Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

By the time they disembarked the plane, it was nearly five o’clock, with only the last glimmer of sunset left, as light snow flurried outside.

The sky was a blanket of grey. Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu both clutched Xu Qingfan’s hand tightly, feeling both unfamiliar with and curious about the world outside the terminal.

Inside the plane, the temperature was always maintained at a pleasant twenty-plus degrees, so Xu Qingfan, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Wu Lingyu were just wearing thin long-sleeved shirts when they got off. Fortunately, the terminal was heated too, so none of them felt cold.

"Put on your clothes first, it’s several degrees below zero outside, so cold!" Guan Biyue reminded them as she got dressed.

"Okay!"

The three little ones nodded and put on sweaters knitted by Mom before donning their down jackets.

"Hahaha~"

Their down jackets, all purchased by Yao Jiping, had a style that Xu Qingfan somehow found universally consistent and inexplicably funny.

"What?" Seeing Xu Qingfan staring and laughing at her, Xia Xiaoxiao thought she had put on her clothes wrong and checked herself carefully.

"I just thought of something happy. You can use your scarf as a hat, let me show you," Xu Qingfan said, stopping his laughter and pulling out his scarf from his backpack to demonstrate.

"First fold it like this and wrap it around your neck, then pull these two ends to the front, thread them through like this," Xu Qingfan showed the movements slowly, "and then you pull from the back, and voilà, you’ve got a little hat."

"Pretty cool, huh!" Seeing the others staring open-mouthed, Xu Qingfan boasted with a proud smile.

"I didn’t get it, help me with mine!" Xia Xiaoxiao handed her adorable pink scarf to Xu Qingfan.

"You dork, it looks good, first do this..." Xu Qingfan carefully stood in front of Xia Xiaoxiao, tying her scarf for her.

"Hmph~"

"Xiao Fan, your way of tying a scarf is good, it even saves the money for earmuffs." After Guan Biyue fixed herself a little hat, she smugly took out a mirror to strike a pose.

After helping Xia Xiaoxiao, Xu Qingfan also helped Wu Lingyu, and once they put on their gloves, fully equipped, they walked arm in arm out of the terminal building.

The cold wind hit their faces, and Xu Qingfan instinctively exhaled a breath of warm air, "So cold~"

Bare tree branches were covered with a thin layer of snow, and bright red lanterns celebrating the new year were already hanging from trees on both sides of the sidewalks, creating a fantastical world of red and white.

The snow on the ground hadn’t had the chance to accumulate before melting, so for Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu, both seeing snow for the first time from the South, it wasn’t too shocking.

"Why are there so many taxis in Yanjing?" Xu Qingfan marveled at the sight of the red taxis everywhere on the road.

"Yeah, quite a few." Guan Biyue casually waved her hand, and immediately three taxis with sharp-eyed drivers drove over.

The group randomly chose one, and Guan Biyue, speaking fluent Old Yanjing dialect, told the driver, "Master, to Green Garden Hotel."

"What do you all want to eat later?"

Xu Qingfan found the Yanjing dialect inexplicably amusing, and mimicking Guan Biyue’s just-spoken tone, he said, "Lao ri wo bu rao a." (I don’t know, Teacher!)

"Speak properly!" Guan Biyue was successfully amused by his poor attempt at Yanjing dialect.

"Tomato Fried Eggs." (Tomato Fried Eggs.)

"Xu Qingfan!" Guan Biyue glared at him angrily.

"I’d like to have mutton hotpot," Xu Qingfan shrugged and said.

"How about you?"

"Teacher, I’m fine with anything," Wu Lingyu said quietly.

Remembering what Xu Qingfan had told her at home about dipping nicely sliced mutton into a bowl full of sesame sauce, the little girl Xia Xiaoxiao couldn’t help swallowing salivatingly, "Teacher, I’d also like to have mutton hotpot."

"Then let’s go have mutton hotpot!" Having been away from the city for three years, Guan Biyue too missed the days of hotpot with her dormmates during winter.

The car quickly arrived at the Green Garden Hotel, and after taking their things, they paid and got out.

Guan Biyue showed their competition participation proofs, and the staff quickly helped them complete the check-in process.

"Sister, you’re so pretty, could you please arrange for us two rooms with windows, far away from the corridor?" Xu Qingfan sweet-talked.

"Of course, no problem!" The receptionist covered her mouth in surprise and changed the selected rooms 501 and 502 on the computer to 509 and 510, "Here are your room cards. If you have any issues, you can contact me using the phone in your room. The kids are so adorable." She politely handed the two sensing plates to Guan Biyue.

Guan Biyue politely smiled as she accepted the room cards, but only after they got into the elevator did she speak to Xu Qingfan, "The stinker still has some uses, huh~"

[Hmph, smooth talker!] Xia Xiaoxiao sneakily pinched Xu Qingfan’s waist.

Xu Qingfan caught Xia Xiaoxiao’s hand that was up to mischief on his body and suddenly slapped his head, "I forgot to call home to check in."

"Right!" Xia Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingyu also acted as if they only just remembered.

The group quickly opened the two rooms at the end of the fifth floor; 509 was a triple room, while 510 was a single.

"I’ll give you the card to hold onto, don’t lose it. You’re not scared to stay by yourself, are you?" Guan Biyue joked as she handed him the card.

"Haha!" Xu Qingfan shrugged his shoulders and walked into his own room, carrying his bag.

After placing his backpack down, Xu Qingfan first went to check if there was hot water in the bathroom.

The bathroom used an old-fashioned water heater that required lighting a fire, which could easily lead to carbon monoxide poisoning if one showered for too long. Xu Qingfan’s home had one of these in the past, but after they became wealthy, they had switched to an electric water heater.

After confirming there was hot water, Xu Qingfan picked up the room’s desk phone and dialed his mother to check in.

After Yao Jiping cautioned him repeatedly, Xu Qingfan hung up the phone.

After calling his mom, he thought for a bit and then dialed Lin Wanning’s home. It rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Hello, who is this?" Lin Wanning’s childish voice transmitted through the receiver.

"It’s me. Ningning, have you had dinner?"

"Ah! Brother Qing Fan, you’re in Yanjing!!" Lin Wanning’s voice instantly went from listless to excited.

"Yeah, just arrived at the hotel, you didn’t fall this morning, did you?"

"Of course not, hehe~ Brother Qing Fan, have you had dinner yet?"

Xu Qingfan could imagine Lin Wanning holding the phone with a giggly expression, "Going to have lamb in a bit, it’s freezing to death here."

"Mmm, for dinner, Ningning had tomato fried beef and grilled chicken wings!"

"Behave and stay home, don’t wander off. The streets are very messy around New Year’s time," Xu Qingfan admonished.

"Got it! Ningning stayed at home all day today, just now I was coloring our four-wheel drive car. Brother Qing Fan, come back quickly after your exams~" The little girl’s voice stretched out long and tenderly.

"I’ll be back on the 14th, and I’ll bring you a gift. Gotta go eat now, remember, the snacks from strangers,"

Before Xu Qingfan could finish, Lin Wanning cut in, "No, no!"

"Strangers knocking on the door?"

"Won’t open, won’t open!"

"Then I’m hanging up, I’ll call you when I’m free," Xu Qingfan said with a laugh.

"Ah! Brother Qing Fan, wait before hanging up, Ningning will go grab a pen and notebook to write down your number!"

"No need to write it down, this is the hotel’s phone, it’s annoying to transfer calls," Xu Qingfan explained.

"Ah~ okay then." Lin Wanning pouted reluctantly on the other end.

"How about I call you once every day instead?" Xu Qingfan offered to comfort her.

"Good ears... not good, twice!"

"Okay, twice it is then, really hanging up now," Xu Qingfan said, shaking his head in amusement.

"Mm, starting from today, remember to call Ningning tonight, Brother Qing Fan!"

"Got it!" Xu Qingfan laughed, shaking his head again, before hanging up the phone.