The next morning, sunlight spilled through the curtains like warm milk. "Nii-chan, time to get up! You promised we’d go to the amusement park today!"
Her voice chimed like a silver bell. Lu Ke blinked awake through sleep-fog and saw a blonde girl in a pure white nightdress; her uncombed hair fell smooth as silk over her chest and shoulders.
"Give me a bit, let your brother sleep." He started to roll like a lazy cat, but Xiao Qianxue’s words hit like cold water and froze him mid-turn. "Gu Wen-jiejie is waiting on the sofa outside... is some thick-headed boy really going to make her sit there, stood up?"
"Why didn’t you say that first!" Lu Ke launched like a spring and bounced into the bathroom, water hiss rising like steam. "Tch, is my charm really weaker than that airheaded cutie at the door?" Xiaoxue watched him get up the instant he heard Gu Wen’s name, after her own coaxing failed; she shook her head with a helpless smile, stretched like a cat, and drifted to the living room.
"Gu Wen-jiejie, I dragged that big slacker out of bed." Rubbing one eye with a small hand, the blonde girl padded over. Under the white nightdress her legs looked soft as young birch, and her bare feet tapped the floor like two little shells; her voice still carried a drowsy thread.
"Xiaoxue, you’re too cute!" The price of being adorable was swift: Gu Wen swept her into a hug and rubbed her cheek like a warm cloud. "Uu-uu!" Xiao Qianxue could have slipped free as a fish, but because of a promise, she let the gentle “bullying” wash over her like a tide.
"Sorry, Gu Wen, I slept a bit late." Lu Ke came out in a full Off-White fit, sharp as a new blade compared to his usual school suit-and-tie; the sight made Gu Wen’s hands still as if a breeze had paused. Xiaoxue used that gap and darted back to her room like a quick sparrow to get ready.
"It’s fine. I just came too early today." Gu Wen pinched her skirt hem, cheeks tinting pink like cherry petals as she glanced at Lu Ke.
"Had breakfast? I’ll make something now; perfect, Xue’er and I haven’t eaten either." Lu Ke shifted the topic like turning a page. "Then I’ll trouble you..." Gu Wen agreed without a hint of polite refusal, her smile soft as morning dew.
As usual, the blonde girl tossed on a hoodie and jeans, then sauntered back to the living room, casual as wind through grass. "Xiaoxue? Are you really going like that today? Not picking a pretty dress or something?" Gu Wen eyed the boyish look with a sigh, like seeing a jewel dusted over, brightness hidden.
"It’s fine. You two are the leads today." Xiaoxue wanted to look nice too, but reality tugged like a thread; and a crowded amusement park was a forest of eyes. Even so, under her cap the glimpse of perfect features and her small frame drew glances like moths to a lantern.
After breakfast together, Gu Wen asked across the table, clear face matching her white dress like moonlight on still water, "Lu Ke, I drove myself today. Let me take the wheel?" Lu Ke agreed at once, and that quick scene made the blonde girl’s brows pinch like two willow leaves.
As she left her seat, she didn’t forget to jab a small hand into the soft flesh at a certain shameless waist, twisting like a corkscrew; pain bent Lu Ke’s features like a crumpled paper fan. "Th-then... let’s get ready and head out..." Even a single sentence felt like hauling a boat against current.
The city’s amusement park sat near the sea like a bright shell, sprawling wide over cheap land and heavy foot traffic. Officially it was the Happy Valley Carnival, the most famous playground nearby. One ticket covered everything like an open gate; pay triple, and every ride turned into a fast track like a cleared river.
A red BMW X5 slid into the lot, gleaming like a ripe apple. The three stepped out and reached the ticket booth; as expected, there was a special counter for fast-track. Compared to the tide of people for normal tickets, the fast-track line was a trickle you could almost ignore, quiet as a side stream.
Lu Ke laid a stack of red notes on the counter like a flutter of flags. From the normal line, single guys and couples shot him looks like thrown daggers—evil-capitalist scowls mixed with envy that he’d brought two gorgeous girls, one tall and one small.
"Didn’t expect Gu Wen-jiejie’s family to be well-off too," Xiaoxue said, walking beside him, voice light as drifting cotton. "It’s not that much..." Gu Wen accepted the tickets from Lu Ke, sighing like a small breeze. "I wanted to pay..."
"That’s exactly why I paid fast," Lu Ke said, simple as a hammer on a nail. With fast-track, they passed the gate like shadows and slipped into the park’s heart.
"What first?" Lu Ke grabbed a map, the wide paper unfolding like a sail, making all three a bit dizzy. "Let’s start with the Ferris wheel!" Gu Wen pointed at the giant circle not far away, bright as a planet above the grounds. "Good idea; we can scout which rides look best," Lu Ke nodded, steady as rock. "Xue’er, what do you think?"
"Anything’s fine." In his last life he’d never gone to places like this; he knew they were fun, but alone felt like wearing a crown in a crowd. This time, it was her first time in an amusement park; a small excitement trembled in her voice like a plucked string.
Lu Ke gently took the blonde girl’s small hand, warm as a sunlit pebble. She didn’t resist much—she’d grown used to being led like this—though her puffed cheeks showed a hint of girlish pout like two tiny clouds. Then he looked to Gu Wen. Her face flushed in a brushstroke of red, but she still extended a slightly trembling hand, and their fingers met like two leaves on the same branch.
The Ferris wheel was a must-do, so the line swelled even in early hours like ants at sugar. Lu Ke held both hands, wearing I’m-the-winner swagger like a banner, and they veered into the fast track. From the normal queue, stares seemed to sharpen into blades, ready to chop this sharply dressed show-off into neat cubes.
"Hey, hey, Nii-chan, don’t you think that was a bit much?" Xiaoxue stared, surprised that the usually normal Lu Ke was brazen enough to taunt the whole crowd like a rooster on a fence.
"Haa..." Only inside the inner corridor did Lu Ke exhale, relief untying like a loose knot. "This was what I always wanted to do. With a chance like this, how could I let it pass?" Gu Wen giggled beside him, laughter rippling like water.
"Sir, just the three of you?" With fast-track privilege, they boarded quickly. Each cabin could hold six, but their pass gave them a private bubble for three, a small island in the sky. Even after stepping in, Lu Ke still felt the crowd’s angry gazes like hot sun on skin—until the door slid shut, a curtain falling.
"It’s starting..." The blonde girl leaned against the clear door, excitement sparkling in her golden eyes like twin suns. "Xue’er, is this your first time on a Ferris wheel?" Lu Ke asked, curious at his usually steady sister now showing childlike joy like a spring sparrow.
"Yes, and my first time in an amusement park." She stared out without blinking, a gazelle at the window. Gu Wen’s heart pinched, sadness spreading like ink; most kids come by age five or six, seven or eight at worst. She turned to the girl on tiptoe, face pressed to the glass, hood sliding to her shoulders like fallen petals. In the sunlight, her long golden hair blazed brighter than wheat, and it hit hard that a thirteen-, fourteen-year-old had never set foot in a place like this.
Lu Ke felt a tug in his chest like a string pulled. He spoke quickly, then gently, warmth settling like a blanket. "Don’t worry. Today I’ll make sure you two play to your hearts’ content." He reached to her head and stroked the smooth gold strands like petting a soft cat.
"Mm..."
