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

"Ah-Fang… slow down a bit, don't be so hurried—I can't take it, hey!"

"I'm already going very slow, okay?… If you keep dragging me like this without moving forward, how are we supposed to complete the mission?"

"But… I'm really scared."

Xia Yuan buried her face in Mei Fang's chest, not daring to look up. "I had no idea this escape room was actually such a terrifying immersive experience… I really shouldn't have come if I'd known."

Mei Fang and Xia Yuan were currently exploring the office on the first floor. The spacious office was almost pitch-black, with only a few desk lamps flickering intermittently. Their task was to locate the workstation of Liu Xiaoman, an employee who had died suddenly, based on the clues provided.

"These intersecting points of light mark Liu Xiaoman's workstation, but beware of the lingering female ghost…"

"R-really… will a female ghost actually appear?" Xia Yuan's voice trembled pitifully.

"Probably a real-life NPC… I guess."

"Ah-Fang, it's your first time playing this, yet you're so skilled at it."

"Of course not… But I didn't see you this scared when we watched horror movies before. Why are you so immersed here?"

"Watching horror movies is different—it's on TV, the experience isn't the same. Here, there are actual ghosts that jump out at you… I really… really can't handle it."

Xia Yuan clung tightly to Mei Fang. "Good thing I came with you."

"Then this isn't really an 'ice-breaking' activity anymore. You're just enjoying the escape room."

"Do I look like I'm enjoying this right now?!"

Xia Yuan's slightly raised voice triggered some eerie noises in the office, startling her so much that she instinctively employed her "baby climbing a tree" technique—wrapping her arms around Mei Fang's neck, leaping up, and clamping her legs around him as she rode piggyback. Mei Fang had no choice but to support her by holding her round buttocks.

"W-what the—how am I supposed to solve puzzles like this?!" Mei Fang scolded while squeezing YuanYuan, but she refused to let go no matter what.

"I don't care, I don't care… I just want to stay like this…"

Xia Yuan nuzzled against Mei Fang's shoulder. "My little one, Mommy fed you bite by bite to raise you this big. It's time to be a man and protect Mommy!"

"Why are you playing mommy-roleplay now?! Save it for later."

With Xia Yuan clinging to him like a human accessory, Mei Fang's movements became much more strenuous. But secretly, he was enjoying it—holding YuanYuan with one arm while carefully reading the puzzle clues with the other.

Truthfully, Mei Fang wasn't actually that brave. He was also afraid of ghosts. But he enjoyed horror-themed experiences because there was always someone even more terrified than him by his side. This feeling of being needed gave him courage and dispelled his own fear.

Soon enough, Mei Fang found the key item needed to solve the puzzle—the document password.

"Alright, alright, I found the password. We've cleared this part of the mission."

"Th-then there's nothing else we need to do here, right…?"

Mei Fang gradually set down the trembling Xia Yuan. Just as she patted her butt and prepared to examine the puzzle materials, a white-robed female ghost suddenly emerged from behind Mei Fang—right in Xia Yuan's line of sight.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!"

Xia Yuan's bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the office as she dragged Mei Fang along in a frantic escape. The female ghost followed closely behind, wailing and making creaking noises as she chased them.

In the end, Xia Yuan's clumsy maneuvering left her cornered by the ghost. With no way out, she trembled in terror and buried herself in Mei Fang's embrace.

As the ghost drew nearer, Mei Fang—his expression eerily calm—suddenly recalled a trend he'd seen on Douyin [TikTok's Chinese counterpart]. Deciding to reverse the usual script, he leaned in and kissed Xia Yuan deeply right in front of the ghost.

"Mmph… mmph—mmph—!"

Xia Yuan had been in a state of extreme tension, but as she felt her lover's warmth, she gradually relaxed and began swaying gently in his arms. The ghost, who had been fully immersed in her role, was utterly defeated by this sudden display of affection.

"Ugh, are you freaking kidding me?!"

Wait—that voice sounded familiar—

Mei Fang and Xia Yuan abruptly stopped kissing and turned to look at the petite ghost. When she removed her wig, they realized it was none other than their old friend Yue Xinyi.

"Wha—Xiao Yi?! What are you doing here?! You were the ghost?! You scared me to death!"

"Didn't you invite me? When I heard this place was opened by an employee's family from Yuanxi Interactive, I came to check it out. Thought I'd try my hand at being an NPC—who knew you two would pull this stunt?"

Yue Xinyi fiddled with her hair. "Though chasing people earlier was pretty fun."

"You had fun, but Ah-Fang and I were terrified!"

"At least I got to vent all my resentment—hahaha, sniping the boss was so satisfying."

Yue Xinyi suddenly turned serious. "See this, Mei-dog? Stop making everyone work overtime. Otherwise, what happened today might happen for real tomorrow. Got it?"

"So this was a workplace ethics lecture disguised as horror…"

Mei Fang scratched his head, laughing. "Got it, got it. We don't enforce overtime—everyone does it voluntarily."

"They'd better be voluntary. Hmph!"

Yue Xinyi shot Mei Fang a glare. "And you really didn't bring Youxi out to play today? How does your conscience handle that? Leaving her alone at home."

"Don't say we didn't bring Youxi! I've been busy with band stuff lately, but Youxi and Ah-Fang have been having loads of fun together—"

Mei Fang quickly covered Xia Yuan's mouth. "Okay, okay, let's not discuss this in semi-public. Let's just continue the mission."

"The next task has to wait until Bingbing's group and Xiao Xue-Xiao Yu's group finish theirs."

"Do they also have ghosts like you scaring them?"

"Depending on the storyline, maybe. But Bingbing's group won't have any more NPCs."

"Why?"

"An NPC was waiting at a corner to scare Bingbing earlier, but she nearly knocked them out with a reflexive punch. They collapsed on the spot."

"But that's just Bingbing!"

Mei Fang, who had been sent flying by Xiang Bingbing during a high school sports meet, understood this all too well.

"What about Xiao Xue and Xiao Yu's group?"

"Probably still solving puzzles. Their mission is long… Wanna go scare them?"

"Now? No time for makeup."

Yue Xinyi explained, "Just throw on a mask or something. I'll take you through the NPC passage."

"Let's do it! Come on!"

Xia Yuan, who had been nearly scared to tears earlier, suddenly perked up at the idea of scaring Xiao Xue and Xiao Yu. She dragged Mei Fang backstage for a quick costume change—Xia Yuan wore long, ghostly hair, while Mei Fang donned a blood-stained killer's mask. They then hid inside a closet in the storage room.

This room was a mandatory path for Peng Xue and Liu Xiaoyu, who needed to find the password to the female ghost's locked diary here.

Huff…

The storage room's closet was cramped, forcing Mei Fang and Xia Yuan to press tightly against each other.

Xia Yuan turned her head to look at Mei Fang's outfit and suddenly burst into silent giggles, earning a light knock on the head from him. "Is my outfit that ridiculous? You're not even scared of me, despite being so terrified of ghosts."

"Hahaha… Not ridiculous, just… the moment I remember it's you under the mask, I stop being afraid at all."

This girl, who was usually so easily frightened—

Seeing Xia Yuan's long-haired ghostly appearance, Mei Fang found it inexplicably adorable.

Huff…

The subtly charged atmosphere in the closet stirred Mei Fang's excitement.

So cute—I wanna—

Just as Mei Fang's thoughts began to wander and he leaned in for a kiss, Xia Yuan suddenly perked up. "Ah-Fang, Ah-Fang, remember when we used to play hide-and-seek together?"

"Yeah, back in second or third grade, right? You and Youxi always hid in the closet together, and I'd pretend to take forever to find you."

"You were faking it?! You jerk, Ah-Fang—deceiving me like that… I'll teach you a lesson!"

Xia Yuan grumbled and started "punishing" Mei Fang in the closet. But mid-scuffle, the storage room door suddenly creaked open. Mei Fang and Xia Yuan immediately covered each other's mouths and peered through the closet's gaps.

"…"

Peng Xue and Liu Xiaoyu entered the room one after another, quickly shutting the door behind them and leaning against it to catch their breath.

"Huff…"

"That was… kinda scary, right?"

Liu Xiaoyu's face was flushed as she glanced at the equally breathless Peng Xue.

"Not really. Just a little unexpected."

Peng Xue pretended to be calm as she flipped her hair, putting on a tough front.

"You were totally scared! You grabbed me and ran the moment you saw the ghost."

"I was worried about you! You look so fragile—I was afraid you'd freeze in fear."

"I just look weak. Didn't I solve all the earlier puzzles?"

"True… I guess doing homework in advance pays off."

Peng Xue reluctantly acknowledged Liu Xiaoyu's efforts before sighing.

"My carefree personality is really annoying. If not for you, we'd probably still be stuck on the earlier puzzles."

"What's wrong with being carefree? You don't have to stress over every little thing."

Liu Xiaoyu sighed. "I'm always worrying about others, fretting over every possible mistake. While everyone else is sleeping soundly, I'm the only one double-checking everything… I don't even know why I care so much."

"Your meticulousness makes you the perfect corporate drone. Mei-dog can exploit you guilt-free—hahaha!"

"Yeah…"

Liu Xiaoyu sighed again. "Even though work is busy, the help and pay he gives are really generous. Without this opportunity, I'd never have come this far."

"…"

Seeing Liu Xiaoyu's melancholy expression, Peng Xue couldn't help but sigh too.

"Liu Xiaoyu, do you know why I don't like you?"

Liu Xiaoyu shook her head. "I can't force everyone to like me."

"Ugh, don't argue. Just listen, okay?"

"Actually, I can guess…"

Liu Xiaoyu murmured, "You think I'm a green tea bitch who's been lurking around Mei-dog, secretly in love with him, waiting for the right moment to confess and steal him away."

"Whoa—you—you said everything I was gonna say! So you're fully aware?!"

"Girls have been gossiping about me like this since high school, and even in college—just because I don't date and always stick around Mei Fang and Xia Yuan."

This was the first time Mei Fang and Xia Yuan had heard about the rumors surrounding Liu Xiaoyu. They exchanged glances, stunned.

Peng Xue was equally shocked. "I had no idea… Did you never tell anyone?"

"What's there to say? Swear to YuanYuan that I definitely don't like Mei Fang? I think the status quo is fine—no need to make things awkward."

"Yeah…"

Peng Xue covered her face. "Compared to you, I'm such a selfish, hateful person…"

She then confessed her own past to Liu Xiaoyu. "When I ran away from home back then, I actually confessed to Mei Fang."

"C-confessed?!"

Few people knew about Peng Xue's confession, as everyone assumed her close friendship with Xia Yuan meant she'd never make a move.

"I once told you that 'only by speaking your feelings can you truly let go.' But in reality, it's nothing like that. After confessing, I became even more fixated on him."

"I thought I could move on and cherish my friendship with YuanYuan, but every time I see him, those feelings… just won't fade. Do you get it? I could never tell YuanYuan about this…"

"…"

Peng Xue's voice grew pained.

"Now, every interaction with him is awkward. It's worse than before I confessed—at least back then, I was happy… So you have no idea how much I envy you… how jealous I am. I've become twisted."

"I can't stand anyone getting close to him besides YuanYuan and Youxi. Call it jealousy if you want—I'm just a terrible person. Tolerating Lin Youxi is hard enough. Seeing you so close to him, I just—"

The more Peng Xue spoke, the more upset she became. Seeing Xia Yuan and Mei Fang's affectionate interactions earlier had only deepened her pain.

It was impossible to say whether her anguish was for YuanYuan's sake or her own.

"You don't even dare to envy YuanYuan or Youxi, yet you envy me?…"

Instead of getting angry, Liu Xiaoyu chuckled. "If anyone should be jealous, it's me."

"Jealous of me? What for?"

"At least you got your feelings across to him."

"Whether he responds or not, having the courage to confess is something I admire."

Liu Xiaoyu whispered, "And Mei-dog did respond to you, right? That song,The Strange Power of Love—he wrote it for you?"

"Yeah… I shamelessly begged for it."

"If he wrote a song for me, I think I'd be happy for a long, long time."

Liu Xiaoyu covered her face, imagining the scenario. "Really—maybe even a lifetime."

"So… you do like Mei-dog?"

"After all this, who wouldn't like Mei-dog? Even someone as dense as Bingbing has a crush on him, let alone me—"

Liu Xiaoyu bit her lip as tears spilled out. "But some things don't need to be said. It'd only burden him. Being friends is enough… really… In a few years, we won't even have chances to interact anymore…"

Liu Xiaoyu had never shared her feelings before, but with Peng Xue—a kindred spirit—she finally opened up. Peng Xue, who had grown emotionally numb over the years, was deeply moved by Liu Xiaoyu's raw honesty and apologized softly for her past hostility.

The two girls poured out their unrequited love in the empty storage room, their words crystal clear to Mei Fang and Xia Yuan in the closet. Mei Fang even saw Xia Yuan wiping away tears, empathizing with their pain.

What's she thinking right now?

Is she imagining how she'd be just like Peng Xue and Liu Xiaoyu—confessing her love in a dark corner—if Mei Fang hadn't chosen her over Youxi?

Sensing YuanYuan's sorrow and worried she might make noise, Mei Fang gently pulled aside her hair, lowered his mask slightly, and kissed her.

Kisses were the most effective way to soothe emotions. Under Mei Fang's comfort, Xia Yuan gradually calmed down, but her sniffles still alerted Peng Xue and Liu Xiaoyu.

"Wait—is there an NPC hiding in here?! Did they hear everything we just—"

Liu Xiaoyu wordlessly picked up a nearby folding stool, her entire aura radiating yandere danger:

"If that's the case… this NPC can't be allowed to leave alive—"

Gulp…

Xia Yuan and Mei Fang immediately covered each other's mouths and adjusted their disguises. Thankfully, they were in NPC costumes—otherwise, emerging now would be beyond awkward.

Liu Xiaoyu and Peng Xue crept toward the closet step by step, their approach making Mei Fang and Xia Yuan's hearts pound.

One step. Two steps. Small shuffles. Closer… then a pause.

Liu Xiaoyu and Peng Xue exchanged glances. Just as they reached for the closet door, the storage room entrance creaked open—revealing the white-robed ghost of the "sudden death" employee, grinning grotesquely.

"Fouuuund yooou~!"

This time, it was a professional NPC replacing Yue Xinyi. Her horrifying appearance made Liu Xiaoyu and Peng Xue shriek and cling to each other before bolting out hand-in-hand.

Heck yeah—maximum immersion achieved!

The ghost patted her chest proudly. Another successful night of scaring the life out of people!

But as she turned to leave, the closet suddenly burst open with aBANG!The ghost spun around in terror—only to see a knockoff Jason (killer) and a bootleg female ghost tumbling out, their tangled limbs resembling some multi-armed monstrosity in the dim light.

"WAAAHHHHHHH—!!!"

The NPC ghost shrieked and fled into the darkness.

……

"Exhausting…"

Xia Yuan and Mei Fang slumped against the closet, panting heavily as they processed Peng Xue and Liu Xiaoyu's words.

"YuanYuan, why were you crying earlier?" Mei Fang asked. "Was it because you imagined losing me too?"

"I was scared of losing to Youxi… but more than that," Xia Yuan mumbled, "I knew Xue had been suffering, but I never realized Yu was in so much pain too… Ah-Fang, how could you break so many girls' hearts?!"

"I—I didn't mean to…"

Mei Fang patted Xia Yuan's head. "But my heart only has room for you and Youxi. Even if you forced me to pretend otherwise, I couldn't."

"I'm not saying you should give yourself to them… I can only share you with Youxi. Any more would be letting you off too easy."

Xia Yuan punched Mei Fang lightly before snuggling into his arms.

"Ah-Fang… do you think there's another world where they could all find their own happiness?"

"They can find it in this lifetime too."

"This lifetime… would be really hard."

"Is it hard for them to move on?"

"As long as they're still around you, I don't think they can."

Hearing this, Mei Fang prioritized her feelings. "Then I'll try to keep my distance—"

"Don't avoid them too obviously. Just stay as you are, Ah-Fang."

Xia Yuan sat on Mei Fang's lap and gently [text cuts off]

"Though I can't share my Ah-Fang with them, I think being good friends is fine."

"You trust me that much?"

"I don't just trust you—I trust them too."

"Because they're my friends."

"They've earned my trust—true friends who'd never betray me."

"Otherwise why would I let them be around you?"

"I see…that's how you see it."

Though Xia Yuan seemed naive at first glance, she radiated an extraordinary warmth that naturally made her the center of attention and the group's darling—like a little angel.

People loved her because she first extended kindness to them.

Thus, no one wanted to betray her trust.

This innate leadership quality was something even Mei Fang and Lin Youxi lacked—a truly remarkable charisma.

Seeing the warmth in Xia Yuan's bright eyes, Mei Fang felt newly resolved.

"Our band will go far—I'll help make it happen."

"Mhm! I believe so too. But first…could you write a song for Xiaoyu? She'd love that."

"Huh?"

"If we're treating them as friends, you should be fair—don't let Xue feel singled out."

"If we're being that fair, wouldn't I have to—write one for each of them?"

Mei Fang felt a headache coming on.

"No need, no need! What I meant was…since we're already planning to have Xiaoyu as our band's lead vocalist—she's been helping me write and arrange songs all this time—sheneedsher own signature track. That's how more people will remember her."

"Wait…Liu Xiaoyu? Not you? Having thekeyboardistdouble as lead singer?"