Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Happy Birthday, 18-Year-Old Fang

As the year-end approached, work became even busier. As the boss, Mei Fang now deeply understood this. Besides looking back on the past, grasping the present, and planning for the future, he also had to negotiate cooperation matters with many capital parties.

After all, his uncle was just his top employee. To make decisions involving large sums of money, it still had to be done by himself, the third-year high school student Mei Fang.

Apart from work, Mei Fang could not afford to be careless about many aspects of life. Visiting relatives was secondary, but the parents of Xia Yuan, who hadn’t been well received last time, and the couple from the Lin family, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, were all people he needed to warmly connect with after returning to Bai Mei County.

On the day of his actual birthday, the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Mei Fang and Lin You Xi, Xia Yuan were always in a state where they saw each other less than they didn’t see each other (meaning the time they spent together was shorter than the time they didn’t). But they finally managed to finish all their work before his birthday.

January 29, 2014.

The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Because he had thought too much last night, Mei Fang didn’t sleep very soundly last night. When he woke up in the morning, he felt somewhat fatigued.

“Brother! Get up! The sun is shining on your butt! We’re going to celebrate your birthday today!”

Compared to the previous science freak Mei Xiao Ya, Mei Ya’s way of waking her brother up now was obviously gentler—

She simply lifted the blanket quickly, and Mei Fang immediately jumped up and complained to his sister, “Let me sleep a bit more!”

“Brother is really afraid of the cold now; you weren’t so weak before.”

Mei Ya put her hands on her hips, tilting her head and humming, “Brother, it’s your birthday today. Did you buy a birthday cake?”

“I don’t know… You and You Xi told me not to worry about the birthday, saying that they would handle it.”

“So that’s how it is!”

Mei Ya scratched her head, “There must be lots of delicious food today!”

“Oh, there won’t be any.”

Mei Fang said while putting on his cotton coat, “Today you can’t attend my birthday party.”

“Why like this! Are the three of you going to eat alone? I’ll be quiet as a light bulb; I won’t even eat!”

“This time… this one is special.”

Mei Fang patted Mei Ya’s head, “It’s your 18th birthday, so they might have some special arrangements.”

“I understand, Brother wants to do some grown-up things!” Mei Ya frowned, tilting her head, “I thought you and the sisters had been living together for so long, everything should have been done.”

“How old are you to understand so much!”

“What do I understand? Xiao Ya doesn’t know anything, she hasn’t said anything!”

Mei Fang hugged his sister tightly, teasing her fiercely. After the commotion, Mei Ya stood in front of her brother, jumping lightly, patting his head, and revealing a bright smile:

“In short, happy birthday, Onii-chan!”

Mei Fang “? Don’t call me that, it’s so disgusting.”

“Oh! Don’t you 2D fans love it when sisters call their brothers like this! Brother, as the C Station station manager, you don’t even like this at all. Are you a fake manager? I’m going to cry for you!”

“Haha… Just joking.”

Mei Fang gently rubbed Mei Ya’s cheeks, “Brother is just a tsundere, how could I directly admit that I like being called like this.”

“If I post what Brother said on C Station, will I instantly gain 1 million followers?”

“You think too highly of yourself… But, did you start playing C Station?”

“I play, of course I play.”

Mei Ya said seriously, “But I haven’t revealed my identity publicly, because playing like that wouldn’t be fun. I want to become a million-follower UP master through my own efforts, not as a C Station idol supported by Brother.”

“That’s up to you… I never supported you playing around like this. Don’t forget your dream of space exploration.”

“Hmm, let me tell you the truth, my C Station ID is [Space Girl Mei Xiao Ya]. I’m not a girl who forgets her original intentions!”

Not forgetting the original intention…

After greeting the family and heading out, Mei Fang was just about to ride his electric scooter to find Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi when he received a call from Xia Yuan downstairs.

“Hello hello, Fang, did you get up?”

“Got up, got up, I was just about to contact you guys. Are you at home? I’ll ride over.”

“I’m at home, but you don’t need to ride, just walk over.”

Xia Yuan’s warm voice came through the phone, “I’m with You Xi right now, we’re both at my old house, which is across from yours.”

“Oh oh… You still live here?”

“We just cleaned up a bit recently, thinking of bringing Grandma back to live here after the New Year. Anyway, come over quickly!”

“Oh oh.”

Mei Fang headed toward Xia Yuan’s happy home.

This small villa used to be considered a very upscale private residence, but now it looked a bit outdated from the outside, with rusted iron gates.

Mei Fang couldn’t help but recall the first time he came to visit Xia Yuan and listened to her play the piano.

Twelve years, it really was a fleeting moment…

By the way, this song by Hao Ge could also be written into lyrics for an album for Yuan Yuan in the future!

This little kid was unrepentantly chasing after idols.

Mei Fang knocked on the door in the courtyard, and Xia Yuan opened the door to welcome him.

Unlike usual, she was wearing makeup today, her eyes sparkling with allure, and her red lips were inviting and sweet.

“…”

“How… do I look? Does this seem strange?”

“No… very pretty.”

Mei Fang smiled slightly, “It’s a great birthday gift.”

“Who said they were giving me to you! This is just trying on some makeup, it’s not finished yet, hurry up and come in!”

Even if Xia Yuan’s makeup was more mature, Mei Fang’s few words turned her into a cute, sweet girl.

When Mei Fang was pulled in by Xia Yuan, Lin You Xi was already arranging the birthday meal in the dining room.

It seemed that the originally planned hotel had changed to Yuan Yuan’s old home.

Well… it’s not bad either.

“Are we starting preparations so early? Is it breakfast or lunch?”

Lin You Xi nodded, “Because we have to go back home tonight.”

“Oh… We have to go back?”

Lin You Xi propped up her chin, looking rather curious, “So, do you hope I stay tonight?”

“Well, let’s talk about it later…”

“Fang isn’t here for long, ha ha.”

Xia Yuan teased Mei Fang, pinching his cheek, “I’m always worried about you getting tired… Don’t you know how considerate I am?”

“This, this kind of thing… Xia Yuan looked quite shocked, “How can you let me do this? I really didn’t know.”

“So, Fang is really considerate…”

Lin You Xi held a bottle of wine in her arms, “This is the wine Yuan Yuan brought from home,听说要好几万… Let’s taste it together before resting later.”

Mei Fang thought for a moment, “We can, but Yuan Yuan can’t drink.”

“But the wine I brought, why can’t I drink!”

Xia Yuan retorted angrily, “Are you still thinking about the last time? I’ve gotten stronger!”

“It’s unbelievable that you’ve gotten stronger…”

Mei Fang frowned and sighed, “I don’t want to take risks again like that.”

“I’m actually very interested in Yuan Yuan’s attitude…”

Lin You Xi smiled and placed the wine aside, “Anyway, let’s eat first.”

“It’s been a long time since we ate here.”

Xia Yuan pulled Mei Fang to sit down at the table, “Fang, do you remember, the first time you and You Xi came to my house for dinner…”

The trio entered adulthood on Mei Fang’s birthday, sharing heartfelt conversations and reminiscing about the past twelve years.

About whether they truly grew up…

Indeed, compared to the setbacks they once endured, their current success was almost insignificant.

But did it have to be setbacks that made them grow?

Perhaps for them, the constant companionship between each other was the foundation that solidified their growth.

After eating and cleaning up, they all stayed at Xia Yuan’s old home.

They played games for a while, watched a horror movie they hadn’t seen in a long time, then Xia Yuan led Mei Fang and Lin You Xi to her small room, pulling out her cherished photo album, sharing many group photos taken in the past.

“Fang was really that short back then!”

“Hehe, You Xi was so cute back then!”

“Is this the photo of us participating in the sports meet?”

“This is from the art festival! It was our first and only time on stage together! Afterward, it’s just Fang and me.”

“Yuan Yuan hasn’t changed much… except—”

Mei Fang occasionally cast a shy glance at Xia Yuan, who wasn’t angry at all, but pouted and chuckled, “Except what, Fang, you coward, you can’t say it.”

“Alright… we’ve seen enough of this.”

Lin You Xi said softly, “Can we open the wine now? I want to try it now.”

“I’ll go get the corkscrew!”

Just as Xia Yuan was about to get up, Lin You Xi pulled her back, “Let Fang get it, we’ll wait here.”

“Okay.”

Mei Fang went to the kitchen to get the corkscrew and returned to Xia Yuan’s room, but found no trace of the two.

Are they playing hide-and-seek? I get it!

Mei Fang approached Xia Yuan’s wardrobe, gently pushing open the closet—

There was no sign of Xia Yuan or Lin You Xi hiding inside.

Mei Fang leaned under the bed, but still didn’t see them.

Hiding outside? They’re really good at hiding—

Let me think…

Mei Fang left Xia Yuan’s room, searching around, and heard Xia Yuan talking in a closed room. He immediately opened the door and shouted, only to see Xia Yuan in the process of undressing to change clothes.

That… that can’t be the legendary—

“Wu, wuwa!”

Mei Fang was overwhelmed by Lin You Xi covering his eyes from behind.

“Your birthday gift isn’t ready yet, peeking is naughty.”

“I’m sorry… I thought you were playing hide-and-seek with me.”

“Go take a bath first, Fang.”

Lin You Xi leaned close to Mei Fang’s ear, “Then wait for us on Yuan Yuan’s bed.”

Mei Fang agreed and left the room, leaning against the door for a moment.

Phew…

They really wanted to package me as a gift!

Playing around, it’s Yuan Yuan who’s playing around.

Or maybe… it’s You Xi?

Phew…

Either of the two girls could be responsible.

Mei Fang took a shower at Xia Yuan’s house and suddenly realized he didn’t bring any clean clothes, but fortunately, there was a bathrobe hanging in the bathroom.

Hmm… that’ll do.

Mei Fang returned to Xia Yuan’s room.

This room still retained the furnishings from when Xia Yuan was in middle school: old cartoon decorations, anime posters on the walls, an old wooden guitar by the wall. Although it had only been three years, it was already filled with the scent of youth and memories.

Mei Fang took off his shoes and lay on Xia Yuan’s princess bed, feeling like he was sinking in.

Does Yuan Yuan usually sleep on such a soft bed?

No wonder she feels so soft, hehe.

Mei Fang closed his eyes, pondering his past.

In the past, he was once very afraid of waking up.

He was afraid that if he woke up, he would realize that the beautiful twelve years he had experienced were nothing but a tragic illusion on the brink of death. Thinking about it was a very sad thing.

If that were the case—

If this is a dream, please don’t let me wake up!

Just as Mei Fang was feeling moved, he suddenly felt a chill.

When he went to the bedside drawer for tissues, he opened the drawer, and the full drawer of items made Mei Fang’s blood pressure spike.

When Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi appeared at the door in black and red strapless dresses, pushing and shoving, they found Mei Fang already fast asleep on the bed.

“Going to sleep so early, not taking us seriously at all, right?”

Xia Yuan grumbled somewhat angrily, “He should know how much we’ve been looking forward to this.”

“So, did you really decide today? Not considering it anymore…”

Xia Yuan nodded, “At this point… it’s only Fang who’s hesitant. What am I hesitating for, having prepared so much…”

“You really bought too much, Fang seeing all these toys might be scared to death.”

She reached out to touch Mei Fang’s cheek, her tone becoming much softer.

“Let Fang sleep for a while, it’s okay, just rest for a bit?”

“That’s true… We played for a long time this afternoon, we can drink some wine during halftime.”

Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan lay next to Mei Fang, both placing one hand on his chest.

They both propped up their chins, gazing at the boy they had loved for many years—

However, after tonight, he should grow into the man they like.

“Happy birthday, 18-year-old Fang.”

“Happy birthday, 18-year-old Fang.”

Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan simultaneously kissed Mei Fang’s cheeks, then leaned on his shoulders on both sides, falling into a deep sleep.

…

Bai Mei County is not a beautiful small town.

Its spring is brief and fleeting;

Its summer is long and hot;

Its autumn is lonely and bleak;

Its winter is cold and lonely;

The small county carries and witnesses too many partings and reunions.

But at least, this night was not a story of parting.

The young men and women who knew, familiarized themselves, and fell in love finally ended their youthful journey and jointly unveiled a new chapter in their lives.

And in the ten years of their beautiful journey of emotions, ten years was merely the beginning…

Today I didn’t update.

But my friend will.