MFW 24

Chapter 24

Fu Siting awoke full of anticipation, never expecting he wouldn’t be the first to wake up the next morning. He was roused by a puppy licking his face. Li Fei held the chubby little cheese-colored dog in his arms, his tiny paws scratching at Fu Siting’s face before nibbling away.

Fu Siting opened his eyes to see this adorable sight. And behind that adorable sight stood the most handsome lover in the entire world. It was an almost unbelievable kind of happiness.

“It’s getting late. Get up, get dressed, and let’s go out.” Li Fei pulled him up. Fu Siting obediently went to get dressed.

Passing the walk-in closet, he glanced through the large glass window onto the balcony. Under the sunlight, the pots of succulents and unnamed little flowers and grasses remained lush and vibrant. Fu Siting paused for a moment, enjoying the view, then his gaze drifted unconsciously toward the distance. The endless green expanse of the golf course, the tranquil lake in the distance… and more.

And the amusement park’s Ferris wheel and castle. For a moment, his breath caught…. Next to the old tenement building where Fu Siting’s family had rented a flat since childhood, just across the street, stood a makeshift amusement park. It was called makeshift because it clearly wasn’t a uniformly planned, company-operated amusement park.

Inside, everything, from the carousel and bumper cars to the makeshift roller coaster barely two stories tall and the pirate ship, was privately operated. The park also brimmed with common fairground attractions: ring toss, air guns, inflatable castles, ball pits, and more. Yet even in its simplicity, to the young Fu Siting, it was a fantastical wonderland.

As a child, Fu Siting had ample free time because his mother was often away from home. Plus, his route home from school passed by the amusement park, so he frequently couldn’t resist stopping there.

Every attraction required separate payment. Whether it cost a few yuan or over ten, it was far beyond his means at the time. So young Fu Siting could only stand time and again beneath the simple roller coaster or beside the modest Ferris wheel, watching enviously as other children screamed and laughed atop them. He grew up like that.

By middle school, those childish rides no longer suited him. Yet even though he was too old for them, he still found himself lingering there occasionally, until his ninth-grade year, when the aging amusement park was completely demolished for urban redevelopment. After the redevelopment, the site became an archive building, its doors perpetually locked. Fu Siting rarely passed by there anymore.

A gentle push came from behind. Li Fei wrapped an arm around his shoulder, steering him into the dressing room in a few quick steps.

“What were you spacing out about?”

He asked while selecting today’s outfit for Fu Siting. Fu Siting hesitated several times before finally asking, his voice still cautious. “…Is today… the day you’re taking me to the amusement park?”

“Yep.” Li Fei held up a pair of pants for him to try on, then decisively swapped them for a brighter color.

“Aren’t theme parks your favorite? You even insisted on living in the fairy tale-themed community. We’ve been to Disney countless times, but for Fu Xiaoting, this is your first time, right?”

Sunlight filtered through the window.

Inside, Fu Siting silently dressed while processing this overwhelming information. Indeed, their photo wall displayed countless pictures of them together, in front of castles, holding balloons, posing with floats and Mickey Mouse. But simply visiting the amusement park wasn’t unusual… Why did Li Fei imply earlier that they’d chosen to live here solely because he loved the amusement park? …It couldn’t possibly be just that reason they chose to live here, right?

Huh??? So the sheer extravagance of three entire rooms filled with Legos and figurines was just a tiny slice of his future life of spoiled privilege? And choosing to live in a fairy-tale world just so he could visit the theme park anytime…? It’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance. Fu Siting hadn’t felt that initial panic and suffocation from receiving too much in days.

But right now, his heart felt like it might stop again. How could a twenty-eight-year-old man be so unabashedly, so shamelessly… spoiled?… Ever since he’d worn that studded, ripped punk-style big cat outfit out in public last time, Fu Siting had resigned himself to the fact that “twenty-eight-year-old Fu Siting probably has very particular taste in clothes.”

Fortunately, the outfit Li Fei picked for him this time wasn’t quite as outrageous. In the mirror, the only eye-catching element was the bright yellow of his denim-style one-shoulder overalls. Beyond that, he wore nothing more than a simple white T-shirt underneath and a pair of plain black-rimmed glasses, presumably to add a touch of style. One thoughtful detail was the watch Li Fei had paired with the outfit.

28-year-old Fu Siting’s wardrobe contained many expensive-looking mechanical watches. Yet today, his wrist held an inexpensive-looking Donald Duck sports watch. Li Fei wore a Mickey Mouse one too. His style today resembled his last outing at first glance: a black T-shirt, a denim bag slung over his shoulder, and baggy jeans that elongated his legs.The only standout piece was his narrow, futuristic-looking aviator-style frames. Fu Siting couldn’t help but glance at them several times.

“What? Is it weird?”

“No, it’s just… different from usual.”

Li Fei made his acting debut at age five because his father was a director.In a way, he was someone audiences had watched grow up. Though he’d played many roles, he’d always appeared at events since age five meticulously dressed in a small suit. Later on, even though his characters ranged from athletic youths to high school leads to Republican-era gentlemen, his public appearances were invariably in suits and formalwear, and his advertisements often featured him in tuxedos. This left a lasting impression of him as consistently serious and proper.

Even his pajamas fit the stereotypical “Li Fei-style” aesthetic. He doesn’t seem to own ordinary cotton loungewear or cute animal onesies. So far, his sleepwear has been exclusively mature, sexy, long-sleeved nightgowns with ties. His slippers, however, are adorably cat-themed.

It wasn’t until their last shopping trip that Fu Siting first saw Li Fei in casual wear beyond his “handsome” or “sexy” styles. Surprisingly… it was ordinary, youthful, and vibrant, like a college guy.

But Li Fei looked like a clothes hanger no matter what he wore. Even plain clothes looked handsome and cute on him.

“…”

Fu Siting stared at him for a long moment before suddenly snapping out of it: “Wait… are those… couple outfits?”

He really had been staring for ages before suddenly realizing that Li Fei’s jeans and his own yellow overalls were actually the same style. Li Fei had just discreetly removed the suspenders, making them look like ordinary pants. His black T-shirt was more subdued than Fu Siting’s white one, but upon closer inspection, they were clearly matching. The watches were also a couple’s set. Li Fei smiled. He’d tried hard to conceal the two very low-key matching outfits, yet Fu Siting had still spotted them.

“What? Don’t want to go out wearing couple’s outfits with me?”

“…”

“I do.”

…

In the height of summer in Florida, the morning sun was already scorching. Upon entering the amusement park, Li Fei promptly pulled a large black umbrella from his denim bag and pulled Fu Siting under its shade. A foreigner looked baffled: “Hey, it’s not raining!” Li Fei couldn’t be bothered to respond. On such a hot day, let whoever wanted to sunbathe do so. But it wouldn’t do for Xiaoting to get sunburned.

Once he was pulled under the canopy, his vision suddenly dimmed. Fu Siting realized that the “flat-lens glasses” Li Fei had given him today were actually photochromic lenses. Under the UV rays, they’d transformed into sunglasses, explaining why the scenery hadn’t been blindingly bright. Fu Siting tried taking them off to see the world again. Too bright! He couldn’t keep his eyes open!

Li Fei had even thought of this detail. What about himself? He hurriedly glanced at Li Fei, who seemed to instantly understand his meaning and pressed lightly on the frame of his own windshield-like glasses. Swish, the lenses instantly darkened to a deep gray, glowing with a faint blue light.

For a moment, he looked like a perfect replica of the futuristic agent he’d once played in a foreign movie—really cool!

Kids are so easy to please. Beneath the sunglasses, Li Fei’s eyes crinkled into a smile. Even a glimpse of technology from twelve years ahead could stir ripples on his usually calm face. He handed over the umbrella: “Fu Xiaoting, hold this for me.” Fu Siting took the umbrella. Li Fei picked up his bag and rummaged through it.

Snap. A fox ear headband was placed on Fu Siting’s head.

“…”

Fu Siting was still dazed when Li Fei put on a pair of black cat ears himself.

“Come on, let’s take a selfie.”

In that selfie, Fu Siting’s expression was anything but natural. After all, he’d never before worn such an exaggeratedly cute accessory on his head so casually. Consequently, his appearance on the screen looked somewhat stiff and embarrassed. Yet despite feeling embarrassed, he seriously considered that the photo would actually make a great phone wallpaper…

At that moment, Fu Siting had no inkling of the madness that would unfold throughout the day. Barely ten minutes later, he was already on the roller coaster.

With zero roller coaster experience, his heart didn’t race as the car slowly climbed the incline. It wasn’t until the sudden drop, the wind howling past his cheeks, that the world abruptly flipped upside down, Sky and earth spun wildly before his eyes. His eyes widened, yet he struggled to make out the rapidly shifting scenery.

He felt a powerful sensation of weightlessness. Screams echoed all around, yet he found himself speechless. All he could see was the entire colorful fairy-tale world upside down and chaotic in his vision, the blue sky instantly becoming the earth, and the earth instantly hurtling toward the blue sky.

“Scared?” Li Fei asked him afterward, as he sat there looking dazed and lost in thought.

“…”

“Not scared.”

“Not scared. It was so much fun!!!”

Fu Siting couldn’t quite pinpoint what was so fun about it, but it was fun. His heart pounding, he eagerly boarded the jungle roller coaster next. Before he could recover from the rush of speeding through dense rainforests and bizarre structures, he was already on a boat, navigating indoor and outdoor rapids, plunging straight down waterfalls.

Next, he boarded a mining cart, careening through scenes of earth-shattering explosions. He swept past piles of dinosaur skeletons buried beneath billowing smoke and boulders, skimming the rugged canyons and riverbeds of the Wild West amid the roars of ancient beasts.

Next, in a haze, he found himself aboard a zero-gravity space coaster in the 5D theater. The surrounding starry sky was dazzling yet illusory. The intense sensation of weightlessness suspended his body in midair, blurring all sense of direction, like a speck of dust lost in the cosmos. A surreal feeling.

***

Author’s Note:

Fu Siting: Dizzy.