Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

Chapter 321 - 228. I’m just keeping the cat company, not waiting for you!

A night without words.

The next day, Xu Qingfan was awakened by the sound of firecrackers outside the window.

In the countryside, the spring festival was all good except for the ceaseless sound of firecrackers from each household’s door front, starting from around seven or eight in the morning. He had tried to fall back asleep several times to no avail and so had no choice but to get up resignedly.

This year’s spring festival was the coldest one in recent years, and Xu Qingfan had dressed in bed before getting up and taking his phone outside.

A New Year’s song CD was playing in the DVD player on the first floor, and the severely damaged "Gong Xi Fa Cai" could be heard even when he shut the bathroom door.

As Xu Qingfan brushed his teeth, he unlocked his phone to check QQ for any important messages he might have missed that morning.

Many people had sent him New Year’s blessings, and there were too many for him to reply to each personally.

However, he still needed to respond to the messages from five girls. He first clicked on Lin Wanning’s avatar because she was the only one who had sent him over twenty messages that early morning.

[Brother Qing Fan, have you woken up yet?]

[Brother Qing Fan, quickly look at the video above!]

Almost all of the messages were blasting these two lines repeatedly. Xu Qingfan chuckled, then scrolled to the very top to indeed find a video that was a little over a minute long.

The video was shot by the girl herself, holding the phone in her left hand. First, lying on the bed with her eyes closed, pretending to sleep, then slowly opening her eyes as if she had just woken up.

Then Lin Wanning, as if she had discovered something surprising, her pupils dilated, slowly got up, coming closer and closer to the camera, and even closer.

The next second.

"Good morning, Xiao Fanfan!" The girl said and kissed the camera, as if she had kissed Xu Qingfan’s face.

And that’s where the video ended, followed by Lin Wanning’s message:

[Brother Qing Fan, is Xiao Fanfan’s wish like this duck?]

"Ahem..." Xu Qingfan was watching the video while brushing teeth, couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and then choked on the foam from the toothpaste.

After swallowing a gulp of water to clear all the foam, he steadied his phone and played the video again.

A perfect day started with a personal video from Wanning.

He finished brushing his teeth and went downstairs not long after. At nine o’clock, it seemed there was no breakfast for him as the kitchen was already bustling with adults preparing lunch.

Xu Qingfan casually opened a tin of cookies meant for gifting and devoured all the biscuits with raisins.

With unreliable parents, this year he not only received red envelopes but also had to help distribute them on behalf of his mom and dad.

Because he had always topped his class, Xu Qingfan, at each New Year’s gathering, was like a mighty warlord.

Whenever a relative inquired about their child’s poor grades at the bottom of the class, he could always identify the crux of their problems with surgical precision.

As a result, many kids would keep their distance upon seeing him, depriving him of the fun of playing cards and swindling New Year’s money.

However, this year’s hot topic at the Yao family was clearly the newly born little cousin, and not many people paid attention to him anymore.

Xu Qingfan spent money to treat a group of young relatives to drinks and fireworks, finally managing to restore his reputation.

With his financial prowess, he became the king of the kids, spending an afternoon blowing up cow dung, scaring chickens, herding geese, and chasing dogs with a group of seven and eight-year-olds, making time pass rather enjoyably.

After dinner, Xu Qingfan treated the kids to cola again and, with their ten-mile farewell, boarded a tractor that happened to be leaving the village.

"You guys go back. Tell my grandma that I’m going home," Xu Qingfan waved his hand to signal them not to follow anymore.

"Cousin, when will you take us out to play again?" The tractor was moving slowly, so the children could still follow along and talk without any hindrance.

"Next time I’ll take you to blow up a public restroom. Now go back, don’t follow anymore, and remember to tell my grandma I left."

"Bye, cousin!"

"Goodbye, uncle grandpa!"

"..."

The kids stopped following and stayed put, waving goodbye and shouting various things.

The tractor "clack-clack-clacked" loudly, incomplete combustion of diesel wafting in the air, and the black smoke had begun to darken his face as well.

Xu Qingfan lay back on the thatch pile, gazing at the wisps of cooking smoke rising from the distant houses, which added a charm to the otherwise plain sky.

The rows of white birch trees lining the road stood straight and symmetrical, giving the illusion of an endless path when looked down upon.

But no matter how long a road is, it eventually comes to an end. After thanking the villager who had given him a ride out of the village, Xu Qingfan shouldered his backpack and waited for the bus by the roadside.

As for why he didn’t say goodbye to his grandparents?

If he had directly told them he was returning, they would definitely have wanted him to stay. "There’s not a soul at home; why go back!" they’d say.

The bus wasn’t long in arriving. After the conductor had collected his fare, he sat alone by the window in the back row, feeling the breeze.

Perhaps because his parents weren’t there this year, Xu Qingfan suddenly felt that the festive atmosphere wasn’t as strong as before. Of course, it might also be because he had grown up.

From ages three to thirteen, that’s when New Year’s feels most intense. Too young, and you can’t remember things; too old, and you’re distracted by so many other things that you can’t fully savor the holiday spirit.

Xu Qingfan had heard it said that if you feel the New Year’s spirit is fading, it’s because you’re slowly transitioning from being one who experiences it to one who creates it.

He quite agreed with this idea, considering all the little kids who had followed him around today seemed very happy.

...

Before long, the bus had taken him back to Gualv Square in Li City. When Xu Qingfan got off, it was already past eight in the evening.

Since it was both New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day, there were exceptionally many visitors on the square that night, and the flower sellers were still in business.

The little girl who had sold him flowers the day before was still at her stall with her family. When Xu Qingfan got off the bus, she saw him, and he saw her too.

Xu Qingfan waved at her and smiled, then crossed the street and left.

The little girl had wanted to run after him to talk, but seeing him already cross the street, she could only stand there foolishly.

The gentle big brother from her childhood would take her a very long time to forget.

When he returned to Lianhua Courtyard, he looked up to see the lights of two families on the third floor were still on.

A smile formed on Xu Qingfan’s lips as he couldn’t wait to run home.

"Dang dang dang dang—surprise or not, Xia Xiaoxiao, your dad’s back!" The next second, Xu Qingfan appeared at his home’s door, with Xia Xiaoxiao sitting in his living room watching TV.

Xia Xiaoxiao had been genuinely surprised; her facial expression gave her away. As she hesitated, contemplating whether to give the stinky dog a big hug, he finished his sentence.

"Go die!" She flung a pillow from the sofa at him like a boomerang full of love.

"What an attitude, I came back late at night by bus just for you, and you don’t even offer me a cup of hot tea!" Xu Qingfan caught the pillow and tossed it back to her, changed into slippers, and casually leaned on the girl.

Xia Xiaoxiao felt very pleased inside, but she still teased him, saying, "You’re filthy and stinky, go away!"

"Is it a diesel smell, haha... I rode a tractor out of the village, isn’t that awesome!" Xu Qingfan laid his head on the girl’s thigh and said.

Xia Xiaoxiao scraped her index finger across his face, and immediately a layer of black dirt appeared on the fingertip.

"Gross, go take a shower!" She disdainfully smeared the dirt on the boy’s relatively clean neck.

"I need a break. Where’s your mom?"

Xu Qingfan shamelessly lay there without getting up, and the girl was helpless against him.

"She went to play mahjong."

"Why didn’t you go with her? There are red packets to collect."

"Mind your own business!" Xia Xiaoxiao gave his head a punch, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.

[She was actually waiting for this stinky dog to come home!]

"Oh~ I get it now, you were waiting at home for me, right?" Xu Qingfan pretended to have an epiphany.

"You... I wasn’t waiting for you. I just wanted... just wanted to stay home and keep the little brother company!" she said, glancing at the white cat sitting nearby.

"All right, I guess I was overthinking it. I’m going to shower, let’s go out and have fun later."

"Hmph!"

Watching Xu Qingfan’s departing figure, the girl hugged the resting cat and couldn’t help but sneak a smile.