Chapter 67: The Aquarium with You

Before entering the aquarium, Yang Mo didn’t go to the ticket booth. Instead, she directly pulled Chinrin into the line at the main entrance.

She told Chinrin, “I bought presale tickets online, so we can just scan the code and go in.”

“You’ve already gotten so familiar with the internet at a time like this?” Chinrin found this way of doing things rather novel.

Hearing that, Yang Mo puffed out her cheeks indignantly. “I did my homework properly, okay? Buying tickets was a piece of cake!”

After waiting just a short while at the entrance, the two of them successfully entered the aquarium.

The floor near the entrance was covered in white tiles. Inside was an open plaza with an artificial lake in the center. The various exhibition halls were distributed around the lake in a circle. In addition, there was a European-style rest area midway where visitors could enjoy food and buy souvenirs.

The moment Yang Mo came in, her eyes began to sparkle. She walked up to the signboard by the lake and saw that the highlighted attractions were: the Shark Pavilion on the left, the massive Ocean Pavilion straight ahead (which occupied the largest area), and the Polar Pavilion on the right. There were also several smaller halls.

While she was still standing in front of the sign hesitating about which direction to go first, Chinrin asked her:

“You’ve never been here before?”

“Mm, no. I could never find the right time before.”

After saying that, she seemed unable to decide and turned to ask for Chinrin’s opinion.

“Which hall does Chinrin want to see first?”

Chinrin didn’t have any strong preference. She touched her chin and answered:

“How about we start from the left? That way we can circle the lake completely.”

“Mm! Then let’s go! Shark Pavilion first!”

Yang Mo gave Chinrin a bright smile. Before taking a step, she held out one hand and said:

“Give me your hand. We can’t have zero-year-old baby Chinrin getting lost, right?”

“You’re the one who’s always looking around at everything and easily gets lost.”

Even though Chinrin grumbled like that, she still returned a small smile and extended her own hand.

Once again, the palm of a human and the palm of a doll overlapped.

The characteristic warmth of a human hand was transmitted to Chinrin’s body through the contact after so long.

Yang Mo’s expression became even more content. On the way to the Shark Pavilion, she lightly swung their joined arms back and forth as they walked.

According to Yang Mo, the Shark Pavilion was one of the most distinctive halls here.

At the entrance stood an enormous shark mouth. Even before going inside, Chinrin could already feel how unique it was.

Yang Mo also got excited right before they entered.

“Chinrin, want to take a photo together?”

“You’re starting to take pictures from here already?”

Seeing Chinrin’s somewhat reluctant expression, she said:

“Then take one of me, okay? And hold the balloons for now.”

After saying that, she handed everything she was carrying to Chinrin so Chinrin could take her photo.

Following her instructions, Chinrin crouched down and shot from a low angle upward. In the frame, Yang Mo raised both hands and struck a fierce, clawing pose — probably trying to imitate a shark’s menace.

Afterward, the two of them walked together into the shark’s giant mouth.

Inside, the entire hall contained only one huge tank. Under the lighting, the green-tinted water immediately revealed several white dorsal fins.

Normal ones, pointed-snout ones, cone-shaped ones — different species of sharks swam peacefully together in the same tank, which Chinrin found truly unbelievable.

At first the pathway around the edge was designed like a pier, elevated above the water level. But the farther in they went, the lower the path became — eventually below the waterline — allowing them to view the underwater ecosystem through glass walls, with the sharks’ swimming postures displayed even more clearly.

When Chinrin and Yang Mo first reached that section, a nearly two-meter-long fish swam right along the edge of the tank. Its body was covered in spots, and its tail was shaped like a leaf.

Chinrin pointed curiously and asked:

“Is this one a shark too?”

The walking mini-encyclopedia of marine life immediately answered:

“Mm, that’s a leopard shark.”

Not far ahead, sure enough, there was an informational plaque on the wall confirming she was correct.

After they exited that section, they suddenly heard the sound of a child crying.

Following the noise, they saw a preschool-aged boy crying and pointing at a balloon held by a passing visitor, while his parents stood beside him. Nearby, an older girl who seemed to be his sister was trying to comfort him.

Chinrin recalled the scene when they first entered the aquarium — it seemed the staff really had almost run out of balloons by the time they arrived. They had probably already given them all away.

Yang Mo quietly watched the scene and said:

“It feels a little like me and my older sister when we were little. I would cry and make a fuss to Grandma for things I didn’t have. Even though we had only just become sisters back then, she was already comforting me the way a normal big sister would.”

“I’m a bit envious,” Chinrin murmured.

Yang Mo asked: “Because Chinrin doesn’t have any siblings?”

“That would actually be better. If I did have any, the moment we met we’d probably end up trying to kill each other…”

Hearing that, Yang Mo finally remembered what kind of “siblings” Chinrin had. She raised her sleeve to her mouth and let out a couple of soft laughs.

“I see. Sounds like your family relationships aren’t exactly harmonious.”

Chinrin gave a helpless sigh.

That one sentence pretty much sums up my past and present life.

Besides sisters, the only other person who could possibly count as “family”… our relationship probably isn’t very harmonious either.

While she was thinking this, Yang Mo spoke again:

“Chinrin, um…”

Yang Mo’s gaze, which had been fixed on the two children, returned to Chinrin.

Chinrin immediately understood what she meant and nodded.

“Mm, no problem.”

Yang Mo narrowed her eyes and smiled at her. Then the two of them walked over to the children together and handed each of their balloons to them.

The little boy immediately stopped crying. The slightly older girl, who had been holding back earlier, couldn’t hide her delighted surprise when she received hers.

The two children and their parents thanked them repeatedly. After saying goodbye, Yang Mo walked with noticeably lighter, more cheerful steps as she and Chinrin headed toward the Ocean Pavilion.

From the outside, the large building gave an immediate dreamlike impression. The exterior walls had gentle wave-like curves, and the main structure was embraced by an egg-shaped framework of glass and steel.

Several prominent connecting corridors extended from the surrounding buildings into the main structure, but the main entrance was located inside the “egg.”

At first they entered a dimly lit tunnel. Both sides of the path and the central pillars were lined with display cases emitting a soft glow. Inside were colorful corals, equally vivid lionfish, and various species of snapper and seabream.

But as they continued forward, the two realized that what came before had merely been an appetizer. The real highlights of the aquarium were only just beginning.

At an inconspicuous spot to the side, Chinrin and Yang Mo entered from there.

The two of them stood so close to the display cases they were practically pressed against the glass, marveling and exclaiming at the sight inside.