CHAPTER 3: Persona Collapse: 3%

◎ Any uglier would just be impolite ◎

Fantasy Amusement Park was founded by the LK Group, with the goal of building a top-tier domestic theme park.

From the planning stage, it had received massive investments. The park spanned a vast area, with luxurious and complete facilities. Since its opening, it had remained a hot attraction, always bustling with visitors.

Qin Yangyang arrived at the park on time and followed the staff inside.

Xiao Bai truly hadn’t expected her to return. After being hired as entertainment for a rich lady’s party the night before, and now seeing her working as a part-timer with the guests… it felt awkward.

Thinking about Qin Yangyang’s special status, Xiao Bai figured she probably had no experience with this kind of work. She was just about to explain everything when—

Qin Yangyang smoothly checked in, picked up her employee badge, and asked for task details like a total pro.

She was way too good at this. Not like some pampered rich wife—more like someone who had done this a hundred times before.

The team lead handed her a frog princess mascot costume and gave her some instructions:

“Today the park is hosting an event. There’ll be a lot of kids, so your job is to stay at the children’s zone entrance and play rock-paper-scissors with them. The prize is this.”

As she spoke, she pulled out two large boxes of frog-shaped lanterns from the cabinet.

“These all need to be handed out today.”

As soon as the team leader left, Xiaobai frowned and muttered, “This costume is the least popular out of all the mascot outfits. Kids don’t even want to go near it, let alone play games.”

Qin Yangyang looked at herself in the mirror and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s definitely ugly.”

Who even designed this thing? A dark green plush jacket over a big, bright white belly—round and chubby all over.

It was clearly supposed to be a frog, yet someone insisted on turning it into a princess—stacking on random elements like a puffy princess dress and a crown. The result looked less like a fairytale heroine and more like the evil villain in disguise.

She’d worn plenty of mascot costumes before, but never one this hideous.

“Do you want me to talk to the team leader for you and see if you can change into another one?” Xiaobai asked worriedly.

He’d seen Qin Yangyang call the LK Group’s CEO “husband” with his own eyes yesterday, and since Dreamland Park was owned by LK, she was basically on an undercover royal inspection in his mind.

“No need.”

She changed into the costume quickly—it had devastating power.

Then, hugging a bunch of prize lanterns, she stood at the entrance to the kids’ zone and locked eyes on a little girl with pigtails.

Qin Yangyang pounced.

“Hey there, kiddo! Wanna play a game? There’s a prize if you win!”

The little girl was happily eating her ice cream when a giant green frog suddenly popped up in front of her. Her smile instantly vanished, and she turned to run in terror.

“Moooom!”

She dropped her ice cream, threw herself into her mother’s arms, and burst into loud sobs on the spot.

Qin “Frog Mascot” Yangyang: ……

Was she really that scary?

The little girl was quickly carried off by her mother.

A failed first attempt. Qin Yangyang hoisted the frog lanterns again and walked toward a little boy.

But before she even got close, he took one look at her, turned beet red from fright, and ran off crying.

In just thirty minutes on the job, Qin Yangyang had successfully scared three kids to tears.

Word spread fast in the park.

“There’s a creepy frog over there—scared my kid half to death.”

“Did you hear? A toad escaped from somewhere!”

“What? There’s a toad spirit snatching kids?!”

…

The rumors got more and more ridiculous.

By noon, thanks to her efforts alone, visitor numbers in the children’s area had been cut in half. In fact, a three-meter-wide buffer zone had formed around her—no one dared come near.

When lunch break finally rolled around, Qin Yangyang returned to the staff lounge carrying two boxes of untouched prize lanterns.

Not a single one handed out.

She stood in front of the mirror, examining the hideous costume she had on.

She didn’t blame the kids for being scared.

If a frog princess this ugly suddenly appeared in front of her, she’d be terrified too—and she was an adult.

If this kept up, the other half of the park’s kids would vanish too.

What made it worse was that Qin Yangyang had studied design in her previous life. Every time she looked at this costume, her temple twitched from frustration.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Grabbing the costume, she stormed off to find the team leader.

“Can I alter this mascot outfit a bit?”

The team leader nodded without hesitation.

“Go ahead. Do whatever you want.”

This frog princess costume had been a bonus item when the park first opened and bought other equipment. It was so ugly that it scared kids every time it was used. They’d shelved it long ago.

If they hadn’t been short on props for this event, she wouldn’t have dug the thing out of storage.

She’d already decided to throw it away once the event ended. If Qin Yangyang wanted to mess with it, so be it—not like she could make it worse.

After getting permission, Qin Yangyang finished the lunch she’d brought from the Ji residence, then found a needle, thread, and scissors and got to work.

In her past life, she’d majored in design. But the job market was bad, and her health wasn’t great. She ended up unemployed after graduation and had to rely on freelance gigs—mostly designing small toys and household items.

She’d never done fashion design, but she had experience with mascot costumes. If she hadn’t done a hundred, she’d done at least eighty.

She stripped away the excessive layers—the poofy dress, the ridiculous crown. She redesigned the facial features, softened the harsh, creepy lines, and added rounder, friendlier curves. The overall vibe shifted from “princess nightmare” to “adorable frog next door.”

Round, chubby mascots were perfect for cuteness. Who came up with the idea of turning a frog into a creepy old witch?

With bold scissors and a vision, Qin Yangyang quickly brought a brand-new mascot to life.

——

By 2 p.m., break time was over.

The “toad demon” rumor had spread far and wide, and the children’s area remained eerily quiet.

A few kids stood at the entrance, hand in hand, peeking inside anxiously.

They wanted to ride the merry-go-round, but they were scared.

They’d heard that three kids had been scared to tears that morning and fled.

Tiny heads crowded together at the gate, when suddenly, the leaves in a nearby bush rustled.

They immediately remembered the rumor and turned pale with fear, about to bolt.

Two of the more timid ones even opened their mouths, on the verge of crying.

Rustle…

Swish…

The leaves moved again—and out from the greenery hopped a round, fuzzy creature with a big green lotus leaf on her head.

It was Frog Mom.

Her fluffy white fur looked super soft, and she moved lazily, holding frog-shaped lanterns that blinked with cute, colorful lights as she bounced along.

Adorable.

She stopped, waved at them.

“Hey kids! Want to play a game? You get a prize if you win!”

The children, who had been ready to run, froze mid-step. Their teary eyes widened in surprise as they stared at her closely.

It wasn’t a terrifying toad—it was a round, plump, clean little frog mother!

So cute!

The children’s eyes lit up instantly, and the fear vanished.

Especially when they saw the frog was holding several toy lanterns in her hands, they curiously gathered around.

“Do we get one if we win?”

Qin Yangyang, dressed in her newly modified mascot costume, nodded and deliberately let the child win, handing over the first prize of the day.

Seeing their friend happily walk away with the toy, the rest of the kids grew excited.

“I want one too!”

“Me too!”

Qin Yangyang immediately signaled for the kids to form a line, then turned and stood behind the table. She clapped her hands and began the second round of rock-paper-scissors.

Thanks to the costume redesign, it was no longer scary. In fact, it was absolutely adorable. Coupled with Qin Yangyang’s well-practiced cutesy gestures, she instantly became a hit with the kids.

Even many adults were drawn over, happily joining the line.

In just one hour, the entrance to the children’s area was packed to the brim, with a steady stream of visitors pouring in.

What was a ghost town in the morning had become a lively hotspot.

“Why are there so many people over there?”

The team leader happened to pass by and was stunned by the crowd. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

She hesitated for a few seconds to confirm that this was indeed the unpopular kids’ zone. Puzzled, she then noticed the long, winding queue not far off. The visitors were lining up in perfect order, watching the front of the line with eager anticipation, cheering every now and then.

“So cute!”

“I’ve never seen a frog look this adorable! And those tiny lanterns are so cute!”

“I heard there was a gross toad spirit here this morning. Why is it a lotus-leaf frog now?”

…

Hearing all the chatter, the team leader walked over curiously and saw a round frog mascot with a lotus leaf on its head standing at the front, playing games with visitors and handing out prizes.

That round little frog looked vaguely familiar… yet not quite.

Suddenly, she remembered that temporary worker who had asked during lunch break if she could redesign the frog princess costume.

Could it be this one?!

What a transformation—from terrifying to adorable!

The previous frog, although dressed like a princess, had been downright creepy. But this new lotus-leaf frog, with its fresh colors and soft design, was explosively cute!

Combined with its clumsy, cartoonish movements, it was cute enough to make anyone’s heart melt.

Just look at how excited the visitors were!

The team leader was stunned.

She never expected that the costume, which was about to be thrown away, could be turned into something this adorable!

“This temp worker is pretty good. If we have any more events, ask her to come again. She looks like she really needs the money,” the team leader said.

Of all the temp workers they’d hired, Qin Yangyang was by far the most hardworking.

She must really be strapped for cash.

Xiao Bai let out a dry laugh, unsure how to respond.

At that moment, the team leader checked the time and added, “Go ask her how long it’ll take to hand out the rest of the prizes. There’s a huge crowd here—I’m worried something might go wrong again.”

As she spoke, she glanced nervously toward the bushes.

Hearing that, Xiao Bai immediately understood.

There had indeed been quite a few incidents in this area recently. If the timing was right, that bully was about to show up.

He quickly walked over and called out to Qin Yangyang, who was in the middle of giving out prizes.

“What bully?”

Qin Yangyang was puzzled.

Xiao Bai explained, “There’s a stray cat that lives in this area. It’s notorious for being a menace and often shows up to attack visitors. Several people have already been scratched.”

“The team leader’s worried that with this many people around, if the cat appears again, it’ll start attacking and someone might get hurt. She wants you to finish handing out prizes and disperse the crowd quickly.”

Just mentioning that cat gave him a headache.

They couldn’t fight it, couldn’t catch it.

The amusement park had even put out a bounty—whoever could catch the cat would get 3,000 yuan—but everyone had been played like a fiddle. No one could do a thing.

There was no other choice but to avoid it.

And right about now was when the cat usually came to sunbathe.

With so many kids and a dense crowd, if that stray suddenly went berserk, someone was bound to get hurt.

Xiao Bai added awkwardly, “Also… the cat looks kind of strange. It’s not exactly… appropriate for the kids’ area.”

Inappropriate?

How inappropriate?

Qin Yangyang was curious now. Just how fierce was this cat that it could stump the entire amusement park?

As she was thinking, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention—a sharp contrast of black and white colors slowly approaching.

Xiao Bai jumped in shock.

“It’s here! It’s coming! Get the visitors out of the way!”

A black-and-white “cow cat” was slowly emerging from the trees, its back hunched slightly, eyes half-lidded, ignoring everything around it. Though just a kitten, it moved with the swagger of a predator descending from the mountains.

The white fur on its face formed a… strange shape.

Qin Yangyang took a closer look.

Damn!

Dick Cat!

She instantly understood why Xiao Bai said it wasn’t suitable for a children’s area.

Inappropriate?

Way too inappropriate.

The Dick Cat walked slowly toward its usual sunbathing spot in the grass, completely unfazed by the bustling crowd, acting like people didn’t exist.

A few children noticed it and cried out in delight.

“A kitty!”

“There’s a kitty!”

Two curious kids even ran over, pointing at the cat with confused looks.

“Mommy, this cat looks really weird…”

One of them reached out to pet it.

Suddenly, Dick Cat’s tail fluffed up like a bottle brush. Its eyes turned fierce in an instant. With claws bared, it lunged straight toward the child blocking its path.

“Not good! Run!”

Xiao Bai shouted in panic.

The previous incidents had all happened the same way—when tourists blocked the cat’s path, they were violently attacked. In the end, they had to apologize and offer compensation.

Looks like they were going to get another complaint this time.

Just as he was thinking that, he suddenly saw a green blur dart past him!