Chapter 100: Amusement Park Love Song
Ruan Xi was stunned for a moment, then immediately closed her eyes.
Tong Yao silently moved closer, looking at the young girl who was right in front of her. Her conflicted heart slowly calmed down.
This child was sometimes very mischievous, but most of the time she was very well-behaved and listened to her. She didn’t feel that she had given much; she just felt that this child was a gift from heaven.
Slowly, she quietly pressed her lips against hers.
Her kiss was reserved, a light touch. When she extended the tip of her tongue, she felt as if she had been burned. Like a small snake retreating into its cave, she took a step back, and the two of them separated, as brief as a shooting star.
Ruan Xi opened her eyes. Like a kitten whose bowl had been taken away halfway through a meal, she looked at Tong Yao, holding her hand, the plea in her eyes overflowing.
Tong Yao’s face was hot. To be honest, she also thought her kiss was lame, leaving both of them unsatisfied. But with her personality, she would never take the initiative to kiss a second time. So, when the young girl moved closer, her body almost pressing against hers, she rarely resisted.
Having received her tacit consent, the young girl’s kiss invaded. The intertwining of water and milk made her mind go blank. She forgot how to breathe, forgot her identity as a teacher, and let herself be taken.
Finally, both of them were satisfied. She lowered her head to wipe her moist lips. With the return of her rationality, the experience from just now became more and more shameful the more she thought about it.
“That, the sketchbook…” Tong Yao tried to change the subject. “Let me help you restore it.”
The young girl smiled, revealing shallow dimples. “No need. It has my secrets in it.”
“What secrets?” Tong Yao was dejected.
“This is my diary.”
Her thoughts about Teacher Tong, the fantasies of the little Ruan character about the little Tong character—she had to hide them well.
When could she show them to Teacher Tong?
It would be about time when everything was settled.
She held the sketchbook. “Teacher Tong, shall we go to the amusement park?”
Amusement park?
Tong Yao actually quite liked amusement parks, but she had never been in a relationship in her previous life, so she hadn’t gone with anyone after she grew up. And in this life… she had never been once. It wasn’t that she didn’t have time or didn’t like it, but the weight of amusement parks in her heart was not as high as for an ordinary child.
She preferred to read books.
But today, by rounding up, she was also accompanying her girlfriend.
“Sure,” she said.
The amusement facilities at the Martyrs’ Park were very complete. Although the entrance was free, the price of the rides was not low. As soon as you entered the entertainment area, you could see the pirate ship and the Arabian flying carpet swinging in the air like swings, as well as the cheers and screams floating in the high sky.
Tong Yao’s gaze turned to a balloon-shooting game, twenty shots for ten yuan—no man’s heart could resist the temptation of a gun, and she was no exception even if she had become a girl. In the past, when she was a child, she would be secretly delighted every time she shot a balloon. After being a good girl for so many years, now, that lost dream of a gunfight was actually rekindled in her heart.
“I’ll play that,” she pointed embarrassedly.
Ruan Xi was taken aback for a moment, looked over, and was surprised. Teacher Tong likes to play that kind of street game?
Seeing the young girl’s surprised face, Tong Yao pouted and said, “I also like go-karts and bumper cars. What do you think I like?”
Guns are a man’s romance, and so are racing cars. Besides women, everything is a man’s romance.
The young girl said in a small voice, “I thought Teacher Tong liked the carousel.”
Tong Yao: “…”
Ruan Xi: “In TV dramas, all those young ladies like the carousel. As soon as they get on, they’re conquered.”
And, it always has to be accompanied by some particularly pretentious lines, like “the cruelest game,” and “so close yet always out of reach.”
“Little brat,” Tong Yao was too lazy to complain. After paying, she picked up the gun. “Watch carefully, I’m very accurate.”
The young girl held her breath, concentrating.
This gun, black and yellow, was a replica of the traditional Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, with a plastic bayonet at the front. With a gunshot, a balloon exploded. Tong Yao looked at the young girl with satisfaction, waiting for praise.
But, Ruan Xi said, “There are so many balloons. You can probably hit one just by shooting randomly, right?”
“Of course not. This requires skill!”
“Then I’ll pick one. Teacher Tong, shoot the second balloon in the fifth row. If you hit it, you can prove it’s not a fluke.”
“Okay!”
Tong Yao was full of confidence. Having just shot a balloon, she was as inflated as a balloon. But soon, her face changed.
Why is this bolt so hard to pull?
The guns at the amusement park were of poor quality. It was hard to pull even when she was a boy. Now… could she not pull it?
Damn.
She cursed inwardly. The stock of the gun hurt her shoulder as she pulled the bolt. When she aimed, she calmed down. The moment she was about to pull the trigger, she suddenly stopped and said, “How about we bet on something?”
The young girl was taken aback for a moment. “Bet on what?”
“It’s just… that one hour,” Tong Yao’s face turned red. She regretted promising to let the young girl do whatever she wanted for an hour after graduation. “If I hit it, then we’ll reduce it by one hour.”
“Then there won’t be any left?” Ruan Xi pouted.
“Are you afraid to bet?” Tong Yao said. “You were just questioning if I was lucky.”
“But…” Ruan Xi thought for a long time and felt that the loss was too great. What if Teacher Tong was really accurate? “I’m not betting.”
“Hehe, are you scared?”
“Teacher Tong’s goading is so lame,” Ruan Xi pouted, but her tone changed. “But… I agree.”
She smiled slyly. “If you miss, I want to add five hours.”
Tong Yao drew a sharp breath. “That’s not fair. Do you think you’re adding money online?”
“Does Teacher Tong think she can’t hit it? Are you scared?”
“…You’re the one who should be scared, right?” Tong Yao took a deep breath, her aiming hand trembling slightly. “Then let’s bet.”
If she hit it, she could get that one hour back.
As for missing… one hour and six hours, there seemed to be no essential difference.
—Aim.
Why is my vision a little blurry?
The trigger was so heavy it seemed impossible to press.
She held the gun and was dazed for a long while.
“Teacher Tong, are you asleep?” the young girl said from the side.
No, I’m praying! Tong Yao shouted in her heart.
Bang!
The gun fired, but there was no sound of a balloon exploding.
The young girl was overjoyed.
“Teacher Tong, add five hours!”
Tong Yao’s face was stiff, and her mouth was also hard.
“…Let the bullet fly for a while.”
But the BB pellet had already landed, and she didn’t even know where it had gone.
“I’m not playing anymore!” She didn’t even want the remaining chances. She left this place that had broken her heart with a dark face.
The gunfight dream of three hundred million mice, from then on, was forever one less.
**
Ruan Xi, with a sweet smile, followed beside Tong Yao at a leisurely pace.
“Teacher Tong, shall we go to the haunted house?”
Ruan Xi tugged on Tong Yao’s sleeve, her index finger pointing to the cave-like haunted house.
“…What’s so fun about a haunted house? It’s all fake,” Tong Yao sneered. “Only timid, weak girls and children would be scared.”
She wasn’t bragging this time. She really wasn’t very scared. If the young girl was thinking that she would be so scared she would hug her, then she was doomed to be disappointed.
Ruan Xi studied Teacher Tong’s expression, a little disappointed, but still said, “I want to go in and play. It’s a rare opportunity. I want Teacher Tong to accompany me.”
Tong Yao was taken aback for a moment, turned her face away, and said, “Cheesy,” then walked towards the cave.
She bought the tickets, twenty yuan each. The young girl rushed to pay.
Inside the haunted house, the more Tong Yao walked, the more something felt wrong—there were many places inside that had no lights. Not seeing those red and green lights made her a little flustered. Her hand subconsciously went into her pocket.
“Teacher Tong, if you’re scared, you can use your phone for light.”
In the darkness, the young girl’s voice was a little eerie.
Tong Yao felt a little cold behind her and took her hand out. “No… who said I was going to use my phone?”
Ruan Xi’s hand fumbled. She found Teacher Tong’s arm, then gently linked it. Tong Yao froze, then slowly relaxed. Anyway… no one can see. Let’s just link arms.
They slowly moved forward. A dark red light appeared at the corner ahead. Tong Yao let out a sigh of relief. It was good to have light. It was really creepy in the dark—she was prone to imagining things like a clown killer in the dark.
They quickened their pace. The moment they reached the corner, a hanged ghost suddenly fell from the ceiling, its long hair covering its face, in a red dress. Ruan Xi screamed on the spot.
And Tong Yao, she looked calm, but in fact, she was so scared she couldn’t speak.
“…It’s just a doll,” she said after a while. “Don’t be afraid.”
“But it’s really scary…” Ruan Xi was really scared. She clung to the wall as she passed the corner, for fear that this fake person would do something.
Tong Yao looked at her for a while and suddenly said, “I thought you weren’t scared.”
Ruan Xi was still shaken and said in a small voice, “How could I not be scared…”
She was just an ordinary girl. After watching a ghost movie, she would be scared for several nights and wouldn’t even dare to close her eyes when washing her hair.
“Does Teacher Tong think I’m too scheming?”
“Huh? N-no,” Tong Yao said guiltily.
Ruan Xi said softly, “I just want to create some memories with Teacher Tong.”
And take a little advantage.
Tong Yao was dazed for a while. She pursed her lips, suddenly reached out, and said, “Give me your hand.”
She held the young girl’s small hand and suddenly understood why lovers like to hold hands. Between the two hands, each other’s warmth and beating pulse were transmitted, as if being protected, and she could also protect her at any time.
She subconsciously kneaded the young girl’s hand in hers. Ruan Xi’s face turned a deep red, but no one could see.
“Teacher Tong…”
“Huh? Sorry…”
Tong Yao’s hand immediately stopped, and at the same time, she cursed herself in her heart for being a pervert.
The long corridor was lined with a revolving lantern of ferocious gods, ghosts, and Buddhas. After turning the corner at the very end, there was finally light ahead.
It was almost over.
Tong Yao had the illusion that after walking out, it was as if she had walked for a lifetime, to the end of her life. Only at this end would their hands separate.
**
At five in the afternoon, the whole grade gathered at the entrance.
Tong Yao counted the number of people in Class 1. Two were missing. They only arrived after waiting for twenty minutes.
“Wang Zijian, Yang Liu, why are you so late?” she frowned.
Yang Liu lowered her head, and Wang Zijian’s expression was embarrassed. There was also a group of boys jeering around them. He said, “Sorry, we got lost…”
“Alright,” Tong Yao waved her hand. “Everyone, hurry up and get on the bus.”
“Teacher Tong, is Class 1 all here?” Ye Wei shouted from a distance.
“All here!”
She stepped onto the bus with one foot, looked back, and after searching for a long time, she finally found Ruan Xi in the crowd of Class 7.
She suddenly discovered something—no matter when, when she looked over, they would always make eye contact.
Because that child, it seemed, only had her in her eyes.
