Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

At seven in the evening, Xu Xia's two families gathered in front of the TV, watching the DV Live (formerly All Citizens DV) broadcast on the Hong Kong public channel at exactly seven o'clock every night. The TV host, speaking in the traditional Cantonese of Old West Gate, said, "These days, a comic book is very popular in Hong Kong. It's said to be drawn by a group of first graders. What's going on? Let's take a look." "Here it comes, it's Xiao Fan's news!" Yao Jinping excitedly grabbed Lin Jing's hand to remind her. Due to the phone call from the school, Xu Qingfan's book publishing could no longer be concealed. After inevitably facing a lecture from his parents, Yao Jinping asked the key question—how much money did the comics make! Fortunately, with Zhang Chunxue's cooperation, Xu Qingfan casually threw out a number of ten thousand, and the unsuspecting Yao Jinping actually believed it. It's not that Xu Qingfan intended to deceive his own parents; it's just that putting the money in the bank would be a waste! With that money, as long as he avoided domestic futures and stocks, he could make a fortune by buying a house in the urban villages and waiting for demolition. While Xu Qingfan was gleefully planning his future business empire, he got slapped by his mother right in the face. "Mom! Why did you hit me? Be careful when you get old I..." Xu Qingfan said resentfully, rubbing the spot where he had just been hit. He initially wanted to say that he would refuse to sign as a family member when Yao Jinping got old, but such jokes were not appropriate at this time. Facing his mother's deadly glare, Xu Qingfan obediently shut his mouth. "What are you planning to do when I get old? When I get old, I should still be able to hit you!" Yao chimed in again, giving her son another thump on the head, "All day long, you don't know what you're thinking, smiling so cheekily. Learn from Xiaoxiao, who finishes her homework and still knows to study with a dictionary!" Xu Qingfan rolled his eyes silently. As for why he had been hit just now, he was too lazy to care anymore, for in Hong Kong, it was considered natural for a father to hit his son. Xia Xiaoxiao closed her Xinhua dictionary, pursed her lips, and giggled secretly. "The final exams are coming up, your drawing hasn't affected your studies, has it?" Yao chimed in. "Don't worry, you don't need to worry about your son's grades until high school!" Xu Qingfan said, giving a rare honest statement. "Don't be cocky, humility leads to progress, arrogance leads to setbacks. Look at Xiaoxiao and Lingyu, isn't each of them studying hard every day after school!" Xu Qingfan glared resentfully at Xia Xiaoxiao, thinking: [Can't you just study in your own room secretly? What's the deal with bringing your homework to my house to write!] "Okay, okay, our Xiao Fan is quite humble. How could he always be first in every exam? Ignore your mother!" Lin Jing chided, pushing Yao's hand away and pulling Xu Qingfan close to herself. "Exactly, exactly, mom, you should listen more to Aunt Lin, Auntie graduated from a normal university!" Xu Qingfan joked from behind Lin Jing's back. "You little rascal, itching for a spanking, aren't you!" Yao got up to grab the feather duster hanging on the wall. "Aunt, help me stop my mom!" Xu Qingfan pulled Xia Xiaoxiao, who had been enjoying the show, and dashed out of the house. After moving to Xia Xiaoxiao's room, the little girl glared at Xu Qingfan and said, "Why did you drag me into this? I'm not the one getting beaten!" "You're always enjoying the drama. Why do you keep carrying that Xinhua dictionary around?" Xu Qingfan flicked Xia Xiaoxiao's forehead lightly and comfortably lay down on her big bed. "Get up! You're not allowed on my bed without a shower!!" Xia Xiaoxiao huffed as she pushed Xu Qingfan off. [Why does that sound a bit odd?] He scratched his head, then sat back down on the chair and asked Xia Xiaoxiao, "How's your music notation class going recently?" "It's already written!" Xia Xiaoxiao opened the drawer of her vanity, took out a notebook with a password lock, opened it, and flipped through to show Xu Qingfan. Xia Xiaoxiao had always had the habit of keeping a diary. Seeing the familiar yet strange diary in front of him, Xu Qingfan was suddenly reminded of bits and pieces from his past life. The last time he saw this diary in his previous life was when he was helping Aunt Lin sort through Xia Xiaoxiao's belongings... "Can I take a look at your diary?" Xu Qingfan suddenly became curious about the contents of Xia Xiaoxiao's diary. Her answer was naturally not surprising to him: "No!" The little girl protectively hugged the diary to her chest. "Alright, alright, no need to look at yours anymore; as long as we have the music sheet, we're good. Let's find a time to record the song." Xu Qingfan, lacking enthusiasm, leaned against the back of the chair, watching the little girl who guarded him as if guarding against a thief. "Where shall we record it?" Xia Xiaoxiao locked her notebook and put it back in the cabinet. [That's a problem.] Xu Qingfan thought it over. It was still possible to continue asking Zhang Chunxue for help, but it seemed rather inappropriate to bother her with such a trivial matter, especially since Aunt Zhang dealt with millions every minute. From what Xu Qingfan briefly understood, Zhang Chunxue should have an investment company and an advertising company under her; he couldn't say exactly how large, but it should be a piece of cake for a powerful woman who could afford a Maserati in 2003. "How about asking Teacher Guan for help?" Xu Qingfan suddenly came up with the idea. "Is that okay?" Xia Xiaoxiao squinted doubtfully. "Why wouldn't it be? That Teacher Guan is quite cunning, she even tricked me, saying she'd help me get rid of the demerit this semester!" Xu Qingfan remembered what he had heard in the office a few days ago, and the feeling of being duped surged within him. "So, was it removed?" The little girl still cared about the little rascal. "The principal said she never actually recorded any demerit for me; it was just to fool everyone!" "What?" Actually, Xu Qingfan really misunderstood Guan Biyue. Just a few days after saying that last semester, Guan Biyue took action, but after knowing the truth, Teacher Guan thought it would be good to scare Xu Qingfan a bit, so she didn't tell him the facts. Xia Xiaoxiao was initially pleased, but quickly scowled and said, "Teacher Guan is very nice; stop speaking ill of her!" "I was just joking. Didn't Teacher Guan ask someone for help at the New Year's Eve party last semester? I feel that person is quite close to her!" Xu Qingfan said sheepishly. "Teacher Guan and sister Ya are both girls; what's so unusual about that!" "You won't understand what I mean; let's take the music sheets and ask Teacher Guan tomorrow. If it doesn't work, we'll find another way!" "If you don't tell me, how will I understand..." Xia Xiaoxiao muttered under her breath. "If this song gets out, will it be as popular as 'Hilarious Daily'?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked. "It should be popular, just won't make any money." Publishing music isn't as simple as publishing books. For books, you just need to spend money on the publisher, but with music, if you don't sign with a record label, no one will bother to distribute and promote it on all channels out of the blue. "As long as more people listen to this song than watch 'Hilarious Daily,' that's enough for me!" Xia Xiaoxiao declared, not caring about making money as she wasn't short of spending money. "Yeah, once we finish recording the song, we'll upload it online, and hundreds of millions of internet users across the country will be able to hear it!" Xu Qingfan said. "Can 'Hilarious Daily' be seen by hundreds of millions?" "Probably not." Xu Qingfan quietly chuckled to himself, finding her strange competitive spirit amusing. "Oh!" "Hey, hey, hey, why are you pushing me out for!?" "Go away, I'm starting to write my diary!!" "I won't peek; just let me hide in here a bit longer, my mom hasn't cooled off yet!" "I don't believe you, Xu Stinky Pig!"