Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"Merry Christmas Eve, Brother Fan!"

"Merry Christmas Eve!"

"This is for you, Brother Fan!"

"....."

Back in class, the moment he sat down, the girls in the class came over with beautifully crafted greeting cards, as if they had pre-arranged it, and handed them to Xu Qingfan.

"Thank you, thank you..." Before long, Xu Qingfan’s hands were filled with colorful cards, and there were also many fruits and snacks on his desk.

Xu Qingfan was as confused as a monk two meters tall facing a riddle. It was indeed Christmas Eve, but at that moment, all the primary school students were busy playing with mud and watching cartoons, not celebrating such Western holidays.

Just like the boys, no one really cared about Christmas Eve; they were still discussing the various plots of ’Naughty Blue Cat 3000 Questions’ in the dormitory as usual.

The boys in the class all looked over with surprise and admiration, eagerly asking their group member when he returned.

He stuffed all the items into his bag in a hurry, and seeing his three group members all snickering there, Xu Qingfan knew they were behind the mischief.

He put on a stern face and glared at Lin Wanning, pinching her cheek with his small hand; the feel of her soft, plump cheeks was getting better and better, "Tell me! What’s going on?"

Lin Wanning stuck out her tongue and raised her hands in surrender, "Last time, Wanning was involved too, but you took all the blame yourself. You’re such a big dumb pig, Brother Qingfan!"

Xu Qingfan knew she was talking about the incident of public criticism last time.

When Guan Biyue led the headmaster to their class to find the person responsible, Xu Qingfan stood up and admitted that it was all his idea. His thinking was simple: a public criticism was no big deal for a university student, but for primary school students, it was like a bolt from the blue. Since he didn’t care, he might as well take the responsibility.

But no sooner had Xu Qingfan stood up than Lin Wanning followed suit, standing up too: "And me. Ningning was also involved!" she said.

After that, Xiao Ruawen, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Zhang Yiyi also stood up, followed by more and more classmates, until the whole class had risen to their feet.

For just a moment, Xu Qingfan was truly moved, and then he was taken away by Guan Biyue and the headmaster.

"Thank you, our Ningning. So, is this the surprise you planned?" Xu Qingfan asked with a smile as he ruffled the little girl’s head.

"Hehe! Ningning saw this in a TV show; you must give greeting cards to people you like on Christmas Eve!" Lin Wanning boasted proudly.

Xu Qingfan guessed the TV show Lin Wanning was talking about must be ’Winter Sonata.’ Ever since it was introduced to the mainland, it had topped charts in every corner of the country with its theme song, ’From the Beginning Until Now,’ so sad that it made rivers run backwards.

Though his mindset was that of an adult, receiving so many greeting cards at once left a strong impression on Xu Qingfan, "Thank you all!"

"Team leader, this... this is for you, thank you for tutoring me in math," Chen Qiuyue was the first to present her card.

Zhang Yiyi handed over her handmade card, not saying a word, but the smile on her face said more than enough.

"I made this together with Yiyi, and it’s for you, Brother Qingfan!" Lin Wanning also took out the card she had prepared with care from her drawer.

After receiving Lin Wanning’s card, Xu Qingfan had collected greeting cards from all the girls in the class.

He carefully stored the cards from Zhang Yiyi and Lin Wanning in his cabinet, while Chen Qiuyue’s card was secretly tucked into his backpack, waiting to be opened later when he had time.

Xu Qingfan first opened the card from Zhang Yiyi. As the folded card was opened, a three-dimensional little tree appeared in the center of the card, Zhang Yiyi’s delicate handwriting left a message:

"I wish to hold your hand like this and never let go."

"Can love forever remain simple without any sorrow?"

"I want to take you on a bike ride,"

"I want to watch baseball with you,"

"Carefree like this,"

"Walking and singing songs."

Xu Qingfan smiled faintly; he remembered mentioning his favorite song by Zhou Binglun, ’Simple Love’, in a chat sometime ago. He hadn’t expected Zhang Yiyi to remember it.

He opened the greeting card that Lin Wanning had given him once again. The little girl’s message was very simple, her handwriting still childlike: Brother Qing Fan is the best!

Xu Qingfan’s heart skipped a beat, and abruptly, many images flooded into his mind: crabapple trees, the costume of a sorceress, a pink-haired girl, deep wells, the end of the world...

"Sakura is the best!" His dead memories assaulted his brain.

Jiang Nan is just a damn novelist, what does he know about the Dragon Clan, Xu Qingfan suddenly had the urge to swoop in and steal his thunder.

But then he thought better of it, he could maybe pull off copying Soul Continent, but not Dragon Clan, he didn’t have that great a flair for writing.

...

Receiving gifts is fun for a moment, returning them is a crematory; after emptying both pockets and wracking his brains for a myriad of blessings, Xu Qingfan finally managed to return gifts to the girls who had sent him greeting cards the day before.

No wonder they say scumbags dread holidays, Xu Qingfan truly and deeply realized that just returning gifts to a few regular female classmates required immense mental gymnastics, to have several girlfriends would be utterly draining!

[No, I deserve to die! Why am I even thinking like this?] Xu Qingfan raised his hand and smacked his own head.

"Xu Qingfan! What are you daydreaming about, focus on the rehearsal!" Guan Biyue came over and gave him a stern look.

"My bad, my bad, sorry," he said, scratching his head awkwardly.

The New Year’s Eve party was coming up soon, and every grade had to put on five performances. Xu Qingfan’s class performance had made it through the first round of eliminations and was set to participate in the final New Year’s Eve party.

After nearly a semester of elective courses, many students in the class had mastered some musical instrument skills. Guan Biyue rounded up these students, formed a small band, and even paid out of her own pocket to hire a music arranger to help with the rehearsals, performing a song by Mr. Luo Dayou, "Childhood".

Since they were short of a drummer, Guan Biyue, thinking that Xu Qingfan was a quick learner, assigned him the role.

"Let’s run through it one last time!"

...

"On the banyan tree by the pond, cicadas are crying out for Xia Tian♪"

"On the swing by the playground, only butterflies come to rest on top♪"

"..."

"Xiao Xiao, look, that’s Xiao Xiao!" The camera panned to Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruawen leading the song, and Lin Jing, sitting in the parent section, clapped excitedly.

"When did this little rascal learn to bang gongs and drums." When the camera captured the fervent drumming figure of Xu Qingfan, Yao Jinping laughed and said.

"The last time I heard this song was in middle school, and in the blink of an eye, the kids are in primary school."

"Haha, we’re getting old!"

A classic song instantly made the parents and teachers in the audience sentimental and reflective.

During the interlude, Xiao Ruawen, as previously arranged, shouted into the microphone, "Let’s all sing together, shall we!"

"No one knows why the sun always sets behind the mountains♪"

"No one can tell me if there are gods living inside the mountain♪"

The initially sporadic singing below the stage became more uniform. By the third line, the entire square was immersed in the ocean that was the song "Childhood".

...

"The recipient of the Experimental Primary School 2002 New Year’s Eve Gala grand prize is... Class 16 of the first grade! Performing — the song ’Childhood’!"

"Guan Teacher!"

"Guan Teacher!"

"..."

Among the cheering of all the students, 2002 quietly slipped away.