I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 385. Wanting to be Brother Fan's Close Friend

As I left the dessert shop, the sun was already beginning to set, and the sky was gradually tinged with a faint orange-red hue.

The cement floor was still radiating heat, and the scent of the sun lingered around my nose.

Xu Qingfan could finally have a woman on each arm. He put his hands on Wu Lingyu and Zhang Yiyi's shoulders, looked in the direction of the setting sun, and said, "Let's go home too. We won't get scolded if we get back before dark."

"Hahaha, only you can do that!" Xiao Ruanwen pointed at his nose and laughed mockingly.

Xu Qingfan simply ignored it, leaving with his arms around both women, while Lin Wanning continued to massage his back from behind.

"Haha. Why are you leaving? Xiaoxiao, let's go too!" Seeing that only Xia Xiaoxiao was waiting for her with a stern face, Xiao Ruanwen smiled and took her arm to follow.

The six of them quickly got into the car that came to pick them up. The time displayed on their phones was 6:30 p.m.

Judging by the time, Xie Rui should be home by now.

Thinking of her deskmate, Wu Lingyu suddenly said, "Brother Fan, I want to talk to you about Xie Rui."

The once lively carriage suddenly fell silent, and all five people turned their gazes toward Wu Lingyu.

"Okay, Xiaoyu, you go ahead." Xu Qingfan nodded with a smile, while the other four girls also remained quiet and watched the drama unfold.

"Xie Rui seems to be short of money. When I eat with her, she only orders rice and a vegetable dish. Sometimes she tells me to go back to the dorm to take a shower first. I guess she doesn't have enough money for food, so she's deliberately avoiding me."

Although they were talking about Xie Rui, Wu Lingyu seemed to be putting herself in his shoes, her small hands clenching tightly.

"What about Siri's father? Did you ask, Xiaoyu?" Xiao Ruanwen didn't show any sympathy, but instead pressed for details about the middle-aged man she had met last week.

She felt that the country was peaceful and prosperous, and they lived in a developed province or city. With their hands and feet intact, it was impossible for them to make their lives too miserable.

Wu Lingyu shook her head: "I haven't asked yet. I'm afraid it will hurt Xie Rui's self-esteem."

Xu Qingfan also felt that the problem mostly lay with his father, but that was, after all, someone else's family matter: "So Xiaoyu wanted to help Xie Rui, but without hurting her self-esteem, right?"

Wu Lingyu nodded repeatedly: "Yes!"

Then she said dejectedly, "I'm so stupid, I don't know how to help her."

Xu Qingfan immediately had an idea, because he remembered a news article he had seen on a short video platform.

"How about this? Since Good Taste Delivery is planning to donate to the school, let's not do any scholarships. Instead, let's just put 300 yuan on the meal cards of poor students every month as a grant."

He recounted the practices of Jinling Institute of Technology in his previous life.

"This is good!"

"Brother Fan, you're really awesome!"

"Brother Qingfan is so amazing!"

The five girls' eyes lit up instantly, because they realized that doing this would not only help more than just Xie Rui, a poor student, but also without hurting their self-esteem.

“The school cafeteria should have data. For example, we can identify students who spend less than 40 yuan per week as impoverished students, and then combine this with the school’s records. This way, we will definitely not make mistakes or omissions in distributing the aid.”

As Xu Qingfan continued speaking, the eyes of the five girls grew brighter and brighter.

"Isn't 40 yuan too much?"

Xiao Ruanwen counted on her fingers and said, "Assuming three meals a day, breakfast costs 1 yuan, lunch costs 3.5 yuan, and dinner costs 3.5 yuan. I think many girls with small appetites are about the same. It adds up to less than 40 yuan a week. And there's always the possibility that they don't want to eat on certain days and will buy instant noodles or snacks at the convenience store."

The high school's one-yuan breakfast includes an egg, a meat bun, and congee with pickled vegetables. If a student is from a poor family, they can indeed afford to spend only one yuan. "I was just giving an example. As for the specific definition, let the school leaders decide for themselves," Xu Qingfan shrugged and patted Xiaoyu's head.

"No way!" Xiao Ruanwen firmly objected. "The school leaders don't eat in the cafeteria, what do they know? We're the ones who have to decide!"

"Exactly!" Xia Xiaoxiao chimed in, disagreeing.

"Ruan Wen is right!"

"We'll make the decision!"

The Wan Ning duo also joined the support team.

"Okay, okay, let's make a plan. We'll have a Paw Patrol meeting in the group chat tonight, alright?" Xu Qingfan helplessly raised his hands in surrender.

"That's how it should be!"

"You're the Paw Patrol!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone was laughing, but Wu Lingyu was staring intently at Xu Qingfan.

Putting the student aid money into the meal card seems like a very simple measure, but no one thought of it except for Brother Fan.

Wu Lingyu's pupils shone brightly, because they reflected Xu Qingfan's profile.

[Fan Ge is the best!]
She recalled how Lin Wanning always said, "Brother Qingfan is the best," and a touching smile appeared on her face.

Wu Lingyu only wanted to improve Xie Rui's high school life; she never thought of changing Xie Rui's family background like Xu Qingfan had done for her family.

Because she knew that was impossible; excessive kindness would only drag her into the mire.

When she was little, she didn't understand and thought that people should help each other and treat each other sincerely, but she was still grateful to Brother Fan.

As she grew older, Wu Lingyu finally understood what Xu Qingfan's help to her family meant—something she could never repay in the rest of her life.

[If there is an afterlife, I would still want to be Fan Ge's confidant.]
He first sent the girls home, and when he, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Wu Lingyu finally returned to Donghui City, it was already 7 p.m.

"Where did you take Xiaoxiao and Xiaoyu again? They got out of school at four o'clock and are only now coming back. I almost called the police!" Sure enough, as soon as she got home, Yao Jinping's complaining voice came from the kitchen.

"Hello, Uncle!" Wu Lingyu and Xia Xiaoxiao smiled and greeted Xu Aiguo, who was sitting in the living room, before going into the kitchen to help.

"Isn't this Lao Xu? Coming home so early today, did you miss the exam again?" Xu Qingfan sat down on the sofa with a cheeky grin.

Xu Aiguo opened his mouth slightly, hesitated several times before finally unbuckling his belt.

"Hey, what are you doing? Old Xu, this isn't fun!" Xu Qingfan stood up and ran away.

"You brat!" Xu Aiguo glared at his own brat, then smiled helplessly.

"I've grown up without even realizing it. I'm getting old, really old."

He was such a well-behaved child. Just thinking about how this brat gave him deer blood wine and little blue pills on Father's Day makes Xu Aiguo furious.

But you know what, it really works!
Old Deng crossed his legs again, already looking forward to next year's Father's Day.

(End of this chapter)