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

【I still marvel at the vastness of the world】

【And am also intoxicated by the sweet words of childhood】

【No longer distinguishing truth from lies, not struggling with meaningless jokes】

【In the end, I returned my youth to her】

【Along with the scorching summer that played out at my fingertips】

【Where my heart moved, I let the wind carry it away】

In 2017, in Pengcheng, whether on campus radio or in the city's streets and alleys, this song "The Wind Rises" could be heard everywhere.

This was the latest single released by the most famous campus band of Peng University, the Yixia Band, dedicated to the graduates of the senior class in the graduation season, and also to the ones about to graduate, except for Xiao Xue, but also to themselves.

In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.

As for the events of the past two years, Mei Fang had experienced so many that he no longer felt like recounting each one.

In terms of her career, with the advent of the "version number" era, Mei Fang had used the large number of version numbers he had accumulated in his early years to seize the front-row spot in the entire gaming market's new release sequence.

However, cautious Mei Fang kept a low profile about the version numbers he held, still insisting on a strategy of releasing high-quality content, securing an unshakable position in the niche markets of anime and independent games.

This was symbolized by the completion of Mei Fang's group's landmark building—the Yuanxi Twin Towers, and Yuanxi Interactive Entertainment's dominance in the anime industry gradually being acknowledged within the industry.

The Yuanxi Twin Towers were large office buildings built from two 100-meter tall skyscrapers, with a tower bridge in the middle featuring an LED screen twice as large as the one at Tencent's Seaside Window.

Without special promotional events, the LED screen would display various cute avatars and meme expressions of Yuan-chan, the mascot of C-Station, and occasionally even feature live streams.

These cute interactions had turned the Yuanxi Twin Towers into a pilgrimage site for domestic anime users.

During this intense transformation in the version number era, Mei Fang's tabtab desktop version hadn't collapsed due to the influence of commercial competitors or other factors. Instead, it officially changed its name to Fungame, becoming a small haven in the domestic independent game market, supporting and helping independent game developers' dreams.

In the platform, distribution, and self-research industry chains, Mei Fang had achieved remarkable success in these two years with his far-sighted "foresight."

And this year's most anticipated work was probably Yuanxi Interactive's self-developed AAA open-world MMO game,Yuanxi Fantasy Domain.

This work was personally led by the president of Yuanxi Interactive, Director Fang, who also invested the highest development and production costs domestically and introduced AI-generation technology, researched by C-Station's Young lady, for the first time.

Nearly ten thousand independent NPCs, generated by an artificial intelligence engine, were scattered throughout the world ofFantasy Domain. They were designed to have their own networks, daily life side stories, and relationships based on the factions' initial rulebooks, with massive settings that even the development team couldn't fully grasp. It was truly a remarkable marketing gimmick.

Of course, even though the game hadn't even started internal testing yet, and had only undergone a small-scale secret testing, people still questioned whetherYuanxi Fantasy Domaincould live up to the high expectations, especially when the world-building materials released so far only made the game more of a mystery.

However, as someone who started making games in elementary school, ran websites in middle school, composed songs and arranged music in high school, became the CEO of a corporation in college, and grew up with two childhood sweethearts—one a household name national idol, the other a leading tech expert, both of whom had only dated Mei Fang—Mei Fang seemed to have the aura of a legendary figure.

For such a person, Mei Fang's name always seemed to be synonymous with miracles.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating that this game would bring revolutionary significance to both China and the world.

However, at the same time, this legendary figure, under the public eye, was crouching in a corner of the Peng University campus, having a video call with his mother.

"Hey… Mom, what's up?"

"You're graduating today. Can't I call to congratulate you? Look at you in that bachelor's gown, you look so proper."

"Hehe, you didn't even come to attend."

"I don't like going up on stage to speak, saying those empty words like how I raised you well and how proud I am. You've never given me a reason to worry."

Mei Fang smiled at the video call where his mother, Xiang Xiaxia, was speaking, "You don't like giving speeches, so I didn't arrange that for you."

"I'd still rather not. It's too troublesome for you, you're a big boss, always so busy."

"No, no… These two months I've been really free, there's nothing scheduled."

"That's good, that's good. Your free time is hard to come by, you only come back once a year and stay for just a few days before leaving."

"It's not work, I have no choice."

Mei Fang thought for a moment, "If you want, you and Xiao Ya can move to Pengcheng. I just bought a big flat in the Great Bay Area."

"I don't like Pengcheng. It's too humid. Bai Prefecture is fine, and it's easier to return to the hometown. I still need to take care of your father; his health depends on me. He definitely won't restrain himself without me around."

"Mm, you're right…"

Xiang Xiaxia paused, then glanced behind Mei Fang, "Yuan Yuan and You Xi, are they not with you? It's your graduation, you should take some photos together with the three of you."

"They're taking photos with their respective classes. I just finished taking mine and am resting here."

Xiang Xiaxia seemed to hesitate, then looked back at Mei Fang, "How have they been getting along lately? Are they doing well?"

"They're doing well, just as good as two years ago."

Mei Fang nodded.

"Well… And you?"

"Also well."

Mei Fang frowned at her words, "Mom, why are you suddenly asking this?"

"I was thinking… you're getting older now… before, you'd say you're busy with studies and your career, but now you've graduated, your job should be stable. I feel… you should start thinking about your lifelong partner. Don't delay it."

"Your parents are like this… When we were studying, we couldn't date, and now you're starting to rush me into marriage. You parents are too unreasonable."

Mei Fang countered, leaving Xiang Xiaxia speechless. Just as she was about to ask something, Mei Fang sighed and said, "Yuan Yuan and You Xi still like each other. They'll probably stay together. As for me… I think I'll grow old alone."

"How can that be! You're the only heir of our Mei family. Everyone's waiting for you to carry on the family name."

"It's not ancient times. Are we trying to pass down our family fortune? …Ah, wait, we actually have quite a few billions in inheritance."

"Stop joking. You can't stay single forever, understand?"

"Let me think about it…" Mei Fang rested his chin on his hand, "Actually, there were quite a few people chasing me at school… But I'm a filial son, so I won't date anyone you disapprove of, Mom."

"Don't talk nonsense. You have billions in assets now. Do you really think those girls like you for you? They're just after your money."

"Are you saying your son has no charm at all…?"

"Anyway, they'll all be thinking about your wealth. Why not just date someone you already know well?"

"Mom, I've told you, Yuan Yuan and You Xi have always been together, how can I get involved?"

"Mom, are you talking to Ah Fang?"

When Mei Fang said this, Lin You Xi suddenly appeared on the video screen and waved at Xiang Xiaxia, who immediately changed her expression, showing a kind smile.

"Oh my, You Xi… That gown looks so elegant on you!"

"Thank you, Mom, for the compliment."

Lin You Xi said, then tucked her hair behind her ear, and with a playful gesture, she prepared to sit down beside Mei Fang. Mei Fang quickly grabbed a folder nearby to cushion her.

Xiang Xiaxia chatted with Lin You Xi for a while before hanging up, appearing slightly nervous.

After the video call ended, Lin You Xi linked arms with Mei Fang, curiously asking him:

"It's almost graduation, and we haven't broken up after three years. Mom must be anxious, right?"

"Isn't that right… I told her a lot of people were chasing me, and she said they were all after my money, constantly implying that I should date one of you."

"Did your aunt say whether it's one person or two?"

"She didn't say clearly… but I guess she's already in a 'Buddha mode' now, at least she didn't educate me about not having one foot in two boats or anything."

Mei Fang smiled, "I told my mom that I can't even get one foot on a boat right now."

"Yeah, you said you can't get on even one boat, but then you were crying to Mom saying you can't get between me and YuanYuan… Ah Fang has really gone bad, acting all innocent, truly a master of deception, huh—"

Lin Youxi said as she straddled Mei Fang, cupping his face and getting affectionate with him.

However, the intimate moment didn't last for more than a few minutes before it was interrupted by a loud cough from behind.

Lin Youxi let go of Mei Fang's face and turned her head, only to see Liu Xiaoyu, who was also wearing a graduation robe, standing behind Mei Fang.

"Oh, it's Xiaoyu, what's up?"

"I'm really fed up with you two. You're in such an obvious public place at university, and you can still be all lovey-dovey? Aren't you afraid someone might take a picture and post it online?"

Lin Youxi, still with her arms around Mei Fang's neck, smiled and said, "Even if we're not kissing, there'll still be tons of news about us. But we're not in the entertainment industry, we're bosses. What's the big deal?"

"But you're still public figures… Aren't you worried it might affect the company's valuation?"

"Generally, only things like partners falling out or couples divorcing affect the company's stock price. This kind of news won't have any impact."

"Fine… I really can't argue with you."

Liu Xiaoyu, now a seasoned expert in catching cheaters, had long since gotten used to seeing Mei Fang and Lin Youxi's public displays of affection at school. She turned around and waved to the other side of the woods:

"YuanYuan, they're over here!"

Walking out from the side of the woods were Xia Yuan and her bandmates, Peng Xue, and Xiang Bingbing. Also joining them were Yue Xinyi, Zhang Ming, and Peng Xue.

Though the group had gathered, Lin Youxi showed no signs of standing up, instead, she continued sitting calmly on Mei Fang.

"Damn, Mei Zong, Lin Zong, you two really have no shame! Be careful or you'll make tomorrow's headline."

Peng Xue, teasing Mei Fang and Lin Youxi, appeared very lively. Even though she still had a year left until graduation, she was already in her graduation robe. Notably, the tattoos on her wrist had been cleaned off.

"Really… handling PR crises is such a hassle!" Yue Xinyi puffed her cheeks in frustration as she scolded Mei Fang and Lin Youxi for their frivolous behavior. "You keep making our marketing department work overtime, and you're on vacation, but all you're doing is causing trouble for the company!"

Under Yue Xinyi's scolding, Lin Youxi reluctantly stood up from Mei Fang. At this point, Xia Yuan also slowly walked over to them.

"Yue Director has really become an adult now, how tough…sob sob—"

Peng Xue made a crying face, "In the past, if you saw a scene like this, wouldn't you have felt all warm inside?"

"That's because—"

"Huh?"

Just as Yue Xinyi was about to retort, she saw Xia Yuan directly climbing onto Mei Fang's lap.

"Sob sob… Ah Fang, I'm exhausted… I've been taking photos all day… so many people wanted to take pictures with me."

Xia Yuan began to act coquettishly, not caring about the onlookers, while Mei Fang gently comforted her.

"Well, it's something we can't avoid… it's the last day, just bear with it, it'll be over soon…"

Xia Yuan blew into Mei Fang's ear: "Then, tonight, can you give me a nice foot massage?"

"Massage? Of course, I'll massage!"

Mei Fang patted Xia Yuan's foot and gave it a quick rub, then picked her up, holding her in his arms. Xia Yuan wrapped her arm around Mei Fang's, and cheerfully shouted to everyone:

"Alright, since everyone's here, let's take some group photos together!"

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

So, the group started their graduation photo journey, leaving footprints at every corner of Peng Da, taking selfies, beautiful photos, and silly pictures.

They were celebrating the beauty of youth.

While Xia Yuan and her friends were busy with selfies, Mei Fang had a private conversation with Zhang Ming.

"We're graduating soon, huh."

"Yeah, why?"

Mei Fang, curious, asked Zhang Ming:

"Aren't you planning to confess to Yang Xiaomo?"

"Confess? Confess what…"

Zhang Ming shook his head, "I'm just friends with her."

"Damn, you're not waiting for her to confess to you, are you? Or are you still hung up on Lu Xueqing after all these years?"

"Of course not…" Zhang Ming shook his head. "I'm really just friends with her."

"Friends wouldn't go out for dinner, watch movies, sing songs, drink, and share their troubles alone, almost went to a hotel…"

"She originally liked you, though." Zhang Ming said, "I was just her stepping stone."

"But that doesn't change the fact that she was drawn to your personality, becoming your most important teammate, and completing so many games with you," Mei Fang smiled. "She's willing to be honest with you, which means she's already let go of the past…"

Seeing Zhang Ming fall into a thoughtful silence, Mei Fang teased:

"If you don't have feelings for her, then pretend I didn't say anything. But looking at your expression, it seems like you've caught feelings… You're not some coward who's afraid to confess because of a failed confession in the past, are you?"

"When did you start reading palms? Stop talking nonsense."

Zhang Ming, not too pleased, gave Mei Fang a light punch, then sighed and said,

"I'm not tied down by the past, I'll think it through carefully."

"Good, that's the best. You're the producer of our Xihongshi Studio, you need to be confident, you need to take charge."

Mei Fang patted Zhang Ming's shoulder, "Brother Ming is the best!"

"Stop teasing me, though…"

Zhang Ming said, glancing over at Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi, who were making heart shapes in the crowd.

"It's time for you to face the facts, haven't you prepared yourself to deal with your family yet?"

"Of course."

Mei Fang nodded, "We've been preparing for this for two whole years."

Though the goal of the three-person relationship was reached early on, Mei Fang didn't want this love to remain underground forever.

At the very least, in front of their loved ones, he wanted to openly announce his feelings.

He loved YuanYuan, and he loved Youxi.

He wanted to marry them both, build a family, have children.

Embark on a new journey in life.