After completing their week-long stay in Baizhou City, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi returned to Baimei County with Mei Fang as the year drew to a close.

With only a few days left before the New Year, Mei Fang gathered their group of friends for a reunion, just like last year.

It was the same KTV private room as before, with the same crew invited. This year’s profit-sharing bonus was triple last year’s amount. Even Peng Xue, who had mostly been along for the ride, received a 10,000-yuan bonus for her help during summer break.

But for Peng Xue, something else that happened this year brought her far more joy than the bonus. She was the first to arrive at the room and rushed to greet the trio when they appeared:

“Well, well, well… if it isn’t our precious Yuanbao! Long time no see—I’ve missed you so much!”

Peng Xue and Xia Yuan, old friends reunited, held hands and jumped up and down excitedly. After their affectionate reunion, Peng Xue wrapped an arm around Xia Yuan and stuck her tongue out at Mei Fang.

“You big meanie, Boss Mei! Stealing our Yuanbao away to Baizhou for so long. I barely got to see her at all this year!”

“Aww… but I’m back to see you now!” Xia Yuan pinched Peng Xue’s cheeks. “Wow, Xuexue! Your new hairstyle is so cool—total punk vibes!”

Peng Xue had styled her hair in an edgy asymmetrical cut—one side sleek with a few small braids, the other side slightly covering her eyes with her bangs. A bold red highlight peeked through the strands.

“Hehe, awesome, right? And check this out—” She proudly flicked the hidden red streak.

“Whoa! You dyed it?”

“Just a highlight! Normally, you can’t even see it.”

Peng Xue then turned to Lin Youxi, patting her shoulder with exaggerated sympathy.

“Don’t take it too hard, Youxi-chan. Life’s full of disappointments, but at least you had your moment, right?”

The “moment” Peng Xue referred to was the kiss between Lin Youxi and Mei Fang—something Xia Yuan had confided in her (and later regretted sharing). Lin Youxi had assured Xia Yuan it was fine, and now, faced with Peng Xue’s faux consolation, she simply smiled.

“True. Some people never even get that ‘moment.’ I’m just grateful I can still be this close to Yuan Yuan and Ah Fang.”

“……”

Peng Xue blinked, thrown off by the response.

What kind of answer is that?!

Sure, she was surprised Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan hadn’t grown distant, but what did she mean by “never even get that moment”?!

“Hahaha! Youxi-chan, that’s such a weird thing to say!” Peng Xue laughed loudly, slapping Lin Youxi’s shoulder a few times—until Mei Fang grabbed her wrist.

“Okay, that’s enough. You’re hurting her. Also, stop blocking the doorway. Let’s sit down.”

“O-oh… sure, Boss Mei. Whatever you say.”

Peng Xue obediently withdrew her hand. As Xia Yuan pulled her to the couch, she watched Mei Fang and Lin Youxi settle in beside each other, chatting closely without a trace of awkwardness.

Lin Youxi’s aura had changed dramatically since middle school.

Back then, she’d been the cold, studious type—brilliant but prone to quiet sulking. Now, she carried herself with effortless poise, every gesture and word radiating maturity. Especially around Mei Fang, she exuded the confidence of a main wife asserting her position.

How can such a glaring “loser” exist so comfortably in Boss Mei’s orbit?!

Something felt off.

As Xia Yuan enthusiastically scrolled through the song list, Peng Xue sidled up to her.

“Yuan Yuan… hey, Yuan Yuan?”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“Are you really dating Mei Fang?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Youxi and your Fangbao still seem… really close.”

“Oh… that.” Xia Yuan scratched her head, forcing a laugh. “We’re childhood friends! Just because Ah Fang and I are together doesn’t mean we’d suddenly drift apart.”

“But this is too—”

“Oh come on, that’s just how childhood friends are! Don’t overthink it.”

As Xia Yuan scrolled through the song list, she noticed five of the top ten hits were her own. Just as she was about to skip past them, Peng Xue enthusiastically added all of Xia Yuan’s songs to the queue.

“Xuexue, what are you doing?”

“Singing your own songs at karaoke – isn’t that the ultimate flex?”

“It’s not! It’s totally embarrassing!”

Their playful bickering was interrupted by Yue Xinyi and Zhang Ming arriving almost simultaneously.

Xinyi had come to the gathering with mixed feelings. While she disliked watching Peng Xue show off, she couldn’t turn down the money. Prepared to endure Mei Fang and Xia Yuan’s couple antics, she was startled to instead find Mei Fang and Lin Youxi deep in conversation – a sight that transported her back to their school days.

She reminisced about sitting beside Lin Youxi, quietly shipping her with Mei Fang. Though less wealthy back then, those had been happier times, filled with daily doses of sweet moments.

Her nostalgic reverie was broken by Zhang Ming shoving past her. “Hey… why are you blocking the doorway? Let me through.”

“What’s the rush? So annoying!”

Xinyi stomped hard on Zhang Ming’s foot, eliciting a yelp of pain.

“Xinyi, you’re here.”

Lin Youxi greeted her with a warm smile – a rarity that immediately lifted Xinyi’s mood. “Class President, you’ve changed so much!”

“Why ‘Class President’ again? Didn’t we agree you’d call me Youxi?” The gentle reproach in Lin Youxi’s voice made Xinyi beam even brighter.

“Oh right! It’s been so long I forgot! You did say that before.”

“I thought you’d be calling each other ‘Young Miss’ or ‘Big Sis’ by now,” Mei Fang quipped, earning an eye-roll from Xinyi.

“You’ve been monopolizing the Young Miss long enough. Let me talk to her! Why don’t you go catch up with your old buddy Zhang Ming?”

“Uh…”

Mei Fang awkwardly turned to Zhang Ming, who frowned in disgust. “If you don’t want to talk to me, you don’t have to look so reluctant about it.”

“No no, I do! Come sit, let me check if you’re going bald yet.”

“I’m just a planner! And who goes bald this young?”

Liu Xiaoyu had already collected her bonus earlier and couldn’t attend, while Guo Yun – arguably the project’s biggest contributor – wasn’t back in Baimei County for the holidays. Mei Fang promised to meet her after New Year’s.

As the group sang, distributed bonuses, and caught up on each other’s lives during their annual hometown reunion, Peng Xue suddenly grew contemplative:

“Some people couldn’t make it this year… I guess it’ll only get harder to gather everyone as time goes on…”

Xia Yuan immediately hugged her. “As long as we keep each other in our hearts and work toward our dreams together, we’ll always be connected.”

Nearby, Yue Xinyi watched them thoughtfully until Lin Youxi leaned close – much like she often did with Mei Fang – and whispered gratefully:

“Thank you for all your hard work this year, Big Sis.”

“It’s for the site’s growth too… I was working for myself as well.”

Youxi has really changed… become much more human.

Even if she’s just being a good boss and buttering me up… it feels nice.

Lin Youxi continued softly:

“Also, thank you for lending me those novels.”

“The knowledge in them was very practical.”

Xinyi froze for a long moment before responding with utter confusion—

“Huh?”