The Returning EX (John and Sophia) novel Chapter 1873

Chapter 1873 Getting Recognized

It was neither a holiday nor a weekend, so the amusement park wasn’t filled with a crowd.

Cindy and Ian did not have to be in line to get tickets at the counter. Ian had bought them all-inclusive passes, so they could go on any ride they wanted, though to be honest, they didn’t need the passes at all; they didn’t have much time to fully utilize the passes, seeing as they came much later in the day.

However, Ian seemed pretty happy. Cindy waited until the couple in front of them had gone into the park before she asked him quietly, “Have you never been to a place like this before?”

Ian chuckled and nodded earnestly. “I really haven’t.”

When he was younger, Leah would bring Simon and Sally out for fun trips, but it went without saying that Ian was never invited. Besides, he had been a proud child back in the day, and he constantly turned his nose up at their behavior.

But at the end of the day, he was still a child, and sometimes he longed to be part of these fun trips. Without Aurora by his side, he had learned to deal with Bryce’s indifference and ignorance toward him, and he knew that there were a lot of things he would miss out on as a result.

Which then prompted him to convince himself that he didn’t need such things, or rather, that he shouldn’t hold out for them to save himself from the disappointment.

Ian had never mentioned any of this, but every time he thought about his childhood, he still felt a twinge of sympathy for his younger self.

There were some memories he needed to convince himself to forget, but there were things like childhood regrets that were burned into him, and he would carry the scars forever.

Presently, there was no crowd in the amusement park, and most of the patrons were family types with young children in tow.

As for couples like Ian and Cindy, they counted merely a few pairs of them.

Cindy wasn’t particularly adventurous, and she would come to a hesitant halt when she took in all the thrilling rides that promised to have one’s heart pumping at full force by the time one was halfway through. She clutched Ian’s hand and headed further into the park.

When she came across a milder game selection, she thought she might like to try them out. But to be frank, she was way past the age of feeling pure and unadulterated excitement, even though she had full liberty to try any ride she wanted.

She and Ian chose two of the entry-level games, and because there wasn’t a crowd around them, he decided to take off his mask and inch closer to her.

As if understanding what he was trying to do, she took off her own mask as well, and the moment Ian took out his phone, they made silly poses and snapped pictures of themselves.

Perhaps he felt like he could do much more than this, so he reached forward to grab Cindy by the chin, then placed a chaste kiss on her lips. As he did so, he deftly snapped a picture of them.

When he was done, Cindy let out a lovesick giggle as she pointed out, “Why do I feel like we’re having an affair with each other?”

He laughed at this. “I mean, if that’s what gives you a thrill, I won’t judge,” he teased.

They planned to game for a short while before leaving, but they had only just gone through several games when someone recognized them, and that someone happened to be a girl who was going around the area with her boyfriend.

The girl was pleasant enough. At first, she had been hesitant, and she wasn’t sure if Ian and Cindy were who she thought they were, which led her to follow Cindy around.

It was only after she was sure of their identities that she ran over and stopped them in their tracks.

Ian and Cindy had their masks on, and they kept turning away from the girl as they tried to escape her pursuit. Ian stayed quiet all this while, but the girl pestered him nonetheless, yelling, “You’re Ian, aren’t you? You must be! Goodness, I’ve already seen through your disguise. You’re Ian! I can’t be wrong about that!”

Cindy was admittedly annoyed at the beginning, but when she saw the girl’s behavior, she couldn’t help but sputter.

Having failed to get a response from Ian, the girl fixed her gaze on Cindy instead and leaned close to her, asking, “You must be Cindy, his girlfriend. See, I recognize you too! You’re Cindy! You’re definitely her!”

It was only through sheer determination that Cindy did not burst out laughing. “Hello.”

The girl was overwhelmed by this brief and insignificant greeting. “I never thought I’d run into both of you here! Are you on a date?”

Cindy cast a perfunctory look at the girl’s boyfriend, who was comparatively calmer and more stoic as he stood there waiting for his girlfriend to be done with her fangirling antics. Instead of answering, Cindy asked, “Are you guys here on a date as well?”

“That’s right!” the girl confirmed excitedly, then turned to beckon her boyfriend over. “Come here! I told you I didn’t have the wrong people! Hurry up and get here right now; you have to meet them!”