I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 466. Petty and narrow-minded
Five o'clock in the evening.

The driver eventually took Xu Qingfan, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Wu Lingyu back to Donghui City.

The sky was clear and the air was crisp. There was still more than an hour until sunset, and the bright sunlight did not give people a sense of urgency.

The trees lining the road were laden with fruit just last week, but the fallen mangoes attracted countless fruit flies.

Looking up now, only lush green leaves remain on the trees, and the faint smell of decaying fruit that can still be detected when passing by proves that they once existed.

"Should we go straight home, or go shopping at the mall?" Xu Qingfan walked between the two, patted Xia Xiaoxiao on the shoulder, but was looking at Wu Lingyu.

"Anything is fine with me," Wu Lingyu said with a smile.

"What about you?" Seeing that Xia Xiaoxiao didn't reply, Xu Qingfan patted her shoulder again.

"Whatever." Xia Xiaoxiao's gaze was drawn to an old man playing the erhu in the distance. After she finished speaking, she asked Xu Qingfan, "What piece is that?"

"Why does a song with a cheerful rhythm sound so sad?"

Xu Qingfan and Wu Lingyu looked in the direction she was pointing, and after listening carefully, they indeed heard faint music.

"Maybe it's because of the erhu?"

"The erhu is inherently a sad instrument."

After thinking for a moment, Wu Lingyu said.

Xu Qingfan was still listening intently, but he didn't stop walking. He pulled the two of them closer to the old man playing the erhu.

The music grew clearer and clearer until Xu Qingfan finally remembered the name of the piece when he was almost at the stall.

"It's not the erhu's fault. This piece is in this tune. It's called 'Farewell Letter.' It uses music to express sorrow, thus amplifying the grief," Xu Qingfan said as the three stopped in front of the stall.

The old man, who had been concentrating on playing the erhu, suddenly stopped and glanced at Xu Qingfan through his sunglasses.

When they played it again, the music suddenly changed from slow to fast, startling the three of them.

The music was mournful, and Du Fu's lines "Flowers shed tears at the passing of time, birds startle at the sorrow of parting" came to life at this moment. Xu Qingfan and the two women exchanged a glance and continued to listen attentively to the music.

When the music ended, Xia Xiaoxiao took out a ten-yuan note from her wallet and bent down to put it in the violin case.

After receiving a polite nod from the old man, the three continued on their way.

Because Xia Xiaoxiao had just said "whatever," the three of them were heading towards Donghui City Shopping Mall.

“Oh, right.” Xia Xiaoxiao suddenly looked at Xu Qingfan.

"Go ahead," Xu Qingfan said, appearing confident.

He had already prepared his answer in his mind. If Xia Xiaoxiao wanted to ask him about the piece of music they had just played, he would have to put on an act.

"You can play the erhu too, why don't you set up a stall in the park?" Xia Xiaoxiao originally wanted to ask, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she changed her mind.

"You mean that piece of music? No, what do you mean?" Xu Qingfan's expression changed from confident to astonished in just a few seconds.

Xia Xiaoxiao turned her head to the side, pretending to be looking at the scenery.

"Why don't you play the erhu? There are so many people in the square at night." Xia Xiaoxiao, who was good at suppressing her laughter, repeated.

"I'm just afraid that if I'm too good, I'll steal the old man's business!" Xu Qingfan rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you just give the money you earned back to them as tips?" Xia Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh this time, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"So you can dance too? Why don't you go to the square to dance at night?"

"If you need backup dancers, I'll find you an old man tonight."

"Pfft!" After listening to the two bickering for so long, Wu Lingyu finally couldn't hold back anymore. What the hell is this about finding an old man?

Perhaps because she has adjusted her mindset, when she sees Fan Ge and Xiao Xiao bickering now, she no longer feels neglected. Instead, she can treat it as a comedy routine and listen to it with great interest.

Wu Lingyu covered her mouth and laughed out loud, "cough cough cough".

Xia Xiaoxiao was almost furious, but after hearing Xiaoyu's laughter, she suddenly felt that there was nothing to be angry about, and calmed down!
"Xiaoyu likes the old man, so you go and find her a suitable match." She glared at Xu Chou Gou and stormed off with her long legs.

"Hahahaha!" Wu Lingyu really couldn't hold back this time. She let go of her hands covering her mouth and burst into laughter.

Xu Qingfan looked at Xia Xiaoxiao, who had walked away, and then at Wu Lingyu, who was still grinning foolishly. He shook his head helplessly and said, "They've gone mad, they've gone mad, they've all gone mad."

He pulled Xiaoyu, who was laughing so hard she almost choked, to catch up with Xia Xiaoxiao, and the three of them quickly started walking side by side again.

After Wu Lingyu stopped laughing, she narrowed her eyes slightly, glancing at Fan Ge and then at Xiao Xiao.

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, both feeling that Xiaoyu seemed to have been possessed today.

"Xiaoyu, is something on your mind?" Xu Qingfan asked with concern.

"You need to tell us something." Xia Xiaoxiao also looked at her with concern.

Wu Lingyu immediately shook her head, shaking her head vigorously to deny it: "No, I was just thinking about some happy things."

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao exchanged another glance. Wasn't it only Lin Wanning who spoke like that, calling himself a "duck"?

"Alright then, let's go to the shop and get three cups of milk tea." Since Wu Lingyu was unwilling to talk about it now, Xu Qingfan could only ask her at a separate time.

In his mind, Xiaoyu was the most obedient girl to him, and she would never lie to him!

"Mm!" Wu Lingyu nodded and then smiled.

The real reason is that Xiaoyu is happy today. Before, when she saw Fan Ge and Xiao Xiao bickering, she thought: Fan Ge and Xiao Xiao have such a good relationship. It's clearly a movie about three people, but I never get a name.

But now, Xiaoyu, Wanning, and Yiyi are all people with names, but they can't tell others. So what's wrong with her being happy?
Perhaps because it was Friday, when the three arrived at the milk tea shop, the queue stretched for more than ten meters, and many of the people in the queue were still wearing school uniforms.

"I'll make you a drink. You wait for me outside." Xu Qingfan handed his backpack to Wu Lingyu, rolled up his sleeves, and headed into the shop.

"Alright, alright, we won't drink the milk tea anymore. Don't disturb Auntie's staff." Xia Xiaoxiao quickly pulled him away, mainly because she was afraid that the staff and Yao Jinping would gossip.

“Okay, okay, we’re not drinking it anymore. Milk tea isn’t very good. We’d rather go home and drink juice.” Wu Lingyu also grabbed his other arm.

The three of them had been the focus of attention since they stood there, and their current tug-of-war attracted even more onlookers.

After all, Xu Qingfan is undeniably handsome, and Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu are undeniably beautiful.

"Alright, alright, let's talk somewhere else." Nobody wants to be watched by others, and Xu Qingfan was no exception. He quickly led the two away, one in each hand.

"Youth is such a wonderful thing."

Do you think he's petty and narrow-minded?

"What do you mean, 'little belly'? Hahaha, you're really something! Why don't you just go up and ask?"

A young white-collar couple whispered to each other.

Unfortunately, Xu Qingfan had already led the two women away, and their relationship remained a mystery.

"Here, your Green Arrow gum." Xu Qingfan opened the packaging and handed two pieces of gum to Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu respectively.

"Are you bored? You go to that convenience store every week." Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes, but still took the chewing gum.

"Huh? What about that convenience store?" Wu Lingyu, who was about to put the chewing gum in her mouth, paused when she heard Xia Xiaoxiao's words.

"Uh, um, um..." Xia Xiaoxiao broke out in a cold sweat, only to remember that Xiaoyu was still there!
"That saleswoman complimented me on my looks last time. I think she's very honest, which is a really good quality, so I go there to buy things every week," Xu Qingfan explained with a smile. Xia Xiaoxiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but still pouted speechlessly.

"Oh, I see." Wu Lingyu clearly didn't believe it, but she also knew that now was not the time to ask. She would ask Fan Ge alone when she got home.

“It’s a bag, otherwise why would she have been staring at me like that, like she’d seen a celebrity?” Xu Qingfan continued.

[Pfft~ It's more like you saw a ghost.] Xia Xiaoxiao smiled, but from an angle that Xu Qingfan couldn't see.

When Yao Jinping and Lin Jing returned home, they had just finished cooking dinner.

"Mom, Auntie!"

"Aunt!"

After changing their shoes, Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu immediately jogged over.

"I cooked your favorite dishes."

"Studying must be hard work! Put down your bag and have some soup first!"

Xu Qingfan unzipped the cat carrier, and the little brother trapped inside, meowing, secretly observed for a few seconds before realizing it was Happy Home. He immediately started running around and having fun.

"What kind of soup is this? It smells so good." Xu Qingfan picked up a bowl of soup that was casually served on the table and drank it all. The temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold.

Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu were "kicked" out of the kitchen. When the three of them put down their schoolbags, washed their hands, and came back, the three adults were already sitting at the dining table waiting for them.

The news was playing on TV, but no one paid any attention; their focus was on the delicious food on the table and the casual conversation.

"We just went to the store and saw that business is booming," Xu Qingfan said after finishing a piece of pork rib and spitting out the bone.

Yao Jinping paused in her chewing, as if she were thinking.

After swallowing the food in her mouth, she said, "I think I can break even next year and buy the shop."

"What about Mom's shop?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked Lin Jing.

When buying the house, Yao Jinping finally made a shrewd decision and bought two shops. Lin Jing was persuaded by her to buy one as well.

The two shops were franchised by Haowei Milk Tea and Haowei Duck Neck, respectively. Due to the distance protection policy, Lin Jing's shop could only franchise Haowei Fried Skewers, which was not popular at the time.

The main product is the fried pork chop that Li Meijuan used to sell. More than a year later, the number of branches across the country has exceeded 1,000.

"Our shop is located in a slightly out-of-the-way area, so we probably won't break even until the year after next." This was Lin Jing's high EQ reply; the real reason was that selling milk tea was far more profitable than selling fried skewers.

“That’s quite profitable.” Although Xia Xiaoxiao had never run a business, she could still do simple math problems.

"It's a pity I don't have the energy to manage so many stores anymore. Otherwise, I could take out a bank loan and open ten, twenty, or even a hundred stores at once. I could make so much money!" Yao Jinping joked.

"So Yi-yi's mom is really amazing." Lin Jing thought of Zhang Chunxue's CEO-like aura during the New Year's gathering and felt very admiring.

“I have money in my account, I don’t need to go to the bank for a loan.” Xu Qingfan raised his hand to interrupt his mother’s daydream.

Yao Jinping glared at her brat and suddenly felt powerless.

Xu Qingfan still earns money from drawing comics, with an annual income of no less than seven figures.

However, aside from the money he initially spent on buying a house and a car, Yao Jinping later returned the bank card to him.

Xu Qingfan looked down on this obscure corner and never used the money inside.

“I think all mothers in the world are equally amazing because they gave birth to us.” As soon as Wu Lingyu said this, Yao Jinping and Lin Jing’s smiles seemed to melt.

"Mmm, Mom is just as amazing as Auntie!" Xia Xiaoxiao glanced at Wu Lingyu and suddenly felt that Xiaoyu's tongue had become incredibly eloquent.

"It's really not easy being pregnant for ten months."

"Yes, back then."

"Auntie is so great!"

"Correct!"

The topic was thus steered astray.

After dinner and a shower, Xu Qingfan returned to his room to work on some documents.

Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu were a little late because they were girls, but they came to Xu Qingfan's room as soon as they came out of the bathroom.

After drying their hair, the two women comfortably lay on Xu Qingfan's bed playing on their phones.

Xia Xiaoxiao hugged her pillow, and Wu Lingyu wrapped herself in a quilt. The bed, which hadn't been slept in for a week, was soon filled with their body fragrance.

Wu Lingyu glanced at Xia Xiaoxiao secretly, then moved a little further away before opening the mysterious group chat.

Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi had already started posting in the group chat. Wu Lingyu scrolled up to read their posts before typing: "Fan-ge is working. Xiaoxiao and I are in Fan-ge's room."

[Fan Ge's serious work photo (back view).JPG]

The two replied quickly after seeing the message.

[Lin Wanning: Wow~ Brother Qingfan, Xiaoyu, take a picture of my profile!]

[Zhang Yiyi: When will you finish your work, brother?]

Wu Lingyu didn't get up to take a picture of Xu Qingfan's profile. Instead, she sent some private photos from her phone to the two of them. There were photos of Xu Qingfan doing sit-ups shirtless, and photos of him twirling a pen while thinking.

Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi saved it immediately. The two of them acted like they were having an idol fan meeting, and they also shared their privately collected photos of Xu Qingfan in the group.

One share of joy becomes three, and the three of them are very glad that they formed this alliance of offense and defense.

the other side.

Xia Xiaoxiao was also sharing with Xiao Ruanwen about Xiaoyu's unusual behavior today.

"Maybe Xiaoyu is in a good mood today, she should be fine." Xiao Ruanwen herself was still feeling guilty, so that was all she could say.

"Is that so? Okay then." Xia Xiaoxiao glanced at Wu Lingyu again and could only assume that.

[Xiaoxiao, you haven't contacted Brother Fan in a long time, have you? I haven't heard you mention him in ages.]

Xia Xiaoxiao blushed as she looked at the latest message, then turned to look at Xu Qingfan, who was engrossed in his work, and made up her mind.

"We'll see," she replied to Xiao Ruanwen.

The night passed quickly.

Xu Qingfan had to leave Gangcheng the next morning. At 9:30, he finished processing the documents and shut down his computer.

"I'm going to bed after I brush my teeth. You guys should get some rest too," he said, stretching.

"OK, good night."

Goodnight, Brother Fan!

The two, each with their own ulterior motives, left Xu Qingfan's room.

(End of this chapter)