Chapter 10
The amusement park’s snack shop was packed.
Yan Weiqiu sat quietly on the bench outside, fiddling with the anti-lost wristband.
The amusement park was the same one he and Jiang Yuebai had visited years ago, and the snack shop was the same too.
After so many years, he was sitting on this bench again.
The boy who had bought him ice cream to cheer him up back then was still by his side.
It seemed like nothing had changed.
Even the taste of the ice cream was the same.
They were still them.
As evening approached, the crowds in the amusement park didn’t disperse. Instead, with the arrival of night, there were even more visitors.
The colorful neon lights were dazzling.
Amidst the surging crowd, Jiang Yuebai held his hand tightly, preventing them from being separated.
They arrived at the wishing well in the center of the square, and Jiang Yuebai handed him a coin.
“How did you get this?” Yan Weiqiu was slightly taken aback, looking at the coin in his palm.
Jiang Yuebai explained, “I exchanged for some coins with the owner of the snack shop.”
Yan Weiqiu looked at the coins piled up in the wishing well and smiled helplessly. “Don’t you never believe in these things?”
“When you have a wish in your heart, you’ll make a wish to the gods, praying for the favor of the goddess of luck.” Jiang Yuebai smiled faintly, looking down at the coin in his hand.
For a moment, the brilliant lights fell on Jiang Yuebai’s face, revealing a piety that Yan Weiqiu had never seen before.
“What’s your wish?” Yan Weiqiu muttered softly.
“It won’t come true if I say it out loud.” Jiang Yuebai tossed a coin into the wishing well, watching it slowly sink to the bottom. “What about you? Do you have a wish?”
“Maybe.” Yan Weiqiu also tossed his coin in.
He wished to be with Jiang Yuebai forever.
A “clink” interrupted Yan Weiqiu’s thoughts, and then he saw Jiang Yuebai toss several more coins into the wishing well.
Yan Weiqiu: “???”
You can do that?
Jiang Yuebai tossed all the coins in his hand into the well and smiled faintly. “If one coin can’t make my wish come true, then I’ll toss in a few more.”
Yan Weiqiu: “Who told you that?”
Jiang Yuebai: “The snack shop owner who exchanged the coins for me.”
Yan Weiqiu said helplessly, “Are you a pig? He obviously lied to you.”
If wishes could be bought with coins, everyone would buy them.
“Mm, I know.” Jiang Yuebai smiled indifferently.
Yan Weiqiu: “You know, and yet you still…”
His voice trailed off. In the vast night, the brilliant neon lights fell on Jiang Yuebai’s face several times, revealing the tenderness and affection in his eyes, serious and persistent.
“Do you want to know what I wished for?” Jiang Yuebai leaned closer, his voice like a bewitching whisper in his ear.
Yan Weiqiu took a step back, turning to look at the wishing well, avoiding his gaze. His heart pounded, and his ears, hidden beneath his hair, turned crimson. He stammered, “N-no, didn’t you say that wishes won’t come true if you say them out loud?”
“Fine.” Jiang Yuebai sighed regretfully.
A loud “bang” broke the silence.
Yan Weiqiu looked up at the night sky; huge fireworks were blooming in the air.
The amusement park’s fireworks show had begun.
Brilliant fireworks lit up the entire night sky.
Yan Weiqiu and Jiang Yuebai sat near the wishing well, watching the fireworks show for a long time.
Until the bell in the amusement park’s clock tower rang.
It was a signal to go home.
It wasn’t easy to get a taxi at this time. Many tourists had called for cars, and the queue was over fifty people long.
Fortunately, Jiang Yuebai’s mother happened to be passing by and gave them a ride home.
Yan Weiqiu sweetly greeted her as he got into the car. “Good evening, Auntie Jiang.”
Auntie Jiang asked cheerfully, “Have you eaten? If not, I’ll take you to dinner first, then we’ll go home.”
“We’ve eaten.” Yan Weiqiu nodded. There were many restaurants in the amusement park, and he had treated himself to a good meal at Jiang Yuebai’s expense, choosing the most expensive dishes.
“You’re preparing for exams, so relax today. Focus on your studies tomorrow. How are your monthly exam scores this time?”
“Not bad.”
“Are you confident?”
“…”
As Jiang’s mother chatted with Jiang Yuebai, Yan Weiqiu gradually relaxed, leaning against Jiang Yuebai and falling asleep.
“Mm, I’ll study with Xiaoqiu…”
Jiang Yuebai stopped mid-sentence, feeling a weight on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked at Yan Weiqiu’s face.
Then he carefully shifted his body, tilting his shoulder to make Yan Weiqiu more comfortable.
Jiang’s mother didn’t hear him for a while and looked at the rearview mirror, a smile lingering on her face.
They didn’t speak anymore, and the car remained quiet until it slowly stopped downstairs at Yan Weiqiu’s house.
Jiang Yuebai gently patted Yan Weiqiu’s hand and whispered, “Xiaoqiu, we’re home.”
“Mmm.” Yan Weiqiu was drowsy, his mind still foggy. Like when he was a child, he clung to Jiang Yuebai’s arm and whined, “Xiaobai, carry me.”
Jiang Yuebai’s breath hitched, his voice hoarse. “Okay.”
To avoid waking him, Jiang Yuebai gently carried him up the stairs.
Even though he was very careful, Yan Weiqiu still woke up.
The light in the stairwell was dim. Yan Weiqiu leaned against his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat, his body stiffening.
Wasn’t he in the car?
“Awake?” Jiang Yuebai stopped and looked down at his face.
“Mm.” Yan Weiqiu responded softly, burying his face in his chest, not daring to look up. “You can put me down now.”
Jiang Yuebai chuckled softly. “We’re almost there, just a few more steps.”
Those few seconds felt incredibly long. Yan Weiqiu clutched Jiang Yuebai’s clothes shyly. Fortunately, Xiaobai’s footsteps were heavy, masking the sound of his pounding heart.
Their building was in an old residential area with only stairs.
When they were young, Yan Weiqiu and Jiang Yuebai always liked to play in the neighborhood, only going home when they were tired. Every time they had to climb the stairs, Yan Weiqiu would act spoiled and ask Jiang Yuebai to carry him.
And Jiang Yuebai always indulged him, always saying “okay” no matter what.
At the door, Jiang Yuebai gently put him down, opened the door for him, watched him go inside, and then left after closing the door.
Fang Xiu heard the door open and looked towards the entrance. “You’re back?”
“Mm.” Yan Weiqiu responded weakly.
Fang Xiu looked behind him. “Where’s Xiaobai? Why didn’t he come back with you?”
Yan Weiqiu explained, “Auntie Jiang is back, so he went home.”
After a hot shower, Yan Weiqiu felt completely refreshed, no longer sleepy at all. He got up and finished his remaining homework.
It was almost one in the morning when Yan Weiqiu finally stretched, tidied his desk, and lay back in bed.
He usually liked to leave a dim light on, keeping the room dimly lit.
He didn’t know what was wrong today, but he couldn’t fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he would recall the scenes from the haunted house.
He turned the light up to its brightest, wrapped himself in the blanket, but still felt uneasy.
It was as if there were unclean things lurking in every corner of the room. He hid under the covers, playing with his phone, and opened Jiang Yuebai’s chat window.
[Are you asleep?]
He typed the message, then deleted it word by word.
At this time, Jiang Yuebai should be asleep, right?
Half an hour later, he still couldn’t fall asleep.
He couldn’t resist calling Jiang Yuebai.
“Hello?”
“Xiaoqiu?”
Yan Weiqiu gave a light “mm-hmm.” His slightly deeper voice, tinged with fatigue, came through the phone.
Knowing he had woken him up, he felt a little guilty. “Nothing, I accidentally pressed the call button. Go back to sleep.”
Jiang Yuebai rubbed his temples, looked at the time, and suddenly understood. He got up, poured himself a glass of water, and stayed on the line with Yan Weiqiu.
“Did you sleep for a while in the car and can’t sleep now?”
He knew that wasn’t the reason, but he figured if he pointed it out, Yan Weiqiu, with his thin skin, might get angry and hang up.
“Mm.” Yan Weiqiu responded, satisfied with Jiang Yuebai’s reaction. Listening to his calm voice made him feel much more at ease, less afraid of the dark and quiet night.
Jiang Yuebai chuckled softly. “Do you want to play a little game? Or do you want to chat?”
“Mmm…” Yan Weiqiu sounded like he was thinking, but actually, he just wanted to hear Jiang Yuebai’s voice, to make the night seem less lonely, so he wouldn’t be so afraid of the darkness.
His lack of choice was a choice in itself.
So Jiang Yuebai started a conversation. “Do you remember the string telephones we played with when we were little?”
“I remember.” Yan Weiqiu gradually relaxed, putting his phone on the pillow and closing his eyes, fragmented images of making string telephones with Jiang Yuebai surfacing in his mind.
Jiang Yuebai leaned against the headboard, his eyes filled with nostalgia. “Back then, we didn’t have cell phones, so we made string telephones with paper cups. We even used a whole bunch of Auntie Xiu’s thread.”
Yan Weiqiu reminisced along with him.
Jiang Yuebai: “Many of the times we spent together seem like a long time ago, but when I talk about them, it feels like they just happened yesterday.”
Time had passed, and they had left deep imprints in each other’s memories.
“We’ve both grown up.” Yan Weiqiu’s voice was tinged with drowsiness, and he replied vaguely, “Isn’t it good now?”
Jiang Yuebai said gently, “It’s good.”
It was good, seeing a different Yan Weiqiu at every stage of his life.
But it wasn’t all good, because as they grew older, he could feel them drifting apart.
He looked forward to growing up, but he didn’t want to grow up so fast.
He felt like something between him and Xiaoqiu was gradually disappearing, unknowingly.
“Where do you want to go tomorrow?” Hearing Yan Weiqiu’s silence, Jiang Yuebai lowered his voice.
“Stay home and read.” Yan Weiqiu could barely keep his eyes open.
Not long after, only his soft breathing could be heard from the phone.
The call remained connected until Yan Weiqiu’s phone died and automatically turned off.
