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"Who knew there would be snakes..." the girl sulked, sticking out her tongue.
"That is pretty scary," Wu Lingyu nodded earnestly in agreement.
Ever since her family’s situation improved, Wu Lingyu’s introverted and sensitive personality had also gotten better, proving that people usually only feel inferior under one condition—lack of money.
However, when interacting with their little group of six, Wu Lingyu still tended to lower her stance subconsciously.
"Did you guys watch Balala the Fairies last night? Yan Lili actually learned Black Magic!" Lin Wanning brought up what she had seen on television yesterday.
"But she looked so pretty after transforming, way prettier than those two sisters!"
"Haha, I think so too, I think even Fairy Xiao Yue is prettier than those two sisters," seeing that Xiao Ruawen shared his aesthetic, Xu Qingfan also interjected.
"Brother Fan, what kind of taste do you have, that bird’s nest hair is so ugly!"
"Yeah, Brother Qing Fan, how could you like Fairy Xiao Yue, she’s so evil!"
"She’s just jealous of Xiao Lan becoming the guardian fairy and learned Black Magic out of envy, stealing the Magic Fairy Stone. How can you think such a person looks good, Brother Fan!"
"Qingfan even said at home that it’s Xiao Lan’s fault for not protecting the Magic Fairy Stone properly, she deserved to have it stolen!"
"Speaking in favor of the Black Fairy, Brother, you’re bad!"
Wu Lingyu watched Xu Qingfan awkwardly eating his meal while being criticized by four little girls and couldn’t help but snicker with pleasure.
After countless times hanging out together, they had all gotten used to this way of interacting.
"Whatever you say, I’m just here for the soy sauce, could you heroines spare me a little mercy?" Xu Qingfan raised his hands in mock surrender.
He was helpless against these elementary school students’ sense of aesthetics. The Black Fairy Xiao Yue obviously had a very pretty face, okay? Though the bird’s nest hair might be a bit ugly, a flaw does not obscure the jade’s luster!
"Humph~ Brother Qing Fan how could you speak for the villain, the Black Fairy comes from the evil fairies!" Lin Wanning pouted with a look of great indignation.
But everyone knew she was just putting on a show and instead found her cute expression funny, which made them laugh even harder.
"Alright, alright, Xiao Yue is the ugliest, Yan Lili will sooner or later see Xiao Yue’s true colors and turn from darkness to light!" Xu Qingfan spoiled the plot without leaving any traces.
"That’s more like it!"
After discussing more about fun activities for their return to the countryside the next day, the girls finished their meal and bid Xu Qingfan farewell, heading back to the girls’ dormitory together.
Xu Qingfan, with a toothpick in his mouth, returned to his dormitory, and was shocked by the number of people inside upon opening the door.
More than a dozen boys from his class were squeezed into their room, loudly and enthusiastically discussing something.
"Brother Fan is back, come take a look, this is awesome!" Wu Dongsong excitedly showed his color screen button cellphone to Xu Qingfan.
"What’s so great about a broken phone, why are there so many of you crowding around here?" Xu Qingfan was unimpressed.
"Hehe~ You’ll see once you take a look, big star!"
Xu Qingfan took a glance at the phone, and lo and behold, it was the private photo godfather, Chen something!
"Cough cough~" He returned the phone to Wu Dongsong, chiding with a sense of wasted potential, "Stop messing with these useless things, how old are you guys even, getting obsessed with this rubbish will only harm yourselves!"
"Shhh—," a warm chorus of jeers rose from the boys in the dormitory.
"Brother Fan, someone asked me to deliver a love letter to you; I’ve put it in your locker, and as usual, we helped you eat the chocolate, ha."
"It’s fine, you guys eat it, disperse now, disperse, this place is filthy, you all remember I’m on duty today, right!"
"Hehehe~" The group of boys left grinning and sniggering.
In the blink of an eye, more than five years had passed. The former sixth graders are now in their third year of high school, and Xu Qingfan had truly become the undisputed big brother of this primary school.
Whenever a student got bullied or peers had conflicts they couldn’t resolve, Xu Qingfan, as the campus judge, would step in to neatly take care of things.
If he also brought over Mimi from the convenience store, he would indeed look like a mafia godfather.
The reality was indeed as the wandering poets rhymed, "a pile of love letters in fifth grade."
Last year, Xu Qingfan received enough love letters to almost fill the storage locker in his dormitory, and most absurdly, there were even boys writing him love letters!
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Boys at school are truly terrifying!
Xu Qingfan left a message on his dedicated forum: Boys, do not write love letters to me!
Who would have guessed that this would only encourage them more so that now he sees every one of them as a possible admirer.
"Primary school students should act their age; why on earth are you writing love letters!" He shook his head helplessly as he looked at the pile of love letters accumulating in his wardrobe.
"Brother Fan’s at it again." The thing his three roommates couldn’t stand the most was his annoying Versailles syndrome—always boasting, whether it’s a drought or a flood.
At first, a few young girls were quite upset when they learned that someone was sending love letters to Xu Qingfan, forming a united front demanding that he submit all the love letters he received. But as more boys joined in, the situation gradually became bizarre, and the five girls started to care less.
Nowadays, sending love letters to Xu Qingfan at Experimental Primary School has somehow become a way to seek blessings. If midterms are approaching, send Brother Fan a letter to ensure you don’t fail; if you’re entering a competition, send Brother Fan a letter for good luck; if you’re about to confess to your love interest, write Brother Fan a letter for their acceptance... 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
If Xu Qingfan wasn’t so well-off, he could’ve just sold special prayer paper—buying it at the cost of ten cents and selling it for five yuan a sheet, he could’ve reaped a windfall from these believers.
...
"Little bro, little bro!" The voice arrived before he did; Xu Qingfan was calling out for the big white cat at the convenience store entrance.
"Meow~ Meow meow meow~"
Four years ago, the big white cat he picked up from a filthy ditch emerged from inside the store when it heard his call. It did a lazy stretch at Xu Qingfan’s feet, stretching its hind legs straight back in a way that was adorably similar to yoga.
"Little bro," Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu squatted down and petted the big white cat’s head, which it seemed to greatly enjoy as it tilted its chin upward.
"Yu’er, Xiao Xiao, come here and help your Auntie check why there’s no sound coming from the computer!"
"Auntie!" Seeing Yao Jiping come out of the store, both girls stood up and each took an arm.
Ah—Yao Jiping nodded her head, clearly enjoying the moment.
"Mom." Xu Qingfan awkwardly waved his hand as a gesture of reminding the indifferent Madam Yao that her son was present too.
"Now that you’re back, go cook dinner. I’ve already bought the vegetables, and your dad caught some small fish which are in the bathroom. Fry them later and give them to little bro to eat," Yao Jiping instructed before turning and walking into the store with two little cotton-padded jackets in tow, without looking back.
Xu Qingfan:...
[Under a shared eaves]
[The wide spectrum of life]
[Some struggle for the sake of a day’s meals]
Not sure from which neighbor’s TV the theme song of "Seventy-Two Tenants" began to play, Xu Qingfan shook his head with amusement, feeling resigned about his family’s status.
He kicked a pebble at his feet and whistled as he made his way back to Lianhua Courtyard.
The several local dogs in the courtyard had been around even before he was born, and now they were more than a decade old, lacking the energy they had years before, lazily dozing off on the cement ground.
When they heard Xu Qingfan’s footsteps, they opened their eyes to look, then as if they had a sense of awareness, waggled their heads and made a point to move away.
Lianhua Courtyard was much quieter than a few years ago, as many families had moved to new apartment complexes in the new district, and a lot of unfamiliar tenants moved in, and no longer was it safe to leave the doors unlocked during the day as before.
Xu Qingfan knew that in a few years, when the local dogs of the courtyard also passed away, the place would never again feel the same as it once did.
By then, he would be in high school, only coming home once every half month and hardly noticing when those familiar neighbors moved away.
[Time really flies!]
Xu Qingfan tossed the leftover meatballs from lunch to the dogs and walked up the stairs to enter his home.
He habitually picked up an apron hanging on the wall and slipped it behind him, about to reach behind to tie the strings when his hands suddenly encountered a warm touch.
Xu Qingfan jumped, startled, only to hear a familiar voice behind him say, "Brother Fan, let me help you."
"Yu, how can you move so quietly, you scared me!" Xu Qingfan turned around and knocked on Wu Lingyu’s head.
"Hehe~ I came back to help you cook!"
"Then go and wash the vegetables."
"Okay!"
