I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 77. The Price of Paper in Licheng
"Auntie, I want a copy of the 'Hilarious Daily Life' comic book." On Sunday morning, Xia Xiaoxiao took a walk to the newsstand at the entrance of the street after having breakfast.

"Sorry, little one, 'Hilarious Daily Life' is sold out. Someone just bought the last ten copies at once!" The proprietress chuckled as she tidied the banknotes in her drawer and smiled at Xia Xiaoxiao.

"Huh?" Xia Xiaoxiao opened her mouth in surprise. It was only a little before nine o'clock. The newsstand opened at seven o'clock, and it was sold out in less than two hours.

"Yes, hehehe~ Little friend, why don't you go and look around somewhere else?"

Xia Xiaoxiao returned to the compound dejectedly with the ten yuan in her hand. She dared not venture out alone to any other place without the little rascal by her side.

[Hmph, still sleeping in at nine o'clock! It's not my comic, I don't care about you!] Xia Xiaoxiao got angrier and angrier, and went straight to Xu Qingfan's bedroom after returning to the third floor.

"You little brat, it's past 11 o'clock and you're still sleeping. I'd rather have a piece of char siu than you!"

Hearing that familiar, agonizing voice, Xu Qingfan jumped out of bed with a start. As expected, his mother wasn't standing at the door; instead, Xia Xiaoxiao was glaring at him angrily.

"Damn it, why did you scare me for no reason!" Xu Qingfan thought Xia Xiaoxiao was imitating his mother's voice, and complained while rubbing his eyes.

Seemingly having heard Xu Qingfan's voice, Yao Jinping yelled from the living room, "You brat, get up now! You're not even eating breakfast! All you do on vacation is sleep, sleep, sleep!"

Xu Qingfan smiled with relief. Xia Xiaoxiao couldn't possibly imitate her mother's voice; she was clearly still half asleep.

"So early?" He greeted Xia Xiaoxiao, who was standing at the door, awkwardly.

"Hmph, you don't even value your own books, and you're still sleeping in!" Xia Xiaoxiao turned her head away arrogantly.

"So, did you go buy it?" Xu Qingfan suddenly felt a surge of anger when he thought about the comic books that went on sale this morning.

"The newsstand at the entrance was sold out, I couldn't buy any!" Xia Xiaoxiao answered truthfully.

"What? Sold out??" Xu Qingfan exclaimed as he stood up.

"Ah!! Xu Qingfan, you pervert!!!" Xia Xiaoxiao's face flushed red instantly, and she turned around and slammed the door shut.

Xu Qingfan felt the pain of the whip striking his lower abdomen and looked down.

"Forehead"

He vaguely remembered that his pajama pants had been kicked onto the floor sometime during the night. He had kicked them up to his ankles in a few quick movements and then went back to sleep.

Where can you reason with this? It's obvious that I'm the one who's been taken advantage of!

Xu Qingfan blushed as he put on his clothes and pants, then pushed open the door and walked out of the bedroom.

Looking at Xia Xiaoxiao, who was sitting on the sofa, both embarrassed and annoyed, Xu Qingfan hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

"What are you glaring at me for! You're the one who saw me naked, and I'm the one who got the short end of the stick!"

"You...you...you!" Xia Xiaoxiao was so angry at Xu Qingfan's shameless remarks that she was speechless.

"What do you mean 'you'? I'm already being lenient by not asking you to look me in the eye! Do you know how much it hurts a seven-year-old like me to be seen naked? You know nothing, you only care about yourself!"

Xia Xiaoxiao was completely bewildered by Xu Qingfan's unexplained combo, thinking to herself: [Could it be that it's still my fault?]
"I'll forgive you this time. I'm going to brush my teeth first, and we'll go to the newsstand together later." Xu Qingfan turned around smugly and dashed into the bathroom.

"Xu Qingfan, you're a dog!! You stinky dog, bad dog, big stupid dog!!!" Xia Xiaoxiao shouted, pointing at his departing figure.

[The internet really is a place where you can learn. A tree without bark will surely die; a person without shame is invincible.] Xu Qingfan couldn't help but chuckle as he recalled an old joke he'd seen while surfing the internet.

"Why are you so far away from me!" On the sidewalk, Xu Qingfan reached out and pulled Xia Xiaoxiao to his side. "Don't touch me!" Xia Xiaoxiao shook him off in disgust.

Xu Qingfan continued to pull, and Xia Xiaoxiao continued to hit. This went on for more than ten times. Perhaps unable to bear Xu Qingfan's shamelessness, Xia Xiaoxiao finally stopped shaking off the little rascal's hand.

"Auntie, do you sell any hilarious everyday comics here?" Xu Qingfan asked as they arrived at the fifth newsstand of their trip.

"Is this 'Daily Life' item really that good? More than a dozen people have asked about it this morning. We're out of stock. If you want it, little one, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. Auntie has already called to restock!"

"Sold out again?" Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, both reading disbelief in each other's eyes.

"Yes, around nine o'clock, a little kid who was about your age came in and bought all the remaining stock from the auntie," the proprietress explained cheerfully.

"Why would he buy so many things for no reason?" Xu Qingfan muttered to himself.

"How would I know, haha~ But this book is really selling well, I wish I had ordered more back then!"

It was too far to go to the next newsstand, so the two little ones held hands and walked back home.

"Does this mean your comic books are selling like hotcakes?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"It's hard to say yet. We'll have to see how well it sells in other districts. After all, Yi-yi's mom has done the most advertising in Licheng." Although he said that, Xu Qingfan already had a feeling that their three little ones' comic books were about to become a hit.

"Then you can make a lot of money, right? More than selling crayfish?"

"It's not that easy. Aunt Zhang said that for every comic book we sell, the three of us can earn one yuan. Even if we sell 10,000 books, it's still only 10,000 yuan, which isn't even enough to pay for a year's tuition."

“We don’t have to pay tuition for school! Mom says we’re still students, and studying is our main task. Don’t let drawing comics interfere with your studies. What will you do when you have to learn English in third grade?” The little tutor started lecturing Xu Qingfan again.

"I know, I know, you're even more nagging than my mom!" Xu Qingfan chuckled and bumped his head against the little girl's.

"You're finished, Xu Qingfan! I'm going to tell Aunt Yao that you called her a nag!" Xia Xiaoxiao rubbed the spot where she had just been bumped, glaring angrily at Xu Qingfan.

"Waaaaah~ I was wrong, please don't tell my mom, okay? I'll grant you a small wish!" Xu Qingfan coaxed in a very playful manner.

Who says only little girls can act cute? Although Xu Qingfan was once a 26-year-old research dog, he still has a little girl living in his heart.

"Hmph, I'm going to tell you!" Xia Xiaoxiao turned her head away haughtily.

"No, I'll grant you anything you want." Xu Qingfan mimicked Lin Wanning's signature move, grabbing Xia Xiaoxiao's hand and shaking it.

"From now on, you'll have to spend an hour with me every day after school to study!" Xia Xiaoxiao's true intentions were revealed.

"Haha~ Look at that cloud on the horizon, doesn't it look like Big Yellow's dog head!" Xu Qingfan let go of Xia Xiaoxiao's hand and pointed at the sky, talking nonsense.

[If you dare to ask me to study with you now, what will you do later, like asking me for your phone?] Xu ​​Qingfan grew angrier and sullen as he thought about it.

I'll pluck the stars for you, I'll pluck the moon for you, I'll give you everything you want.

What? You want my phone? Sorry, I don't!

"Xu Qingfan!" Xia Xiaoxiao stomped her foot in annoyance, glared at him for a while, and then ran after him.

(End of this chapter)