I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 207. The Formal Performance
Because the next day was the official performance day, they all tossed and turned in bed all night, forgetting how many sheep they counted, and finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.

Despite suffering from spring outing syndrome the night before, everyone was still full of energy after a good night's sleep.

Around 10 a.m., the large stage in the center of the fountain in Guagreen Square was completely set up. The workers were neatly placing chairs below, and there were at least a thousand of them. If they could all be seated, the evening's performance would surely be spectacular.

People who needed to perform arrived at Guagreen Square one after another. Xu Qingfan followed the equipment master to adjust the instruments and sound system. The girls stood in front of the stage, getting into the mood for the upcoming performance that evening.

Because it was a grand performance, the adults from several families arrived early and sat in the audience watching the children busy on stage, occasionally raising their cameras to capture the heartwarming moments.

Thousands of brochures were printed out with overtime work and distributed by parents and hired temporary workers in the busiest areas. If it weren't for the band name "After School Tea Time" written on them, which they didn't recognize, passersby would have no doubt that some superstar was coming to Licheng to perform.

The first season of the K-On! anime won't be released until next year, but as readers of the Manga Time Kirara manga, the group has been K-On! fans for a long time, hence the name of the band, which is quite puzzling.

"Does your throat still hurt? Let's rehearse one song and then go inside to enjoy the air conditioning; the sun is too strong." After adjusting the equipment, Xu Qingfan gave the guitarist, bassist, and others an "OK" sign and walked over to ask the five girls.

"Hmph~" Xiao Ruanwen cleared her throat and said, "It's alright, it's not too hot, and my throat is fine. What's our first piece to rehearse?"

"Is the place always packed with people downstairs at night, Brother Qingfan?" Lin Wanning ran up to him and grabbed his sleeve to ask.

Xu Qingfan patted the girl's head and continued, "Definitely! It'll be packed tonight!"

"Let's play 'Ten Minutes Twelve Inches' for all the mothers." The next second, he returned to his seat and picked up his instrument.

"Brother Fan, are you serious?" Xiao Ruanwen opened her mouth wide in surprise and turned to look at him.

"Is everyone ready? Let's make a grand escape into the sunlight!" Xu Qingfan didn't answer, and instead, for once, acted like a typical teenager.

The next second, Xu Qingfan started playing the drums, and Xiao Ruanwen whispered, "Aren't you really coming?" But because she was speaking into the microphone, everyone heard her.

"Hahaha," Xu Qingfan waved his hand, signaling the others to quickly continue the lyrics.

As soon as the song's intro started, not only the parents in the audience and passersby who stopped to watch the excitement, but even the five girls started clapping along with the beat.

At first, the five girls were extremely awkward, and they could barely make out the lyrics, since singing "Ten Minutes Twelve Inches" in public was an extremely shameful thing.

However, perhaps because there were enough people to go crazy with them, or perhaps because the applause from the parents in the audience gave the five girls courage, they became more and more relaxed when they sang the Monica part, and their voices became louder and more mellow.

Xu Qingfan and several elementary school classmates who came to help exchanged glances, smiled knowingly, and then joined in the song.

Thanks thanks thanks thanks Monica, who can replace you?

This night will be incredibly warm!

[It's going to be incredibly hot tonight!]

After a ten-minute medley, everyone was covered in sweat, but the sweltering summer heat did not dampen their enthusiasm at all.

Zhang Chunxue came over midway through the performance and sat down to watch them rehearse.

After the song ended, five mothers came up with wrung-out bottles of mineral water and tissues to help the five lead singers wipe their sweat.

"Here, have some water. This brat is really something, couldn't he wait until the evening when the sun isn't out to rehearse?" Yao Jinping handed Wu Lingyu a cool bottle of mineral water and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue.

“Auntie isn’t hot.” ​​Wu Lingyu obediently shook her head.

The other students who came to participate also had their parents bring them water and tissues. Xu Qingfan looked around and realized that he had become the clown!

Fortunately, he still had Lin Wanning.

"Brother Qingfan, wipe your sweat too!" After saying a few words to her parents, the girl immediately handed him the handkerchief she had just used.

"Okay, thank you, Wanning." Xu Qingfan rubbed Lin Wanning's head, then picked up a towel and wiped his neck and forehead.

"Brother Qingfan, there's still water!" Lin Wanning looked down at the two bottles of water in her hand. One bottle was unopened, and the other contained a third of what she had just drunk.

After thinking for a moment, the girl finally decided to hand the bottle she had drunk to Xu Qingfan: "Brother Qingfan, I can't finish it."

"It's okay, I've taken care of it for you." He unscrewed the cap and tilted his head back to gulp it down, feeling refreshed as the cool mineral water hit his face.

Lin Wanning secretly glanced in Xia Xiaoxiao's direction and found that the other person was also looking at her.

She paused for a moment, then gave Xia Xiaoxiao a sweet smile, folded the handkerchief she had just used, put it back in her pocket, and ran back to her parents.

Xia Xiaoxiao felt inexplicably uncomfortable, but then she thought that this was just a very normal thing. She would give Xu Qingfan the milk tea that she couldn't finish, and she would give him the food that others didn't like after taking a bite, and give the food that they didn't like to the dog.

What's the big deal!
That's what she thought, but Xia Xiaoxiao still felt very uncomfortable.

She didn't feel this way when she was little, but ever since that embarrassing dream and the incident where Xu Qingfan touched her stomach on his bed, Xia Xiaoxiao has found that she feels very uncomfortable whenever she sees Xu Qingfan being close to other girls.

Even though the people he was close to were the other four girls in the house, Xia Xiaoxiao would still be unhappy.

But this way of getting along was a habit the six of them had developed since childhood. The girl didn't want to cause a rift in their friendship because of her, so she kept her unhappiness to herself, telling herself each time: It's nothing, because we were like this when we were little. How could I be jealous of that stinky dog? Absolutely not!!!

After all, Xu Qingfan was not her private property, and she had no right to demand that others act according to her wishes. Xia Xiaoxiao was not an overbearing person, and the other four girls had even better personalities than the last, so the six of them had not quarreled so far.

Regardless of what Xia Xiaoxiao was thinking, the group rested briefly and then went directly to Guagreen Square for lunch.

The powerful air conditioning quickly dried the sweat off them. Xu Qingfan, as the initiator of the performance, led the way to the food court on the fourth floor. Because there were so many people, they only had two tables occupied.

He was in charge of taking orders and greeting the parents of his elementary school classmates throughout the event. His maturity and social skills, which were beyond his years, truly amazed the adults present.

"This boy will be extraordinary in the future," one parent said.

"Of course, he's Brother Fan!" his devoted fan replied with pride.

Zhang Chunxue had a faint smile on her face. Traditional culture says that raising children is for old age security. Although she didn't need to worry about old age, she did indeed treat Xu Qingfan as her own son. Watching him become more and more outstanding under her guidance filled her with a sense of accomplishment.

"Wishing tonight's performance a great success! Cheers!"

"cheers!"

After lunch, Xu Aiguo and Lin Qiaoshan drove the students and parents who had helped them home, while they went back to their home next to Licheng Middle School.

"Go to sleep quickly, it's up to you guys tonight." Wen Wanqing said with a smile after the group came out of the bathroom one after another.

"Ok!"

Good afternoon, Mom!

"good afternoon."

After the alarm rang at three o'clock in the afternoon, Xu Qingfan was pulled out of bed by her mother. "Still sleeping here? Yu'er and the others are already up and putting on makeup!"

"I don't need to wear makeup," he said, burying his head in the blanket.

"Then get up and think about whether there's anything you've forgotten." With the performance time getting closer, Yao Jinping was starting to get nervous, even though she wasn't the one performing that night.

"Okay, okay." Xu Qingfan yawned and got out of bed.

When they reached the first floor, the area was already packed with people, and five girls were taking turns receiving makeup from a professional makeup artist. "Brother Qingfan!"

"Tsk~ Sister, don't move." The makeup artist said, "This shout ruined my eyeliner."

"Why do I feel like I don't look as good as when I'm not wearing makeup?" Xu Qingfan asked, squatting down next to the makeup artist.

"It'll be a sight to behold once you're on stage. Little brother, if you don't understand, don't spout nonsense!" the makeup artist said, glancing at him.

"Alright." Feeling looked down upon, Xu Qingfan got up awkwardly and went to the courtyard.

"Dad, Uncle Qiao, are you taking a dump?" Lin Qiaoshan and Xu Aiguo were squatting in a corner of the yard chatting when Xu Qingfan suddenly thought of a certain source of all evil.

"Go away, go play somewhere else!" Mr. Xu flicked his cigarette ash and said irritably.

No one wanted to visit him here, and Xiao Bai was taken back to Bigui Garden. Suddenly, Xu Qingfan had no playmates left.

He took out his phone, sat on the swing, and browsed QQ, posting the photos he had taken that morning to the group chat.

See you tonight at 8 PM!

His words instantly unleashed a torrent of activity from lurkers, and Xu Qingfan also joined the fray.

The afternoon flew by, and after a quick bite to fill our stomachs for dinner, there was only an hour left before the official performance.

7 p.m., Guagreen Square.

"When will Brother Fan start?"

"Brother Fan is awesome!"

It was completely dark, and nearly a hundred former students of the Experimental Primary School had gathered at the scene, filling all the front seats.

"Don't rush, it officially starts at eight o'clock. If you're free, help hand out flyers. We'll do a lucky draw and send out red envelopes in the group when we get back!" Xu Qingfan said into the microphone as he came down with a large stack of flyers that hadn't been handed out yet.

"Brother Fan is awesome!"

He smiled and shook his head. On the other side, five girls took turns taking photos in front of the NPCs and their classmates. Everyone was busy and having a great time.

At 7:30 p.m., staff from Licheng TV station arrived to record the performance and broadcast it on television.

Xu Qingfan asked Zhang Chunxue, who was also confused. After inquiring, she learned that Zhang Chunxue had seen the news on Tudou.com. Xiao Ruanwen had posted the information about their performance and the release of two new songs that night online.

Once the photographers and lighting technicians were in place, the performance seemed to become more and more formal, and many passersby who had originally just been there to watch the spectacle found a chair and sat down.

At 8 p.m., everything was in place, and the performance officially began.

"Good evening, alumni of Experimental Primary School and friends of Licheng!"

"I'm sure you've all been waiting a long time, so let's officially begin with the first song of the night, an original song called 'Little Apple.' I hope you enjoy it!"

Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruanwen took turns hosting, and their stage presence was in no way inferior to that of professionals.

The catchy melody of "Little Apple" instantly spread to everyone present through the sound system. The five girls exchanged glances, then nodded in unison and began to speak:
I planted a seed~

[Finally, fruit has grown!]

"What kind of song is this? It's so weird!"

"Is this all the original songs you've got?"

"It's quite good for a junior high school student to have this level of skill."

During the first verse, the audience had mixed opinions, but when the chorus ended and the second verse began, the discussions had ceased, because everyone was singing "You are mine~ Little girl, little apple~ I can never love you enough~"

"Everyone, turn on your phone's flashlight and shake to the beat, okay?"

"it is good!"

The benches at the scene were already full, and many people without seats were standing in various corners. It was conservatively estimated that there were nearly two thousand people.

Looking down from the stage, there were countless heads. The girls were initially a little nervous, but when they discovered that there were people singing along in the audience, they gradually became more confident and poised.

As thousands of flashes illuminated the night sky, with the vast expanse of darkness above and the starry river shining beneath their feet, the girls would remember this breathtaking night for a lifetime.

After singing seven or eight songs, more and more people gathered, so they had to call Fang Xiaohai again to summon the police to come and maintain order.

During the intermission, Xu Qingfan's fun Q&A session as the host successfully heated up the atmosphere and gave the girls valuable time to rest and recover.

Across the street, Licheng Middle School was brightly lit, and students were having Sunday evening self-study in their classrooms. But here they were holding a performance. I wonder what the people inside would think if they heard the singing outside.

Suffering first doesn't guarantee happiness later, but sweetness first is definitely sweetness first. Xu Qingfan looked away and continued to draw the next audience member to answer a question.

The performance continued. "The next song is also an original song, composed by your brother Fan. He said the song is called 'When the intro starts, even a dog has regrets.' Just kidding. Here's 'Anhe Bridge' for everyone!"

The audience was initially curious about what kind of song was so fancy, but when Xu Qingfan played the prelude to Anhe Bridge on the erhu, everyone immediately went silent.

The morin khuur version of Anhe Bridge is naturally more beautiful, but Xu Qingfan can't play it!

Let me see you one more time~from south to north

[Like being blindfolded by the Fifth Ring Road]

Unfortunately, the girls' voices and life experience didn't quite capture the feeling of emo, so the audience wasn't too disappointed; it was just a very nice song overall.

Since meeting Xu Qingfan, the five girls have had an incredibly smooth journey of growth and experience. Unless they betray them, the girls probably won't understand what regret is.

Two original songs successfully elevated tonight's performance to a higher level, and many people remembered the band's name, "After School Tea Time." The TV station staff also felt that their trip was worthwhile.

"Finally, let's invite all the students from Class 16 of Grade 6 at Experimental Primary School to come up and sing 'Childhood' together, to give our childhood a perfect ending, okay!"

"it is good!"

All thirty-six people from back then came and lined up according to their memories, even though those who were tall back then might not be tall now.

On the banyan tree by the pond,
The cicadas are chirping, heralding the arrival of summer.

Only butterflies perched on it.

The teacher's chalk was still writing frantically on the blackboard.

It seems that tonight everything has returned to its starting point; they are still the same group of first-graders.

At this moment, everyone shared the same thought:

"very nice!"

(End of this chapter)