I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 531. Protecting the Best in the World
in the afternoon.

"When setting off fireworks and firecrackers during the holidays, please be careful to prevent fires and keep away from flammable and explosive materials. School's out!"

Many students packed their backpacks and arranged their desks and chairs early in the morning. After listening to the grade leader's holiday safety education lesson on the radio, they immediately rushed out of the classroom.

It's holiday time. Looking at the tree branches swaying in the wind outside the window, they seem to be feeling the clamor of freedom.

"Goodbye, Brother Fan. Goodbye, Squad Leader."

See you all next week.

"Bye-Bye."

After Xiao Ruanwen packed her schoolbag, the two left the classroom side by side.

"Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. Are we going out to have fun, or should we drive to Conghua tonight?" Xiao Ruanwen asked him.

Fireworks, hot springs, and girls in kimonos—the images unconsciously surfaced in Xu Qingfan's mind.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "That depends on whether we need to have dinner at Grandpa and Grandma's house. If it's too late, we can go to my rooftop to set off fireworks."

"Okay then." Seeing Xu Qingfan's attempt to hold her hand, Xiao Ruanwen put her hands in her pockets.

"I'm going down to find Xiaoxiao and the others first, hurry up and catch up!"

Without giving Brother Fan any chance, Xiao Ruanwen finished speaking and ran away in small steps.

Xu Qingfan watched her retreating figure, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on his lips.

[Can they escape?]
Wu Lingyu was going back to her home in Gangcheng this week. After dropping Lin Wanning, Zhang Yiyi, and Xiao Ruanwen off at their homes, Xia Xiaoxiao simply had the driver drop the two of them off near the old market.

After what happened last week, the two walked hand in hand on the street, their fingers intertwined naturally, looking just like a real couple.

Xia Xiaoxiao would walk ahead, pulling the slow-moving Xu Qingfan along. When they saw an interesting stall, they would stop and look at it for a while.

When she sees a small accessory she likes, she'll subtly pinch Xu Qingfan, hinting that he should help her bargain.

"Hey handsome, your girlfriend is so pretty. This necklace isn't expensive at thirty yuan. Look, it can be split in two, so it's only fifteen yuan apiece. What a bargain!"

The stall owner showed off the necklace in her hand; the heart on the pendant was magnetically attached, and could be easily broken in half with a flick of the wrist.

“Auntie, did you get your goods from Shahe or Shilong? The purchase price was only two or three yuan. It’s a bit unfair of you to sell them for thirty yuan!” Xu Qingfan rolled up his sleeves, ready to have a big fight.

"Oh my, where can you find something for two or three yuan? Sell it to me, I'll buy as many as you have. Auntie, this necklace of mine is made of magnets, it's high-tech, you know?"

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance. Iron becomes a magnet when electrified. What kind of high technology is this?

"Fifteen yuan, that's the most I can offer," Xu Qingfan said.

"Fifteen yuan is absolutely impossible! I'd lose money if you offered fifteen yuan. Young man, how can you bargain like that!" The stall owner waved his hand to shoo the customer away.

Xu Qingfan didn't argue back. He took Xia Xiaoxiao's hand, turned around, and left, silently counting numbers in his mind.

"Young man, don't go! Do you want twenty yuan? Fifteen, fifteen, I'll sell it to you at a loss for fifteen yuan!" Xu Qingfan had only just silently counted to three when the other party had already slid down to his knees at lightning speed.

The two went back and bought the necklaces, but Xu Qingfan didn't want them and handed both necklaces to Xia Xiaoxiao.

Just kidding, he wouldn't dare keep such an item, which could easily trigger a chaotic situation, by his side.

Xia Xiaoxiao seemed to read his mind, pried open his hand, and placed half of the necklace in his hand, "Half for each of us."

Xu Qingfan put his arm around her shoulder and pretended to be clueless, saying, "Is it for Xiaobai and Little Brother? White cat and white dog, they'll wear matching necklaces."

Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him, said nothing, and put the necklace around her neck.

She didn't suggest that Xu Qingfan wear it, but simply watched him quietly.

"Okay, okay, I'll put it on, I'll put it on right now." Xu Qingfan felt uneasy under her gaze, so he had no choice but to put on the necklace as well.

But then again, what he just said seemed ambiguous.

Xia Xiaoxiao looked away, tossed her high ponytail, and arrogantly led him away: "Don't force yourself if you don't want to wear it."

From an angle he couldn't see, the girl smiled faintly.

[Well, now the ambiguity is even greater.]
Walking home from the old market, the two completed the route they hadn't covered last time.

Once they arrived at their doorstep, the two tacitly separated their hands, and the necklaces they were wearing on the outside were tucked into their clothes.

"Oh, it smells so good! Mom, Auntie, are you stewing beef?" Xu Qingfan saw Yao Jinping and Lin Jing's shoes at the door and guessed that the two must be at home.

Sure enough, Lin Jing pushed open the kitchen door and came out the next second: "You're back! Potato and beef rib stew, smells good, right?"

"Add some hoisin sauce to stir-fry it until fragrant, it'll taste good," Xu Qingfan said as he walked over after changing his shoes and putting down his schoolbag.

"I've told you so many times to wash your hands as soon as you get home; there are so many germs outside."

Under Yao Jinping's watchful gaze, Xu Qingfan went to the sink to wash his hands, then casually dried them on his school uniform pants, earning him another eye roll from Yao Jinping.

"Do you want some pomegranate? I'll share half with you," he said, taking a red pomegranate from the refrigerator.

"Mm." Xia Xiaoxiao nodded to him and continued to stand next to Yao Jinping, learning how to cook.

"By the way, Xiaofan, are we going to Conghua for hot springs on New Year's Day, or tomorrow night for New Year's Eve?" Lin Jing asked, probably wanting to make preparations in advance.

“Oh~ Auntie, why did you ask the same question as Ruan Wen?” Xu Qingfan was slightly surprised and continued, “I don’t know if we should stay for dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Xiao’s house tomorrow, but it’s really fine. We can just leave for Conghua after dinner.”

Conghua is only about 60 kilometers away from Licheng, and it takes just over an hour to drive there, even without taking the highway.

"I'll think about it tonight and tell you as soon as I've made a plan," Xu Qingfan said, taking a bite of pomegranate.

He hadn't thought about New Year's Eve last week, and subconsciously set his departure date for New Year's Day.

"Okay, then Auntie will wait for Xiaofan's notification," Lin Jing said with a smile. Xu Qingfan agreed and left the kitchen with a pomegranate in his mouth.

The necklace around your neck needs to be hidden in a corner. These things are like matching profile pictures; either everyone has one, or nobody uses one.

In his past life, Xu Qingfan had a playboy in his college dormitory who dated four girlfriends at the same time.

When one of his girlfriends suggested changing their profile pictures to match, he told the other three of them separately that he wanted to change theirs. He then used the male version while the other four girlfriends used the same female version.

It's a pity he didn't know the other person in this life, otherwise he could have sought advice from that guy.

After returning to his room, Xu Qingfan took off the necklace and casually tucked it into one of the books on the bookshelf.

After he sat down in the chair, he habitually turned on the computer with his foot.

In the morning, Xu Qingfan only had time to report the situation from last night to Wan Ning. Although Wan Ning would definitely inform Yi Yi, Xu Qingfan felt that as a responsible man, he should personally explain the situation to Yi Yi.

They have responsibilities, but not many.

He sent Zhang Yiyi a video call request, and before long, her figure appeared on the screen.

"What's wrong, brother?"

Judging from the background, it looks like it's in a girl's bedroom. Zhang Yiyi is lying on the bed playing on her phone, with her legs sticking up like scorpion tails.

"Yi-Yi is home. Where's Mom?" Xu Qingfan asked.

"Mom was cooking in the kitchen. I saw it was my brother calling, so I went back to my room," Zhang Yiyi said, as if she had expected him to have something to say to her.

"Auntie can cook?" Xu Qingfan asked in surprise.

"We're having hot pot! Mom's washing the vegetables," Zhang Yiyi said with a smile.

"Oh, we're having stewed beef ribs for dinner tonight, the whole house smells amazing."

"Mm." Zhang Yi nodded, obediently waiting for him to continue.

"Uh, that one..."

"Brother, what do you say?" Zhang Yi propped his phone up with a pillow, rested his chin on his hands, and looked at the screen.

Xu Qingfan scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed, and said something similar to what he had said that morning: "You are physics, chemistry, and biology majors. Even if you get full marks, it means something different."

He had the nerve to say it to Lin Wanning, but when the audience changed to Zhang Yiyi, for some reason he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Xiaoxiao confessed her feelings to me last night. I neither accepted nor rejected her."

"I know, Wan Ning told me." Zhang Yiyi put away her smile and looked at him seriously.

"I don't want to lie to Yi-yi. I like Xiao-xiao, but I also like you and Wan-ning. I know what I'm doing is wrong, but..."

However, Xu Qingfan couldn't come up with a good excuse, so he simply remained silent.

The two people in the video fell silent for a moment; someone who didn't know better might have thought their internet connection had crashed.

Zhang Yiyi broke the deadlock by saying, "I knew my brother was a womanizer all along."

"—I."

"But what can we do when Wan Ning and I both love our brother so much?"

Faced with the girl's tolerance, Xu Qingfan felt like he was a complete idiot.

"I will always be good to you, just like now, just like when we were kids, and even better than now and when we were kids." Xu Qingfan didn't know what else to say, so he could only make this promise.

Zhang Yiyi was even more confident in this than Xu Qingfan was in believing in himself.

Zhang Yiyi's lips curled into a smile again, and she suddenly asked slyly, "So, brother likes me, likes Wan Ning, likes Xiao Xiao, and you don't also like Xiao Yu and Ruan Wen, do you?"

Xu Qingfan subconsciously wiped his sweat, his expression resembling the "pouting" emoji from WeChat.

Meeting the girl's smile, he nodded weakly and reluctantly, admitting, "I like her."

Even though she had expected it, Zhang Yiyi was still taken aback by Big Radish Brother's appetite.

"Brother wouldn't want to marry all five of us at the same time, would he?" Zhang Yi asked with a smile, but her voice sounded sinister.

"Well, if you're willing," Xu Qingfan said, forcing himself to face the challenge.

"Humph!"

"You think this is some ancient palace with three palaces and six courtyards? You want to marry five wives!"

Zhang Yiyi suddenly became angry, and Xu Qingfan couldn't tell if she was being genuine or not.

“I haven’t thought that way, but I will try my best to fight for it because you hold a special place in my heart. I don’t want to have any regrets in the future, and I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

Even though I know it's impossible, I still want to try.

Xu Qingfan looked into Zhang Yiyi's eyes and said, word by word.

Actually, the scoundrel's heart was pounding with nervousness.

Zhang Yi didn't answer, but the smile on her face was like a gentle spring breeze, dispelling his last trace of concern.

"You're so bad, you heartless philanderer brother!"

Xu Qingfan smiled foolishly, never having felt that the girl's smile was as bright as it was now.

Protect the best in the world!

(End of this chapter)