Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts

After a series of events, Lin Youxi finally discussed the matter of her father’s remarriage with him. Although she still couldn’t accept calling Aunt Liang “mom”, she still supported her father and Aunt Liang in being together.

After getting his daughter’s approval, Lin Guochuan and Aunt Liang got married in the spring of 2009. They prepared a sumptuous feast at home and specifically invited the families of Mei Fang and Xia Yuan for dinner. Even Xia Xun and Teacher Yu of the Xia family, who didn’t have much interaction with Lin Guochuan, also joined in this time.

This was the first complete meeting of the three families, with six adults and four children gathered around a table for a meal. Lin Youxi, as the host, was very busy that day, serving tea, pouring water, and preparing the table. Her family had always been quiet and empty since she could remember, and she always went to Mei Fang’s house to eat. It was the first time she experienced such a lively atmosphere.

Mei Fang rarely saw Xia Xun interacting with people in a normal manner. He appeared very approachable and praised Aunt Liang’s cooking skills.

“Sister Liang, your cooking is really good, comparable to the level of the head chef at the hotel I used to run.”

“Yuan Yuan’s father is overpraising me. Actually, it’s not just my cooking, Youxi also helped me with several dishes… like this braised eggplant she made.”

“I didn’t know Youxi was so talented. Not only is she academically excellent, but she also has such cooking skills.”

Embarrassed by Xia Xun’s praise, Lin Youxi said, “Actually, I learned these skills from Aunt Mei, and Aunt Liang also guided me…”

Lin Youxi’s gaze finally fell on Xia Yuan, who was resting her chin on her hand and looking at her. “Actually, Yuan Yuan is also very good at cooking!”

Xia Yuan shook her head helplessly, “At most, I’m slightly better at cooking than Ah Fang and my mom… nothing more.”

Teacher Yu liked to make fancy-looking dishes, but they didn’t taste that great. Now, being compared by two mothers and teased by her daughter, she felt a bit embarrassed.

“You child… How can you say that about your mom?”

“That’s right, Yuan Yuan, you weren’t like this before. You always said you liked the dishes your mom made, didn’t you?”

“That’s only for a few dishes like cola chicken wings! And Dad, you used to run a hotel, so you know best whether Mom’s cooking is good or not. Only Dad would say such things because he spoils Mom.”

“Hahaha…”

The adults burst into laughter at Xia Yuan’s remarks, and Mei Lijun laughed the most exaggeratedly and foolishly, then was fiercely pinched by his wife, Xiang Xiaoxia.

Mei Fang listened to adults chatting and observed the scene while eating quietly with his head down, scooping rice. Mei Ya, his younger sister, took the fried chicken leg from his bowl and transferred the uneaten vegetables and tofu into her own bowl without any objection from Mei Fang.

Through bits and pieces of conversation from the adults and some information shared by Youxi, Mei Fang learned that Aunt Liang, whose full name was Liang Meijuan, had experienced an unfortunate marriage. She was suffering from infertility due to a miscarriage, which led to mistreatment by her ex-husband’s family. Later, discovering her husband’s infidelity, she chose to leave with nothing.

Despite the hardships she endured, she still faced life with a smile. Aunt Liang gave a very gentle and considerate impression.

She didn’t speak much usually, but she was very caring and attentive to Lin Youxi. However, according to Lin Youxi, she also maintained a subtle distance from her.

For example, she never entered Lin Youxi’s room or touched her things without permission. The family photo of Lin Youxi and her parents from their early years still hung in the center of the living room, and she never moved anything related to Youxi’s mom without careful consideration, even during cleaning.

It was through maintaining this respectful distance that Lin Youxi and Liang Meijuan gradually started chatting and becoming more familiar.

After becoming a part of the family, Liang Meijuan started riding the electric scooter that Lin Youxi had previously given to her father. As she worked in a store in Baimei No.1 High School as a clerk, which was not far from the Experimental Middle School, she would ride the scooter in the morning to take Lin Youxi to school before going to work.

This warm and ordinary life continued like this.

As the ice melted and the snow thawed, spring arrived. In a small town like Baimei County, warm weather was rare. The sound of cicadas began to echo with the rising temperature.

It was this time when the girls started to sing “In That Corner I Caught a Cold”^[1], and owning a BBK i6^[2] music phone was the happiest thing for them, showcasing their position at the forefront of fashion and their outstanding taste.

Mei Fang’s classmates around him began to have their own phones, mostly hand-me-downs from older siblings or retired phones from their parents, but they were all extremely happy about it.

The boys downloaded a series of Java games on their Symbian phones, and in the overlapping era of 2G and 3G technology, this generation’s mobile games relied on data and SMS fees for profit. The mainstream games were mostly independent single-player games with little content.

While girls were enthusiastic about taking photos, recording videos, listening to music, watching dramas, and reading manga, apps like QQ allowed them to save on text messaging costs and easily invite their friends to go shopping with them anytime, anywhere.

However, the three protagonists of our story seemed to be out of touch with this rapidly changing and evolving world, as they still preferred the traditional way of visiting each other’s homes.

Lately, Mei Fang has been troubled by the issue of Xia Yuan’s birthday gift. He promised to give her a special birthday present this year.

Xia Yuan’s family had strict rules, and she had an agreement with her mother that she could only use a mobile phone after entering high school. This made Mei Fang abandon the idea of gifting Xia Yuan a phone.

As for other electronic products like MP3 players and digital cameras, Xia Yuan, who comes from a wealthy family, might not necessarily need them.

If it’s something that girls like, such as accessories, dolls, or mugs, Mei Fang and Lin Youxi have already given them repeatedly in the past.

“So, Ah Fang, have you still not figured out what gift to give Yuan Yuan?”

“If it were that simple, do you think I would have this expression?” Mei Fang said helplessly, looking at Lin Youxi, who was stretching.

“So, what about you? What gift did you get for her?”

Lin Youxi smiled and rolled up her sleeve to show Mei Fang her bracelet.

“Look, it’s this.”

Lin Youxi showed a shiny bracelet to Mei Fang.

“Another bracelet? Haven’t you exchanged many bracelets with each other? And why are you wearing your gift for Yuan Yuan?”

“Hmm…” Lin Youxi smiled slightly. “I gave her one of these friendship bracelets.”

“Friendship bracelets?”

Lin Youxi showed Mei Fang the silver heart-shaped pendant on the bracelet with the word “Yuan” engraved on it. Mei Fang suddenly realized, “So, does Yuan Yuan have a bracelet with your name engraved on it?”

“Correct,” Lin Youxi nodded.

“Girls are really great, being together… The birthday gift you gave is indeed extraordinary.”

Mei Fang nodded, “Did you have this pair of bracelets custom-made at a boutique? Which store did you go to? It’s so impressive.”

Lin Youxi immediately gave Mei Fang a disdainful look, “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of just giving Yuan Yuan a bracelet like this?”

“Why not?” Mei Fang smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Absolutely not!”

Lin Youxi pinched Mei Fang in annoyance, “If you do that, Yuan Yuan will blame me for teaching you… You must think of something else yourself!”

Translator's Notes:

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