Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 32

After that incident, Sheng Zhi clearly felt that Ji Qingfan started talking more, just like a little dog who was anxious when you first brought her home finally beginning to adjust and integrate into the family.

—She started to grow closer to Sheng Zhi. Although she was still cautious sometimes, overall, she was no longer as anxious.

After class one day, Sheng Zhi suddenly asked Ji Qingfan if she wanted to take a day off tomorrow to go out and play with her.

Previously, Sheng Zhi’s attendance at school wasn’t very frequent; it was only recently that she started coming to class on time. When this change first happened, it absolutely shocked her friends, who thought she was determined to study hard and improve. But once class started, she was back to her old ways, often sleeping through the entire morning. She had simply changed locations for her nap.

For students who were poor at studying, taking a day off to go out and play was common practice, as their families would always back them up no matter how much they slacked off or wasted time.

But Sheng Zhi had never asked Ji Qingfan to skip class. Not only that, she often dragged Ji Qingfan to her house on Saturdays and Sundays to listen to her private tutor, claiming it was boring alone. She also constantly gave Ji Qingfan workbooks—materials that couldn’t be bought outside even with money.

“They’re just sitting there anyway. If you’re willing to do them for me, you’d be solving a big headache for me,” she winked at her.

In reality, these were all custom-made exercises Sheng Zhi had asked the tutor to create for Ji Qingfan to consolidate and improve her knowledge.

Sheng Zhi had previously found an opportunity to have Ji Qingfan take a test that would reveal her true ability. The tests Ji Qingfan took at school, which she deliberately kept within the average score range, were useless for reference. So, Sheng Zhi simply had her fill out a test that would show her true level.

The reason she gave Ji Qingfan for taking the test was honest: she just wanted to see her score without her holding back, though she didn’t mention her specific purpose. After the tutor graded the test, Sheng Zhi sincerely complimented Ji Qingfan on how amazing she was.

Ji Qingfan’s ears turned red from the praise, and she looked away, not daring to meet Sheng Zhi’s bright gaze: “I’m not as amazing as Zhi Zhi says…”

Sheng Zhi knew Ji Qingfan was two years older than her.

However, even though Ji Qingfan was more than two years older, she would never call her “Jie-jie” (older sister). She did use nicknames like “Fan Bao” and “Fan Fan” constantly, even creating a spurious rationale based on their birthdays.

Holding up a calendar and flipping through the pages, she righteously declared: “Fan Bao, look. My birthday is August 11th, and yours is November 8th. How fated! You’re even three months later than me.”

She completely ignored the year.

She was indifferent to using the term for others; when she wanted a favor from Jiang Wanyin, she would call her “Wanyin Jie-jie” as sweetly as possible. But she absolutely refused to call Ji Qingfan “Jie-jie.”

It was a very subtle boundary, similar to how she often went to bars with her friends but never dragged Ji Qingfan along.

It was very rare and unexpected for Sheng Zhi to ask Ji Qingfan to skip class and go play with her for the first time.

Sheng Zhi mentioned it casually, not even moving from her spot on the desk, just turning her face toward Ji Qingfan.

Ji Qingfan hadn’t expected her to say that and instinctively asked, “Just you and me?”

Sheng Zhi stretched and sat up now: “Yes, just you and me. They’re all busy.”

Ji Qingfan responded softly. Her initially nervous and excited expression relaxed with understanding after hearing Sheng Zhi’s words. So they were all busy…

Nevertheless, the fact that Sheng Zhi sought her out to play, rather than anyone else, made Ji Qingfan very happy, enough to overshadow any other emotion.

As if afraid Sheng Zhi would change her mind and go look for others, Ji Qingfan quickly agreed.

Sheng Zhi hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. Although her question was casual, she was a little worried Ji Qingfan would prefer to attend class rather than go out.

If it weren’t for the fact that tomorrow was the only day she could, she would have preferred to ask Ji Qingfan out on a weekend, which would have been more appropriate than during class time.

But since Ji Qingfan agreed, that was all that mattered.

For Sheng Zhi, getting a day off was easy. Her only concern was whether Ji Qingfan would agree.

The next day arrived quickly.

Although they were going out to play, Sheng Zhi didn’t tell Ji Qingfan where they were going, and Ji Qingfan didn’t ask her either.

When the driver arrived, Sheng Zhi showed no intention of saying where they were going. The driver clearly knew the destination, meaning Sheng Zhi had informed her in advance.

It seemed like she intended to take Ji Qingfan directly there.

As soon as they got into the car, Sheng Zhi put a jasmine soy milk and a delicately made custard bun into Ji Qingfan’s hand: “The usual.”

Sheng Zhi had learned from the family doctor that Ji Qingfan had a weak stomach. After noticing Ji Qingfan rarely ate breakfast, she found excuses to make her eat.

—”I don’t have an appetite today. You take care of this for me.”

—”I don’t like what we had today; it would be a shame to throw it away.”

—”I ate a little this morning, but Aunt Jiang thought I didn’t eat enough and made something else, insisting I bring it.”

Aunt Jiang was the Sheng family’s chef specializing in three meals a day, a chef who had won many awards, and her cooking was top-notch.

Eventually, when mentioning the matter, Sheng Zhi only needed to say three words: “The usual.”

Regardless of the endless excuses she could come up with for Ji Qingfan to “help” her eat breakfast, the sole purpose was simply to ensure Ji Qingfan ate breakfast.

Sheng Zhi pressed a button to raise the car’s electric table and placed the jasmine soy milk and custard bun on the small table.

Ji Qingfan looked at her, then at the soy milk and custard bun, and reached out to push them toward Sheng Zhi: “Let’s eat together. You shouldn’t skip breakfast all the time. Skipping breakfast is bad for your stomach.”

Sheng Zhi felt a pang of sadness in her heart hearing her words.

Now, hearing this, she wanted to tell Ji Qingfan, You know skipping breakfast is bad for your stomach too.

She knew why Ji Qingfan skipped breakfast. Ji Qingfan wouldn’t accept her transfers and only used the money she had sporadically earned herself. Her family never gave her an allowance. The expense of breakfast was something she could save, so she didn’t eat. She also constantly worried about repaying Sheng Zhi, and even though Sheng Zhi said it was fine and she didn’t need to, and Sheng Zhi herself lost track of the money spent on her, Ji Qingfan meticulously recorded every single expense.

But Sheng Zhi finally pretended not to notice anything, even leaning back lazily, looking as rebellious as possible: “No eating, no eating, I just won’t eat. No appetite.”

Saying this, she looked at Ji Qingfan, who seemed about to protest, and deliberately teased her: “Why don’t you feed me?”

Ji Qingfan would turn red just from Sheng Zhi complimenting her a few times, so Sheng Zhi didn’t think Ji Qingfan would, or dare to, feed her.

Sure enough, Ji Qingfan’s ears immediately turned red at Sheng Zhi’s suggestion.

But what Sheng Zhi hadn’t expected was that Ji Qingfan agreed, red ears and all.

“Zhi Zhi, what would you like to eat first?”

Seeing Ji Qingfan genuinely about to feed her, Sheng Zhi felt the temperature rise in her face instantly, a heat that the car’s air conditioning couldn’t dispel.

She had brought two custard buns. With Ji Qingfan preparing to feed her, she swiftly devoured one of them and took a sip of the jasmine soy milk, completing the whole process extremely quickly: “I’m done eating.”

Afterward, Sheng Zhi turned her head, rested her chin on her hand, and coughed softly: “I was just joking. You don’t have to actually feed me.”

“…Okay.” Ji Qingfan lowered her eyelashes. When she realized Sheng Zhi was only joking and didn’t really want her to feed her, a hint of disappointment welled up in her heart.

Sheng Zhi, who had looked away, didn’t notice that when Ji Qingfan lifted the cup to drink the soy milk, her lips settled over the faint lipstick mark Sheng Zhi had left behind.

It was either intentional or accidental.

The car drove smoothly along the road until it stopped in front of a carnival park.

Although it wasn’t the weekend today, normally there should still be quite a number of people here.

“I didn’t want too many people. The thought of the crowds is too much,” guessing Ji Qingfan’s thoughts from her sweeping gaze, Sheng Zhi explained directly, “This park is only open for us today.”

Ji Qingfan had passed by here before but had never been inside. She had also never been to an amusement park and felt a sense of novelty. Hearing Sheng Zhi’s explanation, she smiled and nodded, “I wondered why there were so few people. I remember it always being very crowded.”

There were only two guests, but the park was still incredibly lively. The background music was cheerful, and at the entrance stood many employees dressed in various mascot costumes, playing different roles to welcome them. One clown even magically blew two balloons and gave them to them.

Watching the clown twist the balloon into a flower like a magic trick, Ji Qingfan’s eyes widened slightly, and she spoke with a slight stammer, “Tha-thank you.”

Sheng Zhi turned her head and saw Ji Qingfan curiously squeezing the balloon here and touching it there. She scoffed: “I could twist out ten or eight of those things effortlessly.”

Ji Qingfan heard her words, believed her without question, and the curve of her eyes became more pronounced, “The young lady is so amazing. I can’t do that.”

Sheng Zhi felt a little awkward and rubbed her ear.

She had completely made that up. Now, hearing Ji Qingfan praise her, she was a rare moment of humility since she didn’t actually know how to twist balloons: “It’s not that amazing. Just average.”

As she spoke, Sheng Zhi also decided in her heart that she would learn how to twist balloons someday.

The most noticeable benefit of having the entire amusement park to themselves was that they didn’t have to queue for any rides. After all, it was common to wait for one or two hours at such a large park on certain days.

If Sheng Zhi was bored with amusement parks from playing in them since childhood, Ji Qingfan could be said to have never visited one at all. Thus, everything looked fun and exciting to her.

Noticing that Ji Qingfan was very interested in thrilling rides, Sheng Zhi dragged her to try every single one of them.

Pirate ships, pendulum rides, drop towers, roller coasters, chair swings…

They also bought two pairs of animal headbands at a stall—a pair of cat ears and a pair of dog ears—and took many photos.

By the end of their fun, only the haunted house and the less thrilling Ferris wheel were left among the major attractions.

Sheng Zhi was not afraid of heights. She loved sitting on the 360-degree rotating pendulum ride and looking at the view from the highest point, but she was terrified of haunted houses. She rarely even watched horror movies, and she would avoid any haunted attraction, especially those with real-life NPCs.

In her words, it was: “As long as I don’t watch horror movies or go into haunted houses, I am completely unafraid of the dark and ghosts.”

But that wasn’t the case after watching a horror movie or visiting a haunted house.

Ji Qingfan saw her hesitating while staring at the ghost head at the top of the haunted house, seemed to realize something, and said, “Let’s skip this one.”

To her surprise, Sheng Zhi grit her teeth, grabbed her hand, and adopted a determined attitude, yet still insisted, “A mere haunted house. Who would be scared? You have to come with me today.”

With her hand in Sheng Zhi’s grip, Ji Qingfan’s eyes fixed on their joined hands, and her heart rate accelerated for a while.

But the moment they stepped inside, the “mere haunted house” Sheng Zhi had scoffed at outside instantly changed everything.

A gust of wind blowing a strip of cloth would make her jump.

Not to mention when the real-life horror NPC appeared, Sheng Zhi almost burrowed into Ji Qingfan’s arms.

The young lady, who was clearly only verbally brave, had overestimated her own courage. She was scared senseless, like a startled bird. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. Clutching Ji Qingfan’s hand tightly, she closed her eyes and pleaded pitifully, “I won’t open my eyes. You lead the way.”

In the darkness, Ji Qingfan also tightly clasped her hand and agreed.

Ji Qingfan’s heart was also racing, not from the horror house, but because Sheng Zhi was holding her hand.

When Sheng Zhi said she wouldn’t open her eyes, she truly didn’t. Thus, she didn’t realize that Ji Qingfan, upon seeing certain fright points that could have been avoided, didn’t steer away from them. In fact, she deliberately walked through the scariest spots.

Not only did she intentionally walk through the scary spots, but she also deliberately slowed down.

After a few sequential scares, Sheng Zhi was close to tears. If time could be rewound to when they were standing outside the haunted house entrance, she would never have stepped inside. Her voice was laced with tears, “Fan Bao, are we almost out? When will we get out of here?”

Ji Qingfan looked around, then started walking back, but her tone, when she spoke, was deliberately troubled: “Zhi Zhi, don’t worry. I think I’m a little lost.”

Forgive her base intentions.

She really, really wanted to hold her hand for a little while longer.

They circled and wandered inside the haunted house. After an unknown amount of time, they finally walked out.

Sheng Zhi was truly nervous and genuinely scared. Her grip had left a red mark around Ji Qingfan’s wrist.

The moment they emerged from the haunted house, everything lit up. The outside lights were much brighter than those inside the haunted house, making Sheng Zhi’s slightly red eyes painfully obvious, with nowhere to hide. Ji Qingfan looked at her startled appearance and rarely smiled so openly, with a look that clearly said, “I never thought the young lady would be afraid of ghosts.”

Seeing this, Sheng Zhi became instantly furious and embarrassed.

Having just left the haunted house, her heart hadn’t completely settled, and her breathing was still uneven. However, this didn’t stop her from making a motion to punch Ji Qingfan. Ji Qingfan saw her clench her fist but didn’t stay put. She immediately ran forward, holding her balloon, claiming she wasn’t laughing but couldn’t help but laugh more and more obviously.

Sheng Zhi felt a touch of emotion hearing her laughter.

She rarely heard her laugh like this.

Such genuine, happy, seemingly carefree laughter.

It felt like now, Ji Qingfan was finally acting a little more like a girl her age.

They played around and ran until they reached an ice cream truck. The ice cream truck was decorated in colorful, dreamy, macaron-like colors.

Sheng Zhi saw the ice cream truck and instantly couldn’t walk any further.

She waved her hand, signaling: “Truce first.”

She ordered two ice creams, taking one for herself and giving the other to Ji Qingfan. Each ice cream had two scoops stacked on top, with a chocolate-flavored cookie stick inserted on the side and multicolored sprinkles dusted over the top scoop.

Even though they hadn’t waited in line for any of the rides—the staff checking the equipment and their safety harnesses only took a moment—after playing so many games, it was already getting late. An occasional night breeze brushed past their ears, a very subtle, cool warmth.

They sat on the Ferris wheel, eating their ice creams.

When the Ferris wheel was about to reach the highest point, Ji Qingfan looked at the ice cream in her hand and suddenly whispered, “Zhi Zhi, you came out to play with me today, right? You said everyone else was busy and asked me to take the day off to be with you, but you actually brought me here on purpose, didn’t you?”

Because she brought her here on purpose, she rented the entire park. Because she brought her here on purpose, there were so many staff members in mascot costumes welcoming them and blowing balloons as soon as they entered. Because she brought her here on purpose, there were clowns performing everywhere, occasionally juggling a dozen balls or riding a unicycle past them. Because she brought her here on purpose, the entire park was incredibly lively, even though it was just the two of them.

“What are you thinking? Absolutely not,” Sheng Zhi bit into her cookie stick when she heard Ji Qingfan’s question.

But even though she denied it, Ji Qingfan clearly didn’t believe her. She looked at her, staring intently, as if demanding an answer.

Sheng Zhi took another bite of the cookie stick. Seeing that Ji Qingfan wouldn’t give up until she got an answer, she reluctantly admitted, “Fine, isn’t today June 1st…”

She was still wearing the white cat ears Ji Qingfan had chosen for her. She whispered, “I brought you here to celebrate Children’s Day.”

In the middle of their brief conversation, the Ferris wheel truly reached its highest point.

Sheng Zhi seemed uncomfortable with her direct answer. Seeing Ji Qingfan’s lips move as if she was about to say something else, even a faint sound beginning to escape, Sheng Zhi couldn’t help but put her fingertip over Ji Qingfan’s lips after answering her question.

It wasn’t as bright inside the Ferris wheel as it was below. The light pink of the young girl’s long hair shifted with the light, and her thick, curled eyelashes fluttered.

“Ji Qingfan,” her voice sounded impatient at first, but a faint flush, the same color as her hair, quietly spread across her cheeks, “You’re so annoying. I’ve already answered. No more questions.”

But the gesture of pressing against her lips was futile. Ji Qingfan looked at Sheng Zhi, her gaze very tender, “Zhi Zhi, thank you.”

As she spoke, a warm, soft breath touched Sheng Zhi’s fingertip, making her blink even faster, “You…”

But before she could finish the word, she heard Ji Qingfan continue, “Now I’ve celebrated Children’s Day too. I’m truly very happy today. It’s as beautiful as a dream.”

She kept looking at her, her gaze so focused that it was unclear if she meant that today was as beautiful as a dream, or if she meant that Sheng Zhi was as beautiful as a magnificent dream.