Amusement park, haunted house, and tightly clasped hands

The weekend after the midterm exams was exceptionally sunny. To celebrate the end of the exams, the four of them agreed to go to the newly opened amusement park together. This was their first time going on a trip as two couples.

"I want to ride the roller coaster! The pirate ship! The drop tower!" Jiang Zhao pointed excitedly at the amusement park map.

Lin Jun pressed down on his haphazardly pointing hand: "Don't do anything too exciting all at once, or you'll get dizzy."

Jiang Qi and Su An followed behind, their fingers intertwined. Su An was wearing a light blue sweatshirt today, which made his skin look exceptionally fair. Jiang Qi's gaze frequently fell on him, her eyes gentle.

"Which one should we play first?" Su An asked Jiang Qi, looking up at her.

"Whatever you want." Jiang Qi squeezed his hand. "I'll play whatever you want with."

The first attraction was the carousel. Jiang Zhao strongly protested, saying, "This is for children!"

But when he saw that Lin Jun had already bought the tickets, he obediently followed her.

Sitting on the ornately decorated carousel, Jiang Qi naturally reached out to protect Su An's waist. Music began to play, the carousel started to spin, and sunlight streamed through the stained glass ceiling, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow.

"Smile." Jiang Qi took out her phone and took a picture of Su An.

Su An subconsciously smiled at the camera, with rotating colored lights and fluttering ribbons in the background.

After getting off the carousel, Jiang Zhao pointed to the roller coaster in the distance and said, "Now it's time to ride something more thrilling!"

The line for the roller coaster was very long. While waiting, Jiang Qi stood behind Su An, shielding him from the crowd. As the roller coaster reached its highest point and was about to plunge, Su An nervously closed his eyes.

"Don't be afraid." Jiang Qi's voice was still clear in the wind. "I'm here."

He held Su An's hand and didn't let go even as the roller coaster plummeted.

After getting off the roller coaster, Su An's legs felt a little weak. Jiang Qi helped him to a bench to rest and bought him some chilled lemonade.

"Are you alright?" Jiang Qi gently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Su An nodded, took a sip of lemon water, and felt much better.

Just then, Jiang Zhao and Lin Jun arrived, having finished playing. Jiang Zhao, pale-faced, clung to Lin Jun, saying, "That was...too exciting..."

Lin Jun helplessly helped him up: "I told you not to play, but you insisted on playing anyway."

After resting for a while, they arrived at the haunted house. The eerie music and occasional screams made Su An hesitate.

"If you're scared, then we won't play." Jiang Qi noticed his nervousness.

"N-nothing..." Su An didn't want to spoil everyone's fun.

The haunted house was dimly lit, and staff members dressed as ghosts would occasionally appear. Halfway through, a "zombie" with a blood-covered face suddenly jumped out from a corner, and Su An was so frightened that she immediately threw herself into Jiang Qi's arms.

Jiang Qi caught him steadily and said to the staff member, "Excuse me, please move aside."

The staff member was taken aback for a moment, then obediently made way for them.

For the rest of the journey, Jiang Qi held Su An in her arms, gently covering his eyes with her hand: "Don't look."

Su An buried her face in Jiang Qi's chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, and suddenly felt that the haunted house wasn't so scary after all.

As they left the haunted house, Su An was still tightly clutching Jiang Qi's clothes. The sunlight was a bit dazzling, so he squinted and noticed that Jiang Qi was looking down at him with a smile in her eyes.

Are you still afraid?

Su An shook her head, only then realizing that she was still leaning against Jiang Qi's chest, and quickly stood up straight with a blush on her face.

On the other side, Jiang Zhao clung tightly to Lin Jun's arm the whole time, burying his face in his shoulder.

"You can let go now," Lin Jun said helplessly.

"Wait a little longer..." Jiang Zhao's voice was still trembling.

Lin Jun sighed, letting him hold her, but her eyes held a indulgent smile.

In the evening, they boarded the Ferris wheel. This time, there were no unexpected phone calls, no interrupted confessions. The gondola slowly rose, and the lights of the entire amusement park spread out below.

As the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, Jiang Qi gently cupped Su An's face in her hands.

“No one will bother us this time.” His voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear.

As Su An watched his face draw closer, she slowly closed her eyes.

It was a tender kiss, sweet with lemonade and the taste of sunshine. At the highest point of the Ferris wheel, under a sky full of stars, they finally completed the confession they hadn't finished on Christmas Eve.

Inside the other carriage, Jiang Zhao was excitedly pointing at the fireworks outside the window: "Brother Jun, look!"

Lin Jun didn't watch the fireworks, but instead looked at Jiang Zhao's profile illuminated by the fireworks.

"Xiao Zhao."

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhao turned around.

Lin Jun gently kissed his forehead: "Happy birthday."

Jiang Zhao froze, his face turning bright red to his ears: "You...how did you know..."

"It's written on your ID card," Lin Jun smiled. "I'll give you the gift back."

After getting off the Ferris wheel, Jiang Qi and Su An held hands even tighter. Jiang Zhao, on the other hand, was unusually quiet, occasionally stealing glances at Lin Jun, his ears still red.

As night fell, the amusement park lit up with colorful lights. In front of the carousel, Jiang Qi asked a staff member to take a group photo for them. In the photo, Jiang Qi had his arm around Su An's shoulder, and Su An leaned against him, smiling gently; Jiang Zhao had his arm around Lin Jun's neck, smiling brightly; Lin Jun looked helpless, but the smile in his eyes was undeniable.

On the way home, Jiang Qi and Su An sat in the back seat of a taxi. Su An leaned on Jiang Qi's shoulder, the fatigue from a day of playing washing over him, and he gradually fell asleep. Jiang Qi carefully adjusted his position to make him more comfortable.

While waiting at a red light, the driver glanced at them in the rearview mirror and said with a smile, "Young people have such a good relationship."

Jiang Qi looked down at Su An's peaceful sleeping face and softly hummed in agreement.

The memories of that springtime amusement park day—the warmth of holding hands, the kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel, and the laughter on the carousel—are deeply etched in the hearts of the young people. All the beauty is just beginning, and it will continue indefinitely.