Chapter 220: The Other Side of the Sunrise
With encouragement from Liu Xiaoyu earlier, Xia Yuan, while watching the sunrise with Mei Fang, proactively suggested to him the idea of confessing their “secret training” to Lin Youxi. She also proposed a compensation plan for Lin Youxi:
She should kiss Mei Fang as well.
It was clear that Xia Yuan had been tormented by guilt for sneaking around.
However, Xia Yuan didn’t know that the previous day, while Lin Youxi was being intimate with Mei Fang, she had already confessed something to him:
On the night she slipped into his sofa bed, Lin Youxi had seen Mei Fang and Xia Yuan’s chat records.
That’s why she had been so uninhibited with Mei Fang afterward.
After telling Mei Fang this, she also suggested he could confess to Xia Yuan.
So, when faced with Xia Yuan’s proposal, Mei Fang told her the truth.
“...So, you and Youxi had already kissed!” Xia Yuan was shocked. “Who initiated it, you or Youxi? And... when did it happen?”
“Youxi initiated it,” Mei Fang said and then paused. “I told you our kiss was my first kiss, so naturally, Youxi’s happened after that...”
“I... I didn’t say I doubted our first kiss... And you’re so sneaky!”
Yuan Yuan hit Mei Fang with a flurry of punches, “You’re only telling me this now! You should’ve said it earlier!”
“Earlier? How do you think I should’ve said it?”
Mei Fang, unable to dodge, endured Xia Yuan’s punches and pulled her into his arms to keep taking the blows.
“You and Youxi are both very important to me, equally important. I... I didn’t know how to say it. I just knew I couldn’t let either of you down. But since I accepted doing this with you, I couldn’t ignore Youxi’s request... She only did it because she accidentally saw our chat history, you understand?”
If Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi didn’t know each other, and if they didn’t share such a deep bond with Mei Fang...
Xia Yuan would have cried and angrily called Mei Fang a scumbag, feeling he had betrayed them both.
But they had grown up together as close childhood sweethearts.
So, seeing Mei Fang’s sorrowful expression, Xia Yuan felt compassion instead.
“I’m not saying it’s your fault... If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I shouldn’t have been so forward that time... But what’s the point of saying this now.”
Leaning against Mei Fang’s chest, Yuan Yuan gently cupped his cheek, looking at his lips from the side.
“Since we both made mistakes, I feel less burdened. Let’s just calm down and watch the sunrise together.”
Xia Yuan didn’t want Mei Fang to think that way, and Mei Fang himself didn’t have that intention.
That’s why he gave in to Lin Youxi as well.
It seems reasonable, but something still feels off...
When it was time for the final gathering, Mei Fang and Xia Yuan returned to the group. Everyone was buzzing about the two of them going off to watch the sunrise alone. However, besides Xiang Bingbing complaining a bit, everyone seemed to understand the situation without saying anything.
Especially Lin Youxi.
This was the first time Xia Yuan and Mei Fang faced Lin Youxi after their mutual confessions. She greeted Xia Yuan as if nothing had happened.
“Was the sunrise beautiful?”
“Mhm... it was beautiful, really beautiful.”
Xia Yuan initially thought it was mean of Lin Youxi to hide her knowledge of the situation for so long. However, seeing her smile, Xia Yuan remembered all the group activities Lin Youxi had prepared for them the day before. Considering Xia Yuan had been the first to step out of line, she felt she had no right to complain.
As they chatted, Xia Yuan linked arms with Lin Youxi, and soon they were as close as ever.
...
Seeing the two of them as affectionate as before, Mei Fang breathed a sigh of relief. This spring outing had been quite an ordeal for him.
First, he learned from Lin Youxi that she had long known about his and Xia Yuan’s secret. Then, he had to confess to Xia Yuan about his secret with Lin Youxi.
Though his explanations were hastily prepared, they were sincere. After all, in his secret affairs with both, he hadn’t done anything wrong or shown favoritism. The biggest issue was having kissed Xia Yuan first, but Lin Youxi didn’t seem to care much about the first kiss.
Moreover, what Lin Youxi had done went far beyond a simple kiss...
All in all, thanks to everyone’s efforts, Mei Fang concluded an unforgettable spring outing.
After that, life for the trio returned to normal. On the surface, it seemed as if nothing had ever happened. Opportunities for intimate moments were rare, and the super energy replenishment sessions remained as usual.
If there was anything different, it was that Mei Fang felt Liu Xiaoyu was distancing herself from him. Her relationship with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi remained close, but she barely spoke to him and would leave whenever they were alone.
It seemed she still saw him as a scumbag...
Mei Fang didn’t dwell on it. If she couldn’t accept him, he understood. She was, after all, primarily a friend of Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi in this life, and at most, a like-minded companion in their studio. Mei Fang could only express his regret.
In the days that followed, aside from daily life and studies, Mei Fang temporarily shelved the development of Cloudy Journey to focus on helping Xia Yuan with her upcoming album.