Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts
Chapter 773 520: Beware of Being a Scumbag (Part 2)

The warm baby started to exert its strength, and after leaving the living room, no one felt much cold.

After locking the courtyard door, they set off as a large group towards the school.

...

As soon as school was over, students from all classes moved their chairs to the large square.

It was a little past 7:40 in the evening, and nearly seventy percent of the seats on the more than three thousand neatly arranged stools were already occupied.

On the stage, three hosts, one male and two females, were testing the microphones. The boy was wearing a neatly tailored suit, and the girls were also dressed in elegant evening gowns.

"Hey~ Isn't that your old flame, Brother Chou Fan?" Xiao Ruawen recognized one person on the screen and suddenly said.

"???"

The curtain's picture quality wasn't very good. Xu Qingfan looked closely before recognizing one of the hosts as his senior from the Magic Club, Chen Mengmeng.

"Ah... ow ow ow." Xu Qingfan grabbed one of her ears with one hand, and even before he applied force, Xiao Ruawen started howling like a husky.

He released his grip in annoyance, saying, "If you talk nonsense again next time, I'll... tell your grandpa that you sing at school every day!"

"No, Brother Chou Fan, I'm sorry." Xiao Ruawen grabbed her ears with both hands, looking repentant.

She couldn't remember the person's name just now and spoke without thinking.

"Brother Chou Fan, do you know the female host up there?" Liu Yue, uncertain about who Xiao Ruawen meant by the old flame, curiously inquired.

The other three also perked up their ears to eavesdrop. If they could find out who Brother Chou Fan's old flame was, they would have a dormitory topic for tonight's late-night chat.

"Sigh, I know that boy; Ruawen was talking about the two of us." Xu Qingfan waved dismissively, "Let's go, let's go. You still have to go back for roll call, right? Head back to your class first, we can chat on the phone."

After speaking, he pushed Lin Wanning to walk ahead, and Zhang Yiyi quickly followed up.

Wu Lingyu subtly pinched Xiao Ruawen's palm, reminding her to apologize to Brother Chou Fan later, "Ruawen, talking like that isn't good for his reputation."

Xiao Ruawen immediately pouted and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's go." Xia Xiaoxiao came over and held her hand. Although she didn't hear what the two were saying, she could guess from Xiao Ruawen's sulky face.

Xia Xiaoxiao assumed Xiao Ruawen's words were meant to poke fun at Xu Qingfan, thinking she was helping her. Even if it wasn't right, she still sided with her friend.

"Which one do you think is Brother Chou Fan's old flame?"

"It should be that senior from the Magic Club. Remember how the boys from our class looked like pigs when she came to sweep the building."

"I think it might just be that boy. Xiaoxiao is way prettier than them; Brother Chou Fan can't possibly be blind."

"That's true."

Liu Yue and others whispered among themselves for a while before quickly catching up.

...

Back in the formation with Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruawen, they attracted a lot of attention because of their exquisite makeup. But since they were wrapped in bulky down jackets, classmates only commented with a "so pretty" at most.

"Everyone's here." After sending Lin Wanning back to class two, Xu Qingfan returned to his class and found both Xiao Ruawen and the three who were going to perform tonight there.

"Whoa, are you just wearing that little?" He couldn't help but swear when he saw Wu Shichong only in a thin suit,

"Ignore him, the idiot just delivered tea eggs to an adjacent class's monitor." Lai Chenglang sneered, unclear if it was out of jealousy or sourness.

"Stop barking, I just felt a bit hot earlier and took off my coat." Wu Shichong indeed couldn't take it anymore and casually put on his cotton coat.

"Brother Chou Fan, I..."

"Brother Chou Fan, did you put on makeup? You're so handsome."

Xiao Ruawen and He Caiting spoke at the same time. After exchanging glances, He Caiting spoke first.

"Wow~ no way, no way, no way, Brother Chou Fan, you secretly put on makeup; quickly tell us, are you hiding a suit under your coat!"

Xu Qingfan swatted Wu Shichong's hand away and nodded to He Caiting, "Ruawen did the makeup. I just styled my hair a bit. Looks good, right?"

"You're good-looking, so any hairstyle looks good!" He Caiting's face instantly bloomed with a smile.

"I have something to say to Xiao Ruawen. You guys chat first." He nodded with a smile and then took Xiao Ruawen aside.

After walking about a hundred meters, reaching a place without people, before Xu Qingfan could speak, Xiao Ruawen jumped in, "Brother Chou Fan, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that in front of others."

Xiao Ruawen smelled particularly nice tonight, with a natural floral fragrance that felt like being in a spring garden.

Even though she had a good attitude in admitting her mistake, it was still necessary to discipline her.

"Let's not talk about how it was all innocent between me and the senior. Put yourself in my shoes: what if someone spread rumors about you and me? Or no, you wouldn't be so lucky.

What if someone spread rumors about you and Du Haitao? How would you feel?"

Well, imagining Du Haitao's face really made Xiao Ruawen instantly empathize.

"I know I was wrong, I promise I won't do it again next time." Xiao Ruawen, realizing her mistake, dropped her usual fierce demeanor and spoke softly with her head down.

The New Year's Eve gala at the square had already begun, and the hosts were introducing the honored guests. When the male host announced titles and names, the female host would add, "Welcome," in a very amusing way.

"Pfft..." Xiao Ruawen couldn't help but laugh.

"Still laughing? Seems like you're not really sorry for your mistake, huh?" Xu Qingfan tapped her head playfully, despite knowing exactly why she laughed.

"I... I'll know my wrong and correct it." Xiao Ruawen started to argue but immediately shrank back after meeting Xu Qingfan's gaze.

"Who knows if you really will? Here's the deal: accept a punishment, and I'll forgive you," Xu Qingfan proposed.

"What...."

"Hmm?"

"I'll accept it."

Xiao Ruawen was silenced again by Xu Qingfan's gaze, lowering her head, unable to meet his eyes.

"Let's move the hug you promised for next week to now. That's your punishment." As he finished speaking, Xu Qingfan wasted no time and pulled the girl in front of him into an embrace.

"?"

Xiao Ruawen slowly typed a question mark in the air, still a bit dazed as she was engulfed in Brother Chou Fan's arms.

"When did I ever agree to give you a hug next week?" She protested, though she didn't push Xu Qingfan away.

Xu Qingfan was prepared to be pushed away, ready to pass it off as a joke if needed, but since Xiao Ruawen didn't, he was perfectly happy to stay as he was.

"The performance is about to start...." Sensing Xu Qingfan's silence, Xiao Ruawen spoke again.

"It's alright, we can listen from here just the same." Xu Qingfan patted her hand, and, by some curious impulse, Xiao Ruawen wrapped her arms around him.

The first act was a skit by class 8 of Grade 3. Hiding beneath the structural beams of the teaching building, they couldn't see the screen but could easily imagine the performance just from the sound.

It seemed to be a spoof based on "Shaolin Soccer's" street dance scene—a total scream.

When "Sauce Explosion" opened his mouth to sing Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So, Xu Qingfan and Xiao Ruawen couldn't suppress their laughter.

"Why are you laughing? Enough hugging, I want to go back and watch the show!" Xiao Ruawen pouted when she heard him laugh.

"No way it's that fast, at least half an hour of hugging." Xu Qingfan shook his head.

"You!"

"I don't care; I want to go back!"

Xiao Ruawen tried pushing him twice but couldn't budge him.

"Are you being reasonable or not? Aren't you the one at fault tonight? This is punishment." Xu Qingfan replied calmly.

When people are speechless, they are truly at a loss for words. Xiao Ruawen was so speechless she didn't want to talk.

"Okay Brother Fan, stop messing around. Let's go back and watch the performance, alright?" Since force didn't work, Xiao Ruawen decided to try soft.

"No, I want a hug." Xu Qingfan shook his head.

"Ha~ Xiaoxiao!" Xiao Ruawen suddenly feigned a shiver, the word she spoke almost made the cowardly man jump out of his skin.

Xu Qingfan immediately released Xiao Ruawen, starting with a series of apologies: "Xiaoxiao, don't misunderstand...."

Yet turning around, there was no shadow of Xia Xiaoxiao or even a ghost behind him!

"Hahaha, coward!" Breaking free from Xu Qingfan's grip, Xiao Ruawen audaciously laughed and shouted while running away.

Xu Qingfan was so scared cold sweat came out. Watching Xiao Ruawen's smugly retreating figure, he experienced a rare moment of lucidity.

Although this was a false alarm this time, next time, or the time after that, or the time after that, there'll eventually be a mistake.

"Feeling a bit overconfident, with so many people seeing me and Ruan Wen come over here. If Xia Xiaoxiao or Yiyi suddenly comes looking...."

Imagining a scene of chaos akin to a collision of planets, Xu Qingfan shivered.

"Be cautious, be cautious, again and again," he reminded himself repeatedly, quickly leaving the area beneath the beams.

...