After finishing their meal, Cheng Yao was ready to check off the part of the carnival she’d been most looking forward to—the Ferris wheel over the sea!
The main promotional highlight of this carnival was this seaside Ferris wheel, featuring fully transparent, 360-degree panoramic gondolas that offered a bird’s-eye view of the entire City B coastline.
This signature attraction was indeed extremely popular, with a line so long it was practically a sea of people. Cheng Yao pulled Qian Heng to the back of the queue.
“You actually like this kind of ride?” Qian Heng looked at the long line, his face full of bewildered incomprehension. “Waiting this long in line just to ride up and spin around pointlessly before coming back down? Sure, it’s not as expensive as me, but you’re a lawyer—is your time really worth so little?”
“But people’s lives are full of moments that are just… spent doing nothing in particular.” Cheng Yao said, a bit indignant. “Who can guarantee they’re earning money every single minute? Besides, life is full of happy moments that come precisely from these idle, purposeless times. If not, think back over just this past week—what’s the moment that’s stuck with you the most? Was it really some moment when you were working and making money?”
Faced with this question, Qian Heng found himself pausing for a moment. He instinctively thought back seriously, and realized that the most memorable moment of this past week for him really wasn’t any work-related moment at all.
Instead, it was… it was a few small, seemingly meaningless fragments.
The moment Cheng Yao’s eyes lit up looking at the giant Pikachu, the moment her expression turned furious over being harassed by Tang Bing, the moment she’d been teary-eyed with gratitude toward him, and right now, this moment, with Cheng Yao’s round, dark eyes staring intently at him…
Qian Heng looked at Cheng Yao as if he’d seen a ghost, thinking maybe the sea breeze had scrambled his brain.
Cheng Yao, completely oblivious, glanced at the line ahead: “Oh, oh, almost our turn!”
Cheng Yao practically dove into the fully transparent Ferris wheel gondola the moment it was their turn. Though Qian Heng looked thoroughly unwilling, he ultimately followed, bringing his giant Pikachu along into the gondola.
As the Ferris wheel slowly ascended, Cheng Yao pressed nearly her entire body against the transparent gondola walls. This was her first time seeing the ocean from this kind of vantage point, and her joy was completely unrestrained.
She looked outside, then looked at Qian Heng, quite excited: “Actually, this is my first time riding a Ferris wheel!”
Never even ridden a Ferris wheel before—Qian Heng found himself feeling somewhat sympathetic toward Cheng Yao: “What did you do before starting work? Never even been to an amusement park?”
“I was busy studying hard.” Cheng Yao smiled. “You know about my sister Cheng Xi—her grades were always excellent. I wasn’t as smart as her, always scoring somewhere in the middle. My parents habitually used her as the benchmark, so they thought my grades were pretty poor. Until I could match my sister’s level, I wasn’t allowed to go out and have fun.”
Though Cheng Yao spoke about this lightly, without any complaint toward her parents or her sister in her tone, Qian Heng couldn’t help but sense that she must have suffered through some difficult times back then.
Having a sister who was always more accomplished than her, parents who unconsciously kept comparing the two of them—Cheng Yao’s adolescence probably hadn’t been particularly carefree or joyful.
Thinking about this, it suddenly made sense why Cheng Yao got so excited over even a modest carnival like this one.
“Next firm team-building trip, let’s go to Osaka.”
Caught off guard by this sudden change of subject, Cheng Yao looked puzzled: “Huh?”
Qian Heng pressed his lips together, looking away toward the sea view outside the transparent gondola: “Osaka has Universal Studios.”
“Hm?”
“Universal Studios is more fun than this carnival.” Qian Heng paused, then added, “Much more fun.”
The moment Cheng Yao heard about Universal Studios being even more fun than the carnival, her eyes lit up: “Really?! Next team-building trip! I heard from Bao Rui that team-building happens every May, but I missed it this year since I started after that, so does that mean I have to wait until next year?”
Qian Heng covered his mouth with his hand, coughing: “Revenue’s been quite good this year, we’re considering adding another team-building trip.”
If they hadn’t been in the Ferris wheel, Cheng Yao would have practically jumped for joy. What kind of miraculous law firm was this?! Getting two team-building trips a year just because revenue was good! And going abroad too!
But then Cheng Yao remembered something: “But boss, Osaka Universal Studios—when you say it’s fun, is that because you’ve already been there? If you’ve already gone, wouldn’t a team trip there be a bit boring for you? Maybe we should pick somewhere else instead?” Cheng Yao looked a bit embarrassed. “You don’t need to do this just because I haven’t seen much of the world.”
“You’re overthinking this.” Qian Heng continued looking out at the sea view through the transparent gondola, his expression calm and indifferent. “It’s because Bao Rui’s been asking to go for years now.”
Hearing this, Cheng Yao felt reassured. As the son of the richest man, Qian Heng had probably started traveling abroad while others were still doing domestic sightseeing as kids. It was hardly surprising that he’d already been to Universal Studios in Osaka—it would have been more surprising if there were somewhere he hadn’t been. But even though he’d already been there, since senior staff member Bao Rui hadn’t, Cheng Yao found it perfectly reasonable that they’d decide to go to Osaka Universal Studios. After all, Bao Rui held the status of Grand Protector in the Five Poisons Sect!
Although Qian Heng had only said he was considering adding another team-building trip, Cheng Yao was already excitedly chattering away about all sorts of things—was Japan really super clean, did everyone really follow orderly queues for everything, were Japanese wagashi sweets especially delicious, were there tons of Michelin restaurants in Japan, which sightseeing spots in Japan were especially fun, were the deer in Nara especially cute, was Japanese host club service really expensive…
Cheng Yao fired off question after question, until Qian Heng’s brow was furrowed from the barrage.
“Cheng Yao, one more question and I’m docking your pay.” Qian Heng glanced coldly at Cheng Yao, signaling her to be quiet.
Cheng Yao wisely shut her mouth. But as her initial excitement gradually calmed, she looked out through the transparent gondola and only then noticed that the Ferris wheel had already risen to mid-air. It was also at this point that Cheng Yao began to feel a wave of dizziness…
As the transparent gondola rose higher and higher, Cheng Yao’s nauseous, dizzy sensation grew increasingly pronounced. The fully transparent glass panels, while offering an unobstructed view of the ocean, also made the sensation of being high in the air much more direct and overwhelming.
Cheng Yao had lived in high-rise apartments before, but she’d never deliberately stood by the window looking down, so she’d never realized that facing such height directly would trigger this kind of intense reaction in her.
Before joyfully boarding this Ferris wheel, Cheng Yao had never expected that she was afraid of heights.
But there was nothing to be done about it now—once you’re up, you’re up, and there was no way but to wait for the wheel to complete a full rotation before getting back down.
Cheng Yao, who had never ridden a Ferris wheel before, had always imagined leisurely enjoying the scenery outside the window from within the gondola. But now, every second felt less like enjoyment and more like sheer torment.
Even as she tried hard to distract herself, avoiding looking outside the transparent gondola, avoiding looking down at the buildings that now appeared so small and low, Cheng Yao was still afraid. She instinctively gripped the fabric of her dress tightly, her expression fearful, as if facing some looming disaster.
Every minute and every second inside the Ferris wheel felt unbearably long.
Meanwhile, Qian Heng had just received a call from a client. Since the signal inside the Ferris wheel was poor, he had to stand up and move to Cheng Yao’s side to take the call.
By this point, Cheng Yao had no spare attention left to notice Qian Heng’s movements at all—she was too busy trying to psych herself up mentally. She wanted desperately to close her eyes, but worried it would seem impolite to just shut her eyes while sitting with her boss.
Just as she struggled internally, dizzy and conflicted, Qian Heng’s voice sounded behind her.
“Close your eyes.”
“Huh?”
Qian Heng frowned, glancing at Cheng Yao’s face, which had turned deathly pale, and had no choice but to issue a direct command: “Close them.”
This time, Cheng Yao finally obediently closed her eyes. But the awareness of being high in the air, along with the fear and imagery that had just filled her mind, still lingered, circling in her thoughts.
“When it comes to Japan, people generally choose between two regions—Kanto or Kansai. I personally prefer Kansai, because Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Nara, cities with more traditional Japanese charm, are all in that region.”
“Kyoto is a city I’m particularly fond of—ancient, understated. You don’t necessarily need to visit the popular tourist spots. Even along Kyoto’s streets, there are countless small shrines, and just looking at them from outside carries a certain atmosphere. Of course, you can’t just wander into these small shrines casually either, because many locals hold weddings or ceremonial events there. Barging in without understanding the context would be quite rude.”
Qian Heng’s tone remained as coolly detached as ever while explaining all this, not at all like he was sharing or conversing with someone—more like delivering a methodical educational lecture. Yet somehow, Cheng Yao found his voice remarkably warm.
Just moments ago, he’d dismissed her questions with contempt, and now here he was, explaining everything in such meticulous detail.
“Japan, especially Kyoto, has an enormous number of Michelin-starred restaurants. Most Michelin two or three-star restaurants are extremely popular—many require reservations three months in advance just to get a spot. If you go to Japan, kaiseki cuisine is definitely worth trying, and Kobe beef is also highly praised.”
And because of his continuous explanations, Cheng Yao found herself, quite fittingly, distracted from her earlier struggle with her fear of heights.
“The deer in Nara are quite tame, but the moment you’re carrying deer crackers, they can get pretty aggressive—you need to feed them first before anything else. The best time to visit Nara is during cherry blossom season. When the blossoms are in full bloom, both sides of Kasuga Taisha Shrine are covered in what looks like clouds of pink…”
…
Though her eyes remained closed, and Qian Heng’s explanations weren’t particularly descriptive or flowery, somehow, in his usual concise style, a scene unfolded before Cheng Yao’s mind’s eye—cherry blossoms cascading endlessly across the path ahead. She forgot she was currently high up in the Ferris wheel, her mind completely swept away into a Japanese spring by Qian Heng’s words.
It had to be said, Qian Heng’s memory really was excellent—he’d managed to remember every single one of Cheng Yao’s rambling questions from earlier, and was now answering them one by one, in order.
Just as Qian Heng answered any client’s legal inquiry, he answered Cheng Yao’s trivial questions about Japan with the same smooth, uninterrupted fluency.
Except this fluency suddenly hit a snag on one particular question…
“As for Japanese host clubs…” Qian Heng paused, then Cheng Yao heard his voice rise slightly, accusatory: “Cheng Yao, what kind of inappropriate things do you think about all day?”
“No… no, I don’t,” Cheng Yao quickly explained. “Isn’t it said that a lot of Japanese hosts sell their charm but not their bodies? I was just… just a little curious and wanted to ask… you seem to know everything.”
“How would I know something like that?!” Qian Heng huffed indignantly. “I’m such a person of impeccable character, how would I know anything about host club pricing?”
“I let you drive a Bentley and you’re already going ten times the speed limit? Your mind moves that fast? And host clubs too? What, you’re asking me about pricing because if it’s cheap you want to go try it out?” Qian Heng snorted coldly. “Young lady, don’t let your thoughts run so wild. Think less about these unhealthy things. If I catch you wandering around some red-light district during a Japan team trip, you’re finished.”
“…”
And because of this topic derailment, Qian Heng spent the next ten minutes giving Cheng Yao an extensive lecture on mental health and proper thinking.
“Alright, when we get back, write up a self-reflection statement.”
Finally, the domineering Boss Qian Heng issued this concise directive.
Just as Cheng Yao was silently grumbling to herself, Qian Heng’s cold voice rang out again.
“Open your eyes.”
Cheng Yao opened her eyes and realized that, without her noticing, the Ferris wheel had already returned to the ground—she’d completed a full rotation high in the sky. What she’d expected to be a long, agonizing ordeal with her fear of heights had, because she’d been focused on Qian Heng’s words, passed by unnoticed, bringing her safely and smoothly back to solid ground.
Only now could Cheng Yao finally see the expression on her boss’s face.
Qian Heng pressed his lips together, his handsome brow slightly furrowed, and he too looked over at Cheng Yao.
Because of his profession, he regularly had to handle client consultations and, in court, had to counter opposing counsel’s arguments—essentially conducting legal education and explanation on a constant basis. As a result, outside of work, Qian Heng found any kind of educational, explanatory activity thoroughly tiresome. Anyone forced to do the same thing whether at work or in daily life, regardless of who they were, would inevitably grow weary of it.
Qian Heng himself couldn’t quite understand why he’d spent so long on the Ferris wheel explaining Japan and its attractions to Cheng Yao in such detail. He thought about it and concluded that he must, in fact, want to go to Japan himself.
Right, then, let’s add another team-building trip, and go to Japan.
Having made this pleasant decision, Qian Heng, carrying his giant Pikachu, walked away with an air of composed elegance, leaving Cheng Yao staring after him in stunned silence.