Chapter 197 Childhood Memories
Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi held hands as they followed Mei Fang to his ancestral home.
Mei Fang’s ancestral home was actually located in the downtown area of Bai Mei County. Apart from many commercial shops, there were also many low-rise buildings in that area. The ancestral home was among these buildings, tucked away in a relatively secluded alley.
In his previous life, Mei Lijun did not continue as a civil servant but chose to venture into business instead. Eventually, he suffered losses and did not make any money; after that, Mei Fang’s family sold their new apartment in the neighborhood and moved to the ancestral home, which was more conveniently located. This was also the place where Mei Fang spent most of his student days, hence the special sentiment.
Mei Fang led Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi into the alley. Due to ongoing demolition and reconstruction plans, several small buildings nearby had already turned into ruins. The three of them made their way through the rubble.
“We’re here. This is my hometown.”
“Woah, Ah Fang, your ancestral home isn’t small at all. It feels even bigger than my house,” Xia Yuan exclaimed in surprise. “I thought it would be one of those tiled houses.”
Mei Fang’s hometown, though called an ancestral home, was actually a three-story building with a courtyard, renovated from his grandfather’s old house before he passed away.
Lin You Xi also observed the distant view of the ancestral home, “But the houses around here are quite cramped, so I guess the lighting isn’t very good…”
“This is a house built in the 90s, back then everything was like this.”
Mei Fang gently pushed open the rusty iron gate of the courtyard, which creaked loudly due to disrepair.
“It feels like we’re exploring a haunted house.”
As soon as Lin You Xi spoke, Xia Yuan instinctively hid behind Mei Fang, “Don’t scare me like that, You Xi!”
“There’s nothing to be so dramatic about, let’s just go inside.”
Mei Fang unlocked the door to the small house with a key. The interior decoration wasn’t particularly rustic, but it had an outdated feel from the turn of the century.
Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi were immediately drawn to a group photo hanging above the living room.
“Is this a family portrait of Ah Fang when he was little? Where is Ah Fang in it?”
“I’ll take it down for you to see…”
The family portrait showed Mei Fang’s grandparents sitting in the middle, with his eldest uncle and aunt, his father Mei Lijun, and his mother Xiang Xiaoxia. Mei Ya hadn’t been born yet, and his cousin Xiao Meiyue, who was around nine or ten years old, stood next to his grandmother, holding little Mei Fang, who was still a baby, in her arms.
“Ah Fang was this cute when he was little! How old were you then?”
“I think I was about two or three years old. After all, my grandparents were still alive.”
“Why is there a hole exposed on the side…”
Lin You Xi always noticed unique details, “Ah Fang, why were you still wearing open-crotch pants at age two?”
“Oh… really…”
“Don’t stare at strange places, you guys!”
Mei Fang led Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi upstairs, “Let’s check out the other rooms. My mom said that some of the old things are stored in the rooms on the second floor.”
Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi followed Mei Fang to one of the storage rooms, filled with dusty items. Xia Yuan immediately spotted a worn-out baby walker and hurried over to squat and examine it, then looked back at Mei Fang.
“Is this the baby walker you used when you were little?”
This type of baby walker has a small seat for the baby to sit in, with a skirt around the bottom to help maintain balance and movement while walking. It prevents the baby from falling.
“How could I remember that… But since it’s here, it must be mine.”
“This brings back memories. I remember using a similar baby walker when I was young. They seemed less popular by the time Xiao Ya and the others were growing up; they preferred scooters.”
“That’s not necessarily true… Scooters are usually for kindergarten kids.”
At this moment, Lin You Xi’s attention was drawn to a small cardboard box. She took out a thick stack of books from it.
“These are textbooks from our elementary school days… and Ah Fang’s homework.”
The two girls began looking through Mei Fang’s homework.
“Speaking of which, Ah Fang could write a lot of characters when he was little, and they were very neat. Everyone else’s handwriting was messy, and I was envious of him when I was the Chinese class representative. I was worried he might challenge me for the position.”
“You were jealous of me?”
“When we were kids, of course we were. My mom often praised you in class, and I felt jealous too.”
Lin You Xi flipped through the things Mei Fang had written, and seeing her engrossed, he asked curiously,
“What are you reading so intently?”
“Ah Fang seems different from other boys even from a young age. Whether it’s how he interacts with people or the style of his writing, he always gives off the impression of being mature.”
“Exactly, that’s why I liked playing with Ah Fang when I was little. You feel the same way, don’t you, You Xi?”
Lin You Xi shook her head, “I like playing with Ah Fang because he enjoys playing with me.”
“You always had to attend tutoring classes or piano lessons on weekends, so I often went to Ah Fang’s house to play computer games. He was very patient and taught me how to play.”
“Come to think of it, you two played games behind my back for quite some time, didn’t you?”
Lin You Xi nodded, “I started playing games with Ah Fang in first grade. We only told you about it when we were in fourth grade.”
“Now that I think about it, I was really too lenient back then!”
Xia Yuan grumbled, “You kept a secret from me for four years. If this happened now, I’d be really angry.”
“You were already furious back then.”
Lin You Xi tilted her head in thought, “I was terrified. I was afraid you would cut ties with me, and if that happened, I couldn’t go to Ah Fang’s house anymore.”
“Anger aside, it wouldn’t have come to breaking ties.”
Xia Yuan smiled, “Actually, I’ve come to understand that even the best friends can’t share every secret.”
“Mm… So you must have secrets you’re keeping from me now, right?”
Xia Yuan suddenly broke out in a cold sweat under Lin You Xi’s intense gaze, “Well… not exactly… but anyway…”
“It’s okay, I have secrets from you too.”
Lin You Xi patted Xia Yuan on the shoulder to ease her tension, “I won’t pry, but if I feel it’s important to tell you, I will. You feel the same way, right, Yuan Yuan?”
“Mm… Yes, yes… Let’s look at something else…”
The three of them found many magazines in the storage room. Mei Fang’s bookshelf was piled high with magazines like “Youth Digest,” “Readers,” “Storytelling,” “Ancient and Modern Martial Arts,” “Sprout,” “Fireworks,” and “Zhiyin Comic Reader.”
These were the things he read during class or after school when smartphones weren’t around. They helped Mei Fang recall the trends of that era, which were quite interesting to revisit now.
In his previous life, Mei Fang could only borrow magazines from classmates or rent them from bookstores. But in this lifetime, once he had money, he made sure to collect everything he wanted, including many childhood stories and chapters that he had long wondered about.
Such small ways of making up for past regrets happened frequently in Mei Fang’s childhood. For example, he bravely stopped a boy from cutting in line, prevented older students from extorting money from younger ones, and raised his hand to question teachers he felt were biased.
Many things he was too young or inexperienced to do in his previous life didn’t weigh heavily on him now.
In his previous life, he felt a certain degree of inferiority due to his family’s debt. His mother always advised him to avoid trouble and follow rules.
He knew his family lacked money and power, so he dared not stand up for others, silently enduring any injustice.
Looking back, these experiences truly brought a sense of nostalgia…
Just as Mei Fang was reminiscing, Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi found a box of CDs in the storage room. The CD case contained many discs, but none had any labels, resembling homemade discs.
“Ah Fang, do you know what these CDs are? They’re labeled ‘Childhood Memories,’ and the discs themselves have random numbers.”
“Oh, those… They’re probably recordings from primary school cultural performances, sports meets, or weddings. My dad liked to record these things with a camera.”
“I want to see them, I want to see them!”
Xia Yuan exclaimed excitedly, “Since these are such precious childhood memories, I definitely want to watch them!”
“I want to see them too,” Lin You Xi nodded.
Mei Fang warned, “They might have footage of you two as kids. Is that okay? I remember we still have a VCR in the ancestral home.”
“Let’s take them now and watch them!”
Xia Yuan was very interested in the memories of the past.
Next chapter will be released around an hour later, at 12:30. You can stay up and wait for me.
