Early in the morning, Jiang Shengyan applied sunscreen, put on a sun hat and a sun-protective clothing, and headed out once she was all set.
The amusement park was bustling with people on Saturday, and the weather was bright and sunny. The four of them had agreed to meet at the entrance. By the time Jiang Shengyan arrived, the others were already there waiting for her.
"Why are you guys so early? Am I late?" Jiang Shengyan remembered leaving a little ahead of schedule.
Xu Jingyu said, "No, no, we just got here too."
"Since everyone's here, let's go in." Shen Jingyan handed out the tickets to everyone.
Everyone lined up at the entrance, watching Xu Jingyu and Lin Mengke bicker and chase each other as they walked ahead. They really were a pair of livewires.
"They're so young and full of energy," Jiang Shengyan couldn't help sighing.
Walking beside her, Shen Jingyan turned his head at her words. "Oh! And you're not young? How old is the senior citizen this year?"
"Not much, just sweet sixteen," Jiang Shengyan replied with a straight face.
"Yet you act all old and wise. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were eighty," Shen Jingyan's mouth twitched.
Jiang Shengyan: "……"
"What are you two doing? Hurry up! What should we ride first?" Lin Mengke turned back, her eyes sparkling.
Shen Jingyan chimed in, "The roller coaster, of course! Didn't someone say we should go for the most exciting ones?"
Xu Jingyu wore a bitter expression. What a great best friend he had—sometimes knowing someone too well wasn't necessarily a good thing. Xu Jingyu felt a headache coming on.
"Yay, yay! That's my favorite!" Lin Mengke jumped up in excitement.
"I remember someone a while ago..." Shen Jingyan began casually, before Xu Jingyu cut him off.
"That was ages ago!" Xu Jingyu hurriedly interrupted, "I'm totally different now!"
No way was he going to lose face in front of female classmates. How could a real man be afraid of a roller coaster? A little roller coaster was a piece of cake—he had this handled! Xu Jingyu pumped himself up inwardly.
Arms crossed, Shen Jingyan raised an eyebrow at him. "Roller coaster it is, then."
While waiting in line, Jiang Shengyan noticed that Xu Jingyu looked a bit tense, and she thought back to what Shen Jingyan hadn't finished saying earlier. She leaned closer to Shen Jingyan and lowered her voice: "Is Xu Jingyu scared of this?"
"Guess." Shen Jingyan lowered his head. "Want to make a bet?"
"Bet on what?"
"Bet on whether he lasts to the third ride."
Jiang Shengyan looked up at him. "I bet he won't." Did he take her for a fool? Xu Jingyu was obviously terrified; he probably wouldn't even survive this single ride.
"Then I bet he will," Shen Jingyan curved his lips. "Loser buys milk tea."
"Deal!" Jiang Shengyan agreed readily.
The roller coaster slowly started. Xu Jingyu sat in the very front, his hands gripping the safety bar tightly. Sitting next to him, Lin Mengke looked around in excitement.
"Xu Jingyu, are you scared?" Lin Mengke noticed that Xu Jingyu's knuckles had turned white from gripping so hard.
"Who, who's scared! It's just a roller coaster," Xu Jingyu forced himself to look calm. "I'm just excited!"
Lin Mengke didn't dwell on it. "Oh, alright."
Sitting in the back row, Jiang Shengyan and Shen Jingyan watched the back of Xu Jingyu's head. As the roller coaster climbed to the highest point, fine beads of sweat were already dotting the back of Xu Jingyu's neck.
"Here it comes," Shen Jingyan said suddenly.
The next second, the roller coaster plummeted. Amidst the screams, Jiang Shengyan felt her heart beat so fast it almost jumped out of her chest.
For a moment, her mind went completely blank. She simply enjoyed the madness of the moment, feeling a relaxation like never before.
Turning her head, she saw Shen Jingyan looking straight ahead with intense focus, a faint, ambiguous smile at the corner of his mouth. He looked completely composed.
When they got off the roller coaster, Lin Mengke saw that Xu Jingyu's face was pale and asked with some concern, "Are you okay?"
Xu Jingyu's face was drained of color, but he still forced himself to say, "I'm fine! Is that it? That was a piece of cake!"
Perhaps the only tough thing about Xu Jingyu was his mouth.
Bouncing over, Lin Mengke grabbed his hand. "Then let's go ride the giant pendulum!"
Jiang Shengyan and Shen Jingyan exchanged a tacit glance and followed behind them.
Once the giant pendulum started, Xu Jingyu's expression turned increasingly grim. When the pendulum reached its peak, Xu Jingyu couldn't hold it in any longer and screamed wildly, his cries intertwining with Lin Mengke's excited yells beside him.
"Shen Jingyan," Jiang Shengyan said, "you lose."
Shen Jingyan shook his head and sighed.
Sure enough, after getting off the pendulum, Xu Jingyu stumbled over to a trash can, leaned against the wall, and began to retch.
"Xu Jingyu!" Lin Mengke was stunned, not expecting him to actually be terrified of this—especially since he had just called it a piece of cake. She walked over and gently patted his back. "Are you alright?"
Jiang Shengyan took a bottle of mineral water from her bag and handed it over, while Shen Jingyan stood to the side with a teasing smile in his eyes.
"I, I'm fine..." Xu Jingyu took the water, his voice weak.
Lin Mengke pulled out a tissue and handed it to him to wipe the cold sweat off his forehead. "Why do you always have to act tough? If you're scared, you shouldn't have ridden it."
Taking the tissue, Xu Jingyu muttered quietly, "I thought I could push through it..."
"All bark and no bite," Shen Jingyan gave a light click of his tongue and gave him a steadying hand. When it came to putting on a tough front, this guy had been number one since childhood.
"Let's take a break," Jiang Shengyan suggested. "There are benches over there."
The four of them sat down on a bench. Lin Mengke was still nagging Xu Jingyu, though her tone was full of concern. Xu Jingyu didn't dare raise his head.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled patches of light and shadow on the ground. Jiang Shengyan looked at the three people around her and suddenly felt that this moment was exceptionally wonderful.
After resting for a while, it happened to be noon, so they found a place to have lunch.
Once they were well-fed, they rested for a little longer.
"What should we ride next?" Shen Jingyan asked.
"The carousel?" Jiang Shengyan suggested. "It's not good to do strenuous exercise right after eating." In truth, she said it for Xu Jingyu's sake so they wouldn't do anything too intense.
Sensing her intent, Xu Jingyu immediately retorted, "I'm fine!"
Impatiently, Lin Mengke glanced at him sideways. "Will you die if you don't act tough?"
"Carousel it is then," Shen Jingyan settled the matter with a single word.
In front of the carousel, Lin Mengke pulled Jiang Shengyan along. "Yanyan, let's sit in the front!"
Jiang Shengyan and Lin Mengke took the front row, while Xu Jingyu and Shen Jingyan chose the horses behind them.
The music started, and the carousel slowly revolved. Lin Mengke waved excitedly at her, asking Jiang Shengyan to help take a picture.
Finally, Shen Jingyan raised his phone, capturing all four of them in a single frame. The beautiful moment was frozen in time.
Lin Mengke had originally suggested going to the haunted house, but Jiang Shengyan was terrified of those and refused to go no matter what, telling the other three to go in while she waited outside. In the end, they didn't end up going because they didn't have enough people.
After trying a few other rides, the sky grew dark in the blink of an eye. The amusement park lights flickered on, dressing the entire park in a dreamlike glow.
"For the last ride," Lin Mengke pointed to the distant Ferris wheel, "let's go ride the Ferris wheel!"