NOVPUBXiao Jianbiao actually didn’t have any ideas about dealing with Xu Qingfan; his primary concern was that his daughter often mentioned him, and since he wasn’t around much, he worried she might associate with unsuitable male friends.
However, from the conversation that just took place, it seemed that Xiao’s father was quite satisfied with this young man. Not only was he handsome and sunny in appearance, but he was also humble and gentle, and most importantly, his academic performance was very good—a nice young man indeed.
[He’s got eighty percent of my youthful charm.]
As for the arm wrestling, that was purely an accident.
Xu Qingfan found that ever since he hit puberty and began to develop, he felt as if he had inexhaustible strength, the kind that allowed him to carry two bags of rice up eight flights of stairs without getting out of breath.
So, he became curious and asked Xiao’s father about it since the military district is brimming with talented people. Xiao Jianbiao, having served in the army for many years, had crossed more bridges than Xu Qingfan had walked on roads, so he was likely to know of similar cases.
He told Xiao Jianbiao that he felt his strength had increased significantly after puberty. At first, Xiao’s father thought Xu Qingfan was just too full of himself. After all, every new recruit thinks they are second only to the sky; he had seen too many cases like this over the years.
But seeing him insist, Xiao’s father suggested they test their strength through arm wrestling.
A joke, surely—for his steady physical training kept him in shape with a height of 180 cm and a weight of 90.5 kg. Could an underage kid like him possibly compare?
Then Xiao Jianbiao faced his tragedy; the kid really wasn’t boasting. Spanning at least four weight classes, he could actually match him.
Xu Qingfan also finally confirmed that although he wasn’t as outrageously strong as Xiang Yu, who was said to uproot mountains, he was naturally quite powerful.
Luckily, he was a transmigrator, or else it would’ve been deemed an inherent superhuman physique.
[Could this be a transmigrator’s perk?] Xu Qingfan wondered.
Xiao Ruawen’s mother soon returned, carrying bags of seafood and vegetables. Before anyone could offer to help, Xiao Jianbiao quickly went over to carry them himself, complaining, "You should’ve called me to help carry all this."
"It’s not much. Put the shrimp in water first." Zhao YueMin patted her husband’s chest lightly, showing that they seemed to have a good relationship.
"Auntie, hello!"
"Auntie, happy New Year!"
"You’re all here. I’ll go and get your red packets."
"Thank you, Auntie!"
Once Xiao Jianbiao went into the kitchen to help, the odd feeling of being watched finally dissipated, and Xu Qingfan relaxed on the sofa, watching TV.
"Brother Fan, why were you arm wrestling with my dad just now, and you even won? When did you become so strong?" Xiao Ruawen asked quietly when only the six of them were left in the living room.
"I told your dad that I felt stronger after puberty, and he wanted to see how strong, so we just ended up going at it," Xu Qingfan shrugged.
"Brother Qingfan, you’re amazing. Can you lift me with one hand now, like they do on TV?"
"Want to try?" Xu Qingfan bent his right arm as a gesture for Lin Wanning to sit.
"Sure."
"Try what, try. This is Ruan Wen’s house." Xia Xiao Xiao glared and swatted away Xu Qingfan’s extended hand.
Xu Qingfan looked at Lin Wanning, giving a helpless shrug.
The girl wrinkled her nose and made a cute expression.
With more than an hour until mealtime, Xiao Ruawen, as the host, suggested, "How about we play UNO?"
"Sure!"
"I’ll go get it!" As Xiao Ruawen started heading back to her bedroom to get the cards, the doorbell suddenly rang, and she had to detour to answer the door instead.
"Uncle, auntie, and cousin?" As she opened the door, she asked in confusion, "What brings you here?"
"What are you saying, kid? Not welcoming us if we come uninvited?"
"Of course not, uncle and auntie, please come in. Dad, mom, uncle’s family is here!" After ushering the three visitors inside, Xiao Ruawen shouted in the direction of the kitchen.
Xu Qingfan and the other four girls exchanged glances; the experience of unexpected relatives visiting while being guests at someone else’s house was not exactly comfortable.
"How come you’re here without letting us know in advance?" Xiao Jianbiao emerged from the kitchen, having taken off his apron.
"It’s alright, we heard that Ruawen’s classmate was visiting, so we came over to liven things up. Happy New Year, young friends!" The woman handed out red packets to them as she spoke.
"Uh...thank you, auntie." They all weren’t sure what was happening, but politely accepted the red packets.
"Dad, practicing your calligraphy again?" The man signaled to his wife with his eyes before moving to the balcony to observe Xiao Lijian practicing his calligraphy.
"Ruawen, why haven’t you introduced your classmates to your uncle and cousin?" The woman teased with a smile, but her gaze did not stray from Xu Qingfan for a moment.
At this moment, Xu Qingfan was speechless—did he look like some sort of prized meat? Why were Xiao’s relatives all giving him such odd looks?
Xiao Ruawen introduced each person to her great-aunt, and when it came to Xu Qingfan, the woman interrupted, "I know this male student, his name is Xiao Fan, right? Auntie is also a fan of your songs!"
"Uhh... yeah." Xu Qingfan awkwardly nodded his head. So he had encountered one of his own fans?
But the woman in front of him didn’t seem like the type to chase after stars, considering her age.
Xia Xiaoxiao, Lin Wanning, and the other two were also frantically blinking, not understanding why this woman was being so enthusiastic towards Xu Qingfan.
All the woman added was, "This is Ruan Wen’s elder cousin, who also studies music and is a high-achieving student who studied abroad at California American University."
Xu Qingfan glanced at the "cousin" standing behind him; she looked to be around twenty-four or twenty-five, with an explosive hairstyle that made him feel nauseated. Apart from the hair, her features were only passable.
Xiao Ruawen was attractive because her mother was already a great beauty, whereas this great-aunt was clearly just an ordinary woman you could find anywhere on the street.
"Cousin is really amazing." Although he had never heard of this no-name university, that didn’t prevent Xu Qingfan from giving compliments.
"You also think it’s impressive, right? Meng Ru has a real talent for singing, but it’s a pity..."
Xu Qingfan clicked his tongue slightly. What’s this about triggering a combo move?
"It’s a pity that the few songs she wrote in the past few years never became hits. I heard you also write songs. Could you perhaps write an album for my cousin? With Meng Ru singing your songs, she’s bound to become a big hit. That’ll also raise your value when you write songs for others in the industry later on. Just think about Fang Wenshan, earning hundreds of thousands for just one song. You, young man, can definitely do it!" she said, looking disdainfully at Xiao Ruawen as she spoke, the meaning behind her gaze quite transparent.
Xu Qingfan couldn’t stand the jealousy in her eyes; he retorted sarcastically, "Auntie, why do you ask why I’m not speaking? I have nothing to say to you. Isn’t it obvious? Can’t you tell?"
"You child!"
"I write songs for Ruan Wen because I want to. Look at yourself in the mirror before asking me to write songs for your daughter. I won’t write a damn thing for you!" Xu Qingfan wasn’t the patient type; having hung out in Sichuan forums, he could be as foul-mouthed as he wanted, if he chose to be.
"You, you, you!"
"I don’t know if you hit your head when you left the house this morning, but do you really think I’m a three-year-old? That song ’Little Apple’ had a company enquiring about the rights recently. They offered a hundred thousand, and I wonder how much you, Auntie, would pay for a song?"
"With my daughter’s success, you could earn hundreds of thousands, even millions!"
The arguing in the living room suddenly drew everyone’s attention. Xiao Lijian and Zhao YueMin came out from the kitchen.
"What’s going on here, why are you arguing?" Zhao YueMin asked, puzzled.
"Auntie, Ruan Wen’s aunt wants me to write songs for her daughter for free, claiming that if her daughter becomes famous, it will raise my value and I could be making hundreds of thousands for every song later on." The woman tried to mediate, but Xu Qingfan was merciless and exposed her on the spot.
Xiao Lijian and Zhao YueMin frowned upon hearing this but said nothing due to family relations.
"Mom, don’t bother with him, let’s go. The songs I write myself can become hits too!" The cousin, dissatisfied with Xu Qingfan’s attitude, spoke as she pulled her mother’s arm.
"You’ll regret this one day. Let’s go!" The two women left, singing their own tune, followed by their uncle.
"Bam!" The iron gate was slammed shut the next second.
With all eyes in the room on him, Xu Qingfan just shrugged and spread his hands.┓(´∀’)┏
"Is there a screw loose up here?" He then circled his temple with his index finger, inquiring.
"Haha, don’t mind her. That mother-daughter duo are so caught up in their dreams of stardom, they’ve lost their minds." Xiao Jianbiao laughed heartily, giving the situation a final verdict.
"Hehe, I was also at fault; my mouth was a bit too harsh. But it was mainly because that woman was looking at Ruan Wen with disdain, and that I really couldn’t tolerate!" Xu Qingfan also laughed.
"Brother Fan, you’re the best!" Xiao Ruawen rushed forward and ruffled Xu Qingfan’s hair. She actually wanted to plant a kiss on his cheek, but didn’t dare to do so in front of her parents.
"Brother Qing Fan is the most impressive!"
The five girls took turns showering him with compliments, and the atmosphere quickly returned to its lively state. As for the mother and daughter who had just left, they were considered nothing more than a mosquito that had casually flown by—smashed and dismissed.
Lunch was ready in no time. The ten of them filled the whole table, with more than a dozen delicious dishes in front of them—it was a feast on par with New Year’s Eve dinner.
After the recent episode, Xiao Jianbiao’s impression of Xu Qingfan improved significantly. Xu proved he could stand up for himself and was someone reliable. His straightforwardness also sat well with Xiao, he was just unsure if his daughter felt the same way.
"To good weather for the crops, a prosperous and peaceful country—cheers everyone!"
"Cheers!"
...
(Bonus chapter for monthly votes (6/7))
