Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts
Chapter 29: The Girl Who Ran Away from Home

Running away from home without a plan would turn him into a headless fly, and even put himself and Xia Yuan in great danger, becoming a misguided means of putting the cart before the horse.

Therefore, Mei Fang had already set a specific direction for running away from home from the beginning.

That is to Xia Yuan’s grandmother’s house in Jiangcheng.

During this period, they would be gone for about 10 hours, which is long enough to cause their parents to worry, but the impact is relatively controllable.

Seeking help from the closest grandmother when unable to solve their parents’ problems also aligns with Xia Yuan’s plan of action to some extent,

It also helps to clear their suspicion of “eloping”.

Because of the fear of variables, this runaway plan did not last too long, and the planned departure time was the next morning.

He asked Xia Yuan to bring an unused suitcase from home the night before, secretly packed everything they prepared into the suitcase, and hid it away.

The next day, during school hours, the three of them arranged to meet at a certain place first to ensure that the plan did not encounter any unexpected situations.

“It seems like you’re ready too…” Mei Fang stared at the blue beret on Xia Yuan’s head for a while, “You don’t usually wear hats when you go out, why did you wear one today?”

“Is it very noticeable?”

Xia Yuan was surprised, “I wore the hat because I’m afraid of being recognized.”

“It’s not that, I just think the hat looks good.”

“Ehehe…”

Xia Yuan instinctively adjusted her hat.

“The letter for running away from home, did you write it last night?”

Xia Yuan nodded, “I wrote it.”

“I don’t have anything special to prepare on my end…”

While holding Xia Yuan’s hand, Lin Youxi earnestly said to Mei Fang, “Xia Yuan is easily deceived, so Mei Fang, you have to protect her.”

“Don’t think of me as so naive!”

Xia Yuan complained, “I’m just going to Jiangcheng to find my grandmother. I often go there during summer vacation, so it’s like a trip…”

Just a trip, huh…

Xia Yuan and the others didn’t have Mei Fang’s perspective from the future, so they couldn’t imagine the serious consequences of this event at all. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Only he was worrying about this child.

Mei Fang sighed, “Your mom should be leaving soon. Let’s go to your house and get the luggage.”

“Yeah, okay!”

Mei Fang, Xia Yuan, and Lin Youxi said their goodbyes and then returned home.

In 2005, train tickets were already required to be registered under real names, so minors without identification cards couldn’t board the train at all. However, buses did not yet have a widespread ID verification system. Mei Fang and Xia Yuan took a bus at the bus station, claiming to be siblings visiting Jiangcheng, and easily bought tickets.

Because it was a weekday, the buses to Jiangcheng were not full.

Mei Fang let Xia Yuan board the bus first and placed their luggage in the compartment below.

After Xia Yuan got on the bus, she found a window seat and kept looking out the window for Mei Fang’s figure. She only sat down when she saw Mei Fang appear in her line of sight.

Before boarding the bus, Mei Fang bought a box of cookies from the convenience store and handed it to Xia Yuan.

“You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Have a snack.”

“Mhmm…”

Xia Yuan carefully opened the packaging without making any unnecessary noise. He glanced at the surrounding passengers and, after confirming that no one was paying attention to them, began to chew the cookies lightly.

She had only eaten a few pieces before giving some to Mei Fang. She continued to gaze out the window.

As if waiting for someone to appear.

The bus’s engine roared, and the vehicle slowly started moving. Xia Yuan lowered her head and finally asked Mei Fang in a low voice:

“Did we go too far this time? Dad and Mom are going to be so worried about us… I feel a bit uncomfortable.”

“We can still ask the driver to stop now.”

“That’s not what I mean!”

Xia Yuan held Mei Fang’s hand. “When I was writing the letter last night, I also thought about it a lot. I wondered if I could persuade Dad to sell the hotel or talk to Mom so she could give up the idea of divorce…”

“And then?”

“Well… I actually know that it’s impossible.”

Xia Yuan forced a smile and shook her head. “Like I told you before, after I started elementary school, Dad only cared about work-related socializing. I wanted him to take me to the amusement park, but he never did. Even when we went to Grandma’s house for summer vacation, it was just me and Mom.”

“Dad and Mom have been arguing for a long time. They just acted affectionately in front of everyone.”

“And… in front of me.”

Xia Yuan lowered her head and struggled for a while, then looked out the window.

“They always argue with the bedroom door closed. Sometimes, when it gets loud, I can actually hear it from outside, but I just always pretend not to know.”

“Why do you pretend not to know?”

Xia Yuan whispered, “Because they want me to not know, and I don’t want to make them sad.”

“I see…”

Mei Fang seemed to be lost in thought, and his opinion of Xia Yuan had also changed somewhat.

Xia Yuan was a well-behaved and sensible child.

She was a child who always tried her best to meet her parents’ expectations.

Her burden of being an idol was not simply to maintain her own image.

It was more about not embarrassing her parents and not disappointing their expectations.

As Xia Yuan talked about her worries, Mei Fang unconsciously placed his hand on Xia Yuan’s head and gently stroked it.

“What are you doing… you!”

Xia Yuan stared at Mei Fang angrily, “I told you not to touch my head like an adult, how many years has this habit not changed? Should I hit you?”

Although she said words of disdain, Mei Fang had been touching her head for many years, and Xia Yuan had long stopped disliking this behavior.

“I didn’t expect that you’ve been working so hard all this time…”

Mei Fang smiled slightly, “At least in front of me, you can relax. Whatever you want to be or how you want to be, I won’t judge you.”

Xia Yuan raised her head and looked at Mei Fang, blinking, with a bright light shining in her eyes.

“It’s the first time someone has said that to me.”

“Does that mean you also pretend in front of me?”

“I think… even when I’m alone, I do care about my image…”

While Xia Yuan chattered on, she enjoyed Mei Fang’s head patting.

Soon, she fell asleep leaning on Mei Fang’s arm.

The bus continued to run smoothly and soon arrived in Jiangcheng from Baimei County.

Xia Yuan’s grandmother lived in the countryside of Jiangcheng, so they would have to transfer vehicle after arriving in Jiangcheng.

But after all, they had been on the road for more than four hours from Baimei County, and both of them were not in a hurry to continue their journey.

After taking a breath of air in the provincial capital, Mei Fang turned to Xia Yuan:

“Let’s have lunch first, what do you want to eat?”

Xia Yuan walked up with her hands behind her back, taking light steps, and leaned towards Mei Fang, smiling at him.

She seemed a bit excited, and her previous worries about her family no longer interfered with her mood of running away from home.

“Mei Fang, I will always remember what you said, you know?”

“What exactly do you mean…”

“I can be myself in front of you, and you won’t care or dislike it, right?”

Mei Fang nodded, “Yes, feel free to be yourself.”

“So, since I rarely come all the way to Jiangcheng, I must go eat some junk food that my parents would never take me to eat before!”

Xia Yuan smacked her lips and playfully stuck out her tongue.

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