Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

Xu Qingfan secretly cared for her, which Xia Xiaoxiao naturally did not notice, and fortunately she did not, otherwise, after seeing the contempt and disdain on his face later, the girl would probably have been even angrier. It was only when she got to the recycling station that Xia Xiaoxiao quietly looked back. After confirming that Xu Qingfan had not followed, she placed the two bags of trash on the ground and squatted down herself. "It's not... not... how can it be missing?" Xia Xiaoxiao stirred the two bags of trash with a picked-up twig, murmuring something under her breath. The thing she was looking for was naturally that keychain that had shattered in the morning. Apart from feeling wronged and cursing Xu Qingfan for bullying her, calling him a stinky dog, a bad dog, a slobbering dog, Xia Xiaoxiao spent the entire morning in regret. What made her regretful, besides the rash words she had spoken in anger, was that keychain. The keychain that had been with her for nearly two years was given to her solely by that stinky dog; none of the other girls had one, but she had broken it with her own hands. "How can it be missing?" Not finding what she was searching for, Xia Xiaoxiao felt incredibly dejected. The broken keychain, which cost just a few cents wholesale, was perceived by the girl in her subconscious mind as something no one but her would treasure, thus it naturally belonged in the trashcan. If it wasn't in the trashcan now, then it must have been swept up into the garbage pile that morning, all of this as a punishment for her failing to cherish the keychain. Xia Xiaoxiao's eyes brightened as she got up with the last bit of hope and lifted the lid of the trashcan, but it was completely empty inside, and the girl's last sliver of hope was taken from her. She despairingly picked up the two bags of garbage and threw them in, turned around, and walked home with a downcast expression. [It's all my fault...] Her already empty chest felt even more hollow now. Feeling almost breathless with discomfort, Xia Xiaoxiao stopped and took several deep breaths until she felt much better. [Xu Qingfan is right, Xia Xiaoxiao, you are indeed a giant baby. Why did you have to throw things for no reason!] The tears she had been holding back finally fell as Xia Xiaoxiao hid behind the trunk of a tree and wept secretly, continuously wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes. However, like a floodgate that had been lifted, the tears flowed more abundantly. The next moment. She squatted down on the ground, crying her heart out like a pitiful and helpless little dog. "Wuu wuu... Xia Xiaoxiao, you're just a hateful ghost... an annoying spirit, why did you have to throw things and speak sarcastically!" "Xia Xiaoxiao, you're just a giant baby... just a giant baby... just a giant baby...." She sobbed, and with each word, her shoulders trembled violently. The keychain she had dismissed indifferently that morning had now become the final straw that overwhelmed the girl. Xia Xiaoxiao clenched her fists tightly, her fingernails digging deeply into her flesh, as if avenging the "death" of the keychain, or perhaps believing that the more physical pain she felt, the less her heart would ache. Xia Xiaoxiao had deeply recognized her mistake, and although Xu Qingfan might have had a foul mouth, what he said about her was not wrong at all. As Ruan Wen had analyzed for her, she, Xia Xiaoxiao, was not anyone to Xu Qingfan; she truly had no right to meddle in whom he slept with. Previously, Xu Qingfan indulged her, protected her feelings and self-esteem, and tolerated her relentless advances, but she took all of this for granted, forcing him to agree not to let Lin Wanning under the covers and demanding this and that from him. Until this time, when she misunderstood him, didn't trust him, and knew it was Wanning's birthday but still lost her temper, Xu Qingfan finally became angry and gave her a severe scolding. Xia Xiaoxiao couldn't accept the stark contrast in Xu Qingfan's behavior towards her, and failing to control her emotions under the strain of the disconnect. Initially, she was the one at fault, and then throwing things and saying harsh words made it even worse, and finally running out of the house despite everyone's concern was an even graver mistake! "I'm such an idiot, wuu wuu... I'm sorry...." Xia Xiaoxiao resolved that as soon as she found an appropriate moment, she would apologize to Xu Qingfan, apologize thoroughly, and admit her fault! [If Xu Qingfan is still not satisfied... still doesn't forgive me... then I'll... then I'll wear that outfit from the other time again!] Thinking of this, her crying suddenly softened a great deal, and her clenched fists relaxed once again. [Ruan Wen is right, as long as I go apologize obediently to that stinky dog, he will definitely be pleasantly surprised, then he will apologize softly and treat me well again. It's obvious that we've known each other the longest...] Even though Xu Qingfan said hurtful, foul-mouthed things on QQ, after accepting that she had no right to meddle with whom Xu Qingfan cuddled under the covers, Xia Xiaoxiao didn't seem so angry anymore. [That stinky dog has the right to crawl under the covers with Wanning, and even if he crawled under with Yu, Ruan Wen, or Yiyi, it seems I have no right to meddle... I'm not his girlfriend...] With that thought, it seemed that aside from her own admitted mistake in the morning, the "bad dog" seemed not to have done anything wrong at all. [Instead, it was me causing trouble for no reason, being self-centered, and even throwing things and speaking angrily...] The more she thought about it, the redder Xia Xiaoxiao's face became. She couldn't distinguish whether her face was red from crying or from shame. ... After Xia Xiaoxiao left, Xu Qingfan kept sitting in the yard, lost in thought. Almost ten minutes had passed, and that damn girl still hadn't returned. Under normal circumstances, taking out the trash would take less than five minutes. Xu Qingfan checked the time on his phone again, and when he saw that another five minutes had gone by, his worry got the best of him and he prepared to get up and look for her. "This Xia Xiaoxiao is such a nuisance!" Despite being deeply worried about the girl, he still spoke ill of her. He hadn't seen a trace of Xia Xiaoxiao halfway down the road, which made Xu Qingfan increasingly anxious. His walking pace quickly turned into a jog. Even though it seemed highly unlikely, if Xia Xiaoxiao had really done something foolish out of spite towards him, Xu Qingfan would feel guilty for the rest of his life. [Dammit, this is so annoying. She better not have thought of doing something crazy like jumping into the Zengjiang River.] The scene of the girl's violent death in Free Country in a past life flashed through his mind, causing Xu Qingfan's heartbeat to start pounding violently as he inadvertently broke into a run. Even at the garbage station he didn't find Xia Xiaoxiao, and his panic level rose even further. Xu Qingfan, agitated, flipped open the lid of the trash can. The two bags of trash Xia Xiaoxiao had just taken out were still there. He breathed a sigh of relief, then left the place without stopping for a second. [In the previous life and now in this one as well, can't you just give me some peace of mind!] Xu Qingfan's strides became even larger as he looked around for Xia Xiaoxiao. ... "Cough cough..." Xia Xiaoxiao swallowed her saliva, having stopped crying by this point. She spread out her hands, with four bright red nail marks on each side, blood threads already visible beneath them. Xia Xiaoxiao felt these were punishment for her impulsive behavior that morning. She wanted to remember these scars forever, so the next time she felt impulsive, she would immediately think of the keychain she had broken. She also decided that during her lunch break, she would sneak into Xu Qingfan's bedroom to apologize. [Wanning can hide under the covers, so can I, Xia Xiaoxiao!] It was evident that Xia Xiaoxiao had taken the words Xiao Ruawen said that morning to heart. At the same time, when she remembered Ruan Wen saying she would always be on Xiao Xiao's side, a fleeting smile crossed her face, a glimpse of striking beauty like the blossoming of peach and plum trees. [Hmph~ From now on, I'm going to hide under the covers too...] Xia Xiaoxiao was about to get up and go back. However. "You're done throwing out the trash and not going back, squatting here to take a dump?" The next second, a loud voice unexpectedly came from behind her. "Pfft!" Xia Xiaoxiao, squatting as if at a military drill, couldn't control a long string of snot that sprayed out, dangling from her face. Twenty minutes had passed since Xu Qingfan came out to look for Xia Xiaoxiao, and having searched for half a day only to find the girl in this secluded grove, one could imagine his mood at the moment. Just as he was about to go over in a fit of rage and smack Xia Xiaoxiao's behind. Xia Xiaoxiao's frozen position only lasted less than five seconds; the long string of snot was now touching her lips. Without hesitating for even a moment, she got up and ran. "Damn!" Watching the girl's retreating figure as she fled, Xu Qingfan finally let out a sigh of relief.