Chapter 330

Chapter 330: Coming of Age Ceremony

The time in Senior Three seemed to flow by swiftly like running water. In these final six months, there weren’t many ups and downs. Mei Fang and Lin You Xi were a couple in public, but their intimacy with Xia Yuan didn’t decrease because of this; they just became slightly more restrained, not hugging or holding hands in public.

Jiangcheng No. 1 High School was indeed a good school in Mei Fang’s eyes. Even before he publicly revealed his identity, he could freely carry out his activities here, and the teachers were relatively understanding.

Of course, due to the lack of school supervision, students had to rely more on self-discipline. But because the student body was already outstanding, there were hardly any slackers around. Everyone worked diligently, rising early and retiring late. The laziest were still Xia Yuan and Mei Fang, but now that they were privileged students, it was no longer fair to compare them.

Before the arrival of the scorching summer in June, Mei Fang took some time to accompany the younger members of the Ximilu Studio in developing their new work, “Seasons of the Stars.” This game was selected from several ideas proposed by the younger members and created based on Mei Fang’s experience playing “Star Season” in his previous life.

The game itself was a variant of the popular parkour games during the early days of smartphones. Players controlled a light point circling a planet to collect starlight, with the planet changing its scenery through all four seasons as it rotated. The distance traveled was measured in days. The gameplay was straightforward, emphasizing clear visuals and music.

The creative selection came from Xu Wei, a classmate of Zhu Nainai. Mei Fang chose her because her concept of a little prince scene was very appealing. Although she was responsible for art design, she also had a deep understanding of gaming. She mentioned that she was inspired by “Cloud Journey,” and the changing seasons and passage of time, under the influence of the fresh and beautiful art style, had a unique charm.

Generally, games influenced each other and complemented one another. Mei Fang was delighted that his work could inspire future game developers.

As for his other friends in their third year, Liu Xiaoyu, who was furthering her studies in music, had comprehensive liberal arts scores at the 985 level. To continue her studies with Xia Yuan and facilitate future work, she leaned towards applying to Pengcheng University. Guo Yun preferred applying to the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in a neighboring city of Pengcheng, one of the eight prestigious fine arts institutions. They had also sent her an invitation for autonomous recruitment, and proximity to Pengcheng made it convenient for her to commute seamlessly.

Wan Chaoxiong always had a talent for editing and creating. He helped Mei Fang edit videos and handle post-production in the early stages of Mei Fang’s projects. However, compared to working at Mei Fang’s soon-to-be-moved company in Pengcheng, he preferred staying in Jiangcheng to develop locally. He also enjoyed being a free independent content creator rather than a company employee, so he would be saying goodbye to Mei Fang after graduation.

Mei Fang supported his high school friend Bawang and his buddy in continuing to develop on C-Station. For Wan Chaoxiong, being a content creator was a much larger stage.

Unlike Wan Chaoxiong and the determined team led by Zhu Nainai, Xiang Bingbing seemed somewhat lost. When Mei Fang asked about her future plans, she said she would decide after seeing her college entrance exam results.

Xiang Bingbing lacked family support and hadn’t planned much for her future. She was a girl with big dreams and never considered such things.

Seeing this, Mei Fang helped her understand how her sports achievements could benefit her. Xiang Bingbing then realized that because she had performed well in the provincial women’s basketball tournament, she qualified as a Level Two Basketball Athlete.

This allowed her to participate in the selection process for domestic universities through the high-level sports team route, with the score requirement only needing to reach the first-tier standard. This greatly relieved her academic pressure.

As for his hometown friends, Zhang Ming and Yue Xinyi focused entirely on their college entrance exams throughout their senior year.

Since they were core team members, they didn’t want to fall behind and aimed to get into Pengcheng University, which would facilitate their future career arrangements.

After communicating with her family and school, Peng Xue decided to repeat a year and take the college entrance exam again. However, unlike what Xia Yuan and others had imagined, she did not have conflicts with her family but quietly focused on her studies.

However, on April Fool’s Day of the same year, a folk song created by Mi Xue, the bassist of a once-popular band, topped the charts on various music platforms.

[ I’ve seen deserts rain]

[Seen seas kiss sharks]

[Seen dusk chase dawn]

[Not seen you]

[I know beauty fades]

[Life beyond life]

[I know winds carry poems]

[Not knowing you]

The lyrics of “Song of Unique Abilities” were written by Chen Li, a singer Mei Fang admired in his past life. However, she was as untraceable in this world as Hao Ge, so he gave the song to Peng Xue.

When Mei Fang handed over the lyrics, he simply said that Peng Xue’s smoky voice would suit the song well.

Peng Xue thanked him and sent a smiley face emoji. Eventually, when the song appeared on the platform, she indeed sang it with her smoky voice, making it highly recognizable and evocative.

Mei Fang had reported the song to Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi beforehand. From a certain perspective, it was a kind of unrequited love song.

Xia Yuan liked the song, and Lin You Xi quickly noticed something:

“How does it sound like a single-minded infatuation Peng Xue has for you?”

“Oh, it’s not like that…”

Discovering this secret, Xia Yuan was even more nervous than Mei Fang and quickly explained everything to Lin You Xi. After hearing it, Lin You Xi pondered:

“Even if it’s to give Peng Xue something to hold onto… wouldn’t it be crueler for her? If I were Ah Fang, I wouldn’t write such a song for her.”

“Though… Ah Fang is too excellent, there’s nothing we can do…”

In fact, Mei Fang had never given Peng Xue any expectations, maintaining a good sense of proportion. But this song was an exception.

Although he had considered many other folk songs, this one was the most fitting for Peng Xue as a memento.

Despite being a bit socially bold, Peng Xue was a radiant girl. Mei Fang initially harbored hostility towards her, fearing she might corrupt Yuan Yuan, but later he didn’t mind her straightforward and flamboyant personality, finding her interesting and captivating.

Compared to her previous life’s hardships, at least Peng Xue could shine brightly in this life, which was already a wonderful thing.

As for someone like me, who openly juggles relationships, it’s better not to dwell on it too much.

Haha…

Time flew by, and in May 2014, Jiangcheng No. 1 High School held a coming-of-age ceremony for the seniors. Everyone wore traditional Hanfu attire, girls adorned with hairpins, boys with topknots and caps. Listening to speeches from school leaders and student representatives, they celebrated reaching 18 years old.

Lin You Xi, the “C-Station Lady,” became the student representative. With her mature demeanor and natural eloquence, she was undoubtedly the perfect choice.

“Eighteen is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; youth is also fleeting. If there is a path you cannot choose, it is the path of giving up. If there is a path you cannot avoid, it is the path of growth. May everyone withstand temptations, endure loneliness, focus solely on their goals, and surpass their dreams. May everyone live up to their youth, brighten their lives with passion and dreams, and forge a splendid life with wisdom and sweat.”

After the applause died down, Lin You Xi stepped down from the podium and stood beside Mei Fang and Xia Yuan, the three smiling at each other.

“Do you see that coming-of-age gate? I heard there’s a legend at our school that anyone who walks through it together will stay together forever.”

“I wonder if it only protects two people. I still have to embrace others later.”

“Hey, Ah Fang, are you daydreaming? Shouldn’t You Xi stand in the center?”

“If Ah Fang wants to be in the center, let him.”

Lin You Xi smiled slightly, “Anyway, we’re graduating soon, isn’t it okay to leave some special memories?”

“Mm… that’s true—”

So, Mei Fang held Xia Yuan with his left hand and Lin You Xi with his right, walking through the coming-of-age gate at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, their photo becoming the annual best photo of the school news club and an indelible memory of the school.

There will be another update later. Also, since my friend was exhausted from working hard yesterday, I won’t be appearing for a while.

(End of Chapter)