The Ferris Wheel / Lin's Day Off

The sun was shining brightly, and the three of them set off together.

The uneven shadows cast by the low trees are mottled on the roadside. Elegant brown leather boots step on the dappled sunlight. Pedestrians of all kinds pass by, and a cool breeze brings a touch of coolness to this bustling city.

It felt like being a student, strolling alone along a tree-lined path, leaves brushing against my cheeks. As I walked deeper into the path, I looked up and saw a quiet girl sitting on a lit stone, turning the pages of a book. The light shone on her fair and translucent skin, as if illuminating the dark woods and the world.

Sakura had never had a similar experience; she had only heard others talk about this kind of excitement that only existed during adolescence.

But now, she seems to know what that feeling is like.

It wasn't a mission, nor training, and there was no particular reason; it was simply a trip to the amusement park. She walked side by side with the black-haired man, head down, listening to his conversation with Ling, as they slowly made their way to their destination under the shade of the trees.

Time seemed to stretch out, and she should be able to count exactly how many steps it takes to get from home to the amusement park, since she remembers every single step clearly.

With her hands behind her back, she twirled her fingers, and whenever someone looked at her, she lowered her face even further, trying to cover her ears with her hat.

Her slender and perfect figure, accentuated by the tight hot pants, stockings, and short jacket, showcased the healthy and graceful lines that only a warrior could possess, yet she also had the fair, translucent, and delicate skin of a young girl.

She would occasionally steal glances at Lin's profile, but he didn't care at all, keeping his gaze straight ahead and walking his own way.

"Wuhu, we've finally arrived!"

The amusement park was unexpectedly crowded. It was thought that the entertainment attractions would become deserted after the truth of the Honkai was exposed to the world, but its popularity remained undiminished.

As Lin Ning looked at the smiles on people's faces, he unconsciously relaxed his wrist.

Living in the present moment is one of the beautiful things about humanity.

"What should we do first..." Ling's eyes lit up as she scanned the numerous entertainment options. Then, her eyes darted around, and she turned to Lin Huan with a smile, "Brother Lin, Sister, let's go ride the roller coaster!"

Lin Dianli nodded; he didn't care what game he played.

Sakura naturally had no objections, but while storing her personal belongings, Rin pulled Sakura aside and whispered in her ear, "Sister, when you come down later, pretend your legs are weak and let Brother Lin carry you or put you on his back."

"Varied..."

Before Sakura could speak, Rin ran off with a silvery laugh, pulling Rin to join the queue.

Throughout the entire process of queuing and finally boarding the vehicle, Sakura felt uneasy, but not because she was going to ride a roller coaster.

"I want to sit in the first row. Brother Lin, you can sit with your sister. My sister is really afraid of roller coasters!"

Sakura gently turned her blushing cheeks away, not wanting Lin to see.

Lin glanced at her and replied with a single word, "Oh."

To be honest, Sakura felt nothing on the roller coaster. Her burst speed was even faster than the roller coaster itself. Even if an accident occurred during the roller coaster, she could still safely rescue everyone on board. So while others were screaming and shouting, she didn't actually feel any excitement.

Only...

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh..."

The man beside her opened his mouth expressionlessly and let out a emotionless cry. The wind rushed into his mouth, distorting his otherwise perfect face and making it look comical.

Why would he do that?

Sakura ended her roller coaster ride in confusion, and then, when it was time to get off, she saw Rin frantically winking at her.

What to do...

Sakura was conflicted; she didn't want to do this, but...

"What's wrong?" Lin asked after getting out of the car and tidying up his wind-blown hair. Seeing that Ying was still in the car, he asked.

"I..." Sakura lowered her head shyly, "My legs are weak, can you help me?"

"...good."

Lin stared at Ying, then replied casually, before walking to her side.

Lin reached out his hand, and Sakura's body tensed up to the extreme at that moment, her round and slender thighs taut, and then his hand was placed on her waist... her waist?

Everyone watched silently as a man, without changing his expression, carried a beautiful girl on his shoulder and walked out the door as if it were nothing.

Throughout the entire process, I didn't feel embarrassed at all.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Ferris Wheel

Clearly, Ling had come up with a bad idea. She could roughly understand her sister's thoughts, but she didn't know about their past conflict, nor did she understand their complex feelings for each other and their self-loathing.

The most common conflicts in the world are conflicts of ideas, and even most conflicts of interest are based on conflicts of ideas.

Sakura's views are the same as Lin Chuqi's, but the two of them are on completely opposite paths.

There was no conflict, but they were not on the same path, which led to a distorted perception of each other.

For example, if Mobius were here, Lin would pick her up, but with Sakura, Lin's first thought would be whether he would offend her, since their relationship was neither good nor bad.

This subtle interaction is what maintains the enigmatic and unconventional relationship between Lin and Ying.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh..."

It was the same emotionless scream again. Even though Sakura's heart was racing on the drop tower, she was now just expressionless under the weightlessness.

Ultimately, what's the difference between letting people who spend all day fighting Honkai Beast, Honkai zombie, or even Herrscher come to an amusement park to play so-called thrill rides and playing on a seesaw in a park?

Sakura had no doubt that Lin Ye would absolutely scream "Ahhhhhh..." on the seesaw.

What is this? Is it a manifestation of his peculiar sense of humor?

The grueling and thrilling rides are finally all over.

"Phew... Brother Lin, you're too scared! Your face looks distorted in the candid photo." Ling walked ahead with a grin, while Lin and Ying followed behind her side by side. After all, they were there to accompany Ling, and everything was based on her wishes.

The atmosphere between the two was a bit dull. Lin didn't take the initiative to talk to Ying, and Ying also didn't know what to say.

"I want to eat ice cream." Ling suddenly stopped and looked at the ice cream stand that was surrounded by people. She turned back to the two of them with a smile and said, "I'm going to buy ice cream. Brother Lin and Sister, play together for a while. We'll meet up under the Ferris Wheel later."

After saying that, she didn't give the two of them a chance to reply and dashed off to squeeze into the crowd.

So only two people with solemn expressions remained, standing silently in place.

"That way?"

"Good."

The communication between the two is like a mobile phone running out of data at the end of the month and having to conserve data – simple, but without any obstacles.

Walking along the edge of the road, Sakura stared at her toes, pondering some things.

She realized that she didn't seem to know Lin very well. She knew nothing about Lin's past, what happened before he joined the Fire Moth, and even some of Lin's little quirks and habits were told to her by Elysia.

She felt that she might not understand Lin better than Chrono. Even though Chrono couldn't say a single nice word, he was mostly telling the truth. She felt that Chrono didn't hate Lin, but rather... it was a very complicated feeling.

But from the first time they met, Sakura was very interested in this man who spoke coldly but acted very gently. Even without getting to know him well, Sakura felt that she knew what kind of person Rin was.

If he were to tell the truth, he certainly wouldn't refuse anyone.

But doing that would be taking advantage of his goodwill, which Sakura absolutely does not want.

"..."

Suddenly, Lin beside her stopped and turned his head to look in one direction. Ying followed his gaze...

It was a small stall that used plastic rings to win prizes. Basically, wherever there's a lively area, you'll find these game stalls everywhere.

What's wrong?

Seeing Lin staring intently, Ying observed the seemingly ordinary stall. If there was anything particularly eye-catching, it was only the largest prize placed furthest away.

Two plush dragon puppets, each as tall as a person, one pink and the other black.

Seeing that Lin hadn't moved for a while, Sakura tentatively asked, "Do you want to go over?"

And so, Sakura and Rin appeared in front of the smiling stall owner's stall.

"Hey buddy, why don't you try giving your beautiful girlfriend a really nice gift?"

These lines sound familiar.

Sakura waved her hands in a panic, denying, "Ah, I'm not..."

She was actually quite pleased, and Lin was too lazy to explain to the stall owner that it was no big deal.

"How do I get those two dolls?" Lin asked the stall owner, looking at the two dolls that were at least twenty meters away.

"You have good taste, young man. No wonder you found such a lovely girlfriend." The stall owner flattered Lin, but inwardly he was already laughing at another sucker. With a smile on his face, he introduced the two plush toys to Lin, "There are two ways to get those two plush toys."

As the vendor pointed to the two ring toss games, one large and one small, on the ground, Lin and Ying understood the two methods he was talking about.

You can either use a small ring to toss three times to get the dragon doll's two horns and tail, or you can use a large ring to toss the dragon doll. According to the description, the latter is much simpler than the former.

Most people might spend more money to try using larger rings, since they don't need to hit a specific part of the body.

But Lin immediately understood the clues. The large ring toss did indeed only require hitting the target, and the target was larger. However, the large ring toss was more difficult to control and required more strength. Most people probably couldn't even throw it over the 20-meter distance, let alone hit the dragon puppet in the ring.

"I want seven small rings toss."

"Okay!"

Lin paid for seven rings from the stall owner, who was inwardly laughing at him, and asked Ying, "Want to try?"

Sakura was a little curious, but she wasn't really interested in playing, so she shook her head.

Then Lin stood in front of the stall, without aiming, and threw the first ring toss.

Everyone watching couldn't help but burst out laughing, because this guy actually threw the ring toss all over the place, not only failing to hit the dragon doll, but also missing the target entirely.

But what happened next left everyone, including the stall owner who had a smirk, speechless.

"Whoosh—"

The black-haired man threw out the remaining six rings all at once. They flew in a line through the air and landed precisely on the two dragon puppets, landing on their horns and tails.

Moreover, each one is hollow.

"Prize."

He calmly extended his hand to the stall owner.

"So, this is the prize that Brother Lin won in the game?"

Ling's expression was just like those of the people who had witnessed Lin throwing rings and then rushed up to ask him to teach them. She stared in shock at the dragon dolls in Lin and Ying's hands, her eyes wide open.

Lin intended to give one to Ling and one to Ying, but when he handed the doll to Ling, she tilted her head and looked at the doll, then glanced at Ying holding the pink doll in her hands and smiled, "I don't like dragons, so let's just have one for you and one for Brother Lin."

"..."

So Lin kept the black dragon doll, probably to take it back to her bedroom.

Before we knew it, it was dark. The lights came on one after another, and the amusement park became even more lively at night, bustling with people. Laughter echoed in the warm-toned lights.

"Okay, okay, let's go ride the Ferris Wheel and then go home!"

That's what Ling suggested.

But...

Sakura lowered her head, her hat obscuring the blush on her face. In the cramped space, she was only a short distance from Lin.

Outside the private room, there were sounds of fireworks exploding and people laughing, but inside, there was only silence.

Each Ferris Wheel cabin can only seat two people. The bell is in the next cabin. At this moment, in this Xiao Kong that you can reach out and touch, in this Xiao Kong that will take a full half hour to reach the ground, there are only the two of them.

Sakura's heart was pounding in her throat.

She cautiously raised her head and, under the brim of her hat, looked at Lin's face as he leaned against the window.

For a moment, the silence was eerily profound.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Lin's Day Off

The air in the private room was not circulating, making it a bit stuffy. In addition, her feet were wrapped up tightly, making it impossible for them to breathe. Sakura felt her toes starting to sweat. At this moment, when she thought of the "playing" that Rin had mentioned, she felt so ashamed that she wanted to bury her head in her chest.

He wouldn't really...

Sakura secretly observed Lin. She was actually a little disappointed. Lin seemed not to care about her completely different outfit today. He didn't look at her at all from head to toe.

When did she start caring about what others thought, or is it just that she cares about Lin's opinion...?

"Is something the matter? You've been watching me all day."

Suddenly, Lin turned his gaze away from the window and said something that made Ying's heart stop.