Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Let’s Go to Ah Fang’s Hometown Together!

After a night of secret training, Mei Fang tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

He gently touched his lips; the soft touch of Xia Yuan still lingered, making him unable to forget. Although he had already been very close with You Xi before, the kiss held an irreplaceable position.

Though Mei Fang always prided himself on being fair, he couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped Xia Yuan at that time. But now, he had indeed taken a step towards a deeper relationship with Xia Yuan, and he knew he had to take responsibility for his actions.

After the joy, Mei Fang was now troubled about how to face You Xi.

In theory, keeping it from You Xi might be the right choice, but emotionally, Mei Fang didn’t want to do that. A secret often requires more secrets to cover up, which could eventually lead to a big problem, something Mei Fang didn’t want to see.

Well… Since he and Xia Yuan were in the wrong, he should find a way to maintain fairness, ensuring his relationship with You Xi stays at the same level.

If they both shared the same secret, when it was revealed, the blame wouldn’t fall solely on them. They might both confront him, but he preferred that over seeing You Xi and Xia Yuan turn against each other.

Because if not for Mei Fang, Xia Yuan and You Xi were originally inseparable friends in their past life. Xia Yuan was the only bright light in You Xi’s life, though she faded too soon. This lifetime, under Mei Fang’s efforts, they could continue walking together, and he certainly didn’t want any other factors to ruin this beautiful bond.

Actually, Mei Fang understood that such worries were somewhat unnecessary. You Xi and Xia Yuan could even accept sleeping together, so perhaps the idea of all three of them together wasn’t as difficult as he initially thought.

Sighing, he realized he truly was a terrible person. In his previous life, he hadn’t even touched a girl’s hand, yet here he was becoming a “bad guy” in this one!

Mei Fang had become the person he most despised.

Just as he was reflecting on this, his phone received a message from Lin You Xi.

[My dad is going to the construction site to settle accounts tomorrow. My uncle won’t come, so I can accompany you to the ancestral house.]

[Good (‘ω’)]

[Why suddenly acting cute? You never send emojis like this.]

Just as Mei Fang was pondering how to reply, You Xi’s typing was as fast as coding:

[Are you… doing something behind my back?]

Seeing this message, Mei Fang broke out in cold sweat and instinctively looked around to see if there were any surveillance cameras. Given her personality, You Xi might actually do something like that.

[What nonsense are you talking!]

[I was just joking to scare you… Tomorrow, you and Xia Yuan come find me, I’ve never been to your ancestral house.]

[Ok ok]

Just as Mei Fang closed that message, another one from Xia Yuan came through.

[Ah Fang, Ah Fang, save me save me!]

[Stop being dramatic, what’s wrong?]

[We did that thing today, how am I supposed to face You Xi tomorrow! I definitely won’t be able to look her in the eye.]

It seemed Xia Yuan had calmed down after her “sage mode.” Just as she enjoyed the kiss earlier, she felt equally embarrassed now.

[There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, we can just forget about today.]

[How can I forget! I didn’t even wipe my mouth after coming back to wash up.]

[Anyway, calm down first… Get some sleep, everything will be better tomorrow.]

[Still, I should just tell You Xi directly, otherwise, I’d be betraying her.]

[That’s why I told you to calm down!]

It took Mei Fang a long time to soothe Xia Yuan’s mood. After speaking to her over the phone and lulling her to sleep, he finally managed to rest.

The next day, Mei Fang planned to go to the ancestral house with Xia Yuan, but Xia Yuan hadn’t woken up yet. Teacher Yu asked Mei Fang to wait in the living room.

“Ah Fang, would you like anything to drink?”

“No need, Teacher Yu, I can manage by myself. Please focus on your work.”

“If you insist, then I won’t offer you anything. Today we have guests, and I’m busy preparing the food.”

Mei Fang was taken aback. “Uh… Teacher Yu, preparing meals by yourself must be exhausting. Why not consider hiring a chef or a maid?”

Teacher Yu immediately adopted the same puffed-up expression as Xia Yuan. “Ah Fang, do you really look down on your teacher’s cooking skills? I’ve improved a lot.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Since you don’t look down on me, you’ll eat lunch at my place today. I expect you to finish three bowls of rice. If you don’t, I’ll think you’re looking down on me.”

“Ah… That’s not necessary… You have relatives and guests…”

“I invited our primary school teachers today. Many of them taught you, including Mr. Yang for math, Teacher Li for moral education, and Teacher Lin for English… You were always their favorite student, and now they can see how you’ve grown.”

“Alright… Since you’re the head teacher, it’s your call.”

Teacher Yu was the best-preserved among the mothers. Despite ten years having passed since the rebirth, she still looked as beautiful as when Mei Fang first met her. As one of the future mothers-in-law, Mei Fang had no reason not to please her, even if it meant forcing himself to eat Teacher Yu’s cooking.

Xia Yuan was taking longer than usual to get ready. By the time she came downstairs, Mei Fang had already been there for half an hour.

“…”

After last night’s secret training, there was an awkward silence between them when they first met.

“Why did it take so long?”

“I overslept.”

Xia Yuan scratched her head, seeing Mei Fang lounging on the sofa, she gave him a light slap on the head.

“What are you doing sitting there, let’s go already!”

“How dare you rush me? Who’s been dawdling all this time!”

Mei Fang chased Xia Yuan around the living room, pinching her face playfully, causing Xia Yuan to scream. Teacher Yu, passing by, smiled slightly and reminded them, “Alright, stop fooling around, hurry up and go, we need to be home early for dinner.”

Xia Yuan followed Mei Fang, walking down the street to find Lin You Xi. It was December 29th, and tomorrow would be New Year’s Eve.

“By the way, today is Ah Fang’s real birthday,” Xia Yuan said. They had already celebrated Mei Fang’s birthday early in Jiangcheng, so she didn’t bring it up again. She asked, “Are you turning 16 or 17 now?”

“Definitely the former. The birthday on my ID is fake, so I could start kindergarten and first grade early.”

“So Xia Yuan and You Xi are both a year older than me…”

Xia Yuan grumbled, “Ah Fang, you’ve never called us sisters from childhood to now. You’re not cute at all.”

“Don’t girls like being called ‘sister’?”

“You boys like being called ‘brother.'”

“No, we like being called ‘father.’ Whether it’s a boy or a girl, we want to be their father.”

“That’s strange…” Xia Yuan pondered for a moment and sighed, “But I don’t have the right to say that.”

“Indeed, Xia Yuan likes being someone’s mother.”

You Xi’s voice suddenly echoed from behind them, startling both Xia Yuan and Mei Fang. Xia Yuan instinctively jumped into Mei Fang’s arms, which made her feel quite embarrassed.

“You Xi! How, how did you come out from behind?”

“I was bored waiting for you guys at home. I thought you might have gone to the ancestral house without me, so I went to your place to check…”

“I would never abandon You Xi, I swear to the heavens!” Xia Yuan said, placing one hand on her chest and pointing to the sky with the other.

Then she saw You Xi chuckle, and Mei Fang lightly tapped her head. “Don’t listen to You Xi scaring you. I told her you overslept, so we had to leave later. She said she wanted to come find you.”

“Oh, oh, is that so! I was so scared.”

Xia Yuan patted her chest, breathing heavily. You Xi watched her expression and then pulled her hand, saying, “Let’s go check out Ah Fang’s hometown quickly?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Xia Yuan also smiled sweetly at You Xi. With You Xi by her side, she no longer needed Ah Fang’s special training or energy!

Today, while on the high-speed train, I finished writing this chapter. I’ll write the next one when I return to Shenzhen.

(End of Chapter)