Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts
Chapter 793 531: Protecting the Best Yi Yi in the World

Afternoon.

"During the holiday, when setting off fireworks, please be mindful of fire safety and stay away from flammable and explosive areas. Class dismissed!"

Many students had already packed their bags and set their desks neatly. After listening to the broadcast safety lesson from the grade leader, they immediately rushed out of the classroom.

The holiday had started. Even the branches swaying in the wind outside the window seemed to share in the excitement of newfound freedom.

"See you, Brother Fan. See you, class monitor."

"See you all next week."

"Bye bye."

Once Xiao Ruawen finished packing her bag, the two of them left the class side by side.

"Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. Should we go out, or head to Conghua in the evening?" Xiao Ruawen asked.

Fireworks, a hot spring, a girl in a kimono—these images unconsciously floated into Xu Qingfan's mind.

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

"That's fine too." Seeing Xu Qingfan's intention to hold her hand, Xiao Ruawen quickly put her hands into her pockets.

"I'll go find Xiaoxiao and the others first. You catch up soon!" Not giving Brother Chou Fan any chance, Xiao Ruawen said, then ran off in small steps.

Xu Qingfan watched her back, a faint smile unconsciously forming at the corners of his mouth.

[Can you really run away?]

...

This week, Wu Lingyu was going back to her home in Hong Kong. After dropping Lin Wanning, Zhang Yiyi, and Xiao Ruawen home, Xia Xiaoxiao simply had the driver drop the two of them near the old market.

After last week's incident, the two of them walked naturally on the street, fingers intertwined, harmonized like a real couple.

Xia Xiaoxiao would walk ahead, pulling the slow-moving Xu Qingfan along, and stop to check out interesting stalls.

If she fancied some small trinkets, she would discreetly pinch Xu Qingfan to hint that he should help negotiate the price.

"Hey handsome, your girlfriend is so pretty. This couple necklace for thirty bucks isn't expensive. Look, it can be split into two, so it's like fifteen bucks each. Where else can you get such a deal?"

The stall owner showed off the necklace in her hand. The heart-shaped pendant was magnetized, and it could be split into two halves with a twist.

"Aunty, did you get your stock from Shahe or Shilong? The cost is only two or three bucks, so selling it for thirty is a bit much!" Xu Qingfan rolled up his sleeves, ready to negotiate hard.

"Oh, come on, where can you get stock for just two or three bucks? If you do, sell it to me—I'll buy as many as you have. Aunty, this necklace is made with magnets; it's high-tech, you know?"

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance. Connect electricity to iron, and you have a magnet—what part of that is high-tech?

"Fifteen bucks, no more," Xu Qingfan said.

"Fifteen bucks? No way, I'd be losing money! What a harsh bargainer you are!" The stall owner waved them away.

Xu Qingfan didn't argue back, but took Xia Xiaoxiao's hand and turned to leave, starting to count in his head.

"Hey, don't go! Twenty bucks, what about fifteen, fifteen bucks? I'll sell it to you!" Xu Qingfan was just counting to three when the seller caved in instantly.

They returned to buy the necklace. Xu Qingfan didn't take any for himself and handed both necklaces to Xia Xiaoxiao.

Joking aside, he didn't dare keep such potential triggers for drama close to him.

Xia Xiaoxiao seemed to see through his thoughts and placed half of the necklace into his hand. "Half for each of us."

Xu Qingfan, putting his arm around her shoulder, feigned ignorance, "Is this for Xiaobai and Xiaolaodi? A white cat and a white dog—a perfect couple necklace."

Xia Xiaoxiao shot him a glance but said nothing, simply putting the necklace around her neck.

She didn't mention anything about Xu Qingfan wearing it but just watched him intently.

"Alright, alright, I'll wear it. I'm putting it on right now." Xu Qingfan was unnerved by her gaze and had no choice but to wear the necklace as well.

Looking back, did his previous comment have a double meaning?

Xia Xiaoxiao withdrew her gaze, flipped her high ponytail, and tugged him along, "If you don't want to wear it, don't force yourself."

From a vantage point invisible to him, a faint smile played on the girl's lips.

[Well, now it has even more ambiguous meanings.]

...

They completed the path they hadn't finished walking last time while strolling back home from the old market.

Once they reached the door, they instinctively released each other's hands, concealing the necklaces under their clothes.

"Oh, smells good! Mom, Aunty, are you making beef stew?" Xu Qingfan saw shoes that belonged to Yao Jiping and Lin Jing and guessed they were home.

Sure enough, Lin Jing opened the kitchen door in the next moment, "You're back. It's potato-stewed beef ribs. Smells good, right?"

"Add some chu hou sauce for extra flavor. It's delicious," Xu Qingfan said as he put down his schoolbag and switched shoes.

"How many times have I told you to wash your hands when coming home? There are loads of bacteria outside."

Under Yao Jiping's watchful gaze, Xu Qingfan headed to the sink, washed his hands, casually dried them on his school pants, and earned another eye roll from his mom.

"Do you want some pomegranate? I'll share half with you," he said to Xia Xiaoxiao as he took a red pomegranate from the fridge.

"Hmm." Xia Xiaoxiao nodded, continuing to stand beside Yao Jiping, learning how to cook.

"By the way, Qingfan, when are we going to Conghua for the hot springs? On New Year's Day or tomorrow night for New Year's Eve?" Lin Jing asked, possibly wanting to plan ahead.

"Huh~ Aunty, you and Ruawen asked the same question." Slightly surprised, Xu Qingfan continued, "I don't know if we'll need to stay at Xiaoxiao's grandparents' for dinner tomorrow, but it shouldn't be an issue. We can leave for Conghua after dinner."

Conghua is just over sixty kilometers from Li City. Even without taking the highway, the drive takes just about an hour.

"I'll think it over tonight. Once I've got everything planned, I'll let you know right away, Aunty." Xu Qingfan said as he took a bite of the pomegranate.

Last week, it didn't occur to him about the New Year's departure, subconsciously setting the departure time on New Year's Day.

"Okay, then Auntie will wait for Xiao Fan's notification," Lin Jing smiled.

Xu Qingfan agreed and left the kitchen with a pomegranate in his mouth.

The necklace around his neck needs to be hidden in a corner. Such things are like matching profile pictures; either no one uses them, or no one should use them at all.

In the past life, Xu Qingfan's college dorm had a suave guy who dated four girlfriends at the same time.

When one of the girlfriends suggested changing their matching profile pictures, he would individually tell the other three he wanted to change them too, then he would use a male version while the four girlfriends used the same female version.

Unfortunately, he doesn't know the guy in this life; otherwise, he'd seek some advice from him.

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

He sat down on the chair and instinctively used his foot to turn on the computer.

He only had time in the morning to report last night's situation to Wanning, although Wanning would definitely inform Zhang Yiyi, Xu Qingfan felt that as a responsible man, he should personally explain it to Yiyi.

Responsible, but not excessively.

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

"What's up, brother?"

Judging by the background, she seemed to be in a girl's bedroom, Zhang Yiyi was lying on the bed playing with her phone, her legs kicking up like a scorpion tail.

"Yiyi, you're at home, huh? Where's your mom?" Xu Qingfan asked.

"Mom's cooking in the kitchen. When I saw it was a call from you, I returned to my room," Zhang Yiyi replied, as if she had already expected he had something to say to her.

"Auntie can cook?" Xu Qingfan was surprised.

"We're having hot pot, mom is washing the vegetables," Zhang Yiyi smiled slyly.

"Oh, oh, we're having stewed beef ribs tonight, the whole house is filled with that aroma."

"Mmm." Zhang Yiyi nodded, obediently waiting for him to continue.

"Ahem... Yiyi..."

"You can speak, brother," Zhang Yiyi propped her phone with a pillow and looked at the screen with her hands on her cheeks.

Xu Qingfan scratched his head awkwardly, just like this morning: "You guys are physics, chemistry, and biology, even if you score full marks, the meaning is not the same."

He was comfortable saying this to Lin Wanning, but when it came to Zhang Yiyi, he somehow felt too embarrassed to say it.

"Ahem... Xiaoxiao confessed to me last night, I didn't agree, nor did I disagree."

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

"I don't want to lie to you, Yiyi. I like Xiaoxiao, but I also like you and Wanning. I know my behavior is wrong, but..."

But what, Xu Qingfan couldn't think of a good excuse to argue, so he simply faced it with silence.

There was a brief silence in the video call, so much so that anyone might think the connection was lagging.

Zhang Yiyi broke the silence and said, "I've always known my brother was a big flirt."

"Yiyi, I..."

"But who made both Wanning and I like brother so much?"

Facing the girl's expressed tolerance, Xu Qingfan only felt that he was truly despicable.

"I will always be good to you all, just like now, like when we were kids, even better than now and back then." Xu Qingfan didn't know what else to say and made this promise.

Regarding this, Zhang Yiyi had even more confidence in him than Xu Qingfan himself.

She regained her smile and suddenly asked mischievously, "So, brother likes me, likes Wanning, likes Xiaoxiao, doesn't he also like Xiaoyu and Ruan Wen?"

Xu Qingfan instinctively made a wiping sweat gesture, the expression like the one in the 'frowning face' emoji.

Facing the girl's smile, he sheepishly nodded and admitted, "I do."

Despite having anticipated it, Zhang Yiyi was still stunned by Brother Radish's appetite.

"Brother doesn't plan to marry all five of us, right?" Zhang Yiyi asked with a smile but her voice sounded eerie.

"Ahem... only if you all are willing," Xu Qingfan braced himself and responded.

"Hmph!"

"Imagine this is the ancient times with three palaces and six courtyards, wanting five wives!"

Zhang Yiyi suddenly got angry, Xu Qingfan couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.

"I have never thought that way, but I will strive to be with you because your place in my heart is unique, I don't want any regrets in the future, nor do I want any of you to be unhappy."

"Even knowing it's impossible, I still want to try."

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

In fact, his heart was already pounding nervously.

Zhang Yiyi didn't respond, but her smile seemed like a spring breeze warming the rain, dissipating his last shred of worry.

"You're so bad, Flirty Radish Brother!"

Xu Qingfan laughed foolishly, never feeling that a girl's smile is as radiant as it is now.

Protecting the best Yiyi in the world!

...