Encountering an Acquaintance

“Hoo—hoo—”

Beside a tree on the roadside of Rainbow Park, I clung to the trunk, panting heavily.

My expression was a whirlwind of emotions; everything I had just experienced lingered stubbornly in my mind.

Good heavens, was that rollercoaster trying to kill me?

It went so incredibly fast!

At the point where the train rounded a corner and plummeted downwards, I swear I saw the Demon Lord waving at me!

I dry-heaved a few times, my stomach churning relentlessly.

Queen Lan, however, stood casually to the side.

No, it was more accurate to say that after riding the thing, the woman seemed even more energized.

‘Stay away from me! The two of us standing together are like the two most extreme reactions to a rollercoaster! Don’t you know how embarrassing this is for me, a fellow man?’

“Oh my, Li Qingchen, are you alright? You’re even throwing up, you know.”

Queen Lan leaned closer to me, her face alight with schadenfreude.

It made me suspect she had known all along I’d get motion sickness on the rollercoaster, which was why she deliberately dragged me onto it.

If that were true, this woman was truly terrifying.

Slowly, I straightened my back and shuffled towards a nearby bench.

I slumped against the armrest, utterly drained, and spoke feebly to Queen Lan, “I’m fine. I just need a moment to rest. You go ahead and play by yourself; don’t mind me.”

“Is that so? Li Qingchen needs to rest, does he?”

“Mhm.”

Mentally exhausted, I couldn’t be bothered to question Queen Lan at the moment.

Besides, I didn’t want her to see my pathetic state any longer; I simply wanted to get rid of her.

“Then I’ll go play something else first.”

Queen Lan smiled, yet she didn’t leave immediately.

Instead, she stepped in front of me, stood there, then extended her fair, delicate right hand and blinked at me.

I looked up, puzzled, meeting Queen Lan’s gaze.

“Why are you holding out your hand?”

“Money, of course.”

Queen Lan stated matter-of-factly, “I don’t have any money on me, so naturally, Li Qingchen will be paying.”

My face stiffened.

You were the one who suggested coming to the amusement park, and now you don’t have any money? Isn’t this just a blatant attempt to swindle me?

“I don’t have any.”

I huffed, refusing to contribute.

However, my refusal didn’t faze Queen Lan in the slightest; it was as if she had anticipated my answer all along.

“Li Qingchen, are you really not going to give me any?”

Queen Lan asked again.

“No.”

I replied.

“That’s going to be a problem, then.”

Queen Lan withdrew her hand, then suddenly produced a small camera from seemingly nowhere.

“It’s rare to capture such precious photos of Li Qingchen. It would be a terrible shame if I couldn’t develop them without money.”

With that, Queen Lan turned on the camera screen and waved it at me.

I squinted, making out the photo on the screen.

‘Damn this scheming b*tch! That’s a photo of me from the “Sword of the Brave” ride just now! Ugh, it’s so embarrassing! In the picture, I’m screaming with my mouth wide open, and some unidentified liquid is spewing out. It’s utterly mortifying!’

‘The ride was too thrilling just now, so I didn’t notice. So, Queen Lan, you weren’t even nervous on the train; you actually had time to take pictures! Did you know I’d refuse to give you money, so you deliberately took this photo? You’re too terrifying!’

“Delete them right now!”

I stared at the photos, urgently demanding.

“Hehe.”

Queen Lan wore a smug expression, lightly pressing a button to scroll through the photos.

‘Ah, there’s more than one? And each one is more humiliating than the last! The final one is so bad even I can’t bear to look! No wonder that female tourist behind me gave me such a strange look when we got off the ride; I thought she was interested in me!’

“You, you…”

I glared at the camera, my face flushed, unable to speak. Why was the ground at Rainbow Park so perfectly flat, without even a crack for me to crawl into?

“How about it? Aren’t my photography skills excellent?”

Queen Lan retracted the camera and chuckled.

‘Excellent indeed! So excellent I want to smash that camera into your face!’

“What do you want to delete those photos?”

I asked, my brow furrowed with exasperation.

“It’s very simple. Hmm?”

Queen Lan extended her right hand towards me once more.

“I get it.”

I sighed, pulled two hundred from my pocket, and slapped the cash into Queen Lan’s hand.

“This is all the money I have on me. Just make sure you delete those photos!”

“No problem.”

Queen Lan narrowed her eyes as she looked at the cash in her hand. “Then I’ll go ride the ‘Sword of the Brave’ again!”

“Go on, hurry up and go!”

I waved my hand dismissively. She was the Queen of a nation, yet she was so skilled at conning people out of their money. Who did she learn that from?

With the money in hand, Queen Lan was naturally eager to try the “Sword of the Brave” again. She turned around cheerfully and headed towards the ticket booth.

However, just then, a hand suddenly grabbed Queen Lan’s arm.

“Found you.”