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

As one of the most renowned and top-tier high schools in the nation, Jiangcheng NOHS had seen its share of campus stars like Xia Yuan in previous years. After marveling at the exciting lives of others, people still have to return to their own daily routines.

Nowadays, Xia Yuan was no longer constantly under the gaze of various onlookers, nor did she have fans seeking her autograph. People were starting to get used to living alongside Xia Yuan again. Despite her soaring popularity, Xia Yuan remained humble and continued to enjoy her carefree life with Lin Youxi and Mei Fang.

Meanwhile, after handing over company affairs to Mei Yue, Mei Fang focused his energy on developing Cloud Journey.

Currently, aside from the progress of the art resources, which was relatively slow due to Guo Yun being the sole person working on it, all other tasks were moving forward smoothly.

Xia Yuan’s album Together with Yuan Xi gained rapid popularity through C Site, making significant strides on QQ Music, igniting a widespread trend.

By June 2012, Bare Face had already reached the top three of the hot song charts, with the other tracks also gaining considerable popularity.

During this time, many record companies tried to contact Xia Yuan for collaboration, but Mei Fang rejected them one by one.

Because of this, everyone joked that Mei Fang was now Xia Yuan’s manager, which aligned with the role he had planned to take on.

Thus, amid a busy yet sweet daily routine, the summer of 2012 arrived quickly.

According to an unverified Mayan prophecy, December 21, 2012, would be the end of the world. Mei Fang saw similar pranks posted on school bulletin boards, sparking discussions about the apocalypse in his class.

Class 3’s novelist Wang Jiayu initiated a discussion on the topic: “If the world were to end in three days, how would you spend those days?” He wrote the topic in a beautiful notebook, which was passed around for everyone to share their thoughts.

By the time the notebook reached Mei Fang, it was filled with all sorts of bizarre messages. Some people wrote about wanting to spend their last three days with their loved ones, others expressed a desire to break free from their constraints and live freely, and some even said they didn’t have anything they were worried about losing.

Though most treated the end of the world as mere after-dinner conversation, a few genuinely contemplated and even prepared for the possibility.

Mei Fang was certain such people existed because, in his previous life, he was one of them.

He couldn’t quite remember the reason he did it in his previous life. It seemed he felt it was a waste to cut short his prime years so abruptly.

Mei Fang had always been a fan of zombie movies and disaster films. During high school, at the peak of his impulsiveness, he scrimped and saved his meal card to buy a bunch of compressed biscuits and all sorts of emergency supplies. He eagerly learned various survival tips and even convinced his deskmate, Liu Xiaoyu, to join him in his research.

Liu Xiaoyu had enthusiastically helped him compile a doomsday survival manual, but when they checked online, they found that others’ guides were far more detailed, making them realize they could just copy those.

After that, Mei Fang began to follow the manual for rationing, while Liu Xiaoyu got busy with other things.

At that time, Mei Fang’s financial situation was quite poor, so he could only afford a small portion of the food, drinks, and basic necessities listed in the manual. As his studies became more demanding, he lost interest in this hobby and didn’t keep it up.

Of course, that period couldn’t be considered a regret. The memory of his naive self from his past life was vivid, and now, having returned to this age, he was doing completely different things, which made him feel a bit nostalgic.

Mei Fang just skimmed through everyone’s messages without paying much attention, since what he would write now was quite obvious.

He handed the notebook to Xiang Bingbing, “Bingbing, these collected messages on the doomsday topic are probably for Wang Jiayu to gather material. Do you want to write something?”

“Don’t give it to me, I’m about to die of heat… If this darn weather continues, I’ll be the first to face a doomsday crisis.”

Xiang Bingbing collapsed weakly on the desk, completely devoid of her usual energy.

“It seems the school won’t allow air conditioning until July, so you’ll have to endure it a bit longer.”

“I really can’t take it anymore. What’s the point of this fan?! Why is Jiangcheng so much hotter than Shennongjia? I’m practically being roasted alive; Xiang Bingbing is about to become Xiang Roasted Skewer!”

“Whew… just having air conditioning to look forward to is already good. Our county high school didn’t have any, you know?”

“There’s none back in Shennongjia either, but it’s very cool there.”

“That’s how it is in forest areas…”

As she spoke, Xiang Bingbing cast a pitiful look at Mei Fang, “Brother Mei Fang, I want to get a good sleep this afternoon nap time.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“But my pillow is the inflatable kind, and it’s very hot. Water doesn’t help either. I noticed your pillow is a cooling type. Can I borrow it for my nap? Please?”

“If it were mine, I’d lend it to you…”

Mei Fang showed a troubled expression, “But that was a gift from Yuan Yuan. She specifically told me that only I could use it, and it’s not to be lent out.”

“Then I’ll talk to Yuan Yuan after class. I’m really about to melt into a pile of poop from the heat here!”

“What kind of weird comparison is that…”

“Ugh, if it weren’t for the school rules, I’d really want to wear just my sleeveless undershirt to class. Or better yet, not wear anything at all!”

“What are you talking about… Please don’t have an episode here.”

“Ah Fang, why do you always use such a strange expression?!”

Actually, Mei Fang could understand Xiang Bingbing’s suffering. In fact, summer was always the hardest time for students. The young students of 2022, accustomed to air-conditioned homes, couldn’t even imagine the quirky things their predecessors did to beat the heat at school.

Things like deliberately exposing parts of their bodies to cool down or sitting with classmates under the fan were quite common.

During lunch breaks, some students would stick wet wipes on their bodies, while others would spray themselves with water to cool down.

Those without wet wipes would tear strips of tissue paper, soak them in water, and stick them on their faces, arms, and elbows, looking like little zombies.

Mei Fang recalled that during that time, Fengyoujing^[1] was very popular for cooling down. They would apply it all over their bodies. As a result, when class started, the entire classroom would be filled with the strong scent of Fengyoujing, tormenting everyone to no end.

Only a very few smart students would pretend to have questions and go to the teacher’s office, where the air conditioning was always on. They wouldn’t leave immediately after asking their questions but would chat and take a short nap, enjoying the simple pleasure the air conditioning brought.

The sweltering heat had also affected the trio’s super energy replenishment session. Even the most loving couples found it hard to embrace each other while drenched in sweat, so Mei Fang and his two childhood sweethearts changed their intimate time to when they were at home.

Aunt Meijuan’s bath time duration was quite consistent, always between 8 to 15 minutes, which gave Mei Fang a few minutes to enjoy some close moments with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi.

After a bath, Yuan Yuan was wonderfully soft, fragrant, and unencumbered, perfect for snuggling and whispering sweetly. Mei Fang always enjoyed this process.

However, today Xia Yuan was clearly also caught up in the 2012 topic that had swept through the class. Today, her whispered words had a clear purpose——

“Come to think of it, we haven’t watched that end-of-the-world movie yet. It seems like a new 3D version is being released this weekend. Shall we go watch it together?”

Translator's Notes: