Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"Ahem, you guys go play." Lin Wanning was afraid they would say something embarrassing again, so she quickly spoke up.

"As you command, Princess!" Having received the command, the kids instantly scattered and ran off.

The reason they were squatting at the door was clearly because they hadn't received the "Princess's" order and couldn't go in and out of the palace freely.

Lin Wanning secretly glanced up at him. Seeing that Brother Qingfan wasn't laughing, she awkwardly stuck out her tongue, pretending nothing had happened.

The four girls had already packed their luggage. Seeing the two return, Xiao Ruawen asked, "What should we do later, go see the earth tower?"

"It's just a round tower, not as nice as Brother Qingfan and Xiaoxiao's old home." Lin Wanning weakly complained. She had been back for about ten days and was almost bored to death; otherwise, she would not have been playing house with her younger siblings.

"It's lively with more people. With lots of people, even walking around the village is fun," Xu Qingfan consoled.

"Yeah, there's a lot of herbal medicine in the mountains. Brother Qingfan can dig for five-finger peaches." Lin Wanning tilted her head and said.

"No thanks, can't dig much of it. I'd rather go fishing in the creek." Xu Qingfan waved his hand, shaking his head. Digging a single five-finger peach takes at least an hour, and you must be careful not to break the roots, or else it will only have a muddy taste.

Without some strength and patience, you really can't do this job. Though if you manage to dig out a whole one, it can sell for at least a few dozen to a hundred bucks, offering a decent reward.

"We'll go take some pictures at the earth tower, wander around, but Wanning can't walk too far," Zhang Yiyi raised her camera and then pointed to Lin Wanning.

"It's all right! If she's tired, I'll carry Wanning," Xu Qingfan had no idea that Yi was setting him up, and said it instinctively.

The two girls exchanged glances that others couldn't see, and Lin Wanning exclaimed joyfully, "Great, if I'm tired, Brother Qingfan will carry me!"

Xia Xiaoxiao, Xiao Ruawen, and Wu Lingyu had no objections to this, so the six of them set off.

...

As it neared 2 pm, the moving banquet downstairs had already ended, having only been for lunch.

After greeting, Xu Qingfan and the others left, leaving the younger siblings who wanted to tag along at home.

The winter sun wasn't too hot. At eleven or twelve degrees, a down jacket was enough to keep them warm.

After walking a little distance, Xu Qingfan picked up Lin Wanning and carried her.

Along the road were cultivated fields; smaller plots had vegetables, and large ones were barren, waiting for spring to come for sowing and irrigation.

In the distance, wind turbines could be seen on the mountaintops, and as the wind blew, the blades would spin a few rounds.

Lin Wanning guided from his back: "After the slope, Brother Qingfan, turn right. Follow the creek down, and you'll see the earth tower."

About ten minutes later, Lin Wanning directed them across various paths, and the earth tower soon appeared before them.

"Here's our family's earth tower. Do you want to go up? I brought the keys, but there's nothing much to see up there, just dark, empty rooms," Lin Wanning introduced from his back.

It seems that most people describe their hometowns like this, "boring," "tattered," "only fools come here."

Even so, Xu Qingfan and the others took a thorough tour around the earth tower, including the second and third floors.

The conclusion after the tour was: a shabby earth tower; Wanning was right!

Xu Qingfan remembered that the filming location for the previous life's movie "Big Fish & Begonia" was this area of earth towers; the movie and reality had quite a big gap.

After taking a group photo at the center of the earth tower, Xu Qingfan carried Lin Wanning to the next stop.

Speaking of the next stop, there wasn't really anywhere to go, as climbing to the mountaintop to see the wind turbines wasn't an option.

The six wandered through the village, seeing other earth towers, some decorated to look festive, others long neglected and sealed.

"I mean it's really boring here! I've been at home so long I've practically grown mold," Lin Wanning complained, her antenna hair tilting as she spoke.

"That's why we're here to keep Wanning company," Xiao Ruawen said, patting the girl's behind as Brother Chou Fan had done to her, passing it on down to Wanning; it was only fair.

"Hehe~ so now it's not boring anymore!"

"Let's go home now. There's nothing left to do, Brother Qingfan can roast sweet potatoes for us."

Everyone was indeed tired of walking, so when Lin Wanning suggested going back, no one objected.

...

Back home, the banquet tables from before were already packed up and loaded onto a semi-trailer.

Lin Qiaoshan and a few uncles had drunk a bit and were napping, while in the downstairs living room, a few women they had met in the morning were sitting, watching TV and chatting.

After greeting in the style of Lin Wanning, and exchanging pleasantries, the six returned upstairs.

Without the elders around, the girls were much more relaxed. They took off their jackets and lay comfortably on Lin Wanning's bed.

Lin Wanning gave her younger siblings some instructions, and soon, the few, who had looked like they were squatting to poop by the door, gleefully left.

After a moment, they came back and called out from the door.

"Cousin, here's the drinks you asked for."

"Cousin, I brought some spicy sticks too!"

"I have chips!"

Following Lin Wanning's nod, Xu Qingfan brought all the snacks and drinks into the room.

Once done, Lin Wanning told the little siblings, "You guys did a great job! Come find me after dinner."

"Yay!"

"Thank you, Princess... I mean, thank you, Cousin!"

"Run, run!"

Once everyone had left, Lin Wanning closed the room door, reverting to her innocent and cute little girl self.

"Wanning, what did you tell them that they're so happy to run errands for you?" Xiao Ruawen asked curiously.

Lin Wanning sheepishly scratched her head, pulling out a cartoon stamp from her dresser. "I told them this is a magic stamp. Collect seven, and you can cast magic."

"Hahaha~ and they believed it?"

"How can they be so clueless at six or seven?"

Xiao Ruawen was referring to the eldest little girl, who looked about school age.

"Because they think... think I'm like a fairy, so they believed it," Lin Wanning's voice grew quieter because of her shyness.

"And Wanning surely told them that collecting seven magic stamps means they'd grow up to be as beautiful as you, right?" Xu Qingfan teased, playing with the girl's antenna hair.

Embarrassed, Lin Wanning nodded emphatically. When her cousin asked, "If you collect seven magic stamps, can you become as pretty as Cousin?" she had indeed said yes.

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst out laughing.

"Hehe... stop laughing, everyone," Lin Wanning couldn't hold back a giggle, then got so embarrassed she wanted to hide.

Xu Qingfan gently pulled her face from his chest, stopped teasing, and said earnestly, "It doesn't matter what they think. Wanning, you're already my fairy."

"Huh?"

"Yes!"

The girl's gaze shifted from confused to resolute, simply blinking her eyes.

Xia Xiaoxiao: Seriously, flirting right in front of me?

...