After practice, the whole team gathered at the amusement park ticket booth, a towering building in the middle of a square with plants decorating every corner. Kaili, Hooman, and Meilin laughed at their jokes while Han conversed with Ningshun.

As the group waited, Kaili sighed and tapped on his arm. "It's been over fifteen minutes. She better be cute, or else I'll—"

"Meilin!"

Kaili turned around, his jaw dropping, eyes tracing the girl's delicate features. Short bobtail hair with an ash-brown undertone accentuated her amber eyes. A soft pink hue graced her lips, and light-brown eyeshadow rested above her innocent, round eyes.

Meilin's smile blossomed as she spotted her, and without a second thought, she sprinted toward her, arms spread wide. "Yuming!" She leaped into her friend's arms, squeezing her arms around her as if afraid to let go.

"I've missed you so, so much!" Yuming leaned closer, glancing over her shoulder, and whispered, "Are they...?"

"Yes!" Meilin pulled back and turned, waving toward the others. "Hey, boys! Come over here."

Ningshun and Han sauntered over, offering polite nods to Yuming.

Kaili sprinted toward the girls, shoving his hand forward before Yuming could grab Ningshun's, beating him to it. "I'm Kaili. The pleasure is all..." He turned to Ningshun's bewildered look. "...mine."

Ningshun rolled his eyes. 'Seriously, why's he stressing? She's not even my type! I thought he'd know that by now.' He released a sharp breath, his tone casual yet firm. "Yeeeah... I'm gonna go sit over there." Veering off as the group interacted with Yuming, he sank onto a bench.

Meilin glanced at Ningshun, noting the tightness in his facial muscles as he took out his phone. 'He keeps checking his phone. Could it be the same person who called him this morning? Ugh, I shouldn't meddle in this!'

But she could not tear her eyes from him. As time passed, he kept his distance from the rest of the group as they entered the park. Her pace slowed, her gaze fixed on him—only him. The screams of kids and sounds of cameras faded around her.

'So unlike him,' she thought, peering at Ningshun standing farther away. 'I was wrong about him.'

The tightness in his jaws.

'He isn't perfect.'

The tremble in his hands.

'He's... more than that.'

The unrhythmic pacing of his walk, more like wandering.

'Better... than that.'

His head in the clouds.

'He's human, just like the rest of us.'

Shaking her head to snap out of her thoughts, Meilin made her way to the group, joining in on the lively atmosphere as they stood in line for fries, chattering and laughing at jokes. Everyone was there except for the team leader, who sat away from the group.

"Isn't Ningshun getting any?" she asked.

"He said he isn't hungry," Han replied.

She recalled that Ningshun had gone the entire day without eating, suspecting it had something to do with the phone call earlier. She could not shake the memory of his fingers trembling as he held his phone, which might have left him not in the mood for snacks—or even for having fun—despite his earlier enthusiasm about going to the amusement park.

Meilin felt someone poke her shoulder. Turning around, she saw it was Yuming.

"Hey, we need to talk." Yuming tugged at Meilin's sleeve.

Kaili, unable to keep his eyes away from Yuming, tore his gaze from her and met Meilin's, a hint of anxiety in his expression.

"S-Sure..." Meilin murmured, slowly breaking eye contact with Kaili, now fixated on Yuming.

It did not take long for Yuming to spill the beans, though Meilin had a feeling about where their conversation would lead. It did not take a genius to see the amount of attention Kaili had devoted to Yuming, making the group—especially Hooman and Ningshun—to roll their eyes at them, calling them cheesy. Kaili, however, did not seem to mind at all.

"Oh, my God. I just have to ask!" Yuming exclaimed, her voice pitching high like a schoolgirl. She had to know more about Kaili.

So, Meilin answered all her lingering questions about him—from his favorite snacks to his daily activities, and, most importantly, whether Meilin thought he was a man worth investing her time and energy in.

"Kaili has always been a good friend of mine. He's always had my back." Meilin took Yuming's hand, offering a warm, comforting squeeze. "He's a good guy."

Yuming nodded with a smile, and they both returned to the line as their turn approached. Minutes passed, and everyone except Ningshun got their fries and drinks.

In the distance, Ningshun sat at the edge of a star-shaped fountain, his gaze drifting underfoot. Different shades of azure mosaics shone under the light, while gentle ripples flowed outward from the center, where a small jet sent a stream upward.

Though lost in his thoughts, he caught the uttered "Excuse me," "Coming through," and "Sorry"—a voice he would recognize anywhere, prompting him to turn his head a little and peer from the corner of his eye as a shadow edged into his view. Tensing his brows, he drew his gaze upward, staying quiet as Meilin stood before him, balancing two buckets of fries in each hand, barely managing to keep them steady with her chin for support.

"Hey," she murmured. "Why are you sitting here by yourself?"

"No reason." Raising an eyebrow, he just had to ask, "Are you that hungry?"

As she settled beside him, she turned to her left and grabbed one of the carton buckets.

Waiting for a reply that did not come, he added, "Never min—"

"Here!" She caught him off guard, placing the fries on his lap with a wide smile.

Lowering his gaze to the bucket, his eyes widened. "For me?"

"Of course, silly," she quipped.

"I said I'm not hungry."

"I... well, I just thought you'd like some anyway."

Ningshun's brows lifted, his stoic expression faltering as his mouth parted, as if he had something to say but held back. "Thanks, Meilin." He curled his lips.

Just as he parted his lips to continue speaking, his phone rang.

He closed his eyes, releasing a heavy sigh as a crease formed between his brows. "One sec," he breathed.

She nodded, her smile small and hesitant. "Sure."

She pierced the wooden fork into the fries. As she took a bite through the crispy surface, the warm, fluffy interior released a pleasant flavor in her mouth.

He pulled out his phone, a name glaring on the screen. 'Again with this,' he thought, tapping the green button.

"Where are you? I expected you to be here by now."

Listening in, her heart raced like a caged bird breaking free as she uncovered the truth he had kept to himself. 'He had somewhere else to be, yet he chose to be here... with me?' A sly fox's grin teased at the edges of her lips as the pieces fell into place.

Ningshun caught Meilin's smug look, the cocky tilt of her head.