Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"Xiao Xiao!" From a distance, Xiao Ruawen rode her bicycle towards the entrance of Lianhua Courtyard, and upon arriving, asked, "Aren't we biking there?" Seeing that neither of the two had bikes, she asked in confusion. "Good afternoon, class leader. My dad will give us a ride later. You can park your bike inside the courtyard; no one will steal it!" Xu Qingfan stepped forward to help with the bike. "Good afternoon!" Xia Xiaoxiao rarely showed a smile. "Xiao Xiao, you didn't come to play with me during the holiday!" Xiao Ruawen affectionately hugged Xia Xiaoxiao's arm and acted coquettishly. "You two wait here for a sec, I'll take the bike back first." Neither of them paid him any mind, and Xu Qingfan, feeling awkward, pushed the bike away by himself. When he came back, Xiao Ruawen was inexplicably holding a copy of "Hilarious Daily" comic book, waving it in front of him, "Brother Fan, you treat us differently. You didn't tell me about drawing comics like you told Xiao Xiao!" Xiao Ruawen showed her cute little fangs and glared at him fiercely. "Ha ha~ I actually planned to give it to you as a gift for Children's Day, but Zhao Wumian from class ten spoiled it." "Psh~ You're lying. How did Xiao Xiao find out about it early if you didn't tell her? You just don't consider me a friend!!" Xiao Ruawen took two steps to the right, pulling Xia Xiaoxiao away, seemingly ready to sever ties with Xu Qingfan. Xia Xiaoxiao's expression was tight, but a barely detectable smile that was spotted by Xu Qingfan betrayed their plot to tease him. "Xia Xiaoxiao, stop pretending; I saw you snicker! Are you two teaming up to play a trick on me, huh? What mischievous plan are you cooking up?" Xu Qingfan walked up to them, amused, and gave each of the little ones a knuckle on the head. "You dare to hit people! Xiao Xiao, let's go. We're never talking to him again!" Xiao Ruawen crinkled her nose and glared at Xu Qingfan, pulling Xia Xiaoxiao's arm and walking away. "Hey~ Don't leave!" Xu Qingfan hastily took a few quick steps to catch up. "Hmph! Keep your distance, I thought you were my best friend, Xu Qingfan, but you've even kept your drawing from me!" Xiao Ruawen pulled Xia Xiaoxiao to her right side to keep her away from Xu Qingfan. "Alright, alright, I apologize, okay? Let's talk about it, what do you want me to do?" Xu Qingfan, resigned, slipped his hands into his pockets as he walked beside Xiao Ruawen. Upon hearing the satisfying answer, both little ones had sly smiles on their faces, "You have to hang out with us too!" Xiao Ruawen said out of the blue. "Aren't I already hanging out with you right now?" Xu Qingfan was completely confused. "Dumb! I mean, you have to hang out with us the way you do with Wan Ningyi and the others when you draw comics!!" "Dumb dog!" Xia Xiaoxiao chimed in from the side. "But you both don't know how to draw comics, how can I hang out with you in that way?" Xu Qingfan still didn't quite understand what they meant. "I don't care! We want to do something together with you, just like Wan Ningyi and the others, something that, like drawing comics, can bear fruit!" Xiao Ruawen argued illogically but forcefully. "You guys want to make money too?" "Xu Qingfan, you're such a pig!!!" Xia Xiaoxiao glared at him angrily and after scolding him, quickly walked away, pulling Xiao Ruawen with her. "Stinky pig, dumb pig, big fat pig!" Xiao Ruawen's voice came from up ahead. "So what is it? Just tell me what you want, why beat around the bush, how am I supposed to understand if you don't say!" Xu Qingfan followed them, looking constipated. Luckily, neither of the little ones added: "True understanding needs no explanation." "I don't know how you got a perfect score in language, we just want to produce a comic book with you like Wan Ningyi and the others. Of course, I'm not saying we want to draw comics, but you have to think of something that the three of us can complete together, something that can yield results like drawing comics!" After organizing her thoughts, Xiao Ruawen expressed their demand clearly and unambiguously. "Ah?" Xu Qingfan genuinely hadn't realized that was what they meant. [Could it be because I left them out while drawing comics, these two little ones are jealous?] he wondered to himself. "What 'ah'? Is there or isn't there? If not, think quick!" Xia Xiaoxiao glared at him reproachfully. "How can I come up with something on the spot? Drawing comics was also just a spontaneous idea I had when I went to the library with Xiao Xiao one day. Or tell me, what do you want to do, what are you good at?" Xu Qingfan directly bounced the question right back at them. The two little ones fell into thought, unconsciously slowing their walking pace. Xu Qingfan didn't rush them and patiently followed along. "How about singing?" Xiao Ruawen replied uncertainly. "Singing?" Xu Qingfan pondered the feasibility of this idea in his mind. Undoubtedly, he remembered many blockbuster songs that had yet to be released, but if all these songs came from him, a seven-year-old, Xu Qingfan was worried it would cause unnecessary controversies. "Is that not okay?" Xiao Ruawen and Xia Xiaoxiao, seeing that Xu Qingfan had no further response, couldn't help but show disappointed expressions. "Do you mean for me to write songs for you to sing, or do you want to form a band like we did for the school's New Year's Eve show?" "Huh?!" "Brother Fan, you can write songs too???" The two youngsters stared at Xu Qingfan, speechless. "I do have some ideas," Xu Qingfan said, scratching his head, embarrassed, since he had plagiarized them. "Then what are we waiting for! Brother Fan, write it quick!!" Xiao Ruawen suddenly seemed like a different person, excitedly hugging Xu Qingfan's arm. "Brother Fan? Who is that? Why do I remember being called smelly pig, silly pig, big stupid pig just now?" Xu Qingfan deliberately avoided looking at the two youngsters and walked on, looking up at the sky. "Brother Qing Fan! Help us write the song~" Xiao Ruawen gave her best friend a look and copied Lin Wanning's great 'coquettish' method. Xu Qingfan got goosebumps all over his body from that "Brother Qing Fan." Xia Xiaoxiao, too embarrassed to lose face, only quietly grabbed his other arm. "Please, Brother Qing Fan~ Wenwen wants to sing too!" Already having a childlike voice, Xiao Ruawen's imitation of Lin Wanning's coquettish behavior was deadly effective. "Alright, alright, stop shouting, let go of me, we're almost at the convenience store!" Xu Qingfan was afraid his parents would see him flanked by arms from both sides. "So, do you agree or not!" Xiao Ruawen asked. "Agreed, agreed, I agree, okay? I'll write it when I get home tonight!" Xu Qingfan helplessly waved the white flag and surrendered. "Yay!!!" Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruawen simultaneously let go of Xu Qingfan's arms and joyfully high-fived each other. When a girl, capable of kicking a peer flying, suddenly acts coquettishly toward you, the contrast was too much for Xu Qingfan to handle. "Brother Fan, how long will you take to write the song?" Xiao Ruawen was already impatient, as singing was her favorite thing to do. Indeed, which little girl with a dream in music hasn't fantasized about having a song of her own? "I have it all in my head already, it's just a song I thought of on a whim when I was listening to 'Dongfengpo' recently. I'll sing it to you!" Xu Qingfan said. "Sing it, sing it!" the two urged, clapping their hands. "I'm a bit tone-deaf, so no laughing at me!" "Just sing, Brother Fan, stop dawdling!" "Here I go then, the song is called 'Peeping.' "When the swallows leave, the branches are full of red beans~" "Travelers far from home, don't ask when they'll return~" "....." "She sings as she meets an old friend in a foreign land~ One step, one cough, cough, cough..." "You said no laughing!" As Xu Qingfan reached the dramatic part of the song, his voice cracked, and the two youngsters couldn't help but laugh, covering their mouths. "Heh~ Brother Fan, we're not laughing! Cough, cough....." Xiao Ruawen struggled to stifle her laughter. "I'm not singing anymore!" Xu Qingfan already struggled with his singing, and their laughter meant he lost all courage to continue. "Boo hoo~ Brother Fan, we're sorry, keep singing, it sounds so good!" "No singing!" "Sing, please~" "Not singing!" "Sing, sing~" "No singing, no singing!" "..."