Chapter 61

Chapter 61: School Starts

The next day, Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan packed their things to go home. After that, they came back to find Mei Fang and finished watching “Lonely Ridge.”

Although the movie was indeed scary, the bet required one to make the other cry. Xia Yuan, in order to get a wish from Mei Fang, would close her eyes, cover her ears, or stare at Mei Fang. She might have been scared enough to cling onto Mei Fang and sob, but she was far from crying.

Lin You Xi, on the other hand, watched the movie earnestly. Since Mei Fang was afraid of being strangled this time, he placed Xia Yuan in the middle. Lin You Xi wouldn’t strangle Xia Yuan like she did with Mei Fang. Eventually, Mei Fang discovered her wiping tears and had to admit defeat.

According to their previous bet, Lin You Xi lost the challenge. Before Xiang Xiaxia returned, she had to prepare lunch for Mei Fang every day.

Xia Yuan’s wish was also quite interesting. She chose to protect Lin You Xi as she used to when they were younger, asking Mei Fang to stop punishing Lin You Xi.

This was somewhat expected…

Mei Fang’s solitary summer passed quickly.

Even though it was a solitary summer, the door to his house was constantly knocked by Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan. Later, because Mei Fang was too lazy to open the door early, he gave them keys to come and go as they pleased.

Lin You Xi and Xia Yuan didn’t always look for Mei Fang to play. Both had the habit of waking up early. Xia Yuan would come over early to study, while Lin You Xi was enthusiastic about trying out various dishes, letting Mei Fang and Xia Yuan taste what she made. This was not much different from fulfilling the bet.

They also played computer games together at home. When Xia Yuan went home, she could play at her place since she had a computer. Lin You Xi played with Xia Yuan at Mei Fang’s house.

While playing, they would use QQ video chat, talking and playing simultaneously, which was a peculiar joy for girls.

They even played the game Mei Fang bought for Mei Ya on the Super Famicom, and the experience opened a new world for them. A game like Contra could keep them entertained for an entire afternoon. Mei Fang was thinking about buying real console games when they grew older to enhance their gaming appreciation and prevent them from going astray.

As for the “Early Bird” game project he had been thinking about since spring, after finding a simple art outsourcing service online, he posted it on some domestic websites such as 3 Xiao Yi and You Xia.

The results were predictable; no one paid attention, and the comments were mostly negative.

“What garbage calls itself a game.”

“I’ve played more enjoyable Flash games on 4388.”

“Don’t click, it’s just ad money.”

It seemed there was a problem with the marketing strategy. Mei Fang later reflected that these well-known gaming portal users were accustomed to free 3A games, and all they cared about were 3A standards.

To truly promote it, it needed to create buzz on mobile platforms. The target audience for “Early Bird” were those who didn’t play games much, so there was no need to be discouraged.

Then Mei Fang found out that by 2008, the iOS platform supported UNITY. So he started working on the iOS version, hoping to get a piece of the pie on the APP Store.

Lin You Xi still hadn’t told Mei Fang about her specific plans to save money in early spring, but she continued to earn money by proxy gaming. It seemed she hadn’t reached her goal yet.

With Mei Fang’s guidance, she learned how to write scripts for automatic operations, creating small accounts to work for bigger ones—a task Mei Fang had been doing before.

Finally, September 1st arrived, the day schools reopened for primary and secondary education.

His little leather jacket finally entered junior high school, and as his father, Mei Lijun was delighted. He took leave and drove to accompany his son to registration.

“Why do you look so gloomy? Now that you’re a middle school student, you should be full of energy and cheerful,” Mei Lijun reminded the sullen Mei Fang in the backseat.

“Didn’t you know that honking loudly in the neighborhood is uncivilized? Stop showing off. Even if you’re just a minor official, you should still pay attention to your public image,” Mei Fang replied disdainfully.

“You’re embarrassing me, Dad,” Mei Ya chimed in.

Mei Lijun looked sad, “I can understand Mei Fang’s rebellious phase, but why isn’t Xiaoya acting like my little protector anymore?”

“Focus on driving, don’t keep looking around,” Mei Lijun was reprimanded by his wife Xiang Xiaxia.

Mei Lijun planned to drop off his wife and daughter at their primary school first, then take his son to register for junior high. They hadn’t driven far when they saw Lin You Xi and her father standing on the street. Lin You Xi stood aside while her father knelt down to fix the motorcycle.

After Mei Fang and Mei Ya pointed it out, Mei Lijun pulled over and rolled down the window to speak to Lin You Xi’s father, “Old Lin, is your motorcycle broken?”

Lin You Xi’s father quickly greeted them and wiped the oil from his nose, “It usually runs fine, but today it won’t start.”

Mei Fang in the backseat rolled down his window, “Uncle Lin, why don’t you leave the motorcycle here and we’ll take you to register first.”

“It’s not right to trouble your family.”

Lin You Xi’s father smiled, “We can take a taxi later.”

“Oh, Old Lin, there’s no need to be formal. There’s room in my car anyway. We’re all registering together, it’s convenient.”

“Come on, Old Lin, let’s hurry or we’ll be late.”

“Big Sister You Xi, come on!”

Thus, the Lin family joined Mei Lijun in the car. Mei Ya grabbed Lin You Xi’s hand and pulled her to sit beside her, “Big Sister You Xi, I’m in second grade now!”

“That’s great!”

Lin You Xi patted Mei Ya’s head, their bond evident. Lin You Xi’s father appeared somewhat awkward, gazing out the window.

Mei Lijun and Lin You Xi’s father were already acquainted, and once in the car, Xiang Xiaxia and Mei Lijun started chatting warmly.

From their past conversations and Lin You Xi’s descriptions, Mei Fang learned a lot.

Lin You Xi’s father, Lin Guochuan, worked on construction sites, but he wasn’t a builder; he was an engineer responsible for directing construction and implementing on-site solutions.

Though this job was demanding, salaries in the construction industry were relatively high in 2008, explaining why many people pursued civil engineering degrees. Therefore, Lin You Xi’s family shouldn’t have been poor.

However, despite the good salary, Lin You Xi’s family had other worries.

Mei Lijun brought up this worry again.

“Old Lin, speaking of your younger brother-in-law, is he still pestering you for money?”

Lin Guochuan shook his head with a bitter smile, “Don’t mention it.”

Xiang Xiaxia angrily said, “I heard he spends his days gambling. Helping him once or twice is one thing, but supporting him for life is another!”

“When his sister was around, he was somewhat disciplined, but now that no one is managing him, he’s running wild.”

Lin Guochuan sighed, “He has no family left except for me as his brother-in-law. I help him when I can.”

“I think you’re too kind-hearted.”

Mei Lijun added, “Given your seniority on the site, you should have been promoted long ago. You should fight for it. And when your sister-in-law passed away, you received a substantial compensation. You have no reason to give him any more.”

“Yes, yes…”

Lin Guochuan nodded with a smile, not arguing with Mei Lijun. Sitting beside him, Lin You Xi’s hands were fidgeting, and her face showed sadness and dejection.

Xiang Xiaxia noticed this in the rearview mirror and interrupted Mei Lijun.

“Stop complaining. It’s not like you’ve accomplished anything in Baizhou after three years.”

“Without promotion opportunities, how can I advance? Besides, I—”

“Father, focus on driving.”

Mei Fang jumped in, “We’re in a hurry to register!”

“Alright, alright!”

Now, only one person in the car was unhappy.

And it was a very unhappy person.

Surprise!

It was rumored that Cao Man Jun updates one chapter every Tuesday ahead of schedule, releasing the second chapter at noon.

End of Chapter 61.