Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi followed Mei Fang to his family’s ancestral house. The ancestral house was actually located in the main street area of Baimei County. Besides many commercial shops, there were also many low-rise buildings. It was among these buildings, tucked away in a secluded alley.
As mentioned before, Mei Lijun didn’t continue working as a civil servant but chose to venture into business in his previous life. Unfortunately, his business didn’t prosper, and he incurred losses. After that, Mei Fang’s family sold their house and moved back to their ancestral house for its convenient location. It was also the place where Mei Fang spent most of his student days in his previous life, so he had a special attachment to it.
Mei Fang led Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi to the small alley. Due to the gradual progress of demolition and reconstruction plans, several buildings nearby had already turned into ruins, and the three of them moved forward among the rubble.
“We’re here. This is our family’s ancestral house.”
“Wow, Ah Fang, your ancestral house is not that small. It feels bigger than our house.” Xia Yuan exclaimed, “I thought it would be one of those tile-roofed houses.”
Mei Family’s ancestral house, although called an ancestral house, was actually the old house renovated before Mei Fang’s grandfather passed away. It was a three-story building with its own courtyard.
Lin Youxi also observed the distant view of the house. “But the houses nearby seem quite crowded. I guess the lighting isn’t very good…”
“These houses were built in the 90s, and that was how they were back then.”
Mei Fang gently pushed open the iron gate of the courtyard, and the rusty gate emitted a creaking sound.
“I feel like I’m exploring a haunted house.”
As soon as Lin Youxi finished speaking, Xia Yuan instinctively hid behind Mei Fang. “Don’t scare me like that, Youxi!”
“It’s not as exaggerated as you guys think. Let’s just go inside.”
Mei Fang unlocked the door with a key, and the interior decoration wasn’t particularly antique but had a slightly old-fashioned style from the beginning of the century.
As soon as Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi entered the house, they were captivated by the family portrait hanging above the living room.
“Is this a family photo of Ah Fang’s family when he was still a child? Where is Ah Fang in the picture?”
“I’ll put it down to show you…”
The family photo hanging on the wall was from Mei Fang’s grandfather’s generation. At that time, his grandparents were still alive and seated in the middle, then there was Mei Fang’s paternal uncle and aunt, his father Mei Lijun, and his mother Xiang Xiaoxia.
Mei Ya had not been born yet so she was not in the photo. Little Mei Yue, his cousin, around 9 or 10 years old, stood beside their grandmother, holding the hand of a very small Mei Fang sitting in their grandmother’s lap.
“Was Ah Fang really this cute when he was a child? How old were you back then?”
“I believe I was around two or three years old. After all, my grandparents were still alive.”
“Why is your little birdie still exposed…” Lin Youxi always had a unique focus. “Ah Fang, how come you were still wearing open-crotch pants[1] at the age of two?”
“Wow… You’re right…”
“Don’t stare at strange things like that, you two!”
Mei Fang pushed Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi upstairs. “Let’s go to the other rooms and see. My mom said all the old stuff is stored in the rooms on the second floor.”
Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi followed Mei Fang into one of the storage rooms, which was filled with various dusty items. Xia Yuan immediately noticed a tattered baby walker and hurriedly went over to squat down and take a look. Then she turned to Mei Fang.
“Ah Fang, you used this walker when you were a child, right?”
This kind of walker is used to place a baby inside, with a surrounding guardrail to help them maintain a standing and walking position without falling.
“I don’t remember… but since it’s here, it must be.”
“This thing is so nostalgic, I remember using a walker like this when I was little too. By the time Xiaoya and other kids were that age, these kinds of walkers didn’t seem to be popular anymore, they played with those ride-on car slides more often.”
“Well, they were in a different age group… car slides are for kindergarten kids.”
At this moment, Lin Youxi’s gaze fell on a small cardboard box, and she took out a thick stack of books from it.
“These are the textbooks we used in elementary school… and Ah Fang’s notebooks.”
The two girls looked through Mei Fang’s notebooks.
Xia Yuan smiled and said, “Speaking of which, Ah Fang used to write a lot of words when he was a child, and they were written beautifully while we all wrote in a crooked and messy manner. I was jealous of Ah Fang when I was the class representative for Chinese class, afraid that Ah Fang would compete with me for the position.”
“So, you were jealous of me back then, huh?”
“Well, we were kids, so it was only natural. My mom would often praise you in class, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous.”
Lin Youxi flipped through the things Mei Fang had written, and seeing her engrossed, Mei Fang curiously asked, “What are you looking at so intently?”
“It seems like Ah Fang was different from other boys even from a young age. Whether it’s how you interact with people or the handwriting and writing style in your notebooks, you always seemed like a little adult…”
“That’s true. That’s why I liked playing with Ah Fang when I was a child. Youxi were the same, right?”
Lin Youxi shook her head. “I liked playing with Ah Fang because he was willing to play with me.”
Lin Youxi continued, “On weekends, you always had to attend cram school or piano lessons. I often went to Ah Fang’s house to play computer games, and he patiently taught me how to play.”
“Speaking of which, you two secretly played games without telling me. You must have played for many years, right?”
Lin Youxi nodded. “I started playing games with Ah Fang since first grade. We didn’t tell you this secret until fourth grade.”
“Now that I think about it, I was so naive back then!” Xia Yuan muttered, “You two kept that secret from me for four years. If it were now, I would definitely be very angry.”
“Yuan Yuan, you were already quite angry back then.”
Lin Youxi tilted her head and pondered, “I remember being so scared at that time. I was afraid that you would break off our friendship because of this, and if we weren’t friends, I couldn’t go to Ah Fang’s house to play anymore.”
“Angry, yes, but not to the point of breaking off our friendship.” Xia Yuan smiled and said, “Actually, I’ve come to understand now that even with the best of friends, not all secrets have to be shared with each other…”
“Hmm… In that case, you definitely have secrets you’re keeping from me now, right?”
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuan immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Lin Youxi’s intense gaze made her feel a bit overwhelmed. “Um… well… I can’t say there aren’t any… but in any case…”
“It’s okay, I have secrets I’m keeping from you too.”
Lin Youxi patted Xia Yuan’s shoulder to reassure her not to be too nervous. “I won’t deliberately pry into them. I’ll tell you whatever I feel should be told, just like you, right, Yuan Yuan?”
“Um… yes, that’s right… Let’s look at something else…”
The three of them found a lot of magazines in the storage room. Mei Fang’s book pile was filled with magazines such as Reader’s Digest, Duzhe, Story Club, Ancient and Modern Martial Arts, Mengya, Huahuo, and mangas.
These were the things he used to read during class or after class in the era without smartphones. They helped Mei Fang gradually recall the trends of that era, and looking back at them now was quite interesting.
In his previous life, Mei Fang could only borrow magazines from his classmates or rent specific issues from a bookstore. But in this life, after becoming wealthy, Mei Fang didn’t miss a single issue of the things he wanted to read. Many unresolved story endings and beginnings that had bothered him since childhood were all resolved satisfactorily.
In this way, he was able to make up for those small regrets from the past. In Mei Fang’s childhood, there were many instances where he acted differently from his previous life, such as bravely stopping a boy from cutting in line, preventing older elementary school students from demanding pocket money from younger ones, and even raising his hand to point out when he felt a teacher was unreasonable, and so on…
There were many things he didn’t dare to do due to his lack of knowledge and young age in his previous life, but in this life, Mei Fang didn’t have any psychological burdens.
In his previous life, he had felt somewhat inferior due to his family’s debt. His mother always advised him not to cause trouble outside and to be obedient and follow the rules.
He knew that his family had no money or power and couldn’t afford his mischief, so he never dared to stand up for others. He silently endured any grievances or unfair treatment he received.
Looking back on these experiences, I can’t help but feel a sense of mixed emotions…
While Mei Fang was lost in his thoughts, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi found a set of DVD cases in a box. The DVD cases contained multiple discs, but there were no labels on them as if they were burned discs.
“Ah Fang, do you know what these DVDs are? They’re labeled ‘Childhood Memories,’ and there are some random numbers written on the discs.”
“Oh, that… They should be recordings of the school’s art performances or weddings that my dad used to film. He liked doing that, capturing them with a camera.”
“I want to see, I want to see!” Xia Yuan exclaimed excitedly. “Since they’re such precious childhood memories, I must take a good look!”
“I want to see too.” Lin Youxi nodded.
Mei Fang reminded them, “There might be footage of both of you when you were kids in there, are you okay with that? I remember that there is still a DVD player that can be used in this house.”
“Let’s take it out and watch it now!”
Xia Yuan was very interested in revisiting memories from the past.
Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi followed Mei Fang to his family’s ancestral house. The ancestral house was actually located in the main street area of Baimei County. Besides many commercial shops, there were also many low-rise buildings. It was among these buildings, tucked away in a secluded alley.
As mentioned before, Mei Lijun didn’t continue working as a civil servant but chose to venture into business in his previous life. Unfortunately, his business didn’t prosper, and he incurred losses. After that, Mei Fang’s family sold their house and moved back to their ancestral house for its convenient location. It was also the place where Mei Fang spent most of his student days in his previous life, so he had a special attachment to it.
Mei Fang led Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi to the small alley. Due to the gradual progress of demolition and reconstruction plans, several buildings nearby had already turned into ruins, and the three of them moved forward among the rubble.
“We’re here. This is our family’s ancestral house.”
“Wow, Ah Fang, your ancestral house is not that small. It feels bigger than our house.” Xia Yuan exclaimed, “I thought it would be one of those tile-roofed houses.”
Mei Family’s ancestral house, although called an ancestral house, was actually the old house renovated before Mei Fang’s grandfather passed away. It was a three-story building with its own courtyard.
Lin Youxi also observed the distant view of the house. “But the houses nearby seem quite crowded. I guess the lighting isn’t very good…”
“These houses were built in the 90s, and that was how they were back then.”
Mei Fang gently pushed open the iron gate of the courtyard, and the rusty gate emitted a creaking sound.
“I feel like I’m exploring a haunted house.”
As soon as Lin Youxi finished speaking, Xia Yuan instinctively hid behind Mei Fang. “Don’t scare me like that, Youxi!”
“It’s not as exaggerated as you guys think. Let’s just go inside.”
Mei Fang unlocked the door with a key, and the interior decoration wasn’t particularly antique but had a slightly old-fashioned style from the beginning of the century.
As soon as Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi entered the house, they were captivated by the family portrait hanging above the living room.
“Is this a family photo of Ah Fang’s family when he was still a child? Where is Ah Fang in the picture?”
“I’ll put it down to show you…”
The family photo hanging on the wall was from Mei Fang’s grandfather’s generation. At that time, his grandparents were still alive and seated in the middle, then there was Mei Fang’s paternal uncle and aunt, his father Mei Lijun, and his mother Xiang Xiaoxia.
Mei Ya had not been born yet so she was not in the photo. Little Mei Yue, his cousin, around 9 or 10 years old, stood beside their grandmother, holding the hand of a very small Mei Fang sitting in their grandmother’s lap.
“Was Ah Fang really this cute when he was a child? How old were you back then?”
“I believe I was around two or three years old. After all, my grandparents were still alive.”
“Why is your little birdie still exposed…” Lin Youxi always had a unique focus. “Ah Fang, how come you were still wearing open-crotch pants[1] at the age of two?”
“Wow… You’re right…”
“Don’t stare at strange things like that, you two!”
Mei Fang pushed Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi upstairs. “Let’s go to the other rooms and see. My mom said all the old stuff is stored in the rooms on the second floor.”
Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi followed Mei Fang into one of the storage rooms, which was filled with various dusty items. Xia Yuan immediately noticed a tattered baby walker and hurriedly went over to squat down and take a look. Then she turned to Mei Fang.
“Ah Fang, you used this walker when you were a child, right?”
This kind of walker is used to place a baby inside, with a surrounding guardrail to help them maintain a standing and walking position without falling.
“I don’t remember… but since it’s here, it must be.”
“This thing is so nostalgic, I remember using a walker like this when I was little too. By the time Xiaoya and other kids were that age, these kinds of walkers didn’t seem to be popular anymore, they played with those ride-on car slides more often.”
“Well, they were in a different age group… car slides are for kindergarten kids.”
At this moment, Lin Youxi’s gaze fell on a small cardboard box, and she took out a thick stack of books from it.
“These are the textbooks we used in elementary school… and Ah Fang’s notebooks.”
The two girls looked through Mei Fang’s notebooks.
Xia Yuan smiled and said, “Speaking of which, Ah Fang used to write a lot of words when he was a child, and they were written beautifully while we all wrote in a crooked and messy manner. I was jealous of Ah Fang when I was the class representative for Chinese class, afraid that Ah Fang would compete with me for the position.”
“So, you were jealous of me back then, huh?”
“Well, we were kids, so it was only natural. My mom would often praise you in class, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous.”
Lin Youxi flipped through the things Mei Fang had written, and seeing her engrossed, Mei Fang curiously asked, “What are you looking at so intently?”
“It seems like Ah Fang was different from other boys even from a young age. Whether it’s how you interact with people or the handwriting and writing style in your notebooks, you always seemed like a little adult…”
“That’s true. That’s why I liked playing with Ah Fang when I was a child. Youxi were the same, right?”
Lin Youxi shook her head. “I liked playing with Ah Fang because he was willing to play with me.”
Lin Youxi continued, “On weekends, you always had to attend cram school or piano lessons. I often went to Ah Fang’s house to play computer games, and he patiently taught me how to play.”
“Speaking of which, you two secretly played games without telling me. You must have played for many years, right?”
Lin Youxi nodded. “I started playing games with Ah Fang since first grade. We didn’t tell you this secret until fourth grade.”
“Now that I think about it, I was so naive back then!” Xia Yuan muttered, “You two kept that secret from me for four years. If it were now, I would definitely be very angry.”
“Yuan Yuan, you were already quite angry back then.”
Lin Youxi tilted her head and pondered, “I remember being so scared at that time. I was afraid that you would break off our friendship because of this, and if we weren’t friends, I couldn’t go to Ah Fang’s house to play anymore.”
“Angry, yes, but not to the point of breaking off our friendship.” Xia Yuan smiled and said, “Actually, I’ve come to understand now that even with the best of friends, not all secrets have to be shared with each other…”
“Hmm… In that case, you definitely have secrets you’re keeping from me now, right?”
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuan immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Lin Youxi’s intense gaze made her feel a bit overwhelmed. “Um… well… I can’t say there aren’t any… but in any case…”
“It’s okay, I have secrets I’m keeping from you too.”
Lin Youxi patted Xia Yuan’s shoulder to reassure her not to be too nervous. “I won’t deliberately pry into them. I’ll tell you whatever I feel should be told, just like you, right, Yuan Yuan?”
“Um… yes, that’s right… Let’s look at something else…”
The three of them found a lot of magazines in the storage room. Mei Fang’s book pile was filled with magazines such as Reader’s Digest, Duzhe, Story Club, Ancient and Modern Martial Arts, Mengya, Huahuo, and mangas.
These were the things he used to read during class or after class in the era without smartphones. They helped Mei Fang gradually recall the trends of that era, and looking back at them now was quite interesting.
In his previous life, Mei Fang could only borrow magazines from his classmates or rent specific issues from a bookstore. But in this life, after becoming wealthy, Mei Fang didn’t miss a single issue of the things he wanted to read. Many unresolved story endings and beginnings that had bothered him since childhood were all resolved satisfactorily.
In this way, he was able to make up for those small regrets from the past. In Mei Fang’s childhood, there were many instances where he acted differently from his previous life, such as bravely stopping a boy from cutting in line, preventing older elementary school students from demanding pocket money from younger ones, and even raising his hand to point out when he felt a teacher was unreasonable, and so on…
There were many things he didn’t dare to do due to his lack of knowledge and young age in his previous life, but in this life, Mei Fang didn’t have any psychological burdens.
In his previous life, he had felt somewhat inferior due to his family’s debt. His mother always advised him not to cause trouble outside and to be obedient and follow the rules.
He knew that his family had no money or power and couldn’t afford his mischief, so he never dared to stand up for others. He silently endured any grievances or unfair treatment he received.
Looking back on these experiences, I can’t help but feel a sense of mixed emotions…
While Mei Fang was lost in his thoughts, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi found a set of DVD cases in a box. The DVD cases contained multiple discs, but there were no labels on them as if they were burned discs.
“Ah Fang, do you know what these DVDs are? They’re labeled ‘Childhood Memories,’ and there are some random numbers written on the discs.”
“Oh, that… They should be recordings of the school’s art performances or weddings that my dad used to film. He liked doing that, capturing them with a camera.”
“I want to see, I want to see!” Xia Yuan exclaimed excitedly. “Since they’re such precious childhood memories, I must take a good look!”
“I want to see too.” Lin Youxi nodded.
Mei Fang reminded them, “There might be footage of both of you when you were kids in there, are you okay with that? I remember that there is still a DVD player that can be used in this house.”
“Let’s take it out and watch it now!”
Xia Yuan was very interested in revisiting memories from the past.
