Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts Chapter 461: IF Side Story – Bound by Fate: (Fang & Youxi) (

Although Lin Youxi refused i Fang’s proposal, she was still brought back to his ho by i Fang.

During this period, there was no resistance, and no signs of rejection were shown.

i Fang carefully placed Lin Youxi’s belongings back where they originally were, then picked up Lin Youxi’s phone, re-added her WeChat friend, gave her a bath, and fed her anti-depressant dication.

While handling Lin Youxi’s phone, i Fang accidentally saw an offer from Modu [Shanghai] HR asking when Lin Youxi could join the company.

i Fang did not directly refuse them but inford them that he needed a few days to consider.

He returned the phone to Lin Youxi, and during this ti, neither of them said much to each other.

After crying at the airport, she now seed like a doll, completely at i Fang’s rcy. No matter what i Fang said to her or joked about, she seed lifeless, responding only with simple “mmhm” or “ahh,” as if her soul had been drained away.

In a certain sense, Bai i Ti indeed beca her obsession.

An obsession with shalessly continuing to live with i Fang.

This obsession stemd from her lifelong longing for her childhood best friend Xia Yuan.

And once this obsession was fulfilled, Lin Youxi no longer had any burdens or attachnts. There was no need to force herself to “harm” i Fang.

i Fang took care of Lin Youxi and helped her settle down to rest. After watching her slowly fall asleep, he sighed in relief and sat on the living room sofa.

He lowered his head, opened the proposal ring he had carefully prepared, and then covered one eye, rubbing it.

His lips parted, trembling, releasing heavy and urgent breaths, and his vision blurred again with tears.

At that mont, i Fang’s phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a call from Liu Xiaoyu.

i Fang stood up, opened the door, and squatted outside while answering the call.

“What’s wrong?”

“How’s Youxi…? She said she wanted to leave, sent many ssages, but hung up when I called. She wouldn’t run away alone after finishing the ga, would she?”

“It’s okay, it’s nothing serious,” i Fang said softly. “Her depressive symptoms just flared up. She’s already back. Sorry for the trouble.”

“No, no! How could it be trouble? As long as she’s okay… Can I go check on her?”

“Not yet, I’ll take care of it.”

“Mm… you…”

Liu Xiaoyu recalled the ssages Lin Youxi had sent her. “Take care of yourself too. If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact .”

“There’s no problem. I’ve gotten used to it already.”

“Anyway… don’t push yourself, Ah Fang,” Liu Xiaoyu said seriously. “I’m a friend to both you and Youxi. If you’re troubled, I’m happy to listen.”

“…”

i Fang paused, then gave a wry smile before comnting.

“She said that before eting , her symptoms had never been this severe.”

“Sotis I really think that it’s who caused her to end up like this.”

“Don’t self-bla like that! Those were just things she said in the heat of her depressive state! The look in her eyes when she loves soone is obvious, even I can see how much she loves you…”

“I’m not doubting whether she loves . I know she definitely does,” i Fang said, thinking for a mont before continuing, “I just think… now that I look back, maybe this love has beco a burden on her mind.”

“i Fang!”

Liu Xiaoyu suddenly called out his na, interrupting him. “You were scared by what Youxi said while in a depressive episode! Didn’t you tell us before that what a person says during a depressive episode isn’t their true feelings? Why are you suddenly doubting yourself?”

“Your relationship has co this far, and you can’t back down now. This isn’t the i Fang I know, the one who’s always been forward-thinking. You’ve always chased your dreams, and now they’re coming true, right?”

After Liu Xiaoyu finished speaking, she realized she had overstepped, but there was no way to take the words back now.

i Fang remained silent for a mont, then gave a low hum of contemplation, finally letting out a long breath.

“Mm, you’re right. Xiaoyu, thank you for reminding .”

His voice sounded much more composed than it had before. “It’s good to talk to you again. It feels like we’re back to being the kind of friends who can talk about anything.”

“Mm… yes, yes, that’s it. You’re just too proud and stubborn. If you have a burden, you need to talk it out. You can talk to anyone, like , or Xiaoyi. Anyone, just get it off your chest, and you’ll feel better.”

“It’s mainly that I feel more comfortable talking to you. It’s hard to talk about these things with anyone else.”

“Of course. I studied psychology in college, so I naturally have this kind of approachable nature, haha…”

“I still think you’re the sa as you were ten years ago, you haven’t changed.”

“How could I not have changed? We’ve gotten old…”

Liu Xiaoyu kept i Fang company, chatting about things from high school, and eventually, the conversation shifted to i Fang’s best friend from high school.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Zhang Ming in a long ti. Have you been in touch with him?”

“Him? We kept in touch for the first two years after graduation. But then, he went to Huaxing for grad school and, three years ago, he was sent to Wukonan for a posting. After that, I haven’t seen his WeChat updates.”

“Wukonan? Isn’t that where there’s a war going on?”

Liu Xiaoyu sounded worried. “He hasn’t updated in three years. Did he change his account? He should have at least updated his Monts.”

“I don’t know about that…”

Just as i Fang was talking, he heard so movent from inside the house. “I’ll talk to you later, Youxi seems to have woken up. I’ll go check on her.”

“Mm-hmm! Go ahead. Spend more ti talking to her. Once she gets through this depressive episode, it will be fine. I studied this in school, and bipolar disorder symptoms are like this. Although hers is the most difficult Type I, as long as she keeps taking her dication and maintains ntal health, she’ll get through it soon.”

“Mm, thanks for the kind words. I’ll hang up now.”

“Bye.”

Liu Xiaoyu hung up the phone, looking at the more than half an hour call ti, her mood was sowhat complicated.

Lin Youxi’s ssages had revealed a lot of things and secrets to Liu Xiaoyu.

From Lin Youxi’s perspective, she saw things about her and i Fang that Liu Xiaoyu hadn’t known before.

So in her conversation with i Fang, Liu Xiaoyu had an advantage in understanding Lin Youxi’s heart.

But… was that really fair?

Lin Youxi had sincerely expressed a desire for Liu Xiaoyu to be with i Fang. This was not sothing she would have said under any ntal breakdown, because she admitted that without bipolar disorder, she would never have said sothing like pushing i Fang onto soone else.

Although her words were filled with rebellious and extre possessiveness, that was just Lin Youxi’s personality.

Liu Xiaoyu didn’t hate the way Lin Youxi expressed herself.

But she also had no intention of accepting the offer that Lin Youxi had pushed onto her.

i Fang is your responsibility to take care of, not mine!

What do I have to do with this?

Liu Xiaoyu pursed her lips, forcing herself to smile sweetly.

Anyway, I’m already like this…

After the failure of the grand proposal operation, the relationship between i Fang and Lin Youxi was overshadowed by a thick veil of doubt.

In the intermittent monts of recovery, i Fang could still feel Lin Youxi’s surging love.

But now, she no longer had that enthusiasm.

Not that she was indifferent to i Fang.

Rather, it was a numbness where she seed not to care about anything at all.

The recent dication might have this kind of effect… no need to overthink it.

i Fang took two days off to accompany Lin Youxi at ho and observe her.

Although Lin Youxi had beco less talkative, she still kept so habitual affection.

When they watched TV together, she would unconsciously hold i Fang’s arm.

At night, she would tightly hug i Fang as they slept.

And she would still want him at tis.

But it was that kind of selfish wanting, which i Fang always tried his best to satisfy.

That night, as i Fang helped Lin Youxi wash her feet, he casually ntioned returning to work the next day.

“The project iteration version requires to go to the company. Tomorrow, I need to go to work and earn money to support you. Will you abandon like last ti when I go to work tomorrow?”

Lin Youxi shook her head.

“You really won’t, right?”

“Mm, I won’t run around anymore.”

After Lin Youxi softly said that, she nodded.

“Alright then…”

i Fang finished wiping Lin Youxi’s feet, then made a hugging gesture. Lin Youxi, very familiar with it, wrapped her arms around i Fang’s neck, allowing him to princess-carry her back to the bedroom.

The three-day sales of “White Plum Ti” were less than 1000 copies. This result can be said to be colder than cold.

Although there were dozens of comnts on Sbeam, most of them were positive or complaining about the lack of content, the scale combined with a price tag of 24 yuan made it simply not profitable.

It couldn’t even cover the outsourcing expenses for Guo Yun’s first character.

Even though there are many issues within the industry, an independent ga with this kind of early-stage sales could be said to have flopped terribly.

Moreover, i Fang had been busy accompanying Youxi recently, so no one had really ntioned the matter of “White Plum Ti”.

Lin Youxi didn’t escape like i Fang had feared, but she was no longer the person she used to be. This made i Fang very worried.

i Fang had also taken Lin Youxi to the hospital. The doctor said it was a normal effect of the dication, but also reminded i Fang to be cautious and avoid causing her too much psychological stress.

Psychological stress…

Is it because of my proposal to her that caused her to beco like this?

i Fang really wanted to know the answer, but he couldn’t ask Lin Youxi directly about it, as it might repeatedly cause her psychological stress. That was not the outco i Fang wished for.

…

No matter what, let’s focus on rehabilitation for now.

Thinking positively, i Fang would treat this ti of taking care of Lin Youxi as raising a daughter.

It felt like raising a daughter.

A daughter with a quiet personality, not good at speaking.

Lin Youxi almost always obeyed i Fang’s requests without resistance. Though she rarely spoke, occasionally she had her own thoughts. Apart from what she wanted, she would also express her opinions on the als i Fang prepared for her.

If she liked the al, she wouldn’t say anything, just eating heartily;

But if the food didn’t suit her taste, she would deliberately turn her head to show her displeasure. i Fang would have to coax her before she would eat a little.

However, her face was really hard to show any expression, no matter who was around.

i Fang wasn’t in a hurry to talk to Lin Youxi about why she had beco the “three-no girl” lately. He hoped ti could heal so of her wounds.

That evening, i Fang received a call from his mother, Xiang Xiaoxia.

Before i Fang proposed to Lin Youxi, he had actually discussed the idea with his parents. Of course, at that ti, it was just to inform them. What he didn’t expect was that Xiang Xiaoxia fully supported her son’s decision, and the understanding and recognition from his parents made i Fang feel relieved, which was why he acted the way he did that day.

Now, Xiang Xiaoxia was waiting to see if she could officially confirm her daughter-in-law, so she called to ask i Fang about the progress.

“Mm… Mom.”

“You’re asking about the last thing? It didn’t work out.”

“Mm… It’s not a breakup. We’re still living together.”

“I’ll take good care of her. She gave all her savings.”

“Mm, I will take good care of her, don’t worry.”

“Have you been taking her out? Mm… We have. We plan to go shopping tomorrow since it’s the weekend.”

i Fang looked at Lin Youxi, who was engrossed in watching her favorite cody ani, then hung up the phone.

“Youxi, um… I want to discuss sothing with you.”

Lin Youxi, still watching the ani, stretched her hand inside.

“Ah, no… not that, I’ll talk about it later.”

i Fang gently pulled Lin Youxi’s arm and said softly, “Tomorrow is a holiday. Do you want to go shopping with ? You haven’t been out for a long ti.”

“Mm.”

Lin Youxi nodded, then looked back at i Fang. “What do we eat, Ah Fang?”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Anything, it’s fine.”

Lin Youxi responded.

“Pick sothing. Otherwise, when I order, you’ll complain it doesn’t taste good.”

“Then let’s eat barbecue.”

Lin Youxi nodded, “I want to eat at.”

“Alright, then we’ll eat barbecue!”

Though Lin Youxi had a poker face, i Fang felt like she had beco a completely different person, yet her emotions were much more stable than before.

In fact, it seed that she no longer had any emotions at all. She had adopted a completely “let it be” attitude, with only food still sparking so desire.

But i Fang could pamper her and wait. At least now, she wouldn’t run away anymore. That was a good thing, wasn’t it?

i Fang, with a fatherly attitude, took Lin Youxi out to stroll around. They visited a mall to look at clothes, read books, and watched a cody movie. Lin Youxi watched seriously but didn’t laugh at all, as if happiness was sothing for others.

Eventually, they had the long-awaited barbecue. i Fang did the grilling, while Lin Youxi ate. Occasionally, she would even pick up a piece for i Fang to eat. To outsiders, it looked like the everyday affectionate routine of a couple.

After finishing the barbecue, Lin Youxi rubbed her stomach and looked very happy. She grabbed i Fang’s hand and shook it, as if pleading for sothing, then pointed her gaze toward sothing ahead.

“Ah Fang, look.”

“Look at what?”

“You’ve beco like a little student now—”

Lin Youxi let go of i Fang’s hand and imdiately dove into the crowd. i Fang, worried she might run away again, rushed to chase after her. In his haste, he accidentally bumped into a burly man. Before i Fang could speak, the man grabbed his collar.

“Didn’t your mother teach you to apologize if you bump into soone?”

i Fang didn’t imdiately respond, but the pain from his collar being grabbed showed on his face. Just then, Lin Youxi rushed over and kicked the burly man. The man released i Fang, who collapsed to the ground, coughing non-stop.

Lin Youxi, panicked, crouched down beside i Fang, staring at him.

No…

I can’t let her see this… I can’t cause her more stress…

i Fang, holding back the pain, didn’t clutch his chest, struggling to stand with Lin Youxi’s support.

At that mont, the burly man grew angrier.

“I’m telling you, don’t pretend, huh? If you don’t stand up, I’ll beat you until you can’t stand, do you believe it?”

The man raised his fist to strike i Fang, but before the punch could land, Lin Youxi had already moved in front of i Fang to protect him.

In a split second, the man’s wrist was grabbed by a bystander.

“What the hell are you doing…”

The man’s tone wavered as he recognized the face of the person holding his wrist.

“Don’t interfere in my business!”

“He’s really in pain, not pretending. If you hit him, one of you will end up in the hospital and the other in jail, you believe it?”

“I didn’t do anything to him! He just fell down! What does it have to do with ?”

Wait a minute, that voice sounds…

i Fang struggled to lift his head and saw a face that had changed drastically since the past—his old friend Zhang Ming, now with a hardened, warrior-like expression.

His face was rugged, with a noticeable scar under his stubble. His eyes were calm yet resolute, carrying an aura of strength that commanded respect.

At this mont, i Fang, unable to focus on his heart pain, looked utterly stunned.

Damn, is that Zhang Ming?