Chapter 73

Chapter 73: A Gift for Dad

Is Xia Yuan here?

Mei Fang immediately thought about riding away on his bike, but he remembered that he still had his life-saving gear on his head.

“Ah, I’m wearing a helmet, so no one would recognize me.”

Mei Fang looked across the street and indeed spotted Xia Yuan. At this moment, Xia Yuan was holding her mother’s hand, both of them carrying bags, as if they had just come back from shopping for clothes.

She and her mother were chatting happily, seemingly not noticing Mei Fang and Lin You Xi on the other side of the street.

After the green light, Mei Fang turned the corner and stopped, while Lin You Xi continued to tightly hug him.

“Now she won’t see us anymore, you can let go,” Mei Fang said.

“Arfang, do you think she noticed us?” Lin You Xi asked.

Mei Fang shook his head, “No… not really…”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes… It’s too far away for her to recognize us.”

“That’s good.” Lin You Xi slowly released her hold on Mei Fang, “Let’s go home now.”

“But, You Xi…” Mei Fang paused, “Don’t you think this is kind of strange?”

“What’s strange?”

Mei Fang explained, “Although today’s car purchase and ride are special circumstances, since middle school, we always seem to be acting sneakily when we’re together. Even at school, you don’t talk to me much, which feels too forced.”

“Yuan Yuan isn’t in your class anymore, and she’s under a lot of academic pressure. If we spend too much time together, I feel—”

Lin You Xi interrupted, “I think she would feel very insecure.”

“That’s true, but—”

Mei Fang worriedly added, “I care about Yuan Yuan just like you do, but I also want you to take care of yourself more. Not talking to me isn’t a problem… but please don’t force yourself to stay away from me; it’s hard for me.”

“I don’t!”

Lin You Xi suddenly pinched Mei Fang out of frustration.

“Arfang, you’re great at everything, but this is the most annoying part! You always guess my thoughts, but I love our current situation. At school, studies should be the priority, focusing more on them instead of—”

Lin You Xi suddenly realized something and leaned towards Mei Fang’s ear, whispering:

“Arfang… Do you think I’m neglecting you at school, making you feel insecure?”

“Huh? Ha, stop joking, how could that be…”

The warm breath from Lin You Xi’s words tickled Mei Fang’s ears, making him feel tingly…

Just as Mei Fang finished speaking, Lin You Xi started to pinch him repeatedly, causing him to cry out:

“Stop it! You’re our class monitor, Lin Daban! This is too much, and the students from Class Nine will laugh at you!”

“Hey, Mei Daban, remember, we’re not at school right now.”

Lin You Xi pinched Mei Fang’s waist, “I’m not the class monitor Lin You Xi anymore. I’m your childhood friend You Xi, understand?”

She smiled as she pinched Mei Fang’s shoulder, “Actually, I thought you made many new friends at school, which would make you feel fulfilled without needing me around all the time. But if Arfang feels lonely, then I’ll spend more time with you outside of school.”

“Who’s lonely? Forget about you and Yuan Yuan, my mischievous younger sister is already driving me crazy. She’s only seven, but she drives me nuts every day.”

Mei Fang didn’t quite follow how the conversation turned to him feeling lonely, but Lin You Xi changed the subject:

“By the way, how’s the ‘early bird’ game we made doing overseas?”

“It’s been a while since I checked, but it gets a few dozen downloads a day, but doesn’t earn much money.”

Mei Fang’s strategy was to release it for free, earning money through traffic and ads. There were three immediate resurrection chances per day, but watching ads could get an additional chance.

In 2008, Apple hadn’t entered the domestic market yet. Setting up an overseas account had been tough, and this was just a test. For the game to truly become popular, Apple needed to become more international, introducing leaderboards and sharing features.

“This game can wait. Let’s think about what to do next? What do you think, Arfang?”

“There are ideas, but the timing isn’t right. We can revisit it in a year or two.”

At this time, U3D didn’t support Android, limiting Mei Fang’s early planning. Developing an independent PC game required more time, resources, and manpower.

“Also, I want to see if I have the ability to create a video website.”

“A video site… like Potato Youku?”

“No… it’s a newer type of forum technology, a bullet-screen video site, which has become popular in Japan recently.”

“Bul—let screen?”

Lin You Xi was curious about this new knowledge. She kept pushing Mei Fang, “Tell me more, what does it do?”

“Well… to use that site, you need to learn JAVA and GOLANG first. The specific feature is that it displays messages sent by others as scrolling text over the video you’re watching…”

Mei Fang talked about his future plans with Lin You Xi as they rode to her house.

Her house was an old two-story single-family unit. Seeing the motorcycle parked outside, she told Mei Fang:

“Dad should be home. I’ll go call him.”

“Have you figured out what to say? Don’t slip up.”

“Okay.” Lin You Xi nodded and followed Mei Fang inside, telling her father about winning a special prize at New Year Supermarket.

“Shopping with Mei Fang… Is this the bike you won?”

Lin Guochuan looked at the electric scooter and the happy expressions of Lin You Xi and Mei Fang. He was still a bit dazed from waking up and didn’t look particularly excited, just scratching his head, “Since you both won it, we shouldn’t keep it to ourselves.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle Lin. I was just helping You Xi shop, and she drew the prize. It’s nothing to do with me. I only helped her bring it back.”

“That’s not how it works. How much is the bike… I’ll give you half. But Mei Fang, you need to return it to your mom, and I’ll call her about this later.”

Lin Guochuan took out several hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and handed them to Mei Fang.

“No, really, Uncle Lin—”

“Arfang, just take it.” Lin You Xi encouraged Mei Fang to accept it, and Mei Fang finally stopped refusing.

“This bike is nice… You two kids are quite capable.”

Lin Guochuan finally came to his senses, looking at the electric scooter with joy, “My old motorcycle never starts properly, so this will be a good replacement.”

“The bike is a bit small, though, Uncle Lin. It might not be comfortable for you to ride.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind. As long as I can ride it, that’s good enough, ha.”

Lin Guochuan, like his daughter said, didn’t care about the fit. He smiled and said, “When Arfang grows older, you can borrow this bike for daily use.”

“Alright, Uncle Lin!”

“Then, Dad, I’ll go play at Arfang’s place.”

“Are you coming back for lunch?”

“I’ll be back. I’ll eat at home and visit you in the afternoon.” Lin You Xi nodded, “You rarely stay home, so I’ll definitely join you for lunch.”

“It’s fine if you want to eat at Mei Fang’s place too.”

After bidding farewell to his daughter, Lin Guochuan tried out the electric scooter he won.

Though it was a bit cramped, starting the electric scooter was much easier than the motorcycle.

He could use it to pick up You Xi from school in the future.

As he was thinking, he found a receipt tucked under the storage tray inside the electric scooter.

Bending down, he picked up the receipt, which listed the contact number of Ah Ma Electric Scooter Shop and the payment details.

Lin Guochuan immediately understood that this gift wasn’t simply a prize from a lottery.

He quickly opened his phone to dial Mei Fang’s house.

But his finger hovered over the dial pad for a moment before dropping.

…

Lin Guochuan sat on the electric scooter for a long time, staring blankly at the sky.

To him, You Xi had always been a sensible daughter he was proud of.

But the more sensible she was, the more guilty he felt as a father.

He felt guilty for not paying enough attention to his daughter, even not knowing that she had saved up so much money.

He had always kept her lucky money for her, and she had her own savings account.

Moreover, she must have found ways to earn some money herself.

As for where the money came from, he trusted her and believed she wouldn’t do anything out of line. Her best friend, Mei Fang, probably knew everything…

After a while, he searched his phone contacts and dialed another number.

This time, it was to a friend.

They exchanged pleasantries, and Lin Guochuan got to the point:

“By the way, Old Jiang, about what you mentioned last time…”

“Hey, Old Lin, did you finally see the light? I’ve always said people should move forward. It’s time for you to step out of the past. Also, you may not care, but You Xi is at an age where there are many things you can’t teach her, and you don’t have the time to take good care of her.”

“In any case, there needs to be a mother in a family, otherwise, the daughter will always lack a sense of belonging.”

“I know… Could you contact them and find out when they might be available for a meeting? I want to talk to her properly.”

“She was mentioned last time, do you have any other questions?”

Lin Guochuan paused and continued, “Nothing… Let’s meet first and see.”

“As long as… she treats You Xi well.”

I was thinking about the plot! So I forgot to schedule the post, sorry!

(End of Chapter)