021. Hiss
~
As they strolled into the amusement park, Ning Chu’s enthusiasm had already plummeted like a balloon with a slow leak.
His face was as gloomy as a rainy day, trudging behind Wen Yang and Wang Jie with his head down, his gaze glued to the two of them in front as if they were the last slice of pizza at a party.
“A ticket costs a few bucks, not too pricey,” Wang Jie peered around, checking out the prices of various rides. “The cheapest merry-go-round is only ten bucks.”
“What do you guys want to play? I’m not really interested,” Ning Chu grumbled, sounding more like a deflated balloon than a fun-loving friend.
Wen Yang didn’t respond; instead, he glanced back occasionally, worry knitting his brow as he looked at Ning Chu. It baffled him how, in just a span of a few bus stops, his previously lively, angelic friend had turned into this withdrawn shell of a person.
“I’ll go to the bathroom…”
Before he could even finish, Ning Chu suddenly perked up, “I’ll go too!”
He scurried after Wen Yang, but his eyes darted around with the vigilance of a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
Never had he thought that, after parting ways with familiar friends, stepping into this strange world would feel so confusing… It was like being lost in a bustling mall as a kid, utterly bewildered and terrified.
But back then, his mother would be frantically searching for him, and now? His mother was long gone. As for what a maternal figure looked like in this world? Who even knows.
“I’m gonna go grab a sausage…” Wang Jie was already distracted by the scent of grilled sausages wafting from nearby.
Ning Chu followed Wen Yang to a public bathroom not too far off.
He didn’t even really need to pee; he just wanted to wait outside. But as soon as Wen Yang vanished from sight, a wave of panic surged inside him, forcing him to dash into the bathroom like it was a life-or-d*ath situation.
Yet, as soon as he entered, he turned too quickly and smacked straight into Wen Yang.
Rubbing his forehead as he stepped back, he finally looked up, relieved to see it was just Wen Yang.
“What’s wrong with you now?” Wen Yang scrutinized Ning Chu’s cautious demeanor, eyebrows knitting together. “What happened to you?”
“Uh, maybe… just a little shy?”
Ning Chu recognized that he might be overreacting a tad, but honestly, in this bizarre “Small Emperor’s World,” being overly cautious seemed downright sensible.
Thinking back to when he was all alone, feeling the prickling gaze of unwanted attention behind him, he sensed the malice lurking in this world.
Perhaps the people here weren’t entirely off, but who knows if a tentacle monster might pop out from around the corner for some “unspeakable” fun?
His own stories were a patchwork of bizarre elements, and of course, they included the classic chapters featuring magical girls and tentacle monsters.
“Shy?” Wen Yang blinked in surprise, his eyes landing on Ning Chu’s kitten-like, nervously wide eyes. He let out a helpless sigh. “Didn’t notice it before.”
“Yeah…”
Ning Chu hadn’t expected to discover just how fragile he actually was.
Feeling a bit down, he trailed behind Wen Yang into the men’s restroom, head hung low.
The cramped space surprisingly offered him a bit of comfort, and as he stood by the door, aimlessly fiddling with his phone, his mind wandered to a chaotic jumble of thoughts.
Even if he could survive the expected crises of the story, living peacefully in such a chaotic world seemed like a whimsical fantasy.
Let’s not even mention those bizarre perverts he had written about—what if he fathered a little nugget with naturally curly, brown skin?
His brain suddenly veered into even stranger territory: Hey? What exactly does Wen Yang, the male lead, have going for him…?
Ning Chu lifted his head, curiosity bubbling over momentarily.
He tip-toed closer to Wen Yang, pretending to need to pee too, but instead craned his neck to peek under Wen Yang to sneak a look.
“Hiss~”
Oh my! That’s massive! So scary!
He had never seen such a ghastly creature in either his past life or this one!
Can normal girls even handle that?!
“What are you doing?” Wen Yang jumped in surprise, his face turning red at Ning Chu’s innocent yet utterly awestruck expression.
Ning Chu pretended to be nonchalant, glancing away. “Nothing, just looking.”
Surely, even the secondary female characters in his stories had some sort of talent; otherwise, how could they withstand it?!
So, does that mean I’m also a secondary character…? Do I have a hidden talent too?
Thinking about his own little worm of a body, he could only envy Wen Yang.
“Wow, that’s impressive…”
Wen Yang’s expression threatened to slip as he awkwardly exited the restroom, but his gaze kept lingering back on Ning Chu.
This guy is a bit too strange!
If other guys saw him and looked on with a mix of surprise and curiosity, he probably wouldn’t feel as awkward, but facing off against the childlike Ning Chu made him inexplicably feel guilty for corrupting a kid.
“Took you long enough to use the restroom?”
Back at their previous spot, Wang Jie handed over a grilled sausage, “I finished one already; I’ve been waiting forever for you guys.”
“Thanks.” Ning Chu bit into the sausage, asking, “Shall we wander around a bit?”
“I just checked the amusement park map; there’s a pool here, and the entrance fee isn’t bad. How about we hit the water?” Wang Jie suggested.
Wen Yang didn’t mind, but Ning Chu frowned and shook his head.
Although he still thought of himself as a man, he couldn’t ignore the fact that his chest had developed—he couldn’t just strip down like the other guys and dive in wearing only his underwear.
“Didn’t prepare for this, let’s skip it.” He quickly found an excuse, “If I get in the water, I won’t have anything to change into.”
“Fair point.”
“Let’s explore.”
The three of them wandered around the park, though they were playing more with snacks than rides.
Ning Chu balanced an egg burger in one hand and a tower of chips in the other, getting a hefty dopamine boost as he consumed high-calorie foods, gradually shedding the initial tension brought on by this unfamiliar environment.
“Fishing for goldfish!”
Suddenly spotting the fishing game in a corner, his eyes lit up. “I’ve never tried that!”
“It’s not too expensive. We could snag a few to keep in the dorm,” Ning Chu turned to Wen Yang, “What do you think?”
Aside from fishing for goldfish, that corner was filled with balloon-popping games, fishing, ring tosses, and other cheap amusements—a jackpot of budget-friendly fun compared to the pricey major rides.
“Sounds good.” Wen Yang eyed the ring toss game, a grin spreading across his face. “I can make the owners go bankrupt with my skills.”
“Seriously?”
Ning Chu instantly forgot about the goldfish game.
“What do you want? I’ll toss some rings for you.”
He was pumped now, stretching his neck to spot enticing little prizes at the ring toss booth, “How about that plush toy?”
“Do you like it?”
“My desk is looking a bit bare; just thought a few toys would liven things up.”
After buying a few rings from the vendor, Wen Yang stepped up to the designated line, carefully analyzing the distances with sage-like focus, he controlled the strength and angle of the toss as he sent the ring flying… only for it to land in empty space.
Ning Chu immediately booed him, “Come on, man~”
“Been a while since I’ve played; I’m a bit rusty.”
“Put some muscle into it!”
Wen Yang shot a glance at Ning Chu, whose eager face was all hope and expectation, yet his words felt just a tad annoying.
Motivated by the combined pressure of those eager eyes and the enticing annoyance, he suddenly felt fired up, muttering to himself, “This time, it’s definitely going in!”
