On that Saturday, Cheng Shiyin was woken up by a call from the delivery service before she had even gotten out of bed. When she opened the door, instead of the delivery man, she found the same driver who had taken them to Wu Lian’s house before. He was also a highly skilled, all-purpose butler working for Wu Lian’s family.
The butler helped Cheng Shiyin set up the app for watching real-time aerial footage and the live stream from a tiny hidden camera disguised as a button on Wu Lian’s collar. Afterward, he bowed and left, passing by Lin Xin, who was just arriving to meet Cheng Shiyin in the stairwell.
By the time Lin Xin knocked on Cheng Shiyin’s door, Cheng Shiyin had already sent her cousin back to her parents’ room to continue sleeping. She had set up a disguise kit for Lin Xin on the bed in her room: a full Japanese autumn-themed JK two-piece outfit and a brown wig. As for the outfit’s size, she relied entirely on the impression she had from watching Lin Xin’s ballet performance.
However, as soon as Lin Xin put on the outfit, Cheng Shiyin stopped him just as he was about to put the wig on his head. With a regretful expression, she said, “I think I’ll try a different approach.”
“Is there something wrong with it?” Lin Xin asked, inspecting the outfit from top to bottom. He thought the JK uniform was far more suitable than a maid costume. The flat-chested JK look didn’t feel out of place either. Even though the skirt was a bit shorter than he expected, it wasn’t summer, and with leggings, no one would notice anything unusual.
Lin Xin even waved his arms proudly to show Cheng Shiyin how well the outfit fit. However, as he raised his arms, the sound of fabric ripping echoed through the room. The reason was simple: Lin Xin had grown taller and bigger, and the clothes were never designed for vigorous movement.
Reluctantly, Lin Xin removed the outer layer of his outfit and sat on Cheng Shiyin’s bed with his legs neatly together, waiting for her to retrieve new disguise props.
Cheng Shiyin examined how much of Lin Xin’s legs were exposed beneath the skirt and felt envious that he was still growing even in college. After calculating that Lin Xin was now several centimeters taller than herself, she switched to a different disguise plan.
“How about we pretend to be a couple instead?” Cheng Shiyin said as she placed Lin Xin’s discarded jacket on a chair behind her and rummaged through the wardrobe. She eventually put together an outfit that could loosely be described as a “hip-hop boy” style and replaced the wig with a cap that would hide Lin Xin’s long hair.
After Lin Xin changed into the new clothes, Cheng Shiyin helped him tie his hair up and tuck it under the hat. Once everything was ready, Cheng Shiyin sat on the chair and began stitching up the jacket Lin Xin had torn.
Lin Xin tilted his head, watching Cheng Shiyin as she sewed, and his mind wandered to images of himself struggling in the world while Cheng Shiyin, with a newborn on her back and patched clothes, still managed to take care of him. He could almost hear the song “Someday I Will Wait For You” by Jacky Cheung from Super School King, and time seemed to slow down. Lin Xin couldn’t help but admire her and said, “You’ll be a great mother someday.”
After nearly two hours of preparations, Cheng Shiyin and Lin Xin were finally ready to head to the meeting spot for Shang Xiaoxia and Wu Lian’s date.
Throughout their journey, Cheng Shiyin and Lin Xin kept track of Shang Xiaoxia and Wu Lian’s movements via the app, while also using the app to ensure their tracking was discreet. Although their disguise technique wasn’t flawless, as long as their presence didn’t show up on the app, it would be nearly impossible for Wu Lian and Shang Xiaoxia to notice them.
Shang Xiaoxia frowned as she looked at the map she had picked up from the tourist center, clearly annoyed. When Wu Lian saw her expression as she entered the park, he cursed his mysterious friend who had suggested this date and advised him to bend down and ask Shang Xiaoxia with an overly concerned expression, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Shang Xiaoxia instinctively responded, lifting her head, only to find that Wu Lian’s face was now less than three centimeters away from hers. Shocked, her heart started racing, and her mind went blank. After a few moments of awkward silence, she finally managed to blurt out, “Your eyebrows look nice.”
Surprised by the unexpected compliment, Wu Lian became even more flustered than Shang Xiaoxia. He found himself unable to speak, and for a moment, he even forgot what he had been asking. This gave Shang Xiaoxia a brief moment of relief.
Seeing Wu Lian in a daze, Shang Xiaoxia quickly lowered her head again and resumed flipping through the thick brochure to find a less exciting ride for their date. She flipped through the pages, quickly scanning them, and finally found a suitable option on the last page before the “Thank you for your visit” section: a kiddie ride that could probably be found in any neighborhood park.
Excited, Shang Xiaoxia lifted the brochure and called out to Wu Lian, “I want to try this!”
Wu Lian hadn’t yet stood up straight, and the brochure hit him in the face. He immediately felt warmth spread beneath his nose.
“Oh no, it’s about to drip on Xiaoxia’s head!” Wu Lian thought to himself as he quickly covered his nose and stepped aside. When he looked up, he saw Shang Xiaoxia staring at him with concern. He was about to reassure her that he was fine, but then he remembered his mischievous friend’s advice to show vulnerability to make Shang Xiaoxia feel guilty and care for him. It was a very effective method to win her over.
So, Wu Lian abandoned his earlier thoughts and, clutching his nose, stood pitifully beside Shang Xiaoxia, saying, “It hurts so much.”
“Really? Let me see,” Shang Xiaoxia said, feeling guilty. She had already been rude to Wu Lian, who had been treating her to meals and fun activities, and now she had accidentally hurt him. She couldn’t let him suffer alone.
She took some tissue from her bag and was about to pull his hand away from his nose to clean the blood. Wu Lian, realizing her intention, allowed her to remove his hand. But when he looked at his hand, which wasn’t even stained with blood, an ominous feeling rose in his chest.
Shang Xiaoxia held the tissue up to Wu Lian’s mouth and then, with a smile, handed it to him, asking, “Is it salty?”
At that moment, Wu Lian got his answer. He quickly turned around to wipe his nose, thinking back to his shameless earlier words, “It hurts so much.” For the 3,583rd time, Wu Lian considered cutting ties with his mischievous friend.
Embarrassed to the point where he could barely look at Shang Xiaoxia, Wu Lian snatched the map from her hand, glanced at the route markers, and turned to leave without looking back. He called over his shoulder to Shang Xiaoxia, “Let’s go. I’ll lead the way.”
Shang Xiaoxia noticed the red tips of Wu Lian’s ears as he turned away, barely concealed by his back. After silently laughing to herself while clutching her stomach, she finally caught up with him. Wu Lian, too embarrassed to turn around, missed the smile she had been hoping to see.
Meanwhile, Lin Xin and Cheng Shiyin, sitting in a café in the park, not only saw this but also thoughtfully recorded the moment. After the day ended, they planned to send the footage to Wu Lian as a thank-you for the entertaining scene he had unwittingly provided.
As Wu Lian walked through the children’s park, with Shang Xiaoxia maintaining a steady smile, he realized that once again, Shang Xiaoxia had played him. However, seeing her mood improve made him decide to let it slide. After all, even a children’s amusement park could serve as a pre-screening for future family visits.
Shang Xiaoxia’s choice to visit the children’s park was simple: she had only ever visited amusement parks when she was younger. The thrill-seeking adult rides were completely unfamiliar to her. She had only read about incidents in the news where amusement rides malfunctioned and tourists were flung into the air, sometimes tragically. The idea of such high-stakes thrills made her heart race, and she knew that if she couldn’t handle the stress, she’d fall right into Wu Lian’s trap.
Knowing about the suspension bridge effect, she was determined not to fall for it. So, she chose to resolve the issue at its source. As long as her heart rate didn’t spike, there would be no misunderstandings.
Pointing to the tiny, ridiculous-looking children’s roller coaster in front of Wu Lian, which was less than ten meters long and only about 1.5 meters high, she said, “I want to try this crazy molehill. It looks like a lot of fun.”
“Alright.” Wu Lian didn’t hesitate to agree and moved faster than Shang Xiaoxia to sit down. He patted the empty seat beside him and said, “Come on, everyone’s waiting.”
Lin Xin and Cheng Shiyin exchanged a glance and both said in unison, “We’re not playing this,” before continuing to sip their coffee and watch the situation unfold.
As Shang Xiaoxia had expected, the ride was dull. Aside from the cold winter wind hitting her face, there was no fun to be had, and her heart rate didn’t spike in the least. No wonder this ride was only popular among children under five and their parents—six-year-olds who had just started school wouldn’t waste their time on such a childish ride.
Shang Xiaoxia’s second choice was the “Battle with the Mermaid,” a water fight attraction where people shoot water at strangers. Wu Lian had already researched the ride and knew that another part of the fun came from watching the water-soaked clothes reveal a glimpse of spring. But when he saw Shang Xiaoxia wearing a thick turtleneck sweater, he dismissed the idea of any improper thoughts.
Cheng Shiyin, observing their lack of enthusiasm, said, “Let’s skip this one, too. It’s pretty cold now.” Lin Xin agreed, seeing how Shang Xiaoxia struggled to press the water gun’s trigger.
The third activity was watching a 4D movie, but aside from getting soaked again, Shang Xiaoxia didn’t find it enjoyable. She even felt a little guilty for dragging Wu Lian into the experience. After giving it some thought, she finally said to him, “How about we go to the haunted house? There’s nothing else fun here.”
Wu Lian had only wanted to see Shang Xiaoxia happy, and he didn’t have high hopes for the amusement rides. But the haunted house was something he had in mind as a good place to go. He wasn’t afraid of ghosts and could offer Shang Xiaoxia a sense of security by letting her fall into his arms when she got scared.
What Wu Lian didn’t know was that Shang Xiaoxia wasn’t afraid of ghosts either.
When the staff lowered a wig from the ceiling as part of their routine, Shang Xiaoxia even helped them tie it into a ponytail. Whenever a staff member tried to sneak up behind her to scare her, Shang Xiaoxia would immediately spot them and choose a different path, moving as quickly and expertly as a professional ninja.
After Shang Xiaoxia left, Lin Xin and Cheng Shiyin decided to try the haunted house themselves, curious to see how it compared to the one at school. As they walked through, they commented on the makeup of each staff member, and Lin Xin even explained to Cheng Shiyin which movie characters their costumes were based on. It felt more like an inspection than an actual scare.
After two failed attempts at scaring them, the staff began to question their skills. Were they so bad that they couldn’t scare a single person?
Before the next group of visitors entered, the staff gathered in a circle to encourage each other, their energized chants echoing through the room. When a young couple came in, they immediately started crying and shouting that they didn’t want to continue.
Seeing this reaction restored the staff’s confidence, and they made sure the couple experienced what they hoped would be a true “hellish” encounter.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152