Chapter 15

Mo Cheng ended up paying for their tickets. When Sun Fang moved as if to pay, Mo Cheng had sternly said, ”You paid last time,” and Sun Fang hadn’t been able to say anything to that.

The waterpark was gigantic, even by Sun Fang’s standards. When they entered it, they were immediately beset by a cacophony of noise. It had it’s own dome, probably because so many people were near-naked here and their skin needed further protection. Sun Fang kept his sunglasses on, though they weren’t quite as much a necessity in here.

After they claimed their beach chairs, Sun Fang pulled his dress off. He was already wearing swim-wear underneath, and he enjoyed the choked-off sound Mo Cheng made at the sight of his bare skin. It stroked his ego nicely.

”Help me with the sunscreen?” Sun Fang asked, holding out a bottle of it in Mo Cheng’s direction.

Mo Cheng’s eyes flickered between Sun Fang’s face and the sunscreen in his hand. After a second’s hesitation, he took the sunscreen and poured some out in his hands. Sun Fang sat down on the beach chair and turned his back to Mo Cheng, leaning forwards so the man would have better reach. It took a minute or so before he felt Mo Cheng’s hands on his skin.

”Alright?” Mo Cheng asked, his hands gentle. He swept them in circles over Sun Fang’s back, carefully spreading out the sunscreen.

Sun Fang hummed. His eyes fluttered close; it almost felt like he was getting a massage. Something he always enjoyed. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Mo Cheng to finish and for the hands to leave his back. Sun Fang exhaled softly and glanced over his shoulder, quirking his lips up, ”Need a hand?”

”I got ready before I left,” Mo Cheng said. He almost sounded regretful about this, his eyebrows furrowed just the slightest bit. Sun Fang chose to take it as a sign that the skinship had not been unwelcome.

”Ah. A shame,” Sun Fang noted.

Mo Cheng cleared his throat and handed over the bottle of sunscreen. Sun Fang mechanically went through the motions of putting the sunscreen on the rest of his body, frowning with concentration as he worked. He was vaguely aware of Mo Cheng sitting down on the beach chair next to him and waiting, but he was more focused on making sure that he wouldn’t get burned. The dome was very powerful (according to the specs on the waterpark’s website, at least) but there was no harm in taking extra precautions.

Finally done, he jumped to his feet. He pulled his sunglasses off, safely storing them in their case, and turned to face Mo Cheng. ”Ready?” Sun Fang asked, grinning.

Mo Cheng nodded and rose to his feet as well.

Together, they walked to the nearest pool and climbed down. Sun Fang took a running leap, his heart shaking with excitement, and plunged into the deep side of the pool. Mo Cheng, meanwhile, climbed down the ladder on the pool’s edge. He swam in Sun Fang’s direction and they met up in the middle of the pool

They spent close to four hours in the waterpark. Of the nine pools the park bragged about, they visited seven of them. In the middle of their adventure, they took a break at the food court to quell their hunger. Sun Fang felt his worries dissipate the more fun he had, and his shoulders eased up, the weight slowly being removed from them. He worried about Mianmian’s upcoming surgery, but also knew that there was no use for that right now.

Worrying right now wouldn’t make a difference.

Sun Fang had to keep his cool. He had to make sure that Mianmian had a safe place to panic at, when the time came. And he also had to force his brain to realize that he couldn’t affect the outcome of the surgery, no matter how much that pained him.

Swimming through sparkling water, jumping off the ledge and plowing deep into it, diving to the bottom and challenging himself to see how long he could go without air—Sun Fang had, without a doubt, an amazing time. Mo Cheng stayed close the entire time, indulging him when Sun Fang wanted to play with the water.

Indulging his childish side reenergized him quite nicely. By the time the date was over and they were walking out of the waterpark, Sun Fang felt so full of energy he wondered if he could run all the way home.

A bad idea, obviously, but the fact that the thought even crossed his mind said something.

He called his butler when he exited the waterpark. It would be at least fifteen minutes until his ride arrived, so he found a bench not far from the park to wait at. Mo Cheng followed him and Sun Fang said, ”You don’t have to wait with me.”

”I don’t mind,” Mo Cheng said. He sat next to him and leaned back on his hands.. Sun Fang eyed the appealing line of his throat and the sharp collarbones peaking out of his shirt. He looked away soon enough though, and scooted back on the bench until he was resting against the backrest. The bench was made of metal, so it wasn’t very comfortable.

After some more time, Sun Fang said, ”I had a lovely time.”

Mo Cheng smiled at him, the expression softening the edges of his eyes and making him seem much more approachable. ”So did I,” the man said and turned to face Sun Fang. ”Want to go on a date again some time?”

Sun Fang smiled. ”Gladly,” he answered and scooted closer. They didn’t kiss, but Sun Fang didn’t mind. Mo Cheng was good-looking (so he was shallow and vain and judged people on the way they looked. At least he was honest about it.), kind and his scent was unfairly calming. Sun Fang didn’t think it would be a hardship to fall in love with him.