NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Lost in the Mountains
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[The rain pours through the night]
[My love spills like the rain]
[Leaves fall in the courtyard]
[Thick as my thoughts, piling up]
[A few words of criticism]
[Can’t cool down my passion]
[You appear on every page of my poems]
It was the transition between summer and autumn in 2005, when A-Lin’s golden songs dominated the Mandarin music industry, and the title of “King” began to be mentioned by countless people.
Mei Fang, now 9 years old and entering the fourth grade, also officially stepped into this stage.
At that crossroads where he had never made a choice before, Mei Fang convinced his parents to let him join the computer education class taught by Xia Yuan’s mother, Teacher Yu, under the pretense of wanting to learn more about computers.
Xia Yuan remained popular among her classmates in elementary school. Not only because she was the daughter of Teacher Yu, but also due to her angelic personality and adorable appearance, which made her a topic of discussion.
In her studies, she did not disappoint her mother’s expectations. As the Chinese study monitor, she excelled in Chinese, although her math skills were slightly weaker.
Teacher Yu promoted a peer study group plan in class, and Xia Yuan paired with a student who excelled in math, aiming for mutual assistance—
“Reading time has arrived. No sleeping in, start reciting.”
Xia Yuan nudged Mei Fang, who was dozing off at his desk, until he started moving.
“Ugh… Time really flies.”
Mei Fang yawned lazily and reluctantly took out his textbook.
Though three years had passed since his rebirth, Mei Fang still couldn’t get used to waking up at six or seven in the morning.
“Did you stay up late playing games again last night?”
Mei Fang stared blankly at his textbook, seemingly still in a daze, which made Xia Yuan angry.
“I’m telling you, no matter how good your grades are, you can’t slack off. Learning is like rowing against the current; if you don’t move forward, you’ll fall back. Look, your last math test was only 99 points, far from your usual perfect scores.”
“Is it true that if I finish today’s recitation, you won’t bother me anymore?”
Mei Fang flipped through his Chinese textbook. “I think we only need to recite two poems today?”
During the morning reading period, elementary students had the task of reciting poetry, and those who recited first could check others’ recitations.
“Don’t think it’s easy just because there are only two poems… I spent an hour reciting them last night.”
“That’s nothing. I can recite them right now.”
Mei Fang closed his book, thought for a moment, and began:
“A slanting sun spreads over the water, half the river green, half red. On the ninth day of early autumn, dewdrops like pearls, the moon like a bow.”
“Mm… ‘Evening River Song’ is fine. The next one is Su Shi’s ‘Inscription on the West Forest Temple Wall.'”
Xia Yuan pressed the book down, worried Mei Fang might have peeked. “Don’t look at the book, or you’ll have to recite it again.”
“Then how about adding a condition?”
Mei Fang half-closed his eyes and smiled. “If I can recite it, will you do my homework tonight?”
“What if… you can’t recite it?”
“You decide.”
Xia Yuan seized the opportunity.
“You promised us to go roller skating at the Cultural Square, but you never kept your promise! If you can’t recite it, you must go with me this weekend.”
“No problem!”
Mei Fang coughed lightly and began his performance:
“Seen horizontally, it forms a ridge; seen from the side, a peak. From afar or near, high or low, each perspective is different.”
“…”
Xia Yuan showed a surprised expression.
“Not knowing the true face of Mount Lu—”
Xia Yuan bit her lip, gazing at Mei Fang. Mei Fang glanced at her and pretended to ponder deeply.
“Forgot it,” Mei Fang said mischievously, sticking out his tongue.
“You lost! This weekend, go roller skating with me! I’m telling you, you can’t stand me up again with Lin You Xi.”
“Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say.”
Not knowing the true face of Mount Lu, only because one is within it.
Mei Fang hadn’t forgotten the tragedy that befell the family of the former computer education class teacher. In recent years, he had been paying extra attention to Xia Yuan’s family situation.
But perhaps due to the butterfly effect caused by his presence, some places in this world were no longer familiar to him.
City names, people’s names, and even some plotlines of animated shows were different from what he remembered.
If these differences could still be attributed to memory lapses, then what happened next clearly indicated a change in the timeline—
In his previous life, Mei Fang had always been an only child. However, after this rebirth, he gained a younger sister.
His mother quit her job in the public sector. Family planning was strictly enforced back then, and if discovered, his father Mei Lijun would lose his job. The existence of his younger sister was a secret known only to a select few.
This confidence came from the wealth Mei Fang’s lottery winnings brought to his parents. But when he first learned he was going to be a big brother, he was shocked.
Due to the long span of time since his rebirth, Mei Fang couldn’t confirm whether Xia Yuan would still experience the same tragedy.
But as long as he stayed by her side and closely monitored her, there was a chance to alter the original timeline.
As long as he avoided repeating that tragedy,
Primary school students in Plum County formed teams after school, usually led by the student living furthest away.
The team leader held a badge with the word ‘Let’ provided by the school, and classmates lined up orderly, only allowed to disband and go home when they reached their homes.
Mei Fang and Xia Yuan didn’t go straight home after returning to the neighborhood. Mei Fang would complete his homework at Xia Yuan’s house, staying for a while before going back.
“You dad seems to be coming home quite late recently.”
“Yeah, the hotel business has been busy…”
Xia Yuan was struggling with a math problem. Seeing her troubled expression, Mei Fang leaned over to take a look.
“I’ve taught you this many times, use the method of cutting and filling. Move this area here, and it becomes a trapezoid…”
“I know you’ve taught me many times…”
Xia Yuan sighed. “But I just can’t figure out that part.”
For many primary school students, fourth grade was a turning point. Perhaps in the first three grades, they performed well consistently, with simple content that could be mastered through diligence.
But by fourth grade, the gap in math scores gradually became apparent, as more knowledge needed to be learned and the difficulty increased. Some students found it challenging, and Xia Yuan was clearly one of them.
“But… if you can’t solve it, just leave it blank? Don’t force yourself.”
“That’s not the right mindset.”
Xia Yuan shook her head. “I’m a model student, everyone looks up to me, and I’m the teacher’s daughter. If I don’t work hard, people will think I rely on my mom’s status to be a good student…”
Xia Yuan’s burden of being a role model was heavy. Mei Fang sighed and said,
“There are many paths in life. It’s not necessary to be a role model. The most important thing is to be happy.”
“That’s not wrong… but I really like that feeling.”
“Also…”
Xia Yuan took a deep breath and continued, “Do you know, Mei Fang, the reason I’ve always loved playing with you is because you’re very different from other boys.”
“How so?”
“They mostly know how to play games, fight, show off, and bully girls, but you don’t do that.”
“Have I never bullied you?”
Mei Fang rapped Xia Yuan’s head. “Look, things like this… I often do.”
“That doesn’t count as bullying. Many boys do childish things, like drawing on girls’ clothes or pulling their braids… You wouldn’t do that.”
“What about this?”
Mei Fang pinched Xia Yuan’s cheek. “Is this bullying you?”
“Don’t push your luck, you big oaf!”
Annoyed, Xia Yuan pinched back. As they pinched each other, looking at each other’s silly faces, both burst out laughing.
As the sun set, the two of them played without a care.
Starting today, the AI-generated drawings will be of elementary school students!
I’ve received your requests for more high school scenes. I do plan to write more detailed chapters about high school, but it won’t be too long—after all, I can’t rush things, right? We need to maintain a steady pace.
(End of Chapter)