I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 456. Should we be honest?
"what?"

"Yi-yi, when did you get up? I just made so many phone calls!"

On the other side, Lin Wanning, carrying a box of mooncakes, went up to the second floor and ran into Zhang Yiyi, who was waiting for him at the corner of the stairs.

"Let's go inside and talk." Zhang Yiyi peeked out furtively to check, and only after confirming that no one had followed Lin Wanning upstairs did she take her hand and leave together.

"Where are we going, duck?"

"Brother Qingfan is still waiting downstairs."

Despite his confusion, Lin Wanning followed along, still looking rather dazed.

Zhang Yiyi led her to his bedroom door, pointed to the lock, and said, "Open the door first."

Lin Wanning tilted his head in confusion, but still did as he was told and put the handle on the door to open it, only to find that the door was locked from the inside.

"Ok?"

"Why did you lock the door from the inside?"

As Zhang Yiyi walked, the mooncake box kept making "bang bang" sounds, and she guessed that it contained a key.

She took the mooncake box from Lin Wanning, opened it, and sure enough, it contained spare keys for each room.

“It’s this one.” Lin Wanning thoughtfully picked up one of the keys, which was shaped like the key she had used to open Qingfan’s door earlier.

Zhang Yi nodded and took it, choosing one by feel. After inserting it into the keyhole, he twisted the door open with force.

"Wow~ I'm so lucky!" Lin Wanning blinked in surprise, after all, she had just tried for almost five minutes.

Zhang Yiyi didn't say much, and after pulling her into the room, he immediately locked the door.

“I slept in my brother’s room last night.”

The very first thing he said shocked Lin Wanning to his core.

"what?"

"What are you saying, Yi Yi?"

Lin Wanning was starting to doubt whether he was hearing Chinese.

"Isn't Brother Qingfan's room locked from the inside?" she pressed.

Zhang Yiyi didn't rush to explain. After pulling Lin Wanning to sit down on the edge of the bed, she said, "Last night when I left Wanning's room, I ran into Ruan Wen acting suspiciously at the door of my brother's room."

"what?"

"Does Ruan Wen also have a key to Qingfan's room?"

Lin Wanning was even more confused. How did this involve Xiao Ruanwen again?

"Again?" Zhang Yiyi looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, that's right. Xiaoxiao has a key to Qingfan's room, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get in this morning!" Lin Wanning nodded in acknowledgment and continued to press:

"Yi-yi, tell me quickly! Does Ruan Wen also have a key to Qing Fan's room? Did Ruan Wen also go to sleep in Qing Fan's bed?"

Lin Wanning is being a bit too self-centered.

"Wan Ning, don't be in a hurry, listen to me first!" Zhang Yiyi grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

After Lin Wanning calmed down, he continued, "This is what happened."

She recounted Xiao Ruanwen's version of events and Xu Qingfan's later version of events involving catching the cat, but whether she believed it or not was questionable.

Lin Wanning nodded, then immediately shook his head, and pressed on, "Did Ruan Wen actually crawl into Brother Qingfan's bed?"

Zhang Yiyi also shook her head and said, "I don't think so. I held my brother's hand and sniffed it, but I couldn't smell Ruan Wen's scent on it."

"Hehe~ That's good!" Lin Wanning grinned after hearing this.

Even though the two had just said: "If it really comes to the worst, having more sisters wouldn't be a bad thing."

But it's best to avoid having to resort to it unless absolutely necessary!

Zhang Yiyi rubbed her head and smiled as well.

"Last night I thought my brother would carry me back to his room, so I fell asleep without any precautions. Who knew I would wake up still in my brother's room!"

"Then why didn't I see Yi Yi when I opened the door just now, and why was the room locked?" Lin Wanning leaned back quickly and looked up at her.

"Xiaoyu locked the door for me. She found out about my affair with my brother!"

Lin Wanning's pupils dilated in shock. Just as he was about to say "Ah?", Zhang Yiyi reached out and covered his mouth.

“I was hiding under the bed. Xiaoyu saw me when she fell, but she didn’t say anything. Later, Xiaoyu also helped lure Xiaoxiao and Ruanwen away!”

"I wasn't sure at first, but when I heard you say that my room was also locked from the inside, I guessed that Xiaoyu was covering for me."

Zhang Yi finished explaining the situation in a few words before releasing his hand from the girl's mouth.

"what?"

"What...what?"

Aside from blinking frantically, Lin Wanning was at a loss for words to express the shock he felt at that moment.

"Mm." Zhang Yiyi looked into her eyes and nodded earnestly.

She continued, "Also, Xiaoyu took Xiaoxiao and Ruanwen away, but left you, Wanning, behind. Could it be that Xiaoyu... knows about us?"

"Ah...uh-huh." Lin Wanning felt like his brain couldn't keep up, and could only nod stupidly.

Zhang Yiyi only wanted to state her opinion and did not expect Lin Wanning to provide any ideas, so she continued her analysis: "Let's assume that Xiaoyu doesn't know about our affairs."

"Hmm, let's assume!"

Zhang Yi smiled and pinched her cheek: "Before we make any assumptions, Wan Ning, tell me everything that happened this morning."

“Ahhh!”

"I got up early this morning. Xiaoyu woke me up around nine or ten o'clock. Then I went to wake Yiyi up and found that the door was locked from the inside. Qingfan's room was also locked from the inside."

Zhang Yi nodded slightly, silently memorizing the useful information.

"Oh right, Xiaoyu also said that Qingfan and Yiyi went to help Auntie buy groceries this morning, really early, around six o'clock, so they wanted to take a nap after they got back and asked us not to wake you up!"

Zhang Yi stared at Lin Wanning, then thought of Xiaoyu, and finally could only shake his head helplessly.

"Then Xiaoxiao, Ruanwen, Xiaoyu, and I went downstairs to have breakfast, and then we played downstairs. Later, it was almost noon, and I said I wanted to wake up Qingfan. Xiaoyu said we could call him, but we called many times and no one answered!"

Although Lin Wanning's narration was disjointed and rambling, Zhang Yiyi still understood it and formed a general outline in her mind:
[After Xiaoyu woke up and found I wasn't in my room, she searched the whole house but couldn't find me. She finally guessed I was in her brother's room, and although I don't know what she was thinking, she decided to cover for me and my brother.]
Zhang Yiyi recalled Wu Lingyu's emotions when she called Xu Qingfan to get up: anger and grievance.

And the composure and understanding after suddenly realizing it.

"Assuming Xiaoyu doesn't know about our affair, the fact that she covered for my brother and me shows that she definitely doesn't want our relationship to break down!"

“Mmm!” Lin Wanning agreed wholeheartedly.

“Xiaoyu led Xiaoxiao and Ruanwen away, but left Wanning behind. I guess it’s for these three reasons.”

"First of all, Xiaoyu understands Wan Ning's personality and knows that it will be very difficult to persuade you to leave."

"Uh-huh!"

"Secondly, I guess Xiaoyu thinks Wanning is stupid and thinks it doesn't matter if she is found out, because her brother and I can definitely fool her."

"Hmm?" Lin Wanning was a little unconvinced, but he didn't say anything.

"Finally, this is also my own guess, Xiaoyu left you behind alone, Wanning, probably to test whether you knew about it."

If Wu Lingyu were here, she would be speechless with astonishment. Zhang Yiyi was practically a mind reader, sharing the same thoughts as Wu Lingyu at the time.

Lin Wanning felt like her head was about to explode with knowledge, and her scalp was tingling. "What if Xiaoyu knew?" she continued to press.

“If Xiaoyu knew about it, there are two possibilities. The first is that she found out by chance, and the second is that her brother used her as a confidante and told Xiaoyu about us,” Zhang Yiyi said.

"Wait a minute~ Brother Qingfan doesn't know that I'm in cahoots with Yi Yi!" Lin Wanning asked.

"Um"

Zhang Yiyi pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "There is a third possibility."

"What is it?" Lin Wanning asked hopefully.

“Xiaoyu wants to join us!” Zhang Yiyi’s gaze was firm.

Lin Wanning's pupils dilated, dilated, and dilated again.

"If it's Xiaoyu..."

Zhang Yiyi knew what she wanted to say and interrupted, "No rush. I'll ask Xiaoyu about the situation this afternoon, and then we'll make a decision."

"Whoo~"

"Ok!"

Upon hearing that a decision didn't need to be made now, Lin Wanning let out a long sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.

The mental storm that lasted just over ten minutes was so intense that Lin Wanning still feels a chill run down her spine.

"Should we tell Brother Qingfan about what happened between Yiyi and me?"

"And Xiaoyu helped cover for us, what did Brother Qingfan say?"

Zhang Yi shook her head. It was still the same reason: she couldn't satisfy her bad brother so easily!

"Don't talk about it for now. I wanted to ask about Xiaoyu in the bathroom, but I don't know if my brother was feeling guilty, but after I asked him, he opened the door and pushed Wanning away."

The two discussed things in the room for a long time before finally arriving late, when they were called downstairs for lunch.

As for whether Wu Lingyu actually wants to join Wan Ning's family, we'll have to wait until this afternoon to ask.

The eight-person dining table was completely full, and Xu Qingfan, who had no chairs, could only sit on a red plastic stool.

"Eat more vegetables!"

"This five-pound mandarin fish was just caught from the reservoir. Cold-water fish have particularly firm flesh."

"Thank you auntie."

Unlike at Xiao Ruanwen's house, here, the ones being frantically served food are five girls.

Xu Aiguo had his chopsticks on the fish belly, but after hearing the words "five jin" and "reservoir", he quietly changed his mind and picked up the braised goose next to him.

"I feel that Xiao Fan's stir-fries have a special wok hei (wok aroma)." Lin Jing picked up a piece of snow pea and cured meat, and put it in her mouth along with some rice.

"I don't know, maybe it's because I like to put white wine in my cooking." Xu Qingfan smiled and subtly placed a peeled shrimp from his bowl into Wu Lingyu's bowl.

Wu Lingyu put the shrimp back into the bowl she had just finished drinking soup. The bowl was full of vegetables that Xu Qingfan had given her, but Xiaoyu didn't eat any of them.

Zhang Yiyi took everything in stride, pondering as she ate: [My brother angered Xiaoyu, and Xiaoyu is very angry, so she hasn't forgiven him.]
Similarly, Xiao Ruanwen was also keeping a close eye on Zhang Yiyi's every move, and only relaxed after discovering that she seemed to have forgotten about what happened last night.

A meal may seem like a harmonious affair on the surface, but undercurrents of turmoil are actually brewing beneath the surface.

After meal.

"Alright, we'll clean up today, you guys go and rest." Yao Jinping pushed the few people who wanted to go into the kitchen to help out.

"Take a good rest, you have to go back to school this afternoon," Lin Jing said with a smile.

"Hehe~ Auntie, let's go preview tomorrow morning's lessons!"

"Yes, yes, yes, let's preview our lessons!"

"Homework, preview the lessons!"

After Xiao Ruanwen took the lead, the others followed suit.

Xu Qingfan shook his head helplessly. There was no time to apologize to Xiaoyu!
More importantly, he had absolutely no idea how to apologize.

Do you know what you did wrong?

"I know."

"Where did you go wrong!"

"Forehead"

See? With just a quick deduction in the small theater, Wu Lingyu will probably get even angrier.

Xu Aiguo's craving for a cigarette kicked in, so he grabbed his phone, cigarette pack, and wallet, got up, and went out, saying, "I'm going to the store."

"Be careful not to get heatstroke, or you'll come back empty-handed from fishing this afternoon," Xu Qingfan said to him before he left.

Xu Aiguo glared at him, muttered "disrespectful," and then closed the door and left.

The elderly couple, one playing mahjong and the other fishing, only need to take care of the shop's business. They live a fulfilling life, and their mindset and appearance seem to be getting younger with age.

Xu Qingfan was happy that his parents were like this; in short, it would be best if they didn't interfere with his life.

It would be best if we could have a little sister for him after the two-child policy is implemented in a few years.

"Brother Fan, what do you want to watch? You keep changing the channel!" Xiao Ruanwen snatched the remote from his hand and switched back to "Empresses in the Palace" that she had just caught a glimpse of.

Xu Qingfan wasn't actually looking for anything; he was just a little distracted, and changing the channel was an unconscious action.

"what?"

"Isn't this just like The Legend of Zhen Huan?"

Upon seeing Deng Chao's wife on the screen, he blurted out.

Xiao Ruanwen held half a kirin melon and ignored him. After all, the three big characters "The Legend of Zhen Huan" were right there on the screen, so there was no need to say more.

Xu Qingfan found it difficult to explain: Before I was reborn, I could see fan-made content on Bilibili every day. I never imagined that this drama was from 2011!

"Here's a watermelon for you, Brother Qingfan!" Lin Wanning shared his half-cut watermelon with him.

Each small Kirin melon weighs a little over a pound. After cutting it in half, it's just the right size to eat after a meal.

"Thank you, Wanning." Xu Qingfan took the watermelon and looked at Xiaoyu, who came out of the kitchen behind him.

After noticing that Xu Qingfan was looking at her, Wu Lingyu immediately looked away.

Zhang Yi, who was walking side by side with Xiaoyu, smiled at Xu Qingfan and gave him an 'OK' sign.

Despite his confusion, Xu Qingfan nodded and smiled in response.

"Move over a bit!" Xia Xiaoxiao patted Xu Qingfan's shoulder and squeezed down between him and Xiao Ruanwen.

Xu Qingfan obediently moved aside, his eyes fixed on Wu Lingyu and Zhang Yiyi.

He had assumed the two of them would sit next to Lin Wanning, however...

Wu Lingyu and Zhang Yiyi tacitly circled around each other and went up to the second floor together.

Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruanwen were both engrossed in watching TV and didn't notice anything.

Lin Wanning noticed, but she said nothing, so she was almost certainly aware of it all along.

Xu Qingfan also noticed, but even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare ask what the two were upstairs to do.

The scoundrel was filled with unease.

[Please don't let anything happen.]
(End of this chapter)