I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 288. Little One Loves to Eat Alone
Zhang Yi woke up from her sleep in shock, her eyes still wet with tears.

She instinctively reached out to grab him, trying to snatch him back.

"Brother, don't you want Wan Ning and Yi Yi anymore?" The girl's voice, seemingly still immersed in the incredibly vivid dream she had just experienced, sounded heartbreaking and filled with sorrow.

When she opened her eyes, all she could grasp was thin air. The grand wedding in her dream, and the little girl who was supposed to take her brother away, had all vanished.

After getting a clear look at his surroundings, Zhang Yi let out a long breath.

"It was just a dream, thank goodness it was just a dream." She got up and sat blankly against the headboard, clutching her and her brother's wedding photo tightly in her arms.

Zhang Yi closed her eyes and tried to recall the dream she had just had, but after her consciousness fully returned, she could only remember some scattered fragments.

All she remembered was Xia Xiaoxiao running to the front of the stage in her wedding dress, grabbing her brother's hand and asking him if he wanted to come with her.

Both she and Wan Ning had a mixture of worry and anticipation in their eyes, hoping that her brother would refuse her so that the auspicious hour could pass and the wedding could continue.

Her brother didn't disappoint her and Wan Ning. He forcefully broke free from Xia Xiaoxiao's grasp and said, "Xiaoxiao, stop fooling around. I only see you as my little sister!"

Then her memory became hazy. It seemed that Xia Xiaoxiao had taken the poison she had prepared beforehand and said heartbrokenly, "If you don't care about my daughter and me at all, I'm going to find a secluded corner to wait for my death!"

Then the wedding went into chaos. All the relatives and friends who had previously given them their warm blessings suddenly turned into different people and began to verbally attack them.

In Zhang Yiyi's last memory, her brother took off his cumbersome leather shoes, picked up Xiaoxiao barefoot, and ran wildly on the red carpet.

In the next instant, the scene shattered like a broken glass mirror. The once bustling church was now empty except for her and Lin Wanning, who were crying helplessly, calling out their brother's name.
Zhang Yi shook her head vigorously, trying not to immerse herself in this sad atmosphere.

"It's just a dream, it's not real," she kept reminding herself.

Ultimately, the photo album in her arms pulled her back to reality. Zhang Yiyi looked at the wedding photos of herself and her brother, and gradually calmed down.

She still felt lingering fear when she thought about the dream she had just had.

It is said that dreams originate from reality. Clearly, Zhang Yiyi subconsciously regarded Xia Xiaoxiao as the biggest rival on her path to winning over her brother.

As for Wu Lingyu and Xiao Ruanwen, she seemed to have never worried about them.

Zhang Yiyi picked up the photo album again and pecked the boy's cheek.

[My brother is Wan Ning's and my brother's!] She clenched her fists and cheered herself on in her heart.

Zhang Yiyi really wanted to call Wan Ning right now and tell her about what happened in her dream.

But it was still lunch break, and after checking her phone and seeing that the time was 1:50 pm, she turned her phone off again.

"This naughty older brother is such a headache." Thinking of Xia Xiaoxiao's words "we, mother and daughter" in her dream, Zhang Yiyi couldn't help but laugh, rubbing her forehead. What was that all about!

Zhang Yiyi knew that this was also related to her subconscious. She felt that with Xu Qingfan's responsible character, if he had her brother's child, her brother would definitely not abandon his wife and children like that man!

But now a problem arises: what if, instead of either she or Wan Ning, Xiao Xiao, Xiao Yu, Ruan Wen, or some shady woman outside, she gets pregnant with her brother's child first?
She wasn't too worried about the shady women. In the past two years of junior high, many girls had tried to 'bump into' Xu Qingfan and give her love letters, but they were all easily defeated by the five of them with just a glance.

The key lies with Xiaoxiao, Xiaoyu, and Ruanwen, especially Xiaoxiao!

Zhang Yiyi felt that if Xia Xiaoxiao got pregnant with Xu Qingfan's child first, then there would basically be no chance for her and Wan Ning.

Given the girl's usual personality, it's absolutely impossible for her to allow her brother to continue this ambiguous relationship with them. Simply put, Xia Xiaoxiao likes to eat alone!

[Keep a close eye on your brother!]
She had a lot to say to Wan Ning right now, but it was better to say these things face to face.

Zhang Yiyi looked down at the photo album for a long time, and when it was almost two o'clock, she reluctantly hid the photos in the bedside table.

After doing all this, she put on her slippers and quietly opened the door to the living room.

Xu Qingfan was still fast asleep on the sofa, the thin blanket only covering his stomach, and the strong air conditioner blew up a few of his leg hairs.

Zhang Yiyi pouted and shook her head, dissatisfied that her brother didn't take care of his body.

After finding the remote, she turned the fan speed to the lowest setting and changed the air conditioner from 16 degrees to 24 degrees.

After putting the remote down again, she tiptoed to the sofa and squatted down.

Xu Qingfan's handsome face was less than ten centimeters away from her at that moment, and Zhang Yiyi reached out and gently touched his lips.

Seeing that her brother did not react, the girl found it very interesting and gently touched his nose, beard, eyelashes and other parts of his body.

She had similar experiences before, but Wan Ning usually played the role of the troublemaker, while she just watched from the sidelines.

After her brother was woken up, Wan Ning got a spanking, and she just watched from the side.

She actually wanted to tease her brother like Wan Ning did, but that didn't quite fit her character. After all, in her brother's eyes, Yi Yi had always been a warm-hearted and obedient little sister.

But who says a good sister can't tease her brother occasionally? A sly smile crossed Zhang Yiyi's face as she gently extended her index finger and thumb, then pressed down and pinched Xu Qingfan's nose.

Cough cough cough. Caught off guard, Xu Qingfan was instantly awakened by the cough. Because he was still half asleep, he subconsciously thought that Wan Ning was pinching his nose again. He almost blurted out: "Stinky Wan Ning. Huh~ Why is it you, Yi Yi?"

"It's not Wan Ning, it's Yi Yi!" She tilted her head and smiled sweetly.

"How did you become so bad, following Wan Ning's example? Where did the Yi Yi who used to only care about her brother go?" Xu Qingfan smacked the girl's head mercilessly, making a loud thud, which was probably a good start.

"Waaah~ It's past two o'clock, and brother still isn't up, you lazy pig!" Zhang Yiyi hugged her head and whined.

To be honest, it's really fun to tease your brother like Lin Wanning does and then act cute and charming!
Zhang Yiyi felt extremely happy at this moment. It would be even better if her brother could pinch her little face like he pinched Wan Ning.

"I didn't realize you were such a cunning little devil." Xu Qingfan reached out and pinched the girl's face, pulling her towards him.

Zhang Yiyi then took the opportunity to jump into his arms, propped herself up on the sofa with her elbows, and leaned down to stare at her brother.

"Why is there still boogers in your eyes? Why didn't you wash your face first after getting up?" Xu Qingfan reached out and picked away the dirt from the corner of the girl's eyes.

Zhang Yi blinked reflexively, guessing it was because she had cried in her dream. She thought to herself: It's all because of you, you bad brother, who doesn't want Wan Ning and Yi Yi anymore.

Xu Qingfan got up and put the girl on the sofa, yawned and said, "Wake up Mom, I'm going to the bathroom."

"Mmm!" Zhang Yi nodded lightly, clearly in a very good mood.

Zhang Chunxue's clothes were still in the laundry basket in the toilet. Xu Qingfan shook his head and muttered, "This auntie just doesn't know how to take care of herself."

If he had known earlier that there were still clothes to wash, he would have skipped his nap at noon to help his aunt with her workload. But now that he was about to leave, he had no choice but to give up.

Xu Qingfan asked Zhang Yiyi in the morning if she wanted to buy a house in Dongshankou so she could attend high school there. He was actually thinking of Zhang Chunxue; if she studied there, he could also help her aunt with laundry, cooking, and taking care of her. Zhang Chunxue's business acumen might be off the charts, but in terms of life skills, she was clearly a complete novice, even less capable than Zhang Yiyi.

For example, Zhang Chunxue doesn't know how to cook. Whenever the mother and daughter are at home, they either order takeout or Zhang Yi cooks.

When he came out of the restroom, Zhang Chunxue had already changed her clothes and was sitting on the sofa in the living room.

"Is Auntie sleeping well?" Xu Qingfan casually started a conversation.

"It's fine. Xiao Fan, is the sofa comfortable to sleep on?" Zhang Chunxue nodded and then asked him with a smile.

"What do you think?" Xu Qingfan glanced at her sideways.

"Hehe~ Who told you not to sleep with Yi Yi? Okay, okay, Mom won't say anything more." Seeing her daughter looking at her unhappily, Zhang Chunxue quickly changed her words.

"Let's go!" Zhang Yiyi stepped forward, took Xu Qingfan and Zhang Chunxue's hands, and led them out the door.

"Good~"

In the afternoon, Xu Qingfan and Zhang Yiyi both stayed at the company. Xu Qingfan tried to help Zhang Chunxue with her documents, while Zhang Yiyi quietly stayed in a corner drawing comics.

"Auntie~ I don't want to work hard anymore. Is being a boss this tiring?" Xu Qingfan had been dealing with documents for a long time, and there was still a mountain of files on his desk. He slumped over the desk and asked.

Zhang Chunxue smiled lightly, "Of course not, I just gave you all the company documents to process, many of which I don't usually look at."

Seeing Xu Qingfan's expression as if she was being teased, she explained, "Xiao Fan, you're just starting out, so naturally you need to understand everything. When you can form a general outline of all the company's affairs in your mind, that's when you'll have mastered the basics."

"Okay~ Work is so tiring. Auntie, how about I just live off you? I don't want to work hard anymore!" Xu Qingfan opened the next document and continued to browse through it with excruciating pain.

The secretary covered her mouth and chuckled as she watched the interaction between the two, but dared not join in the teasing.

"certainly."

“Of course you can!” Xu Qingfan excitedly interrupted Zhang Chunxue before she could finish speaking.

"Of course not," Zhang Chunxue frowned slightly and glared at him. "I'm still waiting for Xiaofan to grow up and take over. It's more like I'm living off you!"

After saying that, Zhang Chunxue couldn't help but laugh. She never expected that such words would come out of her own mouth.

"Hehe~ Auntie also wants to eat delicious food. Xiao Fan, you have to work hard."

Zhang Yi looked up at her mother and brother's interaction. She hadn't been paying attention while drawing, but seeing the smiles on the faces of the people she cared about most made her very happy.

"Auntie, my cooking really does smell delicious, why don't you want some?" Xu Qingfan said with an embarrassed smile.

Zhang Chunxue suddenly changed the subject, frowning and scolding, "Read the documents carefully, don't slack off!"

"Auntie, you don't love me anymore." Xu Qingfan had no choice but to bury himself back in work.

After the boy got back into the zone, Zhang Chunxue watched for a while and couldn't help but laugh again.

[That's fine.] She looked away and focused her attention back on the computer to process the emails.

Around 6 p.m., the three of them had dinner at a nearby upscale restaurant and then drove back to Licheng.

Zhang Yiyi was looking down at her phone, a faint smile occasionally appearing on her face. Xu Qingfan patted the girl's shoulder and reminded her, "Be careful not to get carsick."

"Okay, I'll play while I wait at the traffic light." Zhang Yiyi reflexively turned off her phone screen; clearly, she didn't want Xu Qingfan to see what was on it.

"By the way, Auntie, if everyone buys according to my predictions, do you think those people will still be able to make money?" He looked away and then suddenly had another idea.

"Those people? You mean the bookmakers or something?" Zhang Chunxue asked, tapping her fingers to the beat of the car's music.

"What if the bookmakers lose money and then try to assassinate us?"

"Pfft~ Have you been watching too many movies? What are you talking about?" Zhang Chunxue couldn't help but giggle.

Xu Qingfan and Zhang Yiyi were both dumbfounded, waiting for her to continue.

"What we buy in China are welfare lottery tickets. The money we win comes from the losers. There's no assassination involved. The more you buy, the more money they take for charity, right?"

Seeing that Xu Qingfan was about to speak, she added, "I know what you want to say. You mean overseas, right? I'm saying, Xiaofan, aren't you overestimating your influence? By the time the Weibo post spreads overseas, the World Cup will probably be over a long time ago."

Xu Qingfan thought about it and agreed that it made sense. After all, if he saw a post in China saying that a foreign netizen predicted the outcome of a match with a 100% win rate, his first thought would be to assume that the person was a scammer trying to cheat him out of money.

Then, after the prediction comes true, they'll say in hindsight, "I wish I had bought it back then."

"Well, it seems I was overthinking it."

"Stupid Xiao Fan."

"Yes, yes, Auntie is the smartest! Auntie is incredibly smart!"

"Are you insulting me again?" Zhang Chunxue didn't understand what "great wisdom" meant, but it didn't sound like a compliment.

"No, 'Da Congming' simply means both big and smart!"

"Where is the big one?" Zhang Chunxue asked in a sinister tone.

"Of course it is...of course it is...the ocean is all water, and spiders have eight legs." Xu Qingfan stammered for a moment and started rambling.

“Mom is a great hero, a great hero!” Zhang Yiyi said, giving her brother a reproachful look.

"That one is my little cotton-padded jacket, my mother's little cotton-padded jacket."

"My brother is a big bad guy, a really big bad guy!"

"Hehe~ Yes, Xiao Fan is a big bad guy!"

"Oh yes, yes, I'm the big bad guy, and you're all the big beauties, the big beauties are big!"

"Hahaha"

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(End of this chapter)