After a simple day of rest at home, the six of them had to return to school to study the next day.
With the onset of harsh winter, unless absolutely necessary, everyone hoped to stay inside the house, nestled in their beds, for all twenty-four hours of the day.
In the southern classrooms, with drafts coming from all sides and students constantly coming and going, staying there during winter felt almost like being in an ice hole.
Therefore, starting from a few weeks ago, Xu Qingfan and their group of six hadn't returned to the school for evening self-study on Sunday nights.
"The Central Meteorological Station predicts, starting tomorrow, a new, stronger cold air mass will hit, which will also be the strongest cold air mass since the second half of this year.
"The general public should be prepared for cold weather protection."
After the replay of the weather forecast finished, it was time for them to go to sleep.
"Ha~ it's only three degrees tomorrow morning, how can we get up, I wish we didn't have to go to school," Xiao Ruawen yawned and said.
"You guys get to huddle together at night, it's even worse for me sleeping alone," Xu Qingfan hinted significantly as he glanced at Lin Wanning.
Lin Wanning showed her teeth and made a forced smile.
In this dreadfully cold three to four degrees weather, one would need strong willpower to slip back into the quilt at midnight unless they cuddled with Xu Qingfan from the evening.
"Brother Qingfan come and sleep with us," she jokingly invited.
"Sure." The man eagerly agreed.
"In your dreams!" Before the rest could react, Xiao Ruawen shouted excitedly first.
"If you don't mind the dirt, just bring Little White into your bed," Xia Xiaoxiao gave him a look, scoffing at his wishful thinking of huddling with them.
"It's not like it's the two of you.....okay, okay, just kidding, don't get worked up, haha," seeing the two girls ready to rise and strike, Xu Qingfan quickly waved his hands and changed his tone.
The hums from the two girls were identical, bad company corrupts good character, Xiao Ruawen was learning bad habits from Xia Xiaoxiao.
Seeing Xu Qingfan about to get up, Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi withdrew their hands, which were warmed by his abs, and lifted the blanket; nobody noticed their cheeky moves just now.
"Let's rest early, and if we turn on the heater, remember to set a timer, otherwise, it'll be uncomfortable waking up the next day," Xu Qingfan tugged at his trousers to prevent the girls from seeing something they shouldn't.
"Mm-hmm, good night, Brother Qingfan!"
"Good night, Brother!"
Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi exchanged smiles, like toppled dominoes, their bodies leaning in the same direction.
After Xiao Ruawen turned off the TV, all the girls successively went back to the third floor.
Wu Lingyu went into the kitchen to check the timer on the steamer one more time, turned off the living room lights, and then hurried after Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi who were waiting for her at the staircase.
Unknowingly, their group of five had arranged themselves, with Xia Xiaoxiao and Xiao Ruawen under one blanket, and Zhang Yiyi, Lin Wanning, and Wu Lingyu under another.
A night without conversation.
At 6:30 a.m., the alarm clock went off on time; the pre-set heater had been turned on half an hour earlier.
The bedroom temperature was a comfortable 20 degrees, so leaving the comfort of their beds was no longer a challenge.
Wu Lingyu turned off the alarm clock and, careful not to disturb anyone, got out of bed where Lin Wanning had placed her thigh over Wu Lingyu's behind.
Aside from Lin Wanning and Xiao Ruawen still clinging to their beds, within two minutes of the alarm, Xia Xiaoxiao and Zhang Yiyi also got up one after another.
The girls changed their clothes on the beds; Xia Xiaoxiao removed her pajamas, exposing her straight, slender, flawless, snow-white legs in the air.
Even though the five girls slept together every day, at times , their pursuit of beautiful things still made them take a few more glances.
After putting on long johns and then school uniform pants over them, Xia Xiaoxiao's upper body was clad in a long-sleeved undershirt, sweater, and down jacket.
In winter, the school did not mandate that uniforms had to be worn on the outside, so it was permissible not to wear the school uniform on the upper body.
Wu Lingyu, who had changed first, curiously inquired upon noticing the hand-knitted turtleneck sweater Xia Xiaoxiao was wearing, "Is that new sweater on you hand-knitted, Xiao Xiao? I haven't seen it before."
Xia Xiaoxiao was secretly pleased inside, thinking at last someone had asked, making the extra time she spent tidying her sleeves worthwhile.
"This one, it was knitted by my aunt, and she only started last month, so she's made just two so far," she pointed at her sweater, her voice just loud enough for Ling Wanning and Xiao Ruawen, who were still lying in bed, to hear clearly.
As soon as they heard that Xia Xiaoxiao was wearing a new sweater knitted by her aunt, Lin Wanning and Xiao Ruawen, who had been lazing in bed, suddenly sat up as if shocked awake from deep sleep.
Lin Wanning rubbed her eyes, focused, and stared unblinkingly at the sweater.
"It's hand-knitted by Qingfan's mom? I wouldn't have guessed, I thought it was bought from a boutique, it looks so good," Xiao Ruawen said with envy.
Xia Xiaoxiao just politely smiled and didn't respond.
After making sure everyone had seen it, she nonchalantly pulled up her zipper and turned to go to the bathroom to wash up.
Lin Wanning pouted as she watched Xia Xiaoxiao's retreating figure, her face clearly expressing her desire.
She got up, picked up her clothes, slipped into her slippers, and left the bedroom to seek comfort in Brother Qingfan's bed!
At 6:50 a.m., the six of them sat in the living room, sipping tea and having breakfast.
The morning reading session in winter was delayed until 7:10, so they could relax at home and leave at seven.
After breakfast, with gloves and scarves on, they wrapped themselves up tightly and then all set off together.