going to call Qu Peng and the others to discuss the trip to Mount Tai.” Gu Bin leaned back and sprang up from the stool, dodging quickly.

“Who said you could call them? I haven’t agreed yet...” His grandfather, having missed his target, grumbled and tossed a slipper at him in mock frustration.