I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 15, Section 15: Shopping with Xiaoxiao
Around 2000, communication was not well-developed, and many rumors became horrifying as they were passed around. Xia Xiaoxiao and he, at that age, heard many stories about human traffickers from their parents and teachers.

As a typical well-behaved girl, Xia Xiaoxiao had never sneaked out to stroll on the street without an adult's company.

"Xu Qingfan, shall we go back?" Xia Xiaoxiao said weakly, holding Xu Qingfan's hand tightly on the sidewalk.

"Don't worry, see that guy in the blue shirt? That's a police officer. There aren't that many human traffickers." Xu Qingfan chuckled as he led Xia Xiaoxiao forward, pointing to a security guard in a uniform to reassure her.

"Look over there, another policeman!" He pointed to a security booth after walking a few steps.

The little girl was no longer nervous and began to look around curiously.

"Didn't you say you were going to Lin Wanning's house? What are you doing at Guagreen Square?"

Xu Qingfan was speechless.

[Grandma, Wan Ning's house is four or five kilometers away from here. Even if we walked until dark, we wouldn't get there!]
"not going."

Xia Xiaoxiao was delighted, but then she heard Xu Qingfan say, "Let's go see what's fun at Guagreen Square first. I'll bring Lin Wanning here next time."

Xia Xiaoxiao: ? ? ?

If they weren't in public, the little girl would have loved to bite Xu Qingfan.

However, she quickly realized that no parent would dare to let their five- or six-year-old child go out to play alone!
"Do you think everyone dares to go out and play without their parents like you?!"

Xu Qingfan felt embarrassed. He had gotten so caught up in teasing his mother during lunch that he almost forgot he was still a little kid in kindergarten.

Guagreen Plaza was recently built and, as the first large shopping mall in the district, it attracts a constant stream of visitors.

Xia Xiaoxiao had been here many times, but this was her first time without her parents. The little girl felt a sense of adventure, like she was exploring an unknown territory.

The two walked hand in hand through the automatic glass door, where a strong blast of air conditioning greeted them.

The family didn't install air conditioning until 2010. Xu Qingfan had often come to Guagreen Square to enjoy the cool air when he was a child in his previous life, so he knew every floor like the back of his hand.

Suddenly finding herself in a crowded place, Xia Xiao's timidity was replaced by curiosity. She let go of Xu Qingfan's hand, grabbed his clothes, and headed towards the elevator.

The second floor is divided into hundreds of small shops, selling all kinds of things. Xu Qingfan remembers that there used to be a shop here that sold Taiwanese milk tea, as well as Taiwanese snacks such as takoyaki, wheel cakes and egg waffles.

When I was a child, being able to eat there once felt like celebrating the New Year. But when I grew up and had money and came back, the shop was already deserted.

Xu Qingfan once heard someone say that what one cannot obtain in one's youth will ultimately trap one for life.

What is it that I cannot have? Is it Xia Xiaoxiao's departure, or the takoyaki I never got to eat?

Thinking about these things is pointless. At least I have money in my pocket now, I can eat whatever I want, and Xia Xiaoxiao is still by my side. Living well in the present is more important than anything else.

"I'll treat you to milk tea," Xu Qingfan said.

"No need for you to treat me, I brought the money!"

"Then you treat me."

"I only brought five yuan, is that enough?" Xia Xiaoxiao didn't object, but instead asked about the price.

In 2002, a large cup of bubble tea only cost one yuan, so five yuan was more than enough.

If it's not enough for me

Xia Xiaoxiao wanted to say that she had another twenty yuan, but that was for buying other things.

"That's enough, milk tea is very cheap."

"Then I'll treat you!" The little girl took out a five-yuan note from her purse and handed it to Xu Qingfan.

"thank you boss."

The two walked into the milk tea shop side by side, and the two adorable human babies instantly attracted everyone's attention.

"Little friend, where are your parents?" A waitress in her twenties squatted down to ask.

"My mom gets her nails done next door, and she told us to come here to eat." Xu Qingfan lied without hesitation.

"Oh, okay, then take a look and see what you'd like to eat!" The young lady handed the menu on the counter to Xu Qingfan.

"One red bean milk tea, one pudding milk tea, large, plus a deluxe takoyaki." Xu Qingfan didn't take the money, but directly ordered the dishes, and handed over Xia Xiaoxiao's five yuan note.

"Okay, please wait a moment." The young lady took the money.

The two found a place to sit facing each other. Xu Qingfan suddenly clutched his stomach and said to Xia Xiao, "My stomach hurts. I'm going to the toilet and I'll be right back. Don't leave."

Without waiting for Xia Xiaoxiao's reply, she clutched her stomach and rushed out.

Xia Xiaoxiao opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but before she could speak, Xu Qingfan had already disappeared without a trace.

He wasn't suffering from a stomachache; he had sneaked out to buy lottery tickets.

The lottery shop is on the third floor, and the owner is a middle-aged woman.

Inside the shop, there were three or four middle-aged people wearing slippers, shorts, and tank tops, looking at the forms hanging on the wall and making notes from time to time.

"Auntie, I'm buying lottery tickets for my dad!" Xu Qingfan handed the shopkeeper the draft paper he had prepared beforehand.

"Buy according to the instructions!"

The woman was clearly not a novice at selling to children; she showed no surprise as she reached out and took the paper from Xu Qingfan's hand.

How much do you want?

"My dad said to buy ten tickets for each of the ones listed above! That's a total of 140 yuan, right?"

“Yes.” The proprietress’s face showed a disdainful expression, clearly regarding Xu Qingfan’s father as a lazy parasite.

[140 yuan! That's enough for my mom to buy groceries for a month! I don't know which spendthrift man bought it!]
"Give!"

The proprietress operated the machine for a while and quickly handed Xu Qingfan seventy small cards, about the size of an ID card, made of a material somewhat similar to the Shanda game recharge cards. Back in 2002, lottery tickets weren't in the form of invoices yet; even twenty years from now, people will still be spending money to buy and collect these kinds of small cards.

Xu Qingfan asked the proprietress for two rubber bands, tied a large stack of lottery tickets together, and then rushed back to the milk tea shop.

Xia Xiaoxiao was still sitting in her original seat, and Xu Qingfan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If Xiaoxiao were lost, not to mention the combined beating from her parents, her own conscience would also be tormented.

"Does your stomach still hurt? I've changed it to something warm for you," Xia Xiaoxiao said, pointing to his cup of milk tea.

Xu Qingfan:
[Drinking hot milk tea in temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius is really tough!]
"Thank you."

Soon after, the takoyaki was served. Xu Qingfan was worried that Xia Xiaoxiao would get burned, so he asked the waiter for two disposable bowls and chopsticks.

He once saw a news report about a college student who burned his mouth while eating takoyaki, and a blister instantly appeared in his mouth.

The little girl had difficulty breathing, but fortunately she was taken to the hospital in time. The doctor popped the blisters, which saved her life.

Similar examples include nail-biting leading to amputation and squeezing pimples causing infection and death.

Therefore, many safety issues that seem insignificant can often be fatal.

"Be careful, it's hot inside." Xu Qingfan used a bamboo skewer to pick up a small meatball and put it into Xia Xiaoxiao's bowl.

"What is this?" Xia Xiaoxiao's family is very strict, and she has never eaten this kind of junk food before.

In your parents' words, it's like saying, "It's so hot, it'll make your throat hurt like hell!"

"I've seen takoyaki on TV."

"Hooho~"

Xia Xiaoxiao was indeed burned, and put the half-eaten meatball back into the bowl.

"I already said it's hot."

"It's delicious!" Xia Xiaoxiao mumbled after taking a sip of milk tea.

"Is it delicious?" Xu Qingfan subconsciously went to drink his milk tea, but his eyes noticed that there seemed to be a stain on the straw.

They're all disposable straws, so it couldn't be that the owner didn't wash them properly. It must be that the person across from me was stealing a drink.

"Did you steal my milk tea?" Xu Qingfan asked.

Xia Xiaoxin looked away guiltily, "I'll help you test the temperature, and at most you can try mine too!"

Xu Qingfan didn't stand on ceremony and stuck his head in to bite the straw and slurp a big mouthful.

"Ah, why did you drink so much!" Xia Xiaoxiao stared at him, embarrassed and annoyed.

"Heh, I'll let you drink back." Xu Qingfan pushed his glass away.

"Humph!"

The two bickered and played around.

"You can have the last one." Takoyaki is great, but it gets cloying if you eat too much. Three is already Xia Xiaoxiao's limit, and she can't possibly eat the last one.

“I’m full too, let’s take it back and feed it to the dog,” Xu Qingfan suggested.

"Ah."

The two walked out of the milk tea shop. Xu Qingfan had already bought all the lottery tickets, and he still had more than 20 yuan left in his pocket. He thought he would go up to the children's playground on the fourth floor to spend all the money.

As they approached a stall, Xia Xiaoxiao suddenly said, "Wait for me!"

The two stopped in front of a stationery store. Xu Qingfan firmly believed in the truth that poor students had more stationery, so he had no intention of going in.

A few minutes later, Xia Xiaoxiao came out carrying a bag.

"This is for you!" Xia Xiaoxiao handed him the bag.

"what?"

"Thank you." Xu Qingfan scratched his head in confusion and took the plastic bag.

"You need to throw away your plastic bottle as soon as you get back. My mom said it's poisonous. I bought you a new water cup!" Xia Xiaoxiao explained.

"Mmm." Xu Qingfan felt a warmth in his heart and reached out to rub the little girl's head.

"Don't touch my head, my mom said it will stunt my growth!" Xia Xiaoxiao glared at him.

"That's it! Still that proud and aloof Xiaoxiao!" Xu Qingfan exhaled.

It's good that I wasn't possessed.

"Come on, I'll take you to do something fun!" He took Xia Xiaoxiao's hand and ran up to the fourth floor.

In their previous life, Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao came here alone when they were in junior high school. At that time, they needed to use a computer for the math exam, so they asked their families for money to come and buy one.

He remembered there was a small game booth where you could get a figurine if you wrote the numbers from 1 to 1000 in one correct stroke.

Of course, you can end the challenge every 100, and the prizes you receive will increase accordingly.

This was the only time in his previous life that he had surpassed Xia Xiaoxiao. He spent more than 30 minutes successfully writing 1,000 characters, while Xia Xiaoxiao only managed to write 200 before ending the challenge.

In the end, he gave Xia Xiaoxiao a 1.5-meter-tall teddy bear.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but shake his head again. In his previous life, he and Xia Xiaoxiao had a good relationship. How did it come to the point where they never spoke to each other again?
He felt there must be some misunderstanding.

(End of this chapter)