Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"The northern lights, I've only seen them in books. Xiaoxiao, do you guys want to see the northern lights?" Lin Jing asked.

"Uh... sure, Auntie, whenever you want to see them, let me know and I'll make arrangements," Xu Qingfan said, patting his chest.

He still had some resistance to the idea of going abroad, always feeling like it was all about zero-dollar shopping out there, a trauma from Xia Xiaoxiao's past life in his mind.

But it wasn't a big deal, just hire good security and buy or build a villa there.

"Alright, then we'll wait for Qingfan to arrange it!"

"Qingfan is the most filial!"

"Hahaha..."

The laughter in the car grew louder and louder, and it seemed this was going to be an interesting trip.

...

A little after eight, the car drove into a private villa area.

The roads in the park were intricate, but with a butler driving a shuttle car to lead the way, they soon stopped in front of one of the villas.

"If you have any problems, you can call the in-room line, and we'll do our best to help," the butler said courteously before driving away with the shuttle car.

"When will Yiyi and the others arrive?" Lin Wanning asked from Xu Qingfan's back, not seeing anyone in the yard behind.

"Auntie and the others are coming from Hong Kong, so it's a bit further. They'll probably arrive in about ten more minutes," Xu Qingfan replied.

Both groups had agreed on their phones to set out at roughly the same time, so it was easy to calculate the arrivals.

The lawn and the trees and flowers in the yard were beautifully pruned, not like the sloppy circular cuts in parks, rather a pleasing beauty in their randomness.

"Wow, it's beautiful. But why does this house have a bit of a Japanese vibe?" Zhao YueMin teased with a laugh.

Perhaps thinking of hot springs brings to mind everyday Japanese life. The house's architecture was mostly wooden, including wooden furniture, tatami mats, and sliding doors, incorporating many Japanese style elements.

Even so, the calm and soft Japanese atmosphere was very relaxing. In autumn, making a pot of strong tea, sitting on the floor watching the falling leaves in the courtyard could keep one occupied the whole day.

"With so much wood, won't it get moldy in the rainy season?" Yao Jiping asked curiously.

"Hey, we pay a high property fee, the butler will take care of it. I'm sure they have their ways," Xu Qingfan said.

"Exactly, they might have some high-tech solution. Don't earn that money if you don't have to worry about it," Lin Jing agreed.

Xu Qingfan and his group have been here before, so the novelty of the place didn't affect them like it did the three mothers. After turning on the lights, they sat on the sofa watching TV.

The mothers first put the ingredients they brought into the kitchen. When Yao Jiping opened the fridge, she exclaimed, "Wow, why is the fridge so full? Are these expired?"

Lin Jing peeked in as well, and indeed, the fridge was stuffed with vegetables, fruits, meats, drinks—an assortment of things.

Whether they were expired could be easily spotted, the vegetables seemed freshly harvested, so how could they be expired? Yao Jiping was more surprised by the fridge being full in the first place.

"Oh, maybe Auntie had the butler prepare it in advance. It's alright, with so many of us, we can finish it all," Xu Qingfan shouted from the sofa, unwilling to move.

"The butler service here is so attentive," Yao Jiping said, taking out some vegetables and fruits that didn't need refrigeration and putting the meat they brought into the fridge.

After putting things in place, the three mothers came out of the kitchen.

"Where's the hot spring pool? Qingfan, take us there," Zhao YueMin said upon exiting.

"Mom, I'll take you!" Xiao Ruawen immediately volunteered.

Xu Qingfan patted Lin Wanning on the head and stood up, saying, "It's in the backyard. This villa we bought was built directly above the spring, so there's no need for water diversion."

He led the way, exiting through the back door, and after passing through the courtyard hall, they soon arrived at a steaming hot spring pool.

The backyard was circular, with a bamboo partition in the middle, and on both sides was a hot spring pool with a diameter of about three meters, resembling the yin-yang springs of a Tai Chi symbol.

"Wow~ how hot is this water? It's still steaming," Lin Jing squatted and gently dipped her hand in to test. It wasn't too hot, about forty degrees, the ideal temperature for soaking, "It's not too hot, just a bit above body temperature, around forty degrees?"

"The steam is probably because it's cold in winter. The temperature usually fluctuates between 39~42 degrees, which is pretty good," Xu Qingfan answered.

Some hot springs only reach about thirty degrees, getting in during winter would give you goosebumps immediately, and some are so hot that at seventy or eighty degrees you could cook in them.

"Quite nice, soaking in hot springs here during winter sounds wonderful," Zhao YueMin remarked.

Xu Qingfan's mind was suddenly filled with a catchy tune: "It's very nice, living in the mountains is very nice~", lost memories attacking his brain.

After touring the hot spring, everyone returned to the living room.

Of course, it's polite to wait for everyone to arrive before soaking in the hot spring; otherwise, letting others soak in bathwater wouldn't be too considerate.

Xu Qingfan was tasked with preparing everything for a barbecue tonight, setting up the frame, getting the charcoal ready, while the others indoors threaded the skewers, preparing the ingredients needed for the evening.

Since his hands were already dirty, Xu Qingfan also took the opportunity to unpack the fireworks for the night, placing them in a pile, with various sizes and types, probably costing a few thousand dollars.

About halfway through, he suddenly heard a car passing by outside the yard.

He put down what he was doing and went outside to check, and sure enough, it was Zhang Chunxue and the others who had arrived.

When the car stopped, Zhang Yiyi was the first to get off and ran towards him excitedly, "Brother!"

Xu Qingfan opened his arms, letting her crash into him, and rubbed his face against hers, saying, "You're here, Wanning and the others are inside."

"Mmm!" Zhang Yiyi left him and ran back into the yard to find Wanning.

Next in line was Wu Lingyu. She also wanted to jump into her cousin's arms like Yiyi, but unfortunately, her mom was right there.

"Auntie, Little Yu," Xu Qingfan said with a nod and a smile.

"Qingfan, you've grown taller again, thanks for looking out for Little Yu in Li City," Li Mei Juan said, a bit dazed at how tall and handsome Xu Qingfan had grown.

"Oh, Auntie, we're family, no need to mention it," Xu Qingfan said with a touch of reprimand.

"Ah!" Li Mei Juan loved to hear that kind of talk, her laughter bringing tears to her eyes, "Jinping and the others are inside?"

"Yeah, my mom and the others are threading skewers. Auntie, better head inside, it's cold out," Xu Qingfan gestured invitingly.

"Brother Fan!" Wu Lingyu cast a grateful glance at him and followed her mom inside.

Xu Qingfan continued to stand at the entrance like a gatekeeper, waiting for Zhang Chunxue to park her car sideways and get off.

"What, is Qingfan waiting for me?" Zhang Chunxue approached, wearing a brown trench coat, with a turtleneck sweater underneath, boots with pants, standing under the street lamp, exuding a strong aura.

"This mountain is mine, this tree is my planting. If you want to pass, leave a toll fee!" Xu Qingfan showed off his mischievous hands as weapons.

Zhang Chunxue raised her head and walked over, not believing Xu Qingfan would actually dare to touch her.

"Why aren't you afraid?" Xu Qingfan asked.

But Zhang Chunxue didn't play along by saying "I'm just not afraid", she just smiled and continued forward.

Of course, Xu Qingfan wouldn't dare to smudge Auntie Chunxue's delicate face, and as Zhang Chunxue was just two steps away from his dirty hands, he was already thinking of withdrawing them.

Just then, Zhang Chunxue suddenly made a move, grabbing Xu Qingfan's hands and smudging them on his own face.

Caught off guard, Xu Qingfan didn't react in time, and his face instantly sported two black handprints.

"Hahaha!" Zhang Chunxue, worried about retaliation, fled immediately after pulling the trick, slipping past him through his armpit.

It was then that the answer to his earlier question of "Why aren't you afraid?" drifted over from behind.

"Because, Qingfan, you're silly!"

"Wow!" Xu Qingfan turned around, pulling a ghost face to scare her.

"Hahahaha!"

Laughter floated in the wind, like an entertaining elfin breeze.

...