Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Of Course, I’ll Remember It for a Lifetime

Mei Fang was currently in an awkward situation.

Originally just saying it casually, Mei Fang was now being dragged downstairs by Xia Yuan. She grabbed his arm and insisted on taking him to a music store to buy a guitar.

“I was just talking, not really… I need to focus on my studies now. Where would I find the time to learn the guitar!”

“Afang, don’t be like a child and throw a tantrum! Time can always be squeezed out if you try. If you don’t learn now, you’ll have even less time when you get to high school…”

Xia Yuan and Mei Fang were tugging each other on the neighborhood path when they ran into several of their neighbors’ mothers smiling and whispering nearby. They instinctively let go of each other’s hands.

“Um, that! When I heard you talking about this earlier, I truly felt that there was light in your eyes, Afang.”

Xia Yuan smoothed her hair and said sincerely, “Actually, I’ve always thought you had a talent for writing lyrics, and then, you learned music theory very quickly… If you put in some effort in this direction, maybe you could really make something of it, Afang.”

“I… Yuyuan, tell me the truth.”

Mei Fang frowned and said, “You’re not doing this because you felt guilty for laughing at my singing when we were little, right?”

When Xia Yuan was young, she once asked Mei Fang to sing for her, but Mei Fang sang terribly and was laughed at by Xia Yuan. After that, Mei Fang never sang in front of Xia Yuan again; he only sang for himself.

“There’s no such thing! When did I ever laugh at your singing!”

“Why won’t you look at me properly? Why won’t you look at me at all…”

After a moment of hesitation, Xia Yuan mustered the courage to look at Mei Fang. Mei Fang intended to say something to her, but noticed tears welling up in her eyes.

“I know I laughed at Afang before, but I really regret it now… Just now, I was thinking that if you still remember this, it might be because I laughed at your singing back then, and that’s why you didn’t continue in this direction. It’s all my fault.”

“This isn’t your problem! Alright, alright… You can cry over this too, you little crybaby.”

Mei Fang took out a tissue to wipe away Xia Yuan’s tears.

I really can’t handle tough love…

Seeing Xia Yuan still sniffling, Mei Fang scratched his head, “I do want to give it a try, but I want to practice by myself.”

Xia Yuan rubbed her eyes, “Why won’t you let me join you? Are you afraid I’ll laugh at you?”

“I just… um…”

As he grew older, Mei Fang found that the gap between him and Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi was narrowing.

In kindergarten, Mei Fang could instantly outsmart the whole class with his third-grade level intelligence. In elementary school, he could solve complex problems that troubled most students just by shaking his head.

But it was foreseeable that after high school, he would become increasingly ordinary.

Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi were two charming girls. If Xia Yuan’s family tragedy hadn’t happened, even without Mei Fang’s company, they would still have become excellent.

But in his previous life, aside from playing games and roller skating, Mei Fang didn’t have much else to boast about. In this life—

Apart from his financial freedom with Bitcoin, his personal advantages and charm were no longer as prominent.

“So… what is it?”

Mei Fang mumbled for a while before clarifying his thoughts, “I want to appear more outstanding in front of you, is that wrong?”

No matter how mature his actual mental age was, Mei Fang was still a single man, and this pure-hearted side was a natural reaction for someone his age.

Even though they had a deep bond, it was impossible not to be worried about losing his appeal to Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi.

Hearing Mei Fang’s words, Xia Yuan looked extremely delighted. She hopped forward, patting his arm on the left and his shoulder on the right, looking at him with a playful expression.

“What are you doing?”

“I never expected our Afang to actually grow up!”

Xia Yuan clasped her hands behind her back and laughed, “You’ve seen everything, yet you still feel embarrassed… Afang, you’re too distant, hahaha!”

“You little brat, are you going to bring up the incident of me wetting the bed in kindergarten again!”

Angry, Mei Fang grabbed Xia Yuan from behind, pinching her face and teasing her fiercely, “How long do you plan to hold this against me?”

“Of course, I’ll remember it for a lifetime!”

After their playful banter, Mei Fang and Xia Yuan returned to the serious topic of buying a guitar. Mei Fang’s thoughts were already stirred up by Xia Yuan, and now with her urging, he made up his mind.

“Since we’ve decided to learn, we should prepare seriously. Speaking of which, do you know anyone who understands guitars?”

Xia Yuan nodded, “I remember Xiao Xue saying her cousin plays guitar very well. We could ask her for tips on learning the basics. Plus, it’s best to take lessons in person, self-study takes a lot of time and often leads to detours. My old piano teacher, Ms. Liu, also teaches guitar fingerpicking at her music store. I can help contact her and ask.”

“Classroom lessons?” Mei Fang hesitated, “I see that most people learning instruments are children. Do I have to learn with them?”

“It should be possible to arrange individual classes, which would be more flexible. However, I’m not sure if my pocket money is enough… But, since we’re both old friends, it might be cheaper. Then, we can ask You Xi if she wants to learn together.”

“Huh? Both of us?”

Mei Fang was stunned, “You also want to learn the guitar? You don’t need to accompany me…”

Hearing this, Xia Yuan puffed up her cheeks angrily, “If you’re willing to run away with me, why can’t you learn the guitar with me? Besides, I’m interested in guitars too. We can motivate each other and progress together!”

“If you bring this up… then I guess I have to admit defeat.”

Mei Fang said unwillingly, but his heart was warm.

What did I do in my past life to deserve not playing with such a good friend like Yuyuan…

Back then, I was too immature at five!

“Let’s go ask You Xi about her interest. Is she still at your place coding?”

“Yeah… She’s at my place, but she’s doing something else. I asked her to supervise Xia Ya with her homework, with the reward being a later trip to the bookstore to buy programming books.”

“Ah!” Xia Yuan was shocked, “You made You Xi suffer like that. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Why should I have told you earlier? And look at that gleeful smile on your face. Are you really sympathizing with You Xi and standing up for her?”

“Alright, alright… I’ll spill the beans!”

Xia Yuan grabbed Mei Fang’s arm and headed toward his house, a mischievous expression on her face, “Let’s go see how Xia Ya has driven You Xi crazy. I can’t wait!”

That, everyone worries that I might plagiarize when I write music, but I won’t do that! I won’t fill a chapter with lyrics or water down the story (I’ll forgive you for last time). Nor will I have Xia Yuan and Mei Fang enter the entertainment industry! This won’t happen. Writing songs and singing is just for fun at school. In the future, I’ll stick to independent musicians and game soundtracks. Because forcing original songs without any emotional investment wouldn’t work, and I don’t have that talent, so I borrowed some songs, essentially writing about campus life.

(End of Chapter)