Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

...

A bottle of red wine was quickly finished by the six of them, and the girls, feeling the fun was just not enough, opened a second bottle, and then a third...

By almost three in the afternoon, their faces were slightly flushed, and they finally finished their lunch.

Making Xu Qingfan work like a horse was just a joke, the caring sisters who would never really want to wear out their brother hurried him out of the kitchen after eating, and began to cooperate on the post-meal cleanup.

Wu Lingyu was washing dishes, Zhang Yiyi and Lin Wanning were cleaning the countertops, while Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruawen were taking care of the greasy walls and the range hood.

The five of them seemed to get along as before, but vaguely, everyone felt something was different.

Everything seemed to start with that kiss from last year.

It all began when Xia Xiaoxiao kissed Xu Qingfan in front of Lin Wanning, which led to Zhang Yiyi and Lin Wanning cheating and escaping during the King's game. This in turn caused the "misunderstood first kiss" incident between Xu Qingfan and Xiao Ruawen.

Wu Lingyu was shocked to her core upon witnessing her Brother Fan kissing another girl in her own room, so much so that for a long period afterward, she just wasn't herself.

Especially after the stolen kiss and the incident with the two little secrets, Yu felt a secret delight. While feeling a tad guilty about her own cheating, she also felt a sneaky thrill.

As for Xia Xiaoxiao, she believed the kiss on the rooftop had sealed the deal. She thought that after Xu Qingfan went that far, he had to give her an explanation, right?

Claiming she did it to thank him was just an expedient excuse, it was just because she was young then. When she turned eighteen and grew up, the stinky dog was inevitably going to be her boyfriend. In short, Xiaoxiao felt she had hit the jackpot.

Lin Wanning's first kiss was more of an accident. She only meant to peck Qingfan Brother like that, but then one thing led to another, and then another, which all happened unexpectedly.

[It must be because Brother Qingfan likes Wanning so much, heehee!] That's what the girl thought.

So that's why Zhang Yiyi pulled off the bathroom play today.

The reason why Zhang Yiyi was so wild at noon had many contributing factors.

First of all, it was because Lin Wanning cheated and took off without her again, and this wasn't the first time it had happened.

Secondly, Wanning told her that kissing was magical, and Brother Fan was so good at it, which made the girl's heart itch with curiosity.

And lastly, as the daughter of Zhang Chunxue, she inherently had a rebellious streak, it had just never had a chance to show itself before.

Now, Yu felt she had a little secret with Brother Fan, which made her very happy and sweetly giggling...

Xia Xiaoxiao believed Xu Qingfan was already in the bag, jackpot!

Both Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi thought that Xu Qingfan had only been like that with them, and by the time they turned seventeen, they would put their plan into action, then see what that brother had to say!

As for Xiao Ruawen.

"Don't worry, that He Caiting who came up to Qingfan this morning, I have no idea where she sprang from, but once school starts, I'll keep a tight watch in class to prevent those bad women from getting close to Brother Fan!"

"Hmm!" All four girls gave her an approving look.

[With Ruawen on guard, we can rest easy!]

...

Freshmen in their first year high school are required to undergo a week of military training, so school starts a week early for them.

The formal military training starts tomorrow, but since it's a boarding school, after the freshmen check-in in the morning, they have to take their luggage and bedding back to school and stay there in the afternoon.

The evening self-study session was a process of getting to know the new teachers and meeting the new classmates.

The six of them slept until five in the afternoon before getting up. After eating and bathing, the sky was slowly getting dark.

Dressed in their middle school uniforms, they strolled leisurely towards school like they were out for a post-dinner walk.

Seven o'clock at night.

Almost no cars could be seen driving by on the road, the dim streetlights casting the shadows of the six figures.

Listening to the unidentified insects chirping, even though they continued to joke and laugh, they couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of trepidation in their hearts.

After explaining their situation to the gatekeeper, they smoothly entered the campus.

Different from the daytime, the night square had no streetlights for illumination, and not a student was in sight.

The cement ground, scorched by the sun all afternoon, radiated residual heat, while the brightly lit teaching building ahead provided them with a sense of security.

Wu Lingyu tightened her fists; among the six of them, Ruan Wen had Brother Fan's company, Yiyi and Wanning were a pair, and Xiao Xiao was so impressive. Only she felt nervous about facing a new environment.

She had been protected under Xu Qingfan's wing throughout junior high and thought it would always be like this, but she didn't expect the separation to come so soon.

"See you after school."

"Brother Qing Fan, you have to come find us quickly after school!"

"Got it, I'll come down after school." Xu Qingfan patted each of the three girls on the head in turn. Xia Xiaoxiao, despite her reluctance, didn't brush his hand away.

"Don't you dare sit with any other girl except for Ruan Wen!" Xia Xiaoxiao glared at him and then turned and walked away without looking back.

"Hehe, don't worry, I promise to keep a very close eye on Brother Fan!" Xiao Ruawen pointed at her own eyes then at Xu Qingfan, signaling 'I've got my eyes on you.'

"Hehe~ Xiao Xiao is right, let's go to our class!"

"See you all after school."

Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi gave Xu Qingfan one last reluctant look and then left hand in hand.

Xu Qingfan pushed Wu Lingyu's reluctant shoulder, "Let's go too. We'll have different classes in the future anyway."

"Yeah!" Wu Lingyu turned back to look at him earnestly, suddenly feeling reassured.

[Just need to persevere for one year!]

"You can do it, Yu."

"Yeah, see you all tonight." Wu Lingyu smiled sweetly at the two of them and quickly disappeared around the corridor corner.

"It's all your fault, you annoying Brother Fan! Why do we have to split up?" Xiao Ruawen complained while punching his back and pushing him to keep going upstairs.

Xu Qingfan also felt a bit melancholic. Pretending not to care, he laid his hand on the girl's shoulder, "Haha, but I still have you, you silly goose."

"Hmph~" Xiao Ruawen clenched her fist and shook it in front of his eyes, "Brother Fan, if you dare flirt with other girls in class, I will, humph humph!"

"Dare I? With our class monitor here, I can continue having you as a class monitor in high school." Xu Qingfan ruffled her hair.

"Haha~ That's true. Anyway, we have evening self-study in high school, I, Hu Hansan, can be the class monitor again!" Xiao Ruawen, having put the thought of separation behind her, was looking forward to the new life in high school.

Xu Qingfan shook his head and, when they reached the fifth floor, he timely removed his hand from her shoulder.

Over the summer holiday, Xu Qingfan had grown a bit taller, now reaching 180 cm.

Xiao Ruawen was also not short; curvy and with a height of 170 cm.

The two of them were now walking down the corridor of the teaching building and immediately caught the attention of their classmates. After they completely disappeared from view, a low discussion began.

"That girl just now is so pretty; which class is she from, does anyone know?"

"She's Xiao Ruawen from the junior high's class nine six, I love her singing!"

"She writes songs too?"

"Duh, she's super popular. Give me your phone."

"Woah~ her boyfriend is so handsome too!"

"Not necessarily her boyfriend though..."

The other classes' discussions couldn't be heard by Xu Qingfan and Xiao Ruawen. After walking for a bit over a minute, they arrived at the door of Class 16 of the first year.

By then, the classroom was filled with students, with only the two desks and chairs at the very front of the first row empty.

Xu Qingfan and Xiao Ruawen exchanged a glance. He smiled and took a step forward to knock on the door. "Teacher, we are also students from class 16, we're not late, are we?"

The whole class's gaze suddenly turned towards them. The homeroom teacher, surnamed Guo, smiled and said, "No, no, the formal class isn't until 7:30, I'm just taking up some of the students' rest time. Come in and take a seat."

The class erupted in laughter for a moment, and Xu Qingfan nodded seriously, taking a careful look around the whole class before he and Xiao Ruawen took their seats in the last two empty spots.

[It's still this bunch of rascals.] He thought with a smile.

...