I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 1.1. Past Lives and Present Lives
"Xu Qingfan!" A female voice, deliberately imitating a baby's voice, came from the podium.

“The other children are all rehearsing diligently, why aren’t you singing along?” The female teacher came down from the podium and walked up to Xu Qingfan, asking him patiently.

"I'm tone-deaf." Xu Qingfan glanced at the music teacher who was walking over, then looked back at the documents in his hand.

Coupled with his feigned cool demeanor, his sweet, childlike voice successfully amused the teacher.

Analysis of team strength in the 2002 World Cup?
"You can look at these things when you get home. I'll keep them safe for you for now!" The music teacher snatched the booklet from Xu Qingfan's hand and read aloud the Chinese characters written on the cover.

"Come on, let's rehearse one more time. Turn off the hallway lights~ Ready, go!"

On stage, the music teacher swayed his head to the melody coming from the radio, while children's voices sang a version of Peninsula Iron Box in the classroom.

Xu Qingfan idly watched Teacher Xiaoyu on the stage, humming a few lines just as her gaze was about to fall on him.

"So 8TV was released this year." He gazed at the dappled shadows of the trees outside the window, lost in thought.

As a performance piece for a kindergarten graduation ceremony, "Peninsula Iron Box" was clearly inappropriate. Without a doubt, it was the person on stage who abused their power for personal gain.

However, when Xu Qingfan thought about how, in twenty years, all the kindergarten performances would become "I love you, I walk alone in the dark alley," it didn't seem so hard for him to accept.

There are still five minutes until school ends, just bear with it.
It's been two weeks since I became like this. At first, I embarrassed myself by forgetting my seat in class, but after casually solving a chicken-and-rabbit problem in math class, I quickly forgot about it.

The teacher initially thought Xu Qingfan had just given the correct answer offhand, but when he wrote the two linear equations in two variables on the blackboard, the math teacher was instantly stunned.

And so, Xu Qingfan, who was taciturn since childhood, became known as a child prodigy after that day.

"Ring ring ring ring——"

"Kids, that's all for today's lesson. Go home and practice hard, okay?"

"it is good!!!"

As soon as the bell rang, the students were like wild horses about to break free, and the classroom instantly became noisy.

Xu Qingfan looked away, and his deskmate Xia Xiaoxiao, seeing him looking over, immediately glared at him coldly.

"Humph!"

The little girl seemed very angry and turned her head away haughtily to the other side.

Xu Qingfan shook his head with amusement, ignoring his classmate's tantrum, and went straight to the podium to retrieve the team guidebook that had just been confiscated.

Xia Xiaoxiao is Xu Qingfan's neighbor. The two were in the same class in kindergarten, the same class in elementary school, and even in junior and senior high school.

Clearly, this is his childhood sweetheart.

Xia Xiaoxiao displayed unparalleled intelligence from the elementary school entrance exam, consistently ranking first in her grade. After entering junior high school, she blossomed into a graceful young woman, naturally becoming Xu Qingfan's ideal woman.

From childhood to adulthood, Xu Qingfan would buy snacks and give gifts. In addition to the essential daily good morning and good night greetings, he even remembered the exact days when she had her period. In the words of his roommate, you are a pitiful Tom Cat who is being played by the goddess and has lost his way!

If you were to ask Xu Qingfan what his biggest regret in his past life was, it would definitely be believing Xia Xiaoxiao's lies.

When she graduated from high school, she said, "Isn't a second-tier university just a slightly better junior college? Why don't you repeat a year? If you get into Gangcheng University, I'll agree to be your girlfriend."

A year later, she said again, "You didn't really take this seriously, did you? I was just trying to encourage you. I don't plan to date in college. If you can keep liking me for four years in college, then I'll agree to be your girlfriend after graduation."

At that moment, Xu Qingfan even thought of the name for their future child.

So he persisted in pursuing Xia Xiaoxiao for another three years.

The two were almost inseparable during their university years. They studied in the library together, took the same elective courses, ran together on the playground, and occasionally strolled hand in hand.

Although Xia Xiaoxiao never verbally agreed to be his girlfriend, apart from that final step, how were their actions any different from dating?
Everyone thought they were already boyfriend and girlfriend. Even Xu Qingfan believed that the girl would definitely agree to be his girlfriend after graduation and then they would get married.

The two will have a happy ending witnessed by countless relatives and friends.

However, reality once again dealt him a heavy blow.

Perhaps those who are favored are always fearless. Although both sets of parents strongly agreed to the marriage, Xia Xiaoxiao resolutely went abroad to study after graduating from university.

Xu Qingfan still remembers Xia Xiaoxiao's last words to him: "Xu Qingfan, although I promised you, I'm sorry, I received an offer from MIT. Can you allow me to be willful one last time, really the last time? If you still like me after I graduate, I will marry you." The seriousness in the girl's eyes was like the stars that night, so dazzling that he couldn't look directly at them.

She turned and left, as if she had made up her mind, without ever looking at me again.

The dictionary defines leaving as separating from a person or a place. Perhaps at that moment, Xu Qingfan suddenly understood what leaving meant.

"Xiaoxiao! How can I live without you! Xiaoxiao!!" Xu Qingfan chased after the taxi, crying out in anguish. However, even the God of Cars in his AE86 couldn't catch up with the Mercedes, let alone his mortal body.

At that moment, Xu Qingfan realized that he was just a one-cost card in her life, a piece she used to complete synergies and transition.

After that, the two lost contact.

Years later, while he was rushing to finish his graduate thesis, he suddenly heard the devastating news from the other party on his phone.

Xia Xiaoxiao was accidentally caught up in a shooting while shopping and eventually died in that free country.

It's hard to describe how he feels, but Xu Qingfan doesn't actually regret fawning over Xia Xiaoxiao for so many years. If he didn't truly like her, who would be willing to be a simp?

Sometimes, in the dead of night, he would occasionally think that perhaps he was wrong from the very beginning. A healthy relationship should be built on equality, and trying to win love by being nice to someone is inherently wrong.

Xu Qingfan glanced at Xia Xiaoxiao following behind him out of the corner of his eye, and walked straight towards the kindergarten gate.

"Your mother's head is like a ball; you could kick it all the way to a department store!"

"A guarantee, a guarantee, I promise I won't go to school anymore."

Xu Qingfan glanced at the chubby boy who was spouting rhymes and muttered, "Is he preparing for graduate school?"

"Look at your mother!" the chubby boy cursed, swearing loudly when he saw Xu Qingfan staring at him.

He was speechless, wondering who taught him to be so ill-mannered. He hoped his parents wouldn't blame it on Chinese animation.

He looked away and ignored the chubby boy, but the boy seemed determined to persist.

It's a pity we're already at the school gate, otherwise Xu Qingfan wouldn't mind giving the brat a good beating.

"Dad," he called out to the young man sitting on a motorcycle by the door.

"Fanfan, where's Xiaoxiao?" When Xu's father saw his son come out, he quickly put out his cigarette and went to greet him.

When the chubby boy behind him saw that Xu Qingfan's parents had arrived, he had no choice but to let him off the hook.

"later."

"Hello, Uncle Xu." Xia Xiaoxiao ran over and caught up with the group.

"Here, let Uncle carry your schoolbag."

"Thank you, Uncle." Xia Xiaoxiao smiled and handed the schoolbag to Xu Aiguo. When her eyes fell on Xu Qingfan, she instantly changed her expression like a Sichuan opera face.

Xu Qingfan naturally wouldn't argue with a child, and very gentlemanly let her get on the motorcycle first, while he sat at the very back.

Perhaps because her thigh touched her, Xia Xiaoxiao picked up her chubby little hand and pinched Xu Qingfan's thigh hard.

"Hiss~" Xu Qingfan gasped in pain.

He didn't spoil her at all; he reached out and gently rubbed and kneaded Xia Xiaoxiao's fair face.

The two played around in the car for a while and soon returned to the staff compound, but the result was that Xia Xiaoxiao disliked him even more.

"You brat, did you bully Xiaoxiao again!" Seeing Xia Xiaoxiao turn away angrily, Xu's father slapped his son on the back of the head and scolded him with a smile.

"I didn't!" Xu Qingfan retorted, his argument both unconvincing and defiant.

"Maybe today's homework was too difficult," he added.

(End of this chapter)