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"Come and look at this ’zhi’ character I wrote. The dot is like a horizontal stroke, the fold is rounded, and the downward stroke is restrained and sharp. Kid, try to imitate it!" After being tormented by Xiao Ruawen’s grandfather for another hour, his nickname for Xu Qingfan had successfully upgraded from Xiao Fan to the more endearing ’Kid’.
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"Yes, yes." Xu Qingfan frantically signaled to the four girls lounging on the sofa, as if watching a fire from across the bank, urging them to find some excuse to slip away quickly.
Xiao Ruawen covered her mouth to stifle her giggles and said, "Grandpa, we still have to go back and preview tomorrow’s lessons this afternoon. It’s about time we left."
"What’s the rush? Finish this last character first. You need to hold back here... Put more force into the hook!’’ Xiao Lijian held up Xu Qingfan’s freshly copied character to the light and admired it, "Hahaha, not bad at all, there’s seven or eight points of Grandpa’s charm in it. Next time, come for another visit, I also have some insights on the Xiao character!"
He laughed heartily and patted Xu Qingfan’s shoulder after putting down the rice paper.
Xu Qingfan:...
"Alright, alright, I’ll come over when I have time. Grandpa, then we’ll go back and preview our lessons now." Xu Qingfan forced a smile.
"Go on, go on, I’ll see you out." Xiao Lijian walked them to the downstairs of the building before stopping and saying, "Kid, visit our home more often, Grandpa really likes you."
"Mmm mmm mmm." Xu Qingfan nodded vigorously.
It was only after the group of five had left the Zhongjian Haoting compound that the four girls could no longer suppress their laughter and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, goose, goose, goose..." The goose monster had appeared again.
"Goose, goose... Brother Fan, don’t mind... hahaha... My grandpa is always like this, even our relatives’ kids dare not ask him for red envelopes during Chinese New Year!" Xiao Ruawen said, draping an arm over Xu Qingfan’s shoulder and laughing nonstop.
"Ruan Wen, you’re still laughing, Ruan Wen? You okay, Ruan Wen?" Xu Qingfan said, while vigorously messing up Xiao Ruawen’s hair.
The young girl instantly performed a vanishing smile technique, looking up at Xu Qingfan with lifeless, fish-like eyes.
The smiles didn’t disappear but merely transferred to everyone else.
"Hahaha..." Now it was Xu Qingfan and the others’ turn to point and laugh at Xiao Ruawen.
"Eyah, no laughing~" Xiao Ruawen tried to cover their mouths with her hands, but she wasn’t the Thousand-Armed Guanyin; her two hands couldn’t cover four mouths, no matter how hard she tried.
In the end, the girl ended up laughing along with them. After a long while, as they set off again, she explained, "My cousin was born half a month before me and was called ’Da Ya,’ so when it was my turn, my family started calling me ’Er Ya.’"
"No worries, no worries, as long as it’s not ’pants leg Ya,’ it all sounds pretty good." Xu Qingfan comforted her as he patted her shoulder.
"Brother Chou Fan, you’re dead!" Xiao Ruawen lashed out with her claws aiming straight for his middle.
"The witch of the evil sect dares to destroy my core energy, Left and Right Protectors, come to my aid quickly!" Xu Qingfan took a big step back and struck the signature pose of Wing Chun’s Yip Man.
"Wow~ Witch, take this!" Lin Wanning, hearing Xu Qingfan’s call for help, immediately opened her automatic sun umbrella and assumed an attacking stance.
Xia Xiaoxiao rubbed her forehead helplessly, really wanting to run across the street to pretend she didn’t know these three clowns.
Zhang Yiyi stayed quiet on the spot, a faint smile on her lips as she watched the shenanigans unfold.
"Wow wow wow~ Is that all the strength you have?" Xiao Ruawen hopped left and right, driving the other two back step by step.
"The enemy is too strong, we can only resort to the killing move now, Wanning!" Xu Qingfan picked up a tree branch from the ground and held it as if forming a sword technique.
"Wanning received, Hundred-step Flying Sword!" The girl withdrew her umbrella and stood it up in front of her.
"Crossing Eight Directions!" At the same time, Xu Qingfan placed the tree branch horizontally across his chest.
"Hisss~ It’s the legendary Dual Sword Technique, United and Connected!" Xiao Ruawen gasped in mock horror and formed a mantra with her hands, shouting, "Face my Six Soul Horror Curse!"
The three of them chased and dodged back and forth, each expression like they were truly engaged in a life-and-death struggle.
"Pfft— I will return!" Xiao Ruawen spat out an imaginary mouthful of blood and fled clumsily.
"Hahaha, Brother Qing Fan, we won!" Still immersed in her role-playing, Lin Wanning’s first thought upon seeing Xiao Ruawen flee was to chase after her and deal the final blow.
"Don’t chase after a defeated foe, don’t chase after a defeated foe!" Xu Qingfan shouted as he grabbed her arm.
"Listen to Brother Qing Fan!"
Zhang Yiyi and Xia Xiaoxiao exchanged knowing smiles, both reading the same thought in each other’s eyes.
Not long after, the five returned to their secret base, where Little White, starved all morning, was so excited that tears streamed down its face, its panting as pitiable as could be.
"It’s just one missed meal, look at all the fat on your body!" Xu Qingfan said after filling its bowl with dog food and water, while kicking at its chubby belly.
"Awooo~" Little White grumbled and growled.
In contrast, the younger brother was much easier to care for: with food, he eats; without food, he sleeps.
After adding some cat food to its bowl, the little guy continued to comfortably sprawl on Xia Xiaoxiao’s thighs, enjoying the massage services from the beautiful girls.
"Alright, no more cat petting, come over and do your homework!" Xu Qingfan clapped his hands and organized them.
"Coming~" Lin Wanning said she’d come over, but her hands kept scratching the cat’s chin.
Zhang Yiyi was the first to respond and took a seat at the dining table. Xu Qingfan patted her head encouragingly, and the girl smiled back at him.
If it was for mid-term or final exams, they’d prefer lazily lying on the tatami to study, but for daily homework, sitting upright was more efficient.
After Xu Qingfan came out from the kitchen with washed fruit and tea, the four girls were already engrossed in their homework, not even lifting their heads.
Lighting a stick of gentle incense, there was no need for music; the chirping of birds outside the window and the soft rustling of the curtains in the breeze were the best natural sounds.
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