I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 129. Revenge and Venting

Early in the morning, the crackling sound of firecrackers woke Xu Qingfan from his sleep.

He got up and stretched. The clothes he would wear for the New Year had been placed next to his pillow the night before he went to bed: a British-style shirt and a wool sweater.

Then, he put on the matching trench coat and leather shoes, and, to be honest, he thought he looked handsome.

After getting dressed and leaving the room, I noticed that the little yellow dog had already hidden under the stool, trembling with fear.

"Phuh phuh phuh~" Xu Qingfan squatted down and clapped his hands to tease it. The puppy was about to come out, but as soon as it heard the sound of firecrackers, it immediately hid back.

"Xiao Fan, Happy New Year!" Grandma, who was plucking chicken feathers with hot water at the door, heard the voice and took a red envelope from her pocket, handing it to him.
"Happy New Year, Mother-in-law." Xu Qingfan reached out and took the red envelope.

After receiving another round of red envelopes in the kitchen, Xu Qingfan went to the bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth, feeling quite satisfied.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, relatives from my maternal grandparents' side would come to Chuxi Village for a family reunion dinner. The adults were busy preparing dishes in the kitchen, while Xu Qingfan wandered around the village aimlessly after finishing breakfast.

He doesn't really like gatherings with relatives. He only sees many of them once a year and doesn't even know their names. When they call him during the New Year, he can only nod and smile awkwardly.

Asking for red envelopes is one thing; you can just give them if you want, but you have to say nice things, like an online streamer thanking this person and that person. The worst part is that the amount of money given is not much, just five or ten yuan.

Xu Qingfan felt fine around strangers, but he felt extremely uncomfortable around a large group of relatives.

Xu Qingfan still prefers the family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve and the various trinkets sold on the roadside.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, there is a small market at the entrance of Chuxi Village, where most people gamble on fish, shrimp, and crabs and play dice games. There are also some people from other places selling toys, snacks, etc. at the market.

These people either didn't make any money this year or couldn't buy tickets home, so they stayed behind.

Back in the early 2000s, Licheng was quite xenophobic. People who couldn't speak Cantonese would be called "lao zai lao po" (meaning "lao zai" or "lao po" in Cantonese). If a student in a class was called that, they would be bullied and ostracized by their classmates.

When Xu Qingfan arrived at the village entrance, several gambling dens were already surrounded by people.

Gambling is a dead end, so he didn't bother to look at it. Xu Qingfan came here to fulfill his childhood dream.

He remembered that there was a plastic revolver sold at a toy stall, which made a loud noise and emitted white smoke when fired after being loaded with ammunition.

In his previous life, a relative's child bought one, and Xu Qingfan wanted to buy one too. Although he had a red envelope on him, children always ask their parents if they can buy something before buying it. As a result, Yao Jinping said no.

He was already unhappy, but then that relative's child shot at him with a pistol and said some nasty things like "poor bastard, can't afford it," so Xu Qingfan beat the child up.

In the end, he didn't get to buy the revolver, and he even got beaten up.

Later, when this person visited his home, he stole the toy car that Xia Xiaoxiao had given him. Xu Qingfan could say that he was mortal enemies with him.

Many of Yao Jinping's actions were incomprehensible to him as an adult. For example, he was not allowed to watch TV, and he was asked to read books but not bought them for him. It seemed that only reading a textbook in a daze was what pleased them the most.

Honestly, with Yao Jinping's teaching methods, if Xia Xiaoxiao hadn't given him a hand in his previous life, he might have really gone to work in a factory after graduating from junior high school.

"How much is this, boss?" Xu Qingfan asked, squatting on the ground and pointing at the crudely made toy gun.

"Five yuan, little kid."

Xu Qingfan's mouth gaped slightly. He hadn't expected it to be so cheap. He couldn't believe he'd remembered something as trivial as five yuan for so long in his past life.
"Oh, okay, I'll take it. Here's the money." He opened one of the red envelopes, which contained exactly five yuan.

After tearing open the transparent packaging bag, Xu Qingfan twirled the pistol on his index finger.

The toy gun came with two cartridges of ammunition. After loading the cartridges, he fired a few shots into the air.

Because he could only hear a sound, Xu Qingfan quickly lost interest. He then spent money to buy a live-loaded pistol and returned home satisfied.

Xu Qingfan concealed the gun under his armpit as he walked, and when no one noticed him, he sneaked up to the rooftop.

Not long after, the first wave of relatives arrived, including the child he had fought with in his previous life.

Xu Qingfan aimed his loaded pistol at the boy and hit him directly in the back of the head. The boy quickly pulled his head back, suppressing his laughter.

"Waaaaah~"

"Hehehe~" Xu Qingfan covered his mouth and chuckled when he heard the crying coming from below.

The handgun he bought was quite powerful; it could penetrate two layers of a disposable plastic cup filled with water at close range.

The rooftop was not a place to linger, so Xu Qingfan quickly threw the pistol bullets he was carrying to the back of the house and returned to the living room as if nothing had happened.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Why are you crying during the New Year? It's so unlucky!" He pretended to be nonchalant and went over to ask.

"What hit your head? Why is it so swollen?" Seeing that no one paid attention to him, Xu Qingfan continued.

"I wonder which brat threw things down from the rooftop. Xu Qingfan, were you on the rooftop just now? Did you see it?" Yao Jinping turned around and asked her.

"I saw it. There were some kids over there just now, playing a game of throwing stones. I don't know whose they are." Xu Qingfan's mind was clear. If he said he didn't see it, wouldn't he become the prime suspect?

"Okay, okay, don't cry anymore. I'll take you to KFC this afternoon," the child's mother said.

The little boy who had been crying and wailing stopped immediately upon hearing this, and the farce quickly came to an end. Xu Qingfan also successfully evaded everyone's suspicion.

In the end, he was clever. Just as he fired the shot, Xu Qingfan casually threw a small stone down to distract the enemy, and it actually worked.

After exchanging pleasantries with a group of relatives who were barely recognizable, Xu Qingfan finally made it through noon, feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles.

"I want to go eat KFC!"

"Don't bother me, go play by yourself, three of bamboo!"

"I want to go to KFC! You said you'd take me there for lunch!"

"Yao Boliang!"

"I want to eat KFC, KFC!!!" the child roared in a shrill voice.

"Slap!" Then she got a hard slap from her mother. "Don't think I won't hit you just because it's New Year's. Aren't you ashamed? You didn't even get 150 points in two exams combined, and you still have the nerve to yell here. Do you see Xu Qingfan like you? Xu Qingfan gets full marks every time he takes an exam!"

"Huh? Only 150 points? No way? No way?" Xu Qingfan pretended to be incredulous.

"Hmph, Nanfeng, did you hear that? When we get home, I'm burning all your crappy Yu-Gi-Oh! cards!"

"Auntie, I never play these things. Our teacher said that only hopeless students play these kinds of things. Our teacher also said that KFC is junk food and that eating too much of it will damage your brain!" Xu Qingfan continued to talk nonsense while pretending to be serious.

"Did you hear that! Learn from Qingfan, even a piece of char siu would be better than you!"

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him, he smugly made a face at Yao Boliang.

"Auntie, Yao Boliang hit someone!"

"what!!!"

The agonizing screams of a pig being slaughtered echoed from inside the house. Xu Qingfan laughed loudly and went out, declaring, "A gentleman doesn't leave a grudge unavenged."

The second day of the Lunar New Year.

Xu Aiguo was driving back to Congshi to pay New Year's visits, and he originally intended to force Xu Qingfan to go back with him.

Helpless, Xu Qingfan had no choice but to resort to his trump card: "Dad, the red envelope Grandma gave me the year before last was empty."

This tactic worked perfectly. After Yao Jinping found out, she refused to let Xu Qingfan go back no matter what. "If you want to go back, then go back by yourself. My son and I will suffer other people's scorn if we don't go back!"

Xu Qingfan then spilled the beans about how his grandmother had rolled her eyes at him, and Xu Aiguo had no choice but to slink back home alone.

He wasn't lying. Xu Qingfan didn't know if the other party was deliberately trying to annoy him or if it was accidental, but he remembered receiving an empty red envelope one year.

Xu Aiguo went to Congshi, and Yao Jinping made plans to play mahjong, leaving the living room empty except for him.

Xia Xiaoxiao is still spending the Spring Festival in her hometown, Lin Wanning hasn't come back either, Xiao Ruanwen and her mother went to the military region for the Spring Festival, and Zhang Yiyi is still in the United States and hasn't returned.

Xu Qingfan realized that Yao Jinping was right last time; why were these the same few little girls always playing around him?
"Go find Wu Lingyu." He snapped his fingers, got dressed, grabbed his keys, and went out.

Li Meijuan didn't close her stall during the Chinese New Year. After asking Yao Jinping for the shop keys, she also helped out at the convenience store.

When Xu Qingfan arrived at the shop, all four members of his family were there. Li Meijuan, Xiaoyu's grandfather, and father were busy running the fried food stall, while Wu Lingyu sat at the cashier watching the convenience store's business. Hearing the "Welcome" greeting at the door, Wu Lingyu turned around and saw Xu Qingfan in his handsome clothes.

"Brother Fan!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Happy New Year, Xiaoyu." Xu Qingfan walked into the store. "Happy New Year, Uncle, Aunt, Grandpa!"

"Hey~ Xiao Fan's here! Auntie's got a red envelope for you!" Li Meijuan put down her chopsticks for frying skewers, took a red envelope out of her pocket, and handed it to him.

"Thank you auntie."

Xu Qingfan sat down on the stool next to Wu Lingyu. "Doing your winter break homework?"

"Okay! Brother Fan, I've finished writing your book and left it at home. I'll give it to you tomorrow," Wu Lingyu said softly, glancing guiltily at her mother.

"It's okay, I can give it to you after the New Year. Do you want to go out and have some fun?"

"I need to watch the shop." Wu Lingyu put down her pen and winked at him.

"It's okay that there aren't many customers this morning, let's go for a walk." Xu Qingfan helped him close his winter vacation homework. "Auntie, Uncle, Xiaoyu and I are going to play outside!"

"Okay, go ahead, remember to be careful!"

"Got it!" Xu Qingfan mimicked Wu Lingyu's catchphrase, took the little girl's hand, and left the store.

"Brother Fan, slow down, I can't go on," Wu Lingyu said breathlessly.

"I haven't even used my full strength yet, Xiaoyu, you're too weak." Xu Qingfan had no choice but to slow down.

The two walked hand in hand on the sidewalk. "Brother Fan, where are we going now?" Wu Lingyu asked.

The malls are closed during the Chinese New Year, so there's really nowhere good to go.

Xu Qingfan shrugged. "I don't know. Is there anywhere you want to go? I'll go with you."

Wu Lingyu's eyes suddenly lit up. "Brother Fan, can you come with me somewhere?"

"lead the way."

"Okay!" The little girl smiled and pulled Xu Qingfan toward the moat.

"You're not here to buy milk tea, are you?" This direction was the direction of his elementary school in his previous life, and Xu Qingfan asked curiously.

Wu Lingyu shook her head without explaining.

"It's still open! Let's go buy some milk tea!" Xu Qingfan saw that the Green Tea Island milk tea shop next to the elementary school was still open and pulled Wu Lingyu over.

After resuming their journey, the two of them each held a cup of warm red bean milk tea in their hands.

"It's a dollar more expensive! What a swindler!" Xu Qingfan muttered as he walked.

Wu Lingyu's body stiffened, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on Xu Qingfan's hand.

After walking for a while, Xu Qingfan noticed that Wu Lingyu hadn't spoken for a long time, and he suddenly realized that he might have said something wrong.

"Xiaoyu, that's not what I meant. It's normal for prices to go up during the New Year. I was just joking. Xiaoyu's mother isn't a profiteer. It's perfectly normal for things to be twice as expensive during the New Year!"

Wu Lingyu looked up and peeked at Xu Qingfan's face, and then saw the anxious look on his face.

The little girl was touched and gave him a bright smile, "I understand!"

"Good to know." Xu Qingfan chuckled and ruffled her hair.

Meeting Xu Qingfan's gaze, Wu Lingyu quickly lowered her head shyly again.

After crossing the Licheng Bridge hand in hand, the two walked for another seven or eight minutes before finally stopping at an old-fashioned eight-story residential building.

Wu Lingyu's eyes were filled with nostalgia as she took Xu Qingfan's hand and walked inside.

The building's structure is extremely unique, with the residential buildings arranged in a "回" shape. Looking down from the stairs can make your legs weak.

"Where is this?" Xu Qingfan asked, puzzled, seeing that Wu Lingyu showed no sign of stopping even after they had reached the sixth floor.

"My old home." Wu Lingyu walked slowly, as if moved by the sight of the scenery.

The two eventually stopped at apartment 803 on the eighth floor. Wu Lingyu pointed to the iron door and said to him, "I used to live here with my parents and grandfather. After my father got sick, he sold the apartment to someone else."

There were colorful graffiti left with plaster markers on the whitewashed wall by the entrance. "Did you draw this?" Xu Qingfan asked, pointing to the drawing.

"Um, cough cough, this is Dad. This is Mom. This is Grandpa. This is me." Wu Lingyu's eyes immediately turned red and swollen as she choked up as she introduced them to Xu Qingfan.

"Alright, once Xiaoyu earns money in the future, we'll buy the house back." Xu Qingfan used his sleeve to wipe away her tears.

"Mmm..." Wu Lingyu seemed to be recalling the beautiful times of the past, and tears were flowing uncontrollably.

It's considered unlucky to cry at someone's door during the Lunar New Year. Xu Qingfan was worried about being chased away with a broom, so he took Wu Lingyu's hand and walked towards the rooftop.

Xu Qingfan found a relatively clean open space to sit down, while Wu Lingyu squatted on the cement floor and cried.

He just stayed quietly by her side without saying anything more to comfort her. Sometimes, it's better to let things out after keeping them bottled up for too long.

I don’t know how long it took.

Wu Lingyu felt like she had cried all her tears out, and her eyes were burning. "Thank you, Brother Fan," she said, sobbing.

"I understand." Xu Qingfan pinched her nose.

"Cough cough. Brother Fan, you're teasing me again." Wu Lingyu coughed for a while before bursting into laughter through her tears.

Are you still unhappy?

Wu Lingyu shook her head vigorously, "It's gone, I feel much better."

"Get up, I'll teach you another trick. Do this whenever you're unhappy." Xu Qingfan got up, patted his bottom, and reached out to pull Wu Lingyu up.

"Ok?"

He pulled the other person to the concrete railing of the balcony, opened his arms, and shouted, "Ah—"

"Your turn." He nudged Wu Lingyu with his arm.

"Brother Fan me"

"Hurry up!" Xu Qingfan warned with his eyes.

Okay~

"Ah—" Wu Lingyu shouted, imitating his movements.

"louder."

"what--"

"Louder!"

"Ah—" Wu Lingyu completely abandoned her shame and shouted loudly.

"Louder!"

"what---"

"Louder!"

"."

Xu Qingfan and Wu Lingyu returned to the first floor hand in hand. After glancing back at the top of the building, they smiled at each other.

Wu Lingyu walked behind Xu Qingfan, her eyes fixed on his retreating figure. [That's nice.]
(End of this chapter)