Chapter 26

*****

"This fine celadon cup you see here is from the Warring states period, and was very popular among the nobility of the time." One of the museum docents explained as he took them from one collection piece to the other.

A few of the visitors were nodding excitedly, occasionally whispering to a friend they came with and discussing what they had learnt. Most people looked disinterested in what the docent was saying and were more interested in admiring the beautiful pieces of pottery.

Han Yichen was in a league of his own. He was not only listening seriously, he was even taking notes and drawing light sketches of his favorite pieces. Pei Yueran, who was beside him, was totally forgotten.

Pei Yueran was happy he was having a good time. He had always shown interest in history, and had even written a short article about the Warring states period at school, which had been published in his school's annual magazine. So she wasn't surprised at his focus.

She looked around casually. She wasn't as interested in history, but looking at these works of art calmed her mind and made her feel more leisurely.

The tour of the Museum took about two hours, with breaks in-between. By the time they were done though, Han Yichen had a notebook fill of information, and Pei Yueran had learnt a lot about that period of history.

They left the museum and had lunch in a nearby restaurant. It was Fang Bo's day off, so Pei Yueran was the one that drove. She used the GPS to locate Linhu Action Park.

Linhu Action Park was one of the largest amusement parks in City M. It was famous for its water rides, haunted house and daunting rides. The scariest, called the Boomerang Jack-in-the-box rollercoaster ride was also its most popular ride.

There were a lot of people milling around, probably due to the ongoing circus performance event.

Both of them were not very interested in the circus performance, so they only watched one act before going to check out the rides.

Han Yichen was still a boy after all. He was very excited. He decided to start with the shooting game, which Pei Yueran paid for. He missed the target the first two times, but afterwards, he managed to shoot correctly. He also went on the carousel, but only because Pei Yueran wanted to.They had lots of fun trying the various rides at the park.

Han Yichen wanted to ride the ferris wheel while Pei Yueran had had enough rides for the day, so she told him to stand by the ferris wheel when the ride came to an end, while she went to get his favorite ice cream.

By the time she got back, Han Yichen was deep in conversation with a young boy.

*****

"Grandma, don't you feel bored? Let's go out and play", Li Yuchen asked.

"Oh? do you have somewhere in mind?" Zhang Heying asked him. He had been fidgeting since morning and she knew he just wanted to go out.

"Yes, can we go to Linhu Action Park please? My classmates said it was very nice." He had just happened to hear them talk about it, but Zhang Heying thought he had made friends in school, so she was very happy for him.

"But must we go today? Your Grandpa and I are expecting his business associates, so we have to stay and entertain them. We would not be able to go with you. Why not wait till tomorrow?"

"They have been having a circus performance all week, and today is the last day, so I wanted to watch it. Besides, I've never been to an amusement park before. Dad is always too busy to take me, and he doesn't let me go out." Li Yuchen did his best to sound pitiful, blinking his doe eyes at her. Zhang Heying could not resist.

"Alright, alright. You can go with Uncle Wu." Wu Taehan was the family driver.

"Yaay, you're the best Grandma! Muahhh", Li Yuchen announced and gave her a loud kiss on her cheek.

"You little Bootlicker", she laughed, patting his head. "Alright, go get ready."

When Li Yuchen got to the park, the first thing he did was to go see the circus. When he got there, the Ringmaster was just introducing the next act, juggling.

The juggler came forward soon after, bowed to the crowd, and then started throwing out all kinds of ceramic utensils —plates, cups, spoons, penholders and so on— managing to keep them all in a giant circle, with none falling off. The crowd cheered, and even Li Yuchen clapped, impressed.

The next act was fire breathing, and a tall thin man came to the stage. Li Yuchen decided to leave. He had read about this performance and he knew it was very dangerous, so he wasn't keen on watching it. He wandered off, thinking of the next thing to do.

Uncle Wu had gone to the restroom briefly, so they had agreed to meet each other in front of the haunted house.

Li Yuchen was brought back to earth by a loud thud, followed by his shoulder throbbing faintly. He had hit a young boy. Both of them were absentminded, so the fault was not particularly anyone's.

"Hello. Are you okay?" Han Yichen asked.

"Yes I'm okay. I hope you're not hurt?"

"Not."

"Alright". Both of them fell silent as they sized each other up. They were both tall, taller than boys their age. The resemblance ended there though. Han Yichen's eyes were as brown as Li Yuchen's were blue. Han Yichen also had lighter colored hair, unlike Li Yuchen's dark curls.

Both of them were attracting glances just by standing still. They looked like child models.

Li Yuchen spoke first, "My name is Li Yuchen. What's yours?"

"Han Yichen"

"Okay, Yichen. Did you come with someone?"

"Mom"

"I see. Where's she?" Li Yuchen was trying to ignore the way his words sounded so short, as if he was trying to conserve them.

"There", Han Yichen pointed behind him.

Li Yuchen turned, and saw the woman he would later nickname "My goddess". All other thoughts flew away from his mind, except:

"Wow!"