I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 286. Three's a good team, but six's not.
Although it was past 10 a.m., which was outside the rush hour, there were still many people on the streets because it was summer vacation.

There were elderly men and women enjoying the cool shade under the banyan trees, uncles and aunts loudly hawking their wares in front of their shops, and groups of students heading to the Children's Palace for extracurricular classes. Together, they made up the bustling and prosperous Dongshankou.

The two strolled leisurely under the eaves of the low-rise buildings. Since they had no specific destination in mind, and in order to avoid being exposed to the sun, they wandered aimlessly wherever there was shade from the eaves.

The detached villa has a retro, Republic-era aesthetic, and the blooming roses in the courtyard add a touch of ethereal beauty to this charm.

"Would you like to take a picture there?" Xu Qingfan asked, pointing to a spot where people were taking photos.

The girl shook her head slightly. "I want to take some photo booth pictures."

[If we're taking photo booth pictures, I can take them with my brother!]
"Let's look for some photo booth pictures; there must be some around here," Xu Qingfan said.

Until smartphones became widespread in 12, photo booths were a hot business, so there must have been shops in the Dongshankou area.

"Ok!"

There was still plenty of time, so they didn't necessarily have to take some photos right away. The two continued to stroll around, stopping whenever they saw an interesting building and going inside if they could.

As the two left Chunyuan, Xu Qingfan suddenly had the idea of ​​buying a small Western-style house here to experience the extravagant life of high-ranking officials and nobles in the Republic of China era who lived in Western-style houses and kept foreign dogs.

"Yi-yi, what do you think about us buying a villa here as our new secret base if we go to high school here?" Xu Qingfan asked, pointing to a red brick villa not far away.

Without even thinking, Zhang Yi shook her head: "No, I promised to take the entrance exam for the senior high school at Licheng Middle School!"

There are only two middle schools nearby, Pei Chung and No. 7 Middle School, and the admission scores are quite high. Lin Wanning might not be able to get in, so the girl shook her head and refused without even thinking about it.

[Wan Ning is so wonderful, we can't abandon her!]
Zhang Yiyi will never forget the scene when she first met Lin Wanning, when the girl grabbed her hand and said very seriously, "Wanning will be Yiyi's ears in the future."

Those were the most heartwarming words she had ever heard during her bleak childhood, along with the story of her brother standing up for her later.

Her most precious memories are made up of the two of them, so there are three of them, and it wouldn't be right if one of them were missing!

Seeing that Zhang Yiyi was unusually opinionated, Xu Qingfan didn't ask her why, and nodded in response, "I'll listen to Yiyi."

"Mmm!" The girl smiled gently, like a pure and flawless jasmine flower.

The two walked hand in hand until they finally found a photo booth near the department store where they could take selfies.

After paying and waiting in line for a while, it was finally their turn when a couple came out of the photo studio separated by a roller shutter.

"Tsk tsk tsk~" Xu Qingfan noticed that the young couple's lips were a little red and swollen, and couldn't help but click his tongue.

Upon hearing the sound, the boys could only lower their heads like quails, while the girl glared fiercely at Xu Qingfan, as if to say, "If you're not convinced, go in and try it yourself."

However, upon seeing the handsome man and beautiful woman, she immediately looked away and left with her boyfriend.

Zhang Yiyi glared at her brother, then took his hand and walked into the photography studio.

They had taken many photo booth pictures before, so Xu Qingfan simply sat on a stool after coming in, letting Zhang Yiyi choose the background pictures.

However, to be honest, this is the first time I've ever filmed a solo shoot with Zhang Yiyi. To be precise, out of the five girls, I've only filmed a solo shoot with Xia Xiaoxiao. Now I'm adding Zhang Yiyi to the mix.

The girl was quick to choose background images, but when she switched to a certain one, she stood there for a long time because it was a wedding photo of a suit and wedding dress.

Zhang Yiyi peeked at Xu Qingfan through the reflection of the glass screen, and after confirming that he was looking down at his phone, she quickly clicked "confirm" and then switched to the next background.

After a moment, the girl rubbed Xu Qingfan's arm with her index finger, "Brother, you're all better now!"

Xu Qingfan had just logged into his Weibo account and checked. After another night of discussion, his account had gained three million followers, which meant he had successfully capitalized on this massive surge in traffic.

He put his phone away, looked up and smiled, saying, "Okay, let's take a picture."

The backgrounds of the first few photos were all quite ordinary, with the two people either making a peace sign or interacting by making a heart shape with their hands. In short, the photos were all simple and heartwarming.

When the screen switched to a wedding photo background, Zhang Yiyi couldn't help but clench her fists and guiltily peek at her brother through the screen.

If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal. The main problem is that when the camera switched to this background, the machine's speakers inexplicably started playing a proposal song—"Today You're Going to Marry Me."

"I accidentally clicked the wrong button," Zhang Yiyi said, pretending it had nothing to do with her brother, avoiding his gaze.

Each background photo has a time limit, leaving little time for the two to interact, as the song had already reached the duet part.
Listen to me~ Hold hands~ Come with me~ Let's create a happy life.

"Let's take the picture first." Xu Qingfan smiled, took the girl's hand, and led her to the camera.

Zhang Yiyi's heart was pounding with nervousness. Fortunately, she had to move her body to align with the wedding dress and veil on the screen, which distracted her and prevented her from looking embarrassed.

As the groom, Xu Qingfan, tied his tie and the bride, Zhang Yiyi, put on her veil, the song reached its climax:
【You're marrying me today~】

The machine clicked the shutter the next second, capturing the moment when the newlyweds tied the knot.

Zhang Yiyi's mind conjured up images of a grand Western-style wedding, with the pastor holding up a Bible and asking her:
"Ms. Zhang Yiyi, are you willing to marry Xu Qingfan, to love him, comfort him, respect him, and protect him as you love yourself, whether he is sick or healthy, rich or poor, to remain faithful to him until he leaves this world?"

With tears in her eyes, she nodded in response, "I do!"

"Yi Yi?" Seeing that the girl hadn't moved for a long time, Xu Qingfan waved his hand in front of her eyes.

"Oh, I'd love to be your wife, brother?" Zhang Yiyi's expression was a little blank, and she almost blurted out, "I'd love to be your wife, brother."

"Time to take another picture."

"Okay, brother, I'm sending you a heart!" Zhang Yiyi raised her left hand above her head.

"Good~"

The last few photos were taken quickly, and Zhang Yi was so engrossed in her wedding with her brother that she didn't get a good look at how the wedding photos turned out.

She was both excited and nervous at this moment, thinking, "[What if the photo is blurry? I should have taken it properly just now.]"
"Brother, wait here for a moment, I'll go get the photos!" the girl said impatiently, eager to see them as soon as possible.

Xu Qingfan tilted his head in confusion. They could go get the photos together, so why did he have to wait here? He wasn't the kind of straight man who just sat and played on his phone while shopping with a girl. He provided the necessary interaction and emotional support.

"Then I'll sit here and wait for you." Since Yi Yi had already said so, Xu Qingfan pointed to the small stool next to him and said.

"Okay!" Zhang Yi nodded and then jogged away with a smile.

The owner can help retouch some poorly taken photos at photo booths. Zhang Yiyi was worried that the wedding photo wouldn't be perfect, which is why she left her brother behind and came alone.

Actually, it's nothing, but if her brother knew that she cared a lot about that wedding photo, the girl would be very shy.

Most teenage girls are like this. Fortunately, she didn't move around while she was daydreaming, and Zhang Yi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the photo she cared about most on the computer screen was unharmed.

Both of them were incredibly good-looking, so post-processing was unnecessary. The proprietress pressed Ctrl+P simultaneously and quickly clicked to print the photo.

Zhang Yiyi seemed to have thought of something and began to whisper with the proprietress.

A minute later, she took out a fifty-yuan note from her wallet and handed it to the other person.

A few minutes later, Zhang Yiyi returned with her schoolbag to find Xu Qingfan.

"Where are the photos?" he asked, getting up.

"Here you go, brother." Zhang Yiyi opened her palm and presented him with the photos, which were in a transparent sealed bag.

After Xu Qingfan took it, the girl affectionately linked her arm with his.

After taking the photo booth pictures, it was almost noon. The two left the photo studio and sat down at a nearby bubble tea shop to wait for Zhang Chunxue to come and pick them up for lunch.

"Where did that wedding dress photo go?" Xu Qingfan still had a strong impression of that photo, but after searching several times, he couldn't find it and asked the girl in confusion.

"Oh~ the photo had a double image, I deleted it." Zhang Yiyi said with a smile, as if she had just remembered it.

Xu Qingfan hadn't expected Zhang Yiyi to lie to him. He felt the girl probably liked the photo, so he said, "Why don't you take another one? There's still time."

Zhang Yi shook her head, a sly smile appearing on her face: "That was the wrong choice to begin with. Could it be that you want to take wedding photos with me, brother?"

Xu Qingfan glanced at the girl, and Zhang Yiyi did the same.

The two of them were being silly for a short time. After Xu Qingfan laughed, Zhang Yiyi also started laughing.

"Hahaha~"

"Hehehe~"

"I thought Yi Yi wanted to take wedding photos with me, but it turns out it wasn't. What a disappointment." After his smile faded, Xu Qingfan rubbed the girl's head and said.

"I want to take pictures with my brother, and I also want to take pictures with Wan Ning!" Zhang Yiyi said, squinting her eyes and shaking her head from side to side.

"Who takes wedding photos with a girl?" He poked the girl's forehead.

“I’ll take a picture with my brother and Wan Ning, the three of us!” Zhang Yiyi added, seeing that her brother had misunderstood her meaning.

"Who takes wedding photos with three people? Are you stupid?!"

Zhang Yiyi pouted and shook her head again, looking like a baby who wouldn't listen. "We'll have it after we finish filming!"

"Why don't we invite Xiaoyu, Xiaoxiao, and Ruanwen too, and take wedding photos of all six of us?" Xu Qingfan joked, rubbing her head.

"Brother always thinks good things!" Zhang Yiyi opened her eyes, wrinkled her nose, and scolded him.

"Why are you only thinking about the good things? If three people can film, why can't six people?"

"Hmph~ No means no. Three people are fine, but four, five, or six people are not!" Zhang Yiyi shook her head vigorously.

The implication behind the girl's words was quite clear: Brother, are you ready to accept Yi Yi and Wan Ning's advances after you turn seventeen?

But clearly, the emotionally obtuse Xu Qingfan didn't understand her hints. More importantly, as a modern person in the 21st century, he wouldn't even dare to think about such a thing as the legendary Ehuang and Nüying.

"Are those seven people okay?"

"Brother, you're so annoying~"

"Can there be eight people?" Xu Qingfan continued to tease her.

"Bad brother, I'm ignoring you!"

"."

Xu Qingfan teased Zhang Yiyi for a long time until Zhang Chunxue's car stopped at the door, and then the three of them reunited and got into the car.

"Things are basically settled. Xiao Fan, post your predictions for the champion and runner-up on the Haowei Takeout forum, and post your predictions for the round of 16 on both sides. Let's see how long your luck lasts."

Zhang Chunxue tapped his head, and after receiving a lip-sync of "Thank you, Mom," she didn't forget to wink at her daughter.

"What luck, Auntie? That's skill, okay? Skill!" Xu Qingfan immediately retorted.

"My brother is a football expert!" Zhang Yiyi covered her mouth and chuckled, chiming in from the side.

"Okay, okay~ Our Xiao Fan is the most capable, he's a football expert, a true expert." Zhang Chunxue turned around to drive, and her stunningly beautiful face could be seen in the rearview mirror when she smiled.

"Hmph~ That's how it is." He mimicked Zhang Yiyi's angry expression, putting his hands on his hips.

The girl knew her brother was making fun of her, so she wrinkled her nose and gently bumped her head against him, but Xu Qingfan easily caught her with his hand.

"This time, Xiao Fan deserves credit. You young people really know how to navigate the internet. Auntie is getting old." Zhang Chunxue looked at the two people behind her in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but sigh at how fast time flies.

“Auntie, this is really pointless of you. You go out like an eighteen-year-old girl, always saying you’re old. How are other women supposed to live?” Xu Qingfan immediately slapped his thigh and retorted.

This kind of comforting notion of not being old is obviously not very effective, after all, age is a factor. Zhang Chunxue went to university in 92 and is already thirty-six years old this year.

Xu Qingfan's sarcastic flattery made Zhang Chunxue beam with joy.

"I'll give you a number! Auntie is eighteen this year, ptooey, ptooey, what auntie, she should be older sister, older sister is the best!"

"Yiyi, help me gag your brother." Zhang Chunxue laughed so hard her body twitched. Fortunately, it was rush hour, and the traffic was stopping and starting, which kept up with her pace.

"You can't... You weren't like this before!" Before Xu Qingfan could finish speaking, the girl covered his mouth with her hand.

"Mom blocked it!" Zhang Yiyi knew her brother was deliberately playing along, but she was still very happy and asked for praise.

"We're stuck in traffic, Mom needs to drive carefully."

"Ok!"

Bonus chapter for monthly pass subscribers: (3/5)

(End of this chapter)