Chapter 16 The Park: Your Love, My Love—It Seems Different! ...
Something's not right...
"Very suspicious."
There's definitely something wrong!
Five furtive heads huddled behind a roadside food cart, peering toward the road.
Not far away, their respected squad leader, Ida, was pacing back and forth at the entrance of Dorobiga Park.
He wore a rare, youthful expression, glancing at his phone and passing vehicles every now and then, a stark contrast to his usual composed demeanor.
Kenji Hagiwara asserted confidently: "The class president is definitely up to something."
Immediately afterward, Morofushi Kagemitsu considerately said, "Perhaps you're in a relationship and forgot to tell us?"
Even with the five of them huddled together, it was still a bit crowded. Kitagawa Ryusei pulled Furuya Rei back to prevent him from being pushed aside, nodding as he said, "And they were secretly dating behind our backs."
Only Matsuda Jinpei remained oblivious: "What if it's just a friend or family member?"
At the bustling entrance of the amusement park, five handsome faces huddled together were hard to ignore, and quite a few girls who had come out in groups for the weekend were already looking in that direction.
The owner of the food truck stood helplessly to the side with his arms crossed, unable to do anything about the few childish kids.
With his face full of embarrassment, Furuya Rei would occasionally cast apologetic glances at the food truck owner, but he still let Kitagawa Ryusei pull him along and obediently squatted behind the food truck.
Watching her newly minted boyfriend and Kenji Hagiwara put on a show of public outrage, Rei Furuya couldn't hide her guilt, even though she hadn't participated.
They didn't even tell their friends about their relationship!
Although their relationship has progressed beyond a change in how they address each other, their interactions have only become slightly closer than before.
But he could indeed sense that Kitagawa Ryusei was different from before.
It's an indescribable change, but I just feel that the other person is a little more genuine.
In the distance, Date Hang finally made a move. He strode towards a taxi, and because he was so tall, he had to bend down to open the back door.
Her gentle and considerate manner left the five hiding guys speechless.
A girl with short blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a gentle and serene demeanor stepped out of the car and placed the exquisite gift box in Date Hang's hands.
All I saw was the dignified leader of the Onizuka Squad rubbing the back of his head, chuckling to himself, thankfully not forgetting to pay the driver's fare.
He then turned around and propped his arm up so the other person could hold it.
The five plaster statues behind the food cart only began to thaw gradually as the two chatted and laughed as they entered the amusement park.
Even Matsuda Jinpei no longer doubted it: "That's too much..."
The fuse on the little curly-haired boy's head seemed to be crackling: "You were dating someone and you kept it a secret from us!"
Just as he was about to agree, Kitagawa Ryusei suddenly realized something, paused, and slowly turned his head to meet Furuya Rei's gaze.
They didn't seem to... say anything.
Kitagawa Ryusei never really felt like she had a boyfriend.
Furuya Rei, with his deadpan expression, immediately saw through his thoughts: So that wasn't an act after all...
Kitagawa Ryusei truly had no idea about their relationship. Furuya Rei lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
When he looked up again, he tried to salvage the situation for the class monitor, who was also his future self: "Um, we didn't ask the class monitor, did we?"
Kitagawa Ryusei nodded repeatedly in agreement, which made Morofushi Kagemitsu look at him suspiciously several times before turning away to think silently.
To everyone's surprise, Kenji Hagiwara flatly denied it: "No! The organization believes in leniency for those who confess!"
Kitagawa Ryusei & Furuya Rei:......
The two slowly looked at each other, made a barely perceptible swallowing motion, and then lowered their heads together, their shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
Morofushi Kagemitsu astutely pointed out the immediate problem: "What's our next step?"
"Follow them!"
They bought five ice cream cones as an apology to the food truck owner, and then Kitagawa Ryusei and his friends bought tickets and entered the amusement park.
On weekends, the park is mostly filled with students of all ages, walking side by side with bright smiles on their faces.
The carousel plays the theme songs of the most popular animated films, and balloon vendors dressed in mascot costumes take photos with tourists.
The little girl, riding on her father's shoulders, held up a pink cotton candy that looked to be three meters tall, leaving behind a sweet, burnt residue as she passed by.
His gaze swept over the cotton candy and landed on the 360-degree rotating roller coaster. Hearing the screams of people on it, which were like chickens being slaughtered, Kitagawa Ryusei licked his chocolate ice cream cone and sighed, "So this is what a park should be like."
The speaker meant no harm, but the listeners all turned to look.
With difficulty, Rei Furuya looked away from the way he was eating his ice cream cone. Her attention was diverted, and she asked uncertainly, "Is this Ryusei's first time in a park?"
"No, that's not it," Kitagawa Ryusei shook his head. "I've been here before, but most of the time it wasn't for fun."
In the past, he came to the park mainly for work, and he had no energy to devote to recreational activities.
If it weren't for having fun, the only thing that came to mind was working at the park. Everyone quickly skipped over that topic, and Kenji Hagiwara clasped his hands together: "Then we can take this opportunity to have some fun!"
"What about the class monitor?" Matsuda Jinpei asked in confusion, still wearing his sunglasses, his bad boy vibe causing several teenage girls who were secretly watching to scream softly.
Kenji Hagiwara, who was the first to notice the class president's "suspicious whereabouts," turned around and teased his childhood friend. He made a heart-clutching gesture and exaggeratedly said, "They're on a date, you know! How could Jinpei be so mean!"
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
It was clearly this guy who wanted to come over first!
“I agree with the second-year graduate student’s point of view. Let the class monitor spend time with his girlfriend. I haven’t relaxed in a long time either. What about Zero and Ryusei?” Morofushi Kagemitsu said.
Rei Furuya, who hadn't been to amusement parks much as a child, had no objections.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kitagawa Ryusei said, adding, “I just hope nothing bad happens.”
It seemed that every time he left school, there would be some minor accident, and Kitagawa Ryusei couldn't help but worry about the safety of Tokyo.
"It shouldn't be that unlucky, right?" Upon hearing this, the others exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat uncertain.
But encountering incidents while going out is something that can be attributed to superstition; it's not like the probability is so high that you shouldn't go out at all.
If you're going to have fun, then have fun to the fullest!
“I’ve already inquired. The amusement park’s haunted house has a newly opened mirror maze area. It sounds really good.” Kenji Hagiwara, with his quick thinking, determined their first destination and even pulled out a map from his pocket and unfolded it.
The others, while admiring him, couldn't help but wonder: "When did you find out? How come we didn't know?"
Kenji Hagiwara said matter-of-factly, "When I was buying ice cream in front of the food truck, two beautiful ladies were queuing behind us. They even sponsored the amusement park map. To express my gratitude, I treated them to ice cream."
Seeing his companions' beady eyes, he exclaimed in surprise, "No way? You didn't even notice there's a lady behind you who needs your help? That's incredibly rude!"
The four looked at each other, all genuinely feeling that it wasn't their fault.
So they all turned to Kenji Hagiwara and silently said with their eyes: As expected of you!
The class monitor and his girlfriend have gone off to enjoy some alone time, I don't know which way they went.
The five "thoughtful" friends ultimately refrained from going out to shine and make a splash, so as not to disturb the young couple who had finally managed to get together.
Hagiwara and Matsuda, like two bickering lovers, walked at the front. Hagiwara Kenji had a happy look on his face, while Matsuda Jinpei looked at his "enemies" with a twitching forehead.
To prevent himself from taking action in public, he grabbed Morofushi Kagemitsu beside him, trying to ignore his seemingly energetic childhood friend and itchy fists.
Kitagawa Ryusei walked behind, intently battling wits with the ice cream cone.
The food truck owner was overly enthusiastic, scooping him a perfectly round and plump scoop of chocolate-colored ice cream.
This, in turn, left Kitagawa Ryusei with no idea where to begin.
He eats slowly and deliberately. Every time he tries to open his mouth wide to take a bite, he unconsciously shrinks it when he touches the ice cream, and in the end it looks like he just sucks on a scoop of ice cream.
The ice cream cone has only suffered minor external damage so far.
This scene left Rei Furuya with a speechless expression.
It's not that Kitagawa Ryusei's eating manners were unsightly; on the contrary, he ate in a very pleasing way, and his serious and conflicted expression was even somewhat cute.
But why does it feel so strange...?
"Ahem." He made a sound on purpose.
As expected, Kitagawa Ryusei immediately looked away from his ice cream cone and asked, "What's wrong, Zero-kun?"
Rei Furuya felt slightly relieved.
I am more important than the ice cream ball.
But—where is the promised "Mr. Zero"?
You know, he blushed all night trying to get used to that nickname, and as a result, he never heard it again after that day!
Noticing where Furuya Rei's gaze fell, Kitagawa Ryusei pondered for a moment, then handed over the ice cream cone in his hand: "Want to try some?"
He remembered that Rei Furuya had just eaten vanilla flavor.
After a long silence, Furuya Rei hesitated, then ultimately said nothing.
Taking the hand that Kitagawa Ryusei offered, she angrily opened her mouth and took a big bite.
He now believes that Kitagawa Ryusei has never had anyone he liked, and Furuya Rei even wonders if Kitagawa Ryusei has ever seen anyone else in a relationship.
Among the people passing by were couples of similar age to them, but looking at the way those people gazed at each other, Furuya Rei felt that their love seemed different from his own!
*
With a conflicted expression, Furuya and the oblivious Kitagawa finally arrived at the entrance of the haunted house.
Surprisingly, there weren't many people queuing for the mirror maze.
After asking the staff, I learned that there was a stamp collecting activity at Dorobiga Park today. If you collect all fifteen items, you can receive a gift prepared by the park in the evening.
The Mirror Maze was a new project and hadn't been added to the missions yet.
They didn't have to wait in line for long before it was Furuya Rei's turn to have their tickets checked. The five of them formed a group and entered the maze as the second batch of players.
As soon as I pushed open the door, a blast of cold air hit me.
Once everyone had entered, the main door behind them closed with a click.
The overhead light source illuminates the entire maze.
Before the player are rows of mirrors arranged in a diamond shape, with light freely flowing and reflecting within them, leaving only a narrow path for one person to pass between the mirrors.
The entrance is meticulously designed as a downward-sloping ramp, pushing players forward unconsciously, as if they are about to willingly step into an abyss constructed of mirrors.
Just then, the speakers hidden in the shadows emitted a heart-pounding sound.
"This haunted house really goes all out with the air conditioning..." Matsuda Jinpei looked around, forgetting about maintaining his cool pose, and rubbed his arms.
The temperature difference between indoors and outdoors is too great.
As if to prove his words, mist rose from beneath his feet, and a dry ice generator, hidden somewhere, slowly started up.
The fog was only a thin layer, just enough to cover the junction between the mirror and the ground, making it impossible to see the soles of one's feet.
The temperature dropped further, creating a literal sense of dread.
Kitagawa Ryusei approached the mirrors and touched them with his fingers: "There are two-way mirrors and one-way mirrors."
The heartbeat from the speaker in my ear was also getting faster.
"Just now, my heartbeat was only once every two seconds. Is it a little faster now?" Rei Furuya noticed as well.
Morofushi Kagemitsu affirmed his words: "Yes."
The bright light illuminated every corner under the mirrors. The layout here far surpasses many haunted houses with a dark theme. Kenji Hagiwara raised his arm and exclaimed that they had come to the right place: "Interesting, let's go!"
"If you're scared, you can hide behind Hagi for protection!"
As if they hadn't heard him, the others lined up and walked in front of him, passing through the mirrored corridor one by one.
As it turns out, not only were none of the five of them afraid, but they were all quite hardcore.
Trying to separate them by creating a revolving door that flips every three minutes? It's only three minutes, they'll meet up soon!
A one-way mirror creates the illusion of no obstacles in front, luring players to run into it? After Kenji Hagiwara fell for this trick once, everyone else learned their lesson.
But that didn't stop Matsuda Jinpei from laughing at his childhood friend, whose forehead was bright red, without any restraint.
Even when faced with countless bloodied NPCs staring back at them in the surrounding mirrors, the five remained unfazed.
"The smell of blood is quite realistic, but the blood plasma isn't very well made; it's too thick," Morofushi Kagemitsu kindly pointed out with a smile.
NPC: ...Can't you at least pretend to be scared?!
Kitagawa Ryusei finally finished the ice cream cone, and at the end remarked, "Luckily, the haunted house is cool, so the ice cream melts slowly."
Rei Furuya, standing to the side, naturally took the ice cream cone wrapper from his hand, folded it, put it in his pocket, and then handed him a tissue.
NPC: We're going to cause trouble! We're really going to cause trouble!
Surprisingly, Kitagawa Ryusei has an exceptionally good sense of space. On the few occasions when they were forced to separate, he was able to find the other person by observing the reflections in the mirrors as long as he stood still.
Even in chase scenes, there's no need to worry about going in circles or losing your way.
"Xiao Liusheng is amazing!"
Before Kenji Hagiwara could crash into the mirror for the third time, someone pulled him back and announced that he would be hiding behind Ruki Kitagawa from now on!
Matsuda Jinpei, standing to the side, clicked his tongue and stabbed his childhood friend with a boomerang: "You promised to walk in front!"
"Is there a figure ahead?" Amidst the laughter and banter, Furuya Rei pointed with a puzzled eye at a small black figure reflected several times in a mirror in front of him.
The guess is that they were players who came in before them.
Kitagawa Ryusei glanced at him and said, "Judging from his position, this person should be behind us."
Morofushi Kagemitsu asked curiously, "How did you figure that out?"
With so many mirrors here, the random reflections make it hard to find a pattern.
Before Kitagawa Ryusei could answer, a piercing scream came from ahead—
"ah!!"
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