My Demon Friends-Chapter 595 - 569: This One Will Sell for a High Price

"Are you afraid of heights?" Brother Nan asked.

"I don't know. Probably not?" Zhou Li thought for a moment. I'm a Heavenly Master, after all. I've climbed towering ancient trees in the Old Land World and ridden a ladybug demon across Dian Lake through a drafty window. I should have some resistance. "I only get scared if it's really high."

"Idiot."

"What's wrong?"

"You could have said you were scared. Then you could have clung tightly to my strong arms and nestled into my sturdy chest," Brother Nan said.

"Is that so...?" Zhou Li felt a pang of regret. "I don't like to lie."

"PFFT..."

"What about you?"

"I'm the one who doesn't lie!"

"I'm asking if you're afraid of heights."

"HMM..." Brother Nan pinched her small chin, pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Maybe a little... At most, a tiny bit."

Zhou Li nodded. "Thanks."

Brother Nan immediately laughed heartily. "You saw through me!"

Zhou Li continued to nod.

At that moment, Ji Xuan ran up to him. "Where did Huai Xu go?"

"Ask him yourself."

"I did, but he didn't reply to me."

"I'll ask him."

Zhou Li took out his phone to send a message.

Zhou Li: Where are you?

Huai Xu: I'm on this rollercoaster.

Huai Xu: I saw you guys. I just passed over your heads. Look up and you'll see me.

Hearing this, Zhou Li looked up and turned around.

Above them, a red roller coaster track looped through the air. The coaster had already moved ahead and was climbing another slope, preparing for a dive. From the distance, a barrage of screams sent shivers down one's spine.

He squinted, searching carefully. All he could see were ant-sized people and a mass of legs; he couldn't distinguish who was who.

Forget it. He gave up.

Zhou Li said to the little girl beside him, "He said to wait for him at the roller coaster's exit. It should be this way..."

Hearing this, the little girl's face fell. "Why does Huai Xu reply to your messages but not mine?"

Zhou Li smiled. "He didn't reply to my message either. That was an earlier one he sent, saying he was waiting for us at the roller coaster entrance. He hasn't replied to the one I just sent; he probably hasn't seen it yet."

After saying that, he pocketed his phone and looked around. "This park is so big. We'll probably be here all day, right?"

Brother Nan shot him a disdainful look. But despite her disdain, she still followed his gaze into the distance and slowed her pace. "Is that the giant pendulum over there? And what's that spinning chair thingy called? How about we start with the less scary ones and gradually work our way up? What do you think?"

"What chair?"

"That one, behind that tree." Brother Nan stopped and pointed.

"I see it."

"So?"

"Good idea."

They dawdled on their way, and by the time they reached the roller coaster's exit, Huai Xu had already gotten off and was standing by the roadside waiting for them.

"What took you guys so long? I've already done a whole loop on the roller coaster," Huai Xu said impatiently.

"Was it fun?" Zhou Li asked.

"It was alright. Spinning around up there was quite interesting." Huai Xu paused. "It was just incredibly noisy. The people on the ride were screaming their heads off. I reckon... I reckon people didn't even scream that loud during beheadings in ancient battles. Plus, the line was so long; I waited for more than half an hour."

"Were you scared then?" the little girl asked, blinking.

"HEH HEH HEH..." Huai Xu chuckled sheepishly, then asked, "Are you guys going on it?"

"We'll do other rides first," Zhou Li said.

"Not very wise."

"Oh."

They continued on and decided to ride the Ferris wheel first.

Most couples liked this ride. It was very gentle, so even timid girls could handle it. The cabins offered couples some privacy, and most importantly, many romance dramas featured Ferris wheel scenes.

Brother Nan and Zhou Li sat together, but their experience was completely different from how couples are portrayed on TV. She kept herself pressed against the window, gazing at the scenery below, and disappointedly complained, "So this is what riding a Ferris wheel is like? It's not exciting at all! TV totally tricked me!"

"You've never ridden one before?" Zhou Li asked.

"Nope. Yan City doesn't have one."

"Oh."

"Have you?"

"Me neither."

"I knew it!" Brother Nan shrugged. "Do you think it's fun?"

"It's fun when I'm with you."

"BLECH..."

Brother Nan covered her mouth with one hand, made a gagging expression, and rolled her eyes. After a moment, she pointed downwards. "But it's not too bad. As we slowly ascend, you can see the panoramic view of this place, and even Dian Lake... At least it's good for something."

"That's probably its main purpose."

"It is quite pretty, though."

"Indeed."

Zhou Li reached out, took Brother Nan's wrist, pulled her hand away from the window, then held her palm and began to gently squeeze its soft flesh.

Brother Nan couldn't be bothered with him and merely glanced back—in the cabin behind them, Huai Xu, Baozi, and Ji Xuan were all staring. Baozi was even pressed against the window, aiming a DSLR camera right at them.

"They're all spying on us," Brother Nan commented.

"Ignore them," Zhou Li said.

"Your cousin is working hard."

"Yeah..."

"Oh, we're going down already... Is that as high as it goes?"

"Wasn't that high enough for you?"

"Not high enough, and it was over too quickly."

"We can ride it again."

"Not interested anymore."

"Oh..."

The next ride was the swing ride, which was a bit more thrilling. Only Brother Nan, Zhou Li, Huai Xu, and Ji Xuan went on it; Baozi stayed below, taking photos. Baozi skipped the next few rides as well, dedicating himself to being their photographer.

「By the time they got off the giant pendulum ride, it was already noon.」

The park had also gotten more crowded at some point, and even the less popular rides now had lines.

They found a random place for lunch. It was slightly more expensive than places outside the park, but the food was surprisingly decent, so they didn't feel ripped off.

「Roller coaster.」

The line was even longer than in the morning. The winding queue barriers weren't enough, and the line snaked out beyond them.

Driven by the thought that "not riding it would be a waste," the group joined the queue and slowly inched forward. They were already a bit tired from the morning's activities. Now, in the afternoon, post-lunch drowsiness and fatigue washed over them, but they persevered, chatting to pass the time.

The strange thing was, people kept shouting, "Excuse me, let me through!" as they pushed past the crowd, and even stranger, no one stopped them.

Even Brother Nan just blinked, staring at them, completely baffled.

It finally dawned on her that these people were cutting in line. So, the next time two young women ducked their heads to push forward, she propped her foot on the opposite barrier, blocking their path, and looked at them questioningly.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"W-we have people saving our spots inside," one of them quickly explained.

"You mean your friends are up ahead, holding your places in line?" Brother Nan caught on quickly.

"Yes."

"Look..." Brother Nan pointed ahead to a sign on a pole: 'One spot per person in line. Please do not save places for others.' Then, looking at the two embarrassed and helpless young women, she thought for a moment before saying, "If your friends want to ride with you, I suggest you text them and have them wait for you. If you insist on cutting the line, well, it's not that you absolutely can't, just don't do it in front of me. I suggest you try cutting in behind us. The bunch of suckers back there probably won't have the guts to stop you, so let them take the hit."

She even threw in a taunt at the rest of the line.

Zhou Li quickly glanced around and tugged at Brother Nan's sleeve, signaling her to avoid taunting everyone and to soften her tone.

Brother Nan, however, seemed unconcerned and just smirked.

The others pretended not to hear.

The two young women also blushed and retreated.

After that, whenever anyone tried to cut the line, whether they were brazen or sheepish, Brother Nan didn't let them pass. There was no other reason; she was simply getting extremely impatient from the long wait and refused to let anyone else cut in front of her, as it would only make her wait longer.

She turned a deaf ear to all excuses.

Brother Nan, completely unaffected by the confrontation, was actually chuckling. She turned to Zhou Li cheerfully, "I thought of a joke. Wanna hear it?"

"What joke?"

"Let me tell you..."

"Okay, so this guy goes to an amusement park, right? And there's a super long line for the roller coaster. Then he meets a scalper. The scalper tells him, 'Just get a twenty-yuan membership with me—PFFT...'" Brother Nan's laugh threshold was incredibly low. It was her own joke, and she'd barely started when the thought of what came next made her burst out laughing. She continued, struggling to speak through her giggles, "'Then you won't have to—PFFT—heh heh—you won't have to queue! Heh heh...' So the guy paid the twenty yuan."

"Then..."

"Then—BAHAHA..." Brother Nan howled.

"Then the scalper led him forward, shouting as they went—PFFT HAHA—"

"Shouting, 'Cutting in! We're cutting in!'"

Brother Nan was already red-faced from laughing so hard, and she could barely control herself anymore. Her laughter transitioned from that sputtering, tractor-like sound to outright "HAHAHAs!"

Zhou Li couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly, discreetly glancing around to observe others' reactions.

Brother Nan continued the joke, "So, the people around started scolding him, 'Hey, why are you cutting in line?!'"

"The guy was totally confused..."

"And the scalper just said... 'You go enjoy the ride... I'll... I'll handle the arguing for you! HAHAHA!'"

"Isn't that hilarious? HAHAHA!"

Zhou Li looked at Brother Nan. He'd initially felt a bit of a headache coming on, but a smile soon spread across his face.

The joke wasn't new; I'd heard it before. Right now, I'm purely infected by her laughter. Laughter really does have that kind of magic power.

He glanced at the people around them; almost everyone was laughing. Perhaps they found the joke funny, or perhaps, like Zhou Li, they were influenced by the unrestrained laughter of this beautiful girl who clearly didn't care about maintaining her image. In any case, the afternoon drowsiness had been completely dispelled.

Only Baozi remained expressionless, his face hidden behind the camera—though not entirely.

Through the viewfinder, the tall girl was bent over, clutching her stomach as she howled with laughter. The boy next to her was looking down at her, also smiling. Both were leaning against the railing, surrounded by strangers of all kinds, all of whom seemed to have caught the infectious laughter.

Baozi decisively pressed the shutter.