“So, as per the bet, little bro Chang Kai has to accompany our girl to one of her events. We haven’t gotten a new gig lined up just yet, but don’t worry, Xiao Xi only takes local ones.”

Even though Sis Yuanyue said that, I had a sneaking suspicion there was a trap waiting for me to step into.

“So, I'm supposed to just tag along? Like, sit in the audience?”

“As if you’d get off that easy. You’ll help out behind the scenes. Just follow Xiao Xi’s arrangements.”

Tian Xi, who’d been chatting with Rinka, gave us an “OJBK” hand sign when she heard her name mentioned. Taking instructions from the manager was fine—I just hoped Tian Xi doesn’t hold a grudge against me.

But Lei Meow Meow clearly wasn’t happy. She puffed her cheeks in a rather girlish way, like a sulking hamster. “Why does it have to be him helping out?”

“Yeah, why me?” I echoed, genuinely puzzled.

“Huh? Didn’t I already explain?” Sis Yuanyue nudged Lei Meow Meow towards me and pinched her pouty cheeks from behind, forcibly lifting the corners of her mouth until she could only make muffled sounds like “mmph mmph mmph.”

“What do you think of my girl, little bro Chang Kai?”

“You… you’re still trying to marry off your daughter?”

Sis Yuanyue seemed quite fond of me, and Mama Zhao had a good impression of me too. Could it be… I’m one of those “ladies’ favorites”?
But why though?

Tilting her head and squinting, Sis Yuanyue seemed lost in a daydream. “If it’s little bro Chang Kai, I just feel like you'd birth such pretty babies~”

“So I’m just a walking chromosome to you?! Also, I can’t have babies!”

“Oh right—hey, little bro, wanna go sing karaoke with us? The Aqua World KTV is a blast!” she clapped excitedly.

As much as I wanted to hear Lei Meow Meow sing, we still hadn’t gone around the park much. Plus, Tangerine was highly suspicious of both Lei Meow Meow and Tian Xi. If she were still a cat, she’d be hissing with her back arched by now.

“Maybe not. We haven’t even finished one full round... oh, Haitang-sama, do you wanna go with us?”

“I’d love to hang out with Tangerine more, but Yang Qi and Cangyu are still waiting for me. Gotta go regroup.”

Her black ponytail swayed as she pulled her wooden sword from the sand and twirled it with flair. Though the earlier defeat had stung, she’d tucked it all away beneath her usual confidence.

“Grandma used to say, ‘A hero appears when needed, and exits quietly afterward.’ Farewell.”

Basked in the glow of a golden sunset (special effects activated), Haitang’s back seemed majestic and larger than life.

Lei Meow Meow’s family left in the direction we came from, and after all the excitement, only our little four-person squad remained—me, Tangerine, Zhao Zhao, and Rinka.

We followed the eastern path, trying out water blasters, a giant vortex ride, bumper boats—you name it. As we walked north, the giant Ferris wheel, visible from anywhere in the park, loomed ever closer.

Side note: that vortex ride felt like a massive toilet bowl, and we, the tourists… yeah, you get the idea.

“Kai! Let’s go on the Ferris wheel!” Rinka bounced with excitement.

The closer we got, the more hyped he became. The Ferris wheel had a reputation for being the spot for romance, and Rinka’s shoujo side was practically bursting.

“Well guess we’re definitely going on it then? Tangerine, did you go on it this morning?”

“Nope. We didn’t make it that far. But I really wanted to try it when I saw it at the entrance!”

As a cat, Tangerine once did whatever it took to reach high places. But…she was a bit too chubby back then. Her most heroic feat? Climbing from a chair onto a dining table and smacking the toothpick jar to the floor.

When asked why cats love heights, Tangerine’s answer was: built in instinct.

The Ferris wheel moved slowly—each round took over ten minutes. I checked the time through my waterproof phone bag: 3:18 PM. We had until 5 PM to return, so there was time.

Due to the dome ceiling, the Ferris wheel only stood around 40–50 meters tall above water, but a quarter of it was submerged in a lit-up pool. It resembled a massive water wheel. The teardrop-shaped cabins probably had waterproofing. The ride would first dip us into an underwater light show before lifting us up for a panoramic view.

“Meow! So many people!”

The line was huge—at least thirty people long—and this was just the soft opening. Once fully open, the crowd would definitely be ridiculous.

“Everyone thinks like you guys. ‘Can’t leave without riding it!’”
Zhao Zhao scratched his head, clearly not a fan.
“The view’s cool and all, but it’s too high to check out all the sexy swimsuit ladies… sigh. Sis Xi’s assets are god-tier. If I could just grope them once, I could die happy.”

Classic Zhao Zhao—saying pervy things with such a straight face.

The wheel didn’t stop turning, so the line moved surprisingly fast. After about fifteen minutes, it was our turn.

From up close, the cabins looked more cramped than expected. The seal-ringed door swung open as two bikini-clad girls hopped out.

Rinka bolted into the teardrop-shaped cabin, Tangerine followed. But just as I was about to enter, the staff slammed the door shut.
Then, with blank expressions, Tangerine and Rinka slowly descended.

“Wait, what?! Only two per cabin?” I glared at the blue-cap staffer. The cabin wasn’t big, but four people could definitely fit with some squeeze.

“Sorry. Only two oxygen tanks under the seats. Any more passengers, and we’d be liable if something goes wrong,” he said, pointing at a “Max 2 Passengers” sign we’d completely missed.

Turns out the tanks were for emergency air if the ride stopped mid-air. Safety first.

The wheel turned very slowly, likely to allow time for loading and unloading. We waited over a minute for the next cabin. This time, a sweet middle-aged couple stepped off hand-in-hand. Classic Ferris wheel vibes. Man… if only I had a girlfriend.

Clunk. Our cabin door shut. We were off the boarding dock. For safety reasons, there was no way to open the door from the inside.

The cabin had a 360° view, but due to its slime-shaped (Dragon Quest typed slime) design—wide at the bottom, narrow at the top—the inward Ω-shaped seat placed to allow passengers to sit straight up limited our view of cabins above or below. We couldn’t see Tangerine or Rinka.

Not that it mattered. My dream ride was already half-ruined…

“Why am I riding a Ferris wheel with a muscle-brained perv?! I wanted to ride with Tangerine!”

“Why can’t you be a real girl, Commander? This ride’s a waste with another guy!”

Ah, bros think alike. A romantic Ferris wheel ride, and it’s just two dudes? This is so not it.

We exchanged a helpless look of mutual despair.

If only Zhao Zhao were Zhao Lei. Too bad I hadn’t brought my trusty notebook today.

Been a while since I’d seen Xiao Lei. Ever since Zhao Zhao went to hell for summer cram school, we rarely hung out one-on-one anymore. And when he did visit, Haitang usually dragged him over, there was no chance to transform.

Just as I was thinking that, something familiar brushed against my lower back… oh notebook, my mentor, my friend—you are the true hero.

I leaned my head against the glass, trying to play it cool while watching the park-goers below. Casually, I chatted with Zhao Zhao.

“Hey… riding with a guy’s super boring, huh?”

“Yeah, zero romantic vibes.”

“We’re bros, right?”

“Of course. Why?”

Still clueless, Zhao Zhao looked like a lamb to the slaughter.

“Remember when we were eating BBQ, and you said you’d do anything for me?”

“Yeah…?”

“Then could you… be a girl for this Ferris wheel ride?”

“Yeah…Huh? Wait, what?!”