The Amusement Park and the Legend of the Ferris Wheel
The dinner rush in Cafeteria No. 3 was as noisy as a boiling pressure cooker. Linnai slapped a flyer onto the table, and with a clatter, the last vegetable on Sigelica's plate shook loose.
"Girls, Starlight Amusement Park is offering thirty percent off this weekend. I hereby declare that a Slacking Squad team-building trip is officially on the agenda."
Aimis lifted her face from a bowl of seafood congee, a grain of rice stuck to her chin and resentment filling her eyes.
"Let me say this again: this squad's sponsor is bankrupt. Unless one of you reimburses me for those crab roe buns from the other morning."
"Money is a small matter. Happiness is a big one."
Linnai pushed the flyer in front of Dania and tapped the outline of a Ferris wheel.
"Look, Yaya, the Star Wish Ferris Wheel. Legend has it that if you confess to the person you like at the very top, your paths in life will mesh together forever, and you'll never be separated."
Dania's chopsticks stopped in midair, the piece of sweet-and-sour pork rib between them on the verge of falling.
Her gaze drifted out the window, then back, settling on the figure in the yellow vest.
Zhou Yu wore a pair of reading glasses he had dug out of a box of discarded equipment, their arms messily wrapped in tape. He pushed the frames down his nose, his eyes fixed on three reimbursement forms and his pen never stopping.
"The fuse model for distribution box No. 3 doesn't match. Rejected."
"The date for the water dispenser's filter wasn't filled in. Rejected."
"The unit price of potatoes is three and a half percent above market price. The purchasing department manager needs to submit a written explanation."
He gave off the air of a retired accountant who had wandered into a college cafeteria by mistake.
The warmth in Dania's heart was doused by the sight of him, leaving only a wisp of smoke.
She lowered her head and poked her rice with her chopsticks, making one little hole after another.
Sigelica elbowed Linnai.
"See? One's a block of wood, the other's a rock. What kind of sparks do you expect them to make?"
"Not necessarily."
Linnai winked at Dania.
"Say it loud when you're in love. You have to fight for your own opportunities. Go on, the organization believes in you."
Dania's cheeks began to heat up.
She took a deep breath, moved her chair a little closer, and reached out to carefully tug at a corner of Zhou Yu's work vest, which had yellowed from washing. The fabric was stiff as cardboard, with a mingled scent of engine oil and goji berries.
Zhou Yu's pen stopped.
His gaze moved from the reimbursement forms to the hand tugging at his vest.
"Zhou Yu... do you want to go to the amusement park?"
Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
He didn't look up.
He merely reached out with his other hand, pulled a blank reimbursement form from beside him, turned it over, and slipped it beneath the corner of his vest that Dania was holding.
"The amusement park will be crowded, so don't go running off."
His voice was as flat as when he had been talking about the unit price of potatoes.
"Write down whatever snacks you want on the back beforehand. Sort them into categories and make sure you include the stall numbers. I'll plan a route for the queues to save time."
He tapped the paper with the tip of his pen.
The wisp of smoke in Dania's heart burst back into flame with a roar, setting off a sky full of fireworks in the process.
She let go and snatched her hand back like lightning, picked up her chopsticks, and stuffed the completely cooled sweet-and-sour pork rib into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a squirrel's.
Sweet.
Even sweeter than the bowl of double-skin milk she'd had earlier.
Sigelica put a hand to her forehead and let out a long sigh.
"They're hopeless, seriously."
She turned to Linnai.
"One's more clueless than the other, yet they're sweeter than anyone. Does that make any sense?"
Chisaki pushed up her glasses and typed on her tablet.
"It doesn't conform to the logic of social behavior, but the dopamine overflow data is positive. The sample has extremely high research value."
Aimis had already given up resisting and finished her congee.
"So I'm still paying for the ice cream and grilled sausages, right?"
"Correct."
Linnai snapped her fingers.
"As compensation, you can choose the hardest-to-get-into attraction and have Teacher Zhou queue for you."
"Deal."
Aimis instantly returned to full health.
And just like that, the amusement park trip was settled.
That night, after the lights went out in the girls' dorm, Sigelica rolled over and prepared to sleep.
A rustling came from the bed next to hers.
She opened her eyes and, by the moonlight, saw Dania sitting on her bed with two outfits spread out before her—the pink-and-white Flamebearers' Academy tracksuit and the light blue dress Zhou Yu had taken her to buy.
She held the tracksuit up in front of herself, then shook her head.
Then she picked up the dress and studied it in the moonlight for a long time, a silly smile lifting the corners of her mouth.
Sigelica closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head.
It's over.
This girl has really fallen for him.
New messages popped up in the encrypted group chat.
Linnai: [Operation Catch the Salted Fish, phase one is a complete success. The target has taken the bait of her own accord.]
Linnai: [Now announcing the core mission for phase two: the Star Wish Ferris Wheel.]
Linnai: [Operation slogan: soar into the sky and catch the salted fish.]
Three seconds later.
Aimis: [Roger. The grilled sausage supplier is in position.]
Chisaki: [Model established. Calculating the optimal time to confess and the probability of success.]
Sigelica (typing under the blanket): [...My wallet is requesting permission to withdraw from this operation.]