Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Drinking Water Competition

A few days after the graduation ceremony, Mei Fang accompanied his parents to Jiangcheng.

Despite Mei Fang’s reluctance, they spent a week in Jiangcheng after receiving the prize money, braving the scorching sun to visit crowded attractions, including the Ma Ya Water Park that Mei Lijun said Mei Fang had “always been eager to see.”

Mei Lijun and Xiang Xiaoxia enjoyed themselves immensely at these places, playing slides and water fights in the park, as if reliving their courtship days. But Mei Fang found it unbearable; he couldn’t understand the point of enduring such suffering in a hot bathhouse.

His parents married early, now in their late twenties, not much older than Mei Fang was when he died.

At the same age, Mei Lijun, his father, had a successful career and a happy family, even with a genius son who had returned from the past. He truly was a life winner.

But his own late twenties were filled only with overtime work, years of drifting with nothing to show for it.

Mei Fang worked harder than his father, yet Mei Lijun was always late and left early, but no one criticized him for being a civil servant.

His father often urged him to find a partner soon, saying, “When I was your age, my kids were already five or six.” This was no exaggeration.

Reflecting on the differences between generations, it was astonishing how much things had changed.

Each generation has its own mission.

After returning from Jiangcheng, Mei Fang immediately started tinkering with his computer.

In his previous life, he was just a table designer, but this time around, he had ample time to learn programming and art. He aimed to become a versatile independent game developer.

Currently, there was little information about UNITY online, but C#, essential for U3D development, was well-established. If one wanted to develop using U3D, C# was a must-learn language.

Moreover, before smartphones became mainstream, Java remained the dominant programming language, and it wouldn’t be easily replaced. Mei Fang couldn’t afford to neglect Java learning either.

Learning materials for these two languages were limited online, so he needed to visit bookstores when he had free time.

Looking at the dense and uncomfortable text on the screen, Mei Fang, who had only learned a bit of the basics, started feeling drowsy.

It must be because he was too young… His brain hadn’t fully matured, and this wasn’t the kind of learning pressure a kindergarten kid should bear.

Deciding to relax a bit, Mei Fang opened the online game he installed.

The legal version of Legend, operated by Shengda Network in China, was still in the era of card payments with no in-game purchases, ensuring fairness.

Mei Lijun had been interested in this game for a long time. After buying the computer and setting up the internet, his first move was to buy a card. He claimed he was playing with his son, but in reality, he was having fun alone. He never imagined that his 6-year-old son was already an expert who had played thousands of games.

The current version of Legend, Riches and Power, lacked high drop rates and powerful skills, making it difficult to play. However, the excitement of team battles and loot grabs was something later games could never replicate.

Mei Fang was momentarily immersed in the pure joy of old-school online gaming when suddenly, the door to the study room opened, and Lin You Xi appeared, startling him. He instinctively turned off the monitor.

“What are you doing? So secretive,” Lin You Xi asked curiously, tilting her head.

“Nothing… Why did you just barge in?” Mei Fang frowned.

“I came to play with you, and your mom was just leaving.”

Lin You Xi pulled a chair over and sat down beside him, “Why did you turn off the computer? Open it up. I want to see you learning.”

“Open what? You’ll just mess things up.”

“It’s so much fun!”

Lin You Xi pouted, “Xia Yuan and I haven’t been home for days. I’ve been watching cartoons alone, and it’s so boring…”

Right, Xia Yuan mentioned going back to the countryside for summer vacation…

“Alright, I’ll turn it on, but you can’t tell my parents what I’m doing.”

“Okay, I won’t!”

Lin You Xi swung her legs excitedly, waiting for Mei Fang to reopen the computer and show her the Legend game interface.

“What is this? It looks like the Bull Demon King.”

“This is a monster. I control this character to fight monsters. Look, click here, here.”

“How cool!”

Lin You Xi’s attention was immediately captured by the game screen.

Usually, girls would be more interested in dress-up games, but Lin You Xi, who used to play house with Xia Yuan, showed no fear towards the monsters in Legend. Instead, she was unusually excited, asking Mei Fang what each button meant.

Although Mei Fang was getting tired of the game, he couldn’t resist Lin You Xi’s pleading and began explaining its functions and controls.

“I know how to use it… Can I try?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

As Mei Fang was about to get up from his chair, Lin You Xi squeezed in and sat down, half of her bottom pressing on his leg. Her eyes were glued to the screen, occasionally turning back to ask Mei Fang questions.

Was childhood gaming really that enjoyable? Even later pay-to-win mobile games offered richer gameplay compared to those simple games.

But in childhood, even if you were playing a single-player game, you had friends sitting next to you, helping solve puzzles and participating in adventures together.

…

If he continued to influence Lin You Xi this way, would she lose her chance to become a top student?

Mei Fang didn’t want to lead her astray.

“Just play for a bit. We’re just kids and shouldn’t get addicted.”

“Okay… Just one more minute,” Lin You Xi stared at the screen.

Here we go, the typical excuse of a gaming addict: “One round and then I’ll stop!” But she didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping after three or four rounds!

I need to use my past experience to educate her properly.

“That—listen, you—”

“I’m done.”

Lin You Xi pulled her hand away from the mouse and looked at Mei Fang obediently, “You can close the game now.”

Impressive.

Only someone with such strong self-control from a young age could become a top student in the future.

“Now I need to learn computer languages. How about you watch TV?”

“That’s no different from staying at home.”

Lin You Xi knelt on the chair, grabbing onto Mei Fang’s shoulders and swinging back and forth, “Play with me.”

“We can play… but what can we do besides playing house?”

“I came up with a new game! Follow me.”

Lin You Xi led Mei Fang to the living room, where she found two identical cups and a water jug.

“What are you doing?”

“Drinking competition!” Lin You Xi smiled, “We’ll race to see who can drink more water!”

“Where did you learn that? A water drinking assistant?”

Lin You Xi rocked her chair back and forth, “Adults often play drinking games on TV, and it looks so fun.”

“You should focus on learning proper things instead of watching TV all day!”

“Will you play with me once? I’ve been waiting for you to come back and play this.”

“Alright… How do we decide the winner?”

“Whoever finishes ten cups first wins!”

“Let’s do it.”

“Three, two, one, start!”

Lin You Xi quickly filled a cup with water from the jug and gulped it down in one go.

Seeing Mei Fang’s slow pace, she quickly filled another cup and drank it down.

“Drink slowly, don’t choke yourself.”

Mei Fang played along with Lin You Xi, worried about her going too far.

“Haha, you’re going to lose, Mei Fang!” Lin You Xi wiped her mouth, now having drunk seven cups while Mei Fang had only managed three.

“You’re going to lose, little Mei Fang!”

Seeing Lin You Xi’s arrogant demeanor, Mei Fang’s competitive spirit was slightly stirred.

“I didn’t want to use full strength, but you forced me.”

Mei Fang poured water into a cup, gulped it down, and without pausing, filled another cup and started drinking again. Seeing this, Lin You Xi became anxious. By the eighth cup, she was red-faced and struggling to keep up.

Mei Fang glanced at Lin You Xi, secretly mocking her.

Playing a drinking game without going to the bathroom first, I wonder what you were thinking…

“If you can’t hold it, go now, but I’ll win the game.”

Mei Fang caught up, now on his sixth cup.

No… I can’t lose to Mei Fang!

Seeing Mei Fang preparing to drink his seventh cup, Lin You Xi snatched his cup, gulping down the ninth cup, and then finishing her last cup in one go, spilling water all over her clothes.

“I won!”

“Such determination…”

Just as Mei Fang was about to continue talking, Lin You Xi pushed him aside and rushed to the bathroom, holding her pants.

“What a close call, almost ending up like Mei Fang, the diaper king.”

Returning from the bathroom, Lin You Xi wiped her hands and proudly placed her hands on her hips, “But now, you’re my defeated opponent, Mei Fang. Next time, I’ll challenge Xia Yuan to become the ultimate drinking champion!”

“Can’t you find a normal game to play? I might get dizzy.”

Oh, the carefree life of children is so wonderful…

(End of Chapter)