The car quickly arrived at the entrance of the amusement park.
Xu Xiu originally thought it would be packed with crowds, shoulder to shoulder, but after entering she discovered there were surprisingly few people.
At this moment, Xu Zhirang’s little face had been successfully painted into a big tiger.
Although the little one insisted it was a fierce tiger, no matter how Xu Xiu looked at it, it resembled a big fluffy tabby cat.
The more she looked, the more she liked it. In the end, she couldn’t resist picking him up and kissing him again and again.
Xu Zhirang’s cheeks turned red as he fidgeted with his fingers, shyly looking around at the people nearby, but he showed no intention of pulling away.
He liked it when his mother expressed her affection like this. Even though there were many people around and he felt a little embarrassed, he still didn’t want to refuse her.
Meanwhile, the man who had been left out—Shen Xingyi—looked slightly unsettled, staring at the tiger-painted face with a conflicted expression, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t.
Under Xu Xiu’s cool gaze, however, he remained silent.
By then, it was already getting dark, and the castle inside the amusement park was just beginning its magical light show.
Xu Xiu and Xu Zhirang, in perfect sync, each took out a set of wizard robes and magic wands from their bags.
Shen Xingyi frowned slightly, watching the mother and son change outfits in moments. Then he looked down at his own formal suit, which seemed completely out of place. His mouth twitched faintly.
Soon, he received a message.
【Mr. Shen, would you like us to prepare a wizard robe for you?】
Shen Xingyi glanced around coldly and silently put his phone away.
The amusement park was large, divided into several themed areas.
The magic-themed area they went to had many others dressed just like them in wizard robes.
Xu Zhirang was still young and not tall enough, so he couldn’t play many of the rides. But even just walking around the area made him happily bounce with excitement.
Xu Xiu looked at him now and then thought back to how guarded and uneasy he had been when she first arrived. Her heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.
When they arrived at a magic cotton candy stall, Xu Zhirang was still deciding which one to choose when the vendor suddenly pulled out a wizard robe.
“You are today’s lucky 100th customer. This is a lucky gift—please accept it.”
Just like that, the three of them suddenly received a gift.
Only Shen Xingyi didn’t have a costume, so naturally the robe ended up on him.
Seeing Xu Xiu’s scrutinizing gaze, he lowered his head in a somewhat forced manner and adjusted his hem.
“I’m not interested in these things, but since there’s an extra one… for Xiao Rang, I can wear it.”
Xu Xiu raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Xu Zhirang chose a cloud-shaped gray cotton candy, and Shen Xingyi paid first. Xu Xiu didn’t compete with him.
He wanted to exercise his “fatherly rights”—fine, let him.
Xu Zhirang barely ate a few bites of cotton candy before running off to a small roller coaster.
He handed the cotton candy to Xu Xiu, who then casually passed it to Shen Xingyi.
Before long, Shen Xingyi’s hands were full of snacks and souvenirs.
A man who was always surrounded by assistants, secretaries, and bodyguards wherever he went was, for the first time, experiencing something like this.
He looked down at his overloaded hands.
He thought he would be uncomfortable, but unexpectedly everything felt strangely natural.
“Mr. Shen, aren’t you going to try the broom-riding ride?”
Seeing him spacing out, Xu Xiu kindly reminded him.
He followed along.
Xu Zhirang looked at the ride and recalled what he had read in online guides.
“Mom, there will be photos taken near the big spider. We should make good expressions!”
Xu Xiu nodded.
Shen Xingyi, standing at the back, silently took note.
After the ride ended, Xu Zhirang immediately ran to the display screen to wait for their photos.
Soon, their row appeared.
“Mom, we all made peace signs—it worked!”
Xu Xiu looked carefully and confirmed she had a perfect expression, even making a peace sign with him.
“Not bad, this one’s good,” she said, turning to the staff. “We’ll print a copy.”
The usually silent Shen Xingyi’s expression finally broke.
Had they completely ignored his existence?
In the photo, he had just happened to close his eyes—and neither of them had noticed.
“Good? Where is it good?”
His chest rose and fell slightly as he forced himself to speak calmly:
“Let’s ride it again. Take another photo.”
“Why?”
Xu Xiu looked at the photo again, only then noticing that Shen Xingyi had his eyes closed.
But she didn’t care.
“Mr. Shen doesn’t seem to care about this anyway. We can just crop you out later.”
She was about to pay again, but Shen Xingyi stopped her.
“If the photo gets leaked, it could affect the company’s reputation.”
Before the argument could continue, the staff member awkwardly interrupted:
“I’m sorry, there was a malfunction just now. The photo can’t be printed—it’s been destroyed.”
“What?”
Xu Xiu looked at them in disbelief.
The staff apologized repeatedly.
“We’re really sorry. We can let you skip the queue and go again immediately until you get a good photo.”
Xu Xiu frowned, suspicious.
She turned to look at Shen Xingyi, who appeared perfectly calm.
Could it really be such a coincidence?
Shen Xingyi met her gaze without changing expression.
“Want to ride again?”
Fine. What else could they do?
After going again, they finally got a satisfying photo.
This time, Xu Xiu deliberately checked Shen Xingyi—he didn’t make a peace sign, but he was looking straight at the camera.
And this time, only the three of them were in the row. Anyone could tell they were a family.
Shen Xingyi calmly paid and took the photo.
They played until 9 p.m., when the fireworks show began.
Because there were very few people that day, they easily got a front-row spot.
After the fireworks ended, Shen Xingyi went to buy hot dogs while the mother and son waited.
Xu Zhirang looked around at the adults, confusion written all over his face.
Seeing this, Xu Xiu knelt down and asked what was wrong.
He scratched his head.
“Mom, I think I’m hallucinating.”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Xu Xiu immediately became worried.
Had too much excitement overwhelmed him?
Xu Zhirang pulled her hand and pointed toward a nearby ride queue.
“Mom, I saw that uncle at your company before, and that aunt in the pink dress, and that sister in jeans—I’ve seen them all.”
Actually, there were more.
Xu Zhirang had an eidetic memory. After visiting Shen Xingyi’s company for just a few days, he remembered everyone he had seen.
That’s why he felt something was strange after entering the park.
Why were all these people suddenly here at the amusement park?
So he assumed he must be hallucinating.
After hearing this, Xu Xiu froze.
Then something quickly flashed through her mind.
She suddenly looked toward Shen Xingyi in realization.
Hah. So that’s how it is.