"You were great today."

"Thank you for the compliment, Uncle."

He pinched Elena's cheek. "Still calling me Uncle?"

"...Arthur."

"Good girl."

That evening, Arthur took her out for a nice meal as a celebration.

"Elena, let me ask you something." He put a piece of fish on her plate.

"Yes?"

"You said before that once the three wishes were fulfilled, I wouldn't be so tired."

Arthur looked at her. "Do you remember?"

Elena paused, then nodded.

"Back then, you felt you were a burden to me."

"Yes."

"And now?"

Elena set down her chopsticks and looked at him seriously.

"Now I know that it's not that I'm a burden to you; it's that you need me."

He smiled.

"Yes, I need you."

That night back at the apartment, Elena opened the forum and saw Arthur's post had updated again.

[She helped me with a huge task at work today. She has truly grown up; she's no longer the child that needs my protection.]

[Actually, she was never a child; it was me who kept treating her like one.]

[But today, she is my partner.]

She stared at the word "partner," feeling a warmth in her heart.

Her phone chimed—a message from Arthur.

[Tomorrow is the weekend, I'm taking you somewhere.]

[Where to now?]

[The amusement park.]

[Didn't we go there last time?]

[That time you thought I didn't want you anymore. This time is different.]

This time—you truly belong to me.

The Ferris wheel and the carousel were still in the same old spots, and the colored lights were brighter than they had been four years ago.

Saturday afternoon, there weren't many tourists, and the sun was lovely.

Arthur bought two tickets and led Elena to the carousel.

The last time they were here was four years ago.

Arthur had stood by the black horse in his suit watching her, while she sat on a wooden horse secretly watching Arthur, her heart filled with the panic of "he doesn't want me anymore."

This time, they got on together.

"Do you want to sit on the outside or the inside?" he asked.

"Inside."

Arthur sat on the white horse next to Elena, looking sideways at her with a smile.

The music started, and the carousel began to spin.

The colored lights weren't as obvious under the sunlight, but they were still beautiful.

Round and round, up and down.

Elena turned to look at him, and Arthur was looking at her, too.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"Looking at how handsome you are."

"You're copying me."

He laughed and reached out to hold Elena's hand.

Nearby, a few children saw them holding hands and giggled.

Elena didn't let go, and neither did he.

The carousel stopped, and Arthur helped her down, kneeling to tie her shoelaces—

They had come undone, and she hadn't even noticed.

"You're always able to notice the things I don't see," Elena said.

"Because you're always looking ahead, not at your feet." He stood up. "Come on, let's go ride the Ferris wheel."

Chapter 27

The Ferris wheel was deep inside the amusement park, very high up, and from the top, one could see the entire city.

They sat in the cabin as the door closed, and it slowly began to rise.

"Arthur, are you afraid of heights?"

"No."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

He thought for a moment. "I'm afraid of you crying."

Elena smiled.

When the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, Arthur suddenly stood up and walked over to her.

"Do you know? There is a sentence written in your diary."

Elena’s heartbeat skipped a beat.

Arthur squatted down to be at eye level with her. "You said, 'People who kiss at the highest point of the Ferris wheel will be together forever.'"

She buried her face in her hands, so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into a crack in the floor.

"Elena, you wanted to kiss me a long time ago?"

"Stop it!"

He laughed out loud, reached out to pull her hands away, and cradled her face.

"Then let's make up for it."

Arthur kissed her.

At the highest point of the Ferris wheel.

The sunlight shone in from the window, bright and warm.

As the Ferris wheel slowly descended, he held Elena, his chin resting on top of her head.

"Elena, let's come here every year, okay?"

"Okay."

"We'll ride the carousel every year, and ride the Ferris wheel every year."

"And kiss every year?"

Arthur looked down at her. "Kiss every year. We can kiss every day."

By the time they left the amusement park, the sky was almost dark.

The two of them went to eat wontons at a roadside stand. The landlady saw Arthur's designer clothes and paused in surprise.

"You... want to sit outside?"

"We'll sit outside." He pulled Elena to sit down. "Two bowls of wontons, one spicy and one not."

While waiting for the wontons, she browsed the forum.

Arthur's post had updated again:

[Took her on the Ferris wheel today. Things she wanted to do in her youth, we didn't get to do until we were twenty-four. A little late, but just right.]

Someone in the comments said: [OP, when exactly are you marrying her? We are waiting for the wedding wine!]

He replied: [Soon.]

Elena looked up at him. He was looking down at his phone with a smile on his lips.

"Did you post again?"

"How did you know?"

"I guessed."

Arthur put his phone away and held her hand.

"Elena, the eighteenth of next month, it's a good day."

"What kind of good day?"

"The day we get married."

The wontons were served, the steam blurring his face.

But Elena could see clearly that he was smiling.

The wedding was set for November 18th, at the oldest church in the city.

It was small, with fewer than a hundred guests invited.

Zhou Jiangjin was the officiant, dressed more flashily than the groom, earning him several glares from Arthur.

Elena wore a white wedding dress, standing at the church entrance.

The dress had been custom-made by Arthur; it was a mermaid style with tiny pearls stitched onto the hem, rustling as she walked.

The bouquet was white lisianthus, the same as the first bunch of flowers Arthur had ever given her.

The door opened, and the sound of the organ began.

Elena walked toward the altar, step by step.

The red carpet wasn't long, but she felt she had been walking for a very long time.

Arthur stood before the altar, wearing a black tuxedo with a red boutonniere pinned to his chest—

It wasn't the one from four years ago, it was new, but the style was exactly the same.

He watched Elena approach, his eyes rimmed with red.

Elena reached him, and he extended his hand.

She placed her hand into Arthur’s palm.

Zhou Jiangjin stood above them and cleared his throat. "Dear guests, today is a good day. Mr. Arthur and Ms. Elena, after twelve years, are finally standing here."

People in the audience laughed and wiped away tears.

"Mr. Arthur," Zhou Jiangjin looked at him. "Are you willing to take Ms. Elena as your wife? Regardless of whether her IQ is eight or eighty in the future, regardless of whether she throws tantrums or breaks things, regardless of whether she wakes you up in the middle of the night because she's hungry—"

"I do." Arthur interrupted him, his voice firm.

The whole room laughed.

"Ms. Elena, are you willing to take Mr. Arthur as your husband? Even when he grows old and bald, and you still have to look at him every day—"

"I do." Elena looked into his eyes, saying each word clearly. "From twelve to twenty-four, my heart has only ever been able to hold you."

Chapter 28

Arthur’s tears finally fell.

He rarely cried, or at least, Elena rarely saw him cry.

The last time was when she walked through the departure gate.

This time, it was when she said "I do."

Exchanging rings.

Arthur’s hands were shaking.

"Why are you shaking?" Elena whispered.

"Afraid you’ll change your mind."

Elena squeezed his hand tight. "I’ll never change my mind in this lifetime."

Zhou Jiangjin shouted, "The groom may now kiss the bride!"

Arthur lifted her veil and leaned down to kiss her.

It was light and soft, as gentle as when Arthur first wiped away her tears twelve years ago.

The organ music played again, and the hall erupted in applause.

After the ceremony, everyone took group photos at the church door. Zhou Jiangjin stood in the very front, smiling even brighter than the groom.

"Arthur, you should thank me," he said, draping an arm over Arthur’s shoulder. "If I hadn't pointed it out to you back then, you'd still be standing here going, 'I'm her uncle, I can't.'"

Arthur slapped his hand away. "Get lost."

"Elena, handle him."

Elena smiled and said, "Zhou Jiangjin, thank you."

Zhou Jiangjin paused for a second, then rubbed his nose. "What are you thanking me for? As long as you two are doing well, that’s better than anything else."