Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

[The people who love me, Mom, uncles and aunts, Little Yu, Ruan Wen, Wanning, Yiyi... and him.]

She gazed at Xu Qingfan's profile and was somewhat entranced.

"Why are you looking at me? Is there a flower on my face?"

"Who's looking at you? I'm watching my little brother!"

"Meow~"

...

With Xu Aiguo and Yao Jinping not acting like light bulbs, the three of them boldly started watching a horror movie in the living room.

As the suspense of the desolate island neared the end, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but criticize, "What kind of ghost story is this? No ghost after all this hype, can you believe it?"

"I told you it's a terrible movie, but you insisted on watching." Xia Xiaoxiao was speechless; watching the horror film almost made her laugh – this movie was certainly unique.

"And I don't feel it was that great either, netizens were just overhyping it."

Xu Qingfan compared Ruan Wen and the movie star in his mind, and no matter whether it was size or shape, Xiao Ruawen won hands down!

"Hmm?" Xia Xiaoxiao cast him a lethal glare.

Xu Qingfan immediately defended himself righteously, "What are you looking at? I mean the island – it doesn't even seem as big as Chuxi Village. Xia Xiaoxiao, you wouldn't be thinking of something weird, would you?"

"Tch~" Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him; the yacht storyline was so ridiculous that it almost stretched out its neck, and there he was still making excuses.

"Brother Fan, is the movie over?" Wu Lingyu asked, barely revealing her eyes from Xu Qingfan's embrace.

"Little Yu, you're actually scared? You won't be too frightened to sleep alone at night, will you?" Xu Qingfan teased as he rubbed Little Yu's head, laughing heartily.

"I… I... hee." Wu Lingyu shyly smiled, not stubbornly arguing to the contrary.

"It's okay. Little Yu, we can sleep together tonight." Xia Xiaoxiao became extra vigilant.

"Ha, aren't you going to go back and keep your aunt company?" Xu Qingfan yawned; it was already close to midnight after finishing the movie, which was his usual bedtime.

"Tomorrow." Xia Xiaoxiao uttered two words coolly, on higher alert.

"All right then, I'll go upstairs to brush my teeth first. Remember to lock the door from the inside before you come up." Xu Qingfan left the two women's embrace; having been hugged by them for so long, his arms were almost infused with their scent.

"Got it." Wu Lingyu quickly grabbed the remote to pause the replay of the movie.

After Xu Qingfan went upstairs, Xia Xiaoxiao's eyes spun, and she whispered to Little Yu, "He just wanted to watch the movie star. What a big lecher! You should be careful around him from now on, Little Yu."

"Eh?"

Wu Lingyu didn't browse Weibo much and cared even less about the entertainment industry, so she didn't immediately understand what "movie star" meant.

After Xia Xiaoxiao gestured towards her own "movie star," Wu Lingyu got the point immediately.

"Ah... Brother Fan... he isn't that kind of guy, is he..." Little Yu's defense for Xu Qingfan lacked conviction.

[Brother Fan is exactly that kind of guy!]

Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes, remembering how he teased her in the afternoon about "knowing what food he liked," the nasty dog's preferred food being the "movie star," what else?

[He's not that kind of guy, he definitely is!]

"I'm just giving you a heads-up. Tomorrow I'm going back to sleep next door, and it will be just you two at home. Little Yu, be a bit cautious of him." Xia Xiaoxiao continued to apply her cautionary words.

"Ah... oh-oh... got it." Wu Lingyu's bashfulness showed.

Xia Xiaoxiao felt relieved, knowing that besides Ruan Wen, she didn't need to worry about Little Yu having her heart stolen.

[That leaves Wanning and Yiyi...]

"Got it, let's go upstairs to sleep."

"Okay!"

[Xiaoxiao thinks she can fool me, hilarious!]

A sense of superiority welled up in Wu Lingyu's heart.

...

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

"Ha~" Early in the morning, Xu Qingfan was yawning continuously.

"Brother Fan, did you not sleep well?" During breakfast, Wu Lingyu asked with concern.

"Ha~ A little, I'll catch up on sleep at noon." Xu Qingfan languidly nibbled on the fried dough stick,

He did not simply sleep poorly; he practically hadn't slept at all.

The rascal had deliberately left his door ajar last night, thinking that either Xia Xiaoxiao or Wu Lingyu would come visiting.

But as the night crept on, he never saw so much as a shadow; he didn't get the Jing Kun treatment, and the lube on the bedside table remained untouched.

Once he was sure the two girls had secured their defenses for the night, Xu Qingfan returned the lube to the drawer and took a cold shower in the bathroom. It was nearly dawn by the time he finally managed to fall asleep.

"Could it be that someone stubbornly watched a horror movie and then was too scared to sleep alone?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked curiously, looking at him.

"Bullshit, apart from Fan Bingbing, what's so good about that movie?" Xu Qingfan waved his hand, showing signs of real lethargy, not even realizing that he had inadvertently revealed his true thoughts.

Xia Xiaoxiao signaled Wu Lingyu with her eyes, her expression seeming to say: See, he just wants to watch Fan Bingbing!

Wu Lingyu gave a slight smile, hunching her shoulders a bit.

"It's starting to get a little chilly, let's go to the market later and buy some mutton, we can have a mutton hotpot for lunch," Xu Qingfan said, patting his face with his hand.

[Tonight Xiao Xiao will sleep at home, rest well at noon, and ask Yu for a reward in the evening. I want to experience Jing Kun's treatment today!]

Having just woken up, the dog of a man was already looking forward to the evening.

"Hmm."

"I want the kind with tendons."

...

The three of them left the house after eating breakfast.

Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu got on the electric bike driven by Xu Qingfan. In the dry autumn and winter air, despite the street sweepers having just cleaned, the ground quickly became covered with dry yellow leaves.

"Is it even fifteen degrees today? Do you want to go back and put on an extra piece of clothing?" Xu Qingfan, wearing only a long-sleeve shirt, felt the chill of the cold wind as he drove.

"Brother Fan, I'm not cold."

Xia Xiaoxiao sat in the middle, resting her chin on his shoulder: "If you're feeling weak, don't drag us into it."

"See that stinky ditch up ahead?"

"What about it?"

"Believe it or not, I'll drive the bike into it?"

"I don't believe it!" Xia Xiaoxiao retorted with feigned arrogance.

Alright, Xu Qingfan really didn't dare to drive into the ditch, after all, Yu was sitting on the bike.

"Next time it's just the two of us, I'll drive it in and jump off myself," Xu Qingfan gently bumped her with the back of his head and continued to drive seriously.

"Hmph~ I'll hold on tight to you!"

In reality, Xia Xiaoxiao indeed had her arms wrapped around Xu Qingfan's waist.

"Brother Fan, have we taken a wrong turn?" Wu Lingyu noticed something off with the road and whispered a reminder.

"Ah... right, right, it's all Xia Xiaoxiao's fault!"

"He's like this when he gets weak, has a bad memory."

Xu Qingfan: ...

In today's round of banter, Xia Xiaoxiao emerged a complete victor.

...

After buying groceries from the market and returning home, the three of them started preparing lunch in the kitchen.

"How's your thing going?"

Xu Qingfan glanced at Xia Xiaoxiao and continued to skim the froth off the broth.

"That comic book, wasn't it said to be published?"

"Oh, right, it should be distributed nationwide by the end of the month," Xu Qingfan explained.

"Is it going to make a lot of money again?" Xia Xiaoxiao continued to inquire.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you suddenly interested in this? It's unpredictable, depends on whether the market likes it or not," Xu Qingfan was 99% sure that the rabbit-themed series would be a hit, but chose to play it down for now.

"I think the market will definitely like it, 'That Rabbit' is really good and you can learn history from it," Wu Lingyu interjected.

"Xu Qingfan, do you think I should also cultivate a hobby?"

"A hobby? You have plenty, don't you? You're adept at all sorts of things, like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting," Xu Qingfan blinked.

"A money-making hobby," Xia Xiaoxiao clarified.

"Psh~ You're not short on money, why bother with such thoughts?" Xu Qingfan patted her shoulder.

"I... Oh." Xia Xiaoxiao thought it over but still didn't voice her true feelings.

In fact, she just didn't want to fall behind Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi, who were making money, so she also wanted to earn money to prove herself.

"But then again, if you really want to make money, you might have a chance in two years," Xu Qingfan thought of game streaming; with Xia Xiaoxiao's looks and skill, making a small fortune would be no problem.

"What?"

"Playing games, you know."

"Tsk~ If you don't want to talk about it, forget it."

...