The family of four entered the amusement park hand in hand.
They looked happy, harmonious, and enviable.
After making sure that Fabio was secure in Andrew's hand, Ashley turned to Richard and said,
"Richard, you have to keep holding my hand and follow me when we get inside, okay?"
"Okay Mommy," Richard replied.
Schools would be opening the next day. That was probably the reason why there were so many people
in the amusement park today.
Ashley held Richard's hand with one hand and Andrew's with the other.
Josef took out his phone to take a picture of them. He then sent the photo to Johnny.
Since Andrew did not show up at the office today, Johnny was so busy that he did not have a free
second.
Because of this, Johnny strongly felt that he needed a raise.
"Mommy, I want to get on that ride!" As soon as they entered the amusement park, Fabio started
pointing at everything he wanted ride.
Fabio looked at the person whose hand he was holding and realized that it was his father.
Andrew looked in the direction where Fabio pointed.
It was a merry-go-round. It was one of the children's favorite rides in the amusement park. Although
Fabio was more clever than other children, he was still, after all, a child.
It was to be expected that he would like to ride the merry-go-round.
Andrew just took a glance at the ride and then looked away. He said lightly, "It's childish. Do you still
want to ride something so shallow?"
The merry-go-round had always been Fabio's favorite. Ashley used to ride it with him when she took
them to the amusement park before.
When Fabio heard Andrew's response, he felt a little unhappy.
How could it be childish? Why couldn't he be childish?
"Why is it childish?"
Ashley asked. She was standing right next to Andrew, and she heard what Andrew just said.
She rolled her eyes at him and said, "If Fabio wants to go, just let him. It's no big deal. We came here
today to spend quality time with our kids."
Andrew pursed his lips and did not utter another word.
"All right. You sit with Fabio, and I'll sit with Richard."
Ashley urged Andrew to buy the tickets.
Although Andrew was unwilling, he had to buy the tickets as Ashley said.
Andrew went to the back of the line to the ticket counter. Seeing that many people turned to look at
him, he frowned impatiently.
He did not know exactly what annoyed him, but he controlled himself and stayed in line.
When it was Andrew's turn, the staff asked him something and handed him two printed tickets.
Andrew mindlessly took out his card and handed it to the staff. The staff looked at him with wide eyes
and said, "Sir, we don't accept bank cards here."
It was a small business. Customers either used cash or WeChat to pay for things. Bank cards and
credit cards were not accepted here.
Ashley, who was standing behind Andrew, touched her forehead helplessly. Why did she ask Andrew to
buy the tickets?
He had never done such things. He probably had never been to an amusement park before.
Ashley took a step forward and said, "I'm sorry. Let me pay for them. How much are the tickets?"
After paying for them, they came out with two tickets.
"I was being careless. I knew that you didn't bring any cash with you, but I still asked you to buy the
tickets. Next time, I will get them myself. You can stay with the kids and look after them,"
Ashley said as they squeezed through the crowd.
Andrew pursed his lips. He looked like he was about to say something but decided against it.
"I can book the whole place if you want,"
Andrew said after being silent for a long while.
As he said this, he took out his phone to call someone to make the arrangements.
"What did you say?" Ashley was not sure how to feel.
Andrew wrinkled his brows irritably and said, "There are too many people here. It's better to book the
whole place and kick everybody out."
That way, they could have the entire place to themselves. Richard and Fabio could ride anything they
wanted without having to wait in line. Was that not good?
This was what the world should be for Andrew. He did not like to have too much contact with people.
He usually would not come to a jam-packed place like this, but if he had to, he could book the whole
place. He had never been comfortable wading through a sea of people.
Ashley put her hand on her forehead and looked at Andrew. She said, "I don't think that's a good idea.
This is an amusement park. Of course there will be other people in it. It's better that way. If you clear it,
there will only be the four of us left. It won't be fun then."
Ashley knew that Andrew did not like crowds, so it was really big and considerate of him to come here
with them today.
Ashley understood Andrew's sentiments.
She looked at him and wondered if she had forced him to do something he did not want to do.
Andrew did not like being surrounded by so many people. He never appreciated the mixed smells in
places like this. He had always found it unpleasant.
"How about you wait for us outside, maybe in the car?" Ashley suggested.
"No. I'll come with you,"
Andrew decided without hesitation.
He did not want to wait for them outside.
He wanted to be with his family.
In the end, Andrew chose to go around the amusement park with Ashley and the kids. He did not
mention clearing the whole place again.
Ashley stayed close to Andrew and checked on him from time to time to make sure nobody touched
him.
By afternoon, they had spent enough quality time together. Ashley and the kids had a great time in the
amusement park. They played almost all the games and tried out all the rides. The kids were very
happy even though they were sweating all over.
Even Richard, who had always been quiet, could not help smiling. He followed Ashley around
obediently all day.
When they were about to go home, Fabio looked at the haunted house attraction near the exit as they
passed by and tugged on Ashley's sleeve.
"Mommy, we haven't been to that place yet. Why don't we go have a look?"
Fabio looked at his mother curiously.
Ashley was afraid of ghosts.
That was why she always skipped the haunted house whenever she brought the kids to the
amusement park.
However, Fabio wanted to go in and have a look today.
Ashley looked at Andrew. She found him staring at her, too. There was no emotion in his dark eyes.
However, Andrew remembered the last time he went to see a movie with Ashley. It was a horror movie,
and Ashley was afraid to look at the screen the entire time.
She hid behind Andrew's arm for most of the movie like a scared little puppy.
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