Chapter 251 – Then, Let’s Treat It as a Confession (5000 words)
After Mei Fang was exposed by Lin You Xi, he immediately became spirited—
“I knew that love letter… was written by you, You Xi!”
“Why would you write me a love letter? We can’t date in high school, right?”
Lin You Xi shook her head to deny, “It was Bing Bing who told me.”
“Bing Bing only found out about me receiving the love letter after evening self-study. How could she have had time to tell you?”
“Is that so?” Lin You Xi looked puzzled, “But I heard it from Bing Bing when I met her in the hallway after lunch today. She said she saw a love letter on your desk and asked if I wanted to take it like before.”
“Take it? What does that mean…”
“Speaking of this!”
Mei Fang mistakenly thought the love letter was from Zhu Nainai, adding another black mark to his list of life’s great misunderstandings. He recounted the whole story to Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi, leading to their mockery.
“Hahaha, Ah Fang, you’re too narcissistic! You actually believed the love letter was from Zhu Nainai back then!”
Xia Yuan laughed while patting Mei Fang’s back. She had already forgotten her own frustration of not receiving a love letter and now leaned against Mei Fang, rummaging through his single-shoulder bag, “Did you bring the love letter? I want to see it!”
“Let’s look at it at home. It’s too dark to see here…”
The group returned home laughing and chatting. After dinner, Liang Meijuan cleaned up and went back to her room to rest, while Xia Yuan and the others stayed in the living room to study.
“Come to think of it, Aunt Meijuan has been going to bed early recently…” Xia Yuan said curiously while sorting out her test papers, “Did you say something to her?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I remember when Aunt Meijuan first came, she always waited for us to finish washing up and go to bed before resting. Now, it feels like we have more personal space.”
“Of course, we’re all growing up. Didn’t Mom say something about this?”
“Mmm…”
Xia Yuan half-believed Lin You Xi’s explanation with a smile. At this moment, Mei Fang took out the love letter from his bag and handed it to Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi to read together.
Then he saw Xia Yuan’s expression change from calm to blushing, and then to shock. She pushed Lin You Xi, constantly complaining:
“This, this love letter is completely different from what I imagined! This is too perverted!”
Lin You Xi, having read the letter, seemed quite calm. She smiled and said, “I think it’s fine. It has a certain feeling.”
Suddenly, Xia Yuan slammed the table and leaned towards Mei Fang, “So you know who it is! And the old place… You have such deep connections with other girls besides us. I’m going to be jealous next!”
Isn’t she already jealous?
“Don’t just believe what the letter says… This might be a trap. Even I don’t know where the old place is.”
“If You Xi hadn’t mentioned it, were you planning to keep this a secret from us forever?”
Xia Yuan leaned over the table, pressing her shoulder against Mei Fang’s, “We agreed to be innocent friends, but you’re treating me and You Xi like this? Huh?”
Mei Fang pushed Xia Yuan back while explaining helplessly, “I didn’t intend to pay attention to this love letter, but if it was You Xi writing, ignoring it might hurt her feelings, right?”
Hearing this, Lin You Xi appeared surprised and then very serious, “So in your eyes, am I such a perverted girl? This definitely isn’t my doing.”
“You just said the letter had a certain feeling, are you being hypocritical?”
Lin You Xi rarely criticized Xia Yuan.
“I just said it felt good, but I couldn’t write something like that myself.”
Lin You Xi coughed a few times and asked Mei Fang, “Do you have any suspects about who wrote this love letter? For example… Bing Bing?”
“Bing Bing isn’t a suspect… Since You Xi cleared her, Bing Bing must be the culprit.”
Mei Fang was very firm, “I’ve personally verified it.”
Mei Fang explained Jie Nainai’s speculation and Bing Bing’s subsequent reactions. Xia Yuan nodded in agreement, “This doesn’t need guessing. She definitely has Melody’s envelope. I saw her buying one yesterday!”
However, Lin You Xi was deep in thought, “But, what do you think Bing Bing’s purpose was in writing this letter?”
“Besides playing a prank, what else could it be…”
Xia Yuan suddenly had a terrifying idea, “Could it be that Bing Bing really wants to be Ah Fang’s girlfriend!”
As soon as Xia Yuan spoke, Mei and Lin You Xi stared at her in disgust, making the scene awkward.
“What are you thinking? That’s impossible.”
Lin You Xi waved her hand, “I think Bing Bing wouldn’t write such a mushy love letter. Bing Bing might be involved, but someone else wrote the letter.”
“I agree,” Mei Fang nodded, “I’ll find a way to convince Bing Bing to tell the truth tomorrow.”
The next day.
“I would never betray a friend!”
Facing Mei Fang’s doubts, Bing Bing stood tall and fearless.
Mei Fang then handed a Dufu chocolate to Bing Bing.
“…”
“Um…”
“Aaah…”
After a painful internal struggle, Bing Bing mumbled and started to refute, “Just this little thing wants to buy me off? Do you think our friendship means nothing?”
Mei Fang directly took out a box of Dufu chocolates from her bag and pushed it toward Bing Bing’s table.
Bing Bing felt her worldview shaken, “This big box, all for me, Brother Fang?”
Mei Fang smiled, “As long as Bing Bing listens, I have plenty. I guarantee it.”
Bing Bing quickly raised her hand, “The love letter was given to me by Wanchao Xiong. He gave me a bag of Leshi chips and asked me to help put the love letter in your desk!”
“Haha, Wanchao Xiong?”
Mei Fang then went to find Wanchao Xiong to inquire about the love letter. Wanchao Xiong was very confused,
“Brother Mei, you know me. How could I do something so boring?”
Mei Fang also felt something was off, “But Bing Bing said it was you.”
“Are you kidding? You trust Bing Bing more than your old classmate?”
Wanchao Xiong placed his hand on his chest and pointed to the sky, “I swear by Tyrant’s eggs, I didn’t do it.”
“Then I’ll ask Bing Bing again—”
Mei Fang was about to turn around when she suddenly grabbed Wanchao Xiong, “Hey, where did Tyrant get his eggs!”
“Sorry, sorry, Boss Mei! I just wanted to film a video of classmates’ reactions to receiving love letters!”
“But I haven’t seen you filming anything!”
“I’ve filmed quite a bit. I just caught the perfect timing, you didn’t notice.”
“What did you film? Did you capture me tickling Bing Bing?”
If Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi saw this, it would be hard to explain, “Delete it if you did!”
“I didn’t film that part. I’ll show you.”
Mei Fang watched herself in the video, commenting and criticizing as she went,
“Still, I never expected you to write such a mushy love letter…”
“What? Love letter… The love letter wasn’t written by me. I don’t have the ability to write love letters.”
Mei Fang frowned, “What? It’s not you? Then who wrote it?”
“I can’t say, I really can’t say. Don’t ask, don’t ask.”
Wanchao Xiong was serious, “The person who asked me for help is a powerful woman. If I expose her identity, I’ll be in big trouble!”
“That’s so exaggerated…”
In the morning break, Zhu Nainai appeared again, very curious about the follow-up of the love letter incident,
“Senior, Senior, have you found out who really wrote the love letter?”
“Well… how should I put it…”
Mei Fang thought for a moment and said, “I guess we know.”
“What? What do you mean by ‘guess we know’?”
“It means what it says.” Mei Fang smiled and shook his head. Zhu Nainai noticed his smile becoming very gentle and couldn’t help but ask curiously,
“So, will you go to the old place?”
“Yes, of course.”
Wanchao Xiong had always been fearless and indifferent to everything. As a shut-in otaku, the only thing he loved was the effort he put into C Station.
Although someone’s identity wasn’t revealed, Xia Yuan’s debut process on C Station and the name Lin You Xi had already exposed many facts.
Wanchao Xiong probably guessed it too—
By the time school ended in the afternoon, Mei Fang didn’t wait for Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi at the usual spot. Instead, he headed straight for the playground, passing through the stone steps of the bamboo grove path, listening to the rustling wind in the bamboo forest, and waiting slowly by the pavilion.
As he waited, he saw the person behind this incident—
“Woah! Ah Fang, you actually figured it out!”
Xia Yuan wrapped her arm around Lin You Xi’s and came bouncing over to Mei Fang, giggling, “Ah Fang, you got tricked by us, huh!”
“Your acting last night was so convincing!”
Mei Fang pinched Xia Yuan’s cheek, “How could you two write such a love letter and still make such exaggerated expressions? You really fooled me.”
Xia Yuan wasn’t angry after Mei Fang pinched her face, “The love letter was written by You Xi. She told me to wait until you brought it out later for a surprise. This surprise was too much!”
“It was mainly to prevent Yuan Yuan from blowing our cover. Including later asking Wanchao Xiong for help instead of Bing Bing. It’s the same logic… Wanchao Xiong won’t easily expose my identity, but Bing Bing would spill the beans for some food.”
“So… When did you plan to play a trick on me? Didn’t we agree to write an anonymous love letter to trick You Xi?”
Xia Yuan stuck out her tongue apologetically, “Sorry, Ah Fang. After thinking about it, I realized You Xi would likely figure out the identity of the anonymous love letter. So, I decided to trick you instead, catching you off guard.”
“You really are a traitor!”
Mei Fang hugged Xia Yuan and lectured her harshly. Lin You Xi sat down beside them, pulling on Mei Fang’s arm.
“Why do you only bully Yuan Yuan? Shouldn’t you bully me too?”
Lin You Xi’s words sounded like a pout, and both Mei Fang and Xia Yuan in his arms were charmed by her.
“Uh… yeah…”
Mei Fang tried to pinch Lin You Xi’s cheek, but she didn’t flinch, just gazing at him gently, which made him hesitate.
“Anyway… since we’ve already punished each other, let’s end this farce.”
“No way! We agreed on love letters, and Ah Fang hasn’t written one for me and You Xi yet.”
“You didn’t write one for me either?”
“But I wrote one!”
“That counts as You Xi’s. But what about yours, Yuan Yuan?”
“I…”
Xia Yuan covered her face and mumbled, “I really don’t know how to write a love letter. I wrote a bit yesterday, but it felt too sentimental and mushy.”
“Can it be more mushy than mine?”
“Oh… well… indeed…”
Lin You Xi softly said, “After hearing Yuan Yuan talk about the love letter, I started thinking. Now that the three of us are becoming more popular, especially Yuan Yuan, it’s inevitable that people will start pursuing us.”
“But no matter how close our relationship is, we’re still all single.”
“In other words… that’s true!”
Xia Yuan nodded and thought for a moment, “But the three of us are so close, anyone trying to come between us would have to think twice, right?”
“That’s true…”
Lin You Xi looked at Mei Fang, “So, what does Ah Fang think? Do you think we can maintain our current relationship throughout high school?”
“Is this…?”
Mei Fang wasn’t sure what Lin You Xi meant. He even sensed a hint of unease, “Has You Xi gotten tired of the current situation?”
“Not exactly, I was just thinking…”
Lin You Xi placed her hand on Mei Fang’s, “If the love letter I wrote was from the heart and not just a prank, how would you respond?”
Before Mei Fang could speak, Lin You Xi suddenly covered his mouth, “We can’t use the excuse that high schoolers can’t date anymore. Actually, Yuan Yuan and I have always wanted to know your feelings.”
Beside them, Xia Yuan was stunned speechless by Lin You Xi’s sudden move.
“You Xi! Didn’t we agree—”
“Sorry, Yuan Yuan… I know this is unfair… but Ah Fang won’t make a choice, maybe never. Even if I can guess his thoughts now, I want him to say it clearly, to tell us directly.”
If… he can’t even take this kind of responsibility, then our years of friendship mean nothing…
Mei Fang didn’t expect a small love letter to lead to such a decisive moment.
Though he anticipated this scene, he was completely unprepared at this moment. He hadn’t prepared any words or strategies to avoid making a decision. Trying to remain neutral was now impossible.
Lin You Xi held Mei Fang’s hand with one hand and slowly released his mouth with the other, staring at him expressionlessly. Xia Yuan was even more nervous than Mei Fang, her hands fidgeting uncontrollably, her gaze wandering everywhere.
“Alright… Ah Fang, it’s time to express your thoughts.”
“If this love letter… is considered my confession to you, would you accept it?”
Choosing to accept Lin You Xi’s confession meant giving up Xia Yuan.
Refusing Lin You Xi’s confession meant staying with Xia Yuan.
Of course, for Mei Fang, he had always been following the third path.
This third path was the unspoken way they had always dealt with things.
But it remained unspoken.
Though there were hints, no one ever directly stated it, because everyone knew it wouldn’t be blessed.
But as Lin You Xi said, Mei Fang wouldn’t make a choice.
He had experienced a lot with Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan.
But, he had experienced even more with both of them.
Even though Mei Fang had an absolute close relationship with his two childhood friends, this moment was truly a test for him.
Not just a test of his courage, but also a test of Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi’s trust.
Because he couldn’t guarantee that they would still be by his side after saying those words.
And as countless memories of the three of them together flashed through his mind,
Gradually, he lifted his head.
Under Lin You Xi’s expressionless gaze and Xia Yuan’s anxious stare, the sunset’s afterglow fell upon his face. He cleared his throat and slowly began to speak,
“Before accepting this love letter… I need to confirm one thing.”
“This love letter… strictly speaking, can’t be considered just You Xi’s confession to me, right?”
“After all, it was you and Yuan Yuan who came up with the plan, and this envelope and letter paper are all Yuan Yuan’s.”
Mei Fang squeezed Lin You Xi’s hand tightly, and at the same time, pulled Xia Yuan’s trembling hand, holding it firmly.
“So… if I consider this love letter as a joint confession from both of you, I would be very happy to accept it.”
“I would be very happy.”
“Because I don’t want to be separated from either of you.”
“As long as I can, even if I can’t now…”
“I’m willing to give everything I have, all I possess now, to have a chance to be with both of you.”
“Because I like you both.”
“From a very young age, I’ve liked you both very much.”
“The kind of like that wants to be together forever.”
After Mei Fang revealed his obvious intentions, Xia Yuan couldn’t hold back her excitement and threw herself into his arms.
“I… I feel the same… I really like Ah Fang… I really like You Xi! So… let’s not separate… let’s always be together… just like we agreed at home…”
After hearing Mei Fang’s confession, the corners of Lin You Xi’s mouth twitched slightly.
Of course, unlike Xia Yuan, she wasn’t as excited. Instead, she lowered her head shyly, gently rubbing her nose.
Seeing this, Mei Fang held her hand and gently pulled her closer, making her feel at ease. She opened her arms and tightly embraced both Xia Yuan and Mei Fang.
(End of Chapter)
