I'm reordering the structure, and this chapter is what should have come before the events that follow. Feel free to SKIP IT for now and return to it later. I'm currently working on it.

Ningshun caught Meilin's smug look, the cocky tilt of her head. 'She's catching on, huh?' He clicked his tongue, turning away.

"You good-for-nothing!" With a growl, the call ended with a sharp click.

He stared at the blank screen and pocketed his phone, his gaze darkening like a clouded sky. "I didn't tell you because it didn't matter."

Her gaze softened, her smile gentle. "It matters to me, Ningshun..."

He stiffened.

"You know, whoever he was, I don't buy into his opinion."

His head jerked to the side, eyes widened. "What?"

She shifted closer, her voice dipping into a softer, more personal tone. "If you were good-for-nothing, there wouldn't be millions of people admiring you."

He stilled, confronted like ice clashing with fire as her words hit like an unexpected truth. He did not flinch, but his gaze held hers a beat longer, torn between acknowledgment and deflection.

"Hey, are you two coming or what?" Hooman shouted from a distance.

"Oh, right! We should go." Meilin beamed from ear to ear, like a sunburst.

"Go on; I'll join you in a few minutes."

"Okay!" With a final, dazzling smile that shimmered like a shooting star, she stood up, leaving his mouth agape in a spellbound hush.

Ningshun blinked, his hands resting on the smooth surface of the fountain as he released a sigh. But his faint laughter stopped her from moving forward.

She instantly turned her head, gazing at his smile. Finally, a smile.

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?" He gestured toward the bucket of fries on his lap and chuckled under his breath, shaking his head slightly. She had truly gone out of her way.

She shrugged, waving off his comment with a sheepish grin.

"No, that would be me." Hooman appeared, grinning and suppressing a chuckle as he revealed a large paper cup with a lid, placing it beside Ningshun. "You two thirsty?"

"Wh-What..." Meilin stammered, warmth rushing to her cheeks.

Ningshun grabbed the oversized cup and blinked—not at its size, but at the two straws through the lid. "Really, Hooman?"

Hooman opened his mouth to reply but stopped as Kaili and Yuming entered the scene, holding the same cup with two straws in it.

Meilin's jaw dropped. Her best friend, who had known Kaili for less than a day, was already sharing a cup with him. "What... did I miss...?"

Eyes wide and unmoving, Ningshun, who held a single fry, let it slip from his fingers. "Beats me..." he murmured slowly, his voice almost a whisper.

Glancing at the 'assumingly new' couple's dynamic—Yuming laughing at Kaili's jokes before they both took a sip from the same cup—Meilin turned her gaze to Hooman, who wore a mischievous smirk. She recalled how he had cornered her and Ningshun with this ridiculous joke, shoving the couple cup into their hands.

Ningshun side-eyed Meilin, catching her glance at him before she looked away. He cleared his throat. "You can have this. It's fine." With that, he placed the cup in her hands, stood up, and left, still holding his fries.

"Hey! How am I supposed to..." She sighed.

As Ningshun strolled further away, it felt like he took a piece of her with him, though Meilin could not say what it was—perhaps a fragment of the memories they shared. Each of his steps deepened the mark left by the absence of the smile he once gave her so freely; now, it felt like just wishful thinking.

Had she taken his kindness for granted? Was she the reason he distanced himself? Or was it because of the phone call earlier?

Even with his back turned, she could not tear her gaze from him. She could not ignore the stab in her heart, piercing right through, making her long for the days when he met her eyes without hesitation. Now, all she could do was wait... and wait some more... for him to look at her again.

In the minutes that followed, all Meilin could do was observe Kaili and Yuming's sweet interactions—the smiles they exchanged, the way they gazed at each other.

Today was supposed to be fun, yet every time Meilin heard their laughter, loneliness crept into her heart, biting into a longing ache. She was happy for them, of course, but she could not help but contemplate that it could have been her—laughing and even holding hands with someone special today.

'No! I'm not making the same mistake again,' Meilin reminded herself, recalling her oath to only like fictional men.

She turned her gaze to the quietest member of the group—and it was not Han, but Ningshun. Even from a distance, she noticed the length and fullness of his black eyelashes, accentuated by his angled eyebrows. From the side, his sharp nose had a faint, upturned tip.

'There's just no way a man as beautiful as him could be human... He must be an angel walking among us.'

She had seen the hungry looks of some girls passing by him, the looks of objectification, as if their eyes could strip him right then and there. It was the same gaze a lot of men had given her, the one that made her stomach twist, as if her body was all she had to offer.

But did it bother him, too?

'I like bad girls,' Ningshun had said.

She rolled her eyes and whispered, "Never mind."

As the group meandered through the amusement park, Meilin strode alongside Yuming, joking and teasing her about her crush. Yuming could only blush. They quickened their pace, catching up to Kaili, who was joking with Hooman.

As they approached, Yuming sidled up to Kaili with a playful grin and teased, "Think you can handle the spinning teacups?"

Kaili chuckled, smiling as he glanced down at her. "Oh, I can handle it... and even more, if you know what I mean."

Hooman grinned. "If what you're saying is true, then let's go to the Underworld."

"What's the Underworld?" Meilin asked.

"It's known for being the scariest haunted mansion," Hooman replied, never taking his eyes off Kaili, whose grin faded in an instant.

"Sure! Let's go to the Underworld!" Yuming cheered.

Kaili and Meilin stared at the haunted mansion, an eerie feeling gripping their throats and leaving an emptiness in the pit of their stomachs.

"Do we have to... go there?" Meilin inquired with a faint smile, trying to hold herself together.

"Let's go!" Ningshun exclaimed, enthusiasm forming on his lips.

'NOW he's excited? Just for the chance to see UGLY creatures and be haunted by them? I never knew he had such bad taste in picking rides!' Meilin fumed. "I'm not coming. You guys go."

"Really? Then..." Yuming turned to Kaili. "Are you coming?"

Kaili pondered. If Meilin refused to go with them, that would mean there would be an odd number. 'Hooman would join Han, which means that Yuming would go with... Ah, hell no!' Determined, he gazed into Yuming's eyes. "Sure, why not." However, in the back of his mind, he already imagined the horrifying scenes he could stumble upon as his lips pressed into a thin line.

"So, Meilin's the only one staying behind?" Han asked. "The lines are long, though. It'll take at least thirty minutes to get to the ride."

"Wait!" Yuming, glancing at her smartwatch, turned to Meilin. "Why don't you just stand in line with us? You can walk away through the backdoor once we get there."

In brief (for context): I'm still working on the chapter. Soon after the Haunted Mansion, the following occurred:

"Let's go to the rollercoaster, guys!" Meilin's excitement broke through.

On their way to the rollercoaster, they passed a small tent that could fit only a handful of people. A sign in front read: Fortune Telling with Angel Cards and Divine Crystals.

The tent opening revealed two people seated inside. The lady shuffling the cards wore a white, velvety dress and smiled as she spoke, as if speaking from her heart. Across from her sat another woman, her back turned to the team.

Meilin stopped in her tracks, as if spikes rooted her feet to the ground, making her unable to lift even a foot. No outside force held her still—only the intense gaze of the woman in white. Meilin could not bear to meet her eyes; even a single look thrown her way was enough to shudder her back, as if an icy grip clamped it.

Sick to her stomach, Meilin's breathing quickened as her gaze dipped to the table, where cards with drawings of angels lay. One card even depicted the 'Devil' as an angel, alongside the 'Death' card. She could have sworn she heard the woman say that the Death card was a good omen, signifying the end of a cycle and the welcoming of new beginnings, along with her claim that she channeled God and the angels for these 'divine' messages. A bitter taste formed in the back of her throat.

Somehow, in this trance, Meilin heard her name—muffled and static—but she remained in place. Her eyes narrowed, drawn into the little details she caught sight of, and her jaw dropped.

Dark, little creatures swirled around the women inside the tent, with claws and bony fingers.

Meilin's breath caught in her chest.

The shadowy figures turned, staring Meilin straight in the eyes with deep, hollow sockets before they vanished.

Unable to scream, Meilin's hands lost control and shook. Paralyzed to the core, a pout formed on her lips as she drifted into the embrace of fear.

"Meilin! Are you okay? Talk to me!"

Snapping back to reality, Meilin grounded herself, now glancing into Yuming's heartwarming, round eyes. "Yuming..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "I... I just..." She swallowed hard. 'It was just a hallucination... My mind is playing tricks on me. Yes, it's because of the Haunted Mansion. There's no way I just saw...' She paused, trying to steady her breath but failing. 'Demons.'