The two of them spent over an hour in the amusement park, riding the carousel, taking sticker photos, eating snacks, playing claw machines, and visiting the shooting gallery.
The time reached 10:50 AM.
The Ferris wheel rose slowly.
Only the two of them were in the small cabin.
Su Qing sat opposite Lin Mo, watching the scenery outside the window gradually shrink.
“It’s so high,” she said softly.
“Yeah.”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“I’m okay.”
Su Qing fell silent.
After one minute, she suddenly stood up, walked over to his side, and sat down next to him.
“What are you doing?” Lin Mo was stunned.
“It’s sunny over there,” Su Qing said righteously. “It’s cooler here.”
Lin Mo looked at where she had been sitting. It was only an arm’s reach away from where she sat now, and the angle of the sunlight was nearly identical.
(￣～￣;) Whatever.
The Ferris wheel continued its ascent.
Another minute passed.
The cabin swayed slightly.
Su Qing let out a soft “ah” and instinctively leaned toward Lin Mo, her hand grabbing his arm.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Mo asked.
“It’s a bit shaky,” Su Qing whispered. “I… I’m a little scared.”
Lin Mo looked at the hand clutching him.
Was she afraid of heights?
He remembered that when they were children, Su Qing really was afraid of heights. Back then, when they went to amusement parks, she never rode the Ferris wheel, saying it made her dizzy just looking at it.
As she grew up, she never mentioned it again.
“Should we go down?” he asked.
“No.” Su Qing shook her head. “We’re already up here.”
“I’ll be fine as long as you hold me tight. Then I won’t be afraid.” Su Qing tilted her head to look at him, a flash of mischief in her eyes.
As the Ferris wheel rotated up and down, Su Qing screamed and buried herself in his arms. Lin Mo felt her slender arms tightly encircling his waist, and that unique citrus scent of hers desperately forced its way into his nose on the wind. The Pikachu kept rubbing against him.
She didn’t let go.
Lin Mo didn’t say anything either.
He glanced down.
From this angle, he could just see the pattern on the neckline of her dress.
Pikachu.
It was yellow and round, positioned right on her chest.
With the slight swaying of the cabin, that Pikachu also swayed back and forth, as if it might release a Thunderbolt at any moment.
Lin Mo quickly looked away.
(,,•́ . •̀,,) ‘See no evil, see no evil.’
[**”He saw it,”**] Demon Su Qing was laughing. [**”That Pikachu of yours is quite powerful.”**]
Su Qing ignored it.
But her hands held him a little tighter.
After getting off, Su Qing’s legs were so weak she couldn’t walk. She hung halfway off Lin Mo’s body, panting as she whispered, “I thought I was going to die just now. Luckily you were there. Both of my legs feel weak now.”
[**”The shaky legs are real, but it’s not from fear.”**]
[**”It’s…”**] The demon teased with a half-smile.
“Was it fun?” he asked.
“It was fun.” Su Qing nodded, her smile radiant. “Let’s come again next time.”
‘Next time? Next time, I won’t even be in the same city as you.’
Lin Mo felt a pang of guilt and quickly changed the subject. “Where do you want to go next?”
“Hmm…” Su Qing thought for a moment and pointed to a nearby ice cream shop. “I want to eat that.”
Lin Mo checked his phone.
10:55 AM.
“…Let’s go.”
The ice cream shop wasn’t crowded.
Su Qing ordered a two-colored scoop, vanilla mixed with chocolate. Lin Mo ordered a single scoop of mint.
The two of them sat by the window, the sunlight streaming in at an angle.
Su Qing ate very slowly, digging out small spoonfuls.
Lin Mo ate even slower, checking his phone as he ate.
He was afraid Shen Qingyue would arrive early, so he kept checking for messages.
“Lin Mo.”
He looked up.
Su Qing was looking at him, a small bit of ice cream stuck to the corner of her mouth.
“You have something on the corner of your mouth,” she said.
Lin Mo instinctively reached up to wipe it, but missed.
“Not there.” Su Qing put down her spoon and leaned forward. “Here.”
She reached out, her thumb gently pressing against the corner of his mouth to wipe away the dot of ice cream.
The movement was very light and very slow.
Lin Mo froze, motionless.
Then…
Su Qing withdrew her hand, put her thumb into her own mouth, and licked it gently.
“Mmm, mint flavor,” she said, her eyes curving into crescents. “It’s actually quite delicious.”
Lin Mo: “…”
(°△°|||)
He watched Su Qing continue eating her ice cream as if nothing had happened, his entire body stiffening.
Was that… was that just…
“What’s wrong?” Su Qing looked up, her expression innocent. “Why is your face so red?”
“No, it’s—it’s not.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “Then eat. It’ll melt in a moment.”
Lin Mo lowered his head and blankly scooped a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.
It was cold. It was sweet.
But his mind was entirely filled with that image.
Her thumb pressing against his lip, then entering her own mouth, licking it gently.
“Mint flavor,” she had said.
‘Calm down, calm down, calm down…’ he chanted in his head. ‘She just didn’t want to be wasteful. Yeah, that’s it…’
What he didn’t know was that while Su Qing had her head down eating, the corners of her mouth were curved into a very faint arc.
[**”You did that on purpose,”**] the little demon figure said.
‘Yes.’
[**”Does he know you’re flirting with him?”**]
‘He doesn’t.’
[**”Then what are you doing?”**]
Su Qing didn’t answer.
She simply continued eating her ice cream, her eyes lifting every now and then to glance at the boy with the beet-red face sitting across from her.
‘I’m playing along with him. And waiting for him to wake up on his own.’
At 11:10 AM, the ice cream was finished.
Lin Mo looked at his phone, his heart beating faster and faster.
Shen Qingyue hadn’t sent a single message.
Lin Mo stood up. “Su Qing, we—”
“Let’s go see a movie.” Su Qing also stood up, naturally taking his arm. “I saw a cinema at the mall earlier. There’s a horror movie starting soon.”
‘A horror movie?’
Lin Mo hesitated.
“Aren’t you… afraid of horror movies?”
“Who’s afraid!” Su Qing glared at him. “I was lying to you when we were kids!”
Lin Mo looked at her, remembering she had said the exact same thing before the Ferris wheel ride this morning.
(￣～￣;) Whatever.
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Su Qing pulled him toward the exit. “We won’t make it if we’re any later.”
Lin Mo was dragged along by her, his mind still on Shen Qingyue.
But she held him tightly, giving him no chance to hesitate.
The cinema was on the fourth floor of the mall.
At 11:30 AM, they walked into the theater.
There weren’t many people, just a dozen or so scattered around.
Su Qing chose a seat in the back row, tucked into a corner.
“This is good. No one will block the view,” she said.
Lin Mo sat down beside her.
The lights dimmed, and the big screen lit up.
The opening was a sequence of eerie music paired with shaky camera work and glimpses of blood.
Lin Mo didn’t feel much toward these kinds of films. He hadn’t been afraid of them since he was little; no matter how terrifying the visuals, he just saw them as special effects and makeup.
But Su Qing…
Five minutes into the start, when the first jump scare appeared, she let out an “ah” and lunged toward him.
“That scared me to death!” She buried her face in his shoulder, her voice trembling.
Lin Mo looked down at her. “Should we stop watching?”
“No.” She shook her head, her voice muffled. “I want to watch.”
She didn’t move.
She remained buried against his shoulder.
Lin Mo sat there stiffly, not knowing where to put his hands.
The movie continued.
At the second jump scare, she shivered again, pressing even closer.
The third, the fourth…
Before he knew it, she wasn’t just “leaning on his shoulder” anymore; her entire body was practically draped over him.
Lin Mo was pinned into his seat, unable to move.
“Su Qing…” he whispered. “How am I supposed to watch like this?”
“You watch from above,” she said breathlessly. “I’m scared.”
(；一_一) ‘This reason…’
Another scream exploded from the speakers.
Su Qing’s whole body jolted, and she instinctively shifted upward—
Lin Mo’s body froze instantly.
She…
She was now…
He looked down, his pupils suddenly contracting.
Without him realizing when it happened, Su Qing was now straddling him.
She sat on his lap with her legs apart, her arms looped around his neck and her face buried in the crook of his shoulder. Her entire body was pressed against him without a single gap.
And with every terrifying sound effect from the movie, she would shiver and then rub against him.
Pikachu was right at his chest, once, twice, three times.
A Thunderbolt.
Lin Mo’s mind went blank.
(,,ʘ̅ーʘ̅,,) …
‘This, this, this, this…’
He wanted to tell her to get down, but his throat felt blocked by something, and he couldn’t squeeze out a single word.
Worse still…
As Pikachu continued to release Thunderbolts, the Sea-Fixing Needle could no longer stay still and began to react.
Lin Mo’s head buzzed.
‘No, no, no, no, no…’
He tried desperately to control it, but his body wouldn’t listen to his commands at all.
Su Qing seemed to feel something.
She looked up slightly, gazing at him in the darkness. The light in the theater was very dim, with only the flickering shadows from the screen falling across her face.
Her eyes were bright.
“Lin Mo,” she said softly, her voice tender and carrying a hint of a coquettish tone. “I’m scared.”
Then she buried her face again and continued to rub against him.
Once, twice, three times.
Lin Mo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He could feel his heartbeat, racing so fast it felt like it would jump out of his chest.
He could also feel it in another place…
The Sea-Fixing Needle.
For some reason, at a time like this, he thought of the Destined One’s weapon from Black Myth.
The Staff Stance was accumulating.
One layer, two layers, three layers…
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ ‘What kind of nonsense is this!!’
He reached out, wanting to push her away slightly.
“Su Qing, you…”
“Hmm?” She looked up, her expression innocent. “What’s wrong?”
“This… isn’t very good…”
“What isn’t good?” She tilted her head to look at him, the Pikachu swaying with the movement. “I’m just scared.”
Lin Mo opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything.
What could he say?
Could he say, “You’re rubbing against me and I’m having a reaction”?
Could he say, “If you keep this up, I won’t be able to control myself”?
Could he say, “I have an appointment this afternoon, can you get down first”?
The last one was definitely off-limits.
He could only sit there stiffly, letting her hold him, letting the Pikachu rub and grind against him.
On the screen, the horror movie continued. Screams, music, and sound effects blended together.
“Lin Mo… I’m scared.” Her voice trembled, but her hands were restless, slipping under the hem of Lin Mo’s shirt. They slid against his skin all the way up, her fingertips carrying a slight chill as they traced circles over his tensed abdominal muscles.
Lin Mo’s whole body was rigid. He wanted to pull her hand out, but Su Qing only held him tighter.
She completely stopped pretending and straddled Lin Mo’s legs, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Her hot breath puffed against his throat.
“Don’t move…” Su Qing let out a suppressed, soft gasp, carrying a hint of unbearable viscosity. “Just let me lean on you for a while.”
Lin Mo’s hand had originally intended to push her away, but when he touched the delicate skin of her thigh, the force inexplicably turned into a squeeze. The temperature in the cinema wasn’t high, but Lin Mo felt like he was about to catch fire.
The screams from the speakers masked the rapid breathing of the two. Su Qing’s lips brushed past Lin Mo’s earlobe as if by chance. Small, broken moans squeezed through the gaps in her teeth, only to be bitten back down.
“Mm… Lin Mo…”
A middle-aged man sitting in the front row suddenly turned his head, looking back suspiciously. Terrified, Lin Mo held his breath and clamped down on Su Qing’s restless body, locking her firmly in his embrace.
Instead of reining it in, Su Qing doubled down.
Thunderbolt.
The Staff Stance was still accumulating.
But in his world, there was only the warm body in his arms and that constant friction…
It was fully charged.
The Four-level Pillar Stance was about to be released.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Lin Mo practically bounced up, lifting Su Qing off his body and placing her in her seat before rushing out of the theater without looking back.