Chapter 217: Sweet Photo
Su Yuqing sensed that in that last moment, they had not only crossed previous physical boundaries, but some important words were about to be spoken. She was filled with a joyful anticipation, mixed with a panicked sense of uncertainty.
She longed to hear them, but at the same time, she didn’t.
She wanted to be the one to say those longed-for words to him when the time was right.
Chen Mo’s words came at the perfect moment, breaking the tension of an atmosphere so thick with ambiguity it was almost suffocating. It gave them both a moment to breathe.
Chen Mo’s voice was a little deeper than usual, with a hint of huskiness and a gentleness that was hard to detect.
When Su Yuqing heard him say that wishes made right now would come true, she figured it was better to believe it than not.
She immediately clasped her hands together and began to silently make a wish in her heart.
It was a simple, beautiful wish.
In the past, she would have been more reserved, wishing goodwill for others.
But this time, she hoped this wish could be for herself.
Being selfish once in a while is only human, after all.
"What did you wish for?" Chen Mo asked, smiling at her.
"I’m not telling you." Just as Su Yuqing finished speaking, she gave a sly smile and changed her tune. "I’ll tell you when my wish comes true."
Hearing her say that, even without prying, Chen Mo had a pretty good idea of what she had wished for.
"Well, if I want to find out, I’ll have to hope your wish comes true. In that case, my wish is for Su Yuqing’s wish to come true," Chen Mo said with a smile, making a wish of his own.
At his words, Su Yuqing’s gaze suddenly softened, and she looked at Chen Mo with deep affection.
But she quickly looked away shyly. "Then I hope your wish comes true too."
Chen Mo smiled and held out his palm. Catching it in her peripheral vision, Su Yuqing gently placed her own palm over his, as if stamping a seal.
After a brief pause at its peak, the cabin began its steady, slow descent.
The sudden sense of weightlessness was particularly stark, especially moving from the peak downward. Su Yuqing let out a soft "ah" subconsciously, her body leaning slightly toward Chen Mo with the momentum.
At almost the same instant, Chen Mo moved.
Without a trace of hesitation, he extended his arm. His warm palm, through the thin fabric of her clothes, gently wrapped around the arm closest to him with a steady, careful force.
In an instant, they both froze.
Normally, neither of them would have cared about this kind of contact.
But they had just gone through that moment of almost crossing a line without actually doing so. Now, neither could guess what the other was thinking. That, combined with their shared bewilderment at this new level of contact, made the situation instantly and utterly awkward.
Su Yuqing felt as if she’d been hit by a freezing spell. The warmth that had just begun to fade came rushing back, engulfing her completely, even more intense than the heat from running under the sun.
Through her sleeve, the spot where he touched her radiated a distinct, scorching heat. It felt alive, spreading rapidly through her entire body, burning her mind so completely blank that she could barely think.
Her heart pounded violently, thudding against her chest so loudly she suspected Chen Mo could hear it too.
She could feel the pressure of his hand—firm and steady, full of a protective instinct, yet also possessing a gentleness that felt almost like he was cherishing her.
This touch was several times more intimate than his fingertips brushing through her hair or the back of his hand grazing hers.
She even forgot to sit up, remaining frozen as she leaned against him. The pleasant scent of him filled her senses, and the very air seemed to be laced with something dizzying and sweet.
Chen Mo’s heart was also pounding like a drum in his chest.
The warmth of her body through her clothes, the soft, slender feel of her arm, and her faint, sweet scent—all of it registered with startling clarity.
The desire he had suppressed since the haunted house—a feeling that had brewed and fermented on the Ferris wheel before he forced it back down—was now, catalyzed by this brief moment of weightlessness and their instinctual closeness, threatening to break free once more.
He forced himself to stay calm, struggling to maintain the position of his arm around her. He didn’t even dare turn his head to look at Su Yuqing’s expression, afraid that one glance would make him lose control of the surging emotions inside him.
Afraid he would do something to her defenseless, red lips.
And so they remained, one leaning stiffly against him, the other providing a firm but gentle support, both locked in this unusually intimate posture.
During the descent, time seemed to grow viscous and stretch on forever, yet it also felt as if it passed in a flash.
They didn’t speak again, nor did they dare meet each other’s eyes.
The only sound in the entire cabin was their entangled, slightly ragged breaths, weaving together like a silent yet deafening symphony.
Outside the window, the ground grew clearer. The spires of the amusement park’s castle, the green of the treetops, and the bustling crowds came back into view. To them, however, all those vibrant colors seemed to bleed together, melting into the shy blush on the other’s face, reflecting the nascent yet immense affection blooming in their hearts.
The cabin finally landed smoothly. The slight jolt brought them back to their senses.
With a soft CLICK, the door unlocked. A staff member was about to open it from the outside.
As if jolted by an electric shock, Su Yuqing shot upright, swiftly and subtly withdrawing her arm from beneath Chen Mo’s hand.
Chen Mo’s hand also retracted quickly, coming to rest naturally on his knee. His fingertips still tingled with the memory of her soft arm and its scorching temperature.
The cabin door swung open, and a torrent of bright sunlight and boisterous noise flooded in.
Chen Mo stood up, his face having returned to its usual gentle composure. He smiled and extended a hand to Su Yuqing. "Shall we?"
It was as if those long, heart-stirring ten minutes had never happened at all.
At that moment, the shyness in Su Yuqing’s heart was replaced by a much more powerful emotion—an overflowing, heart-pounding sweetness that felt ready to burst.
As she stepped out of the cabin and back onto solid ground, Su Yuqing felt as if she were walking on air.
Chen Mo stood beside her, naturally placing a hand on her back once more to guide her through the jostling crowd.
This time, Su Yuqing didn’t shy away in embarrassment like before.
She turned her head slightly to look at Chen Mo, just in time to meet his gaze.
The teasing glint he’d had on the Ferris wheel was gone from his eyes. Now, there was only a clear, reassuring smile and a hint of something she could understand... an unspoken, mutual affection.
Looking back at the slowly rotating Ferris wheel, she felt that the lingering romance, the silent thumping of her heart, and the intense affection she had felt so clearly for the first time were all sealed away inside the cabin they had just left.
Watching it slowly ascend again, Su Yuqing, in a daze, seemed to see an image of herself and Chen Mo sitting inside.
Not far away, Zhao Yuanyuan was dragging Huang Mao along, cheerfully waving and calling their names. The shouts shattered the pink, romantic bubble that had just formed in Su Yuqing’s mind, only to pop in an instant.
"I just saw you two embracing," Zhao Yuanyuan said with a mischievous grin as she approached them.
As she spoke, she pulled out her phone, which didn’t have the best camera. She then displayed an exceptionally clear photo: a sweet scene from inside the Ferris wheel cabin, showing Su Yuqing nestled in Chen Mo’s embrace as he held her quietly.