My childhood sweetheart, who was reborn with me, ended up as a loser.

Chapter 2 The Chosen Youth

Licheng, 2006.

Xu Qingfan was woken up by the sound of a child crying. He felt that the whole house was filled with the crying of a little brat, which gave him a headache.

When he opened his eyes, he stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and was slightly taken aback.

Xu Qingfan thought it was another of Xia Xiaoxiao's pranks, and instinctively shouted, "Xia Xiaoxiao!"

Holy crap!

The voice that came out of his throat was a childish one, which terrified Xu Qingfan.

He sat up in shock, looking at his shrunken hands and then at the crying children around him. The memories of his death quickly overwhelmed his brain.

If he wasn't dreaming, then this must be Hongxing Kindergarten, where everyone is taking their afternoon nap.

Xu Qingfan has a strong memory of this day because there was a genius in his class who collected a lot of the desiccant from Want Want Rice Crackers and brought it back to school to share with his classmates.

Xu Qingfan harbored resentment because of his rivalry with him over the title of champion in dry rice, so he was stingy with the good stuff and didn't share it with himself, eating two packs by himself.

When he recalled this, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but laugh.

He pinched his arm hard, "Ouch~", it hurts!

However, Xu Qingfan's smile grew even wider. Double happiness! Double happiness! He had truly been reborn and returned to kindergarten!

"Hahaha, Xia Xiaoxiao, aren't you going to kneel down and call me daddy this time!"

Amidst the weeping of the crowd, Xu Qingfan's laughter stood out starkly.

Therefore, when Teacher Xiaoyu came to check on the situation, he was the first one to be identified.

"Little darling, do you know why everyone is crying?" Teacher Xiaoyu squatted down and looked at him gently.

Xu Qingfan's lips twitched, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "Teacher, I know. They ate the one from the Want Want Rice Cracker, the one that absorbs water, the small packet."

"What?" Teacher Xiaoyu was dumbfounded.

"That's right, teacher, you should call 120 right away. Everyone else has eaten, except me!" Xu Qingfan straightened his back with pride.

Immediately afterwards, he saw Teacher Xiaoyu's eyes gradually turn to terror, and with a sharp crack, she ran away in a flash.

"Help! Someone come quick!"

Xu Qingfan glanced at the group of kids crying their hearts out in the dormitory, shook his head, and decided to find a place to clear his head before continuing.

"They shouldn't blame me, right?" he muttered to himself.

...

There was no time to wait for an ambulance, so the hospital director quickly drove the kitchen delivery van and took a load of "piglets" to the hospital.

Xu Qingfan squatted in the corner watching them come and go until Teacher Xiaoyu came looking for him, and only then did Xu Qingfan learn that he still had class in the afternoon.

"Little darling, how do you know that desiccants are not edible?" Teacher Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"Because they got stomach aches after eating it," Xu Qingfan replied matter-of-factly.

"Okay, you did a great job this time. I'll give you a little red flower as a reward later!" Teacher Xiaoyu patted his head and didn't ask any more questions.

The two quickly arrived at the classroom door, where they were about to meet the mini version of Xia Xiaoxiao. Xu Qingfan felt inexplicably a little nervous.

[This unlucky guy probably wasn't reborn with me, right?]

The classroom was nearly empty, with less than half the students seated. There was no way around it; apart from him, all the boys in the class had gone to the hospital for a team-building activity.

The first thing Xu Qingfan saw when he entered was Xia Xiaoxiao. She had long, straight black hair, neat bangs, and was very small. She was quietly looking at him.

[He doesn't look like he's been reborn at all!]

At the same time, Xia Xiaoxiao was also observing him, noting his slightly comical buzz cut, his slightly upturned lips, and his beautiful peach blossom eyes.

[They dare to stare into my eyes for so long, they must have been reborn at the same time as me!]

Both of them had their own ulterior motives. Xu Qingfan remembered that he and Xia Xiaoxiao were deskmates in kindergarten, so he didn't think much of it and sat down next to her.

But as he sat down, Xu Qingfan suddenly blurted out, "Gurgle, gurgle?"

"Bah...Teacher, Xu Qingfan is speaking!"

She was almost exposed. Xia Xiaoxiao put on a stern face and raised her right hand to tattle.

Xu Qingfan: ......

It's confirmed without a doubt that this brat has definitely not been reborn. He suddenly said something, and she actually managed to hold back her laughter, and she was quick enough to raise her hand and tell the teacher.

"Your mother doesn't want you anymore," Xu Qingfan whispered in Xia Xiaoxiao's ear, trying to scare her.

Xia Xiaoxiao leaned back strategically, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Xu Qingfan had made a fool of himself. Damn it, this is outrageous! How come six-year-old Xia Xiaoxiao is so difficult to deal with?

Xu Qingfan decided to put on a cool and aloof act for a while and check what supplies his six-year-old son had left for him.

The Ultraman Tiga backpack, the paint-chipped pencil case that won't close, the Master Kong iced tea kettle, and a pair of oval, smooth magnets stuck to the metal of the desk drawer.

Xu Qingfan opened the pencil case, inside which was half an eraser stuck to a set square, a mechanical pencil, and a huge sum of five cents.

Xia Xiaoxiao kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and when she saw his Syrian war-damaged pencil case, she almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Unlike Xu Qingfan's abject poverty, Xia Xiaoxiao was carrying a large sum of more than ten yuan.

Her thoughts drifted away, and she recalled the happy times when she could take Xu Qingfan as her servant for just five cents.

But that's probably not going to work now. That bastard Xu Qingfan thinks she hasn't been reborn, and he might still try to scam her out of pocket money.

Just wait!

Xia Xiaoxiao decided to continue pretending to be Tang, and then suddenly pull a trick on him.

Teacher Xiaoyu on the podium quickly stopped playing the song, clapped her hands, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Children, shall we play a game?"

"Okay!" A group of kids raised their hands in response.

Worried that Xu Qingfan would notice something amiss, Xia Xiaoxiao also raised her hands high, blending into the "wolf pack" like a husky.

Xu Qingfan noticed Xia Xiaoxiao's native-like behavior, which made him even more convinced that she had not been reborn.

"Little ones, today we're going to play some brain teasers. You have one minute to find your partner and team up!"

"Sixty, fifty-nine..."

As soon as Teacher Xiaoyu started the countdown, the children instantly became chaotic, with many running around the classroom like headless flies.

Xia Xiaoxiao had originally thought of running a couple of laps to act like Tang, but then she realized that "she" wasn't that kind of person, and she pulled her foot back after taking the first step.

Just as Xu Qingfan was about to generously invite Xia Xiaoxiao to team up, a little girl ran up to them and extended her hand, inviting, "Little classmate, shall we team up?"

Xu Qingfan glanced at her and found that she was quite pretty. Although her skin was dark, her features were very delicate, and she looked a bit like Ran Mouri from "Detective Conan" as a child.

"OK!"

Without a second thought, Xia Xiaoxiao offered her hand, and the two happily walked away hand in hand.

Xu Qingfan felt a tickle in his nose. There were only twenty-odd seconds left on the countdown. He looked around the class and found that most people had already formed teams.

A little girl sat alone in the corner, no one had invited her to join a team the whole time. She was holding her chin in her hands, her eyes brimming with tears, looking like she was about to cry at any moment.

Without a second thought, Xu Qingfan pocketed five cents and walked over, looking her in the eye as he asked, "Can I team up with you?"

The little girl's expression shifted from grievance to disbelief, and then to surprise; this brief change in expression, lasting only a second, was enough to be included in the Beijing Film Academy's teaching materials.

She slightly opened her mouth, pointed to herself uncertainly, and asked in a soft, childlike voice, "Do you want to team up with Ningning?"

When others point at themselves, they use one hand, but she uses both hands. Xu Qingfan was almost driven crazy by her expressions and actions.

He nodded with a smile, his captivating eyes looking especially beautiful when he smiled: "Yes, is that alright?"

With only ten seconds left on Teacher Xiaoyu's countdown, Xu Qingfan simply sat down without waiting for her consent.

"What's your name? My name is Xu Qingfan."

"I, my name is Lin Wanning, and my parents call me Ningning." Lin Wanning felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. The last time her heart was beating this fast was when she secretly ate the dragon fruit from the temple and then said that she hadn't eaten any.

Fortunately, Ningning's acting skills are top-notch, and everyone was successfully fooled by her.

"So your name is Lin Wanning, and mine is Xu Qingfan." Xu Qingfan felt much better. If it weren't for that hateful Xia Xiaoxiao, his daughter would probably be this big by now.

"Hehe~ Yes, yes!" Lin Wanning smiled, revealing two rows of teeth, looking just like a little penguin that could only say "quack quack quack".

However, she quickly changed her expression and looked at Xu Qingfan with disappointment: "Are you really going to team up with Ningning? Ningning is stupid, and no one wants to play with her."

Lin Wanning was actually quite shrewd. She was worried that Xu Qingfan wouldn't team up with her after learning the truth, so she waited until Teacher Xiaoyu's countdown ended before telling her.

"They're the idiots for not playing with Ningning. Can I play with Ningning from now on?"

Xu Qingfan couldn't help but rub Lin Wanning's head. After he let go, the little girl's tuft of hair stood up again.

"Hehe~ Good duck, good duck!" Lin Wanning clapped her hands happily. Ningning made a friend! Ningning has a good friend!

"Then Ningning, can you call me Brother Qingfan?"

"Brother Qingfan!"

"Eh!"

Xu Qingfan was overjoyed. This was the right way to enjoy childhood sweethearts, Xia Xiaoxiao!

Retreat, retreat, retreat!

...

After the brain teaser competition began, Xu Qingfan quickly understood why Lin Wanning was disliked by everyone.

For example, right now.

A turtle fell off a cliff. Guess the name of a flower.

"here!"

As soon as Teacher Xiaoyu finished reading the question, Lin Wanning raised his hand immediately, regardless of whether he could answer it or not.

"The answer is, the answer is..." Lin Wanning couldn't think of an answer himself, so he looked at Xu Qingfan expectantly.

The previous rounds were the same, but the questions in those rounds were relatively simple. Xu Qingfan gave the answer immediately, and Lin Wanning clapped and celebrated. The two complemented each other perfectly.

"Um... this, the turtle fell off the cliff... is it Du Juan?" Xu Qingfan hadn't thought of anything yet, so he could only guess an answer randomly.

Teacher Xiaoyu shook her head regretfully: "That's not right, Xiaofan and Ningning's team answered incorrectly, deduct one point. Are there any other children who have different answers?"

"Ah!" Lin Wanning saw that the horizontal line of the character "正" in their formation had been crossed out. He clutched his chest in pain and imitated the way a criminal fell to the ground after being shot, slumping on the table.

"It's okay, we're still in the lead for now. Wan Ning, get up and let's think of the answer together."

"The answer is... I want it!"

After being patted on the head by Xu Qingfan, Lin Wanning instantly felt revitalized. He closed his eyes, drew circles on his head with his index finger, and imitated Ikkyu-san, deep in thought.

Unfortunately, the sound of a wooden fish being struck did not appear in my head.

"Waaah~ Brother Qingfan, Ningning never expected this!" Lin Wanning opened her eyes again, her little face falling.

As Xu Qingfan patted Lin Wanning's head to comfort him, Xia Xiaoxiao quickly raised her hand to answer, "Is Teacher Xiaoyu a rose?"

"Correct answer! Little Wenwen's team gets a point! The turtle fell off the cliff and disappeared, so it's a rose," Teacher Xiaoyu explained.

Lin Wanning looked as if she had just realized something, and exclaimed with wide eyes, "Ah, Ningning almost thought of that!"

"That's a pity. Wan Ning, don't raise your hand so quickly later. I'll tell you to raise your hand first, okay?" Xu Qingfan said, patting her head.

"Okay, Ningning understands!"

As a result, when Teacher Xiaoyu finished reading the next question, Lin Wanning still raised his hand immediately.

Realizing he had caused trouble, Lin Wanning immediately cowered, shrank his neck, stuck out his tongue guiltily, and looked at him as if he had done something wrong.

What else could Xu Qingfan say? He could only blame himself for not being able to come up with the answer immediately!

......