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

Because they had come to realize that their youth was passing by as fleetingly as a white steed glimpsed through a crack in the wall, Xiang Bingbing and Liu Xiaoyu had resolved to properly grasp and cherish the remaining time while they were still young and full of vitality.

Actually, ever since Mei Fang had publicly declared their three-person relationship dynamic, the way everyone interacted with Mei Fang had undergone very noticeable changes.

And within this process of interpersonal adjustment, Liu Xiaoyu and Xiang Bingbing could be said to represent two completely opposite extremes.

Xiang Bingbing was utterly devoid of any sense of appropriate boundaries. She frequently engaged in overly intimate behaviors with Mei Fang that completely lacked proper discretion, only somewhat restraining herself after being sternly lectured by Lin Youxi.

Liu Xiaoyu was obsessively concerned about maintaining boundaries with Mei Fang. She almost never allowed herself to be alone with Mei Fang, and her deliberate avoidance and withdrawals sometimes gave people the impression that she had ulterior motives she was trying to hide.

But now both of them had clearly recognized that the time they could spend together with Mei Fang would only grow increasingly scarce. Within these limited remaining moments, they should strive to create and preserve as many beautiful memories as possible.

Even if they couldn't be together romantically…that would be perfectly fine.

And since they had already properly adjusted their mental positioning, Xiang Bingbing and Liu Xiaoyu no longer agonized over issues of interpersonal boundaries. They would simply interact as normal good friends would.

Thus, Xiang Bingbing took the initiative to send Mei Fang a message:

When Mei Fang received Xiang Bingbing's message, he was currently in the middle of giving both Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan a full-body aromatherapy massage. Seeing his phone light up with the notification, he gently patted Xia Yuan's bottom (which was currently facing upward as she lay on the massage table).

"Bingbing is inviting me to her basketball game. Can you reply 'yes' for me? My hands are covered in massage oil right now."

"Aiya…I was just about to fall asleep because this feels so nice, why do I have to be the one to do it…let Youxi reply to the message."

"If I'm the one who replies, then I'll just tell her we can't go," Lin Youxi said lazily, keeping her eyes half-closed in relaxation. "I'll say we have…other plans."

"What plans? We don't have any company meetings scheduled for Monday…what would we possibly be busy with?" Xia Yuan tilted her head in confusion as she looked at Lin Youxi.

"Busy having Ah Fang 'do-re-mi' with us~" Lin Youxi's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Should I phrase it exactly like that when I reply to Bingbing? That we'll be busy with our musical scales practice?"

"W-w-wait! Don't actually say it like that! I still want to go watch!"

Xia Yuan immediately snatched the phone from Lin Youxi's grasp and sent a voice message to Xiang Bingbing:

"Okay okay! We'll all be free then! The three of us will definitely come cheer for you together!"

After sending the voice message, Xia Yuan and Xiang Bingbing exchanged a few more animated stickers and emojis. Their conversation continued until Mei Fang – moving like an overly affectionate caterpillar – crawled on top of Xia Yuan and began demonstrating his interest in "studying the fundamental musical note 'do'" (do-re-mi), forcing her to finally put down the phone.

After the initial shock of their unconventional relationship had faded, the trio were no longer treated as rare exotic creatures when seen together on Pengcheng University's campus. People would still occasionally glance their way when they passed by, but that was the extent of it. Whereas before people couldn't resist secretly taking photos, nowadays no one even had the urge to snap pictures anymore.

Of course, this normalized treatment was perfectly fine for the three protagonists. It meant they could finally enjoy a relatively peaceful university life.

During the limited time Mei Fang spent immersed in campus activities, he would occasionally check in on Zhang Ming's game development progress.

The project Zhang Ming was currently working on had been named "Salty Fish Survivor" by Mei Fang. It was conceptually inspired by the bizarrely addictive "Salty Fish Three Kingdoms" art style combined with gameplay elements from the wildly popular idle game "Vampire Survivors."

The current mobile gaming market was oversaturated with strategy-based card games and endless runners. The general public's understanding of roguelike games was still quite shallow, mostly limited to dungeon crawlers like "The Binding of Isaac." There was enormous untapped potential in the mobile roguelike space.

Mei Fang had previously provided Zhang Ming with seed funding under his personal name, hoping Zhang Ming could build his own team. Half a year later, Zhang Ming hadn't disappointed – he'd formed a game development club with seven dedicated members.

Among them were three of Mei Fang and Zhang Ming's dormmates, including the Persona 5 enthusiast Li Guidong whom they'd met during orientation.

"Regarding these build designs – meaning the different gameplay strategies and character builds players can experiment with – these are the archetypes I've planned so far. What do you think?" Zhang Ming pointed at his design documents.

"The rotating sawblade combined with ricochet mechanics is quite innovative," Mei Fang remarked while reviewing the documents. "But is your current team technically capable of implementing these systems?"

"That shouldn't be a problem at all," Zhang Ming replied confidently. "Our team includes Xu Jingwei – he won a gold medal at the National Olympiad in Informatics. The technical implementation will be rock solid. You know him, right? He also attended Jiangcheng's prestigious Shi Yi High School."

"Now that you mention it, I think I remember him from our NOIP competition days…" Mei Fang rubbed his chin in thought. "Wait, wasn't he the guy who considered Youxi his biggest rival for the NOI competition? Because she got the highest score in our school during the provincial NOIP round."

"Yeah, he complained to me about that actually," Zhang Ming chuckled. "Said it was such a waste that Lin Youxi didn't participate in the national NOI training camp in the end, right?"

"That training camp would've taken nearly half a year. Both Youxi and I thought it sounded boring, plus we didn't want to leave Yuan Yuan all by herself…oh right, now I remember this Xu Jingwei guy clearly!"

Memories came flooding back to Mei Fang. "This dude actually challenged me to a duel once! Sent me a formal challenge letter and everything! Said Lin Youxi shouldn't sacrifice such an amazing growth opportunity just for some silly romantic entanglement with me."

"Did you end up going through with the duel?" Zhang Ming asked curiously.

"I completely forgot about it honestly," Mei Fang admitted sheepishly. "I think Youxi had asked me to go see a movie with her that day instead."

"Please don't remind him about that embarrassing incident…" Zhang Ming facepalmed.

"Anyway, I'm seriously impressed you managed to recruit someone of his caliber! You've really grown into quite the charismatic leader, haven't you?" Mei Fang gave Zhang Ming an approving pat on the shoulder.

"We're just a bunch of people who genuinely want to make games together," Zhang Ming shrugged modestly. "You of all people should understand how that kind of dynamic forms, right?"

Mei Fang nodded quietly in agreement.

Their conversation was repeatedly interrupted by Zhang Ming's constantly buzzing phone. At first Zhang Ming tried ignoring it, but after the fifth consecutive vibration, he finally gave in and checked the messages.

When Mei Fang caught a glimpse of the contact name, his eyebrows shot up in surprise:

"Isn't that Yuan Yuan's roommate? Yang…Yang Xiaomo, right? The one with those ridiculously long legs? Dude, you're moving up in the world! Shouldn't you be capitalizing on this golden opportunity?"

"It's not just Yang Xiaomo who blows up my phone like this…"

Zhang Ming opened his WeChat contacts to reveal an entire category labeled "Girls" containing dozens of female contacts with attractive profile pictures. Mei Fang's jaw dropped.

"Holy shit! After breaking up with Lu Xueqing, you've turned into an actual player? What the hell? I don't get it – I'm definitely better looking than you! How are you attracting all these girls?"

"Are you seriously this dense?" Zhang Ming gave Mei Fang an exasperated look. "It's entirely because of my status as your only close male friend! Don't you realize these girls have all figured out that directly targeting you is pointless with those two goddesses guarding you?"

He dramatically gestured at Mei Fang. "So now the standard playbook for any girl hoping to become 'Mrs. Station Master' is to get close to me first as a stepping stone! I'm basically your human shield at this point!"

Seeing Zhang Ming's aggrieved expression, Mei Fang quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry sorry! But you know I don't need any backup options – my metaphorical fish tank is only big enough for two mermaid princesses. You should really release all those other fish back into the ocean, don't you think?"

"You want me to just delete all of them?"

"Unless…you've actually developed real feelings for one of them? But let me warn you – these girls are all professional gold diggers. Listen to your old buddy Ah Fang – you're too naive and trusting. You ever read 'I Really Didn't Want to Rebirth'? There's this character Wang Zibo who's exactly like you – a total simp who keeps getting played by toxic women."

"I'm nothing like that! And don't you dare mention Lu-"

Zhang Ming visibly bristled at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. Mei Fang, despite being Zhang Ming's boss at Yuanxi Entertainment, knew better than to press further on such a sensitive topic.

"Alright alright, I believe in you! Just don't go breaking your own heart again, okay? I'm only teasing you because I care."

"You call this teasing? This is straight-up character assassination!" Zhang Ming sighed heavily. "Though I will admit Yang Xiaomo is…different from the others."

"How so? Now you've got me curious."

"She's actually a music composition major, so when she kept trying to get close to me, I figured why not ask if she wanted to collaborate on game development?"

"And she agreed?"

Zhang Ming nodded. "She's officially part of the team now…seems genuinely interested in game design too."

"That's perfect! She's got the same musical background as Yuan Yuan. Might actually help you finish the game faster."

After finishing his discussion with Zhang Ming, Mei Fang headed to his next class. When it ended, he went to meet up with Lin Youxi at their predetermined location.

He spotted her from afar – she was leaning against a tree, scrolling through her phone. When she noticed Mei Fang approaching, her usual cool expression melted into a warm smile. She waved him over, but as Mei Fang jogged the short distance, he found himself embarrassingly out of breath.

Lin Youxi pulled out a handkerchief and began dabbing the sweat from his forehead. "Look at you, getting winded from such a short jog. And here I thought only carrying Yuan Yuan to bed wore you out this much…are you feeling under the weather today?"

"It's…just from last night's…extracurricular activities…" Mei Fang panted.

As he caught his breath, he noticed the laces on Lin Youxi's stylish leather boots had come undone. "Hey, your shoelaces are untied."

"I know, husband~" Lin Youxi lifted her foot and extended it toward Mei Fang. "Would you mind tying them for me?"

Lin Youxi had never been good at tying shoes as a child. While she'd eventually learned the skill as an adult, this little ritual had become one of their shared nostalgic habits. Without hesitation, Mei Fang knelt down and began tying the laces.

"You…honestly…sometimes I think people are wrong about Yuan Yuan being the spoiled one between you two. Between your dad and stepmom pampering you at home, and now me indulging you like this…Miss Lin Youxi, you've become quite the spoiled young lady yourself, haven't you?"

"Whether they spoil me or not doesn't matter," Lin Youxi said softly as she watched Mei Fang's deft fingers work. "As long as you're the one loving me, that's enough."

Suddenly, while Mei Fang was still kneeling, Lin Youxi stepped forward and swung one leg over his shoulders, plopping herself down in an impromptu piggyback ride.

"Giddyup, Ah Fang horsey! Onward!"

This uncharacteristically playful display from the normally composed and dignified Lin Youxi drew startled looks from passing students. Mei Fang's ears burned with embarrassment.

"Hey now, what's gotten into you today? Since when does the great Lin Youxi act so mischievously in public? Aren't you worried about damaging our reputations?"

"What's there to worry about?" Lin Youxi wrapped her arms around Mei Fang's head, completely unfazed. "Childhood sweethearts turned former lovers can interact however they want. It's nobody else's business~ Heehee!"

Her carefree laughter was interrupted when she spotted Xia Yuan approaching in the distance. She waved enthusiastically, causing Mei Fang to wobble under her shifting weight.

Xia Yuan arrived slightly out of breath, hands on her knees as she recovered. "What…are you two…thinking? Putting on this kind of display…right in the middle of campus! Do you want to…trend on CStation again?"

"Would that be so bad?" Lin Youxi countered, still perched on Mei Fang's shoulders. "There've been so many rumors lately about our relationship falling apart. Wouldn't some viral photos of us being affectionate put all that nonsense to rest?"

"Now that you mention it…I guess you're right…" Xia Yuan's expression softened. Then she sidled up to Mei Fang and whispered in his ear: "But Ah Fang…if you're going to be fair about this…tonight I want…"

She bit her lip shyly before continuing: "I want my turn riding the Ah Fang horse too."

"You only care about me being fair when it benefits you, don't you?" Mei Fang groaned in mock exasperation.

The trio eventually made their way to the basketball arena where Xiang Bingbing's exhibition match was being held. Despite being a student at the university, Mei Fang's status as CEO of Yuanxi Entertainment meant he received treatment far beyond that of an ordinary attendee.

The event staff had gone completely overboard – not only had they prepared special courtside VIP seating, but someone had even hung an enormous banner that read:

[Warm Welcome to the Esteemed Leadership of Yuanxi Entertainment Group for Their Valuable Guidance and Inspection]

It was the exact type of cringe-inducing, overly formal greeting typically reserved for visiting government officials – the kind of middle-aged bureaucrats who showed up just to collect appearance fees and free banquet meals!

Mei Fang could only laugh awkwardly at the absurd display.

The match itself featured Pengcheng University's nationally ranked women's basketball team against their rivals from Zhongshan University. When Xiang Bingbing emerged from the locker room in her team uniform, her towering 1.9m frame immediately drew everyone's attention.

Spotting Mei Fang in the VIP section, she broke into an enormous grin and waved excitedly like an overjoyed child.

Ah Fang actually took time out of his busy schedule to watch my game! I'm going to dedicate this victory to him!

Filled with renewed determination, Xiang Bingbing took to the court with unmatched energy. Her incredible height advantage – most female basketball players averaged around 1.7m – combined with her surprising agility made her the undisputed star of the match.

Perhaps it was her musical training that enhanced her coordination, but Xiang Bingbing moved with exceptional grace for someone her size. Her powerful slam dunks and devastating blocks quickly became the highlight of the game, earning her team a decisive victory.

[Author's Note: Friendly recommendation – check out "Entering the Unscientific" by bestselling author Newbie Angler! This former child prodigy from USTC's Special Class for the Gifted Young turned sci-fi writer/tea entrepreneur brings unparalleled authenticity to his stories!]