Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

The aftermath was indeed as Xu Qingfan had anticipated: after Guan Biyue collected the winter homework, she simply flipped through it with her thumb to make sure there were no blanks and then paid it no further attention. Over thirty happy winter holiday workbooks huddled in a corner gathering dust, just waiting for someone destined to take them and remake them. With the start of the new semester, new vibes were in the air; whether you were in the classroom, the cafeteria, or the restroom, your nose could always catch the lingering scent of 84 disinfectant after the floors had been mopped. After getting used to the early eight o'clock starts that turned people into zombies for the first few days, life quickly returned to its peaceful routine. ... "Our group's temperature is normal," Xu Qingfan yawned and reported the body temperatures of his group members to Xiao Ruawen. "Anyone with a cough or a runny nose?" Xiao Ruawen asked earnestly after marking a '√' next to the first group and looking up. Xu Qingfan shook his head: "No." "Hmm." "Brother Qing Fan, someone is looking for you!" Suddenly, Lin Wanning's voice came from behind him. He nodded and smiled at Xiao Ruawen, then turned around and looked toward the door, where, sure enough, there was a familiar figure eagerly waiting. Xu Qingfan showed a look of surprise: "Why are you here?" "Thank you! This is for you, my mom made it herself!" Wu Lingyu held up a red plastic bag in her right hand, offering it to Xu Qingfan with both hands. Maybe it was because the weather was too cold, but the little girl's hands and face were both rosy red. "No need for that, we're all classmates, no need to be so formal," Xu Qingfan smiled, showing his teeth as he took the plastic bag from the little girl. Wu Lingyu felt a bit embarrassed and shyly nodded her head: "Thanks to you guys, my mom said from now on you guys can have kebabs for free, I'm going back to class now!" The little girl spoke and then turned to run away. "Wait a minute!" Xu Qingfan called her back. Wu Lingyu, who had run out a couple of meters, turned around and came back, tilting her head in confusion: "What is it?" "Wait for me," Xu Qingfan said as he turned to rummage through his backpack. "Take this, you can use it on your face and hands." He handed his own skincare cream, Seven-day Fragrance, to the little girl. Wu Lingyu gaped in surprise, standing at the door, stunned and unmoving. "Apply it once before bed and after washing your face, remember that," Xu Qingfan said, grabbing her hand and stuffing the Seven-day Fragrance into it. He felt like he was holding a block of ice when he gripped her hand. Feeling the warmth in her hand, Wu Lingyu snapped back to reality: "No... no need!" She reached out to return it to Xu Qingfan. "If you don't take it, I won't come to your place for kebabs anymore!" Xu Qingfan put on an angry face. Wu Lingyu, a bit intimidated by his gaze, hesitantly took the skincare cream: "Then thank you... I'll take it, just don't stop coming for kebabs!" she said, mustering her courage. "Good! I'll come to eat when we get a break this week," Xu Qingfan nodded with a smile. "Okay, I'm leaving!" As the bell for class rang, Wu Lingyu left in a hurry. Guan Biyue happened to be on her way to the class and saw the little girl running off in haste. Then she looked at Xu Qingfan, who was standing at the door, with a meaningful expression on her face. "Why are you still standing there? Should I give you a class off so you can chase after her?" Guan Biyue snuck up behind Xu Qingfan and smacked him on the head. Xu Qingfan shuddered and looked up at her speechlessly: "Ms. Guan, scaring someone to death, don't you know?" "It's Ms. Guan to you! You rascal, get back to your seat!" Guan Biyue flicked his forehead again. "Class is starting!" "Good morning, teacher!" "Good morning, students, take a seat, but before we start, let the teacher give you a brain teaser. The first student to come up with the answer gets a little red flower as a reward!" "Wow~" The classmates joined in the rallying cheer cooperatively. "This morning on my way out, I passed by a flower shop where I spent twenty yuan on a bunch of flowers and then resold them for twenty-five yuan," "Five yuan, the teacher made five yuan!" Before Guan Biyue could finish, several children who had worked out the answer had already started raising their hands. It was just 25 minus 20, easy peasy! Guan Biyue patted the microphone to signal everyone to quiet down, "The teacher hasn't finished yet. After selling the flowers for 25 yuan, I regretted it and bought them back for 28 yuan. Finally, I sold the flowers for 30 yuan. Now, the question is, did the teacher make or lose money?" Many children's minds short-circuited all of a sudden. That's not right, shouldn't it ask how much the teacher made in total and then it's just 25 minus 20? What's with the rest, what's going on? The hubbub suddenly ceased, and the sound of pencils scrabbling on draft paper could be heard in the class. Xu Qingfan was also confused upon hearing this. He aimlessly wrote '25 minus 20, 28 minus 25, 30 minus 28' on the paper. After writing, he felt something was off and crossed it out with his pen. "The teacher knows!" A child raised their hand, stood up, and explained confidently, "Teacher, you lost one yuan! You earned five yuan the first time you sold the flowers, 25 minus 20, the second time you lost eight yuan, and the third time you earned another two yuan. So, in total, you lost one yuan!" The kid stood up proudly, chest puffed out like a soldier waiting to be awarded a medal of honor. "That's not right, do any other students have a different answer?" Guan Biyue covered her mouth to hide her laughter and gestured for the student to sit down. When Guan Biyue looked his way, Xu Qingfan broke into a sweat. Had his brain devolved? How could he not figure this out! Xia Xiaoxiao glanced at Xu Qingfan, who was still calculating on the paper, and secretly smiled, raising her hand, "Teacher, I know the answer!" "Xiaoxiao, you answer," Guan Biyue said with an encouraging look. Xia Xiaoxia walked onto the stage, picked up a piece of chalk, and began to write while explaining, "You made a total of seven yuan! This is how I thought about it: let's assume you originally had 50 yuan. After buying the flowers, you're left with 50 minus 20 equals 30 yuan. After selling the flowers the first time, you have 30 plus 25 equals 55 yuan. When you bought the flowers the second time, you're left with 55 minus 28 equals 27 yuan. After selling the flowers for 30 yuan, you end up with 27 plus 30 equals 57 yuan. So, 57 minus 50 equals 7 yuan!" "Oh~" After hearing Xia Xiaoxiao's explanation, the whole class instinctively sat up straight. Guan Biyue led the applause, "Did everyone understand?" "We understood!" Guan Biyue stuck a little red flower sticker on Xia Xiaoxiao's finger, which could be exchanged for a gift at her place once a certain number were collected. Sure enough, a fresh mind is more useful. As Xia Xiaoxiao returned to her seat, Xu Qingfan turned around and gave her a thumbs-up, "Impressive!" "Hmph~" Xia Xiaoxiao tilted her head with pride. After class, Xu Qingfan opened the plastic bag that Wu Lingyu had given him earlier. Inside were some marinated duck products and more than a kilogram of sliced marinated beef! He picked up a piece of duck neck and took a couple of bites. Xu Qingfan's eyes lit up. It was surprisingly tasty, somewhat like the Zhou Heiya he had tasted in his previous life. "This is delicious, come try some!" Xu Qingfan invited his team members and passing classmates to taste. "Thanks, Brother Fan!" "So generous, Brother Fan!" Hearing there was food, the whole class swarmed over, laughing and jostling for a bite. After the crowd dispersed, only less than half a bag of marinated snacks remained. Xu Qingfan shared some with Xia Xiaoxiao, and the remainder was savored slowly by their own group. "Brother Qing Fan, the one who just spoke, isn't she the one who's always tied with you and Xiaoxiao for first place in exams? How do you know her?" Lin Wanning asked as she bit into a duck neck, looking up at Xu Qingfan. He recounted the story of how he and Xiaoxiao went out for fried skewers during the winter break, "Her mum wanted to pay for my dad's car fare, but he wouldn't accept it, so she gave me these duck necks instead!" "Uncle Xu is really a good person! So is Brother Qing Fan!" Lin Wanning looked at Xu Qingfan with admiration after hearing the story. Xu Qingfan: ... [No giving out good person cards, please!] Xu Qingfan patiently explained the whole story again to Zhang Yiyi on the paper, then he received two sets of admiring stares. "Her mum doesn't have any health issues, right?" Lin Wanning asked with concern. "Nothing serious. I heard my dad say she just had a bit of cold and was too tired from overworking, causing her body to not keep up, and she fainted." "That's good then!" Lin Wanning turned to look at Xia Xiaoxiao and then back at Xu Qingfan, "Brother Qing Fan, next time you go out for fried skewers, can you take Ningning along? I've never had them before!" The little girl clasped her hands together, gazing at him eagerly. "Sure, sure, sure!" "And you have to bring Yiyi too!" Seeing Chen Qiuyue listening to their conversation, Lin Wanning added, "And Qiuyue too!"