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

Side Story 1 – If Route: Fate Binds Us Together (1)

The pinyin title is “Yuan ding Fang Xi“

***

February 14, 2023, Shenzhen.

Looking out from the company’s floor-to-ceiling windows, the traffic on the street was bustling. Estimating that the commute home would be heavily congested, Mei Fang decided to continue working overtime tonight.

“Brother Fang, it’s Valentine’s Day today, you know… I won’t be working overtime tonight.”

“OK, OK, no problem. Relax and enjoy.”

“Brother Fang, me too!”

“Brother Fang, then I also——”

“Xiao Cao, you don’t even have a date. What are you celebrating today?”

The younger team members bid farewell to Mei Fang one after another. Watching them leave, Mei Fang realized he would have to eat dinner alone tonight without his usual companions.

The usually crowded restaurants were empty today. Mei Fang ate while looking at his phone and quickly finished his meal to return to work. The office was nearly empty, with only the boss, Mr. Yu, still working at his desk.

Around nine o’clock, Mr. Yu got up from his desk, fetched some water, and asked Mei Fang:

“Mei Fang, how’s the project going?”

“The progress is fairly optimistic… As long as there are no major changes, we should have a product ready for online testing next month.”

“Good, good. You’ve worked hard! If the company stabilizes and goes public, you’ll definitely get your share of the equity.”

“Thank you, Mr. Yu, for your support.”

“Today is Valentine’s Day, don’t work too late. Your partner… ah… right, even if you don’t have a girlfriend, take good care of yourself.”

“Got it, haha.”

“Let me think… How about we set a KPI for the company this year to help you find a girlfriend?”

“No need for that, haha.”

Mei Fang scratched his head and chuckled, “At my age, with my family’s situation, this is just how things are. Right now, all I can think about is making money.”

“Ah, that won’t do. You need both a family and a career to have a fulfilling life.”

The boss wanted to say more to Mei Fang, but after checking the time, he grabbed his coat and waved goodbye, “I have to go watch a performance, or my wife will scold me.”

“Hurry up, Mr. Yu.”

Mei Fang smiled as he saw his boss off, then took a deep breath and focused on the project’s progress.

Without a programmer to assist, understanding the process took a bit more time, but having worked on it for so long, he could handle many aspects himself.

However, if he had studied programming in college, would things be easier and more relaxed now? Would the project progress faster?

Mei Fang couldn’t help but sigh.

The lost days won’t come back. Learning to code now, with his current workload, would be impossible.

The project needs to go online soon.

The sooner, the better.

This way, at least I can get a bonus, and maybe my previous salary cut can be recovered…

Then, I can pay off my dad’s debts, and I’ll have money to renovate the new house I bought back home.

What next?

Mei Fang couldn’t help but sneeze. He looked out at the mottled night sky. Now, he was the only one left in the office.

Everyone really did go home early today.

Even though most of them are also single… They’re probably just using this occasion as an excuse to go home early.

But it’s understandable.

I should go home early today too.

Working overtime until 10:30, Mei Fang turned off all the company lights, locked the door, and went downstairs. On his way to get a taxi home, he saw that all the restaurants were closed, except for the nearby Lawson convenience store, which was still brightly lit.

Might as well grab some food before heading home… better than getting hungry and eating instant noodles later.

Mei Fang walked into the convenience store, ordered some oden skewers, grabbed a can of sugar-free cola, and sat down at the self-service dining area.

Next to him was a rather elegant urban office lady with long, slightly frizzy black hair. She seemed not to take much care of her appearance, wearing no makeup.

At this moment, she was resting her chin on her hand, staring out the window, with many empty beer cans on the table.

She has such pretty features, yet she’s spending Valentine’s Day alone?

And drinking so much… she must be heartbroken.

This wasn’t the first time Mei Fang had seen her. He usually spent some time at the convenience store after working overtime, and they often encountered each other.

Of course, they hadn’t interacted much before.

Mei Fang wasn’t the type to strike up conversations with women.

While eating his oden, Mei Fang refreshed today’s game-related news.

Wow, Wo Long^[1] is coming out soon.

You can fight alongside Guan Yu to defeat Yan Liang and Wen Chou. It looks really cool.

Unfortunately, with the project’s tight schedule, I’ll only be able to watch the walkthrough videos during lunch…

As he watched the video, Mei Fang couldn’t help glancing at the woman.

She had been in the same position for a long time. From this angle, he couldn’t see her expression, and the beer can in her hand had been held up in the air without moving, making him worried.

Oh no, she didn’t fall asleep, did she?

Mei Fang wanted to raise his hand to call out to her, but his hand hesitated and pulled back.

Sigh… I don’t want to be misunderstood as a pervert.

When Mei Fang used to work in the capital and took the subway, he was once complained about by a young woman for standing too close to her. She intentionally shouted very loudly, putting Mei Fang in an awkward situation. Ever since then, he subconsciously kept a certain distance from women.

I’ll finish my oden first and see. If she’s still like that when I’m done, I’ll call out to her.

Mei Fang finished his oden with his head down, with half a can of sugar-free cola left.

She was still in the same stiff position…

…

Mei Fang was genuinely worried about her condition. He cleared his throat and softly called out to her.

“Um… hello? Beautiful lady?”

The woman moved slightly at Mei Fang’s call. She rubbed her numb elbow and looked at Mei Fang with a somewhat puzzled expression.

At the same time, the ID hanging around her neck slipped down.

Seeing the name on her ID, Mei Fang paused for a moment. Just as he was about to strike up a conversation, his phone rang.

“Sorry…”

The one who sent the video call request was Mei Fang’s mother, Xiang Xiaoxia. Seeing this, Mei Fang quickly declined the video request and instead called back with a voice call. The two then began conversing in their hometown dialect.

“The signal here is bad, what’s up?”

“Just checking in on you.”

“Don’t we usually talk on weekends?”

“Are you still outside now? Have you eaten? You’re not still working overtime, are you?”

“No, I’m outside…” Mei Fang hesitated, “Having dinner with a friend!”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, so it’s probably with a girl, right?”

“Uh… you don’t need to worry about it.”

“Okay, okay. You two have a good chat, haha… Don’t work too much, take care of your health.”

“I know.”

Mei Fang hurriedly hung up the phone and then noticed the woman he had woken up was still watching him.

“Sorry… I saw you weren’t moving and thought you had fallen asleep.”

She gently shook her head. “Thanks, I’m fine.”

“Mm…”

Mei Fang glanced at her ID again but didn’t say anything more.

The young woman took a small sip of beer, shook the can thoughtfully, then turned to Mei Fang, smiling as she asked, “You’re from Baimei County, aren’t you?”

She asked this in their hometown dialect, which surprised Mei Fang. “What a coincidence… Are you also from Baimei County?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “But I haven’t been back for many years.”

“Uh… not even for the New Year?”

“No one is really there anymore. My mom died in a car accident when I was very young, and my dad passed away from illness just after I graduated from college. As for other family members, there’s nothing worth mentioning.”

“…”

Mei Fang didn’t expect her to casually share such unfortunate details with a stranger. He didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

“Well… um, I guess it doesn’t really matter to talk about this now, but people have to keep moving forward.”

“Keep moving forward, huh…”

Mei Fang smiled slightly, seeing the woman’s blank stare. “Did you go to Baimei No. 1 High School? Weren’t you the one who was always at the top of the class?

“Do you recognize me?”

“You really are Lin Youxi. We were in the same grade, I was in Class 14, on the same floor as you. By the way… I’m Mei Fang.”

Lin Youxi stared at Mei Fang for a while, then finally showed a warm smile:

“I remember your name.”

“Haha… how could you remember me? I didn’t do anything notable in high school, and my grades weren’t impressive.”

“I went to the same kindergarten as you. You wet your pants in kindergarten, borrowed someone else’s pants, and everyone called you the ‘Bedwetting King’.”

“Hey, hey… When did that happen? You remember something from decades ago so clearly! I’ve completely forgotten about it!”

Lin Youxi smiled slightly at Mei Fang and said, “Because you wet the bed at that time, the teacher had you wash yourself in a washtub or some kind of basin. Everyone was standing around watching you, so I remember it. That was the first time I saw a boy’s willy.”

“Let’s not bring up that dark history…”

“Hahaha——”

Lin Youxi laughed and rubbed her eyes.

In high school, she was an unapproachable top student. After starting work, her goddess-like aura had diminished a bit, but she still appeared cold and aloof from a distance. Mei Fang never imagined she could laugh so brightly.

“As expected of a top student, your memory is amazingly good… You remember things from kindergarten so clearly.”

“It’s not just that… there’s another reason I remember it so clearly.”

“Oh?”

Lin Youxi propped her chin on her hand and drank the rest of her beer.

“When you were in kindergarten, you were very close to a childhood sweetheart of mine. She always followed you around.”

“Really? Are you talking about a girl? I’ve never been popular with girls, and I’ve been single my whole life.”

“At least you were back then.”

Lin Youxi gently tapped the empty beer cans around her, realizing she had finished them all. She stood up to get another pack of beer, surprising Mei Fang with her nonchalance:

“Drinking so much, isn’t your boyfriend worried about you?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, same as you, single since birth.”

Lin Youxi placed a pack of beer on the table, “It’s rare to meet a fellow townsman in a place like Shenzhen. Want to have a drink together? My treat.”

“Uh…”

Mei Fang wasn’t much of a drinker and got tipsy easily, but Lin Youxi seemed genuinely interested, and he was curious about her childhood sweetheart. So, he agreed and opened a can of beer, taking a small sip.

“By the way, what’s your childhood sweetheart’s name? I might remember.”

“Her name is Xia Yuan, does that ring a bell?”

“It sounds vaguely familiar…” Mei Fang tried to recall memories of Xia Yuan but could only remember vague images, “Did she also go to Baimei No. 1 High School? Which class was she in?”

Lin Youxi stared at Mei Fang for a long while, then suddenly shook her head and smiled.

“You really don’t remember her.”

She then lowered her head and gulped down her beer.

“Sorry, I really don’t have much of an impression…”

“It’s not your fault.”

Lin Youxi looked up at the bright ceiling and gently said, “After all, she passed away when we were in the fourth grade.”

“What?”

Mei Fang was astonished when Lin Youxi softly recounted this part of her past. It was a story straight out of a novel, reminiscent of To Live^[2]. The world seemed to have heaped all its hardships on Lin Youxi, yet it was incredible that she hadn’t become disillusioned with life.

Mei Fang felt deeply apologetic.

“I’m really sorry for making you think of sad memories again.”

“It’s been so many years. The sadness is gone, replaced mostly by fond memories.”

Lin Youxi gently continued, “Yuan Yuan was a very dear friend to me.”

“I grew up without a mother, so she always played house with me and pretended to be my mom.”

“My family was very poor, and I couldn’t afford toys or dolls. Yuan Yuan always shared her things with me, and they weren’t her old toys; she gave me even her new ones.”

“When I was little, I was always dirty and didn’t even know how to tie my shoelaces. No one liked me except Yuan Yuan, who taught me hygiene and how to tie my laces. She was the only one willing to be my friend… She was like an angel, you know?”

As Lin Youxi vividly described her dear friend, Xia Yuan, Mei Fang felt more and more moved by her story. Beer after beer, Mei Fang started to learn more about this extraordinary woman.

After a few cans of beer, Mei Fang was already a bit tipsy, but Lin Youxi seemed to be fine. Noticing Mei Fang’s drowsiness, Lin Youxi took the beer can from his hand.

“You don’t seem to drink much usually. It’s okay… you don’t have to drink with me.”

“It’s fine… I can have a little more…”

Mei Fang’s cheeks were slightly flushed, and his gaze was somewhat unfocused. “It’s rare to meet a fellow townsman. It’s okay to drink more.”

“You’re kind of cute when you’re being stubborn.”

Lin Youxi propped her chin on her hand and looked at Mei Fang. “By the way, do you work nearby? I feel like I often see you around this time… What do you do?”

“Me? I’m a game developer…”

“What a coincidence, I also make games,” Lin Youxi smiled. “Are you an artist, a designer, or a programmer? I’m a programmer at Tencent QQ here.”

“That’s impressive! I’m a game planner, the lead planner, but at a small company. You probably haven’t heard of it.”

“Small companies have their own perks. At least you don’t have to deal with too many idiots, right?”

“You have a point… hahaha, but QQ must still have many talented people.”

“Yeah…”

Lin Youxi smiled at Mei Fang. “Actually, working for others isn’t very fulfilling. I really want to make my own games.”

Her words piqued Mei Fang’s interest. “What kind of game do you want to make?”

“I haven’t thought about the specifics yet; you planners are better at project proposals.” Lin Youxi spoke softly. “But for my first game, I’d like it to be a tribute to Yuan Yuan, my childhood sweetheart, my best friend in life.”

“That’s wonderful, a tribute to your best friend. I wish you success.”

“Hehe… thank you.”

Lin Youxi clinked her beer can against Mei Fang’s. “Just a toast, you don’t need to drink more.”

“It’s fine… I’m okay.”

Mei Fang stubbornly gulped down the beer, with Lin Youxi watching him.

“I admire you for still pursuing your dream of making games.”

“To keep living, we all need something to look forward to, right?”

Lin Youxi looked at Mei Fang. “What about you, Mei Fang? What are you looking forward to?”

“Me? Well… I’m waiting for the industry to improve. The licensing issues are a hassle…” Mei Fang thought to himself that he was just thinking about making money.

He outwardly supported Lin Youxi’s plan, but deep down, he knew perfectly well that pursuing a good career in gaming was a luxury reserved for the rich second generation. It had little to nothing to do with ordinary workers like himself.

He didn’t have the skills for indie game development and had stopped dreaming about it.

But…

Why couldn’t he be honest with Lin Youxi about his thoughts?

“Indeed, the environment is tough,” Lin Youxi nodded with a smile. “But continuing to persevere and striving in this industry is already remarkable.”

She glanced at her phone; it was just past midnight.

“So, you didn’t lie to your mom after all.”

Lin Youxi smiled at Mei Fang. “You had dinner with a girl and chatted through Valentine’s Day.”

“I guess you could say that…”

“I heard from your call earlier. Your mom really cares about you. Don’t let her worry too much.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Looking at the slightly tipsy Lin Youxi, Mei Fang, emboldened by the alcohol, felt more courageous.

“By the way… do you want me to walk you home? It’s quite late, and it’s not safe for you to go back alone.”

“I’m okay,”

Lin Youxi gently smiled and waved her hand. “I’ve been used to being alone for many years and know how to take care of myself. Thank you for your concern. Let’s exchange contact info?”

Mei Fang and Lin Youxi exchanged WeChat IDs. Lin Youxi’s ID was 【Mountain Has Lush Forest】.

After settling the bill and leaving the convenience store, Mei Fang and Lin Youxi stood one after the other at the intersection, waiting for their respective rides. They didn’t exchange many words during this time.

Mei Fang felt deeply embarrassed by his earlier impulsive behavior.

What on earth was I thinking, doing such a foolish thing… How could I directly suggest going to a girl’s house when I’ve just met her?

She must think I’m a creep now!

But still, it was pure luck that we met in this city.

Even though her life hasn’t been smooth sailing, she still wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.

Someone like me…

What kind of person am I, exactly?

Mei Fang was actually very interested in the game Lin Youxi wanted to create.

But work was exhausting, and he was always busy. He didn’t have the time to work on something that was unlikely to make any money.

He could only wish her success.

As Mei Fang was lost in thought, Lin Youxi’s ride arrived first.

“I’ll head off then,” she said.

Mei Fang snapped out of his reverie and replied, “Safe travels.”

“You too.”

Lin Youxi waved goodbye to Mei Fang and then got into the taxi.

The warmth in her smile vanished the moment she got in.

She gently rubbed her temples; the beer had given her a headache.

I drank too much today…

Why did I share so much with that person?

She had never opened up to anyone like that before, treating him like a dumping ground for her emotions and memories.

Looking at the newly added WeChat ID, distant memories began to surface.

The taxi stopped at a long red light.

Lin Youxi rolled down the window slightly, letting the February night breeze cool her down.

She almost felt like throwing up.

She slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the distant nightscape.

Maybe if she had made a friend earlier, she wouldn’t have felt so lonely all these years.

But…

If I do that…

I’ll forget about Yuan Yuan.

After Xia Yuan’s death, Lin Youxi never wanted to make another friend, never wanted anyone else to get close to her heart.

Because for her, that would mean forgetting Yuan Yuan.

And then Yuan Yuan would be truly gone.

She didn’t want that.

For this stubborn reason, Lin Youxi had held on for many years.

Many, many years…

She might continue to be this way, as so far, no one had truly entered her heart.

Valentine’s Day 2023 ended without any surprises, just like any other day.

…

While Lin Youxi was waiting at the red light.

Another person’s footsteps were drawing closer.

His steps quickened.

Faster and faster.

Accompanied by shouting and waving.

“Wait, wait!”

“Mr. Driver, wait a second!”

Just as Lin Youxi’s taxi was about to move, someone grabbed onto the window beside her.

“Hold on!”

A flash of surprise crossed Lin Youxi’s face as she saw a sweaty, red-faced figure in a disheveled state.

Mei Fang had caught up from behind, stopping Lin Youxi.

“What’s going on?”

“About… about the game you want to make…”

“The game to commemorate your childhood sweetheart—Xia Yuan.”

“After thinking it over, according to what you said, she should count as my childhood sweetheart too.”

Panting, Mei Fang spoke to Lin Youxi, one word at a time, “If possible, can we complete this game together?”

“Though I’m not very skilled, I am a lead planner… I have all the necessary skills.”

“Since the game is to commemorate the old days with our childhood sweetheart, it must have a connection to Baimei County, which makes me quite suitable…”

As Mei Fang outlined his strengths, Lin Youxi’s eyes gradually brightened.

“Sure.”

“Then let’s work on it together!”

At this moment, an impatient voice came from the front seat, “Hey, is he getting in or not? The cars behind are honking.”

“Mr. Driver let him in first, I have something to say to him.”

“Uh… I, I actually just want to say this and leave.”

“It’s okay, you can come to my place for a while. I have some sour plum soup to help you sober up.”

Lin Youxi opened the car door and pulled Mei Fang inside, handing him a tissue to wipe his face.

“But why didn’t you just say it on WeChat? Why come all the way here to tell me?”

“I thought… this would feel more formal.”

Mei Fang smiled slightly at Lin Youxi. “Since starting a project is a significant decision, I thought it would be better to talk about it in person…”

“So, have you thought about what kind of game you want to make?”

“You’re asking me right now? Hmm… let me think. A text adventure or RPG might be good, depending on the scale we’re aiming for. Whether it’s realistic or fantasy…”

Mei Fang and Lin Youxi chatted for a long time in the taxi.

The Valentine’s Day of 2023 had already passed; after all, it was now February 15th.

A new day had begun.

Author’s note:

This chapter is a “what if” side story imagining if Mei Fang hadn’t suddenly died and been reborn. It’s a bit of a bittersweet tale, focusing on the healing story of two people who have lost each other, embracing for warmth in a lonely city. If everyone likes this kind of plot, I’ll continue serializing it when I release side stories in the future. If not, you can just skip this “if” route side story. It isn’t related to the main story and doesn’t involve parallel universe memories.

Translator's Notes: