Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"Xu Qingfan! Aunt Yao said if you don’t come down, she’ll hide the internet cable!" Xia Xiaoxiao poked her head into the room, and that little rascal was still playing on the computer!

"Coming, coming, thirty seconds!" Xu Qingfan saved the Word document and quickly pressed Windows + U + U to shut down.

"What’s the rush, registration is at nine, and it’s only a bit past eight!" Though he said that, worried about being scolded by his mom, Xu Qingfan hurriedly put on his shoes and pulled Xia Xiaoxiao downstairs.

Today was September 1st, the day for registering at their primary school.

But since today was Sunday, actual classes wouldn’t start until tomorrow.

Xia Xiaoxiao was a bit unhappy today because Uncle Xia had gone out of town to wholesale crayfish again, and it was said he made tens of thousands from just one trip.

As a father, not attending such an important day as the first day of primary school registration made Xu Qingfan feel worried.

They say men become bad when they get rich, and Xu Qingfan feared that his small influence could cause Xia’s dad to fall early.

He squeezed Xia Xiaoxiao’s hand, the little girl turned her head, and Xu Qingfan gave her a toothy smile.

Xia Xiaoxiao smiled briefly, then quickly reverted to a poker face.

Not long after heading towards Experimental Primary School, the road quickly got congested, with traffic busy with all sorts of vehicles.

It was the first time Xu Qingfan realized how many rich people there were in Li Cheng District!

Along the way, he even saw several Audis with special license plates, making him wonder what would happen if he called to report misuse of public vehicles; would they handle the other party or himself?

The class assignments had been posted on the notice board days ago, and Xu Qingfan, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Lin Wanning were all placed in Class 16 of the first grade.

"This primary school is much nicer than the one we attended back then," Yao Jiping said, linking arms with Lin Jing and sighing with emotion.

"Indeed, when I brought them here for their exams the other day, I was quite amazed!"

Grand schools weren’t new to Xu Qingfan, but seeing a school like Experimental Primary with six teaching buildings, one for each grade, was a first for him.

They recruited 720 students, with each class accommodating 36 students, and each grade had 20 classes in total.

Based on the information he gathered, Xu Qingfan and his peers would be attending classes in the fifth teaching building for the next six years.

He felt this setup was rather good, as it physically isolated the six grades, reducing the chances of higher grades bullying lower grades.

Unlike his previous life’s primary school, where kids often looked for brothers and sisters, making threats like "watch out after school, I have someone to back me up!" and quite a few smoked in the restroom.

[There’s a reason for the high cost!] Xu Qingfan sighed again.

"The teaching building even has elevators!" The adults, like they were touring a grand view garden, found the school’s facilities fascinating.

With too many people waiting for the elevators, despite Class 16 being on the fifth floor, they chose to take the stairs.

Upon reaching the fifth floor, many parents were already scattered along the corridor in small groups.

"This is Classes 1 to 20, Class 16 should be at the farthest end," Xu Mom pointed at the class nameplate on the first classroom at the corner.

Actually, Xu Qingfan knew this without being reminded, as Lin Wanning was standing across the way.

"Brother Qing Fan!" The little girl noticed their group and ran over.

"Slow down, slow down!" Lin Dad and Lin Mom shook their heads helplessly, following closely behind their daughter.

Xia Xiaoxiao stepped forward, holding tightly onto Xu Qingfan’s arm.

"This naughty girl insisted on waiting for you before going into the classroom," Lin Qiaoshan said, naturally rubbing Xu Qingfan’s head and instinctively reaching into his pocket for a cigarette, but remembering his wife was watching, changed the motion to scratching an itch.

"Good morning, Xia Xiaoxiao!" Lin Wanning noticed her exclusive spot was taken and scratched her head in confusion.

"Morning." Xia Xiaoxiao raised her head, like a proud rooster.

"Quickly, get into the classroom, don’t keep the teacher waiting," Wen Wanqing urged the three little ones still standing in place.

"Hehe, follow me!" Lin Wanning grabbed Xu Qingfan’s other arm and jogged towards the end of the corridor.

As they passed other classes, Xu Qingfan noticed that the desks inside weren’t arranged in the usual single or double configurations.

The 36 students were divided into nine groups, four per group, with desks arranged in a horizontal-two-vertical pattern, resembling a "π" shape.

When the three arrived at Class 16, there were already around twenty students sparsely seated, mostly at the front six groups closer to the blackboard because their parents were present.

The seats at the back near the windows were still empty, and without thinking, Xu Qingfan pulled the two girls to occupy those spots.

"Hey~ Kids, come to the teacher to register first. Where are your parents?" The female teacher standing on the podium called them back.

"Oh, oh, oh, sorry, hello teacher, I’m Xu Qingfan." He obediently led the two girls to the podium.

"Xu... Qingfan, wow, number one is you, make sure to keep up the good work!" The female teacher checked his name on the list and patted Xu Qingfan’s head in satisfaction.

"Hello, teacher, my name is Xia Xiaoxiao."

"Oh~ cough cough... you must be Xiao Ruawen, right?" Seeing the number two, Xia Xiaoxiao, was also there, the teacher looked at Lin Wanning and then back at the list.

[What kind of celestial childhood sweethearts are these, both getting first place?] She recalled the romance novel she read days ago, her mind wandering in fantasies.

"What? Teacher, I’m Lin Wanning!" Lin Wanning raised her head, puzzled by the teacher’s mysterious smile.

"Cough cough... okay, hello Wanning, I’ve registered you, go back to your seats," the teacher quickly regained her serious demeanor, tapping the file with a pen.

When the three reached the ninth group, they paused in unison, Xia Xiaoxiao holding Xu Qingfan’s right hand, and Lin Wanning holding his left hand, both looking at him.

Xu Qingfan thought: Shall we cut me in half?

Alright then, if we can’t have a win-win, let’s both lose.

Xu Qingfan didn’t take the only double desk, instead opting for a single desk.

Xia Xiaoxiao quickly followed, taking the seat across from him, and Lin Wanning, not to be outdone, sat to his side.

"Hehehe~" On the podium, the class teacher noticed this scene and giggled.

[Hold it in, Guan Biyue, hold it in!] she thought.

Too bad, the top nine in the class were going to be group leaders; Xia Xiaoxiao would win by a mile, or should I separate her and Lin Wanning so no one can sit together?

[Hold it in, Guan Biyue, you’re the class teacher, here to maintain class discipline, not to ship CP!]