She glanced around, seeing no one looking their way, and took the opportunity to quickly hug Tianyi before letting go with a smile.
Tianyi grabbed her hand, feigning displeasure. "Don't play these games with me. Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
"Where…?" Before Susu could finish speaking, he pulled her away from the banquet hall without further ado.
She followed Tianyi outside. Darkness had fallen, and the colorful lights of the amusement park were all lit up.
He pulled, and she took a step, asking worriedly, "Hey, there are so many guests at the party. It's not good for us to just run out like this, leaving everything behind. Let's go back."
"Let's go," Tianyi said, holding onto her. "Why worry so much? Someone will naturally entertain the guests."
Seeing his persistence, Susu didn't want to dampen his spirits. She quickened her pace with him, following him to the primal jungle zone.
She noticed that as they entered the zone, the streetlights instantly dimmed. Feeling a bit afraid of the dark, she clutched his hand. "Why did you bring me here? This theme park is better suited for daytime."
"Who says so?" Tianyi retorted. "It's more mysterious and adventurous at night. Don't worry, there are no wild beasts inside. Even if there are, they're just for atmosphere, fake ones."
Susu immediately felt less scared and joked, "But what if there are savages? What if I get captured by a savage?"
"If there were real savages, they wouldn't like someone like you. You're skin and bones, not strong enough. Who would bother capturing you to be their wife?" Tianyi said, leading the way.
Susu stuck out her leg, wanting to kick him. "Get lost! Can't you say anything nice…"
Just then, a strange sound was heard, like a whistle, or perhaps the call of a wild beast in the jungle at night.
Tianyi turned and made a gesture for her to be quiet, which scared Susu immensely.
She was so scared she almost clung to him, mouthing softly, "Didn't you say there were no real wild beasts in here?"
"Of course not. If there were, it wouldn't be an amusement park; it would be a wildlife sanctuary," Tianyi said, completely unfazed and even smiling. "Do you know how difficult it is to get approval for a wildlife sanctuary?"
Susu leaned against him, utterly tense. "You're still joking. What was that sound just now?"
"I don't know," Tianyi feigned ignorance, pointing to a low mud wall in front of them. "It seems to be coming from inside. Let's climb over and take a look."
Without waiting for Susu's agreement, he abandoned her and easily climbed over the low wall himself.
Then, standing inside, he reached out his hand to Susu. "I'll pull you. You climb over too."
Susu glanced at the surrounding jungle, devoid of any human presence. If she didn't follow him, she had no other choice. She grabbed his hand and scrambled over, using both hands and feet.
Once inside, she tightly gripped Tianyi's arm. It was even darker inside, with no lights at all, pitch black. She couldn't even see the path under her feet.
"Tianyi, take out your phone and shine a light. What kind of place is this, so dark?"
"What if we've fallen into a primitive hunter's trap?" Tianyi said, playing up the fear.
Susu was so scared that she hugged him tightly and took out her own phone, her voice trembling as she tried to turn on the flashlight. "You don't think so?"
Tianyi suddenly burst out laughing and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the surrounding colorful lights blazed to life, illuminating the place as if it were daytime.
Susu, phone in hand, was stunned. She realized they were standing on a transparent glass floor, with small colorful lights beneath the glass. On both sides were blooming red roses.
The rose petals were sprinkled with gold and silver dust, faintly glowing under the lights, making it feel like being in a fairy tale greenhouse.
Only then did she understand that Tianyi had deliberately scared her. She clenched her fists and playfully punched him. "Okay, you think it's fun to tease me?"
Tianyi's face broke into a wide smile. "Who told you you're so timid? It's not easy to give you a surprise. Aren't you going to kiss me quickly?"
He practically extended one cheek towards her mouth.
Susu hooked her arms around his neck and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek, making sure to leave her lipstick mark.
Just as Tianyi was about to embrace her, she playfully dodged him and continued walking forward on the glass path, eager to see what other surprises lay ahead.
Tianyi followed her with a smile, seeing that her courage had grown and she was no longer afraid. He regretted not scaring her more, wishing she had clung to him a little longer.
Susu walked into a glass house ahead, which was also lit up. It was filled with blue roses, showcasing every shade and depth of blue.
She had never thought roses were particularly beautiful before, as they seemed common in the market. But a room full of blue roses was truly captivating.
She couldn't help but turn to Tianyi and ask, "How come I didn't know? When did you become so fond of roses? And where did you get so many rare blue roses?"
Tianyi walked up to her, put his arm around her shoulder, and gazed at the roses, saying with emotion, "Blue roses aren't that rare nowadays, but in my mother's time, these flowers were truly scarce."
"Are roses your mother's favorite flower?"
"How should I put it?" Tianyi said. "Do you remember that locked house in the garden of the old Qin family mansion?"
Susu nodded quickly.
She had been particularly curious about that locked house when strolling in the garden, often circling it and trying to open the large lock on the door when no one was around.
But without a key, it was impossible to open.
Tianyi began to speak of a past he was reluctant to recall. "These flowers were all moved by me from that locked house. When I reopened that flower room, all the flowers inside had actually withered. I handed them all over to professional horticulturists to see if new roses could be cultivated from them."
"Was it just the flower room? Then why was it locked? Why didn't you let the family gardener take care of those flowers?" At the time, Susu truly believed there was some hidden treasure or a secret that couldn't be revealed.
Tianyi smiled. "I'm entirely yours now. Would I lie to you? If there were anything of immense value, I would have offered it to you along with myself."
Susu hadn't expected him to see through her thoughts so easily. She stomped her foot. "Stop messing around. Why was the flower room locked? If you don't want to say, then forget it."
Not wanting to banter with him, she lowered her head to admire the roses properly and couldn't resist reaching out to touch one.
"Be careful of the thorns," Tianyi reminded her.
"I'll just touch the petals. It's amazing how they turned blue. Did you inject pigment into the soil?"
"You have quite an imagination," Tianyi replied slowly. "My father had the flower room locked, and he forbade anyone from tending to these flowers."
Susu stood up straight and looked at him again. "Then your father still had feelings for your mother?"