I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 307. Xu Qingfan likes big things.

Over the next few weeks, the six gradually returned to their school-day routine.

Although they will be entering the third year of junior high school in the new semester, none of them felt too much pressure, and the days continued to pass leisurely and slowly.

The new chemistry teacher is humorous and witty in class. He can recite rhymes in Cantonese quite well. For example, "查装定点收离熄" sounds like "茶庄定点收利益" in Cantonese.

In addition, Xu Qingfan, a former chemistry prodigy, gave them extra tutoring, and all six of them got full marks in chemistry on several weekly tests.

Given their consistently high scores in other subjects, the high school entrance exam seemed to be just an insignificant hurdle on their path to higher education.

Half a month passed in a flash.
Tuesday, September 24th.

Tomorrow is Lin Wanning's birthday. The secret base has been decorated with festive balloons and banners, and the cake has been ordered in advance. Even the little white dog that guards the yard has been taken to the pet hospital for a bath and its butt has been trimmed into the shape of a heart.

Lin Wanning's desired birthday gift remained unchanged; he hoped to see his brother Qingfan as soon as he woke up on his birthday.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. A girl has everything she needs as she grows up: her best friend, her pet dog that she grew up with, her loving parents, her endless allowance, and most importantly, her brother Qingfan who spoils her unconditionally.

For Lin Wanning, neither limited edition bags and jewelry nor collectible plush toys can compare to a simple good morning kiss from his brother Qingfan.

Yes, because the birthday surprise wasn't the expected crawling into bed, Lin Wanning added a condition: on her birthday, Xu Qingfan had to kiss her forehead and say good morning.

[In the morning, my brother Qingfan would gently brush aside my bangs, lean down and kiss my forehead, then say, "Good morning, my little princess Wanning."]
[Hehehe.]
"What are you grinning about? Focus on your exam." Xu Qingfan tapped Lin Wanning's head with his pen, urging him on.

"Oh, hee hee~" Upon hearing Qingfan's voice, the girl instinctively nodded.

She released her hands from her cheeks, and after seeing Xu Qingfan's face clearly, she couldn't help but giggle.

"What are you twirling your pen for? You should focus on writing your exam paper properly." Xia Xiaoxiao, who was sitting next to him, also tapped his head with her pen and said.

Seeing Xu Qingfan's embarrassed expression, Xiao Ruanwen couldn't help but laugh again. However, when she met the serious gaze of the disciplinary committee member, the girl wisely covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from laughing out loud.

Zhang Yiyi and Wu Lingyu are both self-disciplined top students. Once they enter a state of study, they will not be disturbed by external things, so they are always engrossed in doing problems.

After Xiao Ruanwen suppressed her smile, Lin Wanning also stopped daydreaming, and soon the only sound in the living room was the "swish swish" of a pen writing on paper.

Even though tomorrow is Lin Wanning's birthday, he still can't miss the evening self-study session, which is a long-standing habit.

"Ring ring ring——"

At 9:30 p.m., the alarm clock placed in the center of the dining table rang, signaling the end of their evening self-study session.

Apart from Wu Lingyu, who was still engrossed in writing unsolved math problems, the other five people subconsciously put down their pens and stretched in their seats as if it were a contagious problem.

After hearing the noise, the younger brother jumped off the sofa and walked over to them.

"Meow~"

"Waaah~ Little brother!" Xiao Ruanwen, in a daze, picked up a passing cat and started sniffing it wildly.

"Midnight snack, midnight snack! Brother Qingfan is cooking a midnight snack!" Lin Wanning jumped up and pressed Xu Qingfan's shoulder.

"Go quickly, I'm hungry." Xia Xiaoxiao lay bored on the table, lightly brushing Xu Qingfan's arm with her fingernails.

"I want to eat too! Brother Fan, I want seafood porridge!" Xiao Ruanwen said, tucking the cat under her arm.

Xu Qingfan withdrew his hand, which had been teased by Xia Xiaoxiao, and looked at Xiao Ruanwen speechlessly: "Where am I going to buy you seafood at this hour!"

“There’s one in the refrigerator,” she said, stroking the cat’s head.

"That's for Ning's birthday tomorrow night. After you finish eating it, are you going to run to the market to buy more tomorrow?" Xu Qingfan glanced at her sideways.

"It's okay, duck, we won't eat it tomorrow. We'll eat it tonight and celebrate my birthday early!" Lin Wanning announced, rubbing his soft belly.

"Brother Fan, did you hear that? Wan Ning, the birthday boy, also said he wants to eat seafood porridge. Hurry up and cook it!" Xiao Ruanwen abandoned the cat and came over to massage him like a lackey.

"Hehe~ Is it comfortable, Brother Fan?"

"Hmm~ Not bad, use a little more force." He squinted, enjoying the moment.

"Yes, yes, this is it. Ruan Wen, when did you become so good at massage? Ouch~ Be gentle!" Xu Qingfan turned around and realized that the person behind him had changed to Xia Xiaoxiao. He was instantly startled.

"Damn it, Xia Xiaoxiao, are you toxic?!"

Xia Xiaoxiao withdrew her hand, crossed her arms over her chest, and her loose pajamas were instantly cinched in a beautiful curve.

Xu Qingfan curled his lip, "[Don't think you can seduce me like that!]"
He raised his hand to strike, but Xia Xiaoxiao stood there perfectly still, looking at him with an expression that said, "What can you do to me?"

Xu Qingfan's hand, which had been hitting the girl, finally came down gently. He patted the girl's head and asked, "Xiaoyu and Yiyi, what do you want to eat?"

Zhang Yi glanced at Lin Wanning and smiled, "Seafood congee and stir-fried beef noodles."

"Me too, Brother Fan." Wu Lingyu finally finished her math problem and looked up at him with a smile.

"Alright, we'll have something to eat soon." Xu Qingfan snapped his fingers, ruffled Xia Xiaoxiao's hair, and then turned and went to the kitchen.

"Hey! You still haven't asked me what I want to eat!!" Xia Xiaoxiao put her hands on her hips and stomped her feet angrily.

Xu Qingfan didn't even turn his head: "I wasn't planning on cooking you, why are you asking me?"

"Pfft~" Apart from Xia Xiaoxiao, the person involved, the four people in the room burst into laughter.

"Goose, goose, goose, goose!"

"Aaaaaah~ Xu Qingfan, I'm going to fight you to the death!" Xia Xiaoxiao rushed over, ready to fight him to the death.

The next second, the girl jumped onto his back and pretended to be angry as she bit his shoulder.

"Stop messing around, or you really won't get a share." Xu Qingfan grabbed her two thighs and bounced them around before saying this.

"Humph~"

Xia Xiaoxiao hugged his neck tightly and made a humming sound through her nose.

The proud and aloof girl, who usually couldn't bring herself to confide in Xu Qingfan, could only replenish her energy in this way.

After Xu Qingfan opened the refrigerator to prepare the ingredients, she obediently jumped down and stood beside him, ready to help.

"Hey, cut the beef along the grain, okay?" Seeing the girl standing there, Xu Qingfan handed her a piece of premium marbled beef that he had taken out of the refrigerator.

“What’s so difficult about it!” she said, taking the beef.

In order to be able to help her aunt like Wu Lingyu, Xia Xiaoxiao secretly watched a lot of cooking tutorial videos!
After Xu Qingfan finished preparing the shrimp and crabs, he looked back to make sure Xia Xiaoxiao hadn't made things worse before he was satisfied and started rinsing the rice to cook the porridge.

Since the late-night snack was just a quick bite, Wu Lingyu finished tidying up her homework, came in to take a look around, and then returned to the living room after realizing she wasn't needed.

Xu Qingfan was currently stir-frying rice noodles over a high flame, constantly flipping the fried rice noodles over the intense heat. Anyone in the know would immediately recognize that he was preparing to make stir-fried beef rice noodles.

Wet-fried beef noodles are made by first stir-frying the rice noodles until fragrant and soft, then washing the wok and adding beef, bean sprouts, scallions, etc., to a separately thickened sauce, and finally spreading it on top of the stir-fried rice noodles. Compared with dry-fried beef noodles, wet-fried beef noodles have a richer flavor and are less likely to cause internal heat when eaten late at night.

After crushing the rice, the seafood congee was cooked quickly.

Xu Qingfan carried a clay pot of porridge, while Xia Xiaoxiao carried a plate of stir-fried rice noodles. The two of them quickly walked out of the kitchen one after the other.

"It smells so good!" Lin Wanning and Xiao Ruanwen couldn't wait to sneak a bite of the beef on top.

The two of them had studied hard all night, just to wait for this late-night snack. After eating their fill, they would brush their teeth and go to bed. Life was so wonderful.

"Go wash your hands, they're covered in ink." Xu Qingfan gave the two of them a reproachful look.

"Whee!"

It was past 10 p.m., and the only shows still playing on TV were anti-Japanese war dramas.

However, the television could only serve as background music at this moment. The six of them sat at the coffee table in the living room eating a late-night snack and chatting about the arrangements for Lin Wanning's birthday celebration the next day.

"Do you think we should bring the cake back to school and share it with our classmates?"

"And then you were on the honor roll again?" Xu Qingfan glared at Xiao Ruanwen, who was offering random suggestions.

“That’s really cool, just like last time, when the whole school celebrated that student’s birthday on the bulletin board, and it was you, Fan-ge, who led the way,” Xiao Ruanwen said, pointing her finger at him.

Xu Qingfan slapped away the girl's hand that was pointing at people randomly: "That time it was because that director was too heartless. He not only threw away someone's birthday cake, but also gave them a public reprimand. Uncle can tolerate it, but Brother Fan can't!"

"Brother is so cool." Zhang Yiyi's face was full of stars.

No sooner had the director finished posting the criticism notice and left than Xu Qingfan took a marker and wrote "Happy Birthday" in big characters on it, along with his name and the date.

The students who were just watching the fun instantly became excited because he was really cool, especially since Xu Qingfan was already a popular figure at school.

Then more and more students spontaneously came to the bulletin board to leave their birthday wishes. When there was no more space on the paper for issuing notices of criticism, they wrote their wishes on the side. In the end, the entire bulletin board was filled with birthday wishes.

Left with no other choice, the director tore down the notice of criticism that same day.

Having witnessed that incident in the first year of junior high, the school naturally dared not give Xu Qingfan a demerit, so the matter was left unresolved.

The dragon-slaying hero finally defeated the evil dragon, which can be considered an event from one's student days that one can remember for a lifetime.

"That's why we should bring cake back!" Xiao Ruanwen, unusually, put down her bowl of rice, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Where there is oppression, there is resistance!"

"I'm resisting you, my foot! You'd be happy if I got a reprimand too, wouldn't you? School rules say we can't bring outside food in, so bringing it in like this is different from last time." Xu Qingfan flipped his chopsticks and hit the rebellious girl on the head.

"Hmph~ Fine, don't bring it then, why hit me!" Xiao Ruanwen said, indicating that she was angry. She shoveled the rice noodles from Xu Qingfan's bowl into her own and started eating them in big mouthfuls.

Xu Qingfan was dumbfounded, and for a moment he even forgot to stop her. "Damn it, Xiao Ruanwen, you're a dog too!"

"Hahaha!" The five girls burst into laughter and fell to the ground.

"Brother Qingfan, why did you say 'also'?" Lin Wanning noticed the key point and asked.

Xu Qingfan subconsciously looked at Xia Xiaoxiao, but before he could speak, the girl blurted out, "Because he is too!"

Sure enough, as soon as Xia Xiaoxiao finished speaking, Xu Qingfan snatched the shrimp from Xiao Ruanwen's bowl.

"Ah~ that was the last thing I saved for Brother Fan!" Xiao Ruanwen, whose house had been robbed, looked like she was about to cry.

"Who told you to steal my stir-fried rice noodles?" Xu Qingfan said smugly.

Wu Lingyu glanced at the two of them, then picked up the shrimp she hadn't eaten from her bowl and gave it to Xiao Ruanwen, saying, "Ruanwen, you eat mine. Fan-ge needs to eat more as he grows."

"Hehe~ Xiaoyu is still the best!" However, when it came to growing up, Xiao Ruanwen subconsciously lowered her head, unable to see the ground.

She picked up the shrimp and gave it back to Wu Lingyu, saying, "You should eat it, Xiaoyu."

“There’s really no need to feed Ruan Wen; she’s already so old,” Xu Qingfan said quietly.

"Brother Fan, are you trying to kill me?!" Seeing him staring at her chest with a sidelong glance, Xiao Ruanwen immediately covered her chest in embarrassment.

Zhang Yiyi and Lin Wanning exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads to see the ground.

The two sighed silently.

[Even the tiny ones are cute, why does Qingfan only like the big ones? Wait, no, it's not tiny, it's tiny over there. Anyway, it's not tiny tiny.]
[Mom's is already quite big, it should... it should still grow.]
Xia Xiaoxiao subconsciously puffed out her chest and said with feigned disdain, "That's just how boys are."

"It's alright, Brother Fan isn't that kind of person." Wu Lingyu looked down and observed the expressions of the others before deciding to speak up for her Brother Fan.

[However, it seems that Brother Fan really likes watching Ruan Wen.] Thinking of this, the girl lowered her head in frustration.

"Xiaoyu understands me best. Outward appearances are all fake; inner beauty is true beauty!" Xu Qingfan said righteously.

"Tch~" Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruanwen immediately chimed in with disdain.

Although the other three girls did not agree, they were clearly aware of what kind of person Xu Qingfan was.

"But it's only because of you, Brother Fan. If it were anyone else, they would dare to look at me like that!" Xiao Ruanwen clenched her little pink fist, and her meaning was self-evident.

"Girls only know how to fight. Go eat your noodles." Xu Qingfan tapped the girl on the head again.

"Waaah~" The aggrieved girl once again turned into a useless person.

After a quick late-night snack, the six of them cleaned up and put the dishes in the dishwasher.

After brushing their teeth, it was nearly 11 p.m. The five girls habitually entered Xu Qingfan's room to say goodnight to him.

Goodnight, Brother Fan!

Goodnight, you stinky dog!

Goodnight, brother!

Lin Wanning was the last to come in. She imitated Xia Xiaoxiao's actions, jumping from behind onto Xu Qingfan's back and whispering in the boy's ear, "Brother Qingfan, don't forget, you have to see Brother Qingfan when you wake up tomorrow!"

"I remember, I'll set three alarms, okay? I'll be waiting by your bedside before six o'clock to make sure you get up." Xu Qingfan patted her thigh affectionately.

"Hehe~" Lin Wanning gave him a satisfied peck on the cheek before jumping down.

"You," he said helplessly, touching the spot where he had just been kissed, and lowered his voice, "If Xiaoxiao sees this, she'll get angry again. Go back to sleep, and you'll see me when you wake up."

"Brother Qingfan hasn't said goodnight to me yet." Lin Wanning smiled, revealing her white teeth.

"Okay~ Goodnight, Wanning."

Goodnight, Brother Qingfan!

(End of this chapter)