Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

The next day.

Xu Qingfan got up from bed around seven in the morning, not because he slept well; on the contrary, he slept particularly poorly last night.

Or maybe that's not quite right, since in his dream last night, he slept exceptionally well.

Xu Qingfan didn't want to elaborate on what exactly he did; in short, it was something not suitable for writing.

He found a clean pair of underwear from his suitcase, deciding to brush his teeth and wash up first.

However, Xu Qingfan underestimated Li Mei Juan's efficiency; by a little past seven in the morning, she was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

Xu Qingfan pretended not to see her, conveniently slipping into the bathroom while the auntie had her back to him.

Once he locked the door from the inside, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With hot water flowing over his skin, Xu Qingfan inevitably recalled fragments of his dream from last night.

In the movie "Young and Dangerous," there's a scene where Chicken helped the Duke of Thunder kill a competitor, and then a big sister came to pick him up on a motorcycle, taking him to a private hot spring to clean his wounds.

To describe it in Chicken's words when he recalled later, the big sister was really gentle.

"Indeed." Xu Qingfan fully agreed with Chicken; she was indeed very gentle.

But as for who exactly was gentle, this secret is something he'll probably keep buried in his heart forever.

...

After a simple wash-up, Xu Qingfan dressed, dried his hair, and slipped out of the bathroom.

The sound insulation in the room was good, and as he left, Li Mei Juan, busy in the kitchen, still didn't notice him; only after hanging out his washed underwear did Xu Qingfan return nonchalantly.

"Auntie, what are you cooking? It smells so good." Xu Qingfan knocked on the door, opened it, and said.

"Oh, Xiao Fan is up, are you hungry? There's century egg and lean meat porridge, and potstickers. The buns will take a little longer." Yesterday's leftover skewers were repurposed into dumplings by Li Mei Juan.

"Not that hungry, let's wait until everyone wakes up and eat together. I'll go tidy up the trash in the yard." Xu Qingfan said with a harmless smile.

"Have a couple of potstickers first, then go. I can clean up later." Li Mei Juan handed him a small bowl with a few potstickers.

"Thank you, Auntie." Xu Qingfan did not refuse her kindness.

The potstickers had been kept warm for a while, and Xu Qingfan ate them at just the right temperature, finishing six potstickers in three bites, then turned the bowl over to let Auntie check.

Li Mei Juan gave a slight smile, reaching out to take the bowl; a motherly warmth radiated from her.

Wu Lingyu's looks were largely inherited from her father, but that didn't mean Auntie wasn't good-looking. Li Mei Juan was the type who seemed unremarkable at first glance but would look more and more comfortable the longer you looked at her.

A bit like the actress who played Mazu, not Liu Tao.

Especially after the burdens disappeared, compared to her initial appearance, Auntie was already a different person.

...

After filling his stomach a little, Xu Qingfan left the kitchen. As he opened the door to the front yard, the sun shone diagonally on him. He stood in the sunlight and stretched comfortably.

Cleaning up the trash wasn't difficult; he stuffed it all into a black large plastic bag and placed it a few meters away at the recycling point, where someone would soon come to take it away.

Xu Qingfan emptied the ash from the grill, washed his hands, and leisurely sat on the swing in the courtyard, basking in the sun.

He didn't dwell too much on last night's dream, just like how many middle schoolers have their first sexual awakening towards their teachers. Dreams are just dreams; whoever appears in them isn't surprising.

Right? Whether it's right or not, that's how Xu Qingfan convinced himself.

He sat on the swing until eight in the morning, then strolled back unhurriedly.

In the kitchen, Li Mei Juan was already steaming buns, and the aroma could be smelled from afar; Auntie's buns were delicious and a favorite.

"Fan ge, good morning!" Wu Lingyu suddenly came out of the kitchen and exclaimed in surprise when she saw Xu Qingfan.

"Oh, Xiao Yu, when did you get up? I was just outside cleaning." When little Yu ran up to him, Xu Qingfan reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Just got up. Did you take a shower, Fan ge?" Wu Lingyu raised her hand and pinched his hair, which was still wet.

"Too lazy, brushed my teeth and washed my face too. Let's not talk about this; the sun is great today. I'll take you for a walk." Xu Qingfan changed the subject.

"Okay!" Wu Lingyu nodded in agreement, delighted.

Xu Qingfan took little Yu's hand, ready to go.

The vacancy rate in this neighborhood has been over 80% for years, but perhaps because of last night's New Year's Eve, as they walked on the road around eight in the morning, they saw quite a few other residents out for a stroll.

He led little Yu towards the lakeside pavilion, and quickly, there were no more leisurely walkers in sight.

Only then did Xu Qingfan reveal why he brought little Yu out for a walk. He said, "It's been a long time since I've walked with little Yu alone."

Wu Lingyu turned her head to glance at him, "Uh-huh."

"I've only mentioned it to you on the phone before, but never in person — about Wanning and Yiyi." As they reached the center of the pavilion, Xu Qingfan had her sit down.

"Hmm?"

"After the incident on stage two days ago, I confronted Wanning and Yiyi, admitting that I like you, like Xiaoxiao, like Ruan Wen, I like each of you."

"Uh-huh." Wu Lingyu, as always, remained calm. After having experience covering for Yiyi once, her emotions were steady like a capybara.

"Uh..." Xu Qingfan found himself slightly at a loss due to her composure, awkwardly continuing, "Wanning and Yiyi's reactions were similar. They didn't explicitly support it, but they didn't oppose it either, kind of like you."

Pulling little Yu into his arms, he finally voiced what he'd been wanting to say: "I want to tell Wanning and Yiyi about us. What do you think, little Yu?"

"Huh?"

"N—no need to rush, I think..."

Wu Lingyu's calm demeanor finally wavered a bit, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Why, does Xiaoyu have any concerns?" Xu Qingfan asked, puzzled.

[Of course, she has concerns!] Wu Lingyu thought to herself.

"I think it would be better to find a chance to clarify things with Wan Ningyi privately. If you bring it up publicly, it will make everyone feel awkward."

"Hmph~ Does Qingfan really think of himself as an ancient Emperor?"

Even if Xiaoyu pretended to be angry, she couldn't bring herself to pinch his soft flesh.

Xu Qingfan scratched the back of his head awkwardly. To be honest, after hearing Xiaoyu's words, he realized he really had assumed too much.

Some things are just like this: everyone knows it's wrong, yet everyone does it, but that doesn't mean it should be openly discussed.

"Then I'll listen to Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu, just tell me how to cooperate, and I will." Xu Qingfan nodded in agreement.

As for whether he truly saw himself as an ancient Emperor, he chose to remain silent—there was no good way to respond to that.

Wu Lingyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief; she had managed to stabilize Qingfan, and her double-agent status wouldn't be exposed for now.

The two didn't discuss these unpleasant topics further. After the chat, Xu Qingfan lowered his head to kiss her red lips.

Fearing someone might come by at any moment, their kiss was brief but carried an exhilarating sense of furtiveness.

Hand in hand, they walked back home. It was already past eight, almost nine; everyone was likely getting up by now.

...

Sure enough, as soon as they got back to the courtyard, they could hear Lin Wanning calling for Xu Qingfan from afar.

"Where's Qingfan brother? Qingfan brother, where are you?"

Wu Lingyu nudged Xu Qingfan, signaling him to hurry up.

Xu Qingfan shook his head with a smile, gave Xiaoyu a peck on the cheek, and let go of her hand to jog back home.

"Wanning, are you looking for me? I just went for a walk." Xu Qingfan said as soon as he saw her in the living room.

"Hehe~ Good morning, Qingfan brother." Lin Wanning had no other reason to look for him; she just wanted to say good morning.

Wu Lingyu followed them in from the door and smiled, "Good morning, Wanning."

"Morning, Xiaoyu!"

Wen Wanqing, hearing the commotion, came out of the bathroom and said, "Xiao Fan, you're finally back. Wanning was almost about to call the police."

Teasing from his own mother.

"No way.... Mom, you're making things up again." Lin Wanning turned her head aside, pretending to be angry.

"Who was going to call the police? I heard someone shouting Qingfan brother even from upstairs." Zhao YueMin and Xiao Ruawen coincidentally came down the stairs, and Auntie joined in the joke.

"Good morning, everyone!"

"I don't know, it wasn't me. Auntie, you heard wrong." Lin Wanning buried her face in Xu Qingfan's arms, too embarrassed to show herself.

Xu Qingfan pinched her face, his daily routine.

"Auntie made lots of delicious food this morning, like century egg and lean pork congee, buns, and potstickers. Let's brush our teeth and have breakfast first," he said.

"Wow, thank you, Auntie!" Xiao Ruawen exclaimed and dashed to the kitchen.

"Hey, slow down a bit." Zhao YueMin sighed, placing a hand on her forehead.

Everyone exchanged smiles.

...

By a little past nine, everyone had gathered at the table for breakfast.

They were almost halfway through when Zhang Chunxue finally showed up, leisurely late.

"Sorry, I took a bit longer in the shower." Zhang Chunxue nodded apologetically and sat down in her designated spot.

Xu Qingfan went to the kitchen to get breakfast reserved for Auntie, saying, "I saved some for you, Auntie. It's still hot, so you don't have to eat our leftovers."

"Mm, thank you, Xiao Fan." Zhang Chunxue nodded with a smile, showing no sign of anything unusual, though Xu Qingfan averted his guilty gaze.

"Auntie, you also took a shower this morning?" Wu Lingyu asked curiously.

"Yes, maybe I didn't notice during the barbecue last night, but the smell lingered in my hair," Zhang Chunxue explained.

But she quickly spotted a crucial point. Huh?

"Who else took a shower this morning?" she asked curiously.

"It was Qingfan. Qingfan also showered this morning," Wu Lingyu explained similarly.

Xu Qingfan: ...

"Me too. I felt like I still smelled of barbecue, so I took a shower," Xu Qingfan said, his face revealing nothing.

"That might be because Auntie and Qingfan were sitting near the smoke outlet last night, so the smell lingered," Xiao Ruawen analyzed objectively.

"Very likely."

"Very likely indeed."

Xu Qingfan and Zhang Chunxue nodded simultaneously, agreeing with her analysis.

As for what they were thinking, only the two of them knew.

....