"I can't believe I didn't win…"
Lian Hua looked deflated. Yun Shan and I exchanged a glance, and the former wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulders.
"Hey, but you got third! That's still pretty impressive! You won a prize!"
"Not good enough."
Talk about high standards. I would be lucky if they allowed to participate as one of the twelve contestants, never mind winning a medal. But Lian Hua didn't seem satisfied. She was kicking at the street while holding up her rolled-up panting, which had been carefully placed inside a cylindrical case. She then handed it to Yun Shan.
"You can have this."
"Really?" Yun Shan's eyes went wide and she accepted the painting with both hands. She looked like she was going to burst into tears as she tightly clutched the painting to her chest. "Thank you very much! I will treasure it!"
"Well, now that you guys are done…you should go enjoy yourselves. I'll leave both of you alone, and I'll go look for bookshelves."
"…bookshelves?" Yun Shan repeated incredulously.
"I'll go look for a bookstore or something. An amusement park's not my kind of thing."
Waving a hand, I slunk off before either of them could argue otherwise. Knowing them, they would insist that I stay around, but I didn't want to get in the way of their romance. I winked at Yun Shan. This was her great chance. I prayed for her success.
Catching my gaze, Yun Shan lowered her head subtly to convey her gratitude.
On the other hand, Lian Hua didn't catch the hint. She looked at me guiltily.
"Sorry to make you come all the way just to watch my competition. I appreciate the support, but you really didn't have to."
"Oh, no. I really needed to get out of the house anyway. Otherwise, I'll be cooped up in my room playing games all day."
"Don't worry, the both of you should go enjoy yourselves. I'll be taking Ming Cong from here, if you two don't mind, of course."
The three of us spun around and gaped at Shu Hong Qiu. Unlike her usual rigid school uniform dress, the Shu family heiress was dressed in an expensive, silky white dress with lace. A huge hat was perched atop her head, its wide brim sheltering her beautiful face under its shade.
"Would you mind accompanying me for the rest of the day, Ming Cong?"
"Uh, what are you doing here?" I blurted out in shock. "And, uh, how much did you hear?"
"Everything." Shu Hong Qiu giggled. Then she nodded toward the stage we had just left. "Oh, it's just a coincidence. My uncle happens to be on the judging committee for the art competition today. I just came to help him. I didn't think you guys would be here too."
She stopped and nodded at Lian Hua.
"Oh, so that's why you were staying back late in the art club for the past week. Well done on getting third place. Your painting is impressive."
"N…not at all," Lian Hua mumbled, her face red. She had somewhat gotten used to Shu Hong Qiu's presence, but she still found the student council member a little intimidating. And I didn't blame her.
"Shall we, then?" Shu Hong Qiu turned to me. I scratched my head and sighed.
"Okay. I hope you won't regret this."
"No, I won't." She leaned over to whisper into my ear. "Besides, you need an excuse to leave those two alone together, right?"
"Right." I stepped back and waved at the astonished Yun Shan and Lian Hua. "'night!"
"All right, so which attraction should we start with?" Shu Hong Qiu asked. Grabbing my hand, she led me toward the roller coaster. With a grin, she turned her head back and pointed at the blurring cars as they looped along the crazy-looking tracks. Even from here, I could hear the screams of the passengers over the roar of the streaking cars and metallic grind of the wheels. "How about that?"
I shrugged. As I said, my stint in the underworld had inured me to what would have otherwise scared me in the past.
"I feel the same, so yeah, I'm game."
"Could you…try not speaking in rhymes for just today?"
"I'll try my best. It's quite the test."
"What did I just say?"
Anyway, the both of us went to ride on the roller coaster. I had to hand my glasses over before boarding because they would fall off if they weren't secured. As such, I couldn't see a thing. That was fine, though – the moment the cars sped up the tracks and began speeding about, everything turned into a blur.
"Wow, that was an intense ride!" Shu Hong Qiu exclaimed after we got off. I was more interested in retrieving my glasses than recovering my breath. That said, the experience still got my adrenaline flowing, and I grinned, enjoying the thrill.
"What's next?"
"That!" Shu Hong Qiu tugged me toward a haunted house. I almost burst out laughing when I saw it. I had fought real ghosts and talked to the denizens of the underworld. Honestly, I found a fake haunted house amusing.
Then again, this was an amusement park.
The first guy jumped at us, his silhouette cloaked by a white sheet. Shouting "boo!" as loudly as he could, he flailed about. I simply stared at him. Beside me, Shu Hong Qiu giggled.
"You're supposed to be a ghost?" I asked drily. "You're better off being a host."
The poor employee slunk away, disappointed at our reactions. Shu Hong Qiu and I exchanged a look before she laughed.
"You could at least be a little kinder to him."
"What can I say?" I shrugged. "Just not his day."
The next challenger was the typical Eastern Asian female ghost with long, stringy black hair, white dress and writhing on the ground. She slammed her hands against a window and moaned, attempting to startle us. I had to resist the urge to kick her and send her flying, much like what I did to the specter that Han Zhi Hui turned into.
Shu Hong Qiu felt similarly, for she merely tilted her head at the poor girl, and shrugged.
"I'll give an A for effort, at least."
The employee gaped at her, forgetting that she was supposed to act like a ghost. Ignoring her, we proceeded to the next scare. A person dressed as a mummy, but he looked more injured than scary. A vampire dropped down on us, and I almost kicked him off his wires. Whoops. A girl crossdressing as Frankenstein's monster, but looking more like a Fate/Apocrypha cosplayer than an actual scary creature. Someone had decided that western horror was the way to go, with more emphasis on the vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein's monster and mummies.
It didn't really suit me. Not that oriental horror was any better or scarier, but I thought there would at least be some references other than that J-horror styled ghost with long, black hair. Oh, well.
"That was fun," Shu Hong Qiu said as we exited the haunted house. "What's next?"
More exciting stuff like the drop tower, the rocking boats, and different variations of roller coasters. Evidently, Shu Hong Qiu enjoyed thrills and chills.
Fortunately, I didn't have to go through much more. The adrenaline inducing rides gave way to more relaxing ones, with Shu Hong Qiu leading me to the slower merry-go-rounds. The horses and the teacups, as well as a swan boat ride through an artificial river.
She really wanted to try every single attraction, huh?
Before I knew it, it was evening, and we ended the day with a slow, relaxing ride in the Ferris Wheel. Day was slowly melting away to night, the skies having turned a deep orange. We sat opposite each other, lounging on our seats and peering through the windows and at the amusement park below.
"How do you think Yun Shan and Lian Hua are doing?" I asked, finally breaking the silence. "I hope they are having fun and some good loving."
"Maybe. You seem pretty invested in their relationship." Shu Hong Qiu glanced at me curiously. I shrugged.
"They are both my friends. Just means to an end."
"Please stop that rhyming." Shu Hong Qiu sighed. "I would like to hear you speak properly for once."
"Oh, okay. Sorry." I sighed wearily. Turning serious, I asked, "So why did you, uh, decide to spend the whole day at the amusement park with me today?"
"Because it's fun?"
"I don't doubt that, but I thought you might benefit from having better…uh, company."
"What sort of better company?"
I shrugged. Shu Hong Qiu sighed again and reclined in her seat, staring at the twilight. Her eyes took on a distant look.
"For someone like me who's born into a rich family, I don't get to choose the man I marry."
"I'm sorry to hear that." I lowered my head guiltily. Seemed like I had encroached upon a sensitive topic.
"Of all the guys I've encountered so far, I found you the least off-putting. Unfortunately, I still have to abide by my family's wishes. Eventually, they will dictate who my fiancé is and wish for me to enter a marriage of convenience. To strengthen an alliance between two wealthy corporations, or establish links with an ancient family with prestige and influence."
"You have it tough," I remarked sympathetically.
"But all those arrogant young masters I've met so far…they're almost exclusively self-centered, overbearing and misogynistic. I would rather die than enter into a toxic marriage where they treat me like a trophy, rape me with the excuse that I must fulfil my duty of bearing heirs, and endure domestic violence and emotional and verbal abuse."
"You shouldn't have to put up with all that," I protested hotly. "Your family can't force you to marry whoever they want you to. You have a right to choose your own spouse."
"Thank you." She smiled and rested her head against the window. She raised her hand and pressed her fingertips to the glass. "When I first saw you, I thought you were interesting." She then narrowed her eyes and sent me a glare. "Not the rapping, though."
"I'll admit that I'm flattered. Not that it would have mattered." When her glare intensified, I raised both of my hands. At that moment, I felt as if I was treading hot sand. "What's so interesting about me?"
"In the chemistry class two weeks ago, you were the only one who volunteered to help your classmate. None of your other classmates seemed…helpful. I thought that was very nice of you."
"Uh…thanks." Personally, I didn't think it was a big deal. She was exaggerating.
"Then that night, you stayed back for your friend." Shu Hong Qiu glanced out of the window, as if searching for Lian Hua. "For all of us…you stayed back to fight the…thing that Han Zhi Hui had turned into. Even though you could have died."
"Yeah, I thought I might as well take a gamble, otherwise we would all be dead."
"I was impressed by your courage and noble sacrifice…"
"Now you're exaggerating."
"I'm not. None of the students did what you did. You were the only one who stood up and fought."
That was because I had been to hell and back. I had stared down death, died and returned to life. A ghost wasn't anything for me to fear at this point. Not that I intended to boast about it.
"Also, that day…during Valentine's Day…" She continued to stare out of the window, searching. "I saw you stand up for your friend. Even though the other party was Shen Ai Qing, one of the four campus flowers, you stood up for your friend, who wasn't as beautiful or popular, while risking Shen Ai Qing's wrath. It showed that you aren't a superficial person who would choose beauties over friends. That you will fight for what is right. I was even more impressed."
She turned back to me with a frown.
"Are you sure you're not in love with Lian Hua? Is it really okay to push her toward that short-haired girl?"
"Oh, no. Not at all." I laughed. "I might consider her a dear friend, but I'm not interested in her romantically."
"Ho?" Shu Hong Qiu raised an eyebrow. She placed her hat on her lap, fiddling with its brim while keeping her eyes down. "Out of curiosity, what is your type, then? The other girl, then? Is that why you're going out of your way to help her? And taking care of the girl she likes?"
"Yun Shan? No. She's not my type either." I sank in my seat wearily, my shoulders sagging. "I'll be honest with you. I don't have many friends. So…the few that I have, I must treasure."
Closing my eyes, I sighed and rubbed my forehead.
"I've been trying so hard to make more friends, but somehow I just end up pissing everyone."
The SSS had declared me an enemy, and even Tong Xue's attitude had turned lukewarm.
Shu Hong Qiu studied me for a moment, and then she shook her head and chuckled.
"I think you're fine the way you are. Even if you don't have many friends, so what? You have at least two close friends. They are worth much more than a hundred so-called 'friends' put together. You should be proud that you're such a good friend to them. It's not about quantity, but quality."
I thought about it for a moment. Shu Hong Qiu was right. I had been so obsessed with increasing the number of friends I had that I almost forgot to treasure the ones I already had. My true friends. Perhaps they are the ones I should focus on.
Better to be a good friend to a couple of people than a superficial 'friend' to a hundred.
Shu Hong Qiu watched me as I pondered on her words. She clasped her hands atop her hat, slightly crumpling it. Her tone softened.
"You've also been a good friend to me. I know that you've been looking out for me. Mysterious incidents have been occurring around me in school, particularly…you know, what happened last week. If it weren't for your presence the last couple of days, I think something might have happened by now."
"I'll try to keep you safe in school," I said, neglecting to say that her grandfather had made that request. Looked like I would have to continue watching over her after class, especially if she insisted on her student council activities. "So you just need to keep your cool."
"Thanks. I appreciate it." Shu Hong Qiu bent forward to grab my hand and give my fingers a squeeze. "I'll be counting on you again, Ming Cong."