When He Fang appeared in front of Qin Guanglin wearing a light pink dress, Qin Guanglin's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't I look good?" He Fang asked, puzzled.
"You look great," Qin Guanglin suppressed the urge to check if she had a tail behind her, "What are you carrying?"
In her hand, she held a paper box, neither too big nor too small, square and plain with no patterns on it.
"It's a secret," He Fang smiled mysteriously and turned to walk toward the amusement park entrance.
Qin Guanglin followed, stepping behind the typical figure of a young girl. Her tied-up long hair hung to her shoulder blades, a small orange-red backpack on her back, below it a skirt-wrapped small derrière, no tail, and no fluffy ears.
He had arrived early and already bought the tickets, smoothly entering the park. Then he stored everything at a nearby locker, leaving only his wallet and phone.
"What should we play first?" Qin Guanglin asked, holding a park navigation booklet, "Carousel? The slide ride?"
"Roller coaster, giant swing, drop tower," He Fang seemed to have already made up her mind.
Qin Guanglin couldn't help but glance at her, "Uh... do you want to start with something this intense right away?"
The rides she mentioned were the park's main attractions, said to be the most intense and thrilling.
"Are you scared?" He Fang eyed Qin Guanglin askew.
"Heh... me, scared?" Qin Guanglin, provoked by her look, retorted, "Come on, let's do the flying chairs and all the thrilling rides one by one!"
He took two steps forward and noticed He Fang hadn't followed. He turned back to look at her.
"You dropped something," He Fang stood still.
Qin Guanglin felt around him, his phone and wallet were there, "What?"
"Me."
"..."
He froze for a moment, then sheepishly walked back and took He Fang's small hand, leading her forward.
"Mr. Qin, you told me sweet words yesterday," He Fang looked up at him with a small face.
"We said them to each other," Qin Guanglin tried to appear nonchalant, though his eyes had already shifted elsewhere.
"That's progress. I need to reward you," she hopped lightly twice to stand in front of Qin Guanglin.
"At a place like this... isn't it... inappropriate?" Qin Guanglin glanced around nervously.
"Alright, then I'll save it for later," He Fang seemed particularly fond of seeing Qin Guanglin's nervous demeanor, smiled, and continued walking ahead.
Qin Guanglin realized that once again, she had outwitted him. He angrily rubbed He Fang's small hand, even using his thumb to caress her hand several times.
It was peculiar, women's hands seemed to have bones that were soft, smooth, and tender.
"Does it feel nice?" He Fang chuckled softly, looking up at him.
"Nice," Qin Guanglin responded loudly, forcing himself to play along.
"Then touch it a few more times," He Fang tightened her small hand, happily pulling him into the roller coaster waiting area.
Luo City's amusement park was among the top tier of second-rate parks in the country, lacking nothing essential. While none of the attractions were the most in the nation, each had its own features.
"Welcome to the Luo City Roller Coaster, this ride is suitable for passengers with a height between 1.2 and 1.9 meters. People with heart disease, high blood pressure, motion sickness, vertigo, or intoxication…"
Qin Guanglin entered as the operator explained, placing his phone and wallet in the temporary lockers, then being led by He Fang to the seat in the first row, waiting for the operator to check the seat belts.
He was a bit nervous. Never in his life had he been on anything more than a children's roller coaster, which was only over two hundred meters long and slow, nothing that could be considered a thrill ride.
This roller coaster, according to the brochure, was more than nine hundred meters long with four big loops, an Immelmann turn, and vertical drop, a real thriller.
He Fang turned sweetly toward him with a smile, tightening their interlocked hands, "Scared?"
"Not at all," Qin Guanglin shook his head.
"No worries if you are, I'm here," she seemed very at ease, "If it feels exciting, just scream."
The roller coaster started moving slowly, clunking as it climbed, Qin Guanglin unconsciously tightened his grip on He Fang's hand.
Reaching the peak, there was a brief pause, then a sudden plunge. The intense acceleration and strong wind took Qin Guanglin's breath away, and before he realized it, they were at the big loop.
"Ah!!!"
Others started shouting, Qin Guanglin resisted the urge, glancing sideways at He Fang. She shouted excitedly too, turning her head to look at him.
"Ah~!" Qin Guanglin tried yelling once and found it quite effective. All the stress and unease were vented out through shouting, no longer holding back, "Ah———!"
With adrenaline soaring and shouts filling the ride, the group completed loop after loop in what felt like an indefinitely stretched three and a half minutes. Qin Guanglin gripped He Fang's hand tightly, experiencing a joy he had never known before.
An indescribable wonderful feeling, making one want to linger in this moment forever.
When the roller coaster slowly stopped, Qin Guanglin was still somewhat reluctant for it to end.
He Fang's face was tinted with a thin blush, still slightly panting, with a few strands of hair stuck to her forehead with sweat, she turned to him, "How do you feel?"
"Exhilarating," Qin Guanglin looked at her face, slightly dazed, his heart still pounding furiously, yet in a different way, like a feeling of being moved.
"Good to hear you're not scared," He Fang smiled gently, unbuckling the seat belt and leading him off the seat, "Let's go, next one."
Exiting, they took a few steps before she turned into a small hut labeled "Aerial Photography," where a computer and two printers sat.
"Did you two just get off the roller coaster? Come see if there are any shots of you," greeted a young fellow inside. With a few keystrokes, a photo from the roller coaster's high point appeared on the screen, "Oh, you're in the first row."
Qin Guanglin was surprised, "There's such a service?"
The photo captured the two in mid-scream, hands clasped tightly, taken with clarity, all expressions and details on display.
He Fang studied the photo for a bit before speaking, "Let's see the others."
The young man continued tapping the keyboard while praising the photo, "That one was quite good, capturing all the tension, especially you two in the front row with nothing blocking you... hey, this one is better!"
The new photo showed the pair looking at each other, hair windblown, He Fang slightly excited with her mouth ajar, Qin Guanglin shouting loudly, hints of smiles in both their eyes.
"Print this one and let's see the next," He Fang immediately decided that this one had to be saved.
"One copy or two?" The young man asked cheerfully, turning to the incoming visitors, "Don't rush, everyone's got a turn, one at a time."
Qin Guanglin was about to say two copies when He Fang interjected, "One, large."
"Alright, one large copy," the young man repeated as he set the printer going, the photo paper sliding in and then gradually emerging as their image was printed.
"The third one isn't as good as the first two. Would you like a copy of the first one too? It's good to have memories when you're out having fun, more photos the better, for future nostalgia."
He charmingly persuaded them to leave a few more photos.
"No thanks, just this," He Fang smiled, taking out her wallet, "How much?"
"I got it, I got it," Qin Guanglin insisted on paying. He Fang turned her head to look at him.
For some reason, without words, without extra gestures, just one look, he understood He Fang's meaning.
Between you and me, there's no need to fuss over these things.