Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts
Chapter 171: Crisis from HeavenWhile Mei Fang happily waited for everyone to bring food, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi couldn’t help but comment on Guo Yun’s transformation as they picked up dishes.
“I didn’t expect her to lose so much weight in just a few months. It’s really impressive! It seems like the doctor’s advice was really effective.”
“But, was it really the doctor’s advice that motivated Guo Yun to work so hard…”
“…?”
Xia Yuan looked up at Lin Youxi, who was quietly picking up food, and couldn’t help but speak her mind:
“Don’t you think it’s because of Ah Fang that Guo Yun worked so hard to lose weight?”
Lin Youxi was always open with Xia Yuan. “I think so.”
“I-I also think so!”
Xia Yuan looked around nervously and then lowered her voice. “She definitely likes Ah Fang! Look, her name wasn’t even in the last month’s financial report. Ah Fang cares so much about art, so he must have discussed salary with her. She probably wants to get exploited by Ah Fang for free like us!”
“If you put it that way, it might be a bit far-fetched,” Lin Youxi reminded Xia Yuan. “Last month, there were no art resources included in the package. You should look at the previous month for any financial transactions.”“Well, it’s not a big deal… Our Ah Fang is so outstanding and many people like him. It’s normal for them to be willing to make an effort for him, as long as… as long as they don’t have any inappropriate thoughts about Ah Fang, it’s not a problem, right?”
While Xia Yuan spoke, she picked up two chicken wings, and Lin Youxi stacked a pile of green leafy vegetables onto Xia Yuan’s plate. They shared a single plate.
“But… Yuan Yuan, don’t you think there are more girls around Ah Fang lately?”
“Huh… um… yeah, actually, Ah Fang has never really liked hanging out with boys besides Zhang Ming. It’s mostly the three female classmates we invited today, right?”
Prompted by Lin Youxi’s reminder, Xia Yuan furrowed her brows and suddenly felt that something was off.
Speaking of which, Guo Yun was Ah Fang’s middle school deskmate. Bingbing and Ah Fang are now deskmates, and while Xiaoyu and Ah Fang don’t have many interactions, Ah Fang’s initial reaction when he first met Xiaoyu was quite strange.
“We are the ‘childhood sweetheart’ types, while these three are all like ‘descended from heaven’ types of characters. Now that you mentioned it, it’s a bit odd. Ah Fang has a good relationship with all three of them.
“I understand. After all, in most ACGN[1] works, the ‘descended from heaven’ characters always win.”
“But those are just fictional stories! There’s a difference between fiction and reality. Why would anyone not like the wonderful feeling of growing affection over time?”
“People might have their reasons for not liking it… Like getting tired of each other after being together for a long time, growing incompatible in terms of personality, conflicting interests…”
Lin Youxi said seriously, “I think the saying ‘childhood sweethearts rarely become lovers’ has some truth to it. After all, if childhood sweethearts have a really good relationship, they should have been lovers long ago, like what we talked about last time, He Cheng and Zhao Xin. They liked each other early on and got together, but we…”
“That… Isn’t it because both of us are Ah Fang’s childhood sweethearts? Ah Fang really likes to talk about focusing on studying and such but… I feel like he’s just trying to avoid making a choice.”
Xia Yuan picked up a bowl of green bean soup, contemplating whether she should also get a fruit dessert. Meanwhile, Lin Youxi placed a few baby bok choys onto Xia Yuan’s plate.
“Why do you always pick vegetables, Youxi? You won’t enjoy this buffet like this.”
“Yuan Yuan, you’re not really here today for the same reason as Bingbing, which is just to eat your fill, are you?”
Lin Youxi’s expression showed a hint of frustration as she asked, and her question had a hint of reproach in it.
“Have you ever considered this possibility—that if Ah Fang keeps hesitating and doesn’t want to make a decision that would hurt either of us, given his gentle personality, what choice do you think he would make?”
???
Lin Youxi’s words pierced Xia Yuan’s heart like a sharp arrow. In just a few seconds, Xia Yuan’s mind raced through countless scenarios:
【I’m sorry, Yuan Yuan… Youxi… I can’t bring myself to choose between the two of you. We’re like a close family after all.】
【How about… how about we remain childhood sweethearts forever?】
【This person? This is my girlfriend. You’ve met her before, she’s…】
Xia Yuan grabbed Lin Youxi’s arm and said seriously, “Whether he chooses you or me, it doesn’t matter. After all, we’ve known each other for so many years, so we’ll still have a good relationship in the future regardless.”
“But… Ah Fang can’t belong to anyone else… If he becomes someone else’s man, we’ll lose him forever.”
Lin Youxi nodded. “I think the same way. So, that’s why——”
When Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi returned with their plate, the barbecue grill on the buffet side was already lit. The three girls at the nearby table watched as Mei Fang taught them how to lay barbecue paper, brush oil, place the ingredients, and sprinkle seasoning.
Most of the girls were experiencing this kind of self-service barbecue for the first time. Seeing Mei Fang’s skillful actions, their fondness for him grew instantly.
“So this is how it’s done! I’ve completely understood, I’ll try it now…”
Because Mei Fang was busy teaching everyone how to grill, he sat in the middle of the table. Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan sat on either side of him, with Xia Yuan placing her plate down.
“Why did you two take so long? And why do you only bring back this little amount of food? Well, that’s fine… look at Bingbing’s table——”
As Mei Fang was pointing towards the piled-up food on Bingbing’s table, Xia Yuan ignored it and leaned against Mei Fang’s side.
“Forget about that. Have you finished grilling? I didn’t eat much in the morning, and I’m about to starve…”
Xia Yuan’s voice carried a hint of coquettishness as she leaned closely to Mei Fang.
This intimate and uninhibited scene made Guo Yun and Liu Xiaoyu at the opposite table feel embarrassed and lower their heads, while Bingbing remained carefree on the side:
“Have you eaten anything yet? I haven’t eaten since last night. I’m going to eat until I’m completely full today.”
“That’s impressive, Bingbing… Here, let me help you grill.”
“You know how to grill, Youxi? That’s great… But it’s also your first time here, right? How did you learn?”
“Just now, when we sat down, Ah Fang demonstrated it once.”
Lin Youxi had an exceptional ability to learn quickly. Coupled with her excellent cooking skills, she skillfully handled the ingredients, which made Bingbing feel at ease.
“It seems like Youxi at our table is even better than Mei Fang. We don’t need to wait for Mei Fang to help us grill anymore!”
“Um…”
Seeing that Bingbing was already won over by Lin Youxi, Mei Fang felt relieved and started grilling the food.
“This piece of bacon should be done… Who wants to try it? Just grab it yourself.”
“Me! Give it to me.”
Xia Yuan quickly raised her hand.
“Then I’ll put it on your plate…”
“Ah Fang, can you feed it to me directly?”
“Huh? There are people watching! What’s gotten into you… Behave a little.”
Mei Fang reminded Xia Yuan in a low voice not to be too spoiled.
Normally, he didn’t mind being affectionate with Xia Yuan, but this was in public, and their friends were sitting across from them. It might be a bit too much to show off their affection like this.
Mei Fang hated those couples who showed off their affection while eating in his previous life, but now he was becoming the kind of person he used to detest.
“It’s okay… I don’t mind.” Guo Yun hadn’t seen Xia Yuan being so clingy to Mei Fang like this in middle school, but considering they were living together now, it wasn’t surprising that their relationship had developed further.
Seeing that Guo Yun didn’t mind it, Liu Xiaoyu lowered her head and started grilling the meat, while Xia Yuan continued to act spoiled. Mei Fang had no choice but to pick up the bacon and feed it to Xia Yuan’s mouth.
“Be careful, it’s hot.”
“Mmm, ugh…”
Xia Yuan flicked her tongue and reluctantly swallowed the bacon.
“Mmm, it’s delicious!”
Xia Yuan was satisfied, but that was the extent of it. After showing a bit of affection, she climbed off Mei Fang and just leaned close to him.
Everyone happily grilled and ate their food. Xiang Bingbing, after learning from Lin Youxi how to grill, took charge and handled the grilling and seasoning herself, busy and enjoying it.
Lin Youxi gently pulled Mei Fang’s sleeve, indicating that she wanted to say something. So he lowered his head to listen.
“I’ll let Bingbing use the grill on my side alone. Can you help me grill some for me?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Mei Fang grabbed a grilled ham sausage, intending to put it on Lin Youxi’s plate, but she instead held her hair back and directly took a big bite, eating up about half of the sausage.
“You’re not going to finish it all?”
“I’ll just eat this much.” Lin Youxi smiled at Mei Fang. “Don’t waste it.”
“I know, I know…”
Mei Fang casually finished the remaining bit of ham sausage that Lin Youxi left.
What are these two girls up to today?
It seems like they really expect some kind of response from me…
Mei Fang noticed that Guo Yun hadn’t been eating the grilled meat and asked her, “Why aren’t you eating any meat? It’s rare for us to meet, so you should eat your fill.”
“Well… I’m still in the process of losing weight, so I have to be moderate with my food intake.”
Guo Yun pointed to the vegetables in her bowl and said, “I’ll just have some salad.”
“Ah, I didn’t know you were on a diet before making the reservation. I should have chosen a lighter restaurant.”
“No, no…absolutely no need for that.” Guo Yun immediately waved her hand, saying, “This is originally just a team gathering for you all, so I would feel very embarrassed to have you accommodate me.”
As Mei Fang was about to speak, Xia Yuan beat him to it. With a smile, she said, “Yun Yun, you shouldn’t talk like that. You and the three of us have always been on the same team. There’s no need to accommodate or not accommodate anyone.”
“Yun… Yun Yun?”
“Don’t you like it when I call you that?”
“Well, it’s not that…”
Guo Yun blushed slightly. “It’s just that no one has ever called me that before.”
Liu Xiaoyu nodded beside them. “I was also embarrassed the first time Xia Yuan called me Xiaoyu…”
“Xiaoyu, why don’t you just call me Yuan Yuan? It still feels a bit awkward…”
“Ah… I just… called you that out of habit, ” Liu Xiaoyu smiled.
“If it’s okay, then can I call you Yuan Yuan too?” Guo Yun asked.
“Sure, sure! Also, you can just call ‘Class Monitor Youxi’ as Youxi directly! Only Ah Fang can’t be called ‘Ah Fang,’ the rest is fine——”
Xia Yuan smilingly hinted at something with a hidden threat in her words, and Guo Yun and Liu Xiaoyu almost instantly understood.
…
Is this what they called ‘asserting dominance’?
Of course, Xiang Bingbing, who was oblivious, never fell for this trick.
“Ah, why can’t I call him ‘Ah Fang’? I think my relationship with Mei Fang is pretty good. Shouldn’t I be able to call him ‘Ah Fang’ by now?”
“‘Ah Fang’ is not allowed, even Bingbing can’t call him that.”
Xia Yuan made a forbidding gesture. At this moment, Lin Youxi, who was beside them, also dissuaded them.
“In fact, the name Ah Fang has a special meaning for us, so Ah Fang himself doesn’t like it when people outside of our families call him that. Otherwise, he would get grumpy. Am I right, Ah Fang?”
“Mhm…” Mei Fang smiled awkwardly. “Yuan Yuan and…and Youxi calling me Ah Fang is acceptable…but it’s best to avoid others doing so. It brings back bad memories.”
“Mhm… I won’t do that, you can rest assured!” Guo Yun smiled softly.
“I… I won’t either…” Liu Xiaoyu responded softly.
Seeing this, Xiang Bingbing didn’t continue the topic but instead focused on eating.
Meanwhile, Mei Fang was still gripping Lin Youxi’s wrist under the table, stopping her from carrying out any further threatening actions, which was the reason behind why he suddenly trembled a little midway through speaking earlier.
Alright, alright… I understand that you two are asserting your dominance.
But still, don’t go touching all over the place, Youxi!
You’re making us look like depraved perverts over here!
Translator's Notes:
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