After lunch, in the afternoon, they visited the factory to see the newly hatched ducklings, which marked the perfect end to their two-day trip to Chuxi Village.
Xu Qingfan and Wu Lingyu personally cooked a lavish dinner for everyone. After cleaning their respective rooms, the vehicle that came to take them home was already parked at the door.
"Girls, come to see grandma whenever you have time. Take this winter melon too, and take these loofahs."
Grandpa and the rest of the family said goodbye through the car window, with all five girls looking equally reluctant to leave.
The trunk was already too full, so Xu Qingfan finally got back in the car, and the vehicle started its slow drive.
Tomorrow would be the last day of the National Day holiday. They needed to finish their homework and return to school for evening self-study, so they had to go home a day early to adjust.
The streetlights at dusk couldn't illuminate the whole street. Xu Qingfan opened the window halfway, and the warm breeze blew across his cheeks, mixed with the smell of earth and chicken droppings.
It was ultimately still the countryside, no matter how much living conditions had improved, free-range chickens were something that couldn't be completely avoided.
But it wasn't too bad, not as pungent as cat feces, almost without any irritating odor.
All five girls looked a little tired, now leaning on each other, their eyelids drooping. There was no doubt they could fall asleep in the next second.
Sitting next to Xu Qingfan on his right was Wu Lingyu. Since everyone wanted to sit by the window, sitting next to him wasn't too attractive.
However, Yu had used a little trick. She deliberately boarded the car last and chose a seat next to the window.
This way, when Xu Qingfan finally got on the car, there was a 99% chance he would sit next to her.
With her head resting on Xu Qingfan's shoulder, her plan successful, the corners of Wu Lingyu's mouth turned up slightly.
[Yu isn't greedy, just being able to stay with Brother Fan forever is enough...]
Suddenly, her hand was covered by Xu Qingfan's large hand. Wu Lingyu felt a sense of comfort and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
After a comfortable sleep in the car, the five girls' energy was fully replenished.
The six of them agreed to meet again tomorrow and returned to their own homes before seven o'clock.
Xu Qingfan, carrying a winter melon in his left hand, used the keys to open the door with his right hand.
To his surprise, after opening the door, the living room was pitch black, not a single light on.
He called out upstairs twice, and apart from the echo due to the large house, there was no answer.
"I'll make a call to check." Xia Xiaoxiao opened her own home's door, which was also pitch-dark.
"Maybe they went for a walk in the square?" Wu Lingyu guessed.
"Maybe, let's go in and see."
Xu Qingfan turned on the lights in the living room. After thinking for a moment, Xia Xiaoxiao closed her own home's door and followed him back to his place.
"Ah? Mom, you and uncle and aunt went on a trip?" Xia Xiaoxiao's exclamation suddenly filled the living room. Xu Qingfan and Wu Lingyu exchanged a look after hearing it.
"Okay, got it. Yes, I'm home. They are right next to me now. So, mom, you guys also be careful. I'm going to sleep over at Xu Qingfan's house tonight. Yeah, yeah~ I know!"
They listened to Xia Xiaoxiao's conversation with Lin Jing on the phone. After the call ended, she put down the phone with her hands spread: "They went on a trip, saying there are fewer people traveling off-peak right now."
"Uh... Aunt doesn't have to work the day after tomorrow?" No need to say, Xu Qingfan could already guess that this was a trip his mother impulsively decided on.
"She rescheduled her classes for Monday morning."
[So it's just me, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Wu Lingyu at home tonight, they won't make trouble, will they?]
Xu Qingfan casually put the vegetables on the floor, picked up the remote, and comfortably sprawled on the sofa.
Xia Xiaoxiao was slightly better, knowing to put the vegetables back in the kitchen, and then also sitting cross-legged next to him.
Wu Lingyu was the most well-behaved, not only taking the vegetables from the floor back to the kitchen, but also neatly packing them in boxes, putting things that belonged in the fresh section there and those for freezing in the freezer.
When she came out of the kitchen, Xu Qingfan was already lying on Xia Xiaoxiao's thighs having the air conditioner blowing on him as he watched TV.
Inside, Wu Lingyu couldn't say she wasn't jealous at all, but it was just a little bit because Yu already had the upper hand; Brother Fan wasn't just hers.
When the girl lifted his legs and sat on the sofa, then comfortably massaged and relaxed him, Xu Qingfan truly understood what it meant to enjoy an emperor-like treatment.
But something was missing.
"Pay attention, look at what Yu is doing." He patted Xia Xiaoxiao's idle hand, signaling her not to space out.
Xia Xiaoxiao's swiftly-delivered palm hit his face, and after Xu Qingfan licked his palm, she instantly behaved.
"Xu Qingfan, are you a dog?!"
"Pfft..." Xia Xiaoxiao instantly remembered the previous week on the rooftop, when this bastard had barked in her ear just like that.
"Ouch~ Yu, a little softer please." Not yet ready to brag, a jealous Wu Lingyu intensified the pressure of her hands.
"This acupoint is for the kidneys, and grandma's dried longan can be soaked in water for Brother Fan to drink." Wu Lingyu said with a light smile.
[Wait, am I that weak?]
"Look at those dark circles, clearly a sign of kidney deficiency." Xia Xiaoxiao chimed in.
"Stop it, Xia Xiaoxiao, don't slander me, those are baggy eyes, not dark circles!" Xu Qingfan tried to get up to argue, but Xia Xiaoxiao pressed her finger on his forehead, leaving him unable to budge even with the strength of nine bulls and two tigers.
This was something Xia Xiaoxiao had seen in an anime, where the clever Ikkyu-san used his finger to press on the forehead of a Japanese samurai, preventing him from standing up.