Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts Chapter 280: The Hidden Matter

After leaving the milk tea shop, Lin Youxi suddenly suggested visiting their old junior high school. So i Fang rode his electric scooter with both girls to Experintal Middle School.

It was winter break, and the school gates were locked tight. But after explaining their intentions to the security guard, the three were allowed onto campus.

i Fang parked the scooter in the bicycle lot they used to frequent. When he ca out after parking, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi were already sitting on a stone step, chatting and laughing.

“A-Fang, A-Fang, co here!”

Xia Yuan beckoned i Fang to sit between them on the step. She clung to his arm and pointed at a small open area in front of them. “Do you know what happened here?”

“What could have happened here…?”

“This is where YuanYuan and I had our fight,” Lin Youxi interjected. i Fang suddenly understood. “Ohhh, you an that ti!”

“That day we parked our bikes here, and I told you to go ahead first because I wanted to talk with Youxi. We ended up arguing right here.”

Xia Yuan tilted her head back, gazing at the blue sky. “It’s the only ti in my mory that I fought with Youxi. I was so heartbroken—I thought we could never be friends again after that.”

Lin Youxi nodded gently beside her. “ too.”

“Speaking of which, what exactly did you two argue about back then?” i Fang tilted his head to look at Xia Yuan, then turned to glance at Lin Youxi. “I’m actually really curious.”

“Wait, we never told A-Fang about it?”

Xia Yuan frowned, thinking hard. “It was… I did terribly on a physics exam that ti. I completely missed a whole page of questions. Youxi saw I hadn’t done them, so she deliberately crossed out all her answers on the last page and told the questions were super hard…”

“I rember that. You’ve always hated when people went easy on you.”

i Fang nodded. “But normally, even if you were upset about it, you wouldn’t have gotten mad at Youxi over sothing like that. You’re usually so understanding—you’d know she was just trying to look out for you, without any ill intent.”

“W-well, actually!”

Xia Yuan scratched her cheek. “By that point, things between and Youxi were already a bit… complicated. Because I tend to get jealous easily, seeing you and Youxi being so close always made feel a little upset. So that incident was just the trigger—as we argued, the conversation eventually turned to you, A-Fang.”

Lin Youxi leaned forward to look at Xia Yuan. “Should we really tell A-Fang about this?”

“I want to hear it! Tell !”

Xia Yuan pinched i Fang’s cheek in annoyance. “This was the most painful mory for and Youxi, yet you’re enjoying it like so juicy gossip. You heartless jerk.”

“Hey, that’s not true! I was miserable back then too! Youxi was giving the cold shoulder, and you were being all… how should I put it… kinda yandere? You’d drag around without saying a word—it took forever to finally get you to talk.”

“I was that scary back then?!”

Xia Yuan huffed and pinched i Fang’s thigh. “Sorry for forcing you to comfort !”

“I wasn’t very mature back then either. Whenever I was upset, I’d shut everyone out,” Lin Youxi said with a smile. “Thinking back, I’ve changed so much.”

“Youxi has changed a ton! You used to be so quiet, even around and A-Fang—especially when you were in a bad mood.”

“No, that was only when you were around.”

Lin Youxi grinned. “I talked a lot more when it was just and A-Fang.”

Xia Yuan made a tearful face. “Youxi, you were getting close with A-Fang behind my back all that ti… I only found out about it much later…”

“Okay, okay! Don’t change the subject,” i Fang said impatiently. “Tell what you two argued about back then. I love hearing this kind of stuff.”

“A-Fang, go die!”

Amid their playful bickering, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi finally began recounting the hidden matter from three years ago—

[Three Years Ago]

During that period, Xia Yuan had perford terribly on a physics exam. Lin Youxi had been seated in front of her during the test.

When handing in their papers, Lin Youxi noticed Xia Yuan had completely missed the last two questions on the back. To spare her friend’s feelings, Lin Youxi crossed out her own answers to those questions and told Xia Yuan they were extrely difficult.

Xia Yuan had initially felt a little better after Lin Youxi’s reassurance. But that night, while seeking comfort from i Fang, she accidentally learned that he and Lin Youxi had practiced those exact sa physics problems the day before the exam. She imdiately realized Lin Youxi must have deliberately thrown her answers to spare Xia Yuan’s pride.

So the next morning, when the three of them rode their bikes to school together, Xia Yuan stopped i Fang after they parked.

“A-Fang, could you go to the classroom first? I need to talk to Youxi about sothing.”

“Huh? I an, sure… But why can’t I hear it?”

“Girl stuff! Just go already.”

Xia Yuan pushed i Fang away. He glanced at Lin Youxi, then shook his head slightly—a silent reminder not to bring up the topic of Xia Yuan leaving the advanced science track.

Earlier, i Fang and Lin Youxi had argued briefly about whether Xia Yuan should stay in the rigorous program, though they quickly made up. It was just a small disagreent.

Their eyes t in understanding, and Lin Youxi nodded in agreent.

Once i Fang was out of earshot, Xia Yuan turned to Lin Youxi.

“Youxi… let ask you sothing. How many points do you think you got on yesterday’s physics exam?”

Lin Youxi looked puzzled. “The test is over—why bring it up now?”

“No… I can’t just move on, Youxi. Really.”

Xia Yuan smiled, but her gaze gradually turned serious.

“I know I’m bad at physics. That’s why I work so hard—I push myself relentlessly. I can accept you looking down on , but—”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“I don’t need… your pity.”

“I wasn’t—”

Lin Youxi shook her head. Unlike her composed self three years later, her voice was so quiet it was almost drowned out by Xia Yuan’s.

“Was it fun? Toying with my feelings like that?”

“And I actually trusted you… I was stupid enough to believe even you could make mistakes sotis.”

Xia Yuan’s eyes reddened as she spoke.

“But now I finally understand… I’m nothing like you. Soone like … could never stand beside you and A-Fang.”

Back then, Lin Youxi still deferred to Xia Yuan on almost everything. But faced with such words from her closest friend, even she couldn’t stay silent.

Pursing her lips, she finally responded.

“YuanYuan, you’re just going through a rough patch academically… Since we were little, you’ve always been better than at everything. Why would you say such hopeless things?”

“It’s not just a rough patch. Ever since starting junior high, all three of us have known the truth—you and A-Fang just spared my feelings by not saying it out loud.”

Xia Yuan’s voice shook as she continued.

“And I know what you wanted to say to before the exam yesterday. You were going to tell to give up on physics, to quit the advanced science track… right?”

“I…”

That had indeed been her intention, but she’d held back at the ti.

After seeing how much Xia Yuan struggled with the exam, she’d discussed it with i Fang, hoping they could persuade Xia Yuan together.

But i Fang, more emotionally mature, understood Xia Yuan’s feelings better. He knew she didn’t want to be left behind—and that her feelings for him played a part in her stubbornness.

However, at that ti, aside from i Fang, both girls’ feelings were still vague and unspoken. Neither would openly admit their affection for him, lacking i Fang’s boldness in acknowledging their emotions. This led to misunderstandings between them.

Seeing Lin Youxi’s hesitation, Xia Yuan pressed on.

“But I can tell you clearly—I don’t want to give up physics. Not because I love the subject or studying, but because… I don’t want to lose to you.”

Lin Youxi looked up in surprise as Xia Yuan continued.

“Especially… not in front of A-Fang.”

“Because I like A-Fang. The kind of liking where I want to be with him forever.”

Xia Yuan gazed steadily at Lin Youxi.

“And… I know you like him too, don’t you?”

“I…”

Lin Youxi had never been good at expressing her true feelings in front of others—not even in front of Xia Yuan, her once closest friend. Especially when it ca to i Fang.

Seeing Lin Youxi hesitate, unable to voice her emotions, Xia Yuan felt an urge to press further.

“Then let ask you this—between A-Fang and , who do you value more?”

“You’re both my best friends. Why must we rank—”

“Don’t play dumb! Because a boyfriend can only be one person!”

Xia Yuan, rarely one to lose her temper, snapped at Lin Youxi. “If you insist on making leave the advanced science track, then say it outright—tell you don’t like A-Fang! Can you do that?”

Lin Youxi stared at Xia Yuan’s reddened eyes—she looked like a drenched little rabbit.

Xia Yuan gazed back at Lin Youxi’s despondent expression—she resembled a stray cat with no ho.

The two locked eyes for several seconds before Xia Yuan steadied herself and spoke quietly.

What she said next was so hurtful that even now, she still regretted it deeply.

“Youxi… We’ve known each other for so long. Since we were little, I’ve shared everything with you. I’ve always given you what you wanted.”

“Even A-Fang—this friendship—was sothing I shared with you back in kindergarten…”

“Now, I’m asking you to give him to . Can you do that?”

Lin Youxi lifted her head and t Xia Yuan’s gaze, her words deliberate.

“I’m sorry… YuanYuan…”

“I know you’ve always been so good to .”

“You’re my best friend too.”

“I’d give you anything else. I’d do anything for you.”

Her fingers clenched tightly around the hem of her shirt as she defied the person she had idolized and adored since childhood.

“But A-Fang… A-Fang is the one thing I can’t give up.”

“A-Fang isn’t just your friend. He isn’t just your childhood companion.”

“He’s mine too… my most important person.”

Under Xia Yuan’s suffocating pressure, Lin Youxi finally laid bare her heart. This mont of honesty brought her unprecedented growth.

But growth often ca at a painful price.

Xia Yuan had gotten her answer.

Though expected, it was still heartbreaking.

The tragedy was that they might never be able to remain friends after this.

“That’s exactly why… your pity during the exam was just charity. A hollow act of kindness.”

Xia Yuan wiped her tears, then clenched her fists, trembling as she spoke.

“I don’t need your charity. I don’t need your fake concern.”

“If we both like A-Fang, then let’s stop clinging to our past friendship.”

“Anyway, I won’t back down.”

“And I won’t expect you to either. Even if…”

“Even if it ans we can never be friends again.”

“YuanYuan, don’t say that… Why are you saying these things? Didn’t we promise to be friends forev—”

The usually aloof Lin Youxi only showed her vulnerable side to Xia Yuan and i Fang. She reached out to grab Xia Yuan’s hand, but Xia Yuan slapped it away.

The force was unintentionally harsh—Lin Youxi’s hand stung from the impact, leaving a faint red mark.

Xia Yuan hadn’t ant to hurt her. She regretted it imdiately, nearly reaching out to soothe the spot.

But at that mont, she couldn’t bring herself to apologize. Instead, she sniffled, turned on her heel, and walked away without looking back.

As she strode toward the classroom, mories of their childhood together flooded her mind. The thought of their friendship shattering filled her with unbearable anguish—regret, sorrow, and pain tangled together as she wept silently.

……

i Fang listened quietly as Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi took turns recounting the events of that day. Though the two now looked back with nostalgia and embarrassnt, i Fang heard sothing far heavier in their words.

“So that’s how bad your fight was… Which ans I could’ve lost one of you—or even both.”

“Why both?”

Xia Yuan clung to i Fang’s arm. “Wouldn’t at least one of us have ‘won’?”

“How could that be? You two were so close. Even if one ‘won,’ every glance at would remind her of the one she’d abandoned.” i Fang frowned. “Besides, I wasn’t so prize to be fought over. If you’d forced a choice, I might’ve ended up missing the other anyway, and we’d all have fallen apart in the end.”

“That’s what people call the ‘white moonlight and cinnabar mole’ theory.”

Lin Youxi leaned against i Fang’s shoulder. “That’s why I kept telling YuanYuan—don’t rank us. Isn’t it so much better like this, the three of us together? We could’ve avoided so much pain in junior high.”

“……?”

Xia Yuan and i Fang stared at Lin Youxi in surprise. “Youxi… are you saying you’d already planned for a ‘threeso’ back then?”

Lin Youxi smiled and nodded. “I thought I was pretty obvious. And I knew A-Fang couldn’t decide between us either, so I figured we might as well… ease him into accepting both.”

“There was a bit of gambling involved, but I trusted my intuition about A-Fang. I knew he felt the sa way—I just wasn’t sure if we could make it work. Luckily, it paid off.”

i Fang’s conscience prickled at her sweet confession. These girls had no idea their current arrangent had been subtly orchestrated long ago.

All he could do was pull them both into a grateful embrace.

“Ugh… How did I get so lucky to have you two as my childhood friends?”

As i Fang showered them with affection, Xia Yuan pouted jealously.

“Right now, you clearly love Youxi more—she’s willing to share you with another girl.”

“Aren’t you the sa?”

“I’ll only share you with Youxi.”

Xia Yuan grumbled. “Not Xue, not Yu, not Bingbing, not Yunyun—no other girls in the future either.”

Lin Youxi nodded. “Sa here. I’ll only share A-Fang with YuanYuan.”

With that, she climbed onto i Fang’s lap, kissing him passionately.

Xia Yuan watched restlessly, itching to join. When Lin Youxi finally pulled back, still craving more, she extended a hand to Xia Yuan.

“Want to try… together today?”

“T-Together? That’s too weird…”

“There’s a first ti for everything. Or do you plan to do that with A-Fang alone forever?”

“I…”

Xia Yuan fidgeted before clinging to i Fang’s shoulders. After his intimacy with Lin Youxi, he turned to shower Xia Yuan with equal attention.

Back and forth they went, the three drawing closer until they finally embarked on their first true ménage à trois.

After writing this chapter, I have only one thing to say:

I FANG, YOU LUCKY BASTARD—GO DIE ALREADY!!!!

(TL: bro you wrote this…)