NOVPUBIn Li City, September skies brighten around five in the morning.
Ingrained with the gene to wake up early, Wu Lingyu naturally woke up as soon it got light, gently moving Xia Xiaoxiao’s hand and leg off herself before quietly getting out of bed.
After the air conditioning ran at twenty-four degrees all night, the room temperature was a bit low. As soon as Wu Lingyu left the warmth of her covers, the exposed skin on her body soon developed small bumps.
The three girls on the bed were sleeping in a "Sichuan" character formation; Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi had unknowingly kicked their blankets to their waists, shivering like curled up shrimps in the cold.
Wu Lingyu went over to cover them with blankets, then she changed out of her pajamas into her school uniform.
Slippers made loud noises on wooden floors, and the girl, worried about waking them up, carried the slippers in her hand and padded barefoot downstairs.
The time was 5:50 AM, half an hour before their 6:20 AM wake-up alarms.
Wu Lingyu entered the kitchen, soaked four dumpling wrappers in a basin with water, and then went to the restroom to wash up. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
The girl’s cleaning routine was very straightforward—brushing teeth for five minutes and washing her face with a towel for one.
As for facial cleanser, Wu Lingyu felt it was completely unnecessary. The adolescent girl’s skin was so tender that it could squeeze out water, and combined with her good living habits, her skin was actually the best among the five girls.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Wu Lingyu smiled faintly, remembering Brother Fan’s suggestion to smile more often, which she took to heart.
As she picked up the hair tie from the washbasin, Wu Lingyu whimsically took an extra one.
[Brother Fan seems to really like pigtail braids...] She remembered how Xu Qingfan would continuously take pictures every time one of them wore their hair in twin ponytails.
Wu Lingyu divided her long hair into two sections, holding them in her hands and figuring out the best way to tie them in front of the mirror.
A moment later, the twin ponytail version of Wu Lingyu with long black straight hair appeared in the mirror, the symmetrical fringe adding a sense of youthful girliness.
She seemed very pleased with her hairstyle and walked out of the restroom with a smile.
[I really want Brother Fan to see this soon!] Wu Lingyu, feeling delightful, went into the kitchen thinking about how to cook breakfast while she cleaned the pots.
Sparrows chirped outside the window, eggs sizzled in the pan, and the girl hummed a cheerful melody, creating a bright and sunny morning atmosphere.
The little brother cat smelled the aroma of the eggs and emerged from somewhere, yawning and stretching its paws.
Just past six, the living room clock chimed long and resonant tones. Wu Lingyu accelerated the breakfast preparations, hoping to finish before the others woke up.
"Little brother, you can’t come up here, this isn’t for you!" Wu Lingyu gently tapped the cat’s head and scooped Little Brother back down.
"Meow~"
Before long, the aroma of noodles and black tea filled the kitchen. Wu Lingyu doled out the soup noodles, gave the pot and stove a quick wash, and went out with Little Brother.
The living room clock showed it was 6:15 AM. After filling Little Brother’s empty bowl with cat food, Wu Lingyu hurriedly sprinted upstairs, full of anticipation.
Xu Qingfan’s bedroom door was not locked. The girl placed her hand on the doorknob and gently twisted; the door quickly opened a crack.
Wu Lingyu tiptoed inside; the curtains in the room were not drawn, allowing clarity without the need for lights.
Xu Qingfan was lying on his side, facing the wall. "Fan..." Wu Lingyu was about to wake him when she caught sight of his peaceful face and felt a sudden reluctance.
The girl walked gently to the side of the bed, knelt down, and rested her chin on the bedpost, their faces inches apart, nearly touching nose to nose if she moved a centimeter forward.
Wu Lingyu gazed unwaveringly at Xu Qingfan; this was the first time she had watched him sleep so quietly, by herself.
Xu Qingfan’s eyelashes were unusually long, flickering as he blinked, curling up like those of a Disney princess.
His face was chiseled, with thick brows, a straight nose, and lips that were just the right shade of thin.
Wu Lingyu liked to gaze at Xu Qingfan secretly like this because when they locked eyes in full consciousness, she could only look at his face for at most three seconds before shyly looking away, unlike now, where she could look as long as she wanted, however she wanted.
Wu Lingyu stretched out her index finger about to touch his nose, but then, the next second, Xu Qingfan’s eyes suddenly popped open.
Wu Lingyu froze in place, and only when Xu Qingfan winked at her did she stammer, "Fan... Brother Fan... you... I... I came to wake you up, right, I came to wake you up."
"Yu, good morning. I did wonder why there seemed to be a shadow flickering around," Xu Qingfan said as he stretched out his hand to ruffle Wu Lingyu’s hair and got out of bed.
"Good... Brother Fan, good morning, I made breakfast, I’m going to wake the others!" Wu Lingyu ran out of the bedroom like a surprised deer caught in the act.
Her twin ponytails wobbled as she ran; it took a moment for Xu Qingfan to realize he had just seen Wu Lingyu with her hair tied in pigtails, which explained why she looked so pretty.
"The twin ponytails look good on you," Xu Qingfan called out with a smile to her retreating figure.
Wu Lingyu felt a sweetness in her heart, and once she was outside the room, she allowed herself to lean against the wall in the corridor, giggling foolishly.
At 6:30 AM, the five of them sat together at the dining table in the living room, enjoying breakfast.
The breakfast consisted of clear soup noodles with milk and black tea, each bowl of noodles neatly topped with a fully cooked poached egg and two slices of fried ham sausage.
