NOVPUB[The Central Meteorological Station predicts that starting from tomorrow, a new cold front will hit, which will also be the strongest cold front since the first half of the year...]
The television in the living room was showing a weather report from CCTV. After lunch, Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao were huddled together under a woolen blanket on the sofa, trying to stay warm.
"No wonder it’s so cold, and it’s drizzling too." He glanced at the gloomy, rain-drenched window, shivering.
Xia Xiaoxiao was already freezing like a dog, warming her feet with her younger brother, her hands tucked inside Xu Qingfan’s clothes, feeling his abs.
"Change the channel."
Xu Qingfan gave the girl a look and reached out for the ice-cold remote control on the sofa. After switching to the movie channel, his phone also happened to ring at that moment.
The TV was playing Zhou Xingchi’s "Nine Rank Sesame Official." He pulled out his cellphone from his pocket to check it and saw that it was Lin Wanning calling.
"Brother Qing Fan, is anyone near you?" A girl’s voice came from the speaker as he answered hands-free.
Xu Qingfan glanced at Xia Xiaoxiao and said, "Xiao Xiao is next to me, what’s up?"
"Oh~Nothing much, just wanted to ask when you were planning on continuing that comic you talked about?" Lin Wanning, her mouth forming an O, suddenly dared not speak the words she had initially intended to say.
"Ah... it’ll be ready soon, next week I think," he replied after thinking for a moment.
"Yeah, Yiyi and I will give it our all!"
"It’s really cold today, are you dressed warmly at home? Don’t forget your long johns."
"I put them on, the air conditioning is on in the living room, it’s just so stuffy. I can barely breathe," Lin Wanning acted like she was taking a deep breath, although Xu Qingfan couldn’t see it from the other side of the phone.
Xia Xiaoxiao held her knees throughout the conversation, her lips pursed and silent.
They chatted for another seven or eight minutes before Xu Qingfan said, "Wanning, do you need anything else? If not, I’m planning to take a nap. It’s about time to sleep in."
"Brother Qing Fan, wait!" The girl suddenly spoke anxiously.
"What is it?"
"That... that... I got my period... after lunch today. Mom and Dad have already left for work..." Lin Wanning stammered.
Xu Qingfan immediately sat up straight after hearing this, as it was indeed an important event in Lin Wanning’s journey of growth. Little Wanning was growing up.
He asked with concern, "Then, are you uncomfortable? Have you changed your pad? You should drink plenty of warm water."
Xia Xiaoxiao still didn’t interrupt but was already feeling annoyed inside. What was supposed to be a nice time alone for the two of them had now turned into a conversation that seemed like it was for three people, but she continuously felt left out.
"It’s uncomfortable~ My waist aches, my hands hurt, my lower abdomen hurts... and I feel chest tightness..." Upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s concern, the girl immediately dropped her guise and spoke in a pitiful tone.
"Then I’ll come over and see you," he said, looking up at the window. The rain was almost invisible now, but the sky was still gloomy.
"Really!"
Lin Wanning had been lying on the sofa easing her abdominal pain, but she immediately sat up excitedly upon hearing that Xu Qingfan was coming to see her, "Ah~"
"What’s wrong, what’s wrong, Wanning, are you alright?" he asked eagerly, hearing her cry of pain.
"Brother Qing Fan, I’m fine~" After she lay back down, she continued to ask over the phone, "Brother Qing Fan, are you really coming to see me?"
"Yes, I’m going to hail a cab right now. You just rest at home."
"Okay!" With his confirmation, Lin Wanning suddenly felt her pain ease.
She was just surprised for a short moment before she naively thought:
[I can’t stop so soon. Brother Qing Fan came because I was feeling unwell, my stomach has to keep hurting!]
As expected, when Lin Wanning recalled the morning stomach pain from eating watermelon, the agony returned.
But it didn’t matter anymore, because Brother Qing Fan was coming soon...
Xu Qingfan hung up the phone and looked at Xia Xiaoxiao, "Do you want to come along?"
Xia Xiaoxiao was already annoyed, and hearing this made her even more so.
She had her period before, and so had the other three girls. Other than the hassle of frequently changing sanitary pads, there was no reason for such fuss—not even drinking iced bubble tea caused a problem!
She wanted to say Lin Wanning was faking illness, but saying so would ruin the friendship among the six of them, and she wasn’t that low on emotional intelligence.
Xia Xiaoxiao knew it was wrong to think this way about her good friend, but she couldn’t help herself due to jealousy consuming her.
During their cohabitation, many times Lin Wanning sneaked into Xu Qingfan’s room to sleep at night while the others were asleep, which already crossed Xia Xiaoxiao’s lines.
She could tolerate feeding each other food and being close, but sleeping together was not acceptable!
After all, this stinky dog tended to get handsy in his sleep, and she had been a victim of it. Besides, she had only slept with Xu Qingfan back in their second year, so why should Lin Wanning still be able to as they grew older!
She had told her many times that after growing up, men and women must be separated in sleeping. However, Lin Wanning just never listened and always brushed it off with a laugh. Xia Xiaoxiao had been holding back her dissatisfaction for a long time.
What bothered Xia Xiaoxiao the most was Xu Qingfan; every time she lectured Lin Wanning, this stinky dog would act as the mediator, completely unaware that he was the problem, eventually making it seem like she, Xia Xiaoxiao, was being aggressive.
"Not going, I’ll take a nap at home!" The more Xia Xiaoxiao thought, the more aggrieved she felt, turning her head away from him.
However, Xu Qingfan didn’t think so. After all, different people have different constitutions, and most importantly, Wanning wouldn’t lie to him.
"Alright, it’s too cold. Stay home and nap." He ruffled the girl’s hair and handed her his warm water bag.
Xia Xiaoxiao had sunken into self-pity and didn’t want to speak or acknowledge Xu Qingfan, clutching the cat while blankly staring at the TV.
[Stinky dog, bad dog, drooling dog, I’m ignoring you from now on, wuwu...]
Seeing Xu Qingfan just put on his shoes, grabbed his keys, and left, the tears irresistibly welled up in the girl’s eyes.
Feeling aggrieved, she sobbed in the house for seven or eight minutes. Just as Xia Xiaoxiao resolved not to speak to Xu Qingfan for the next two weeks, he suddenly returned home.
The girl opened her mouth in shock, forgetting even to wipe away and hide the tear marks.
"I bought you hot milk tea, small rice balls, and sushi. Stay home sweetly, and I will be back before dinner." He took out snacks one by one from his down jacket, speaking while not forgetting to turn on the living room air-conditioner for Xia Xiaoxiao.
"Oh." The tone of Xia Xiaoxiao had softened, but she still maintained an unhappy expression.
"I’m leaving now. Remember to stay sweetly at home and wait for me to come back," he said as he stepped forward and ruffled her hair.
"Don’t touch my head. Like I would wait for you!" Xia Xiaoxiao showed a shyly annoyed expression.
Xu Qingfan smiled and then left, thinking he had mollified Xia Xiaoxiao.
Indeed, once Xu Qingfan had completely disappeared, the girl hurriedly stuck a straw in the milk tea, a long-missed smile spreading across her face.
"Hmph~ Don’t think just some snacks can buy me over. Considering you’re sincerely admitting your mistake, I’ll block you for three hours!" She held a little dinosaur keychain, gazing into its eyes and talking to herself.
The next second, "I like you the most" in Japanese echoed in the living room.
