Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts-Chapter 408 - 298. Hide the truth in lies

Time rewound to five days ago.

"Can’t you be nicer to me, and not always pick on me... No, delete that!"

"Can’t you treat me like you do Wanning, always so fierce towards me... Ahhh~ it’s so annoying, so annoying!"

Xia Xiaoxiao haphazardly scribbled on the draft paper before tearing it up, crumpling it into a ball, and casually throwing it on the floor.

On the floor of the young girl’s room, there were more than ten similar crumpled paper balls scattered around as far as the eye could see.

This was another draft paper Xia Xiaoxiao had ruined; she had many things she wanted to say to Xu Qingfan in person, but when it came down to it, she was always too shy to speak up.

Xia Xiaoxiao irritably slapped her pen on the desk, which should have come with the catchphrase from the ’82 version of Journey to the West: "So annoying!"

"You never change when told, always just messing around with a smirk. What’s the point in saying anything!" she said super angrily, hands on her hips, talking to herself in her room.

In fact, Xia Xiaoxiao knew deep down that the real things she wanted to say were too embarrassing to voice out loud. Blaming the smelly dog was just a way of fooling herself into thinking she was deceiving others when in truth, she was entertaining a delusion.

It wasn’t that I, Xia Xiaoxiao, didn’t want to speak, but you, Xu Qingfan, didn’t care, treating my words as if they were nothing but wind past your ears!

But while she might fool others, she couldn’t deceive her own heart!

Xia Xiaoxiao pursed her lips in grievance. The words she really wanted to say filled five thick diaries—how could she not know what she wanted to say?

She wanted to say that it was she who had known him first, so he ought to treat her better than others;

She wanted to say that even though he was an annoying pest who always bullied her, she would still like him forever;

She wanted to say, "Stupid Xu Qingfan, can’t you hear that I’ve always spoken in sarcasm?"

She also wanted to say, "You’re so dumb, can’t you see that I like you very much?"

"Say, say, say, what’s there to even say!" Xia Xiaoxiao lay frustrated on her desk, her fingers tapping rhythmlessly.

After a moment, she suddenly slapped the desk and stood up, "Fine, I’ll say it!"

...

The television screen jumped again, and unsurprisingly, it settled back into Xia Xiaoxiao’s room.

The girl still had a grain of rice at the corner of her mouth, and she was making swallowing motions, having evidently just finished lunch.

However, the expression on her face at this moment was one that Xu Qingfan rarely saw: serious, grave?

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Xia Xiaoxiao shook her shoulders and then spoke in a gentle tone he had never heard from her before:

"Xu Qingfan, do you remember? When I was little, I used to call you Xiao Fan. I don’t know when exactly I started calling you by your full name.

Xiao Fan, from the moment we opened our eyes, we knew each other. You were born six months before me, and I heard from mom that you were a crybaby as an infant, but you’d stop crying when I was brought to you.

One of the first words I could say was your name; whenever there was something tasty, you’d save half of it for me even if you didn’t want it for yourself.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

We’ve known each other the longest, so shouldn’t our bond be the deepest of all? Why then do you always pick on me and treat me badly?

Xiao Fan, can you please be a little nicer to me? Can’t you stop being so fierce or picking on me all the time? If only you could be half as kind to me as you are to Wanningyi and Yiyi, I would be so fulfilled."

The girl’s eyes glittered with tears, as if she had truly reached a heartbreaking point. Her eyes dimmed, and she continued with a choke in her voice:

"Even though you always bully me, scold me, and are never nice to me, I can’t help but like you, you know?"

"Every word I said during our arguments was sarcastic, can’t you see that?"

"Air has no shape until it meets you, Xiao Fan. Ever since I opened my eyes and recognized who you are, I’ve liked you, but you have always been unaware..."

After Xia Xiaoxiao finished her last sentence, her eyes completely dulled, as if she were a loser in love, humiliated to her very bones.

Xu Qingfan sat on the sofa, dazed, his mind unable to find peace for a long time; in a flash, countless scenes from his past life passed before his eyes.

If Xia Xiaoxiao truly had liked him since they were young, then why did she repeatedly refuse his confessions in high school? Why wouldn’t she agree to date him even after starting university? Why did she leave to study abroad without a goodbye after graduation? And why, until death, had she never sent him even a single letter in return...

All sorts of possibilities suddenly sprang into Xu Qingfan’s head, as he tried to find a suitable reason for the girl from his past life, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t understand. If she truly had given him her first kiss, why wouldn’t she agree to be with him?

In the footage, Xia Xiaoxiao remained silent for a long time, and Xu Qingfan sitting in the living room also responded with silence.

A single teardrop slid down from the corner of Xia Xiaoxiao’s eye. Xu Qingfan could no longer hold back his emotions and wanted to say something. His lips parted slightly, but he was unable to make a sound.

The two seemed to be locked in a gaze that transcended time and space, wordlessly looking at each other, with nothing but tears flowing.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan felt the urge to pull Xia Xiaoxiao out of the screen and crush her into his embrace, wanting to tell her, "I’ve liked you for two lifetimes, don’t you know!"

Fortunately, he didn’t get a chance to do so.

Why not, you might ask? Because the previously sorrowful Xia Xiaoxiao in the screen suddenly winked playfully, a sly smile spreading across her face.

The next second, the girl pointed at the camera and burst into laughter. "Hahaha~ You stupid asshole Xu Qingfan, are you moved? Are you crying? Hahaha, I tricked you! Ghost chance that I like you, you’re just a super annoying ghost!"

"Damn!"

Xu Qingfan, with his defenses completely shattered, slapped his thigh hard, the physical pain making him howl in an instant.

"Xia Xiaoxiao, you son of a... I’m gonna... Dead Xia Xiaoxiao, you come out here!" His two intended curses were both interrupted because they involved Aunty Lin Jing, which made Xu Qingfan even angrier.

Right now, he really wanted to press this damned Xia Xiaoxiao down on the dining table and spank her until she swelled, without stopping.

Especially when he thought about how he had actually believed her just moments ago, he felt both ashamed and enraged!

The mocking laughter of Xia Xiaoxiao in the television did not last long, as the screen suddenly went dark again, but quickly lit back up.

On the screen, five girls were carefully holding up an enormous cake, with fifteen lit candles arranged in a heart shape on top.

"Happy Birthday to you~ Happy Birthday to you..."

The sound of the five girls singing the birthday song came from the speakers, growing louder and louder.

[Something’s not right.] Xu Qingfan suddenly realized something.

He turned around abruptly, only to discover that the five girls had somehow appeared behind him.

Xu Qingfan involuntarily swallowed, having completely forgotten the trick Xia Xiaoxiao had played on him just moments before.

Why?

Because right now, standing right in front of him were five beautiful girls dressed in black tights, cat ears, and maid outfits!