NOVPUBThe sound of slippers tapping on the floor came from inside the house, and it wasn’t long before the door was opened from the inside, Wu Lingyu peeked out half her head to check, "Brother Fan."
Seeing it was Xu Qingfan, the little girl removed the safety lock and opened the door completely.
"Where’s Teacher Guan?" Seeing only Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu inside, Xu Qingfan asked in confusion.
"Taking a shower." Wu Lingyu pointed to the bathroom door and said.
"Have you taken a shower, Xu Qingfan?" Xia Xiaoxiao put down the new skirt she was holding and looked at him.
"Yeah, have you taken yours? The bathroom’s still warm."
"I’m going now!" Xia Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up, and she reached out to Xu Qingfan for the room card.
Having experienced the first shower of winter yesterday, she was chilled to the bone, so this time she was smart about it and determined not to go first.
"Here you go, just remember not to shower for too long, be careful of carbon monoxide poisoning."
After Xia Xiaoxiao took the room card, she bent down to search for a change of clothes in her bag, but Xu Qingfan was standing right there, and she was embarrassed to pull out her underwear in front of the little rascal.
As she got older, her skin seemed to get thinner.
Xia Xiaoxiao remembered a scene from when she was in kindergarten, her face blushing red as she hugged her bag and left the room.
"Weirdo." Xu Qingfan muttered, looking at Xia Xiaoxiao who blushingly hugged her bag for no apparent reason.
"So many things to say in a moment~ alas, soon we will be apart~ I can only gaze deeply into this moment~♪" Guan Biyue’s singing voice came from the bathroom, humming "Qian Qian Que Ge," "Even if the days bring ’Qian Qian Que Ge’~"
At the climax of the song, Xu Qingfan remembered a parody version he had heard in his previous life, "Even if the days bring ’Qian Qian Que Ge’~ may your mother be hit by a car and go to the moon~" He couldn’t help but chuckle and shook his head amusedly.
"Brother Fan, what are you laughing at?" Wu Lingyu had been staring at Xu Qingfan’s face, and seeing his inexplicable laughter, the little girl curiously asked.
Of course, Xu Qingfan would not tell her something that could damage his noble image, "Ahem~ nothing, by the way, why don’t you try on the clothes? Didn’t you like them?" he asked, pointing to the neatly placed shopping bags in the corner.
"I like them, I really do, I’ve tried them on already, and I love them, thank you Brother Fan!" Wu Lingyu quickly shook her head to deny it.
Xu Qingfan guessed what Wu Lingyu might be thinking and tried to comfort her, "It’s nothing, see, I also bought clothes for Wanning and Xiaoxiao. Good friends don’t care about these things."
"But... but..." Wu Lingyu stole a glance at him and eventually lowered her head, gathering the courage to say, "But Wanning and Xiaoxiao also buy gifts for you, Brother Fan, I’ve never bought anything." The little girl started to cry, feeling guilty as she spoke.
"Who told you that? Yu, didn’t you help me with my homework? They wouldn’t do that; why are you crying, my dear?" Xu Qingfan pulled Wu Lingyu to the bed, wiped her tears away with his sleeve.
[Primary school kids are really adorable.] Xu Qingfan found it amusing that Wu Lingyu could feel so guilty about something like this that she cried out loud.
"But... But homework isn’t a gift." Wu Lingyu obediently sat next to Xu Qingfan, her voice choked with sobs.
"How is homework not a gift? Gifts aren’t measured by money. I know your dad needs to spend a lot of money on his medical treatment; our Yu is a good kid who never wastes dad’s life-saving money. I’m more relieved than I could be; how could I blame you?" Xu Qingfan held her in his embrace, resting his chin on Wu Lingyu’s head and spoke softly.
Wu Lingyu felt as if someone had seen through her long-suppressed feelings; her tears silently fell like kites with broken strings, "Hmm~"
"There there~ how big you’ve gotten and still crying, making your face a mess. Teacher Guan is going to come out soon, hurry and wipe your nose and tears." Xu Qingfan handed her the tissue he just used to wipe away her tears.
"Thank you, Brother Fan~" Wu Lingyu took the tissue, folded it, and noisily sucked her nose with it.
After wiping her nose and seeing Xu Qingfan still staring at her and smiling, the little girl instantly lowered her head in embarrassment, [I was so crude just now when I sniffed my nose. He must be laughing at me!]
"Brother Fan~"
"There, there, friendship can’t be measured with money. Don’t think like that anymore, and don’t feel guilty either."
"Okay! Brother Fan, when I grow up, I will definitely repay you properly." Wu Lingyu looked at him with a determined expression.
"Pfft~ You’ve watched too much TV. What, do you want to devote yourself to me like in those dramas?"
"I... no..." Wu Lingyu was so embarrassed she almost buried her face in her neck, whispering a mosquito-like response.
After this little interlude, Wu Lingyu felt as if the stone that had been pressing on her heart had vanished into thin air, leaving her feeling incredibly light.
"What’s there to be shy about? I’m just teasing you. You can talk to me about anything that’s on your mind in the future; we’re good friends," Xu Qingfan said, bringing his face close to hers, forehead to forehead.
Wu Lingyu’s dark eyes widened as she locked gazes with Xu Qingfan, feeling like his eyes were as deep as the universe, and that her own eyes held only him.
"Mhm!"
[Brother Fan, I will definitely repay your kindness!] Wu Lingyu silently vowed to herself.
The singing from the bathroom had stopped for quite a while, Xu Qingfan moved away from the little girl’s head and helped Wu Lingyu throw the tissue she had used for her nose into the trash can.
When Guan Biyue came out of the bathroom, Xu Qingfan and Wu Lingyu sat on the bed as if nothing had ever happened, playing cards.
"Did you take a shower, Xu Qingfan?"
"I did," Xu Qingfan replied, turning his head and inadvertently swallowing hard at the sight.
Fresh from her bath, Guan Biyue wore only a cotton nightgown, her hair wrapped in a towel typically used for drying off the body. Likely for the sake of comfort while sleeping, she didn’t wear any undergarments underneath, and her figure was pronounced with her every movement.
Feeling dizzy, Xu Qingfan hurriedly averted his eyes.
"Lingyu, go take a shower before the bathroom gets cold," Guan Biyue said as she sat on her bed, tilting her head and drying her hair with the towel.
"Okay!" Wu Lingyu, fearful of giving away their little secret to Guan Biyue, quickly took the clothes she had prepared in advance and entered the bathroom.
Xu Qingfan was not one to betray his mentor, so when Wu Lingyu left, he also stood up and said, "Then, Teacher Guan, I should be heading back. I haven’t called home yet to let them know I’m safe."
"Alright, off you go."
As Xu Qingfan left the room, he bumped into Xia Xiaoxiao, who had just returned from her shower in room 509, "Here’s your key card, and I’ve used your towel but hung it up for you again."
"Oh, that’s fine. Use it," Xu Qingfan said with a smile as he took the key card and patted Xia Xiaoxiao’s head, "Get some rest early, good night."
"Good night to you too."
At nine o’clock sharp, Xu Qingfan wasted no time in dialing the landline at Lin Wanning’s house.
"Brother Qing Fan~" As always, the call was answered immediately, and Lin Wanning’s soft voice came through the receiver.
"Did you take a bath? I heard from my mom that it’s gotten a lot colder in Hong Kong today. Ningning, you haven’t caught a chill, have you?"
"I bathed~ Not chilled at all! Ningning’s home has the air conditioner on, just like the hotel where Brother Qing Fan is staying, with heating!" Lin Wanning replied as she kicked off her cartoon slippers and swung her feet in the air while talking to Xu Qingfan.
"Did you drink your milk every day?"
"I did!"
"That’s great. I did some shopping this afternoon and bought a lot of pretty hair clips, and I also bought a little skirt for each of you to wear when school starts."
"Mhm~ Brother Qing Fan, is it snowing over there?"
"It did yesterday, but not today. We even had a snowball fight yesterday, but there wasn’t enough snow to build a snowman," Xu Qingfan patiently explained as he nodded.
Lin Wanning’s eyes lit up, "Then next time Ningning, Yiyi, and Brother Qing Fan can build a snowman together! We should also watch the first snow together. Ningning saw in a TV drama that people who watch the first snow together will stay together forever!"
Although the little girl didn’t quite understand what the first snow meant, Lin Wanning had always remembered that line from "Winter Sonata" vividly.
"Sure, next winter we’ll fly to Yanjing on a weekend to watch the first snow and make a snowman," he agreed.
"Heehee, okay! Lin Wanning happily agreed, thinking Xu Qingfan’s ’we’ meant her and Zhang Yiyi.
But in fact, when Xu Qingfan thought of ’we’, he included Xia Xiaoxiao, Wu Lingyu, Xiao Ruawen, Lin Wanning, Zhang Yiyi, and himself.
...
