NOVPUBMore than half a month had passed since primary school graduation.
The six of them took a plane to Sugarcane Province on the second day of the official vacation and had a blast for a week before returning home contentedly.
As a native cousin of the neighboring province, Xu Qingfan still felt that traveling to Guilin was totally worth it.
The street snacks were everywhere, and filling up a whole table cost less than thirty yuan.
Plus, there was the increasingly addictive river snail rice noodle soup, the deep-fried eggs soaked in broth; the five girls went from initial disgust to can’t get enough by the time they were to leave.
Drifting down the stream on a bamboo raft in the evening, with greenery reflecting on the river like silk and mountains adorning like jade pins, fishers singing at dusk, and the sky ablaze with the setting sun, would have been perfect if only they hadn’t gotten their underwear wet.
After ending the trip and getting their acceptance letters from Experimental Primary School for the last time, the long and boring summer vacation officially began.
...
"Get up, you’re still lazing around in bed!"
Xu Qingfan opened his eyes groggily and upon recognizing Xia Xiaoxiao, his first words were, "Give my chicken back to me!"
"What chicken? Hurry up and get out of bed to buy groceries and cook!" Xia Xiaoxiao was puzzled for two seconds, then leaned over again to push his body.
Xu Qingfan yawned wearily and rubbed his eyes before realizing he had just been dreaming.
The dream was incredibly chaotic; he seemed to be raising small animals in Chuxi Village or someplace else, when an eagle swooped into the mud fence and started gobbling up his chicks one by one as if at a buffet.
Xu Qingfan wanted to stop it, but as he approached, the previously normal-sized eagle suddenly grew bigger than him, and then Xia Xiaoxiao woke him up.
"What time is it?" Xu Qingfan got out of bed and asked, scratching his somewhat messy hair.
"Eleven-thirty, hurry up and brush your teeth, and let’s go grocery shopping!" Xia Xiaoxiao said as she left the bedroom after seeing him get up.
"Is there breakfast?" Xu Qingfan shouted while getting changed.
"There are a few meat buns left over from what I ate; take it or leave it!" Xia Xiaoxiao looked at the four cold meat buns on the table and said.
The meat buns, three for one yuan, obviously she had bought six with the intent of splitting them half-half, and the one she couldn’t finish she also left for him.
"I love the meat buns from this place!" Xu Qingfan came out of the bedroom, saw the buns on the table, and, without a second thought, opened the plastic bag and grabbed one to pop into his mouth.
"Aren’t you even dirty, go brush your teeth first!" Xia Xiaoxiao’s face was full of disgust.
With his mouth full of bun, Xu Qingfan muttered something indistinctly, then waved his hand as he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Xia Xiaoxiao sat back down on the living room sofa and took out her phone to type a message in their girls’ group chat.
[Sunny day: The target suspect has gotten up and is now brushing his teeth in the bathroom, expected to leave at 11:50!]
The rest of the girls quickly took out their phones to reply after hearing the QQ notification:
[Lin Wanning: How come Brother Qingfan is still asleep, such a big lazy pig![Pig Head]]
[Wu Lingyu: I just put the rice on the stove, it should be done by twelve.]
[Xiao Ruawen: Everything is set, hurry and bring Brother Fan over!]
[Zhang Yiyi: The photos are all put up!]
Seeing Xu Qingfan come out of the bathroom after washing up, Xia Xiaoxiao calmly put her phone away.
"Why are you dressed up so nicely today, got plans to go out?" Xia Xiaoxiao was wearing a yellow and white dress, the color of a plumeria flower, prompting Xu Qingfan to ask curiously after a clear look.
"Can’t I wear a dress at home?" Xia Xiaoxiao said, glancing down to flip the hem of her skirt.
"Let’s go." Xu Qingfan put on his shoes, grabbed the shopping bag, and signaled to Xia Xiaoxiao that they could leave.
The girl put her hands behind her back, walking leisurely ahead of Xu Qingfan.
"Aren’t we going to buy groceries? Where are you heading?" After leaving Lianhua Courtyard, Xu Qingfan questioned Xia Xiaoxiao, seeing that she was walking in the opposite direction of Fupeng Market.
"To buy bubble tea!" Xia Xiaoxiao glanced back at him, then turned her head again, a smile spreading across her previously expressionless face.
"Bubble tea with meat buns, what a combo." Xu Qingfan saw a trash bin ahead, stuffed the last bun into his mouth, and tossed the garbage bag into the recycling bin.
"Fussing about with garbage sorting for no reason." He mumbled under his breath as he caught up with Xia Xiaoxiao’s pace.
"Do you remember what day it is today?" Xia Xiaoxiao glanced at him curiously.
"What day? Uh... definitely not Thursday." Having been on vacation for so long, Xu Qingfan had lost all concept of dates; he said this as they passed by a KFC.
"What do you mean not Thursday, today is Thursday!"
"Crazy Thursday, V 50?" Xu Qingfan looked at Xia Xiaoxiao with surprise, could it be that she too remembered her past life?
"What are you blabbering about!" Xia Xiaoxiao raised her hand to thump him on the head, "Do you really not remember what today is?"
"What’s special about today? Didn’t you already have that last week?" He blinked in confusion.
Xia Xiaoxiao’s hands, which were once relaxed, clenched into fists, and after giving him a glare, she stormed off.
"Why are you in such a hurry!"
The more Xu Qingfan spoke, the faster Xia Xiaoxiao walked.
"Left, right, left, right left, stand at attention," the girl turned around to scowl at him, and Xu Qingfan immediately anticipated her next move, "At ease, turn, left, right, left... hey, hey, hey, I’ll stop, stop hitting me!"
"I’ll give you a left, right, left; make you talk, make you talk!" Xia Xiaoxiao seemed furious, but the punches landing on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder were actually less forceful than those of massage therapists.
Still, one must give face, so he pretended to cry out in pain and begged for mercy, and sure enough, Xia Xiaoxiao quickly cooled down.
