I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 240. Does Xiao Ruanwen like Xu Qingfan?

After lunch, they stayed at the Xiao family's house for a while longer before saying their goodbyes.

"Uncle and Auntie are starting school tomorrow, so we still need to go back and clean," Xu Qingfan said, sitting up straight.

"Okay, then you can go ahead. Are you having dinner at Auntie's again tonight?" Zhao Yuemin smiled and nodded.

"I promised my parents I'd be home for dinner tonight," Lin Wanning said, raising her hand somewhat shyly.

"Haha, yeah, school starts tomorrow, so I should have a proper dinner with my family for the last time."

"Hehe~ Mom, I'll come home for dinner tonight and spend more time with Dad and you." After changing her clothes, Xiao Ruanwen gave her mother a light peck on the cheek.

"Goodbye, Uncle; goodbye, Aunt; goodbye, Grandpa and Grandma!" After seeing them to the door, they waved goodbye to the adults inside.

"Okay, be careful on the road." Xiao Jianbiao nodded, and only closed the iron gate again after their figures disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

"What are you doing, in broad daylight?" After her husband and the children left, he pulled her into the room without saying a word. Zhao Yuemin gave him a charmingly disdainful look.

"Hey~ what are you thinking, wife?" Xiao Jianbiao chuckled憨厚ly. He had been busy from morning till night these past few days and was truly broke. "I wanted to ask you about Xiao Fan."

Realizing she had misunderstood, Zhao Yuemin said reproachfully, "Xiao Fan is a good kid, what's wrong?"

“I also think this child is quite good. He’s steady and responsible. My daughter says he’s a good cook and a writer. He’s just like me when I was young.” Xiao Jianbiao put his arm around his wife’s waist and sat on the bed, laughing.

"Stop being so conceited. Xiao Fan is much more capable than you were when you were young. I don't know who wrote the love letters and all they knew was copying song lyrics." Zhao Yuemin rested her head on her husband's shoulder. They were often separated for long periods of time, and she cherished every hard-won reunion.

"Tsk~ Do you think our daughter likes this Xiao Fan?" He casually put his arm around his wife's shoulder and asked.

"Huh?" Zhao Yuemin blinked in surprise. "I don't think so. I didn't notice anything, and they're all so young."

"You weren't little anymore; we were in junior high back then too."

"Ugh, you're so annoying!"

"Haha, alright, let's not talk about us anymore, let's talk about our daughter. Every time Ruan Wen comes to see me, she talks about Xiao Fan the most, more than all four of her other female classmates combined. Is it really not something she means?" Xiao Jianbiao laughed loudly.

"Anyway, as her mother, I didn't see it. Besides, Xiaofan is so outstanding, it's normal for them to have more topics to talk about." Zhao Yuemin recalled that she really didn't see that kind of meaning in her daughter's eyes when she looked at Xiaofan.

On the contrary, the little girl named Wan Ning, her eyes clearly showed that she liked him; her eyes were filled with Xu Qingfan.

"Really not?" Xiao Jianbiao was still somewhat doubtful.

"Why don't you just ask your daughter when she gets back?" Zhao Yuemin rolled her eyes at him.

"I think that's fine too. After all, we're not the kind of parents who are not open-minded. As long as we don't cross the line, it's okay to date in junior high, just like we did back then."

"Virtue!"

Zhao Yuemin then lay on top of him, and what followed was an indescribable ordeal of ten thousand words.

Although the past two days had been humid due to the return of spring, the house at the secret base was not greatly affected because the doors and windows were kept tightly closed.

However, the area outside the yard is the worst affected; a light scratch on the swing leaves a thick layer of dust.

Today's weather was exceptionally sunny, a perfect season for thorough cleaning, washing bed sheets, and drying blankets. After Xu Qingfan assigned tasks, everyone got busy.

The tape on the couplets at the door had come loose a bit after the humid weather, so he fixed it with transparent tape; the carpet on the ground was sticky and very uncomfortable to walk on, so he took it to the yard and washed it.

The leisurely afternoon is perfect for taking a nap, but it's also a great time to get together with a few friends to clean and chat.

A gentle breeze rustled the branches, and a cuckoo flew across the sky, calling out "cuckoo, cuckoo."

The South has this advantage: the trees are evergreen all year round, and when the wind blows, it sounds like countless windmills turning at the same time, which is very pleasant to hear.

After working for more than an hour, the six of them finally finished drying the clean sheets and then sat comfortably on the swing chairs in the yard to rest.

Everyone held a small pudding or a green tongue cigarette, each costing five cents. Sunlight filtered through the trees and fell softly and warmly on them. "School starts again tomorrow," Lin Wanning said, resting her head on Xu Qingfan's shoulder and squinting at the sun overhead.

"I really wish I could sit here like this forever," Xiao Ruanwen said, her voice muffled as she put the nearly finished pudding in her mouth.

"Then it would become a statue, and after weathering, it would become a sand sculpture." The dazzling sunlight made people drowsy, and Xu Qingfan squinted and smiled.

"Idiot? You're the idiot! Brother Fan, why are you swearing at me like that!"

"Hahaha"

The six of them sat idly in the courtyard until mealtime before reluctantly saying goodbye and going home.

See you all tomorrow!

"See you tomorrow!"

After a brief moment of relaxation, Xiao Ruanwen was in a good mood. She hummed the melody of "Little Apple" and cheerfully took out her keys to open the door.

"My daughter is back."

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that, Mom and Dad?" Seeing her parents looking at her strangely, Xiao Ruanwen took a half step back and asked in confusion.

"Come here, your father has something he wants to ask you." Zhao Yuemin waved her hand, gesturing for her daughter to come and sit down.

"Oh, oh." Xiao Ruanwen nodded, changed her shoes, and obediently snuggled into her mother's arms.

"Daughter, Dad has a question for you," Xiao Jianbiao said, noticing his daughter's expression.

"Dad, go ahead and ask."

"Do you like that little classmate named Xiao Fan?" Xiao Jianbiao asked, staring intently at his daughter, trying to discern whether she was lying through her facial expressions.

"Pfft~ cough cough cough!" Xiao Ruanwen coughed as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Cough cough... What is it, Dad? What are you saying?!" After a long while, she stopped coughing and glared at her father with an embarrassed and annoyed expression.

“It’s okay if you like him. Your parents don’t object. Xiao Fan is a good kid. As long as you don’t cross the line, your parents will support you.” After a busy afternoon, Zhao Yuemin was clearly convinced by her husband, and she smiled.

"Mom~ what are you all talking about? How could I possibly like Fan-ge!" Xiao Ruanwen shook her head and said, "Of course I like Fan-ge, but it's definitely not that kind of liking. I just see him as a very capable older brother, that's all!"

She blushed and scolded her parents, speaking with a very serious expression.

Having only ever had one outstanding male friend, Xu Qingfan, since childhood, Xiao Ruanwen had always had a faint affection for him, though she wasn't sure if it was love.

Since starting junior high school, she was the only one in their group of six who didn't live together at the secret base. Perhaps it was out of comparison, because the other girls could spend every day with Fan Ge, but she couldn't. She began to pay more and more attention to Xu Qingfan's words and actions.

For a while, she would secretly blush and feel her heart race when she was around Xu Qingfan, and she was no longer as comfortable with him as before.

But after she joined the family she was living with, Xiao Ruanwen realized that it wasn't true. She really only saw Xu Qingfan as an older brother she could rely on, and her feelings for him were completely devoid of romantic love. The illusion she had before was just because Xu Qingfan spent the least amount of time with her, which arose out of jealousy.

After figuring these things out, Xiao Ruanwen felt much more at ease when facing Xu Qingfan.

Regardless of whether she will fall in love with Xu Qingfan in the future, the girl in front of her really only sees him as an older brother, the kind of reliable older brother you see in anime!

Xiao Ruanwen told her parents her whole thoughts about Xu Qingfan: "I really think Brother Fan is a very good brother, that's why I told you, Dad. If you think that way, I won't say anything more!"

"Okay, then Dad apologizes. Dad misunderstood."

"Humph!"

"Really not at all?"

"dad!"

(End of this chapter)