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

Compared to the smooth sailing around 2010, Mei Lijun's career progress had stagnated in recent years. Though there had been several transfers, they were all lateral moves with no real promotion beyond his initial position at the Land Resources Bureau.

Ironically, Mei Lijun had even been investigated by superiors due to Mei Fang's business success, requiring detailed explanations about his children's income sources. For ordinary people, the rags-to-riches story of Mei Fang building a billion-dollar empire from scratch seemed too fantastical to believe, so such scrutiny was understandable.

During the car ride, Mei Fang brought up his father's seven-year stagnation at the deputy department level: "Did I end up affecting your career?"

"Ah, it's not a big deal."

Mei Lijun drove Mei Fang's Mercedes S550 with visible contentment. "Your old man knows his own limitations. If an opportunity comes, great; if not, that's fine too. Doing my job well and enjoying each day is enough."

"Uncle Mei, that's a great mindset. Staying relaxed keeps you healthy."

Lin Youxi chimed in softly from the backseat. "When you're in good spirits, everything feels better. My dad's been much cheerier too after recuperating this past year."

"Oh, speaking of your dad—I feel like it's been ages since I last saw him. Is he coming back for New Year's?"

"Uncle Mei, of course he is!"

"Hahaha! Of course you're welcome!"

Having often seen Mei Fang interact intimately with both Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi online—even after their "breakup"—Mei Lijun didn't find anything particularly noteworthy about their closeness.

However, noticing Lin Youxi gaining favor, Xia Yuan couldn't resist competing. "Actually, celebrating New Year's at Uncle Mei's sounds great! I've never spent the holidays at A-Fang's house before."

Lin Youxi smiled. "Yuan, you have to go home to your family. I was just hypothesizing—your parents would be heartbroken otherwise."

Xia Yuan huffed in rebuttal:

"That's not necessarily true! If—if I were married, wouldn't I only return to my parents' home on the second day of the new year?"

……

With that single remark, Xia Yuan escalated the conversation to marriage-level seriousness, instantly putting everyone on edge. Mei Lijun didn't dare make a sound.

When they were just little girls, it hadn't mattered. But now, though still university students, they were indeed at marriageable age. There was no doubt both Yuan and Youxi wanted to marry his son—but given the current situation—

"Uncle Mei! Uncle Mei!"

Seizing the opportunity to strengthen her position—after all, acting cute was her specialty, while Lin Youxi was but a poor imitator—Xia Yuan pressed on:

"Between me and Youxi, who'd make a better daughter-in-law?"

"Ah, well, that…"

Mei Lijun scratched his thinning hair. "That's up to my kid to decide. His old man can't speak for him."

"If A-Fang had a clear preference, we wouldn't have broken up with him in the first place."

Xia Yuan sighed, then laughed. "Just teasing! Or you could just compare us—how are we different?"

"What's there to compare? We've watched you both grow up."

Mei Lijun pondered. "Yuan, you've always been well-mannered and diligent, now a nationally famous singer. Youxi's a computer genius who's great at homemaking… Both are wonderful."

Xia Yuan puffed her cheeks. "Ugh… Uncle Mei, why'd you have to learn A-Fang's fence-sitting habits?"

Mei Lijun protested, "Hey now, he learned it from me! Since when do fathers copy their sons?"

"Uncle Mei, no swearing!"

"Oops, my bad."

Mei Lijun chuckled awkwardly, and the others joined in—except Mei Fang, who was quietly checking work messages on his phone.

"Speaking of which, have you two ever considered dating anyone besides A-Fang?"

"Hmm… not really."

Xia Yuan shook her head. "I've liked A-Fang since childhood. Other boys always seem… a bit immature."

Lin Youxi added, "Uncle Mei, are you hoping one of us will find someone else so A-Fang won't have to choose? That's kind of hurtful—like we're interchangeable."

"No no! That's not what I meant! You're both amazing—it's just that my kid doesn't deserve either of you…"

"Uncle Mei, don't say that."

Xia Yuan grinned. "Who's 'settling' for who isn't so clear-cut!"

Who's settling?

Isn't this the classic "pig ruining good cabbage" scenario?

Mei Lijun didn't get it. Sometimes he'd dream about young Mei Fang winning the lottery and getting slapped by him. Though his son constantly surprised him, Mei Lijun never saw him as particularly special—just mature and lucky. As a father, he couldn't grasp the gap between his son and others, nor truly appreciate his achievements.

After all, both his children were…uniquein their own ways—

Thinking of his younger daughter, Mei Lijun sighed heavily and turned to Mei Fang:

"Does Ya-ya talk to you much lately?"

"Rarely… Is something wrong?"

Mei Lijun explained: "Ever since starting middle school, she's become withdrawn—always fighting with your mom, saying she doesn't understand her."

"At first they argued, now it's just cold silence. I'm stuck playing mediator. You know your mom—she's controlling. And Ya-ya's always been strong-willed but never studious…"

Another sigh. "You all grew up together—how did she turn out so different?"

"All kids go through rebellious phases. Ya-ya's right in the thick of adolescence—you have to be patient."

Mei Fang spoke earnestly. "Teens need parental understanding and support most during this time. Yuan and Youxi both went through it."

Lin Youxi nodded. "I was about that age when Dad told me he'd remarried. Of course I struggled—we had huge fights. You remember, Uncle Mei."

"Yeah… but you came around quickly. Ya-ya just digs in her heels—so stubborn."

"I almost didn't accept it."

Lin Youxi murmured. "I hated that Dad 'betrayed' Mom. It took many talks with A-Fang to make peace with it."

Xia Yuan added, "For me, it was clashing with my homeroom teacher… I didn't fight with my parents though—they, along with Youxi and A-Fang, supported me standing up to the teacher. It wasn't easy."

"So even Yuan and Youxi had rebellious phases…"

Mei Lijun frowned. "But you, kid—did you even have one? Never saw you argue with us during puberty."

"Guess you never learned how tough rebellious teens can be…sighMy fault for maturing too early."

"You little—"

Mei Lijun flicked Mei Fang's forehead. "Your most rebellious act was slapping me in kindergarten!"

This was the first time Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan had heard this childhood story. They gasped in unison:

"A slap? That's so unlike you!"

"A-Fang! How could you hit Uncle Mei? So rude!"

Flustered by their reactions, Mei Fang waved his hands. "Let's table that story for now—what's really bothering Ya-ya? Puppy love? Gaming addiction? Or… still dreaming of being an astronaut?"

"None of that."

Mei Lijun said flatly:

"She claims since her big brother's already rich, she doesn't need to study hard. Says she'll just play with her model ships and anime figures, become some 'Warhammer nerd' streamer—that her brother can make her famous. Can you believe that lazy, entitled attitude?"

"……What?"