Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

The refreshed pair reunited in the living room.

"Auntie said we're cooking dinner tonight. I just checked the fridge, and there's not much left to use," Xia Xiaoxiao said as she looked out the window, trying to appear calm while chatting with Xu Qingfan.

"I'll go and start the rice, and then we can head to the market together," Xu Qingfan said with a delighted smile, whistling as he went into the kitchen.

Xia Xiaoxiao glanced reproachfully at his back, but soon a slight smile also spread across her face.

.....

"Let's go, time to buy groceries."

After cooking the rice, Xu Qingfan didn't ask for Xia Xiaoxiao's opinion, grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone, and pulled her out the door with him.

Xia Xiaoxiao had wanted to go with him anyway, so she happily let him lead her.

They took the elevator down to the basement garage, and soon they were riding their beloved electric scooter onto the road.

The winter wind was strong, but Xu Qingfan wore a windbreaker with the zipper pulled all the way up over a helmet so that Xia Xiaoxiao, sitting behind him, was shielded from the wind.

"What do you feel like eating tonight?" Xu Qingfan yelled over the wind.

"Anything," Xia Xiaoxiao replied softly.

Xu Qingfan only heard two syllables, but didn't catch exactly what Xia Xiaoxiao had said. However, based on his familiarity with the girl, he figured she'd said either "anything" or "dunno."

Although used to speaking Mandarin, Xia Xiaoxiao occasionally speaking Cantonese still felt quite cute to him.

They spoke Cantonese with their parents, but at school or with friends, they spoke Mandarin.

Sometimes Xu Qingfan would switch from answering his mom in Cantonese to speaking in Mandarin with Xia Xiaoxiao in the blink of an eye, but it was all habitual.

...

When they reached Fupeng Market, Xu Qingfan first dropped off Xia Xiaoxiao, parked the scooter, then came back and took her hand.

Xia Xiaoxiao's down jacket had large pockets, and their hands found their way there.

"What veggies do we have in the fridge? I forgot to check," Xu Qingfan asked.

"There are Shantou beef tendon balls, fish maw, and greens," Xia Xiaoxiao thought for a moment before answering.

"Does this mean we're having hotpot?"

"Or we can just cook the fish maw and beef tendon balls together."

"Either works."

Although she had not tricked anyone into buying her snacks while watching movies, lunch had dragged from one till two-thirty, so Xia Xiaoxiao wasn't very hungry and thus not particularly interested in food.

On the other hand, Xu Qingfan wanted to trick someone into treating him but was sternly refused by Xia Xiaoxiao—no way!

"Ah well, let's just have a hotpot then; I don't really know what to eat," said Xu Qingfan, scratching his head as he pulled her along to browse the individual stalls.

"Is this a free-range chicken, and can you slaughter it for us?" they asked an old man selling free-range chickens at one stall.

"Sure, do you want a rooster or a hen? Roosters are 20, hens 13," the old man asked in an accent-laden Mandarin.

"I'll take this one, please slaughter it for us," Xu Qingfan picked a bespectacled rooster and told the stall owner.

"Alright, good choice! This rooster is handsome. Do you want the chicken blood, boss?" The elder gave him an extra look, noticing that this was the best quality rooster in the cage.

"No, thanks. Just pluck it clean for me, thanks," Xu Qingfan responded.

"Sure thing," the old man agreed.

Xu Qingfan watched as he weighed and cut the chicken's throat, then he pulled out his wallet to pay, "Boss, we'll pick it up later; here's the money for now."

"Sure thing," the elder repeated.

After paying, Xu Qingfan continued to stroll ahead with Xia Xiaoxiao.

"You know how to pick chickens?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked curiously, obviously having caught the old man's earlier comment.

"Not really, I just saw that rooster wearing glasses and there was a gizzard stone on its shank, so I picked it," Xu Qingfan shrugged.

"Huh?" Xia Xiaoxiao sounded confused.

"Other chickens weren't wearing glasses, right? You don't think only that one was short-sighted, do you?"

"Is that not the case?" Xia Xiaoxiao, always a city dweller, really didn't know these things.

"I heard from my grandpa that roosters like to fight, so they wear glasses. With them on, they can't see well enough to fight," he explained.

"Being feisty means they're active, so the meat must be good."

Xu Qingfan explained his logic in choosing the chicken.

"Oh," Xia Xiaoxiao nodded, filing away another useless snippet of everyday knowledge.

...

After purchasing the essential hotpot ingredients like dried beancurd sticks and tofu, the two returned to the chicken vendor they had visited earlier.

"Here are your chickens." The old man, seeing them return, handed them a rooster wrapped in a bright red plastic bag.

"Let me check if the feathers have been plucked properly." Xu Qingfan handed the bag to Xia Xiaoxiao and opened it in front of the seller.

The rooster's comb and feet were exactly as he had chosen; the vendor was an honest man.

"It's plucked clean, but I left a few tufts on the rear in case you're using it for a ritual," the old man explained, unfamiliar with city slicker ways.

"Mmm, thank you, sir. We'll come to you when we need another chicken."

"After I sell these few chickens, I won't be coming here for a long time."

...

Having spent five yuan to have the chicken butchered, the duo carried the large rooster back home.

Chicken feet, bones, and various medicinal ingredients like codonopsis, red dates, and cordyceps were boiled together for the soup base. The chicken meat, fresh and not pre-marinated, tasted excellent after just being blanched.

"It's almost ready. Call them to come back for dinner," Xu Qingfan said after skimming the froth from the soup, talking to Xia Xiaoxiao, who was watching him work.

"Oh."

Obediently, Xia Xiaoxiao took out her phone and tagged Xu Aiguo, Yao Jiping, and Lin Jing in a WeChat group.

Their little brother, smelling the chicken, pushed off vigorously and jumped onto the dining table.

Xia Xiaoxiao hurriedly scooped him into her arms, guiltily glancing at Xu Qingfan, who was busy in the kitchen.

"Dad will scold you, but mom will secretly slip you some meat," she whispered into the little brother's ear.

"Meow~" The little brother seemed to understand her and responded with a meow.

Xia Xiaoxiao stroked the little brother's head and held him at the kitchen doorway.

Xu Qingfan, hearing the noise, glanced at the doorway, and chided after seeing she had let the cat out again, "Why did you let him out again? Wait until he knocks over the hot pot and see if I don't scold you."

Quietly, Xia Xiaoxiao did not argue back, and only after Xu Qingfan had turned away did she make funny faces at his back.

"Do you need any help?" she asked softly.

"Not right now. Just keep an eye on little brother and open a can for him to eat. Don't let him eye my chicken," Xu Qingfan said, seeing through her little act as he turned around.

Xia Xiaoxiao bit her lip, glared at him, and then left the kitchen with the cat.

"Chicken doesn't taste good at all, not tasty at all. We're going to eat delicious canned cat food," Xia Xiaoxiao locked the cat back in its house but still rewarded it with a can.

The little brother wasn't picky and immediately dug into his meal.

"Xu Qingfan, the hot pot water is boiling!"

The outside temperature was only eight degrees, but it felt like spring around the hot pot heater.

"If it's boiling, just turn it down to the lowest setting. Do you really have to ask me?" Xu Qingfan's voice came from the kitchen, full of disdain.

"I already did, just letting you know!" Xia Xiaoxiao retorted loudly, her fists clenched in annoyance.

"Then good for you," Xu Qingfan's exasperating voice came again.

Xia Xiaoxiao: ...

"Keep talking that way, and I'll tell Auntie when she comes back that you this afternoon... Uh."

Xia Xiaoxiao hadn't finished her rant when the living room door suddenly opened; it was Yao Jiping and Lin Jing.

"What did you want to tell me, Xiao Xiao?"

"Yeah, what happened with Xiao Xiao and Xiao Fan this afternoon?"

Both asked simultaneously.

"Uh... Hehehe..."

Xia Xiaoxiao visibly tensed; what she and Xu Qingfan did in the afternoon was, of course, to exercise!

"Nothing, nothing, just kidding, Auntie," she said, waving her hands awkwardly.

"It's nothing. I tricked her this afternoon saying my watch was luminous and had her get under the covers to see, then I let out a fart inside," Xu Qingfan nonchalantly said as he came out of the kitchen.

Xia Xiaoxiao, Yao Jiping, Lin Jing: ???

"Xu Qingfan, go die!"

"Pfft.... Hahaha!"

...