They were friends, but not to the point where they couldn’t live without each other.
Xia Zhi wasn’t an indispensable part of Su Ziyan’s life, and vice versa.
But they were friends after all, so it was normal to feel sad thinking about such a distant future.
Yet no matter how sad, you still had to keep living well—that was normal too.
Wasn’t it?
Su Ziyan felt this wasn’t self-comfort, because it was simply natural.
So…
The sudden soft body and the scent that hit his nose pulled Su Ziyan back to his senses.
It turned out that Xia Zhi, who had seemed fearless just moments ago, suddenly stopped walking and backed up, curling herself into Su Ziyan’s arms.
Su Ziyan was stunned for a moment, but with just a glance he understood why Xia Zhi had done this.
It was the pedestrians on the street.
Xia Zhi, who had been pulling him forward just moments ago, immediately reverted to her Turtle Form upon seeing strangers and burrowed into Su Ziyan’s chest.
After all, in such an unfamiliar environment, only Su Ziyan’s side could give her a sense of security.
She was soft and fragrant in his arms, but Su Ziyan had no improper thoughts.
Instead, he felt much more at ease, as if some void inside him had been instantly filled.
Although he himself might be unwilling to admit it, Xia Zhi had indeed become a part of his life.
He reached out and patted Xia Zhi’s head, smiling helplessly.
“Seeing you like that just now, I thought you’d turned into Superhero Mode. How come you can’t stay cool for more than three seconds?”
Xia Zhi still had trouble talking to strangers, but she had enough strength to retort against Su Ziyan’s teasing:
“Even Superman can’t withstand Kryptonite.”
Although she craved the feeling of his hand gently stroking her head, Xia Zhi forced herself to give up this comfort.
She reached out and took his hand off her head.
“Anyway, from now on you’ll have to walk in front.”
Xia Zhi grabbed Su Ziyan’s hand and hid behind him, clinging to his arm as if trying to merge her body into his.
Su Ziyan could clearly feel the softness of her chest pressed against his arm.
To be honest, this position was a bit improper for a man and woman who weren’t close.
But given Xia Zhi’s condition and their relationship, Su Ziyan didn’t feel anything wrong.
Instead, he felt this was only natural—after all, this was what he had anticipated in his mind from the start.
He walked forward step by step with the “accessory” on his arm, leaving the residential area and arriving at the street to hail a ride-hailing car.
Only then did Su Ziyan realize he still didn’t know where she wanted to go.
“Which amusement park do you want to go to?”
Su Ziyan asked softly as he pulled out his phone.
“Is there any ride you want to play? Are you really okay with this situation?”
“XX Amusement Park.”
Xia Zhi stayed close to Su Ziyan’s side, casting sidelong glances at passersby.
“It’s fine. I just want to ride the Ferris wheel. That way there won’t be any other strangers near us.”
That was actually a good choice—it was better for being alone compared to other rides.
Su Ziyan nodded and was about to search for the amusement park Xia Zhi mentioned on the map to call a car, but then he thought of a crucial issue.
XX Amusement Park was indeed the most famous one around, but wasn’t it closed on Thursdays?
Because Xia Zhi’s change had been so drastic, Su Ziyan had forgotten to plan ahead.
In his mind, she would at most want to go to a small, less crowded amusement park.
Besides, since Xia Zhi had been the one to suggest going out to play, she should have already planned it in her mind.
Only now did Su Ziyan realize that expecting her to make plans was still a bit too much for her.
Helplessly, he told this to Xia Zhi, who was still clinging to his arm.
Then he watched her expression stiffen, and she wilted like a flower that hadn’t been watered for days.
Just like a flower that hadn’t been watered for days.
Seeing her look so self-reproachful that she was about to become depressed, Su Ziyan could only hand his phone to Xia Zhi.
The app on the phone was XX Maps, and what it showed was a park that looked a bit old from the preview image.
And surprisingly, this park also had a Ferris wheel.
“How about we go to this one?”
Su Ziyan asked.
“This park also has a Ferris wheel. It’s definitely not as good as XX Amusement Park, but it’s still a Ferris wheel. And maybe we won’t even have to queue.”
“As long as you don’t mind the Ferris wheel being a bit small.”
Xia Zhi was stunned for a moment, then stopped blaming herself and let out a soft laugh.
“Okay, let’s go to this one then.”
‘Su Ziyan is such an idiot. I don’t actually care what the Ferris wheel looks like. I just want to ride it with you.’
And so, the two successfully arrived at that park.
They ate cotton candy and ice cream together, took a photo together in front of the ugly, slightly peeling statue at the park entrance, and queued up at the old Ferris wheel…
Every second of it made Xia Zhi’s heart race, until they finally sat together in the Ferris wheel and fell into calm.
That’s right, the Ferris wheel she had been most looking forward to before coming turned out to be the part that made her the calmest.
After all, earlier they had been doing things that seemed like what couples would do, but now, sitting face to face on the Ferris wheel watching the scenery, that ambiguous, romantic feeling had disappeared.
It felt like it had been Xia Zhi’s illusion, as if it had never existed.
Maybe it had never existed.
After all, they were just friends.
The earlier events were just an illusion caused by her condition and his care.
In reality, there wasn’t even a trace of real love or affection between them.
Thinking this, Xia Zhi unconsciously clenched her small fist.
‘Then I’ll wait until we’re together. At that time…’
‘I’ll ride the Ferris wheel with him again.’
Looking at Su Ziyan’s side profile as he admired the view, Xia Zhi silently made up her mind.
After the Ferris wheel, their journey today came to an end.
Unfortunately, the end wasn’t a cloudless good weather, but instead a light drizzle.
It was a rare sunshower.
Su Ziyan bought a transparent umbrella at the park’s convenience store and led Xia Zhi, who looked a bit tired from playing, out of the park to the ride-hailing pickup point.
And for some reason, when the traffic light in front still had five seconds, Xia Zhi beside him suddenly ran out.
Su Ziyan never expected Xia Zhi to do such a thing.
He was completely unable to stop her in time.
By the time he realized it, Xia Zhi had already run across the street before the green light ended.
The cold stream of steel cars separated the two.