Park (5)

Unlike Cindy, it was not within Pei Ling's nature to act like a damsel in distress. She understood she would need to rely on acting but even that was quite a bit of a problem. This was because she had no reference to draw upon.

Pei Ling did not think there was even one instance in her life where her vulnerability was exposed. Yes, she had used others before, Cindy being the closest example but in those cases, she was ordering people around, not relying on them.

She was the one in power and to act like she was powerless, and needed protection from Jun Yang, that was something that did not come easy to Pei Ling. She went through the various 'acts' that she noticed her friends had used to manipulate the boys in her mind but neither of them seemed particularly aligned with her personality.

The ride was about to start soon and she did not have much time to think. This was a flaw in the plan that she did not anticipate.

Just as she was feeling stressed over the carelessness of her mistake, Pei Ling suddenly felt a touch on her shoulder. She turned over and saw Jun Yang looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"Pei Ling, are you okay?" The young man asked, adding, "You're being so unusually quiet and there is a deep frown etched between your brows. Are you afraid of the ride?" Then Jun Yang looked around and whispered to her, "Actually, I'm quite afraid of it as well. But at least we can support each other." Jun Yang chuckled self-deprecatingly to lighten the mood, "Don't laugh at me if I start to scream like a girl."

So Jun Yang had mistaken Pei Ling's silence from her contemplation as nervousness and panic due to the roller-coaster. He even told a joke to neutralize the fear that he assumed was gripping Pei Ling.

Then, the young man did something that surprised her. Jun Yang extended his hand towards her and said, "Hey, how about this? We can hold each other's hand, the physical contact will be sure to bring us comfort."

This was not Jun Yang trying to be flirtatious, if anything, the fact that he was willing to hold Pei Ling's hand was proof that he really treated her as nothing more than a platonic friend. It was because he felt there was nothing between them that he did not hesitate to do something like that. In contrast, how Jun Yang acted around Feng Qi was filled more with ambiguity and reservation.

As Jun Yang held his hand towards Pei Ling, the gesture brought her back to when they were still children, roaming the streets of their neighborhood. Due to their family background, the streets of their neighborhood were actually relatively safe with constant patrol and security guards but in the mind of children, it could the adventure of a lifetime.

That day, they were off playing at the park nearby and lost track of time. Pei Ling was afraid that she might be scolded by her parents for returning late and she was on the constant verge of tears during the journey home.

Jun Yang who noticed this, did something similar to soothe her worry. He offered her his hand and told her in a reassuring voice, "Pei Ling, don't worry. It'll be fine. I'll tell your mother that it was my fault for not paying attention to the time. Don't worry."

Pei Ling remembered feeling so comforted by Jun Yang's promise. And the young Jun Yang really did live up to his promise. He shielded Pei Ling from her mother's wrath. Naturally, Pei Ling's mother would not have scolded Jun Yang, she was too cultured to do something like that. After giving both of them a stern lecture, she let the incident slide.

As Pei Ling was ushered into the house, she turned around and saw Jun Yang waving goodbye at her with a smile.

This was a minute detail in her childhood and she would have forgotten all about it if Jun Yang did not just accidentally repeated that gesture in real life. Temporarily forgetting about her task, Pei Ling reached out to grab Jun Yang's hand and the latter squeezed back.

Right then, the roller-coaster started and they were shot out into the rails. Screams echoed around her but Pei Ling felt so detached from reality. She was still caught in the trip down memory lane.

She closed her eyes and felt the wind cut through her hair. She sifted through the screams and she believed one of them came from the young man next to her, the young man whose hand she was holding.

In spite of herself, she smiled. The young man had not changed much after so many years but could she say the same of herself?

This was someone whom she shared many of her childhood moments with, the hero when she was in trouble, a big brother that she never had. So when did that change? When did he become someone that she needed to plot against?

Before she realized it, the ride was already over. The screaming had died down and the theme park workers came to help them undo the straps. Jun Yang did not let go of her hand. He got out from the coaster and then helped her out of the ride. Only then did he release his grasp.

Of the group, only Qin Xing who looked worse for wear, his face was blanched and he looked like he was trying to hold in the vomit. Cindy stood next to him, enquiring after his condition.

Probably ashamed of his condition, Qin Xing tried to put on a brave face, assuring Cindy that he was fine but the green on his face sold him out.

"Come on, we'll get you to the nearby bench so you can get a rest," Cindy said before adding as a joke, "and you said I can depend on you." [If you like my work, I would really appreciate a cup of joe as donation. Thank you. Donate here: ko-fi.com/lonelytree]