Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"Huff, huff~ Where are we going?" the two panted as they ran through the campus, Xia Xiaoxiao asked, tugging at Xu Qingfan. Xu Qingfan didn't really have a destination in mind when they bolted out of the office. "Let's head back to the classroom first." A thought flashed through Xu Qingfan's mind, perhaps he could seek help from Zhang Chunxue! Zhang Chunxue could be said to be the most open-minded parent he had ever met in both of his lives. Sometimes, while at Zhang Yiyi's house, Xu Qingfan would talk to her about the internet, e-commerce, 2G networks, mobile and PC ends... Zhang Chunxue would listen patiently to his views as a seven-year-old child, instead of dismissing him like most adults would. Truth be told, if Xu Qingfan were 40, he would certainly divorce to marry her, if 30, he would definitely break up to pursue her, if 20, he would try every possible way to get to know her, but unfortunately, he was only 7 this year, facing the pressure of nine years of compulsory education. It was a case of him being born too late and her being born too early. "Don't you want to skip a grade?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked. "Why should I skip a grade?" Xu Qingfan countered. "If you skip a grade, you can finish school faster and grow up!" "Stop thinking about such nonsense, studying won't make you grow up, constantly skipping grades can mess with your mind!" Xu Qingfan said sternly as he thumped Xia Xiaoxiao on the head. "You hit me again, fine, I won't skip then!" Xia Xiaoxiao returned the thump. "If you skip a grade, you won't be classmates with Xiao Ruawen anymore, and what about your dorm mates?" "Oh~" [I bet it's because you can't bear to part with Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi!] Xia Xiaoxiao thought to herself. When the two returned to the classroom, it was noisy and chaotic due to the absence of a teacher. "Brother Qingfan, where did Teacher Guan take you?" Lin Wanning said with a surprised look on her face when she saw Xu Qingfan come back. "We'll talk about that later, Yiyi, do you have your phone?" The classroom was so noisy that Zhang Yiyi had long since taken off her hearing aid and didn't hear Xu Qingfan speaking to her. Seeing the little girl's lack of response, Xu Qingfan gestured a "six" by her ear. Zhang Yiyi had an epiphany, turned around, and pulled out her phone from her backpack to give to him. Xu Qingfan pressed the "1" key twice, and the call connected quickly; he walked outside to answer it. "Hello?" "Aunt Zhang, it's Xu Qingfan. Please come and save me!" Xu Qingfan heard the sound of a glass cup hitting the floor, and through the phone came Zhang Chunxue's urgent voice, "Xiao Fan, what's wrong, did something happen to Yiyi?" "Auntie, Yiyi is fine, we are still at school, it's me who is in trouble!" Upon hearing her daughter was fine, Zhang Chunxue breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that since they were still at school, nothing major could have happened. "What's wrong with you, Xiao Fan? Tell auntie." "Auntie! The school wants me and Xiao Xiao to skip to fourth grade next semester, my parents agreed, but I don't want to skip a grade!" Zhang Chunxue couldn't help but frown upon hearing this: "Nonsense. Xiao Fan, wait for me at school, auntie will be right there!" "Auntie, hurry!" After hanging up the phone, Zhang Chunxue addressed the people in the meeting room with a stern face, "As I just mentioned, go contact that e-commerce company in Yanjing, meeting adjourned!" "Yes!" ... "Brother Qing Fan, don't skip a grade! Ningning won't let you go!!" When Xu Qingfan returned to his seat, Lin Wanning, who had just learned the truth from Xia Xiaoxiao, tearfully grabbed his arm. "I'm not going anywhere!" Zhang Yiyi also pitifully clutched at his sleeve. Seeing how reluctant the two of them were to part with him, Xu Qingfan's irritable mood instantly calmed down, "Don't worry, I definitely won't skip a grade. We haven't even released the second volume of our comic!" "Brother Qing Fan, you can't go back on your word. We made a pinkie promise!" Lin Wanning's small hand clung tightly to his arm, terrified that Xu Qingfan might disappear the next instant. Sitting at her desk and overhearing the conversation, Xia Xiaoxiao suddenly thought: [Skipping a grade might not be so bad...] "We'll go to the school gate together and wait for Yiyi's mom. Auntie is so capable, she will surely persuade my parents!" Xu Qingfan said to the others. "Yeah!" "Aunt Zhang will definitely have a solution!" After agreeing, they ran to the school gate, and soon a wine-red Maserati Quattroporte appeared at the entrance of the Experimental Primary School. Zhang Chunxue got out of the car, shook her messy hair, and tied it back with the hair tie she had wrapped around her wrist. [That's so cool!] Xu Qingfan thought, feeling a bit smitten. "Auntie!" Before Xu Qingfan could react, Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi were already dragging him toward Zhang Chunxue. Xia Xiaoxiao, still standing in place, hesitated to speak and glared angrily at Xu Qingfan's retreating figure before chasing after them. It was a pity that Immortal Sword Heroes would not be released for another two years; otherwise, Xia Xiaoxiao would have definitely complained, "It's a movie about four people, yet I'm always without a name!" "How's it going, where are your parents?" Zhang Chunxue, with a friendly expression, patted their heads. "They're probably still in the office. Auntie, I'll take you there. You must persuade my parents; I don't want to skip a grade!" Xu Qingfan poured out his woes. Seeing Xu Qingfan's frustrated expression was a rare sight, Zhang Chunxue said with a smile, "Rest assured, Auntie will help you persuade them. A good kid like you doesn't need to skip grades. That's just nonsense!" Xu Qingfan took out his phone and called his dad, "Dad, I'm coming back to the office; wait for me there!" "Where did that no-good kid run off to? Why can't I see you and Xiaoxiao in the class?" Xu Aiguo's voice came through the phone. "Alright, wait for us in the office. Stop running around!" When they arrived at the principal's office, both groups of people just happened to meet. Yao Jiping glared at Xu Qingfan and scolded, "You little brat, hurry up and apologize to the principal. You have no manners at all!" "No big deal, no big deal, let's talk inside, let's talk inside," Li Haichao invited everyone in cheerfully. Xu Qingfan knew without asking that during the time he and Xia Xiaoxiao had left, his parents and Principal Li had likely reached a preliminary consensus. Age was to blame; many decisions couldn't be made by oneself. But that's the educational philosophy in China: more than ninety percent of families never listen to their children, even when they're right. In his past life, not until Xu Qingfan reached high school did his parents start to respect his opinions. But in this new life, time waits for no one! Reborn, he knew too many opportunities were on the horizon. If he waited until high school to start making moves, by that time the opportunities would be as sleepy as mosquitoes, and leftover scraps wouldn't be as reliable as mining cryptocurrency. Maybe this was a good chance to make Yao Jiping and Xu Aiguo realize that their son had his own opinions, and to persuade them to respect and listen to his suggestions. Xu Qingfan took a deep breath and began to speak.