Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts

On the day the Gaokao ended, every class organized celebration activities. The boys gathered at internet cafes for all-night gaming sessions, while the girls mostly booked karaoke rooms at chain KTVs. Mei Fang stayed home to eat with the girls and mother-in-law, receiving numerous invitations throughout the meal.

"Are you two going to celebrate with your classmates after dinner?"

Lin Youxi shook her head. "I don't have any particularly close friends in my class—only Liu Xiaoyu, who's been taken away by Yuan Yuan."

"What do you mean 'taken away'? Don't say it like that! Xiaoyu told me she received an invitation to go to KTV and asked if I wanted to join, but I wasn't even invited!"

"I think that's understandable…"

Mei Fang picked up a chicken drumstick and placed it in Xia Yuan's bowl. "Inviting you to KTV would be like asking Jay Chou to sing his own songs at a KTV. Wouldn't it be embarrassing when your own songs come up? Plus, it'd be awkward if someone recognized you."

"Mmm… I get that… But still, I was on such good terms with everyone, and they didn't even invite me to celebrate. It hurts."

"Ah Fang, eat more lamb—it's good for your health."

Lin Youxi served Mei Fang while saying to Xia Yuan, "Maybe they just assumed you'd definitely celebrate with Ah Fang?"

Xia Yuan thought for a moment and looked at Mei Fang. "Any celebration plans for tonight?"

"My classmates invited me, but C-Site already reached out earlier to celebrate the end of the Gaokao. Uncle mentioned they might need footage for the platform, so I think we should go to C-Site. We haven't appeared in videos for a while, and it'd be a good chance to push for the top spot on the charts."

"Being the boss sure is tough… Even as the owner, you still have to do marketing yourself."

"Our age is our biggest advantage as founders. This 'growth journey' narrative is a great experience for C-Site's users—it significantly boosts engagement."

Mei Fang pondered. "For example, if I wrote a novel about our childhood story, readers would have the same sense of anticipation watching us grow up."

"Ooh! That's a great idea! Maybe when I stop singing and writing songs, I'll try writing novels too—might even make money."

Following Xia Yuan's train of thought, Mei Fang recalled the struggling Shengda Literature.

By now, Shengda Literature's "Five Emperors" had already defected to Tencent in last year's internal strife, and a merger was likely to be finalized within the next two years.

Web novels were essentially IP incubators—a single strong work could generate immeasurable profits. Given C-Site's current scale, competing with Tencent was nearly impossible. But if Mei Fang wanted to become a leader in the ACGN (Anime-Comic-Game-Novel) space, the "N" (Novel) segment was something he needed to dominate.

Domestic light novels hadn't yet formed a major trend, though platforms like Happy Bookworm (Ciweizhu) and Lemon Bag existed. Still, their scale was minuscule compared to future industry giants like Yuewen.

Tonight, when I meet with Uncle, I can discuss this idea…

Liang Meijuan listened quietly as the trio chatted, never interjecting since she didn't understand these topics. Only during a lull did she ask, "Youxi, if you three go out to celebrate, will you be coming back tonight?"

"Hmm…"

Lin Youxi deliberately tilted her head and glanced at Mei Fang, who immediately felt exasperated.Don't stir trouble, wife!

"Y-yes! Of course we're coming back… though it might be late. Auntie, don't worry about us—just rest."

"Be safe out there. Try to relax, but come home early if possible."

Liang Meijuan hesitated before adding, "And… have you estimated your Gaokao scores? It might help with planning ahead."

"Don't worry, Mom."

Lin Youxi patted Liang Meijuan's hand with a gentle smile. "We've got everything under control."

"Should we invite Xiaoyu and Yunyun to join us?"

"Up to them. If they want to celebrate with friends, let them. Oh—we can also ask Zhu Nainai and the studio team if they're free."

Thus, Mei Fang, Xia Yuan, and Lin Youxi began extending invitations. Guo Yun declined, citing family plans. Liu Xiaoyu had initially planned to attend the KTV gathering but changed her mind upon hearing a classmate intended to confess to her there.

Zhu Nainai, upon learning there would be free food, a lavish meal, and screen time, immediately agreed and even vowed to rally the entire studio team.

Nowadays, Mei Fang was no longer a kid who had to rely solely on taxis. Uncle personally drove over to pick them up for the company celebration. On the way, Mei Fang discussed his strategic plans for light novels with him.

"I've been drafting proposals for light novel expansion… but C-Site's current organizational structure is a bit convoluted. I'm considering a spin-off to prevent overextension and resource mismanagement."

"Tell me about your spin-off concept."

"Bullet-comment videos are C-Site's core business, but we should also separate our gaming division. Although Ximilu Games is technically the Site Head's company, publishing operations still fall under C-Site. Based on your earlier vision, I think establishing a dedicated game publishing platform is necessary."

"So, you're suggesting we split C-Site's gaming team into a separate publishing company? I support that."

C-Site → TapTaphad been part of Mei Fang's long-term plan. However, with the impending game licensing freeze two years away, they needed to aggressively expand their game library to build up a sufficient portfolio before the policy tightened.

But Mei Fang's ambitions went beyond just becoming the "Steam of mobile games"—he wanted to achieve what Tencent hadn't yet fully realized with WeGame. Though he foresaw future regulatory challenges, the current industry environment was still relatively open. If they positioned themselves as a global gaming platform from the start, competing with Steam wasn't out of the question.

Whether they succeeded or not, they had to start planning now.

In Uncle's vision, he wanted to create an integrated ACN (Anime-Comic-Novel) IP incubation matrix—a centralized hub for domestic creativity that would surpass all existing anime forums in scale.

While this vision was grand, building it from scratch would be arduous. Thus, Uncle hoped to acquire existing anime/manga/novel platforms.

Mei Fang promised ample budget but advised against reckless expansion, suggesting they focus on acquiring only high-quality assets. He also emphasized strengthening collaborations with fan subtitle groups—early content would inevitably rely on Japanese imports, making these groups crucial for traffic growth.

Their conversation meandered between C-Site's future plans, with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi interjecting little, content to watch their man shine.

Through years of diligent work and the foresight of his past life, Mei Fang had unknowingly cultivated himself into a thoughtful industry leader—steadily progressing toward becoming the "Godfather of ACGN." Yet, he himself hadn't fully realized it.