Chapter 22

Chapter 22: I Am Truly a Sinful Boy

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi were initially stunned by what they heard, then immediately nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, yes! We’re playing hide and seek!”

Mei Fang explained, “We can only consider it a victory if You Xi can leave the house without being seen by anyone else.”

“Even if Mom and Dad see her?” Mei Ya turned back to open the door and looked inside. “Mom is still watching TV in the living room; you won’t be able to win.”

The living room of Mei Fang’s house was connected to the foyer, so trying to escape would certainly result in being discovered by their mother, Xiang Xiaoxia.

Although young, Mei Ya was already quite clever. Hearing that her brother and sister had such a predicament, she volunteered eagerly. “I’ll help! Watch me!”

Mei Ya rushed to the living room and grabbed Xiang Xiaoxia who was watching TV.

“Mom, I need to go potty!”

“You can do it yourself now, right? It’s almost time for kindergarten; you need to learn to take care of yourself.”

“But, but I’m scared of mice… Can you come with me, please?”

Mei Ya kept tugging at her mother’s arm, pleading.

“Fine, fine… How can you still be so timid…”

Xiang Xiaoxia followed her daughter into the bathroom, reluctantly. Mei Fang and Lin You Xi took this opportunity to sneak out of the room, hearts pounding, until they reached the foyer safely.

Lin You Xi quickly put on the sandals Mei Fang had hidden under the cabinet. Mei Fang whispered, “This isn’t going to work… We should find an opportunity to tell Xia Yuan the truth.”

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll get angry at us?”

“I think Xia Yuan will definitely be angry,” Lin You Xi whispered.

Mei Fang nodded. “She’ll be angry anyway… But it’s better to tell her sooner than later. It’s always better to confess than to be found out. Xia Yuan isn’t unreasonable, right? You don’t want to lose her as a friend.”

“Um…”

Lin You Xi pondered for a moment. “Then don’t say anything, let me do it… After all, it was my idea not to tell Xia Yuan in the first place. It’s my responsibility.”

“Alright—”

“Mei Fang, where are you? Come quick and help look for the mouse’s tracks!”

Xia Yuan’s voice called from the study. Mei Fang and Lin You Xi bid farewell hastily and rushed to the study to pretend to investigate the situation together.

After half an hour of searching, they finally gave up. Mei Ya, proud of completing her mission in the game of hide and seek, was rewarded with milk candies by Mei Fang, who asked her to keep the secret buried deep in her three-year-old mind.

“Look… It’s so late, why don’t you stay for dinner at our house?”

“Oh, no, Teacher Yu wouldn’t agree—”

“Sure! It’s been a while since we’ve had Auntie’s cooking. Let me call my mom. Also—”

Xia Yuan seemed a bit hesitant. “Uncle and Auntie, after dinner, can I play computer games with Mei Fang?”

“What?”

“What?”

“What?”

Mei Fang tilted his head to look at Xia Yuan. “Xia Yuan, are you serious?”

“Oh, Mei Fang, stop interrupting. I’m asking Uncle and Auntie.”

“Haha… Don’t worry, Xia Yuan, if you want to play, just play. We’re pretty relaxed at home. You can play as long as you like. If you get tired, you can even sleep here!”

Mei Ya jumped up excitedly. “Can I sleep with Sister Yuan too? Yay!”

Xiang Xiaoxia pushed Mei Lijun, annoyed. “Don’t say things like that! It makes us sound uncultured. Let Xia Yuan think less of us.”

Then she told Xia Yuan, “You can only play for two hours.”

“Thank you, Auntie! I’ll go home after one hour.”

Xia Yuan gently touched Mei Ya’s cheek. “Little Ya, when you grow up a bit more, I promise to sleep with you.”

“Okay! Sister Yuan should sleep with me. Besides, Brother already—uh!”

In a critical moment, Mei Fang clamped Mei Ya’s mouth shut. This child could talk nonsense, nearly putting Mei Fang in a difficult situation.

“Milk… candy…”

This magical incantation finally calmed Mei Ya down.

Mei Fang released her, and Mei Ya repeated mechanically like a robot, “Little Ya knows nothing, said nothing!”

Xia Yuan had dinner at Mei Fang’s house and then went to the study to play with Mei Fang.

Afraid of the presence of mice, Xia Yuan wrapped herself tightly in a blanket and watched Mei Fang start the game.

“You didn’t seem to like me playing games very much before. You even said you wanted to check up on me today… Oh, I understand! You just wanted to play with me, right?”

Xia Yuan nodded without denying it.

“Because… you always accompany me, whether it’s roller skating, doing homework, going to the mall, or shopping. I thought it was only fair to return the favor and play something with you too. Otherwise, I’d feel like a terrible friend.”

Mei Fang felt deeply moved by her words.

I have never met such a sensible girl in my life!

“Why didn’t you want to play with me at first?”

“At first… I was conflicted. And when your parents weren’t home, playing computer games with you was like sneaking around. I needed to get their permission first.”

This girl, how stubborn can she be sometimes…

“But if Teacher Yu finds out, she might scold us?”

“We won’t tell my mom. After all, we both have so many little secrets…”

Xia Yuan glared at Mei Fang angrily. “Yes, you’re the one who got me into trouble. I used to tell my mom everything… Where did these secrets come from?”

“Haha… That’s true… What kind of games do you like?”

“I don’t know what kinds there are… I don’t know how to play, but I like cute ones.”

“Since that’s the case, let’s play this!”

Mei Fang decided to introduce Xia Yuan to the casual competitive game “Bubblegum,” which he played in his previous life. It was also the first game he played upon entering the online world, a cherished memory for many people born in the ’80s and ’90s.

In simple terms, the game involved controlling a character to place bubble bombs to eliminate the opposing team. It could support up to eight players, attracting many people of all ages, especially children, with its cute graphics and simple gameplay.

The most important point was that due to the limited number of keys, it was one of the few multiplayer online games that could be played by two people on one computer during that era and throughout the entire online gaming period.

This meant that you could even play this game with a friend by sharing a computer.

When most kids had to go to internet cafes to play games, this great game saved them a lot of money.

As soon as the game interface opened, Xia Yuan was immediately captivated by the lively, cute background music and cartoon art style of “Bubblegum.” Mei Fang even felt that her eyes were sparkling.

Just recently, I corrupted Lin You Xi, and now Xia Yuan has fallen under my spell too.

I am truly a sinful boy.

Mei Fang couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

(End of Chapter 22)