After attending their annual friends gathering, Mei Fang, Xia Yuan, and Lin Youxi were on their way home when Youxi suddenly brought up the matter of their profit-sharing again.

“Not this again! I’m absolutely not giving out wish coupons this year.”

The trauma from last year was still fresh in Mei Fang’s mind. Xia Yuan clung to his arm, giggling. “Hehe, Ah Fang’s scared~”

“No wish coupons are fine,” Lin Youxi said calmly. “But have you thought about what you’ll give Yuan Yuan and me instead?”

“I don’t even know what to offer anymore. Money doesn’t excite you two, and I’ve already bought all the gifts possible…” Mei Fang sighed. “Just tell me your wishes directly. I’ll figure out how to make them happen.”

Xia Yuan knew exactly what she wanted:

“That! What we talked about before… Since I’ve already faced your parents with you and officially announced we’re dating, shouldn’t you come meet my family properly too?”

Mei Fang frowned slightly. “Didn’t we see them when I brought you home this year?”

“That was as childhood friends! This time has to be as a couple.”

Xia Yuan tugged at Mei Fang’s collar, pouting. “Youxi and I have stayed over at your place so many times. This time, you’re definitely spending the night at my house!”

“Uh… is Youxi coming too?”

Mei Fang looked to Lin Youxi for help, but she only smiled and shook her head. “I should spend more time with my parents. With the money you gave me, Ah Fang, I want to renovate our home properly.”

Xia Yuan tilted her head. “Wouldn’t it be better to just buy a new place? That old house has been around forever. My family just moved when we wanted an upgrade.”

Lin Youxi’s smile softened. “That house was left to Dad and Mom by my grandparents. I feel more at peace keeping it… and Mom is more familiar with it too.”

(Nowadays, Lin Youxi called Liang Meijuan “Mom,” but when she said “Mom,” she was usually referring to her birth mother.)

“……”

Xia Yuan suddenly looked guilty and grabbed Lin Youxi’s hand. “Sorry… I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t realize—”

“Hah… it’s fine.”

Lin Youxi pinched Xia Yuan’s cheek. “This is just my personal preference. It has nothing to do with you, Yuan Yuan.”

“So, Youxi, what’s your wish?”

“Hmm… let me think.”

As Lin Youxi pondered, a sudden beep beep from an electric scooter interrupted them. Turning around, Mei Fang and Lin Youxi’s eyes lit up.

“Teacher Li!”

“Hello, Teacher Li!”

Riding the scooter with a little boy in front was Mei Fang’s middle school homeroom teacher, Li Shibing. “What a coincidence… out for a stroll?”

“You’re Mei Fang… and you’re Lin Youxi? You’ve changed so much, I wouldn’t have recognized you without Mei Fang here as reference.”

“Teacher Li! I’m Xia Yuan from Class 8 next door! Remember me?”

“Of course! You’re a big star now—who wouldn’t remember you?” Li Shibing laughed, scratching his head. “Though what stuck with me most was that time you and that… Peng Xue, was it? Stood up to your homeroom teacher…”

He gave Xia Yuan a thumbs-up. “It was brave of you to defend your friends like that. I still tell my current students about it sometimes.”

“Ehehe… that was so long ago. It’s kind of embarrassing…”

Xia Yuan hid shyly behind Mei Fang.

“How are you all adjusting to life at Jiangcheng No. 1 High?”

“It’s been great!”

“Lin Youxi, what about you? Still class president?”

Lin Youxi nodded. “I’ve applied many of the class management skills you taught us, Teacher Li. They’ve been very useful.”

“Good… that’s good.”

“Mr. Li, why are you only talking to them and not asking about me?”

Mei Fang teased Li Shibing from the side. Li Shibing narrowed his eyes and gave Mei Fang a once-over. “You little rascal… What else do I need to say to you? You seem the same as ever, always surrounded by girls. Have you been focusing on your studies?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been studying hard! Really!”

Mei Fang lied without a hint of guilt.

The three of them chatted with their former homeroom teacher, Li Shibing, by the roadside for a while. Eventually, the little boy sitting in the front seat grew impatient and kept tugging at his dad’s sleeve, urging him:

“Dad, Dad! You promised to take me to the amusement park! Let’s go already! Come on!”

“Alright, alright… I know, just a second.”

Li Shibing smiled and waved at the trio. “My son’s nagging me to take him out, so I’ll have to cut this short.”

Mei Fang and the others waved back. “We’ll come visit you during New Year’s.”

“Sure, sure! See you then!”

They watched as their former teacher walked away.

“Old Li looks like he’s doing well,” remarked Mei Fang.

Lin Youxi shot him a glance. “It’s barely been two years since graduation. What kind of changes were you expecting?”

Mei Fang chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, you’re right… It really has only been two years. Feels like middle school was ages ago.”

Though only two years had passed since graduating from middle school, to Mei Fang, it felt like a lifetime. He, Xia Yuan, and Lin Youxi had grown from awkward kids into more mature teenagers, experiencing countless things along the way.

It was more than just physical growth—it was a shift in mindset, from childishness to adolescence.

Even with his memories of a past life, Mei Fang had changed in ways he hadn’t expected.

Growing up together like this was truly wonderful.

Just as Mei Fang was lost in thought, Lin Youxi poked his arm.

“After seeing Mr. Li, I know what gift I want now—”

Lin Youxi’s expression carried a hint of mischief, as if she wanted to devour Mei Fang whole. The familiar look instantly put Mei Fang on edge. Xia Yuan, sensing the implication in Lin Youxi’s words, quickly waved her hands in protest.

“Youxi, calm down! A child as a gift is way too early—”

“…”

Lin Youxi blinked, then burst out laughing. “What are you two thinking? I was talking about Mr. Li’s electric scooter.”

“Electric scooter?”

“Yeah… Since we don’t live together now, it’s not easy for me to see Xia Yuan. Biking is too far, and it’s hard to carry someone. Plus, it’s freezing in winter. So…”

“Sure, we can buy an electric scooter,” Mei Fang said, relieved it was such a simple request. “You don’t know how to ride one yet, right? I can teach you.”

“I have my own personal chauffeur. I don’t need to learn.”

Lin Youxi poked his shoulder. “You buy it, you drive.”

Xia Yuan nodded eagerly. “And if we’re buying one, let’s get a big one—one of those large scooters so all three of us can ride together.”

Now that they had money, spending it was no big deal. After making their decision, the trio headed straight to an electric scooter shop—coincidentally, the same one where they’d bought Lin Youxi’s father his scooter. They picked out the highest-end model available.

Though legally, electric scooters and motorcycles were only supposed to carry one extra passenger, their small town didn’t enforce such rules. Without hesitation, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi both climbed onto Mei Fang’s new scooter.

Xia Yuan, being shorter, sat in the front, nestled between Mei Fang and “Little Mei Fang.” Lin Youxi wrapped her arms around Mei Fang from behind, pressing close—just like old times.

As Mei Fang rode down the street, passersby couldn’t help but stare enviously, some even pulling out their phones to take pictures.

After dropping Xia Yuan off at her house and then Lin Youxi at hers, Mei Fang rode his new scooter back home.

Even though he’d spent his own money, his mother, Xiang Xiaoxia, still chased him around with a clothes hanger, scolding him for being wasteful. Mei Fang didn’t even try to fight back.

Moms were truly invincible.

That’s all for today. The rest?

Forgotten.