I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 440. A Strange Competitive Spirit

Since entering high school, the six of them haven't strolled around Gualv Road like this in a long time.

My feelings right now are probably the same as meeting someone I like on my way to tutoring on the weekend.

A faint smile played on her lips, but joy filled her heart.

"Hey~ Brother Fan, you don't need to buy any, I have so much fruit at home that I can't eat it all!" Xu Qingfan wanted to go to the fruit shop to pick up some gifts, but Xiao Ruanwen insisted on pulling him away.

"Then why don't we just buy some things we don't have at home?" Xu Qingfan ignored her and pulled the girl inside.

Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi exchanged a smile, because Xu Qingfan never brought anything when he visited their home, treating it as if it were his own.

"Brother Qingfan, I want to eat durian!"

The shop prominently displays a dozen or so Golden Pillow durians, some of which have cracked open due to overripeness, emitting an irresistible durian aroma.

"If it's not good, you don't have to pay. This batch of durians was just delivered yesterday, and it's the last batch for the evening market." The owner's eyes lit up instantly when he heard this.

"Then let's buy three." Xu Qingfan nodded and stepped forward to select durians.

"Hehe~ Brother Qingfan, this one must be ripe." Lin Wanning fiddled with it for a few moments, then brought it close to his nose to smell it, and handed him a durian shaped like a lychee.

"Then Ning, pick two more tonight," Xu Qingfan said with a smile, handing them to the shopkeeper.

"Great!" Lin Wanning was instantly excited after receiving Qingfan's affirmation.

As for the boss, he couldn't stop smiling.

"Brother Qingfan, this must be delicious too!"

"Hehe, there's also this duck!"

Lin Wanning quickly picked out two more, both of which were similar in shape to the first one.

"This pretty lady has a good eye for choosing. Would you like me to open it for you?" The shopkeeper wasn't just flattering her. Generally speaking, the rounder the durian, the higher the yield.

"Then please open it for me, boss," Xu Qingfan said with a smile, ruffling Lin Wanning's hair.

"Okay, do you need me to pack the fruit peels separately?" The shop owner immediately put on gloves and got to work quickly.

"No need for that, just throw it away."

The white part of the durian can be used to make soup to clear heat and reduce internal fire, which is perfect since eating too much durian can easily cause internal heat.

However, the taste was just so-so; neither Xu Qingfan nor the five girls liked it.

The four girls picked out the fruits they wanted to eat inside the store and quickly returned to the entrance.

"Welcome back next time!" The boss waved enthusiastically at Xu Qingfan and his group's backs, holding eight gleaming Mao Zedong bills in his hand.

"Brother Fan, you bought so much, my mom is definitely going to scold me again." Xiao Ruanwen walked with her arm around Xia Xiaoxiao, looking aggrieved, but her resentful eyes were always on Xu Qingfan.

"Stop nagging, it's just a little durian and strawberries, we finished them before we left." Xu Qingfan pretended to hit her, and Xiao Ruanwen immediately hid behind Xia Xiaoxiao, making everyone laugh.

Wu Lingyu recalled for a moment that when Fan Ge came to Xiaoyu's house last time, he also brought gifts.

[It seems that Fan-ge only doesn't bring anything when he goes to Wan Ningyi and Xiao Xiao's house.]
Although this doesn't mean anything, Wu Lingyu was still a little envious, though she couldn't explain why.

Perhaps her relationship with Xu Qingfan has progressed, and she hopes to be able to match the four girls in other aspects as well.

Wu Lingyu shook her head, no longer wanting to waste her energy on this meaningless comparison.

Xiao Ruanwen's family lives very close to the Lotus Courtyard. Perhaps they wanted to save the money as a dowry for Xiao Ruanwen, so they haven't moved all these years.

The six of them walked a short distance and soon arrived at the residential area where Xiao Ruanwen lived.

"Why don't you come to see this old man more often? You've grown so much taller!" Hearing the sound of the lock being opened, Xiao Lijian put down his newspaper, got up, and walked over. The first thing he saw when he opened the door was Xu Qingfan, the tallest of the six people.

"Hello, Grandpa!" Xu Qingfan and the four girls immediately greeted him politely.

"Hey Grandpa, don't block the doorway, let us in first." Xiao Ruanwen helped her grandfather walk inside, but the strong and healthy Xiao Lijian said he didn't need help and slapped his granddaughter's hand away.

Unlike Zhao Yuemin, who would occasionally go to the school to deliver supplies to the six of them, Xiao Lijian last saw Xu Qingfan at the housewarming party, and more than three months had passed in the blink of an eye.

"It's because I have too much homework in high school. I've grown a little over a centimeter taller. It's probably because I'm wearing shoes that I look taller." Xu Qingfan took Xiao Ruanwen's place to help him up, and this time Xiao Lijian didn't refuse.

"Not bad, not bad, hahaha~ A higher is better!" Xiao Lijian laughed heartily and patted Xu Qingfan's shoulder hard.

"You're here? Why did you bring things? Don't you consider this your own home?" Zhao Yuemin wiped her hands and came out of the kitchen. When she saw the fruit the group was carrying, she pretended to be angry.

"How could that be? This place is our second home, all thanks to Xiao Ruanwen. She said she hasn't eaten durian in ages and kept hinting at it to me!"

Xu Qingfan flirted wildly with Zhao Yuemin, making the mature aunt giggle.

Xiao Ruanwen is shocked by the cat.jpg.

then.

"You, you, you, Fan Ge, you, you... you're spouting nonsense!"

"You were the one who insisted on buying fruit, and I tried to stop you. You...you're shameless!"

Xiao Ruanwen was trembling with anger and cold, pointing her finger at him with a shivering expression.

"Alright, alright, everyone, sit in the living room for a bit, dinner will be ready soon." Zhao Yuemin gave her daughter a reproachful look before returning to her meal.

They say politeness is never a bad thing, and she would only like Xu Qingfan even more for his politeness.

Even if Xu Qingfan doesn't bring anything: Xiao Fan must have already taken this place as his own home and likes it even more!

Therefore, when someone truly likes you, no matter what you do, they will only have two choices: like you or like you even more.

As expected, Xu Qingfan was once again dragged by Xiao Lijian to the small balcony to practice calligraphy.

"Come and see this calligraphy that Grandpa wrote!" Xiao Lijian picked up his calligraphy and looked at Xu Qingfan with anticipation.

Xu Qingfan understood immediately and promptly showered him with compliments.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"These characters are amazing!"

“Sure enough, sure enough!”

He flipped the calligraphy and painting over and over, and then looked down at the table where Xiao Lijian usually practiced calligraphy.

Xu Qingfan's words were vague and confusing, and Xiao Lijian was naturally also confused. However, in order to maintain his seniority, he patiently refrained from asking further questions.

Seeing that the time was right, Xu Qingfan explained, "Vigorous and powerful, penetrating the paper. When I first learned the phrase 'penetrating to the core,' I thought it was an exaggeration by later generations."

"After seeing your handwriting today, Grandpa, I realized how ignorant and narrow-minded I was!"

It wasn't a particularly sophisticated way to compliment someone, but paired with Xu Qingfan's surprised, bewildered, and then extremely excited expression, who wouldn't be confused?

"Hahaha!"

"You noticed? My hands are always busy, I just keep practicing and practicing, and that's how I got it!"

Xiao Lijian stroked his beard, recalling the feeling of a thoroughbred horse being discovered by a discerning eye. He felt the same way now.

"Grandpa is amazing! In today's fast-paced society, it will be hard to find someone who can calm down and practice calligraphy like Grandpa!" Xu Qingfan wasn't exaggerating; Xiao Lijian's calligraphy was indeed at the level of a master.

Xu Qingfan's calligraphy was purely soulless imitation, only slightly better than a crash course in calligraphy. The reason everyone praised it at the time was mainly because he was only in first grade, and his age was a factor in the evaluation.

Now, so many years have passed, and he has remained stagnant, while Xiao Lijian is making progress every moment.

"Haha, I'm getting old, so all I can do is write. Unlike you young people, I don't have so many things to do."

Xiao Lijian narrowed his eyes to slits; Xu Qingfan's words truly touched his heart.

"Grandpa, please teach me to write!"

If the preceding remarks were merely flattery, then Xu Qingfan's final words were the decisive blow.

"Good, good, good!" Xiao Lijian said three times.

Now that I've mastered calligraphy, I just want to find someone to pass on my experience!
"Kid, you need to flick this part hard, make it!"

"We should stop here. Doesn't writing it this way make the characters look more grand and imposing?"

An elderly man and a young girl were practicing calligraphy on the balcony, while five girls sat on the sofa watching TV, but I kept glancing at them out of the corner of my eye.

"Brother Fan is amazing! He can make my grandpa so happy. He makes me practice calligraphy every day, and I'm getting so annoyed with him!" Xiao Ruanwen hugged her pillow and leaned against Xia Xiaoxiao, complaining softly.

“My maternal grandfather also likes Brother Fan very much.” Zhang Yiyi thought of her maternal grandfather, who held a high position and always had a stern face towards her, but when facing Xu Qingfan, he would smile kindly like this.

"Hehe~ My mom and dad are also male prostitutes!" Lin Wanning said with a grin, unaware that Lin Qiaoshan had already become wary of Xu Qingfan.

Xia Xiaoxiao glanced at everyone and said in a flat tone, "Sometimes I feel like Xu Qingfan is my mother's real son, and I was just a free gift with a phone top-up."

Wu Lingyu bit her lower lip and whispered, "My family also likes Fan Ge."

Strange comparison +1.

The five of them tacitly remained silent for a short while.

"Rice's cooked! Everyone go wash your hands. Wenwen, come help Mom serve the dishes." Zhao Yuemin opened the kitchen door and came out, breaking the silence among the five.

"it is good!"

"Auntie, please sit down and rest for a while. We'll bring the dishes!"

The five girls immediately got up and headed for the kitchen.

“No, you’re guests. Let Auntie do it.” Before Zhao Yuemin could finish speaking, her daughter pressed her down into a chair. She could only smile and say, “The fruit is in the refrigerator. Auntie washed it.”

Soon, Xu Qingfan helped the still-enjoying Xiao Lijian to the dining table, where the girls had already served each of them half a bowl of soup.

"It's so sweet! Auntie, could you write down your soup recipe for me? I'll make it for them in the future." Xu Qingfan finished half a bowl of soup in one gulp and handed the bowl to Xiao Ruanwen so she could get her rice.

“Okay, Auntie can’t explain it right now. Come to the kitchen with me later, and I’ll tell you.” Zhao Yuemin said, then suddenly changed the subject:
"But Auntie also has a question for you. Xiao Fan, you wouldn't lie to Auntie, would you?"

Xu Qingfan was prepared and said with a smile, "How could that be? I don't have any other merits. If I had one, it would be 'obedience'."

"Shameless!" Xiao Ruanwen answered for him.

Xu Qingfan glared at her and took the food she handed him.

"Anyway, Auntie, you know I won't lie." His expression changed instantly when he looked at Zhao Yuemin.

"Yes, Auntie asked." Zhao Yuemin nodded in satisfaction. "We all listened to the song Wenwen sang during the National Day holiday. The lyrics were really well written. No wonder Xiaofan's Chinese grades are so good."

"Of course it's well-written, CCTV even broadcast it!" Xiao Ruanwen said proudly.

However, after being glared at by Zhao Yuemin, he immediately sat up straight.

"And I also heard from Wenwen that the copyright fee for this song sold for 100,000 yuan?" As soon as she finished speaking, the air pressure in the room seemed to drop several degrees out of nowhere.

In an instant, everyone's eyes were fixed on Xu Qingfan, ready to hear his nonsense (not really) explanation.

"Mm." Xu Qingfan nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Actually, it wasn't just this song, but also the ones I sang before, which were all packaged together and sold to Good Taste Cloud Company."

"And the copyright fee isn't 100,000, it's actually 1 million!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three elders widened their eyes.

"what?"

Xu Qingfan gestured for them to hold back.

"Haoweiyun is a company started by Yi Yi's mother."

Suddenly pointed at by Xu Qingfan, Zhang Yiyi nodded blankly: "Yes, it's from our family."

This "home" naturally includes Xu Qingfan as well.

"Auntie, please let me finish." Xu Qingfan interrupted Zhao Yuemin as she was about to ask another question.

"I just said I don't have any strengths, but Auntie has a discerning eye. My lyrics are quite good. In short, the songs that Ruan Wen sings are actually very popular on the Internet."

"You may not know, but Ruan Wen has more than five million followers on Weibo."

Zhao Yuemin was so confused by him that she almost forgot what she wanted to ask.

"So the 100,000 yuan copyright fee is really not a lot."

“It was originally one million. I said I wanted to split it 50/50 with Ruan Wen, but she insisted that she was only responsible for singing and didn’t contribute as much as I did, so she only wanted 10%.”

“I only gave her 100,000. She originally didn’t want 100,000, but I forced her to take it.”

“I know this is unfair to Ruan Wen. Auntie, if you think it's too little, I'll go to the bank after I finish eating and transfer the 400,000 yuan to Ruan Wen!”

Zhao Yuemin understood, but Xiao Ruanwen was confused.

[Is that true? Could it be that I've lost my memory?]
"No need, no need, 100,000 yuan is already a lot. Ruan Wen just wants to sing a few songs, how can she need so much!" Zhao Yuemin waved her hands repeatedly, afraid that Xu Qingfan would misunderstand.

For this matter, Zhao Yuemin even consulted her cousin Xiao Ruanwen, who was the one with the afro from last time.

To quote my cousin, "Is she Faye Wong or Nayoung? She thinks she can earn 100,000 just by singing a few songs?"

After hearing Xu Qingfan's explanation, Zhao Yuemin finally felt relieved.

"Are you sure you don't need to?" Xu Qingfan asked again, seemingly still unsure.

"No, no!" Zhao Yuemin shook her head vigorously.

Xiao Ruanwen glanced gratefully at Fan Ge, then pouted and said coquettishly, "I told you my skills were worth 100,000 yuan, but you didn't believe me, Mom!"

"That's because Xiao Fan's song is good. What does it have to do with you? Anyone could sing it and it would be a hit." Xiao Lijian tapped the table, and Xiao Ruanwen had no choice but to sit up straight, feeling wronged.

"No, Ruan Wen is a very good singer. If I sang, people would definitely say I was disturbing the peace," Xu Qingfan said, trying to smooth things over.

Everyone burst into laughter, but only Xiao Ruanwen forced a smile.

However, she herself has to admit that without Xu Qingfan's songs, if she relied solely on covers, she would probably only be a bar performer.

Suddenly, Xiao Ruanwen felt her foot, which was under the table, being kicked. She looked in the direction of the kick and saw Xu Qingfan staring at her.

Xu Qingfan didn't say anything, but Xiao Ruanwen could still read a lot from the expression on his face: Don't listen to them, you're great!

[Fan Ge]
(End of this chapter)