Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"Why are the clicks and downloads still so low!" Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruawen each leaned their heads on Xu Qingfan's shoulders, seriously staring at the data displayed on the computer screen. "I think we sang really well, and the song is nice too, why isn't it getting popular~" Xiao Ruawen pouted with a small dejected expression. From production to uploading to the computer, it had been over a week, but the song "Peeping," created by the three of them, still lay half-dead among thousands of song lists. "Look, someone has commented on our song. It'll get better!" Xu Qingfan noticed five new messages in the comments section, clicked on them, and comforted the two. "Pfft~" Xu Qingfan couldn't help but laugh after seeing the content of the messages. [I can't stand the current music creators, really just writing whatever my dear Jay is popular with, not even considering their own weight. Forcing a new sentiment into words, just stringing words together with a logic that makes no sense, pretentious and meaningless. Can't be bothered to say more, seize the opportunity to enter the factory!] [Too modern, not traditional enough, kids should act like kids. Read a few more years of literature first!] [...] "Hahaha~" Xu Qingfan couldn't hold it in and laughed heartily. "You're still laughing!" "Stop laughing!!" The two girls glared at him, angrily tapping his shoulder with their hands. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry... Just thought of something happy~ I won't laugh anymore!" A troll could appear in any era. Xu Qingfan suddenly recalled someone from his past life who had commented online that Li Qingzhao's timeless masterpiece "As in a Dream, Last Night's Wind and Rain" couldn't beat out a chant. He couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Delete his comment, how rude!" Xia Xiaoxiao said angrily. "Brother Fan, write a reply and scold him back! There's nothing wrong with our song!!" "We can't delete comments, so let's just leave it, consider it a bite from a dog." Xu Qingfan said with a smile. "Then reply with a dog's bark!" Xia Xiaoxiao demanded, irritated. "Exactly! These people are just barking. If they have the skill, let them write themselves. Brother Fan's lyrics are obviously great. Even Sister Xiya praised them!" "Alright, alright, I'm replying." Xu Qingfan operated the mouse and left a comment under the five or six negative remarks: "Woof woof." "Hmph! I can't stand these people!" After exiting the comments section, the two girls remained angry. "Alright, alright, gold will shine eventually. When we grow up a bit and our voices mature, we'll definitely be as popular as Sun Yanzi and Wang Xinning." Xu Qingfan patted their heads to comfort them. Actually, Xu Qingfan had already anticipated that their song "Peeping" would flop. After all, it was 2003, a glittering era for Chinese music with classic hits emerging every year. Their song, only rated as mid-level classical style, didn't stand out at all. "Peeping" became popular in the past more because of the boost from short videos and the scarcity of new, appealing songs. In comparison, "Peeping" was a step behind "Qinghua Porcelain," which in turn was behind "hair like snow." Unless they adopted a grassroots approach, creating simplistic catchy songs like "Mice Love Rice," failure was inevitable. "When we get to middle school, we have to cover 'Peeping' again. By then, a lot of people will listen to it!" Xiao Ruawen pumped her fist in motivation. "Yep!" "Are you guys still singing this song, 'Ancient Dream'?" Xu Qingfan opened a text document on the desktop and asked. The girls' faces showed extreme reluctance. After hesitating for a long time, they reluctantly said, "We'll sing it when we grow up. Recording songs is so costly~" "Let's talk about it after we get to middle school. For now, recording on an MP3 for ourselves is enough." Xia Xiaoxiao added. To create "Peeping," including hiring someone for arrangement, renting a recording studio, and applying for copyright, the three had spent about five thousand yuan in total. Though Xu Qingfan offered to cover the costs, the two girls disagreed and insisted on contributing their own little savings. "Well, then you must attend your elective courses diligently. If you learn to arrange music, you can save some money in the future." Xu Qingfan said with a smile, patting their shoulders. "Yep! Brother Fan, you should also spend more time writing songs. When we get to middle school, we should release an album together!" "And then leave comments @ those who criticized us!" Xia Xiaoxiao said vengefully. "Hahaha~ You guys are only in second grade next semester and already thinking about middle school. There's still five years to go." "Not really, I feel like time flies. In a blink, we're in second grade. It feels like the New Year's Gala just happened." "True, time really flies. SARS disappeared in a blink too." Xia Xiaoxiao thought for a bit and agreed. Memories from his past life flashed through Xu Qingfan's mind, "Yeah, time really flies..." "What are you zoning out for!" Xia Xiaoxiao pulled Xu Qingfan back from his memories. Xu Qingfan unconsciously shook his head, "What now?" "Brother Fan, you should sing 'Ancient Dream' for us!" "Yes!" Xia Xiaoxiao's face showed a sly smile. "You want to laugh at me again, don't you!" Xu Qingfan gave each of the girls a playful thump on the head. "No, Brother Fan, your singing is actually great!" "If you sing slowly, line by line." Xia Xiaoxiao added with a laugh. "Listen to it on your MP3. I recorded it in there." Xu Qingfan pulled out the Sony MP3 that Zhang Chunxue had given him from the drawer and handed it to them. "Xu Qingfan, help me get the headphones. They're in the drawer in my room!" Sony's MP3 had two headphone jacks, and the girls each took one earpiece while Xia Xiaoxiao spoke to him. "Hmm?" Xu Qingfan gave her a death stare. Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes, "Brother Qing Fan, could you please get Xiaoxiao the headphones?" "Pfft~" Xu Qingfan couldn't help but spray her with spit as he laughed. "Xu Qingfan!!!" "I'm going right now! Sorry, sorry, it wasn't intentional! Hahaha~" Xu Qingfan dashed off. "Hahaha~ Xiaoxiao, you're becoming naughty." After Xu Qingfan left, Xiao Ruawen laughed, helping her wipe her face with a tissue. "Ha~ (￣︶￣)" Xia Xiaoxiao, no longer angry, displayed a triumphant smile. The two glanced at each other knowingly and the next second, collapsed on Xu Qingfan's bed, laughing out loud. Recalling Xia Xiaoxiao's playful tone and expression from earlier, Xu Qingfan unconsciously wore an auntly smile, "This world is too crazy, even my tsundere childhood sweetheart learned to act cute~ Qi Delong~ Xi Dongqiang~" Humming a tune, Xu Qingfan headed to Xia Xiaoxiao's room, "Headphones, headphones..." Opening the drawer of the dressing table, he found a similar Sony MP3 quietly lying inside. "Hmm?" The headphones were nestled underneath Xia Xiaoxiao's password diary. "Should I take a peek?" Xu Qingfan thought. The password was a four-digit number from 0-9. Xu Qingfan tried 1220, Xia Xiaoxiao's birthday, but it didn't open. [Could it be my birthday?] He pondered. "0629..." Xu Qingfan murmured, continuing to adjust the code. To no avail, he laughed it off and placed the diary back in the drawer.