Chapter 38: Amusement Park
Gu Qing had never been to Qiming City’s amusement park.
He wasn’t a native of Qiming City, having come here less than three years ago. This amusement park in Qiming City was quite famous, but he’d been wandering outside before and had never come.
He had once promised a certain girl he would accompany her here, but though he promised, he broke his word.
It took an hour by taxi from home to the amusement park. When they arrived, Lu Qianqian had already fallen asleep on his legs. He gently woke her, paid the taxi fare, and got out with Lu Qianqian. Before leaving, Lu Qianqian had brought a small bag containing mineral water, wet wipes, keys, a power bank, candy, and such things. Now that cute rabbit bag was slung across Gu Qing’s body.
“I bought couple tickets.”
Lu Qianqian had pre-ordered the tickets online. Gu Qing thought this was nothing—he and Lu Qianqian were the right age to pretend to be a couple. It was currently the amusement park’s off-season, so there wasn’t a long queue at the entrance. There was a special couple ticket lane where many men and women were lining up. Just before entering, they would take a kissing photo.
The moment Gu Qing saw this, his steps suddenly stiffened, wanting to escape.
“Why are they kissing over there?” Gu Qing scratched his head.
Lu Qianqian took out her phone to show him the promotional poster, which said couples coming here to play had to first make a contract kiss witnessed by others, and they would take a commemorative photo. If the two came back next year with the photo, they could enjoy an even bigger discount.
This was also a marketing strategy the amusement park came up with for the recent off-season, and from the looks of it, it really had attracted quite a few people.
“So all this anticipation these past few days was hiding this.” Gu Qing suddenly muttered softly, but when he turned to look at Lu Qianqian, he noticed her fingers were clutching her skirt, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“Should we just buy regular tickets instead?”
“We can’t get a refund.” Lu Qianqian blinked at him. “And couple tickets are 30% off—we can save over two hundred yuan.”
“But we’re just pretending to be a couple, right? What about the kissing?”
Before his words even finished, Lu Qianqian released her grip on her skirt. Her white, slender little hand grabbed his palm, seemingly naturally yet carefully separating his fingers and interlocking them, her voice becoming softer, “Pretending to be a couple, so pretending to kiss too… isn’t that perfectly normal?”
Gu Qing clearly saw her cheeks flush pink in the sunlight, exactly like roadside peach blossoms.
“Really, really don’t want to reconsider?” Gu Qing asked carefully again, but Lu Qianqian was already pulling him forward. Clearly her palm was wet as the sea.
He was only considering Lu Qianqian’s embarrassment. As for him, he never blushed. Relying on being shameless and heartless, he could live peacefully until now. It was just a kiss—how could he retreat or blush?
They soon joined the queue of couples. Gu Qing thought Lu Qianqian was the prettiest and cutest among these girls, which made him look good too. Thinking this, he felt a little proud, looking at Lu Qianqian’s fair face—clearly without makeup, naturally beautiful, yet cute and tender beyond words.
Soon it was their turn.
The ticket inspector had already taken out her instant camera, looking at the two with a gentle smile, wearing a trademark fake smile. Gu Qing wondered if he should lower his head to kiss Lu Qianqian’s cheek now? When his eyes fell on Lu Qianqian’s face, sunlight fell on her snow-white skin, light and shadow alternating under her eyelashes.
He suddenly felt a moment’s hesitation, inexplicable.
Not from shyness, nor from timidity, just some inexplicable small confusion. His previous desire to kiss Ji Yueling was more like a prank, including making her spread her legs—these were all just pranks, a certain kind of punishment for that annoying and calculating woman Ji Yueling. Watching her shame reach its peak while having to reluctantly submit to him gave his certain dark humor great satisfaction.
But he never had such dark humor toward Lu Qianqian. Lu Qianqian was so well-behaved, so understanding, so cute, that it made him instinctively want to retreat. Clearly he had only shown that hesitant, confused expression for two seconds when Lu Qianqian gently reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
He was slightly stunned, and the girl in front of him had already stood on tiptoe. She still had the scent of body wash on her, and she suddenly leaned close, her pink lips gently landing on his.
Click.
In that instant, Gu Qing seemed to notice she had secretly touched his lips with her little pink tongue—such a despicable little trick was really too much. If it weren’t for all the people around, worried that Lu Qianqian would explode from embarrassment afterward, he suddenly wanted to embrace Lu Qianqian’s slender waist and kiss this mischievous her until she was dizzy and breathless.
“This is your contract kiss photo. Keep it well—if you come back here next year, you can enjoy a 50% discount.” The ticket inspector handed over the instant photo with both hands. Lu Qianqian carefully put it away, then grabbed Gu Qing’s hand and quickened her pace like she was running away, hurried and guilty like a little mouse.
They kept walking into the amusement park until they reached a roadside where there were almost no people. Only then did Lu Qianqian finally stop, her breathing no longer so rapid, as if she’d been slightly oxygen-deprived from nervousness. She slowly reached out to touch her cheek.
Then she gently grabbed Gu Qing’s hand and brought it to her cheek.
Gu Qing felt a wave of heat from his palm, as if steam might emerge from her forehead.
Lu Qianqian squinted slightly, seeming to enjoy the touch of Gu Qing’s palm. Gu Qing lowered his head slightly, forehead against her forehead, suddenly laughing softly, “Qianqian, have you heard of the saying ‘once there’s a first time, there’ll be a second’?”
“Haven’t heard of it.” Lu Qianqian’s eyes blinked innocently, but the next moment she hugged his arm tightly, pointing to the distant roller coaster. “I want to ride that.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Gu Qing smiled helplessly.
Speaking of which, with her hugging his arm like this, her chest seemed to press against him softly—so excessive.
…
Gu Qing was also afraid of roller coasters, just like when he rode in Ji Yueling’s car, he would turn pale and vomit endlessly from that terrifying speed. But Lu Qianqian beside him was obviously much happier than him. She screamed loudly and laughed freely and joyfully in the wind, and though she would panic from fear, fortunately their seats were close together so she could tightly grip Gu Qing’s hand.
At least there was no worry about exposure, because before leaving, Lu Qianqian had shown him the cute white lace safety shorts under her skirt.
It was now early March in early spring. The peach and pear trees in the amusement park had bloomed, with flowers clustering on the branches, petals floating in the wind, and colorful butterflies flying about in the air.
Gu Qing accompanied Lu Qianqian on three roller coaster rides in the amusement park. After seeing things like the pendulum and drop tower, he looked at Lu Qianqian’s anticipatory eyes and felt a little scared inside.
Women really were creatures who preferred excitement.
But Gu Qing didn’t say anything disappointing like being afraid. When there was no one around, he walked very solemnly in front of Lu Qianqian, then gently placed his hand on her shoulder with a grave and seemingly serious expression, “I need Qianqian to lend me a little courage.”
“Okay.” Lu Qianqian stepped forward and gently hugged him, her soft chest pressing against his, her hand patting his back gently like comforting a child. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
Gu Qing was about to say that actually he didn’t mean borrowing courage this way—he wanted the warmth of the girl’s pink lips. But in the end he couldn’t say it, instead seeming to melt in the girl’s warm embrace. After a long while, he was led in a daze by Lu Qianqian to queue under the pendulum, screaming and howling wildly in mid-air.
After getting off, Gu Qing sat on a bench, covering his face, unable to show himself.
“Huh?” Lu Qianqian gently pried his fingers apart. “What’s wrong?”
“So embarrassing.” Gu Qing replied gloomily.
Lu Qianqian’s lips curved up. “Hey, but even though you were so scared… you still rode with me.”
His hands were taken away by Lu Qianqian, and she brought her fair face close to his, their noses almost touching. He saw the gentle smile at the corner of the girl’s lips, her breath falling on his cheek. Gu Qing heard her voice, “So… want a kiss as a reward?”
“Of course, this is what Qianqian owes me.”
“Okay.” Lu Qianqian leaned closer, her pink lips gently pecking at the corner of his mouth, touching and retreating, but so soft and tender. Gu Qing felt himself becoming enchanted, as if hearing the sound of wind blowing through wheat fields.
Gu Qing looked into her bright eyes, but suddenly felt an inexplicable fear in his heart. He had always held a certain self-awareness, always fearing some kind of intimate relationship that made him uneasy, so he always wanted to escape many things. But at this moment, looking at the girl’s gentle, clear eyes, he seemed to suddenly have subtle courage to face those fears.
“So what relationship are we now? Qianqian.”
“Huh?” Lu Qianqian’s little hand was held in his palm. She thought seriously, then asked Gu Qing, “What relationship do you think we should be?”
“I think Qianqian is a woman who could be my mother.”
Lu Qianqian first puffed out her cheeks, eyes resentful, then couldn’t help but laugh, before looking at him innocently, “I’m a high school student. High school students can’t date, so…”
“That’s great!” Gu Qing suddenly pulled her slender body into his arms, then without waiting for her agreement, kissed her cheek with a smack.
This answer was really too great—it instantly dispelled all the fear in his heart.
“Hey…” Lu Qianqian somewhat confusedly reached out, her fingertip touching where he had just kissed, then showed him a disgusted expression. “Saying ‘high school students are really great’ and such… you seem like a pervert.”