Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts
Chapter 794 532: Xia Xiaoxiao's Attitude

Zhang Yiyi's attitude is more or less the same as Lin Wanning's. He won't actively show support, but he's not opposed either.

With Wu Lingyu already having joined his side, without realizing it, Xu Qingfan has already won over three out of five people.

However, the most difficult ones to win over are Xiao Ruawen and Xia Xiaoxiao. Let's just say the revolution has not yet succeeded, the dog-man still needs to work harder.

...

After ending the video chat with Zhang Yiyi, Xu Qingfan returned downstairs.

Xu Aiguo had arrived sometime unbeknownst to him and was sitting on the sofa, with his legs crossed, playing on his phone.

"Dad, we're going to Conghua for hot springs tomorrow night, do you want to come?" Xu Qingfan asked.

Speaking of which, his grandma's house is right at Conghua Street, but Xu Qingfan would never swing by.

"Tomorrow, what time tomorrow?" Xu Aiguo asked, looking up.

"We'll head out around seven or eight in the evening, then celebrate New Year's there." Xu Qingfan replied.

"No way, I'm organizing a competition on New Year's Day. You guys have fun, but stay safe." Xu Aiguo shook his head, declining.

"You stay safe too, fishing competitions are gambling activities, don't cross the line." Xu Qingfan said casually.

"I know, as long as we don't charge tickets, it's not gambling. We're just hosting an event." Xu Aiguo waved his hand, signaling him to get comfortable somewhere else.

His dad somehow managed to mingle into the circle of Li City fishermen, being well-off, leisurely, and still a handsome middle-aged guy, he was naturally elected as the president of the fishing association.

Don't ask what fishing has to do with being handsome; if the president isn't handsome, can you hope for any female participants in fishing activities?!

Regardless of whether they're aunties or grannies, females are scarce resources in the fishermen's circle.

Following this script, once the 4G era booms, his dad could easily become a millionaire fishing channel host.

By then, just by casually selling bait and fishing rods on his homepage, he could easily earn a million a year.

Because of this, Xu Qingfan has never overly interfered with his parent's hobby.

Even though Yao Jiping always loves complaining about Xu Aiguo's fishing, the couple is deeply in love. If he took it seriously, he'd be the real clown.

"Wash your hands and eat. Who's going to get the electric stove out?" Yao Jiping emerged from the kitchen holding a pot of braised beef ribs; even unopened, the beef aroma had already filled the room.

Xu Qingfan cheerfully ran to get the electric stove, plugged in the power, and placed it on the dining table. While the beef ribs pot heated alongside the eating process, it tasted better and better.

"By the way, Auntie, let's leave tomorrow night, start with a hot spring to relax, and have a barbecue as a midnight snack around ten, then light fireworks at midnight for New Year's."

During the meal, Xu Qingfan remembered to say.

"Sure, tomorrow I'll go buy fireworks and barbecue ingredients with your mom." Lin Jing smiled warmly.

Listening to Xu Qingfan's plan, Xia Xiaoxiao was already looking forward to tomorrow night. She said, "We could skip dinner there and come back early."

"Just stay for dinner; it's not urgent. Xiaoyu should spend quality time with her family, too."

Xu Qingfan's latter half of the sentence convinced her. Indeed, Xiaoyu only visits her family once every two weeks; she should spend quality time with them.

"Okay." Xia Xiaoxiao nodded slightly, indicating she understood.

Lin Jing quietly noted their interaction, thinking: When did Xiaoxiao start becoming so obedient in front of Qingfan?

...

The sizzling hot pot soon made everyone sweat. Xu Qingfan ran to turn off the heating air conditioner and returned to hear Yao Jiping talking about Licheng Square.

"There's a huge dragon statue built in the square. Did you see it when you came home?"

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao took a detour on their way home, so naturally, they didn't see it.

"It's pretty big, being the Year of the Dragon after all." Xu Qingfan highlighted Yao Jiping's keywords, giving a robotic reply.

Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him, who else but him would brush off his mom so casually?

"It's even prettier when the lights are on at night. Qingfan, take Xiaoxiao for a stroll after dinner." Lin Jing suggested, smiling.

Xia Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, and she gently nudged Xu Qingfan under the table with her foot.

Receiving the signal, Xu Qingfan, who initially intended to take a shower and rest after dinner, now had to feign joy: "Sure, I've wanted to take a walk there for ages!"

"Good." Xia Xiaoxiao nodded slightly, pretending to be indifferent.

For Xu Qingfan getting the hint, Lin Jing was secretly pleased. As for her daughter, why is she still like a blockhead!

"Come on, Qingfan, eat more vegetables."

"Thank you, Auntie."

...

After dinner, Xu Qingfan took his wallet and keys, heading out to "walk" Xia Xiaoxiao.

The nighttime temperature was only four or five degrees Celsius. Xia Xiaoxiao had earmuffs on to keep warm, with two little cat ears popping from her hair, giving her an adorable vibe despite her serious expression.

After crossing the street, Xu Qingfan took Xia Xiaoxiao's hand.

"What kind of dragon is this? It's so flashy; having Slippery Snake instead would be better." Xu Qingfan pointed at the human-like dragon statue, slightly appalled by its ugliness.

A crowd gathered below the statue, queuing for photos, but neither of them had any interest. Xia Xiaoxiao pulled him further into the square.

"What should I say when I go back tomorrow?" Xia Xiaoxiao gazed at the sky in bewilderment. With severe urban pollution, the memory of a starry sky scene had become a distant one.

Dealing with these somewhat familiar relatives is always awkward, and Xia Xiaoxiao can't avoid it either.

"Sit there and let your grandma hold your hand. Whatever they ask, just answer," Xu Qingfan said.

Xia Xiaoxiao just mentioned it casually, not expecting him to give a real solution.

She pointed to the gazebo not far away and said, "Let's sit there for a while."

Xu Qingfan seemed a little helpless, really wanting to say: What's so good about sitting here in the northwest wind? It's better to go home and lie down playing with the phone!

But he still obediently followed her.

"Where's your necklace?" After sitting down, Xia Xiaoxiao took out the pendant of the necklace hidden in her chest.

"Left it at home. I was planning to shower but remembered we were having hot pot, so I didn't." Xu Qingfan, as always, lied without blinking.

After hot pot, your clothes and hair have a strong smell, so not showering is quite reasonable.

"Huh, I think you're afraid of being noticed by someone else." Xia Xiaoxiao scoffed, as if she saw through him completely.

Xu Qingfan didn't argue, because that's exactly the case!

Suddenly recalling the rumors circulating online, he had an idea and asked, "By the way, what do you think of what's being said online?"

Xia Xiaoxiao didn't even bother to look at him and answered with a rhetorical question, "Sitting and looking."

"The online chatter says you got Ruan Wen to spy on me. Is that true?" Xu Qingfan continued asking.

This time, Xia Xiaoxiao finally turned her head towards him and said, "Whether it's true or not, what difference does it make?"

"Can you stop with the riddles? When I ask you a question, I'm looking for an answer, not another question!" Xu Qingfan lightly tapped her head.

Xia Xiaoxiao thought a little and felt there was nothing wrong with admitting it. Plus, it could keep this annoying guy away from Ruan Wen!

"It's true." She admitted.

"I'm not anyone to you, what right do you have to get Ruan Wen to keep an eye on me?" Despite already knowing, the guy still feigned surprise, followed by questioning.

Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes, wishing if she could turn back time, she'd smear the dirt she had on her hands from that day right into his face.

"See, I was just joking, you're getting worked up!" Seeing she wasn't speaking for a long time, the annoying guy pulled her into an embrace and playfully said.

Xia Xiaoxiao still didn't speak, habitually leaning against his shoulder.

Xu Qingfan lightly patted her shoulder. Thankfully, there were no mosquitoes in winter, otherwise he'd be distracted by having to swat his legs.

"Who's the one spreading these rumors? How could they even know about your private conversation with Ruan Wen?"

Xu Qingfan was suspicious, and so was Xia Xiaoxiao!

If this part is true, could all the more sensational fabricated content be true too?

"I don't know." She replied blandly.

"Maybe it's just dumb luck. It's not hard to guess. Once they know you're good friends with Ruan Wen, the next step is predictable, isn't it?"

"Maybe." Xia Xiaoxiao's mind suddenly flashed an image of Xiao Ruawen and Xu Qingfan kissing in the lab building, feeling she might be going crazy.

"Hey, if Ruan Wen really likes me and confesses like you did, should I agree?" Xu Qingfan finally voiced the question he'd been building up to.

Xia Xiaoxiao almost blurted out "You better not agree!", but reconsidered, knowing it was all hypothetical, and such a scenario was impossible.

"If you want to agree, go ahead. Why ask me?" Xia Xiaoxiao replied, as arrogantly as always.

Xu Qingfan held her tighter, laughing and joking, "But didn't you confess to me too? There has to be a first come, first served, right?"

"Who confessed to you? I just... I just said I like you..." Xia Xiaoxiao's voice grew smaller and smaller.

Then she quickly noticed something amiss, "Do you also like Ruan Wen?" Xia Xiaoxiao suddenly questioned forcefully.

Xu Qingfan shamelessly nodded, admitting, "Yes, I like all five of you at the same time."

"?"

Xia Xiaoxiao slowly typed out a question mark in her mind, thinking: How can you be so shameless?

Nevertheless, she wasn't completely unprepared for this, just didn't expect the annoying guy to be this shameless.

"You have three years to make a choice. If, if..." Xia Xiaoxiao wanted to say something cold and decisive but couldn't finish her sentence.

Since childhood, she was used to Xu Qingfan being by her side, a future without this annoying guy was something she didn't dare imagine.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfan more or less understood Xia Xiaoxiao's stance.

After knowing the truth, she'd likely choose to avoid the situation unless Xu Qingfan was willing to promise abandoning the other four girls. Otherwise, not even ten oxen could pull her back.

But persuading Xia Xiaoxiao wasn't entirely out of the question. Compared to convincing his parents, Xu Qingfan had a bit more confidence in persuading Xia Xiaoxiao.

It's just that one confidence level was infinitely close to 0, while the other just had a few fewer zeros after the decimal point.

"We'll definitely be together forever," Xu Qingfan promised.

Xia Xiaoxiao's world regained its color, her eyes filled with countless thoughts.

"Mm!" She looked back at the sky with a radiant smile.

Unfortunately, she smiled too soon, because "we" can be two people, but it can certainly mean six people too!

...