Chapter 77: Accompanying Li Mengya on an Outing

“Jiang Yun, how did you get here?”
“I took a taxi!”
“You must be worth at least ten million by now—haven’t you bought a car?”
Jiang Yun rubbed his nose. “I have. Two, in fact. One’s with my assistant, the other with a student.”
“A student? Is it Mao Yi?” Li Mengya asked.
Jiang Yun nodded.
Li Mengya explained, “I saw the episode where Mao Yi was on ‘Happy Little Camp’!”
“Oh, I see.”
“Jiang Yun, where are we going?”
“Hmm…” Jiang Yun tilted his head back in thought. “How about the seaside?”
“But I want to go to the amusement park!”
Jiang Yun rolled his eyes inwardly. Why ask me, then? “Let’s go to the amusement park first, then the seaside. It’s still early anyway—just past ten.”
“Alright!” Li Mengya nodded sweetly.
“How are we getting there?” she asked.
“We’ll take your yellow Beetle.”
“You drive!” Li Mengya handed Jiang Yun the keys.
He took them. “Alright!”

They made their way to the underground parking lot, got into the yellow Beetle, and set off at a leisurely pace.

Jiang Yun drove the Beetle, winding slowly through the streets. They arrived at the largest amusement park in the city: Blooming Youth Amusement Park.

Jiang Yun bought two tickets, and together they entered.

“Jiang Yun, let’s go on the roller coaster!” Li Mengya said.
Jiang Yun hesitated. “Maybe not…”
“What? Are you afraid of heights?” She flashed a playful smile.
Jiang Yun forced a laugh. “Of course not, why would I be?”
“It’s settled, then! We’re riding the roller coaster!”
She grabbed his hand and ran toward the coaster.

A long line already snaked in front of the ride. They queued up.

“Mengya, do you want some ice cream?”
“But I’m supposed to be dieting…” Li Mengya pouted.
“Nonsense, you’re not the least bit fat!”
Hearing that, she beamed. “Okay, I’ll have one!”
“Great, you stay here in line. I’ll go get it.”

Jiang Yun left the queue and walked over to the ice cream stand. “Two ice creams, please.”
“What flavors would you like?”
“Damn!” Jiang Yun smacked his forehead. “I forgot to ask!”
“In that case, give me one of each flavor!”
“All of them?” The vendor looked at him in surprise.
“Yes, what’s wrong?”
“You want every flavor?”
“That’s right, is there a problem?”
“I have more than a dozen flavors, are you sure you want them all?”
Jiang Yun was speechless. “Just give me one each of the best sellers.”
“Alright!”
“Here’s vanilla, chocolate, mint, and cola.”

Jiang Yun carried four ice creams back to the roller coaster line.

“Huh? Where’s Li Mengya?”
“Li Mengya? Li Mengya?!” Jiang Yun called out her name loudly, drawing curious glances.
A passerby said, “Are you looking for a girl in a dark blue dress?”
Jiang Yun nodded. “Where is she?”
“She just took a little girl in that direction,” the passerby pointed.
“Thank you!”

Jiang Yun, ice creams in hand, followed the direction. “A little girl? Where did she come from?”

He turned a corner and saw Li Mengya sitting on a bench with a small girl beside her.

“Mengya, what are you doing here?”
Li Mengya stood up. “I found a little girl who got separated from her family.”
“I see.” Jiang Yun held out the ice creams. “Mengya, I got four flavors: vanilla, chocolate, mint, and cola. Which do you want?”
“Mint, please.”

She took the mint one. “And you, sweetie, which flavor do you want?”

The little girl looked about seven or eight, her hair in pigtails. Her eyes were shiny with tears, her nose red.
She sniffled, “Mommy said not to eat anything from strangers.”
“It’s okay, I’m not a bad person,” Li Mengya said gently.
“But… but… even so, I can’t.”
Jiang Yun laughed. “If she doesn’t want it, don’t insist.”
Li Mengya shot him a look.

That glance was breathtaking, sending a jolt straight to Jiang Yun’s heart.

Li Mengya took the little girl’s hand, intending to take her on the roller coaster with them.

The three of them queued up again.

At last, it was their turn. Jiang Yun and Li Mengya handed their belongings to the staff.

They sat in the seats, pulled down the safety bars.

The roller coaster began its slow climb, reaching the summit.

With a thunderous roar, it plunged down the first drop.

The wind was so fierce it distorted Jiang Yun’s face.

“Aaaaaah—!” he yelled uncontrollably, his heart racing in exhilaration and fear.

The coaster plunged into a tunnel, and Jiang Yun screamed again.

When the ride finally ended and the safety bars released, Jiang Yun staggered off, his legs unsteady.

He gripped a pillar and retched.

“Honk, honk, honk!” Li Mengya laughed so hard she sounded like a goose.

The three left the roller coaster and tried the vertical rocket next.

Jiang Yun adapted quickly. After the roller coaster, he found these nerve-racking rides almost addictive.

“Mengya, how about the Ferris wheel? That’s child’s play now!”
Li Mengya gave him a look. “Are you getting hooked on this?”
“Heh, you’re the one who wanted to come to the amusement park!”

They took the little girl for lunch.

Afterwards, Jiang Yun said, “Mengya, we can’t keep this little girl with us. Her parents must be frantic! Let’s find a staff member and have them make an announcement.”
“Good idea!”

They found a staff member and explained.

The staff member knelt down kindly. “What’s your name, little one?”
“My name is Deng Ziqi.”
“Alright.” The staff member turned to Jiang Yun and Li Mengya. “Please wait here.”

He went to the broadcast room and made an announcement: “Will the parents of Deng Ziqi please come to the amusement park exit? Your child has been found.”

A while later, a man and a woman hurried to the broadcast room. The woman’s eyes were red, the man looked exhausted.

“Mom! Dad!” Deng Ziqi threw herself into her mother’s arms, sobbing.

Both parents were overcome with emotion, the mother weeping with relief.

“You found our child, didn’t you?” the staff member asked.

Jiang Yun and Li Mengya, both wearing masks, nodded.

“I must thank you both properly!” said Deng Ziqi’s father.

Jiang Yun and Li Mengya shook their heads.

As they walked away, Li Mengya said, “Actually, when we found her, we should have called the police first.”

Jiang Yun teased, “Hindsight is twenty-twenty!”

She chuckled.

They got into the yellow Beetle. Jiang Yun started the engine. “Where to now?”
“The seaside…”