I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 131. Zhang Yiyi and Xia Xiaoxiao (single chapter)
the next day.

After greeting Yao Jinping early in the morning, Zhang Chunxue arrived at Lianhua Courtyard around 8:00 AM to pick up Xu Qingfan and put him in the car.

"Auntie, are we leaving Hong Kong?" Xu Qingfan couldn't help but ask as the car drove into the highway toll station.

“Yes, you should all fasten your seatbelts in the back seats too. Safety first,” Zhang Chunxue said, glancing at the rearview mirror.

"oh oh."

"Ok!"

Xu Qingfan and Zhang Yiyi both pulled out their respective safety buckles and fastened their seat belts.

Xu Qingfan originally thought that Zhang Yiyi's maternal grandfather's family was also in Licheng, since Zhang Chunxue and the uncle he met at the police station last time were both there.

Despite it being the Lunar New Year holiday, the highways were clear because not many families own cars at this time.

Xu Qingfan and Zhang Chunxue chatted casually for about forty minutes before the car quickly exited the highway.

The highways are toll-free during the Chinese New Year period, which saves you the trouble of queuing for manual toll payment.

"How much longer until Auntie arrives? I'm feeling a bit unwell." Xu Qingfan had drunk soy milk for breakfast, and after sitting in the car for so long, he felt a tightness in his chest.

"We're almost there. Sorry, Auntie's driving isn't very good." Zhang Chunxue turned around and said as the car stopped at a traffic light.

"It's nothing, it's just the road, it's bumpy." Xu Qingfan pulled his head back from the car window and looked at her.

"Just five more minutes and we'll be there. If you feel uncomfortable, take off your seatbelt. It'll be fine once we get off the highway."

"Okay." Xu Qingfan and Zhang Yi both unbuckled their seatbelts after hearing this.

Five minutes later, the car arrived at the gate of the government compound.

Two security guards in military uniforms came forward to question Zhang Chunxue. After Zhang Chunxue told them where she was going, one of them went back to the guard booth to make a phone call to inquire.

After confirming the identity and checking the trunk of the car again, the car drove in smoothly.

Fortunately, Xu Qingfan had already guessed this, so he wasn't surprised at all.

Zhang Chunxue drove the car to a row of villas. As the car slowly moved along, Xu Qingfan counted the houses one by one.

When they arrived at the fifth villa, the car stopped, and Zhang Chunhua paused for a few minutes to park it properly.

Xu Qingfan couldn't help but gasp and got out of the car.

[The provincial government compound, ranked fifth.]
Xu Qingfan dared not think too much about what level this was.

When the three got out of the car, a group of Zhang's relatives, including adults and children, were already waiting at the door.

I recognized Zhang Chaoqun, whom I had met at the police station before, but I had never met the rest of Xu Qingfan.

Of course, this is nonsense; he's not a relative of his, so how could Xu Qingfan have possibly met him?

"Why bring anything back from your own home!" Zhang Chaoqun feigned displeasure as he took the gift bag from Zhang Chunxue's hand.

"You still know to come back!" Another middle-aged man standing next to Zhang Chaoqun frowned and scolded.

"What are you saying? It's rare for my little sister to come back. Come on in, Dad and Mom miss you very much." Zhang Chaoqun gently nudged the middle-aged man next to him on the shoulder, smiling as he tried to smooth things over.

Xu Qingfan suddenly regretted getting involved in this mess. Being looked up and down by a group of strangers made him feel like his social anxiety was starting to resurface.

"Brother, sister-in-law, second sister-in-law." Zhang Chunxue nodded and greeted them with a blank expression.

"Hello, Uncle! Hello, Aunt!" Zhang Yiyi said, enunciating each word clearly.

Hello, uncles and aunts!

"Hmph!" Before Xu Qingfan could finish speaking, Zhang Chunxue's older brother had already turned around and gone home with a stern face.

"That's just how your brother is, don't take it to heart."

"My sister-in-law is fine," Zhang Chunxue said calmly.

Zhang Yiyi nervously gripped Xu Qingfan's hand and cautiously followed the adults into the house.

When you go out, your identity is given by yourself.

"[I'm a reborn person, who am I afraid of!]" Xu Qingfan silently chanted in his heart, and after straightening his back, he indeed became more confident.

After everyone entered the house, Xu Qingfan finally saw the true face of this fifth-ranked big shot. Because the air conditioning was on, he was only wearing a simple old man's shirt.

Because of his stern face, Xu Qingfan's first impression of him was that he looked a bit like the discipline director of his junior high school.

Putting aside his background, he's just an ordinary old man.

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the TV replaying the Spring Festival Gala echoing in the living room.

"Dad, Mom," Zhang Chunxue broke the silence first, speaking to the two elders.

"Hmm," Zhang Youwen replied indifferently.

"Everyone's here, let's eat. Xiaojuan, dinner's ready." Yu Hairong got up and called to the housekeeper in the room.

Both of them treated Zhang Yiyi as if she didn't exist, seemingly unwilling to acknowledge her as their granddaughter.

Zhang Yi's eyes were red, and she pursed her lips, feeling wronged, and didn't say anything.

Xu Qingfan suddenly felt a sense of empathy. This scene seemed so familiar; wasn't it just like his past life?
He followed Xu Aiguo back to Congshi, but his grandmother didn't even bother to say a word to him.

Xu Qingfan later studied psychology in detail, and his grandmother's psychology was probably like this.

If this child is so obedient and filial, doesn't that mean I was wrong to ask Yao Jinping to have an abortion? I couldn't have been wrong, so Xu Qingfan must be a complete wretch, which would show how wise I was to have recognized his talent.

Although Xu Qingfan didn't know why Zhang Yiyi's maternal grandparents disliked her, it didn't stop him from comforting her: "Don't be sad. My maternal grandparents love Yiyi very much. It's not that no one likes our Yiyi."

Xu Qingfan spoke softly, but with only the sound of the television in the room, everyone clearly heard what he had just said.

A smile finally appeared on Zhang Chunxue's face as she introduced the girl to everyone: "This is Yi Yi's classmate, a very outstanding child."

Seeing that all the adults in the room were staring at him, Xu Qingfan was stunned for a few seconds before cupping his hands and smiling, "Hello everyone, grandpas, grandmas, uncles and aunts, my name is Xu Qingfan. My parents confiscated my red envelope, so I shamelessly came with Aunt Zhang to collect some red envelopes. Happy New Year everyone!"

"Pfft~" The adults burst into laughter, and Xu Qingfan's words instantly broke the ice that had been somewhat awkward.

With Xu Qingfan as the topic of conversation, Zhang Chaoqun also vividly recounted to a group of relatives the incident where the three of them were framed by an elderly person in the park.

"That kid is really cunning. In the end, not only did the old woman not get any money from him, she also had to pay them 30,000 yuan in compensation for emotional distress."

The group listened to Zhang Chaoqun's story as if it were a foreign language, and then looked at Xu Qingfan with the same eyes one would give a giant panda.

Xu Qingfan nodded and smiled awkwardly, his hand, which was under the table, was tightly held by Zhang Yiyi.

With Xu Qingfan by her side, Zhang Yiyi suddenly realized that the feeling of sitting on pins and needles that she used to have had completely disappeared.

Zhang Yiyi recalled holding Xu Qingfan's hand last semester, going from class to class to receive apologies from those who had bullied her, and a warm feeling lingered in her heart.

[I want to hold your hand like this and never let go.] She silently recited the lyrics of Simple Love in her heart.

Fortunately, the Zhang family didn't have the bad habit of not being able to talk while eating, so Xu Qingfan had a relaxed meal.

"Finish your meal before you read!" During the meal, a little kid was reading a comic book while eating when his mother lightly tapped him on the back of the head.

Xu Qingfan glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and saw that it was actually a hilarious slice-of-life video.
Zhang Yiyi also noticed, and when she saw Xu Qingfan looking at her, the two exchanged a knowing smile.

Xu Qingfan suddenly remembered the idea that popped into his head when he was at Guagreen Square last time—to make a hilarious anti-fraud version of everyday life.

Zhang Chaoqun happens to work in the public security bureau. Xu Qingfan felt that if they could do a joint project with the Licheng Public Security Bureau, it would be a win-win situation with great potential.

Since everyone was there, Xu Qingfan wanted to take the opportunity to make Zhang Yiyi look good, so he said, "Uncle Chaoqun, Yiyi and I encountered a group of swindlers at Guagreen Square the week before last." He told everyone about the swindlers' tricks in detail.

“That’s great. If you encounter a scammer, dial 110 immediately. If the scammer runs away, you can only report it to the Industry and Commerce Bureau,” Zhang Chaoqun affirmed.

"Uncle, it's like this, Yi Yi, Wan Ning, and I published a comic book together. I want to publish a series on preventing fraud, and I'd like to collaborate with your police station. By the way, the comic book we published is the one that the aunt just put away. Not counting pirated copies, it has already sold more than five million copies!" Xu Qingfan said, pointing to Zhang Yi Yi's aunt.

"Did you guys draw these hilarious everyday scenes?"

"Holy crap, you're the author of Hilarious Daily Life?"

"."

Before the adults could react, the children were already restless, standing up and pointing at Xu Qingfan, asking him all sorts of questions.

"Yes, including pirated copies, it's probably sold over ten million copies in China already." Zhang Chunxue squinted at her parents, her eyes seeming to say: Look, the child you wanted to abort, the child you felt ashamed of, is now so outstanding. "Is it that popular? Let me see," her aunt curiously picked up her son's comic book and started flipping through the pages.

"Haha, it's pretty good." She couldn't help but laugh out loud after reading just the first joke.

"This is super good! Even our teachers at school are reading this comic!"

"That's right, our whole grade has read it, and I even have a copy the size of a matchbox at home!" a group of children jeered.

"Xiao Fan, what do you mean by this joint venture?" Zhang Chaoqun glared at the child who was making a fuss and asked him.

Xu Qingfan then remembered that the term "joint publication" did not exist in 04. "It means that you uncles provide some common fraud cases, and Yi Yi and I draw them out. Then your police station endorses it, and we write 'Licheng Public Security Jointly Published' in big letters on the cover of the book."

“Okay, I’ll talk to my people later.” Zhang Chaoqun felt it was a trivial matter and agreed without thinking.

At this moment, he was unaware of the promotional power of "Hilarious Daily Life," let alone how much his casual remark today would help his future career.

After lunch, a group of children learned that Xu Qingfan and Zhang Yiyi were the authors of "Hilarious Daily Life" and somehow managed to get dozens of comic books for them to sign. The two of them became the big brother and big sister of the children's group.

Zhang Chunxue looked at the scene before her with satisfaction, thinking to herself that it was good that she had brought Xiao Fan along as well.

[This kid is really likable.] Zhang Chunxue looked away and continued to argue with her parents in a nonchalant manner.

As a highly educated family, the dramatic scene of a sister-in-law and brother-in-law fighting, as seen in melodramatic TV dramas, did not occur. Xu Qingfan shamelessly asked Zhang Yiyi and No. 5 for red envelopes, which they gave him.

During the New Year's visit, in addition to receiving a bag of red envelopes, I also gained a few new die-hard fans in my fan group.

It was already past 8 p.m. when I got back to Licheng.

Zhang Chunxue drove the car into the Lotus Courtyard and got out with Xu Qingfan. "Thank you for today, Xiaofan," she said with a smile, bending down to hug Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan feigned ignorance, "Auntie, why are you thanking me? You don't want a share of my red envelope, do you? Let me tell you, it's a 30/70 split at most, not 20/80!"

"Haha~ Okay, Auntie knows you understand." Zhang Chunxue was amused and laughed heartily.

“Yi Yi is my good friend, it’s only right that I do these things, and Auntie is such a kind person!” Xu Qingfan’s gaze fell on the car, where Zhang Yi Yi was curled up on the seat sleeping.

"What a good boy, here's a kiss as a reward." Zhang Chunxue bent down and kissed Xu Qingfan's cheek, patted his head, and then sat back in the driver's seat.

Watching the burgundy Maserati Quattroporte drive away, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but swallow hard.

[Who can withstand this?!]
Xu Qingfan turned away and looked up to see if the lights in his living room were on.

"Why are the lights on at Xiaoxiao's house? Didn't you say you wouldn't be home until the eighth day of the Lunar New Year?" Xu Qingfan rubbed his eyes in confusion, making sure he wasn't seeing things.

Xu Qingfan ran upstairs excitedly, shouting in the hallway before he even arrived, "Xia Xiaoxiao, you've got the guts to come back early, you've got the guts to open the door!"

But when he arrived at Xia Xiaoxiao's door, there was no one in the living room.

"Xiaoxiao?" he called tentatively into the room, "Auntie?" But no one answered him.

The TV and DVD player were still there, ruling out the possibility of a burglar breaking into the house. Xu Qingfan took off his shoes and went inside to check the situation.

The lights in the kitchen and bathroom were off. After thinking for a moment, he walked over and reached out to pull the doorknob of Xia Xiaoxiao's bedroom. "Xiaoxiao, are you in there?"

Xu Qingfan peeked inside; the bedroom was pitch black, but he could vaguely hear someone sobbing.

He reached out and turned on the bedroom light. The room was still empty, but there was a bulge under the covers on the bed. Without asking, Xia Xiaoxiao must be hiding inside.

"What's wrong, Xiaoxiao?" Xu Qingfan tried to pull back the blanket, but the person inside held him tightly.

Xia Xiaoxiao ignored him.

"If you don't say anything, I'm crawling in!"

Xia Xiaoxiao still ignored him.

"I really squeezed in!" Xu Qingfan found a gap at the foot of the bed and squeezed his head in.

Xia Xiaoxiao seemed to have noticed, so she stuck her foot in his face and kicked Xu Qingfan away.

"Ptooey! Ugh! It stinks!" Xu Qingfan wiped his face with his sleeve in disgust.

"Cough cough." The person inside seemed to be amused by Xu Qingfan, and coughed for a while.

Xu Qingfan seized the opportunity to pull off the blanket wrapped around Xia Xiaoxiao's body. This time he succeeded, and then he saw the little girl's tear-streaked face.

"What happened? Where are your uncle and aunt? Have you eaten?" Xu Qingfan pulled out a few tissues from the bedside table, wanting to help her sit up and wipe her face clean.

"It's none of your business!" Xia Xiaoxiao choked back tears as she pushed Xu Qingfan's hand away.

"I didn't do anything to you, why are you taking your anger out on me? Wipe yourself clean!" Xu Qingfan threw the tissue at her.

"Xu Qingfan, I hate you so much! You're a pig, a stinky pig, a dead pig, a big stupid pig!" Xia Xiaoxiao threw a tissue at his face as if venting her emotions, but the light tissue fell onto the bed before it even reached the foot of the bed.

"I've been waiting for you all day, why are you only coming back now!" the little girl sobbed, her voice filled with utter grievance.

“I went to Hong Kong to pay New Year’s visits, and you didn’t tell me you were coming back today. What happened? Tell me.” Looking at Xia Xiaoxiao’s pitiful little face, Xu Qingfan’s tone softened as he spoke.

Xia Xiaoxiao knew she was being unreasonable, but she felt very wronged. She wanted to talk to Xu Qingfan at noon, but she ended up waiting until after 8 p.m.

"My mom and dad had a fight," she sobbed as she recounted the events of the morning to Xu Qingfan.

After receiving a phone call, Xia Guofu said that a friend had introduced him to a business opportunity and that he was leaving now.

Lin Jing advised him to talk about it after the New Year, saying that money can never be earned enough.

Later, for some reason, the couple had a big argument in front of a group of relatives. Xia Guofu said how hard it was for him to earn money, and Lin Jing said how much she had sacrificed for the family.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him to stay, Lin Jing became anxious and said, "If you leave today, we'll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a divorce!"

Xia Guofu gave her a cold look, said nothing, and turned to leave.

In the end, Lin Jing was left collapsed on the ground.

When parents argue, it's always the children who get hurt the most. Xia Xiaoxiao sat helplessly at her grandparents' house all morning, thinking that she would go home at noon to talk to Xu Qingfan.

I waited and waited, but no one came, and now it's almost 9 p.m.

After hearing the whole story, Xu Qingfan silently cursed Xia Guofu in his heart.

Have you had dinner yet?

Xia Xiaoxiao shook her head, and only after venting did she realize that her stomach was growling with hunger.

"Go wash your face, I'll make you some noodles!" Xu Qingfan tapped her on the head lightly and turned to leave.

"Ah."

Xu Qingfan simply cooked a bowl of noodles with poached egg, which Xia Xiaoxiao devoured.

"Eat slowly, don't choke." He reached out and poured the other person a glass of water.

"Mmm," Xia Xiaoxiao thought, whether it was because she was too hungry or because Xu Qingfan was a great cook, this bowl of noodles was the best she had ever eaten.

"Let's not concern ourselves with the adults' affairs. Just remember, as long as your brother Fan gets a bite of meat, you'll definitely get a share!" Xu Qingfan patted Xia Xiaoxiao's head and said with a smile.

"Cough cough cough Xu Qingfan, get out!"

"Okay, just kidding. Don't worry, your parents will definitely make up." From God's perspective, Xu Qingfan was right.

"Mmm, thank you, you stinky pig Xu." Xia Xiaoxiao picked up the bowl and drank the noodle soup in one gulp.

"Please call me handsome!"

"Idiot!"

"You?"

"you!"

"A rebound!"

“Bounce bounce!”

"Bounce, bounce, bounce!"

"."

(End of this chapter)