A Day at Happy Garden

The tickets for the Happy Garden were far from cheap—two hundred yuan per person.

Qin Yage wasn’t very tall, hovering right around the 1.2-meter mark for half-price tickets. Yet she stubbornly refused to use the children’s rate. If she wanted to grow up, this self-deception wasn’t the way!

Going together would cost at least four hundred yuan, just for tickets, not including other expenses. That was equivalent to a whole week’s living expenses for Qin An’s family. In the past, Qin An would never have been so extravagant. But ever since he had squeezed ten thousand yuan out of that cheap young lady Dongfang Kelian last night, he felt his backbone straightened, his mood improved, and his words carried more confidence.

The Happy Garden was the only relatively advanced amusement park in Nan’an City, so it was always crowded. Now it was the May Day holiday, so even more people came. The ticket booth and entrance were packed with people.

Qin An noticed a notice at the main entrance: “During the May Day holiday, the Happy Garden is proud to introduce couple tickets! For only 520 yuan per couple, you can play games for free, participate in special couple games, and receive free gifts. Don’t miss this limited-time offer!”

Qin An walked over to read the notice. He read it again and again, and only after a long time did he turn around, asking hesitantly, “Brother, what are ‘couples’?”

“Hmm… like Lin Yan and Han Gen.”

Qin An gave a simple example. Those two were barely considered neighbors, living across from him. But when they engaged in their horizontal exercises, they always left the door and windows open, sometimes with the lights on, so all sorts of unsightly scenes and sounds would drift out, causing special trouble and good influence on the surroundings.

For instance, the frequency of marital bed activities increased, couples got more harmonious, and lonely widows and budding youths increased their self-comforting activities. Generally speaking, it was a welcome phenomenon, so everyone tacitly allowed it.

“You said they are an adulterous couple, not a real couple.”

“Fine, a more formal explanation: there are two people who like each other. But this liking is different from the affection between siblings or relatives. It’s two unrelated people who like each other, openly acknowledge this relationship, and live together. Such two people are called a couple.”

“Like each other? Not related? Live together?” Qin Yage secretly glanced at her brother, as if connecting to something bad. Her little ears turned hot red, and that thought stuck in her mind like a nail, never to be shaken off.

Qin An thought further, combining his past-life experience, and added, “It doesn’t have to be a man and a woman. Some couples are two men, some are two women.”

“Men and men, women and women?” Qin Yage frowned. She couldn’t yet grasp the deeper meaning of those words.

For some reason, Dongfang Kelian’s figure flashed through her mind, making her shiver slightly.

She quickly looked around, relieved to see no familiar figure. Little did she know that in a corner, a small figure under 1.2 meters tall, wearing a mask, hat, and sunglasses, draped in a trench coat too big for her, was patting her own chest, looking like a little private detective.

This little detective was about to turn back to check on Qin Yage when two hands reached out from the darkness behind her, covering her mouth and nose. Soon she fell unconscious.

“Let’s pretend and buy a special ticket. That way we can save a lot of money and buy lots of lollipops.”

“Really, your brain hasn’t been filled with saccharin? Don’t you want to be an adult? Just an 80% discount ticket?” Qin An was so exasperated he had no temper. Qin Yage changed her face faster than flipping a book.

“Hmph.” Qin Yage snorted without explanation. The reason she didn’t want the half-price ticket was because a classmate had boasted about going to Happy Valley with her brother, saying she was already an adult. That made Qin Yage very unhappy. But now, if she went back with a couple ticket, wouldn’t she be an adult among adults?

But Qin Yage would never tell her brother that; he would tease her to death.

Thinking this, she couldn’t wait to run to the special couple ticket booth.

Qin An watched her bouncing off and smiled knowingly. But then he realized she had no money, so he quickly followed.

“Couple ticket.” Qin An held out 520 yuan with one hand and put the other arm around Qin Yage, acting very affectionate.

The ticket seller looked at Qin An, then at Qin Yage, and said, “Siblings, right?”

“You’re the sibling!” Qin Yage felt immediately exposed, and she wasn’t happy about it.

“Actually, we both have dwarfism. Our real ages are eighteen.” Even Qin An didn’t believe that.

The ticket seller just smiled with closed lips and said nothing more. It was common for siblings to play pretend couples. There was no rule that proof of being a couple was needed to buy the ticket, nor that elementary school students couldn’t be in love. But were kids these days so precocious? The seller felt old.

“Thank you, sorry.” Qin An apologized as he took the tickets.

“If you don’t want the couple ticket anymore, you can pay the difference. But once inside, you can’t change to the full ticket!” Seeing Qin An as an adorable little boy, the seller kindly reminded him.

But Qin An didn’t care. He dragged Qin Yage to the gate. Only then did he hear that the couple ticket allowed participation in the day’s couple activities, but many rides were not included; they needed separate tickets.

Indeed, you get what you pay for! With such a big discount, no wonder. Qin An began to regret. He read the instructions and found that most of the activities he and Qin Yage had mentioned at breakfast were not included.

But since there were so many people today, many popular rides had queues stretching endlessly. The less popular ones were accessible. Qin An comforted himself, employing the ultimate Ah Q spirit.

“What should we play first?” After entering, Qin Yage was in high spirits.

“Let’s go check over there…”

Qin An led her towards the crowded areas. First, they went to the roller coaster, which raced along the tracks with screams rising and falling.

“Not fun.” Qin Yage glanced once and wouldn’t look again. She turned and walked away without hesitation.

“How about that?”

Qin An pointed to the carousel, one of the few popular rides included in the couple ticket. Many couples were on it, along with some children.

“No way. I’m not a three-year-old. I won’t play something so childish.” Qin Yage protested loudly.

Despite her protests, Qin An ignored her, took her hand, and dragged her towards the carousel.

“I don’t want to play something so boring. Just going around in circles—what’s fun about that?”

Along the way, Qin Yage kept protesting.

Qin An elegantly ignored her. When they reached the carousel, he lifted her under her armpits and placed her on a colorful horse. Feeling ticklish, Qin Yage’s pretty face flushed pink.

“Brother, I said I won’t play something so childish… Ah!”

As the carousel started, Qin Yage gasped and quickly grabbed the horse’s handle.

Though she had called it childish and boring, after two rotations, she was fully immersed, her face beaming with joy. She looked like a child experiencing a carousel for the first time.

Seeing her like this, Qin An couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Qin Yage had a special fondness for carousels. Because she entered Dover too early, she lost some childhood joys. Even if Qin An had rented an entire amusement park in his later life, the happiness his sister felt then wasn’t even one percent of what she felt now. Some things only bloom at a specific time; if missed, they wither, and no amount of nourishment can revive them.

A few minutes later, when she reluctantly got off the carousel, Qin An deliberately said sarcastically, “Isn’t this quite enjoyable? I recall someone saying boring and childish. Did I mishear? Your mouth says no, but your body is honest!”

Hearing this, Qin Yage blushed. She still insisted, “It was no fun at all! If you hadn’t forced me up, I wouldn’t have played something so childish.”

“You stubborn mouther.”

He lightly pinched her cheek and, torn between exasperation and amusement, pulled her elsewhere.

“Hmph, it was to begin with.” For some reason, her voice weakened. Even she couldn’t stand her own stubbornness.

Qin Yage was too picky. Many rides she dismissed at first glance. Being picky was one of her strengths. Finally, Qin An had to take her to a relaxing ride suitable for all ages—the Ferris wheel.

As they started queuing, Qin Yage protested again, “What’s so fun about the Ferris wheel? Just going around once and coming down. It’s boring and slower than a snail.”

“If it went fast, people might die, little fool. Queue properly; I’ll buy ice cream.”

Hearing this, Qin Yage’s eyes went wide. She immediately shouted, “I want the super invincible giant version!”

“I know, you little foodie.”

While Qin An went to buy ice cream, Qin Yage stood obediently in line. As she waited, she sucked on a lollipop to pass the time.

A little later, two middle school students around fifteen or sixteen came over, apparently planning to ride the Ferris wheel. Seeing the crowd, the girl said disappointedly, “So many people. It’ll be many rounds before our turn. Let’s go. I was hoping to ride the Ferris wheel before heading to the hotel for some romance. Never mind.”

Her companion was a young man with dyed blond hair. Though still a student, he looked like a gangster. Seeing her disappointment, he wanted to please this pretty girl he had just met so he could have fun later. He scanned the queue and quickly locked onto a thin, weak-looking boy, whom he recognized. He had collected protection money from this boy more than once.

“Follow me. I have an idea.” With that, the young man pulled his girlfriend over to the thin boy and cut directly in front of him.

“What are you doing? Ji… Ji Yu? It’s you!” Seeing someone cut, the thin boy started angrily, but recognizing who it was, he shrank back.

“We were already queuing here. We just stepped away for a moment. Got a problem, Little Brother Ma?” Ji Yu stared at him fiercely, fully displaying his thuggish nature.

Intimidated by his fierce look and reputation, the thin boy called Little Ma dared not speak. Remembering the beatings and protection money, he trembled.

Seeing this, Ji Yu winked triumphantly at his girlfriend.

Though she felt it was a bit wrong, seeing him so imposing, she felt secretly pleased, thinking she had found a domineering boyfriend to show off.

Ji Yu saw her smile and beamed with joy. But just then, a clear voice came from behind the thin boy: “Xiao Yu, what’s wrong?”