Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts Chapter 304: Gotta Massage Them Back

“R-really? It got smaller? Much smaller?” Xia Yuan panicked.

Lin Youxi pondered. “Maybe it’s the sports bra? Take it off.”

“But A-Fang’s here!”

“It’s not like he hasn’t seen—why so shy now—”

“No, no! I won’t look! Youxi, you check.” i Fang covered his face and flopped onto the bed.

Lin Youxi stepped over him, barefoot, and began her “inspection.”

Squish squish—

“W-well?”

“Hmm… let confirm.”

Squish squish—

“Youxi! Stop playing with !” Xia Yuan huffed.

“Definitely smaller. But firr. Nice texture.”

Lin Youxi smirked. “So people lose weight there first. Maybe that’s you. Or maybe your extra pounds all went there, so the change wasn’t obvious…”

“Then… what was the point of all that suffering?!”

Xia Yuan slumped into existential despair.

“Size doesn’t matter! Tiny is cute too! Look at —I’m fine, right?”

Lin Youxi bumped against her from behind, their playful tussling noises making i Fang grin under his hands.

“Health matters most. Working out improved my stamina too—”

“Only because we were too tired to ‘train’ you at night.”

Lin Youxi nipped Xia Yuan’s ear. “Now that diet’s over… soone’s in trouble~”

i Fang gave a thumbs-up. “Bring it on!”

“You have to help …” Xia Yuan pouted. “Massage them back!”

——

Rumor had it i Fang walked funny for days, blaming a “sprained back.”

anwhile, he pondered the fate of Ximilu Studio.

Officially, it existed both as a company and a school club—though lately, it was just their hangout spot.

With the school year ending, only underclassman Zhu Nainai remained. She’d done little beyond fangirling over i Fang, but her enthusiasm was undeniable.

“Should we keep the club?” i Fang asked.

Lin Youxi opposed: “Recruiting ans ntoring. No ti.”

Xia Yuan supported: “It’s part of our mories!”

Ultimately, i Fang decided to consult Zhu Nainai—only to find her embroiled in drama.

Her classmate Chen Xubo sneered: “Still obsessed with that has-been idol? His gas are trash. Real art is—”

Zhu Nainai rolled her eyes. “Go win a Nobel then. I’ll stick to my ‘shallow’ joys.”

“I’ll say it one more ti— G. T. F. O.—”

“?”

“Get lost!”

Zhu Nainai’s shout was a bit too loud, drawing everyone’s attention. Chen Xubo imdiately felt embarrassed, rubbed his nose, and slunk back to his seat. Just then, he noticed Xu Wei drawing a small character composed of geotric shapes at her desk.

Chen Xubo exclaid in admiration, “This little guy is so cute.”

Xu Wei replied softly, “This is Gloudy.”

“This character has a very minimalist style. With just a few strokes, it has so much charm. You nad it Gloudy, right? Sounds like a variation of ‘cloudy.’ Let think about how to interpret it…”

Before Chen Xubo could finish, Xu Wei continued drawing a few more small characters.

“This one is Crow, the fish-person Grandiose, and the beloved little cat Cathy, who helps Gloudy a lot.”

Chen Xubo pretended to be very interested as Xu Wei introduced these artistic characters he’d never heard of, making a ntal note to look them up later. Once Xu Wei finished enthusiastically explaining her favorite characters, Chen Xubo quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, are you interested in watching this week’s Shakespeare play? I happen to have two tickets. They were really hard to get—I had to ask a friend to—”

“I… actually have plans this week.”

Xu Wei looked a bit apologetic. “Maybe you should invite soone else.”

“Ah, you’re busy today too? I thought you’d be interested…”

“Well… I’m not that into it, really—”

As Xu Wei and Chen Xubo were talking, the classroom suddenly grew noisy.

“Zhu Nainai, your Fangbao is here to see you! Co out!”

Hearing this, Zhu Nainai imdiately perked up like a rabbit. She looked out the window and saw i Fangzheng smiling and waving at her. Overjoyed, she dashed out.

“You ca to see alone… Could it be that you missed your junior after not seeing her for so long?”

Zhu Nainai playfully pushed i Fang. “Senior, you’re getting bold. Did you get permission from Sister Yuanyuan?”

“Of course I did before coming.”

i Fang didn’t mind joking around with Zhu Nainai, but he soon steered the conversation back to business. “I ca today to talk about the club’s future. We’re all stepping down in our third year.”

“Oh! I’ve actually been aning to ask you about that…”

Zhu Nainai and i Fang chatted animatedly in the hallway about the club’s plans. Since Jiangcheng No. 1 High was so large, many first-year students rarely got to see i Fang and Xia Yuan up close. Now that i Fang was here, everyone secretly watched and whispered.

“Is that the legendary Fangbao? He looks much more delicate than I imagined. I thought he’d be more of a domineering CEO-type producer.”

“You read too many romance novels! Where do you think all these domineering CEOs co from?”

“By the way, isn’t Nainai the only first-year in Ximilu Studio? Are they only running the club for one year?”

“Hard to say. They might be discussing that today…”

Chen Xubo watched from afar as the boy Zhu Nainai idolized so much. He seed utterly ordinary—not even better-looking or more charismatic than himself. Chen Xubo assud he was just a rich kid using money to chase girls and make gas. Just as he was about to complain to Xu Wei, he realized she was no longer at her seat.

When Chen Xubo snapped out of it, the Xu Wei he adored so much was already in the hallway. After listening for a while, she couldn’t help but interrupt i Fang and Zhu Nainai’s conversation.

“Um… Senior i Fang! I’m a huge fan of yours! I love your ga Journey of Clouds—I’ve been replaying it constantly. I bought it on Steam and C-site!”

i Fang wasn’t sure why she was telling him this but smiled politely. “Thank you for your support.”

Zhu Nainai introduced her. “This is Xu Wei, a classmate of mine. She likes to draw, and she actually wanted to join your studio at the start of the sester, but you weren’t recruiting.”

“Ah… We didn’t plan to take on too many people back then. It’s hard to manage… Sorry about that.”

i Fang thought for a mont. “But our club plans have changed a bit. If you’re interested, you can apply now.”

Instead of imdiately responding, Xu Wei respectfully handed him her sketchbook.

“These are so fan works I drew, including so original characters… I’d love for you to take a look.”

“Hmm… Nice! This is Gloudy in an ani style, right? It’s got a great feel. Do you play a lot of gas too?”

Xu Wei nodded. “But I usually play alone… mostly single-player gas. I like the feeling of connecting with the creators. For example, in Journey of Clouds, I saw a girl grow from weakness to strength—it resonated with . I’d love to create sothing like that too.”

“What a coincidence! Senior was just saying he plans to reorganize the club and let us work on new projects. If you’re interested, you could try doing art!”

“Really? But I only know how to draw… I don’t have any other ga-related skills. Compared to Senior Guo Yun, I’m way behind…”

“That’s fine.”

i Fang smiled. “When I first t Guo Yun, she didn’t know anything either. I taught her, and she learned quickly. Besides, I really like your expressive art style—it gives the characters soul…”

The lively conversation between i Fang, Xu Wei, and Zhu Nainai drew a crowd. With Journey of Clouds’ reputation, everyone was eager to join Ximilu Studio.

“Senior, can I apply too?”

“Of course! But we’ll still have interviews.”

“Senior, do you only recruit cute girls? Do I have to cross-dress to get in?”

Amid the laughter, i Fang shot the boy a disgusted look. “What are you talking about? There’s no gender discrimination here. Anyone who loves making gas can join. It’s just that, for so reason, most of our mbers are girls.”

“It’s because you’re so handso, Senior! If I were a girl, I’d like you too—Senior, I love you~!”

The boys’ exaggerated antics were even more dramatic than the girls’. The atmosphere was cheerful.

The usually calm and composed Xu Wei, in Chen Xubo’s eyes, had now turned into an adoring fangirl in front of i Fang, her eyes full of admiration.

Chen Xubo had followed Xu Wei into the hallway. Watching her expression, he clenched the play tickets in his hand, grinding his teeth in frustration.

So… she just wasn’t interested in the things I liked. Her passion was gas.

Whatever… No wonder she never wanted to hang out.

But…

As he watched the girl he liked, a thought crossed his mind:

Even if i Fang is charming, he already has a girlfriend. Other girls don’t stand a chance.

If I join the ga club too, I’ll have more chances to get close to her. Maybe she’ll see in a new light.

Chen Xubo initially planned to brazenly sign up for the club, banking on i Fang not recognizing him. But he underestimated Zhu Nainai’s influence in the studio.

On the day of the interview, faced with Zhu Nainai’s mocking remark—“Why don’t you go win a literature award instead?”—Chen Xubo was utterly humiliated. Afterward, he complained to anyone who would listen that Zhu Nainai was petty and held a grudge. But since his own reputation was already poor, no one paid him any attention. Eventually, even Xu Wei couldn’t be bothered to humor him anymore.

Before sumr arrived, i Fang recruited about ten new mbers for Ximilu Studio. He planned to train them over the sumr, helping them quickly learn the ga developnt process and complete a small project.

Since it was a small ga, working within a familiar frawork would speed things up. i Fang chose Reigns, a card ga the studio had previously developed. It was easy to create DLCs or new expansions, making it perfect for beginners.

He figured this sumr camp-like project—Reigns: Three Kingdoms—would take him only a week’s worth of effort (excluding art assets). More importantly, it would give the new team a taste of the joy and satisfaction of ga developnt.

After that, he could happily focus on spending ti with his Yuanyuan and Youxi. Every night, he had to massage Yuanyuan’s shoulders—his schedule was packed and exhausting.