Actually, with the assets in Mei Fang’s account, buying a mobile phone now would be more than affordable. However, a phone is not easy to hide. If his mother finds out and asks about it, it will be very troublesome. Secondly, he didn’t have any important contacts for now.

As for communicating with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi, it was usually either through the landline or direct visits. Since their homes were so close, meeting in person was always convenient. Regarding the matter of a mobile phone, Mei Fang preferred to wait until everyone had such a plan before considering getting one.

Mei Fang dialed the phone number of Lin Youxi’s home, but only a busy tone came from the other end of the line.

“Can’t get through?”

Xia Yuan tilted her head and said, “Could it be that there are guests at Youxi’s house and they don’t have time to answer the phone? It’s quite busy at home during New Year.”

“Not sure, let’s try calling again later…”

As Mei Fang finished speaking, the landline that had just been put down rang.

“Hello… Youxi? Oh… it’s Teacher Yu.”

Mei Fang often confused the way he addressed Xia Yuan’s mom, switching between Aunt Xia, Aunt Yu, and Teacher Yu. In the end, Xia Yuan’s mother decided to let Mei Fang call her Teacher Yu, which sounded smoother.

“Mei Fang, is Yuan Yuan at your house now?”

“Yes, she is… Wait, I’ll give her the phone.”

“No need, just ask Yuan Yuan to come back quickly. Her grandma is back today.”

Xia Yuan heard her mom’s voice from the phone and quickly took the phone from Mei Fang’s hand:

“Grandma? Did she come back alone? Isn’t Dad supposed to pick her up tomorrow…”

“It’s said that she took a ride in her younger sister’s car all the way here, saying she wants to give you a surprise…”

“Grandma’s younger sister…”

Xia Yuan showed a bewildered expression, exchanged a few words with her mom, and then hung up the phone.

“My grandma is back, so I can’t play with you guys today.”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

While tidying up her hat, scarf, gloves, and bag at Mei Fang’s house, Xia Yuan said to Mei Fang, “Later, call Youxi or just go to her house to check. If you need anything, just call our house, I’ll be at home then.”

“Big brother!”

Mei Ya tugged at Mei Fang’s arm and said, “Can I go to Sister Yuan Yuan’s house to play?”

“There are guests at Yuan Yuan’s house, you’ll just cause trouble…”

“Well, I don’t mind.”

Xia Yuan reached out to Mei Ya and said, “Since your homework is already ‘done’, if you’re bored at home, you can come to my house to play. We should have many relatives coming today, and there are two little kids slightly younger than you.”

“I want to go, I want to go! I love playing with kids the most! I want to show them the mysteries of science!”

Mei Ya shouted her favorite slogan from a children’s program, gesturing as she shouted, “Science bubbles, use your hands and mind, observe carefully, and explore the mysteries!”

Mei Fang gently tapped his sister’s head, “If you want to go, go ahead, but don’t cause trouble for your sister Yuan Yuan. Don’t touch anything at your sister Yuan Yuan’s house. Don’t embarrass our Mei family, got it?”

Mei Ya had always been told that her sister Yuan Yuan’s family was very wealthy, but she hadn’t been to Xia Yuan’s house much. After Mei Fang’s warning, she became serious, “I understand! Dad also told me that everything in Sister Yuan Yuan’s house is very expensive, even if they sold me, they won’t be able to afford it.”

“Ah Fang, don’t exaggerate our family like that!”

Mei Fang was happy to have Xia Yuan help take care of his sister, giving him the free time to tackle the challenges of Go Language.

In his previous life, he wasn’t a programming expert, he just had a general idea of what language his company used for programming.

Now, thinking back, the difference between Golang in 2009 and 2022 might be very significant, at least it’s quite challenging to learn now.

Mei Fang just opened his computer when he suddenly remembered Lin Youxi.

Usually, she would either come here quickly, or she would call me if she couldn’t come…

How about… just go directly to Lin Youxi’s house?

It’s not far anyway.

After making up his mind, Mei Fang quickly took action, changed his shoes, and went to Lin Youxi’s house to find her.

In Lin Youxi’s small courtyard, there was an old motorcycle, a brand-new black electric scooter, and an additional pink bicycle.

There are indeed guests at their house…

Clearing his throat, Mei Fang, noticing there was no one around, knocked on the courtyard door while reluctantly calling out Lin Youxi’s name.

In 2008, if you lacked a convenient means of communication, calling out to people directly was a common practice among elementary school students, and it felt quite embarrassing.

At that moment, the door of Lin Youxi’s house opened, and Lin Youxi’s father, Lin Guochuan, came out.

“Mei Fang, are you here to play with Youxi?”

Mei Fang nodded, “We made plans to play together today, but I called her earlier and no one answered.”

“Oh? Is that so… Maybe there’s a problem with the phone line, we didn’t hear it ring.”

“Is Youxi not at home?”

“She just went out a moment ago, she might be on her way to find you. Didn’t you meet on the way?”

“Um… no, I’ll go back and take another look.”

“If you see her, please tell her… um, Dad will respect her wishes, but I hope she can have a good talk with me.”

Respect… her wishes?

Mei Fang wanted to ask about the meaning behind these words, but a woman in her mid-thirties appeared behind Lin Guochuan. She gave a very gentle first impression, like the typical friendly aunt-next-door, and her eyes were very bright and beautiful. However, her nasolabial folds appeared deep, and she always kept her hands in front of her, giving off a sense of constraint and sadness.

Mei Fang didn’t think much or ask further, just nodded and greeted, “Hello, Auntie.”

The woman seemed a bit surprised but also nodded in acknowledgment to Mei Fang.

“Is this child one of Youxi’s friends?”

“Yes… he’s Youxi’s best friend. His name is Mei Fang. He often plays with Youxi.”

“I see…”

“Well, Uncle Lin, I’ll go back and look for Youxi then.”

“Um, okay, please.”

Phew…

After leaving Lin Youxi’s house, Mei Fang breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, he was an adult. In such a situation, with such words, he could tell the various reasons behind them at a glance.

I didn’t expect Uncle Lin to remarry at this time.

He didn’t know if Lin Youxi in his previous life had experienced this, and whether she eventually accepted the presence of a stepmother.

But in this lifetime, as far as Mei Fang knew Lin Youxi, he knew she would never accept it.

Could this be because of the butterfly effect again?

In her previous life, Lin Youxi probably had no chance to earn money to buy an electric scooter for her dad. Perhaps it was because her dad felt guilty for not being able to take care of her due to his own other responsibilities, and out of self-blame and guilt, decided to bring a new mother into her life.

Mei Fang searched around on his way home but did not find Lin Youxi’s figure.

Our Youxi would never secretly go somewhere to play alone.

Thinking from Youxi’s perspective, in a difficult situation, since she didn’t come to me for help, the only place she might go to would probably be there…

Mei Fang sighed silently in his heart, then immediately took action and hailed a taxi along the way.

“Hello, Mr. Driver, please take me to Heaven Cemetery, thank you.”

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