Chapter 138

Chapter 138: What Kind of Girl Does Ah Fang Like?

Xia Yuan and Mei Fang had completed their guitar courses after being admitted to Jiangcheng No. 1 Attached Middle School in the first half of the year. After that, they didn’t play instruments together much, but in his spare time, Mei Fang was constantly trying to write his own music scores. Of course, what he called “writing music” was actually just transcribing famous songs from his previous life into guitar scores. However, Xia Yuan was genuinely engaged in creating original works.

Besides “In That Not-So-Distant Place,” Mei Fang’s birthday gift to Lin You Xi, “Recalling Lán Mountain,” had been cooperatively composed with Xia Yuan after obtaining her consent.

This way, she could perform two songs at the farewell party. Since deciding to participate in the performance, Xia Yuan had been actively preparing and practicing.

However, living in an apartment building where noise travels easily, playing the guitar was quite disruptive. Xia Yuan chose the pavilion within the community as her practice venue whenever she wasn’t at school. As soon as she finished her weekend homework, she would immediately go downstairs to practice. Meanwhile, Mei Fang and Lin You Xi were busy developing two games and the C Station app respectively.

The early versions of the development engines lacked many convenient features, making it challenging for most programmers who were just getting started with these tools. Fortunately, both Mei Fang and Lin You Xi had over ten years of programming experience. Thanks to Mei Fang’s familiarity with programming languages from his past life, they avoided many pitfalls. Plus, with Mei Fang writing the design plans and implementing the functions himself, the development progressed quickly.

“Alright! I’ll wait a bit more for Zhang Ming and Yue Xinyi’s configuration settings, and then we’re done…”

Mei Fang stretched lazily, noticing Lin You Xi still meticulously coding. He propped his chin up and stared at her for a while.

Lin You Xi and Mei Fang had some interactions in high school during their past lives, though it was limited to brief encounters in the hallways.

Compared to her aloof demeanor in memory, Lin You Xi now, despite maintaining her usual expressionless face, did not give off a cold vibe.

She wasn’t exactly dorky, but perhaps she could be described as someone who spoke little and was serious? Beneath this facade, there was a gentle quality that only Mei Fang and Xia Yuan could appreciate.

When Mei Fang snapped out of his thoughts, he realized Lin You Xi had been staring at him too.

“What are you thinking about?”

Lin You Xi looked slightly puzzled, “Did you finish the code?”

“I was just thinking… We haven’t played games together since we started programming.”

“Mm… It has been a while.”

Lin You Xi nodded and smiled slightly, “But coding can be fun too. Seeing your characters turn into something that brings joy to others feels very rewarding.”

“It seems you really love this work…”

“By the way, can we put our new games on the C Station platform? Are there any restrictions?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s still early days.”

“Early days?”

“In China, the requirement for game licenses was introduced in the 90s. Games without a license are considered illegal publications and cannot be used for commercial purposes. But for a long time, this policy was largely ignored. The era when games without licenses couldn’t be released began in 2016. Back then, more than thirty thousand games were submitted for approval, and almost all of them were approved.

“Anyway, let’s not get into that now.”

Mei Fang reminded Lin You Xi, “We plan to release our new games on PC, Android, and iOS platforms simultaneously. Don’t forget to handle the interface differences.”

“I noted that in my work log. But our sales strategy is buy-to-play. Do you think domestic players will go for it?”

It was 2011, and relying on players’ willingness to pay was unrealistic. Mei Fang was well aware:

“There’s no need to expect high sales. There will definitely be a lot of pirated versions. We can charge a symbolic fee, like one or six yuan.”

“Our main goal is to build the reputation of Ximilu Studio, increase its visibility, so we have a solid user base for future large-scale games.”

“Moreover, since iOS is on the App Store, if we achieve decent sales, there might be some revenue expectations.”

“Also, besides our own games, we can help publish other studios’ games. Given C Station’s current traffic levels, smaller studios should be willing to release their games on our platform.”

Hearing this, Lin You Xi felt reassured, “If that’s the case, C Station can finally be said to be making money, which can offset some of the bandwidth costs.”

“That’s true…”

Mei Fang stood up, stretching his arms, “Staring at the computer for long periods can cause nearsightedness. Let’s take a break and walk around to relax your eyes?”

“Okay.”

Lin You Xi followed Mei Fang to the balcony outside the living room. The August sunlight was bright and glaring. Mei Fang and Lin You Xi gazed into the distance, looking at the scenery far away.

“From here, we can see the school directly.”

“So Jiangcheng No. 1 Attached Middle School is really big…”

“Indeed.”

Mei Fang peered down from the balcony, and Lin You Xi approached, asking, “Ah Fang, are you looking for Yuan Yuan?”

“She should be practicing her guitar in the pavilion over there… But why isn’t she showing up?”

Mei Fang squinted and finally spotted a guitar in the pavilion.

“Oh, I see! She’s indeed there! Let’s go down and watch her practice guitar later—”

Just as Mei Fang was about to call Lin You Xi, she suddenly pinched his waist from behind, causing him to jump up, “What’s going on?”

“Just wanted to try and see if you still ticklish here like before.”

Lin You Xi smiled, “Remember how you used to be ticklish here when you were younger? You’d jump up if I touched you. It seems nothing’s changed.”

“How’s that possible! I jumped because you startled me by coming up behind me.”

Mei Fang was clearly不服气, “Try again, I guarantee I won’t move a muscle.”

“Turn around first.”

“Like this? Why do you always do it from behind…”

Mei Fang covered his eyes and turned his back to Lin You Xi, waiting for her to attack again.

Lin You Xi placed her hand on Mei Fang’s left waist, but there was no intention to pinch hard.

What was she planning?

Just as Mei Fang was puzzled, Lin You Xi’s right hand slipped into his clothes, gently pinching his waist.

Even though it was summer, her hand was still cold, causing Mei Fang to jump away again.

“You’re cheating! You promised not to pinch my waist!”

“I never said I wouldn’t pinch your waist.”

Lin You Xi smiled, “I only said I’d check if you’re still as ticklish as before.”

“Uh… Fine, let’s do it one more time.”

Mei Fang nodded, “I’m ready. No matter how you touch me, I won’t move a muscle!”

“Alright, I’ll watch and see.”

Mei Fang leaned against the railing, waiting for Lin You Xi’s three attempts.

Honestly, this little game felt surprisingly intimate, already bordering on flirtatious behavior.

Of course, Mei Fang and You Xi had played much more intense games when they were kids, and it didn’t seem strange back then.

But now they were high school students…

Mei Fang frowned, troubled by his thoughts, as Lin You Xi stretched both hands inside his shirt.

“Are you trembling?”

“Even if I tremble, it’s because your hands are so cold.”

“Afang, you feel so warm.”

“It’s summer, it’s naturally hot. You’re the one who’s weird.”

“Again, you’re trembling.”

Lin You Xi leaned on Mei Fang’s shoulder, gently pinching his waist tightly.

She enjoyed this position, and Mei Fang endured it throughout.

“Okay… I think we can stop now?” Mei Fang was already struggling.

“Mm…”

Lin You Xi slowly released Mei Fang, “It’s an improvement compared to before.”

“What do you mean by improvement…”

Mei Fang argued, “I didn’t move at all! That’s normal. If you want, you can try it on me. Maybe you’ll react even more.”

Mei Fang had originally intended to scare Lin You Xi, but her response was surprisingly calm:

“Sure, let’s try.”

Oh, she’s serious!

Lin You Xi stood behind Mei Fang, waiting for him to attack. After some hesitation, Mei Fang reached out and lightly pinched her waist through her clothes, but Lin You Xi showed no reaction.

“…I didn’t feel anything.”

She yawned.

Her words triggered Mei Fang’s competitive spirit:

“This is your doing…”

Mei Fang reached in, placing his hand on Lin You Xi’s waist.

Her waist had almost no fat, and Mei Fang didn’t hold back, starting to tickle her vigorously. Lin You Xi, usually calm and composed, finally began to tremble.

“Don’t hold back, laugh if you want! See, everyone is ticklish, not just me—”

Mei Fang continued to tease Lin You Xi as he got into it.

Just as Mei Fang was waiting to enjoy Lin You Xi’s defeated expression, a sound came from the bedroom. Lin You Xi decisively stomped on him, and Mei Fang, in pain, let go immediately.

At that moment, Liang Meijuan, who had just woken up from a nap, walked from the room to the living room, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She noticed the two of them standing silently on the balcony.

“Just the two of you… Is Yuan Yuan practicing guitar again?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It’s so hot today, I wonder if she’ll get heatstroke…”

“I’ll go get her an ice pop from the fridge!”

Mei Fang muttered and went to fetch an ice pop, only to find Lin You Xi already sitting at the computer, back to her usual composed self.

…

Did I go too far with You Xi?

It looks like I won’t be going with her to find Yuan Yuan anymore.

Mei Fang took the ice pop to the pavilion to look for Xia Yuan. When he found her, she was engrossed in her music, closing her eyes and playing while softly humming.

Mei Fang didn’t want to disturb her, so he quietly approached and listened to her hum.

After Xia Yuan finished playing, Mei Fang clapped immediately. Seeing it was Mei Fang, Xia Yuan nearly dropped her guitar in embarrassment.

“When did you come? You didn’t say anything.”

“I didn’t want to disrupt your rhythm. Take a break, eat this ice pop to cool off.”

Xia Yuan smiled and took the ice pop from Mei Fang, “Only Ah Fang cares about me the most!”

Mei Fang watched Xia Yuan eat the ice pop, his gaze falling on her fingers.

“Speaking of which, it was quite tough to start learning the guitar. Look, I still have a bit of callus here.”

“But your hands seem to be in good condition. How did you manage that?”

Xia Yuan smiled, “Actually, we’re fortunate. Our guitars aren’t cheap, and our strings are coated, which reduces damage to the fingers.”

“Also, after prolonged practice, the callus moves inward. See, mine is now under the skin.”

“Really?”

“You don’t believe me? Feel it.”

Xia Yuan sat next to Mei Fang, extending her hand. Mei Fang placed her hand on his leg and rubbed it.

“Oh! I can feel it, it’s a bit hard.”

“Because the skin and callus have fused, so they’re unaffected.”

“Interesting… Did you have similar issues when you learned the guzheng?”

“Guzheng requires artificial nails, which is different…”

“Oh, I see.”

Xia Yuan was almost done with her ice pop, and Mei Fang was still fondling her hand.

This stinky Ah Fang… How long does he plan to keep holding my hand?

Of course, Xia Yuan didn’t object directly; she enjoyed spending time alone with Mei Fang.

“So, you’ll perform at the Golden Autumn Arts Festival after National Day?”

“You’ve also been composing your own music?”

“Mm… But it’s heavily imitative.”

Mei Fang nodded guiltily, after all, it was a direct copy.

“Show me?”

Xia Yuan threw the ice pop stick into the trash, then smoothed her hair, “I can give you some advice.”

“I’d rather do it myself… Once I complete it, I’ll play it for you and You Xi. You can give feedback. If you think I sing terribly, I won’t perform.”

“Afang’s singing isn’t bad at all! Your voice used to be a bit hoarse because you hadn’t developed your throat yet, but now it’s deep and charming.”

Xia Yuan stated earnestly, “You’ve never sung in front of us. How can you know unless you try?”

“So I’ll definitely try it in front of you and You Xi.”

“Mm! That’s great…”

Xia Yuan sighed in relief, then squeezed Mei Fang’s hand.

“Does my hand feel comfortable? You’ve been holding it for so long, you big troublemaker.”

“Ah… I forgot.”

Mei Fang scratched his head and smiled, “Continue practicing, I won’t disturb you anymore.”

“Are you going home?”

“Mm…”

Mei Fang thought for a moment, “I can accompany you if you want. I’ve finished all my tasks for today.”

“If you have nothing else to do, stay with me. You’ve been with You Xi for so long, and I feel lonely practicing guitar alone.”

“Uh… Alright, I’ll stay with you.”

Xia Yuan watched Mei Fang sit beside her, and a mischievous idea popped into her head.

Although she had agreed to let Afang choose, she essentially meant not confessing to him.

So, asking Afang a question indirectly shouldn’t be a problem, right…

This doesn’t violate the agreement, right?

Thus, Xia Yuan tucked her hair behind her ear and asked Mei Fang with a smile,

“By the way… What kind of girl does Afang like?”

Mei Fang almost blurted out, “We’re still in high school, we can’t date early.”

“Why do you keep bringing this up? We’re old enough to have preferences—gentle, lively, petite, tall…”

Xia Yuan’s voice grew softer. In fact, she already regretted asking.

What if Afang’s preference sounds more like You Xi than me…

Despite this, Xia Yuan forced a smile and continued chatting with Mei Fang,

“It’s fine, we’re best childhood friends. I’ll keep this a secret and tell no one.”

“That’s not the issue…”

Mei Fang rubbed his chin, conflicted, “Your question is hard to answer…”

Xia Yuan looked at Mei Fang’s troubled expression, and a terrifying thought slowly formed in her mind.

Could it be that—

Because of our close relationship, he doesn’t have any romantic feelings for either me or You Xi?

Today, that’s all for this chapter. But it’s already close to 5000 words.

My state is actually pretty good.