Chapter 31: Coward

The amusement park in Moon God Valley was decorated like a fairy tale world, with color schemes that looked good enough to eat.

By the time they climbed off the pirate ship, Wen Xiao felt his legs were still jelly, while Wei Nanxing’s face had gone pale, and he grabbed onto Wen Xiao’s clothes the moment he stepped off.

Wen Xiao recalled how he had listened to Huo Zhanyan screaming in his ear the whole time like a wild monkey; the boy clearly hadn't been the least bit afraid of the pirate ship. In his memory, Huo Zhanyan had been obsessed with high-adrenaline activities in their previous life, often participating in road races with groups of rich kids, as if he didn't care about his own life at all. He had been a collection of bad habits—dyeing his hair, drinking, brawling—and aside from not smoking, he was the quintessential delinquent, a spoiled brat.

And that future delinquent was currently gripping the pirate ship’s safety bar, refusing to get off.

A staff member said patiently, "Little friend, could you please step off now? The ride is over."

Wen Xiao consoled himself with the thought that, at the very least, riding a pirate ship was more civilized than street racing. He hoped Huo Zhanyan would continue to favor pirate ships in the future.

"Let’s go, there’s a drop tower over there," Wen Xiao said, heading toward it.

As soon as Huo Zhanyan heard "drop tower," he perked up and leaped off the pirate ship. "Wait for me!"

Wen Xiao thought back to his own experience on the pirate ship, where he had felt as if he were floating in the sky, his body nearly flung out by inertia, only finding a sliver of security by clutching the railing in front of him. "Are you not scared at all?" he couldn't help but ask Song Jingbai, having noticed that Song Jingbai hadn't looked particularly frightened either.

Song Jingbai thought for a moment, as if recalling the feeling, and finally said, "It felt like flying with you. I actually quite liked it."

Wen Xiao thought to himself, *Great, another one just like Huo Zhanyan who loves the pirate ship.*

"But it’s not that I like the pirate ship," Song Jingbai added, clearly drawing a line between himself and Huo Zhanyan. "I just like riding the pirate ship with you."

Huo Zhanyan didn't catch the nuance in Song Jingbai’s words; he only felt that since Song Jingbai had made a statement, he should follow suit. He looked directly at Wen Xiao and said earnestly, "I like riding the pirate ship with you. I like you and the pirate ship."

Wen Xiao smacked Huo Zhanyan on the head with the brochure. Please, he thought, stop grouping him with the ride—was he some sort of amusement facility?

After Huo Zhanyan spoke, Wei Nanxing squeezed in and added, "I... like it too!" He really liked riding the pirate ship with Xiao Xiao.

As they walked toward the drop tower, they saw many familiar faces. The group was still operating as a school collective until 10:30.

Seeing Huo Zhanyan about to trot off to line up for the drop tower, Wen Xiao grabbed him by his baseball cap. "That’s not the line for us," Wen Xiao said, pulling him back. "The big drop tower is only for those over 1.4 meters tall. You can only ride this one." He pointed to a smaller version nearby. "This is the one you’re riding."

Huo Zhanyan’s expression darkened instantly. He looked left and right, feeling that compared to the big one, the small tower looked like a toy with no challenge at all.

Wen Xiao ignored his dissatisfaction. Even though Huo Zhanyan was tall for his age, he was still far from 1.4 meters. No matter how much he wanted to ride the big one, he would have to sit on this small one today.

Huo Zhanyan glared at the big tower, his face sullen, then blurted out, "If I get my dad to buy the whole amusement park, could I ride it then?"

Eventually, seeing the others settled into the children’s drop tower, he stopped obsessing over the big one. He shoved past another child, declaring, "That seat is mine!" before snatching the last spot, looking quite proud of himself.

"Didn't you notice you just bumped into someone?" Wen Xiao asked, gripping the U-shaped safety bar and staring daggers at him.

"Who did I bump into?" Huo Zhanyan asked, but the tower had already begun to move.

Wen Xiao noticed there were a few adults in their batch, though mostly children. At first, everyone was laughing and giggling, and some were waving at the ground as they rose into the air.

"Lean your heads back," a staff member shouted through a megaphone from below.

When the tower rose and then plummeted, ear-piercing screams filled the air. Wen Xiao wasn't scared out of his wits by the ride, but the screaming made his heart race.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Huo Zhanyan screamed along with them, but his was a shout of excitement, unlike the other children who were crying for their parents.

"I can't take it... I don't want to play anymore!" Wen Xiao heard a child wail. "I want to go home, waaaaah!"

"Children, don't be afraid, it's very safe," the staff member’s voice came over the megaphone, accompanied by Huo Zhanyan’s excited yelping. A few minutes passed in this surreal scene.

Some children had to be carried off by adults. When Huo Zhanyan hopped off, he still seemed unsatisfied, pointing at the kids who were crying. "What’s there to cry about? Cowards!"

The crying children wailed even louder, making Wen Xiao step away, trying his best not to look like he was with Huo Zhanyan.

After mocking the crying children, Huo Zhanyan walked up to Wen Xiao and said, "If you’re scared, you can hold my hand!"

"I'm not scared of anything," Wen Xiao rolled his eyes. Huo Zhanyan’s yelling was ten times more terrifying than any pirate ship or drop tower.

Wei Nanxing stepped off the tower looking less frightened than he had on the pirate ship. Wen Xiao realized that the sensation of weightlessness on this ride wasn't as intense, and since it was a children’s tower, it wasn't very high.

Leng Shucheng, who couldn't ride due to his arm injury, said from the sidelines, "You were the loudest one."

"So what if I was loud? Is that any of your business?" Huo Zhanyan patted Leng Shucheng’s shoulder. "It’s too bad someone didn't get to ride the pirate ship or the drop tower."

"I don't like riding those," Leng Shucheng said, glaring at him.

Once their group time ended, Wen Xiao followed the brochure until they reached a patch of beautiful buildings. They were classical Western-style structures, two stories high, surrounded by vast fields of purple lavender. Young men and women in black suits and white gowns were taking photos there.

*Are they taking wedding photos?* It wasn't surprising, given the lavender field.

Huo Zhanyan stared at the pairs of people holding each other for a long time before frowning and asking, "What are they doing?"

Song Jingbai had no interest in the people taking photos and looked away. "They’re taking wedding photos. Let’s go around via this bridge."

As Wen Xiao spoke, he felt Wei Nanxing tugging on his sleeve. "What is... a wedding dress?"

"It’s what you wear at a wedding," Wen Xiao explained.

"What’s a wedding? Is it fun?" Huo Zhanyan leaned in.

Nearby, someone overheard their conversation and burst into laughter. The bride, having paused her shoot, walked over, crouched in front of the children, and said gently, "A wedding is one of the most important moments in a person's life; it's not for playing."

"When you grow up, you won't think about playing at a wedding," the photographer added with a chuckle. "Aren't they just a group of kids?"

The bride smiled, clearly fond of the children. Full of the sweetness of her own marriage, she didn't mind talking to them, even if they didn't fully understand. "When you decide to spend your whole life with someone, you get married and throw a big wedding to tell everyone that you are an inseparable part of each other, and then you receive everyone’s blessings..."

Wei Nanxing’s eyes lit up. He looked at Wen Xiao and said, "Xiao Xiao... wearing a wedding dress..."

Wen Xiao was full of question marks. Was he suggesting he wear a wedding dress? Wei Nanxing probably didn't know what a wedding dress was and assumed everyone wore one at a wedding, regardless of gender.

The bride couldn't help but laugh and patted Wei Nanxing’s head. "Your friend is a boy. How could a boy wear a wedding dress?"

Wei Nanxing looked at her blankly, then lowered his head. "Is that... not allowed?"

Huo Zhanyan had been pondering the words "marry" and "wedding." He had never heard them before. *To spend a lifetime with someone means to marry them, hold a big wedding, and invite everyone.* To him, a "lifetime" meant having a good relationship, and a good relationship meant being good friends—sworn brothers.

He wanted to be good friends with Wen Xiao, so he had to marry him! He would invite Song Jingbai, Leng Shucheng, and the others, so everyone would know Wen Xiao was his friend.

Huo Zhanyan shouted, "I want to marry Xiao Xiao!"

Wen Xiao nearly choked. Had Huo Zhanyan completely misunderstood the meaning of marriage? And when had he started calling him "Xiao Xiao" just like Wei Nanxing?

Song Jingbai glanced at Huo Zhanyan and suddenly grabbed Wen Xiao’s hand. "If anyone is marrying him, it’s me first. I’m Wen Xiao’s deskmate. Who are you?"

Wei Nanxing looked up at the two of them, clutching Wen Xiao’s clothes. "I... want to marry him too!"

Although Leng Shucheng felt something was off, seeing the three of them crowding around Wen Xiao, he couldn't help but take a step forward. "I want to marry him too."

The bride had been startled by the tallest boy’s shout, but hearing them all clamoring to get married, she realized they had misunderstood—after all, what did a group of children know?

"You’ll know when you’re older that you can't just get married," the bride said with a hidden smile. "And if you truly want to get married, you won't be able to say it so easily."

Huo Zhanyan, still confused, frowned. "Why can't we get married?"

"Because you are all boys. Boys cannot marry boys."