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

Today was the day Lin Youxi compensated for her last episode by hosting Yue Xinyi and Liu Xiaoyu.

Mei Fang woke up early to find his lover already gone from beside him, though his blanket—unlike usual—hadn't been completely stolen by Lin Youxi but remained properly covering him.

Mei Fang opened the bedroom door and stepped out, immediately hearing busy kitchen noises. On the dining table sat a plate of stir-fried noodles with eggs, while Lin Youxi, wearing insulated gloves, was carrying over a large bowl of mung bean soup.

"Ah… I was just wondering when you'd wake up and whether I should rouse you. You're up so fast."

"You too… why are you up so early today?"

"Didn't want to start lunch prep too late… See? I even made you breakfast. Wash up and eat…"

As Lin Youxi set down the mung bean soup, Mei Fang suddenly hugged her from behind, nuzzling affectionately. Lin Youxi leaned into his embrace and exchanged a quick kiss.

"Alright, today's morning kiss is officially complete. You really do love living with such ceremony…"

Lin Youxi cupped Mei Fang's face, her smile radiant with joy. "Is this what first-love boys are like? So pure, so adorable! This big sister absolutely adores it!"

"Who told someone to love me so desperately? As the favored one, I get to play with you however I want."

Lin Youxi pinched Mei Fang's cheeks. "You're just my love slave, that's all."

Mei Fang pinched her back. "Never heard of a master making breakfast for their slave…"

"Gotta reward you occasionally to keep you satisfied—standard PUA tactics."

Lin Youxi patted Mei Fang's head, then impulsively pulled him into another kiss, this one so intense it left him breathless.

"Mmph… okay… I haven't brushed my teeth yet. Going to wash up."

Lin Youxi wiped a trace of saliva from her lips, watching Mei Fang's hurried escape with a giggle.

After breakfast, Mei Fang washed the dishes while Lin Youxi planned the day's menu.

"Braised pork, garlic shrimp, pine nut corn, crown daisy greens, and egg drop soup. Think this is enough for four?"

"Home-style dishes are perfect. More than enough."

"Let's add some chicken drumsticks… I'll buy them at the supermarket later. Oh, and duck necks—us Chubei [Hubei Province] folks love those."

"I'll go to the supermarket. It's hot today—you stay and prep ingredients."

"Let's go together! I don't trust your ingredient-picking skills. Choosing pork belly is an art—last time you bought some awful cuts, remember?"

"Putting that aside… Youxi, you're seriously impressive. Just months ago, you were a pampered young lady who couldn't even boil water, and now you're a pro at everything."

"Heh, I'm the omni-talented academic goddess Lin Youxi! Cooking? Child's play!"

Lin Youxi struck a proud pose. Mei Fang hung the apron on the kitchen door after drying his hands, then naturally linked arms with her as they headed out grocery shopping.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiaoyu was carefully dressing for the visit. She chose a mustard-yellow off-shoulder dress paired with a wide-brimmed hat and accessories, exuding a youthful, girl-next-door charm.

The full-length mirror reflected her vibrant outfit, reminiscent of a fresh-faced college girl.

Is this too try-hard for just visiting their place…?

It's not like we're going somewhere fancy—maybe I shouldn't dress so—

Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell.

"Coming!"

Liu Xiaoyu checked the intercom to see Yue Xinyi, then buzzed her up.

"Damn… this luxury apartment rivals your family's Bai Mei County villa. Why even work in Pengcheng [Shenzhen] when you're living like—"

Yue Xinyi's rant halted when she spotted the novelYesterday's Love Songon the coffee table. She sighed. "Right, you're here to enjoy life. This book just hit 500k sales, didn't it?"

"Yeah… officially crossed it yesterday…" Liu Xiaoyu scratched her head. "Anyway, let's head to Mei Fang's place."

"Hold up—we need to talk about this outfit first—"

"Does it… look weird? For visiting someone's home?"

Liu Xiaoyu nervously adjusted her dress. Yue Xinyi suddenly pounced from behind, giving her a sharp pinch.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Someone'sthrilledabout seeing an old classmate, huh?"

"Of course I'm happy! But this is just normal attire—I dress up for any visit."

"Please. Everyone knew how close you and Mei Fang were—chatting in class, after class, even walking home together. People thought you two were dating."

"Don't exaggerate! That was ten years ago… We haven't spoken in a decade."

"Then tell me—whohaveyou dated these ten years? Your little brother's about to marry his pregnant girlfriend, and your parents are frantic to drag you back to Chubei for arranged matchmaking."

"If I haven't met the right person, why force it?"

Liu Xiaoyu said gently, "I'd rather wait than settle. You're single too, aren't you?"

"I refuse to be tied down. Single life's bliss—unless a relationship makes me happier, I'm staying solo."

Yue Xinyi eyed Liu Xiaoyu. "But reuniting with him now feels like fate. No urge to… try again?"

"Trywhat?"

Liu Xiaoyu touched her nose sheepishly. "He's already with Youxi."

"Wait—weren't they just friends?"

"They got together recently. Youxi told me herself."

"What—you two chat privately? Since when?"

"We've talked quite a bit—"

On the way, Liu Xiaoyu shared details about Lin Youxi's condition.

"Bipolar disorder… If it's manageable, fine. But from how you describe it, their relationship might not last—"

"Don't say that! They're perfect together."

Liu Xiaoyu's gaze softened. "You should've seen how Mei Fang handled Youxi's episode—"

"Iknow! He risked his life climbing the balcony to hug her mid-breakdown. You've told me three times now."

"Have I?"

"Third time. Want proof? Chat logs: first when it happened, second during dinner, now today—"

"Okay, so I repeated it—"

"Just admit you're smitten!"

"N-no! I just think their love story is beautiful. Like a drama."

"Every part of you is soft except that mouth."

"Ugh… Xinyi, you're impossible!"

Laughing and bickering, Liu Xiaoyu and Yue Xinyi arrived at Mei Fang's apartment.

As they knocked, Lin Youxi's voice rang from the kitchen: "Coming!" She lightly kicked Mei Fang, who was arranging plates. "Go answer the door."

"You're not going yourself—"

Mei Fang said as he scratched his head, opening the door for Liu Xiaoyu and Yue Xinyi, and then greeted them with a smile.

"Coming, coming… welcome, welcome!"

"Sorry to bother you! This is a small gift we brought for the visit."

Liu Xiaoyu said as she handed a small lucky pouch to Mei Fang. Mei Fang was a bit confused.

"Ah… you don't need to bring something when you're just visiting…"

Mei Fang said a few polite words and then took the gift from Liu Xiaoyu's hand. "Can I open it to see?"

"Mm, you can… it's a little ornament from the company."

After opening it, Mei Fang saw that the gift was a big, soft, pink peach. When he held the peach in his hand, it felt very soft.

"Oh, this… is it a stress-relief toy?"

Liu Xiaoyu nodded, and Yue Xinyi chimed in, "She works at 'Game Peach' company, so a stress-relief peach is a reasonable gift, haha!"

"That's true…"

At that moment, Lin Youxi happened to poke her head out of the kitchen. "Ah Fang, why are you making them stand at the door, let them in to sit, you idiot."

"Got it, got it…"

"Should we change shoes? Or use shoe covers—"

"No need, our place isn't that formal, just come in."

Mei Fang invited Liu Xiaoyu and Yue Xinyi inside. Yue Xinyi curiously looked toward the kitchen and then asked Mei Fang, "Is Youxi the chef today?"

"Yeah, yeah, look forward to her cooking."

Mei Fang smiled as he said this, his expression brimming with happiness.

It was just like a boy in the midst of a passionate romance.

Indeed… he was completely in the middle of it.

At least, from anyone's perspective except Lin Youxi's, that's how it looked.

Lin Youxi had prepared a hearty home-cooked meal, and Mei Fang set the table, inviting his old classmates to sit.

"Wow… these look delicious, and they smell even better. Mei Fang, you're really lucky, having such a thoughtful girlfriend!"

Yue Xinyi was always easygoing and familiar, and though she hadn't talked much with Lin Youxi or Mei Fang, she immediately bonded with them as soon as they met. On the other hand, Liu Xiaoyu seemed a bit out of place, quietly eating by herself.

Seeing this, Lin Youxi took the initiative to talk to Liu Xiaoyu, offering her some small chicken drumsticks and encouraging her to eat more, while also loading up Mei Fang's bowl with vegetables, making his bowl green with veggies.

"You should eat more vegetables, you haven't been exercising much lately, you need to replenish your vitamins."

"I know, I know…"

"Don't sound so reluctant, do you want me to feed you to get more enthusiastic?"

"Hey! How could it be—"

Although Lin Youxi's enthusiasm at the dinner table made Mei Fang feel a bit strange, he was happy to see her do this.

She was willing to show their close relationship in front of others.

She wasn't trying to push him towards Liu Xiaoyu.

This meant that this time, she really wanted to be with him.

However, if Lin Youxi and Mei Fang hadn't confirmed their relationship, Mei Fang probably wouldn't have invited them over to his house for dinner…

After everyone had eaten their fill, Mei Fang went to wash the dishes, while Lin Youxi brought out the after-dinner fruit and shared it with Liu Xiaoyu and Yue Xinyi.

During this time, Lin Youxi became very interested in Liu Xiaoyu's outfit:

"Xiaoyu, this dress is so nice, it's so cute! Where did you buy it? Can you send me the link?"

"Sure… I'll send you the link on WeChat."

Liu Xiaoyu said as she took out her phone to find the link, and Lin Youxi kept her gaze fixed on Liu Xiaoyu.

When Liu Xiaoyu met Lin Youxi's eyes, she felt a little awkward. "W-what's wrong?"

"Nothing, just think you look really great. I can tell you really put effort into today's outfit. I totally don't know these things… No one ever taught me. I never cared about them before, I always just went by my own feeling. Maybe you can teach me about outfits sometime? I want to look better in front of Ah Fang."

"Of course, I can! But even without makeup, you have great vibes… You were like this in high school too."

"Yeah, yeah, the 'study goddess' Lin Youxi title isn't just for show!"

Yue Xinyi happily said as she ate watermelon, "I really wanted to be friends with you back then, but you were just too cold, I couldn't get close."

"Cold? What cold? Haha… After I started being alone since fourth grade, no one wanted to get close to me, so I probably seemed cold to others, right…"

"After fourth grade? What happened in fourth grade?"

"It's about… it's about Yuan Yuan, right?"

Liu Xiaoyu stopped Yue Xinyi from continuing, "I can tell from the games that you really miss her."

"Yeah, that's why I want to do 'White Plum Time' with Ah Fang."

Lin Youxi narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly at Liu Xiaoyu, "About the last time, I really want to thank you and Xinyi for not minding that I'm a bit crazy and still coming to my house."

"Hey, what crazy talk? Sometimes I get in a bad mood too, but it's nothing."

Yue Xinyi patted her chest, "So, as long as you're willing to treat us as friends, no matter what difficulty you face, you can come talk to us! By the way, if it's a financial issue, you can talk to Xiaoyu, she works just to keep busy, she's got plenty of money and can definitely invest in your project."

Liu Xiaoyu turned red and was about to stop Yue Xinyi from speaking, but Lin Youxi was already excited.

"Wow… really? Xiaoyu, you really can invest, right?"

"Um… well… if there's a difficulty, I can help…"

"Haha… don't worry, no one's going to borrow money from you just yet."

"It's not about money… if you guys need money, I can lend it to you."

"Huh? You're so good to us!"

Lin Youxi patted Liu Xiaoyu's shoulder and smiled, "Then I'm starting to doubt if you and Ah Fang are really just old classmates, haha!"

"Just, just old classmates!"

Liu Xiaoyu seriously and earnestly defended herself, "It has been a long time since we last met, and meeting like this is really rare; also, your 'White Plum Time' is really a wonderful project, I really hope it can be officially launched one day. I really… really look forward to it."

"You really look forward to it?"

"Really, super, extremely looking forward to it."

Liu Xiaoyu nodded, her eyes full of determination as she met Lin Youxi's gaze.

"Then… in that case, can I invite you to join the project team?"

"Eh?"

"Actually… I've read your book."

Lin Youxi pulled out a book titledYesterday's Love Songfrom under the coffee table. This was Liu Xiaoyu's novel.

"To be honest, after reading your book, I really liked it. It gave me a sense of déjà vu, like meeting an old friend. Ah Fang and I both really hope you can join our project team, focusing on the script and story. Can you?"

"Y-You want me to join 'White Plum Time'?"