Jian Jinci opened the passenger door and got in, fastening her seatbelt.
She thought they were about to set off, but Pei Yanzhou closed the car window and turned to look at her. “Is riding shotgun in my car that unpleasant?”
“Huh?”
Jian Jinci looked at him in confusion. The question caught her off guard—the word “unpleasant” hadn’t even come from her mouth. Shouldn’t this question be directed at someone else?
Pei Yanzhou’s dark eyes were fixed intently on her.
She swallowed nervously and said, “It’s not unpleasant…”
Why did this suddenly feel oddly… shippable?
At that moment, Xie Qingyun forgot all about her guilt. Her inner fangirl instincts kicked in as she stared intently at the two in front. With such god-tier looks, this was just too perfect to resist.
Even the leads in idol dramas weren’t this compelling.
Her brother had been single for so many years—finally, there was a woman who could capture his attention.
With three pairs of eyes now fixed on her, Jian Jinci felt a bit uneasy. “Um… where do you all want to go?”
Neither of the two men in the car spoke up. After a moment, Xie Qingyun suggested, “How about an amusement park? Jinci, do you know which one in the capital is the biggest with the most rides?”
Amusement parks were so dreamy—food, games, everything you could want. They were practically the holy grail of date spots.
Jian Jinci thought for a moment. “Capital Amusement Park.”
Xie Qingyun clapped her hands. “Then let’s go!”
On the way, Jian Jinci stayed silent, gazing out the window. From the back seat, Xie Qingyun leaned forward to talk to her. “Jinci, this is Han Ji.”
“He’s the guy I’m interested in. Isn’t he good-looking?”
“…” For some reason, Jian Jinci glanced at Pei Yanzhou and accidentally met his gaze. She quickly looked away, feeling oddly guilty. “He is.”
Han Ji was indeed handsome, with a gentle kind of beauty—though he fell a bit short compared to Pei Yanzhou.
Jian Jinci didn’t know why, but when she called Han Ji good-looking, she felt inexplicably guilty, especially under the weight of that intense stare fixed on her.
When they arrived at Capital Amusement Park, Pei Yanzhou went to park the car. Xie Qingyun looked at Jian Jinci apologetically. “Jinci, I’m sorry. I kind of sold you out for a guy.”
“Hmm?”
Xie Qingyun explained, “Actually, it was just supposed to be the two of us today, but then I made a deal with Pei Yanzhou.”
She didn’t specify what the deal was—she figured she should at least leave Pei Yanzhou with a little dignity.
“It’s fine.” Jian Jinci smiled. “I don’t mind.”
She and Pei Yanzhou had some history. Sharing a meal at the same table meant they weren’t exactly strangers. As for Han Ji, while she didn’t enjoy excessive interaction with strangers, it didn’t mean she was socially anxious. None of this bothered her.
Xie Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I was afraid you’d be mad at me.”
“I won’t be.” Jian Jinci knew Xie Qingyun had her limits. In her eyes, today’s situation wasn’t a big deal at all.
Having come clean, Xie Qingyun felt better. Then, as if remembering something, she linked arms with Jian Jinci. “Sister Jinci, since you’ve helped this far… I’ve been chasing Han Ji for a long time.”
“Could you… maybe help distract Pei Yanzhou?”
She tapped her index fingers together lightly. “Give us some alone time… please? Pretty please~”
Jian Jinci pursed her lips slightly. If she did that, wouldn’t that mean she and Pei Yanzhou would also be alone?
Xie Qingyun continued to wheedle. “Sister Jinci~”
Jian Jinci thought about it. Actually, this might be for the best. With all four of them together, she always felt like three pairs of eyes were on her. It might be more comfortable to be alone with Pei Yanzhou—even if he wasn’t the easiest person to get along with.
“Alright,” she said. “I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you, sister-in-law.”
“Huh?”
Xie Qingyun accidentally blurted out her true thoughts in excitement. Seeing Jian Jinci’s confused expression, she quickly waved her hands and explained, “Sorry, I got too excited and called you the wrong thing.”
“I have a sister-in-law who looks just as beautiful as you and is super, super nice to me. She helps me chase guys.”
“So, I slipped up for a moment. You’re practically even closer than my real sister-in-law.”
Jian Jinci believed her. “It’s fine.”
Pei Yanzhou and Han Ji parked the car and walked over. When Xie Qingyun saw Han Ji, she went up to greet him.
After the two exchanged a few words, Xie Qingyun waved to them. “Jinci, we’ll meet back here in three hours.”
With that, Xie Qingyun and Han Ji left.
Pei Yanzhou walked over to her. “Where to?”
Jian Jinci wanted to say “anywhere,” but considering Pei Yanzhou’s personality, he probably didn’t come to places like this often. If she said “anywhere,” they’d likely just wander around the amusement park aimlessly for three hours.
After all, they were already here, and the tickets weren’t cheap.
“Let’s go on the roller coaster,” Jian Jinci said, looking at him. “Dare you?”
“Mm.”
The two headed to the roller coaster and, following the staff’s instructions, took seats in the last row.
At first, the car slowly climbed to the highest point of the ride. Then it plunged downward at breakneck speed, the wind roaring in their ears amid screams. The experience was thrilling.
Unlike others, Jian Jinci spread her arms wide, savoring the excitement of the moment.
Pei Yanzhou’s expression remained as calm as ever. He glanced at her profile, a flicker of complexity in his eyes, though it was unclear what he was thinking.
Sensing his gaze, she turned to look at him. His thin lips moved slightly, as if he were saying something, but she couldn’t make it out. Leaning closer, she shouted, “What did you just say?”
“Nothing.” Pei Yanzhou glanced ahead. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Thrilling rides like these? I, Jian Jinci, have never been afraid of them.”
She had loved these adrenaline-pumping rides since she was a child. At first, she was scared, but she craved the thrill. After riding them many times, the fear faded away.
At the moment when the roller coaster reached its peak and plunged downward, she could let go of all the clutter in her mind.
When the ride ended, she and Pei Yanzhou got off together. Not far along the path, there was a mobile ice cream cart with over a dozen people lined up to buy ice cream. She glanced at it a few times.
Pei Yanzhou followed her gaze, then turned to look at her. “Wait here.”
“Huh?” Before Jian Jinci could react, she saw Pei Yanzhou join the line for ice cream.
The cold-faced CEO lining up to buy ice cream—this scene was truly…
Worth capturing.
She took out her phone, opened the camera, and aimed it at the ice cream line. Just as the shutter clicked, Pei Yanzhou happened to turn around.
Feeling guilty, Jian Jinci quickly put her phone away and tucked her hair behind her ear.
She waited for about ten minutes before Pei Yanzhou returned with an ice cream in hand, offering it to her. “Here.”
She looked down at the ice cream in his hand, took it, and thanked him. “Thank you.”
Jian Jinci stared at the ice cream in her hand. He had bought it for her just because she glanced at it. Pei Yanzhou was the second person to do something like this. After that boy left, no one had paid attention to her every move in all these years.
“If you don’t eat it, it’ll melt,” Pei Yanzhou said.
“Mm.” She brought the ice cream to her lips and took a small taste.
She froze. It was blueberry flavor—her favorite ice cream flavor.