Chapter Ch89 - [Extra: w.a.n.g Tiantian] A face as red as a baboon’s b.u.m!
Translator: reiyu; Editor: GlitteryPanda
The family of three pa.s.sed by as w.a.n.g Zhuo called out “papa.” The husband and wife glanced at them in surprise, then hurriedly turned away.
The young couple: “……”
Students nowadays were really…
w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 embarra.s.sed to ask the couple where they had gotten the cotton candy and balloons. So he held onto w.a.n.g 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, w.a.n.g Zhuo bent down slowly, hands and feet to the ground, and started to crawl.
Clearly, this was because Baby w.a.n.g had not yet learned to walk…
He Hao nearly fainted on the spot. Under the shocked gazes of pa.s.sersby, he helped w.a.n.g 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.”
w.a.n.g Zhuo looked slightly scared. He seemed to be about to get down on his hands again but He Hao grimly stopped him, so w.a.n.g Zhuo had to hold He Hao’s hand with his own little hand (which was, in reality, not little at all), and take careful, small steps.
He Hao, his emotions complicated: “……”
He’d actually unlocked the holding hands achievement just like that!
w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 embarra.s.sed and looking elsewhere. All the pa.s.sersby 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g Zhuo.”Which one?”
w.a.n.g Zhuo immediately caught sight of the h.e.l.lo 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 w.a.n.g Zhuo with one hand, the other still holding w.a.n.g Zhuo’s hand. w.a.n.g 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?”
w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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. w.a.n.g 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 pa.s.sed through the gla.s.s 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sed before his eyes. Suddenly, he noticed something was not right!
Since getting on the Ferris wheel, w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g Zhuo’s hand in his… but at some point w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g Zhuo had already taken back control of his body.
He Hao’s breathing grew a little harsher. He stiffly turned a little, glancing at w.a.n.g Zhuo out of the corner of his eye, trying to read his expression. But w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g Zhuo was sitting as still as a statue.
Was this w.a.n.g Zhuo himself? He Hao swallowed with a sound. Due to his nervousness, it was especially loud. w.a.n.g 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.
w.a.n.g 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 d.a.m.n kid came out again?! We’ve been embarra.s.sed big time.”
He Hao looked at w.a.n.g Zhuo’s face, which was as red as a baboon’s b.u.m and matched his own. He was about to take w.a.n.g Zhuo’s hand and say something, but w.a.n.g Zhuo swiftly pulled open the cabin door and leaped out onto the ground. He Hao hurriedly followed. w.a.n.g Zhuo rubbed his face, which had gone thoroughly red, and pretended everything was normal. “Since we’re already here, shall we ride the rollercoaster?”