I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 191. Not one less.

Before his 5 p.m. alarm went off, Xu Qingfan felt a figure moving in front of him. He opened his eyes to check and, unsurprisingly, Wu Lingyu was standing in front of the bed.

"Brother Fan, did I wake you up? I'm sorry." Wu Lingyu spoke softly, worried about disturbing the four girls who were still fast asleep next door.

"It's nothing." Xu Qingfan picked up the alarm clock by the bed and saw that it was almost five o'clock.

"Let's go downstairs and cook." He got up, put on his slippers, and ruffled the girl's hair.

"Okay!" Wu Lingyu had only come to check if Xu Qingfan was awake so she could ask him to go downstairs and prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, so she immediately nodded.

Xu Qingfan smiled, and the two of them went down to the first floor one after the other.

The living room was transformed after their busy morning, decorated with festive elements such as Chinese knots and red lanterns. The peach tree, which was over a meter tall, was covered with pink petals. Although it was only the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, it really looked like Chinese New Year.

He and Wu Lingyu went to the kitchen, and the two worked together seamlessly. Before long, the aroma of the food wafted up to the second floor.

The four girls caught a whiff of the aroma and soon appeared at the kitchen doorway, peeking halfway in to watch them bustle about.

"Brother Fan, is there anything we can help you with?"

"Wow~"

Xu Qingfan was stir-frying late-season cabbage over a high flame. As he tossed the wok, a wave of fire rose more than 30 centimeters high, causing the four onlookers to gasp in surprise.

"Wash your hands and get ready to eat. You don't need to do anything. Xiaoyu is enough for me," he said, turning to the four of them.

"Hmph~" Lin Wanning pouted, but still ran into the kitchen to wait.

[It's not enough for just Xiaoyu, I need to be there too!]
The kitchen was about ten square meters, and it didn't feel crowded even with Lin Wanning standing there. Seeing the girl standing to his left, Xu Qingfan used a spatula to pick up a leaf stem for her to try: "Help me taste it, see if it's soft enough."

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~" Lin Wanning held the vegetable stem in his teeth, blowing on it as he ate it. "Delicious, Brother Qingfan is so soft!"

"It's the vegetables that are soft enough, not me." He suddenly felt a bit confused and gently bumped his head against the other person.

"Huh?" This was clearly not the bus to the elementary school. Lin Wanning looked like he didn't understand.

Xu Qingfan didn't explain. After putting the last stir-fried bok choy into a bowl, he followed Lin Wanning out of the kitchen.

"Time to eat!" With the last dish served, their eight-dish-and-one-soup New Year's Eve dinner was officially complete.

"Let's have a drink before we eat!" Xiao Ruanwen raised her glass, which was filled with brightly colored grape juice.

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up in response, and the crisp sound of glasses clinking together echoed in the room.

"cheers!!!"

"Thank you, Brother Fan, for taking care of us this past year. Now, let's welcome the best Brother Fan in the world to speak!" Xiao Ruanwen said with a smile after sitting down again.

The four girls stopped using their chopsticks to pick up food and all turned their gazes to him.

Xu Qingfan blinked, thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Ahem~ then I'll say a few words."

Okay~

"Brother Qingfan, speak quickly!" A round of enthusiastic applause erupted inside the room.

He glanced at Xia Xiaoxiao, then said, "Our friendship has been going on since first grade."

"Brother Qingfan, we've known each other since kindergarten!" Lin Wanning interrupted.

Xu Qingfan glared at her fiercely, and the girl immediately covered her mouth with her hands, looking aggrieved.

Xia Xiaoxin said: I've known this stinky dog ​​since I was born!

"I am so grateful to have everyone's company during my childhood in this life. We did many crazy things together on the road to growing up. Although it seems that most of the time I was the one taking care of you, changing your diapers and feeding you."

Xu Qingfan's wave of nostalgia had initially brought tears to the eyes of the five girls, but then he abruptly changed the subject, leaving them both amused and exasperated. "Pfft~ Brother Fan, how could you be like this!"

"It's clearly me who's taking care of you!"

"Brother Qingfan is the best!"

"Brother, you're the best in the world!"

Wu Lingyu didn't speak, keeping her gratitude to herself: "[Thank you, Brother Fan.]"
"Okay, okay, I haven't finished yet, stop for a second!"

The room quickly quieted down again, and Xu Qingfan continued, "But we've all grown up now. The Chinese textbook says that the 'Baby Banquet' is for children aged eight to twelve, and we're already thirteen."

I know that the arrival of puberty brings all sorts of worries, perhaps due to physical development, or perhaps something else entirely.

After hearing what he said, even Lin Wanning, who was usually the most carefree, fell into deep thought. Clearly, everyone had their own little secrets.

"However, I still hope that the six of us can always be like we were when we were kids, and that our friendship can continue forever. Let's not drift apart because of a conflict or a little friction. Every year from now on, we must be like today, with none of the six of us missing!"

"Great!" After Xu Qingfan finished speaking, the five girls clapped again, until their palms were red before they stopped.

"Not one can be missing!" Lin Wanning said, extending her right palm.

"Not one less." Zhang Yiyi also placed her two palms on top.

"Not one can be missing!" The group exchanged smiles and placed their hands on the surface one after another.

"Not one less!" The six men pressed down one last time, shouting in unison.

"Hey, hey~ Wan Ning, don't spill the food!"

"Hahaha"

After Xu Qingfan's pre-dinner speech, the atmosphere of the New Year's Eve dinner reached its peak. The projector showed "Infernal Affairs 3" starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau. The five girls were eating chicken legs and shrimp with their hands without any regard for their image, their faces covered in oil stains, but this was the most enjoyable way to eat.

The movie on the projector was just to create atmosphere; everyone mostly chatted together.

"Heh~ Whoever marries Brother Fan in the future will be truly blessed!" Xiao Ruanwen said after downing her carbonated drink in one gulp and letting out a burp.

As soon as she said that, the others all turned their gazes toward her.

"Uh~ No way, Brother Qingfan can't get married. Brother Qingfan has to cook for us for the rest of his life!" Lin Wanning said, holding a half-eaten shrimp head in one hand and a half-eaten chicken leg in the other.

“Fan Ge is a boy, he can only get married, not be married off,” Wu Lingyu corrected.

"Of course I know, the newspaper says you have to give a bride price when you get married!" she said, exchanging a glance with Zhang Yi.

Surprisingly, Xia Xiaoxiao didn't say anything sarcastic or belittle Xu Qingfan, because marrying him [seems, really, quite good].
"That's easy! I'll just have to swallow my pride and make a sacrifice, and all five of you will marry me!" Xu Qingfan was also drunk on pineapple beer; the alcohol didn't make him drunk, he was drunk on his own.

"Hehehe~ That's really unnecessary!"

"It's okay. My mom says that suffering a loss is a blessing. Since none of you object, I'll take it as your consent!"

"Great! Yi Yi and I are going to marry Brother Qing Fan together!" Lin Wanning was the first to pull her best friend along and blurt it out.

Wu Lingyu was about to speak when Xiao Ruanwen interrupted, "Wan Ning, are you stupid? You can only marry one wife, hiccup~"

Xia Xiaoxiao looked at Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi with suspicion, and said contraryly, "Stop daydreaming, Xiaobai is a female dog, you should marry Xiaobai!"

"No, Xiaobai has already been sterilized!" Lin Wanning said very seriously. She wanted to say something like how Qingfan could marry Xiaobai and should marry her, but Xiao Ruanwen interrupted her, and the girl's brief courage had long since vanished.

"What's wrong with you? You're actually thinking about me?" Xu Qingfan grabbed her tuft of hair.

"a ha ha ha."

(End of this chapter)