The amusement park in the mountain villa was undoubtedly the most popular attraction.
Sure enough, by mid-morning around nine, when Shen An arrived with Wang Yuqiong, he spotted several figures already milling about.
Scattered here and there, the crowds weren’t huge, but they were far from sparse.
Especially at this hour—people had dragged themselves out of bed instead of sleeping in, which spoke volumes about the amusement park’s draw.
Shen An sighed in appreciation, but Wang Yuqiong wasn’t thrilled by the sight.
Why not?
Simple: if it were empty, she could indulge in some couple-like physical contact with him more freely—like holding hands or linking arms.
But with people everywhere, and all of them from the art troupe no less, even she had to hold back despite her boldness.
She scanned the area. The scale of this amusement park exceeded even Shen An’s expectations.
He’d figured that in a vacation resort like this, it couldn’t possibly compare to a proper mega-park like Disneyland.
After all, Disneyland made thrill rides its main gig, while this place—from the name “mountain villa”—was all about comprehensive leisure.
So at best, it’d be a small setup, something to round out the offerings.
But upon arrival, Shen An realized he’d been dead wrong.
This amusement park… was massive.
Standing at the entrance, a long row of attractions plastered the entire promotional board, leaving Shen An a bit dazed as he took it all in.
They even had an aquarium…
So really, the mountain villa’s main job was the amusement park, with vacation vibes as the side hustle?
Wang Yuqiong buzzed with excitement, darting back and forth along the board. Every project seemed to catch her eye; she wanted to try them all.
Shen An sidled up, his shoulder brushing hers, and whispered, “What do you want to ride first?”
Wang Yuqiong turned, pointing without hesitation at one of the pictures on the board.
“The roller coaster?” Shen An arched a brow. “You’ve got guts, girl.”
Wang Yuqiong grinned sheepishly. “I’ve never ridden one before. I want to give it a shot.”
Shen An drew in a sharp breath, nodding solemnly. “Out of curiosity, have you trimmed your nails?”
“Huh?”
Wang Yuqiong raised her small hand in confusion. “Why ask that all of a sudden?”
She didn’t have long nails, but they were still plenty sharp—the kind that extended well past her fingertips.
“Hmm~” Shen An took her hand and examined it closely. “Not too long, not too pointy. Good, I’ll ride it with you.”
Wang Yuqiong’s face grew even more puzzled at his words.
What did nails have to do with anything?
Shen An shrugged. “People new to roller coasters are usually dying to try it, but when the moment comes, they get scared out of their minds.”
“The poor soul next to them tends to suffer for it. Oh, right—did you bring earplugs?”
“If you did, lend me a pair. I might go deaf otherwise.”
Wang Yuqiong bared her teeth in a grin. “I’m not as chicken as you think! I’ve gone through haunted houses solo without flinching!”
“That remains to be seen~” Shen An pursed his lips.
“Hmph!” Wang Yuqiong swatted him. “Don’t tell me you’re the one who’s scared?”
“As if. I’ve ridden roller coasters countless times since I was a kid. No way.” Shen An boasted.
“Then let’s hit every ride here today!”
Wang Yuqiong’s finger swept from the roller coaster pic across the entire board.
And that section? All thrill rides.
Roller coasters, pirate ships, drop towers, rapids rides.
Shen An smacked his lips. “I’m game, but time might be tight.”
“Hm?”
“Senior Sister said we have to head back this afternoon. You sure we can squeeze all these in?”
“Of course! Each ride’s what, ten or fifteen minutes tops? And with no lines…” Wang Yuqiong had clearly done her homework.
Shen An wanted to applaud. “You don’t need breaks? Straight from one to the next without stopping?”
Wang Yuqiong lifted her chin, hands on hips, brimming with confidence. “Only cowards need breaks. Are you one?”
“Nope.”
“Me neither. There you go!”
“Ohh~” Shen An nodded halfheartedly. “I hope you’ve got that same fire after we’re done.”
“Hmph, hurry up!! Go go go.” Wang Yuqiong shoved at Shen An’s back; she couldn’t wait.
Meanwhile, back in the surveillance room.
Zhao Qingyu had returned, seated once more before the big screen, grinding her teeth as she watched the pair.
The manager ventured cautiously, “Miss…”
“Hm?”
Zhao Qingyu glanced back.
“Are you… just going to sit here and watch?”
“Ha, since when do you call the shots?” Zhao Qingyu scoffed.
“No, no, just asking.” The manager kept his voice low.
“Don’t worry, I’ll head out soon.”
Zhao Qingyu crossed her legs. “I know my being here makes everyone uncomfortable.”
“You’re overthinking it, miss.”
“Whatever.”
Zhao Qingyu’s eyes shifted to the screen, narrowing gradually. “That direction—they’re heading for the roller coaster, right?”
“Looks like it.”
“Hmm, can you have them pause the roller coaster for half an hour? No rides until then?”
Zhao Qingyu asked.
“Well…” The manager looked troubled.
Zhao Qingyu rolled her eyes. “I’m not asking you to shut down the whole park—just pause one ride for thirty minutes. That’s too much?”
“No need to run it by my dad for something this small, right?”
The manager shook his head. “Of course not. I’ll go give the order.”
“Wait—actually, why not pause all the rides for half an hour?” Zhao Qingyu waved him back, her tone light.
“This…”
“Manager Guan, how many managers like you does this mountain villa have?” Zhao Qingyu turned, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
“Including me, thirteen.” Manager Guan replied softly.
“So why’d I pick you for the shift and give the other twelve the day off?”
Zhao Qingyu’s lips curved, her smile radiant.
Manager Guan sighed. “I get it.”
“Hey, no long faces. It’s just half an hour.” Zhao Qingyu cooed. “Even if my dad finds out, he won’t say a word.”
“Yes, miss.”
Manager Guan turned and left the surveillance room.
Zhao Qingyu’s gaze returned to the screen. She propped her chin and murmured, “It’s not gonna be that easy.”
At the same time, she pulled out Shen An’s phone.
Yes, that’s why she’d stormed off earlier—to grab it from her room.
She unlocked Shen An’s phone swiftly and opened the chat with Song Rui.
“Up yet?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Song Rui replied in under five seconds.
“Wanna ride the roller coaster?” Zhao Qingyu typed as Shen An.
“Eh?”
“Want to play?”
“I… I’m actually pretty interested.”
“Alright, then come to the roller coaster at the amusement park right now. I’m waiting for you here.”
“Huh?”
Zhao Qingyu didn’t reply anymore.
She put away Shen An’s phone, stood up, and said to the people in the surveillance room, “You have to tell me right away every time these two change positions.”
“Yes.”
With that, Zhao Qingyu left the surveillance room.
In the room, Song Rui stared at her phone, a mix of hesitation and conflict on her face.
Shen An hadn’t responded to her messages. He had gone offline.
But that wasn’t why Song Rui was hesitating and conflicted.
What she was truly unsure about was whether those messages had really come from Shen An.
Last night, Song Rui had been stood up. She had waited foolishly on the bridge until nearly dawn, only leaving when the mountain villa’s security personnel came to remind her to go. She had trudged back to her room in dejection.
There was no need to explain how heartbreaking it was to be stood up—especially by Shen An, whom she held in such high regard.
Her mood had sunk to rock bottom.
She kept wondering what she had done wrong for Shen An to treat her this way.
Or maybe, in his eyes, it was just a harmless little prank? That would be going too far!
Song Rui might not be as sharp as Wang Yuqiong, but she had her own clever intuition.
Back in her room, she had initially been too upset to sleep.
But as the sleepless hours dragged on and her mind kept turning, she began to sense that something wasn’t right.
Based on what she knew of Shen An, this wasn’t his style at all.
He had no reason to pull something like that.
And…
Yuqiong hadn’t mentioned it, but it had been just the two of them heading to the bridge late at night.
That meant Shen An had messaged her too. She wasn’t the only one who’d been stood up.
So…
With Yuqiong involved, Song Rui became even more convinced this couldn’t be Shen An’s doing.
If it had been him, he might have messaged both of them at once. He might have even shown up a little late on purpose for a quick joke.
But he would never ghost them completely from start to finish.
He wasn’t the type to hurt people like that without a second thought.
Wang Yuqiong had suspected as much while waiting on the bridge, and Song Rui had pieced it together back in her room.
The messages from last night hadn’t come from Shen An.
Someone else had been using his phone to message both her and Yuqiong.
But who…?
Zhao Qingyu’s face sprang immediately to mind.
Song Rui couldn’t think of anyone else who fit the bill.
Only she had that kind of reach.
And that was the root of Song Rui’s current hesitation and inner turmoil.
Senior Sister Zhao… what was she up to?
Why invite me to the amusement park? Did she plan to trick me again?
I wonder if Yuqiong got the same message…
Song Rui tapped on Wang Yuqiong’s avatar, intending to ask her.
Just then, the room door swung open.
Shen Lianyao strolled in at a leisurely pace. Spotting Song Rui still on the bed, she said with obvious irritation, “You haven’t gotten up yet?”
Song Rui blinked in surprise and looked up. “Have you had breakfast?”
“I finished ages ago.”
Shen Lianyao tsked. “They say the early bird catches the worm. Guess who I ran into just now at the restaurant on the third floor?”
“Who?” Song Rui tilted her head.
“Shen An and Wang Yuqiong,” Shen Lianyao said flatly.
“Huh?”
Song Rui’s eyes sharpened. She sprang up from the bed, excited. “Who?”
Shen Lianyao spoke softly. “Shen An and Wang Yuqiong. They were having breakfast together, but they left right after.”
Song Rui’s mind raced.
Yuqiong and Shen An… together.
Then…
Was his phone still in Senior Sister Zhao’s hands?
If it was…
The more Song Rui thought about it, the more pieces fell into place.
Senior Sister Zhao… she’s just like me.
Neither of us wants Yuqiong to have Shen An all to herself.
Yes…
Her eyes lit up brighter. That had to be the most likely explanation.
If the phone was back with Shen An, then it was a real invitation from him, and she had no reason to turn it down.
But if Zhao Qingyu still had it, then she and Song Rui wanted the exact same thing.
At least for the moment!
Sometimes, people who were a bit more straightforward had an uncanny knack for zeroing in on the right possibilities.
This was partly because Song Rui didn’t know Zhao Qingyu all that well, so she naturally viewed things through the lens of a rival girl.
Wang Yuqiong, on the other hand—precisely because she knew Zhao Qingyu so well—let that familiarity cloud her judgment.
Even now, she still believed the back-and-forth between Shen An and Zhao Qingyu stemmed from Shen An’s one-sided interest in her.
As for Zhao Qingyu’s “attention” toward Shen An, Wang Yuqiong chalked it up to nothing more than resentment toward her—or hostility over him sharing a room with Xu Yijing.
The picture was coming into focus. Song Rui didn’t hesitate any longer.
She threw on her clothes and hurried toward the door.
Shen Lianyao stared, stunned. “You’re heading over now? They’ve been gone for a while.”
“Nope.”
Song Rui glanced back with a light smile. “I’m going to the amusement park.”
“Want me to tag along?”
“Thanks, but no need.” Song Rui shook her head.
“Then I’ll head out solo.” Her smile steady, Song Rui waved and shut the door behind her.
Shen Lianyao frowned, turning to mutter under her breath, “The amusement park first thing in the morning? What’s her deal…”
