My Strange Tale Love Strategy Simulator

The two walked out from the corner hand in hand. Sunlight streamed onto the main avenue of the amusement park, and gradually, the sounds of people began to fill the air.

Children ran past holding cotton candy, couples huddled together looking at maps on their phones, and cartoon mascots wobbled as they posed for photos with tourists.

Zhang Ying led Li Ziqing through the crowd. To onlookers, he was just a strange boy who was smiling at thin air and talking to himself.

But he did not let go.

The coolness of Li Ziqing's fingertips rested steadily in his palm, and he would gently squeeze it every few steps, as if to make sure that Li Ziqing hadn't let go.

Amusement rides lined both sides of the main road. The golden roof of the carousel reflected the sunlight, the gondolas of the Ferris wheel glided slowly through the air, and the roller coaster track resembled a giant steel snake twisted into a pretzel, coiled in the center of the park.

Screams whistled overhead, followed by the rumbling of wheels rolling over the tracks.

Li Ziqing looked up, her eyes following the roller coaster as it flipped from left to right. Her mouth was slightly open, and her straw hat almost slipped off the back of her head, but she caught it.

She turned to look at Zhang Ying, her eyes sparkling, but her expression was pitiful. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her lips were pressed into a line. She wanted to play everything, but couldn't choose anything.

Zhang Ying chuckled at her expression and patted the back of her hand. "No rush, one at a time."

He took his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the time. 9:15 AM.

There's still plenty of time.

He put his phone back in his pocket, his gaze passing over the spire of the carousel and locking onto the steel track suspended in mid-air.

roller coaster.

Before coming, he watched all the amusement park couples' guide videos and planned out the order from the first stop upon entering to the last stop upon leaving. Now it's time to put his plan into action.

There was a sparse queue at the roller coaster entrance. On a weekday morning, there weren't many people, but the roller coaster was still the most popular attraction in the entire amusement park.

Another car roared past overhead, and screams poured down from the highest point. Li Ziqing subconsciously gripped Zhang Ying's fingers tightly.

When it was their turn, there was only one seat left on the roller coaster.

The staff member was a young man wearing a red vest typical of amusement parks. He glanced at the empty line behind Zhang Ying, then at the only empty seat, and waved to Zhang Ying: "Just one person here, come on up, we'll leave once it's full."

Li Ziqing tugged at Zhang Ying's sleeve, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "How about I float next to you?"

Zhang Ying shook his head: "Since I'm sitting with you, there's no reason for you to float around while I sit here."

He turned to the staff member, speaking politely but clearly: "Excuse me, I don't like having someone next to me on the roller coaster. I'll wait for the next one."

The staff member's smile froze for a moment, then she rolled her eyes and blurted out, "You're being picky about riding a roller coaster, taking up two seats—"

Zhang Ying didn't reply. He took out his phone, turned the screen up to face the staff, and saw the verification records for two electronic tickets, with the ticket number, time, and gate number clearly displayed.

"I bought two tickets. Even if it's not out of personal habit, I paid for two seats, so I should at least have an empty seat next to me."

The staff member's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything more and turned to greet the line behind him. After the roller coaster finished its run, it came to a stop at the platform again, and the safety bars snapped open.

Zhang Ying chose two seats in the front row, walked over and stood next to the seats. He reached out and gently lifted the safety bar of the inner seat, turned to the side, and made an inviting gesture to Li Ziqing.

Li Ziqing didn't sit down immediately. She stood in front of the seat, looked down at the bar he had lifted, then looked up at him. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say thank you, but then felt that saying thank you was too inadequate.

She just smiled, bent down, and sat properly in the seat further inside. Zhang Ying lowered the safety bar for her, and only after hearing it click into place did he turn and sit in his own seat.

The simulator panel popped up.

[Target 1: The Dancer's Ghost Story] [Affection Level: 80%] [Romance Development Bar: 9%]

Zhang Ying glanced down at the newly added "9%" on the panel and his lips curled up slightly.

The plan is in place.

The roller coaster didn't start immediately. The back seats gradually filled up, and the safety bars locked one after another. Just as the platform announcements began playing safety instructions, a sharp cry rang out from the entrance.

A seven or eight-year-old boy was clinging to the turnstile railing, kicking his legs wildly on the ground, and repeatedly shouting, "I want to ride the roller coaster!" His voice was so high-pitched it could pierce the entire platform.

The staff member squatted down next to him, smiling apologetically and repeatedly explaining that children must be accompanied by a parent when riding a roller coaster.

Before he could finish speaking, a woman squeezed through the back of the line, grabbed the child's arm, and started yelling at the staff member.

"What danger could there be for a child riding a roller coaster? What kind of ridiculous rules are these! Let them go right now!"

The staff patiently explained the safety regulations once again. The woman wouldn't listen at all; her gaze swept over the staff member's shoulder, across the already full roller coaster, and then precisely stopped at the empty seat next to Zhang Ying.

She released her son's hand, walked a few steps to Zhang Ying's seat, lowered her voice slightly, as if speaking intimately: "Young man, he's just a kid, he just wants to ride a roller coaster. The seat next to you is empty anyway, let him sit for a bit, it won't bother you."

Zhang Ying didn't look at her. "I bought two tickets, and both seats are mine. Sorry."

The woman's face immediately fell. She put one hand on her hip, pointed the other at Zhang Ying's nose, and raised her voice a full octave higher: "You think you're right to take up two seats by yourself? Even if you bought two tickets, does that mean you can take up two seats? Don't you know the rules? How can you be so selfish at such a young age! There are so many people waiting behind you, and you're taking up two seats by yourself, don't you have any shame?"

People in the back started muttering.

"Hurry up, everyone's waiting." "It's just one seat, please give it up."

Zhang Ying didn't move. He turned his head, winked at Li Ziqing, and gestured with his chin towards the child who was still crying at the turnstile.

Li Ziqing looked into his eyes and blinked. "Isn't this inappropriate?" The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and her eyes curved into two shallow arcs. "—But I like it."

She rose from her seat, her toes barely touching the ground, and floated lightly over the roller coaster, landing in front of the child. She bent down and brought her face close to the child's eyes.

Then she let him see it...

In that instant, the child's pupils dilated, and his mouth opened into a perfect circle. No sound came out. Fear choked his scream in his throat. He seemed to freeze, then sprang up, grabbed his mother's leg, and cried his heart out!

"Something's fishy! Mom—! Something's fishy! I'm not sitting here anymore! I want to go home!!"

The woman was completely bewildered by her son's outburst. She had lingered on the platform for ages, lost face, and even argued with him, only for this little brat to decide not to sit down?

She grabbed the child's arm, slapped his bottom twice, and dragged him toward the exit while cursing. The child's cries echoed from the platform all the way to the stairwell, finally drowned out by the roar of the roller coaster starting up.

Li Ziqing floated back to her seat. She put her hands on the bar, turned to look at Zhang Ying, and looked like a cat that had just stolen a can of fish.

Zhang Ying gave her a thumbs up. Li Ziqing lowered her head shyly, rubbed the tip of her nose with the back of her hand, and smiled.