The family of three passed by as Wang Zhuo called out “papa.” The husband and wife glanced at them in surprise, then hurriedly turned away.

The young couple: “......”

Students nowadays were really...

Wang Zhuo took a deep breath and prepared to cry loudly.

“I’ll buy you some!” He Hao said hurriedly. “Don’t cry.”

As if understanding what Papa He meant, Baby Wang held back the tears which were about to slip from his eyes. He was quite good, really.

No matter how thick He Hao’s face was, he was too embarrassed to ask the couple where they had gotten the cotton candy and balloons. So he held onto Wang Zhuo’s hand and led him in the direction the family of three had come from. The girl’s cotton candy was still round-shaped, like it had not yet been bitten into, so the place she had bought it from should not be far away.

Suddenly, Wang Zhuo bent down slowly, hands and feet to the ground, and started to crawl.

Clearly, this was because Baby Wang had not yet learned to walk...

He Hao nearly fainted on the spot. Under the shocked gazes of passersby, he helped Wang Zhuo up and grit out, “Stand up and walk. If you don’t stand up I won’t buy the balloon and cotton candy for you.”

He Hao, his emotions complicated: “......”

He’d actually unlocked the holding hands achievement just like that!

Wang Zhuo had played basketball for a long time and had calluses on his palm at the bases of his fingers, so his hands were a little rough. But the delicate bones that surfaced on the back of his hands, and his long slim fingers, were both very elegant. He Hao’s heart pounded wildly but he held on to Wang Zhuo’s hand with the proper decorum, holding back the impulse to squeeze and rub it. Firstly, such excitement was not appropriate for the occasion. Secondly, he felt both guilty and uncomfortable. He was about to break down.

Two good-looking youths, holding hands on the street. One of them had wet eyes as if he had just cried, and the other was walking stiffly, red-faced and embarrassed and looking elsewhere. All the passersby could not help taking a second look.

Beneath the innocent gazes of unsuspecting onlookers, they looked like a pair of gay lovers who had just quarrelled. One of them had been driven to tears and the other wanted to apologize, but also did not want to lose face, yet was afraid his lover would run away, so he had to hold his hand... this was the right reading of the situation, surely!

After walking a little way, they caught sight of several carts selling toys and snacks. Under the eyes of the onlookers He Hao led Wang Zhuo to the carts, still red-faced.

“A balloon, thank you.” He Hao handed a banknote to the balloon seller. He took a deep breath and turned to Wang Zhuo.”Which one?”

Wang Zhuo immediately caught sight of the Hello Kitty balloon. He pointed to it, then hesitated and pointed to a Spongebob balloon to the side, entering a dilemma.

He Hao: “... I want both.”

He Hao took both helium balloons for Wang Zhuo with one hand, the other still holding Wang Zhuo’s hand. Wang Zhuo happily ate his cotton candy in small bites, and after eating for a while, he pointed to the Ferris wheel still turning in the distance and whined, “Papa!”

He Hao said worriedly, “... You want to ride that?”

Wang Zhuo gurgled, “Yes!”

He Hao put a hand to his forehead. He knew that the infant’s spirit would not leave before its wishes were fulfilled. Glancing at his phone, he saw that they still had time, so he helplessly led Wang Zhuo to the theme park and bought two adult tickets.

He Hao glanced worriedly into his wallet, which had taken quite a beating today, then at Wang Zhuo being silly and cute. He felt very deeply that he had lost out by buying an adult ticket...

They entered the theme park and He Hao took Wang Zhuo to the Ferris wheel. There weren’t many people in the queue, and most of them seemed to be couples. He Hao held onto Wang Zhuo’s hand tightly. The atmosphere made He Hao feel almost like they were lovers.

But this impression did not last even five seconds before Baby Wang quietly drooled.

He Hao’s mouth twisted. He took out a tissue to wipe away the drool, then kept the napkin in his hand.

The wetness in He Hao’s palm multiplied his discomfort. The back of his hand burned so hot it almost hurt.

Soon, it was their turn, and Wang Zhuo stumbled as he entered the cabin. He Hao hurriedly helped him up, then took the chance to change how they held hands, from a simple holding position to one where their fingers were interlaced. He Hao said, fooling no one, “Ahem... it’s more stable this way.”

Baby Wang laughed, open-mouthed, both silly and cute. He said excitedly, “Sit! Sit!”

He Hao pulled him to the seat and they sat down. They sat shoulder to shoulder, fingers laced together. Wang Zhuo looked out the window, excited, but He Hao glanced left and right, uneasy. He sat with his legs crossed for a while, then stuck his legs out straight to rest on the opposite seat, his face burning, sweat beading on his forehead.

Who knew if he’d ever get the chance to hold hands with him again... He Hao, who was taking so much advantage of the situation that he felt guilty, tried to console himself this way, then pursed his lips, resolute, and held on tighter.

The ferris wheel began to move.

Now they could see the whole theme park. The clear and gentle summer sunlight passed through the glass of the cabin window, which was somewhat spotted from many years of wind and rain, and formed a pale yellow oblong at their feet. A balloon drifted up slowly—perhaps a child had not held on tightly enough, and had let it go— and passed within several meters of the Ferris wheel... The wheel continued to turn slowly, moving the hands of time forward. The afternoon seemed to have been frozen in amber.

He Hao quietly and tenderly experienced everything as it passed before his eyes. Suddenly, he noticed something was not right!

Since getting on the Ferris wheel, Wang Zhuo had not stopped talking. He shouted excitedly, pointing at the view through the window and gurgling out what he saw in simple words. He Hao had found the infant’s spirit annoying and had not paid attention, focusing instead on the feeling of Wang Zhuo’s hand in his... but at some point Wang Zhuo had suddenly stopped talking.

He Hao could not tell when that happened either, because he had just noticed it too. But now he thought back and felt that the silence in the cabin had lasted a while.

As if Wang Zhuo had already taken back control of his body.

He Hao’s breathing grew a little harsher. He stiffly turned a little, glancing at Wang Zhuo out of the corner of his eye, trying to read his expression. But Wang Zhuo was still sitting with his head turned to the window, and from He Hao’s angle he could only see the back of his head. And Wang Zhuo was sitting as still as a statue.

Was this Wang Zhuo himself? He Hao swallowed with a sound. Due to his nervousness, it was especially loud. Wang Zhuo flinched slightly, seemingly provoked by this sound. But at the same time, maybe he hadn’t. The only thing He Hao could be sure of was that their interlaced fingers were now damp with sweat, and he was unsure whose it was.

The voices in He Hao’s heart fought another 300 rounds, but before they could come to a conclusion, time was up and they had to leave the Ferris wheel.

Wang Zhuo finally moved.

He dramatically jumped up and mercilessly flung He Hao’s hand away. Then he turned his head and glared at He Hao. After a brief pause, as if he was waking up from a dream, he said, “The damn kid came out again?! We’ve been embarrassed big time.”

He Hao looked at Wang Zhuo’s face, which was as red as a baboon’s bum and matched his own. He was about to take Wang Zhuo’s hand and say something, but Wang Zhuo swiftly pulled open the cabin door and leaped out onto the ground. He Hao hurriedly followed. Wang Zhuo rubbed his face, which had gone thoroughly red, and pretended everything was normal. “Since we’re already here, shall we ride the rollercoaster?”