I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 227. A Bedtime Story

At 23:38 PM, his phone call with Lin Wanning was still ongoing.

"It's so late, let's hang up and go to sleep," Xu Qingfan said with a yawn.

"No, no~ It's not even midnight yet, Brother Qingfan, you have to stay up with me to celebrate the New Year!" Lin Wanning said sweetly into the microphone.

"But my phone is about to run out of battery and shut down. We've been chatting for almost two and a half hours," Xu Qingfan said helplessly, looking at the red battery indicator on the screen.

"Can't we chat while charging? I always chat with Brother Qingfan while charging."

"There are no power outlets in the countryside. If I want to charge my phone, I have to get out of bed. It's so cold. Wan Ning, are you willing to let me freeze like a dog?"

"Ugh~" Lin Wanning looked troubled, puffing out her cheeks in exasperation. "Then, Brother Qingfan, could you tell Wanning a bedtime story, and then I'll go to sleep!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Let me think about it." Xu Qingfan put on the quilt and got out of bed. He had no choice; if he kept talking, the phone would really run out of battery and shut down.

"Hmm, Brother Qingfan, take your time thinking about it!"

"Got it, listen carefully."

"Uh-huh!"

Once upon a time, there was a fox and a rabbit.

"Little bunny!" Lin Wanning interjected.

After plugging in the charger, Xu Qingfan said, "Yes, the little bunny and the fox are good friends."

“How could a little bunny be friends with a fox? Brother Qingfan, don’t you know that foxes eat rabbits?” The girl immediately objected.

"Don't interrupt, or I won't talk anymore!"

"Waaah~ I'm not going to say anymore, Brother Qingfan, please continue."

One day, a rabbit and a fox were going out to play together. But when they were on their way, the little fox suddenly said to the little rabbit, "Oh dear, my mouth is so dry. If only I could have a piece of candy." Upon hearing this, the little rabbit immediately lay down on the ground in a starfish position. The little fox asked, "What are you doing?"

"I know, I know, it's White Rabbit Milk Candy! Brother Qingfan, right!" Lin Wanning answered the little fox's question excitedly into the microphone.

"Wan Ning is really smart. Do you know what happened next?" Xu Qingfan suppressed a laugh and continued.

"Did the little fox pull the little rabbit along and go back to play?"

“No.” Xu Qingfan shook his head.

"That must have been the little white rabbit's doing. While the little fox was pulling her, she pulled the little fox down with all her might," Lin Wanning said, recalling what happened with her brother Qingfan on campus a few months ago.

"That's not right either."

"What kind of duck is that?" the girl asked, puzzled.

"Haha. Then the little fox ate the little white rabbit, starting from the head, and it tasted like chicken, so crunchy, hahaha." Xu Qingfan wasn't good at telling corny jokes, but he couldn't help but laugh before he even finished speaking.

"What?!" Lin Wanning opened her mouth in astonishment, then said angrily after realizing what had happened, "Brother Qingfan, are you playing me for a fool!"

"Hehehe, the bedtime story is over. If you liked it, please send a text message to 88888 to subscribe."

"Hmph~ I don't like it, I don't like it. Brother Qingfan is playing tricks on me. Brother Qingfan is a bad brother!" Lin Wanning buried his head in the quilt and shook it like a rattle.

“But Wan Ning himself just said that the fox ate the rabbit,” Xu Qingfan said with a smile.

The girl wanted to argue, but not being very clever, she couldn't think of a good excuse for the time being.

"That won't do either! Wan Ning wants a sweet bedtime story, not something crunchy like chicken! Humph~" Lin Wan Ning's cheeks were puffed out as if she had swallowed two plums, and she looked very angry. Even through the screen, Xu Qingfan could imagine the girl's expression at that moment, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter into the microphone again.

"You're still laughing! Brother Qingfan, you're not allowed to laugh!"

As the two talked, the last twenty minutes passed by unnoticed, and the arrival of midnight signaled the official start of the new year.

Perhaps because he was so engrossed in talking to Lin Wanning on the phone, his legs started to go numb after a while, but he didn't realize it.

"Is Wan Ning asleep? Why is the light still on? We're going to visit your second aunt tomorrow for the New Year," Wen Wanqing asked, knocking on the door.

"Mom, I'm asleep. Can you turn off the light for me for a moment?" Lin Wanning asked, poking his head out from under the covers after hearing his mother's voice.

Wen Wanqing smiled silently outside the door. After receiving her daughter's permission, she pushed the door open and came in to turn off the light for her. "Go to sleep early and stop playing on your phone."

"Okay, goodnight, Mom!"

"Brother Qingfan, my mom's gone. Let's continue. It's already 12:05. I forgot to wish you a Happy New Year during the New Year's Eve countdown. I'll make up for it now. Happy New Year, Brother Qingfan!" After her mother left, the girl tucked her head back under the covers and spoke into the microphone.

I only peeked out for a short while, and when I got back into the warm bed, the phone screen immediately liquefied into a thin layer of water vapor, which felt very uncomfortable against my face.

Lin Wanning quickly reached up to wipe his sleeve, afraid of missing Xu Qingfan's voice, and then quickly put it back to his ear.

Fortunately, we didn't miss much. Xu Qingfan's voice finally rang out at this moment: "Happy New Year, Ningye. It's late, shall we go to sleep?"

"Hmph~ Brother Qingfan, the little story you just told doesn't count. You have to tell another one, or I won't let you sleep!" The girl immediately got into character, mimicking Xia Xiaoxiao's arrogant tone.

"Let me tell you another one, the same story of the little rabbit and the little fox."

"No, I don't want Little Bunny anymore, I want Little Ningning and Little Fanfan." The girl pleaded into the microphone.

“Okay~, one day Ningning will tell Xiaofan that there will be a meteor shower in the sky tonight, let’s stay up all night and make a wish on a shooting star.”

Because the protagonist was someone she and her brother Qingfan were talking about, Lin Wanning didn't interrupt this time and patiently listened to Xu Qingfan's story.

Xiao Fanfan said, "Okay, okay, but you usually go to bed so early, you probably won't see the meteor shower tonight."

"If I fall asleep, just wake me up when the meteor shower comes!" Xiao Ningning said nonchalantly.

Sure enough, when the meteor shower came at night, no matter how much Xiao Fanfan called out, Xiao Ningning showed no sign of waking up.

Helpless, he could only close his eyes and make a wish.

The next day, Ningning woke up first. She excitedly nudged Fanfan, who was still sleeping next to her, and said, "I made a wish! I dreamed of lots and lots of strawberry cakes and ice cream last night. What did you wish for?"

It turns out that even though Xiao Ningning was asleep, she still dreamed of a meteor shower and made a wish.

Xiao Fanfan just smiled, reached out and pinched the cheek of the person in front of him, saying, "My wish has already come true!"

"Wow~ Brother Qingfan, your wish is to pinch my cheeks, right!" Lin Wanning was clearly immersed in the story, saying sweetly.

"No, that's not right. Besides, that's Xiao Fanfan's wish, not mine." Xu Qingfan laughed along with the girl's innocent laughter coming through the microphone.

"Oh, right, it's Xiao Fanfan's wish, not Qingfan's brother's wish, hehe." The girl realized what he meant after he reminded her and said.

"Alright, the story is over. Can we go to sleep now?"

"Okay, goodnight, Brother Qingfan!" Lin Wanning was truly satisfied this time, and also genuinely a little sleepy.

"Good night."

That night, the girl dreamed of a sky full of meteors, and the person who was with her watching the meteor shower.

As for what Xiao Fanfan's wish was, she soon realized it too.
(End of this chapter)