Guang Yu touched down lightly on her toes, her tail—which had been whirling like a giant pinwheel—gradually coming to a steady halt.
She no longer bounced up and down, waving frantically at the roller coaster with excited whoops.
Hm…? Something felt off about the atmosphere.
A-le…?
Why had the weird trio behind her suddenly gone so quiet and well-behaved?
The atmosphere was actually the same as before; nothing had changed.
The whooshing wind and piercing screams from the roller coaster continued unabated, filling the air with lively chaos.
Yet the sharper those sounds grew, the more they seemed to mock the feeble words on her phone screen.
Not far off, a group of boys who had just stumbled off the ride—still riding their adrenaline high—swayed unsteadily, hurling curses amid gales of laughter.
“Which one of you sons of bitches was just barking that you wouldn’t get dizzy on this thing? Hahaha! Dog thief, time to pay up—call your bros ‘daddy’ like a good loser!”
“Get lost! Urp… I’m about to puke my guts out. This junk? Whoever wants it can have it—I’m never touching it again!”
“Laughing my ass off. If you can’t hack it, don’t blame the roller coaster! Eh… well, even your daddy here isn’t scared, but yeah, probably won’t ride it again. Gets old fast after a couple goes, no thrill to it. Better head back to the dorm and grind those ranked matches!”
“Yeah, it’s nothing special. Urp…!!”
Sigh.
Ye Zhibai listened as their banter faded into the distance, her heart souring at their words.
She couldn’t come up with a reply to Little Qiu’s “optimistic” message, so she simply locked her phone screen for now.
Lifting her gaze to the sky dozens of meters above, she watched the roller coaster’s long train ascend once more. It roared along the elevated track, unleashing thunderous rumbles and shrieks against the horizon.
Day and night. Spring, summer, fall, winter.
New Year, year-end.
It ran on eternally, ferrying wave after wave of thrill-seekers.
Round and round, boisterous and unrelenting, it fulfilled dream after dream of stimulation and novelty.
Just as Ye Zhibai had once gazed at it from afar in her previous life, yearning for the day she might try it.
Moments ago, she had made that dream come true.
Sure, it had left her dizzy and unimpressed—not nearly as fun as she’d imagined—but so what?
Some stubbornly dismissed it as boring; others shrugged it off as old hat.
None of that mattered.
After all, there it stood, never wanting for fresh riders.
The important thing was that everyone got to experience it.
Boring or exhilarating.
Praised or trashed.
No matter the feeling—lingering craving, crushing letdown, or utter satisfaction—it was all part of wrapping up a bold new life milestone.
Far from tragic.
The true tragedy lay in the riders it was fated never to carry.
Even more heartbreaking: those cold steel tracks waited for no one in particular.
Only now did Ye Zhibai feel a surge of gratitude.
Without meeting Guang Yu, without meeting Yun’er, without all the others in her life now… would she have spent her days staring through the distant amusement park fences? Listening to others laugh off the ride as “pointless” or “nothing special,” then drifting to sleep amid the icy creak of the rails?
Wasn’t Little Qiu living that exact reality right now? Ye Zhibai could scarcely imagine her opening that video, scrolling through comments dripping with clueless privilege—like “why not eat cake?”—and the turmoil it must stir.
No… who said she couldn’t imagine it?
That gnawing resentment—she’d felt it a thousand times before.
Clutching her phone, desperate not to scroll yet burning with envy to watch, only to feel hollow once the video ended.
It made her feel so cold.
The north wind had howled outside back then, swirling snow across the ground, her blanket too thin to ward off the chill.
Even in her dreams, it was always others’ joyous laughter she heard.
How strange that her own dreams held no echo of her smile.
Why should it be that way?
Five years prior, in those crude early days of databases, even unerasable records like that one had gathered dust. Who remembered them now?
“Yezi, I feel so tired, so awful. The room’s so dark. I want to ride the roller coaster. I want to laugh.”
“Me too.”
“But I can’t.”
“Same here.”
Cold?
Not really.
Because thankfully, it was summer now.
And even better, warm palms pressed gently against both her sides, sharing their heat.
Eh…?
Palms?
Ye Zhibai followed the soothing caress on her right hand.
Yun’er’s hands were wrapped tightly around hers, earnest and reassuring.
“Sister, you’re sympathizing with that poor girl, aren’t you? Sigh, I get it—this world’s so unfair. Back home when we were kids, Mom and Dad didn’t carry much weight; Grandma and Grandpa were so strict. All I wanted was to take you out, see the golden maple leaves lining the streets. But it was endless piano lessons and etiquette classes every day. Things everyone else took for granted became pipe dreams for us. What Su Yuqiu craves might not even be the roller coaster. Maybe she just wants to live like a normal person, free from pitying stares… Oh, and that—Lin Zihan? Could you let go of my sister’s hand right now, immediately, at once? Who gave you permission to touch her amid the chaos?”
“Don’t make it sound so awful… I just wanted to offer Little Bai’er a bit of warmth, as much as I could.”
On her left, Zihan’s hands enclosed hers.
Beneath shimmering golden bangs, the concern flickering in those red eyes struck straight at the chill gathering in Ye Zhibai’s gaze.
“You talked about some hospital stuff… I’m not familiar, but basically, this Miss Su wants to visit the amusement park but can’t on account of her health?”
“Yeah, hereditary condition—heart problems.” “That’s truly a shame.” Zihan gripped Little Bai’er’s hand as long as she dared, until fury blazed in Zhiyun’s eyes. Then she tilted her head with a grin, stood with hands clasped behind her back, and shared her thoughts. “But we all have regrets, don’t we? Still, I’m happy for Miss Su. Meeting a friend like Little Bai’er? That’s luck bigger than any roller coaster! See how she deflated the moment she read the message. Friends who truly empathize like that—they’re priceless.”
Unclear if those words were for Little Qiu… or for Zihan herself.
Either way, Yun’er had to concede the point.
Exactly.
Regrets were everywhere—not even the Mid-Autumn moon was a perfect circle.
Sister’s compassionate heart, the way she empathized with Su Yuqiu’s pain… now that was the world’s rarest treasure.
Ah—
Ye Zhibai blinked in confusion as Zihan and Yun’er turned to her with newfound respect.
Cough, cough… okay, I get it.
Yes, empathizing with Little Qiu’s plight played a part—I do feel for her.
But that melancholy earlier?
Mostly from dredging up memories of her dirt-poor past, when she couldn’t even dream of affording a roller coaster ticket!
Wuwu—those nights tallying every cent in her phone and wallet before bed? Instant chills and tears.
Their comforting words washed over her.
Ye Zhibai had to admit: her heart felt warmer, lighter.
Still, there was no helping Little Qiu right now.
Dragging her here by force would only hurt her.
If her condition acted up, the guilt would crush them all.
Zihan demonstrated perfectly, arms folded across her chest as she tapped her elbow thoughtfully.
“Leaving aside health for a sec—just on height, Miss Su’s out of luck. Roller coaster minimum’s one-fifty. No offense, but last Comic-Con? I sized her up… she might be just a smidge shy?”
Zihan, you don’t need to sugarcoat it that much.
Word was, Su Loli clocked in at a proud 149 cm—insoles not ruled out.
Sigh. Height was another dealbreaker. Little Qiu’s roller coaster dream looked doomed.
Regrettable, but reality was re—
“Ha… Mama! The roller coaster was so fun! I wanna ride it again next time!”
“Mm-hmm, you can play, but promise Mama you’ll finish your homework early next time, or no trip, got it?”
“Yeah! Promise!”
This—
A childish elementary-school girl’s voice, fresh off her roller coaster triumph!
You know this breaks rules, right?!
Ye Zhibai stared blankly ahead. A little girl clutched her mother’s hand, giggling as she skipped forward with boundless kid energy.
That tiny thing couldn’t have topped 1.3 meters!
“The park’s getting way more accommodating, huh, Little Sweet?”
“Yeah! I thought for sure I couldn’t ride, but there’s this method? Super magical!”
Little miss.
Care to elaborate exactly what’s so magical?!
As the mother and daughter receded into the distance, Ye Zhibai knew she had to act.
No proof.
But instinct screamed opportunity.
“Yun’er, hold on… I want to ask around about something.”
“I get it, Sister—you overheard them, right? Stay put; I’ll handle it.”
“No—let me this time.”
“Still, let me go… Hmm~ That’s fine too. If Big Sis is willing to chat with people, then Yun’er wishes you smooth sailing!”
No need to lay it on so thick.
I knew full well that I used to be mute in this life, a total social recluse in my previous one, utterly worthless.
Fair enough.
From that angle, you really should wish me success.
There was no need for Yun’er or Zihan to step in. It was only natural for me to handle this myself.
Little Qiu was my online buddy, and the heartache I felt on her behalf—this deep empathy—demanded that I step up with real action to fill the void.
So the rest of you could just stay put.
Communication required leverage.
And when talking to kids, to avoid any awkward silences, that was even more true.
As I, Ye Zhibai, rose to intercept the mother and daughter before they could start asking around, I took advantage of everyone’s distraction to deftly snatch the pristine jumbo lollipop that Guang Yu was gleefully pulling from her backpack.
It was one fluid motion, smooth as silk.
“Hey!!”
“I’m borrowing your lollipop. Don’t expect it back.”
“You’re raiding my emergency rations! Are you even human?!”
Go ahead, curse all you want.
I stood unmoved, steady as a mountain.
And sure enough, the lollipop lived up to its reputation.
Handing a candy to a little girl might have looked suspicious coming from anyone else, but my refined looks and poise made me seem about as threatening as a summer breeze.
Once her daughter lit up with a beaming smile, clutching the lollipop, the mother was more than happy to fill in this quirky yet stunning young woman on the details.
“You’re asking about the roller coasters kids can ride, right? Well… we just spotted it ourselves. It’s a new addition to the amusement park from the last couple of years. Head west from the roller coaster station about two hundred meters, and you’ll find the mini roller coaster for children—it’s a perfect scale model of the original. Super safe, all brand-new equipment, and the kids absolutely love it.”
Well, holy cow.
Roller Coaster: Youth Edition!
