I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 6. I will protect you.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Aren't you going to do your test?" Xu Qingfan reached out and pushed Xia Xiaoxiao's head back to its normal position.

Ever since he returned from the office, Xia Xiaoxiao has been staring at him as if he were an alien.

"Who are you!" Xia Xiaoxiao pushed Xu Qingfan's hand away and looked at him with suspicion.

“I am your father,” he blurted out.

No sooner had he finished speaking than he received a flick on the head.

“Last month, someone stole your pencil case, and I was the one who got it back for you. When did you ever dare to fight with someone?” Xia Xiaoxiao crossed her arms in front of her chest and scrutinized Xu Qingfan.

More than 20 years have passed, and he can hardly remember what happened last month. However, he remembers that he had always been protected by Xia Xiaoxiao before he entered junior high school.

The only exception was in the first year of junior high school.

Girls generally develop earlier. By the time Xia Xiaoxiao was in the first year of junior high school, she was already almost 1.7 meters tall, which was in stark contrast to the immature junior high school students.

At that time, some older students saw that she was pretty and would often call her "Sister-in-law Xia Xiaoxiao," and they would even wait for her after school.

In elementary school, Aunt Lin was there to look after her, but in junior high, some bad students were so bad that even the teachers didn't dare to discipline them. As a result, Xia Xiaoxiao reported the matter to the school several times, but it was not resolved.

Xu Qingfan was only about 1.5 meters tall at the time, and he couldn't beat a group of eighth and ninth graders. He didn't choose to fight head-on, but instead used his wits.

At the time, many people knew that Xia Xiaoxiao and he had a special relationship. Xu Qingfan spread rumors that Xia Xiaoxiao was his girlfriend, and even gave the middle finger to the leader of the mutual learning group in front of him.

Sure enough, that very night the other party sent five or six people to ambush him in the student dormitory.

After being kicked a few times, Xu Qingfan seized the opportunity and ran away, with several students chasing after him.

The student dormitory has two staircases, one on the left and one on the right, but the left staircase is rarely used because the main door on the first floor is locked.

He seized this opportunity to set up roadblocks before going to bed.

As expected, all the older students who chased after him when they reached the stairwell were tripped up by the wire he had secured beforehand.

One person broke their hand, and the other suffered a concussion; the incident even made the news.

Xu Qingfan was ultimately given a disciplinary warning and placed on probation, but from then on, no one dared to mess with Xia Xiaoxiao again.

"What are you grinning about? I'm asking you a question!" Xia Xiaoxiao poked Xu Qingfan's arm with her pen when she saw his inexplicable aunt-like smile.

"If anyone bullies you in the future, tell me, and Dad will protect you," Xu Qingfan said softly, stroking the little girl's head.

Xia Xiaoxiao was initially quite happy that the little rascal said he would protect her, but after hearing what he said next, her face instantly darkened.

"Ignore you!"

She indeed stopped staring at Xu Qingfan and began to concentrate on doing the test paper again.

There seems to be a reason why top students can be top students; if it were them, they wouldn't be able to concentrate on studying.

Having been given a second chance at life, he certainly didn't want to go bald to study science and math.

I still remember some of the 14 college entrance exam questions; I need to write them down!
As a student repeating a year of high school, the previous year's exam papers were the things he encountered most during that year. There was the frustration of failing the college entrance exam and the unwillingness to prove himself. Xu Qingfan did the 14 exam papers no less than twenty times during his year of repeating a year.

The last class unknowingly came to an end in Xu Qingfan's memories.

"Is my face still swollen?" Xu Qingfan asked his deskmate, who was packing his schoolbag, recalling what had happened that morning.

"It's much better, but it's still a little swollen." Xia Xiaoxiao was also in the office at the time, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him when she remembered that awful old woman slapping him hard. "Don't tell my dad, okay?"

"Why? That old woman is so mean, why didn't she tell Uncle Xu!"

"I fought back, didn't I? I'll settle my score myself. What kind of man goes to his parents' place?" Xu Qingfan declared righteously.

"Hmph! It's none of my business if you get beaten to death." Xia Xiaoxiao was only concerned about him out of kindness, but Xu Qingfan didn't appreciate it.

Seeing Xia Xiaoxiao's proud little expression, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at? Hey, don't pinch my cheek!"

The two of them playfully wrestled as they walked out of the kindergarten.

Only when facing Xia Xiaoxiao did Xu Qingfan feel like a five or six-year-old child. Perhaps this is what they mean by a man being a boy until death.

"Did you get into a fight?" Mr. Xu asked, puzzled, seeing his son's swollen face.

"A boy from the next class lifted up a girl's skirt, and I beat him up."

"Hahaha, I think you got beaten up. Look at your face, it's swollen like a pig's head. See how your mom scolds you when you get home."

"Uncle Xu, Xiao Fan is amazing! He beat those three boys who tried to lift up girls' skirts so badly they couldn't stand up!" Xia Xiaoxiao said proudly.

"Why is his face so swollen from being punched? Haha." Mr. Xu was also quite pleased to hear that his son had acted bravely.

"that is because."

“He has no sportsmanship. The teacher came and slapped him when I wasn’t looking. I hit him back.” Xu Qingfan covered Xia Xiaoxiao’s mouth with his hand and continued.

"It's good that they fought back. We don't bully others, but we can't let others bully us either."

Xia Xiaoxiao pouted, turned around and glared at Xu Qingfan, but ultimately didn't reveal the truth.

My little one is so cute, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch his cheek.

"Oh, right, Xiaoxiao, your dad is back. Let's have dinner together later."

"Ah! It's true!!" Xia Xiaoxiao waved her little hands excitedly, not even caring that Xu Qingfan was pinching her face.

Xia Xiaoxiao's father used to be the foreman of the drivers' team in the factory. After the factory's performance declined, he voluntarily resigned and used his savings to buy a large truck.

Don't underestimate truck drivers. Back in the early 2000s, there were no unethical maps, and many routes were navigated based on experience. Truck drivers had absolute bargaining power and were basically treated like royalty wherever they went.

No deposit is required. A person sits in the passenger seat to watch the goods, and is responsible for all food and drinks throughout the trip, and also has to reimburse the round-trip gas costs.

Xia's father started out hauling goods for others, but after figuring out the tricks of the trade, he switched to hauling goods himself, earning several thousand yuan per trip.

It wasn't until more and more people entered the industry and truck drivers relentlessly drove down prices, completely transforming the market from a seller's market to a buyer's market, that Xia's father began to give up on this line of work. But the money he had earned over the past ten years would have been enough for his family of three to live on for a lifetime, even if they had just put it in the bank and earned interest.

The motorcycle arrived at Lianhua Courtyard in no time. As soon as she got off, Xia Xiaoxiao rushed home without even taking her schoolbag.

The only downside is that I'm constantly traveling and have less time to spend with my wife and children.

[Should we find both sets of parents an easy yet respectable job?]
Watching Xia Xiaoxiao's running figure, Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)