Chapter 198: Uncle Zhang, Please Eat More Food |
It was quite a coincidence. When Mei Fang initially stored these mementos in the iron box, he never anticipated a day like this. These were items he kept as personal keepsakes.
In fact, many fictional stories have that plot device of burying a promise from the past, to be opened again ten years later;
And back then, Mei Fang had originally wanted to do this with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi, to create a beautiful childhood memory.
However, after surveying his hometown, he discovered that the ground in the urban area was mostly asphalt or concrete roads. Those dirt roads had no landmarks to remember and were likely to become foundations after demolition. There was simply no suitable place to bury this iron box.
So, he left the box at home, but then he got busy programming and spending intimate time with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi, completely forgetting about the mementos.
At that time, he didn’t have much confidence in being able to stay with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi until the end.
It wasn’t about whether he was good enough or not.
The childhood sweetheart he knew in reality often resembled the love-hate relationship described by Wan Chaoxiong.
In other words, despite their close relationship, there was no romantic attraction, and naturally, they wouldn’t end up together.
Other childhood sweethearts often went through many embarrassing moments, stubborn disputes, and heated arguments. These experiences inevitably created some grudges and made each other feel that, no matter how outstanding the other might appear, it wasn’t a big deal.
However, in Mei Fang’s case, aside from his bedwetting incident that made him infamous, Mei Fang’s childhood accomplishments were a complete blow to his two childhood sweethearts.
Setting aside his performance in games, academics (during elementary school), and technical abilities (related to programming), he understood the emotions of the two girls better than their own parents did from a young age. He was willing to stand by their side and consider them.
He helped them resolve various difficulties in life, often conceding in disputes and never holding grudges.
Of course, most importantly, he always appeared at crucial moments when they needed him most, helping them through tough times.
Who would want to leave a childhood sweetheart who always brought happiness and important companionship to them?
Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi put the items back into the iron box and handed it back to Mei Fang.
Xia Yuan suddenly thought, “Speaking of which, I actually have saved a lot of items from my childhood too, but I didn’t put them in a box like Ah Fang. I think we can put them together in an iron box, so we’ll have more commemorative things.”
“Isn’t it better for you to keep them yourself? Why do you want to put them in my box?” Mei Fang asked.
“Of course, it’s for the sake of commemorating together!” Xia Yuan said with a huff. “After all, most of these mementos are things between the three of us. I want to keep them together and add new things to the box every year.
“And then, many years later, we can open a theme museum that represents our childhood memories together!”
“You’re thinking too far ahead!”
Mei Fang patted Xia Yuan’s head and fell into contemplation.
“But if we plan it like that, I’ll need to prepare a bigger box…”
“Mhm!”
The current promise between Mei Fang, Xia Yuan, and Lin Youxi didn’t differ much from their childhood promise; they just removed the phrase “always be good friends.”
Since entering high school, their friendship had gradually changed through sneaking around and sleeping under the same blanket, a change that naturally comes with adolescence.
If it didn’t change during this period, it never would in the future…
Although Xia Yuan’s pinky promise didn’t explicitly mention the idea of the three of them being together forever, their wish to always be together was essentially the same.
For Mei Fang, this naturally alleviated much of the pressure he would face when dealing with the issue of the three of them being in a relationship one day.
But this was only the foundation and premise; there were still issues with their families and society that he had to find a way to solve.
If one of the three people involved completely opposed the idea of being in a relationship together, then this idea would be impossible to realize.
Choosing between his two loved ones would truly be painful for Mei Fang.
After all, he was already a reborn person, and if he were to create another heart-wrenching regret, this life would be another failure.
Fortunately, he was only in his first year of high school, so he didn’t need to worry too much about these complicated issues yet.
But there weren’t many years left for him to enjoy this carefree studying, pursuing his career, and enjoying his youthful student days.
Sigh…
On the way home after packing up their things, Xia Yuan invited Lin Youxi to have a meal at her house. However, Lin Youxi didn’t like unfamiliar gatherings, so she politely declined the invitation.
But before parting ways, she whispered many words to Xia Yuan in a low voice. When Xia Yuan returned, her face was flushed, clearly having been filled with some strange ideas by Lin Youxi.
During the lunch gathering at the Xia family’s house, Mei Fang met many teachers from their elementary school’s audio-visual class. He immediately called out several teachers’ surnames.
Seeing their former students now well-dressed and handsome, the teachers couldn’t help but begin to chat excitedly:
“Mei Fang, right… I remember! You were always together with Yuan Yuan in elementary school. So you’re still together now?”
“Excellent students always attract and encourage each other. Teacher Yu, I’m really envious that your daughter has such a good friend.”
“Oh, such a good relationship! You’ve known each other for over ten years, right? Childhood sweethearts like you must already be dating, right?”
“Teacher Zhang, you’re joking. We’re still students right now, and our focus should be on our studies… Puppy love is definitely inappropriate. Yuan Yuan and I are still just friends.”
“Good, good! You’re a really rare and sensible child. No wonder Teacher Yu values you so much. Of course, as high school students, you should not do it. However, when you graduate from high school…when you go to university, you’ll naturally have those thoughts——”
“Oh, you guys.”
Teacher Yu seemed displeased with her colleagues’ teasing. “You’re all teachers. How can you say such things to the kids?”
“They’re already in high school, and it would be self-deception to think they don’t have those thoughts. Teacher Yu, you don’t want such a great future son-in-law? Then I’ll have to get in there first! I’m going to introduce my daughter to Mei Fang.”
“Your daughter, Manman, has just started elementary school. What nonsense are you talking about?” Teacher Yu scolded. “Teacher Zhang, have some more food.”
“Ahahaha…”
The teachers burst into cheerful laughter and teasing remarks. Mei Fang also joined in, chatting with the adults without feeling uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, Xia Yuan, as the host, felt a bit embarrassed at the dinner table.
She pinched Mei Fang’s arm and reminded him.
“Don’t just keep talking, have some more food.”
“Look, Yuan Yuan, you’re not usually like this when we eat together. You’re acting like a little wife.”
“Uncle Zhang! What are you saying?! Please, eat more food.”
Xia Yuan’s blushing and pouting face made the adults burst into laughter again.
However, although everyone seemed to be chatting enthusiastically, hardly anyone was actually eating much of the food on the table.
Teacher Yu didn’t even seem aware of this, still smilingly offering food to others with her chopsticks, encouraging them to taste her cooking.