39. Cinema
In the cinema, Ning Chu sat at a round table, staring blankly while clutching a bucket of popcorn.
When did it start? She was getting increasingly used to Wen Yang’s presence, even to the point where her heart would race when he was out of her sight.
Was it when she realized Wen Yang had a protagonist aura that could protect her?
She could clearly sense the danger he posed, but as long as Wen Yang was by her side, she felt an uncontrollable sense of security wash over her, making her body and mind relax.
If this were before, when Wen Yang’s forwardness towards her escalated, she might have considered running away from him, from school, even from the city.
But now? She couldn’t muster up a similar thought.
Feeling the hypnosis spray in her coat pocket, Ning Chu thought she was doing pretty well.
“The movie hasn’t even started, and you’ve already devoured half the popcorn.”
“Then I’ll go buy another bucket.” Ning Chu shoved the half-eaten popcorn towards Wen Yang. “You eat this.”
After buying another bucket, she returned just in time to enter the screening room.
Following Wen Yang, she walked through the ticket check and found her seat based on the number.
“Doesn’t seem like many people are here.”
She mumbled while looking around. Apart from a few staff members, she hadn’t spotted any other guests.
“Is this movie really that bad?”
“I saw good reviews online, but there’s a sci-fi movie showing at the same time, so everyone probably went to see that.”
Ning Chu shot Wen Yang a skeptical glance. “Really?”
“Huh? What else?”
Could this guy be up to something else?
Furrowing her brow, a scene from a book she read suddenly flashed through her mind: the protagonist took Lily to the cinema, and there were hardly any other guests. The protagonist secretly used some tricks to make Lily cry without a sound, and halfway through, she pulled him to the bathroom for a double stall.
That scene felt familiar!
But the supporting female character in the story wasn’t her! Once Wen Yang lost interest in Lily, that plot was already derailed, meaning that scene shouldn’t even exist!
Ning Chu looked around anxiously, still not seeing other guests arriving, and started panicking.
Oh no! Am I Lily’s substitute sacrifice?!
As the lights dimmed in the screening room, the screen began showing commercials.
The staff had already left, leaving only Ning Chu and Wen Yang in the vast dark space.
“……”
Ning Chu was really panicking now, breathing cautiously. She glanced at Wen Yang’s face, then at his flat abdomen.
Hmm, Wen Yang didn’t seem to have any bad intentions.
At that moment, a few more guests entered, easing her nerves a bit.
Just scaring myself~
This was a horror film similar to “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.”
Ning Chu crossed her legs and watched the beautiful female ghost appear on screen. Suddenly, she recalled the one in the school building.
That ghost was pretty well-behaved and hadn’t caused any ruckus so far.
She usually kept a respectful distance from horror films, but this one was big and flashy, grabbing her attention within minutes.
However, as the plot thickened with several burly men exploring the deep mountains, the suspenseful horror atmosphere gradually built up, causing her toes to tense and her body to lean back against the seat, trying to distance herself from the screen.
Wen Yang peeked at Ning Chu; her little face was tense, eyes darting away, yet they still couldn’t resist being drawn to the screen.
She looked scared.
Not wanting to look foolish, he had already watched a pirated version of the movie online during Ning Chu’s lunch break, just to avoid being the one scared instead of her.
Wen Yang swallowed hard, as all kinds of little thoughts threatened to overflow.
He stealthily lifted the armrest between them, carefully leaning closer to Ning Chu, reaching out to wrap his arm around her waist.
Then Ning Chu looked down and noticed his little move.
His outstretched arm froze mid-air; Wen Yang decided to just go for it… and his arm found itself being wrapped tightly by Ning Chu.
Not too bad?
Though he couldn’t hold her waist, being wrapped up still allowed him to feel Ning Chu’s soft and beautiful form.
He involuntarily let his imagination run wild until a sharp pain suddenly made him sit up straight.
“Ow! Why are you pinching me?”
Ning Chu answered expressionlessly, “I got scared.”
“……”
She glanced at Wen Yang, unable to see his expression in the screen’s dim light.
So she viciously squeezed his arm and lightly twisted it.
His arm tightened painfully, the contours bulging out as muscles became slightly visible.
How dare you have ulterior motives about me!
“Seriously, you scared me.”
Ning Chu continued calmly.
If this happened a few more times, and she really got pulled into the plot as Lily, Wen Yang would probably be too sore to think of any romantic ideas.
“I’m so scared.”
“Ow!”
Wen Yang hastily pulled his arm out from Ning Chu’s hold.
While he admitted her embrace was soft, the pain was sharper.
“Humph!”
He clearly heard the disdainful snort from Ning Chu.
This wasn’t what he imagined…
Wasn’t Ning Chu supposed to be trembling and frightened by the movie, so that he could just hold her tightly while she clumsily tried to hide in his embrace?
He rubbed his now sore arm, sitting up straight and continuing to watch the movie.
In the film, a few men who entered the mountains at night found a ruined temple to rest. The cold wind howled as their woozy voices echoed, and shadows of ghosts silently appeared in the dilapidated temple.
The men didn’t seem to notice anything unusual; thinking the female ghost was just another traveler, they laughed and chatted with her, creating an ambiguous atmosphere.
Ning Chu sensed something was off.
This movie was pushing boundaries a bit…
What was supposed to be a horror film had certainly delivered a spooky atmosphere in the first half hour, but now it seemed to be heading towards an action movie direction?
Sure enough, the next scenes showed the female ghost on maternity leave for the bold viewers.
Though it didn’t push the boundaries like an action film, and there were no nudity or real combat scenes, the soft sighs of the female ghost were still rife with suggestiveness.
Ning Chu frowned, ever since that little stretch mark appeared on her belly, seeing scenes like this made her imagination run wild.
Choosing to look down and avoid the screen, the sounds still echoed in her ears.
Her mind was filled with all sorts of yellow fantasies, her body heated up, and her nose caught a whiff of a familiar and tempting scent again.
A hand landed on her thigh, the rough heat of the palm making her body feel even softer.
“Don’t touch me~”
She said, a touch more sultry than usual, pushing that hand away and glaring at Wen Yang.
Hearing her tone of mixed rejection, seeing her flirty expression, Wen Yang thought she was intentionally teasing him.
Feeling fully charged, little Wen Yang perked right up.
Watching the transformation from flat to eye-catching, Ning Chu jolted awake all of a sudden.
Oh no! Didn’t you just release that pent-up energy this morning?!
And now accusing the innocent guy, huh?!
——————
Feeling a bit off tonight; depending on the situation, I may or may not add more later.
