TCOR CH15

Chapter 15：How to still pretend to be cute

Although the film is fifteen minutes in advance admission, and do not have to go too early, but I still arrive at seven o’clock.

After taking the ticket, I have nothing to do, I saw someone playing video games, hanging dolls, so I went over to look.

Once upon a time, during the summer and winter holidays, Bai Qixuan often invited me to his house to play games and watch TV. By his side, I always felt free. Gradually, being by his side became addictive. As long as the thought of him, I feel relaxed, even the mood will be good.

Before the college entrance examination, he knew that I wanted to apply for the school in the city of Jiang, but also with me to think about the future, said that after graduation, we can rent a house together, each work during the day, and eat together at night, nothing to do, but also to plan a short weekend trip, to go hiking, camping.

The plan that Bai Qixuan has drawn up is simply the best life I can imagine – simple, warm and full of love.

It was so close to what I had lost that I was desperate to have it in advance, expecting what had been taken from me to come back to me.

Instead I made a mess of everything.

The crane machine in front of me changed a family, a couple, no matter what the day is like, at this moment they always have no worries, they are happy.

Wanting to freeze this happiness ……

The body was one step ahead of the brain, and when the young couple in front of me looked at me in surprise, I realised that I had raised my mobile phone to someone I didn’t know.

Ah, I …… I’m studying photography, I just thought the picture of you catching dolls was particularly interesting, so I took a picture of it. I was afraid they’d think I was some kind of weird person, so I quickly explained, ‘If you don’t believe me, take a look.

I turned my phone around and showed them the picture I had taken.

The camera went through the doll machine from the side and focused on her face. Under the warm white light, the girl holding the popcorn nervously and expectantly watching the trajectory of the grabbing clip, the boy deftly and confidently pressing the pause button, there were no words or intimate movements, but anyone could see that they were red men and green women, and their love was strong.

‘Wow, nice shot. The girl came over and took out her own mobile phone after just one look, ‘Handsome man, please pass it to me.

I was relieved in my heart and eagerly handed over the photo.

The boy also seemed interested in photography and took the opportunity to chat with me.

‘This technique of yours, taking photos for your girlfriend, she won’t scold you, will she?

‘Huh? I don’t have a girlfriend.

‘That’s too bad.

‘Brother, how do you set the parameters? I’ll learn.’ He took out his phone and asked me to teach him how to take better pictures of people.

We both happened to have the same brand of phone, so I just talked to him about composition techniques and parameter settings.

You set the ratio to 1:1, open the reference line, then set the ISO to 100 …… white balance to 5000 to 6000, depending on the environment ……’.

The boy listened with unusual attentiveness until their film was about to start, then reluctantly said goodbye.

Thanks brother, wish me early to practise this technique with you, not to be scolded by his girlfriend. The boy hugged me and turned to take his girlfriend with him.

You admit you’re bad at this? Didn’t you say I look like it? The girl pouted.

‘Hey, hey, how could I? ……’

Smiling as I watched them enter the theatre, I pulled the picture of them out of the album and deleted it completely from my phone.

If a fish’s home is the sea and a bird’s home is the sky, then the best home for a photo should be someone who can read it.

Zhong Ai!

Bai Qixuan came towards me from a distance, he must have seen the picture of the young couple waving goodbye to me, and asked if I had met anyone I knew.

I don’t know anyone, it’s just that …… asked me to take a picture of them. I left out a few details and summarised the result.

‘Here?’ Bai Qixuan looked around, clearly not understanding the significance of taking a photo in this place.

It’s also true that the best place for a photo is with someone who reads it; in the eyes of someone who doesn’t, it’s just a piece of paper.

It’s probably their anniversary.

As he spoke, the scent of Bai Qixuan’s body drifted over, a very light perfume. The smell of women’s perfume.

It was like the smell of …… having been in a perfume-filled confined space long enough to be coloured.

Ten minutes early, because it is the IMAX screen, I am afraid of dizziness, chose to compare the back row of the double seat.

Double seat is actually a couple seat, no armrests in the middle, two people shoulder to shoulder, feet touching feet, in the couple is a good tool to win feelings, for me and white Qixuan on some …… urgency.

To alleviate this shortness of breath, I took the initiative to find a topic, mentioning that yesterday in the exhibition hall met that beautiful young man and do not allow him to eat macaroons of Mr Liang.

That’s Liang Zai, Liang Huiyun’s son. Bai Qixuan quickly focused on the target.

If I just say Liang Zai, I might not know who it is, but if I add Liang Huiyun, then I know something.

Liang Huiyun is a financial student to cross the point of knowledge, his early years started to do export trade, and later entered the real estate industry, repeated victories, harvested a lot, and now in charge of the Parkway Group’s global industry all over the oil, natural gas, shipping are involved, has long been a personal fortune of more than ten billion US dollars of the super tycoon.

If I remember correctly, Liang Huiyun only married a woman a few years older than himself. He is more than eighty this year, Liang in looking at only the early thirties, is it an old man? However, Mrs Liang fifty who gave birth to a son …… is not also too old?

It is an illegitimate child, born out of wedlock. The child recognises the ancestor, the mother does not. Without waiting for me to ask, Bai Qixuan announced the answer.

Outside reason, inside expectation.

‘Then the one …… called Huanchen next to him is?

‘Pei Huanchen, about five or six years ago, suddenly appeared beside Liang Jae, the public says that his parents were both Liang Jae’s close friends before he was born, and then died in an accident, Liang Jae became his guardian, which is tantamount to adopting him. Speaking of which, Bai Qixuan revealed an ambiguous smile, ‘But everyone says that he is actually a pet that Liang Zai kept.

Suddenly, my mobile phone vibrated, and I took it out to see that it was Shen Wunian sending me a message.

[Is it going well?]

Who is it? Bai Qixuan asked casually beside me.

Oh, spam.

I avoided his gaze like a thief and shoved my phone into my pocket.

I didn’t really know what I was so vain about, though.

Today I was watching a film based on Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, about the conflict between the Greek heroes and the Trojan princes in the final weeks of the Trojan War. At well over three hours long, the story is quite majestic, and if you watch it with all your heart, it should be brilliant.

For the first half hour, however, I was looking for a chance to ‘bite my ear off’ and didn’t watch the film properly. And because I wasn’t watching the film properly, I didn’t know what the film was about, so I couldn’t take the opportunity to explore the plot to ‘bite my ear off’, so I got stuck in a loop.

The mobile phone in my pocket was vibrating, my legs were almost numb, and I didn’t know if Shen Wunian had sent another message.

He should have taught me what to say in a situation like this, I’m really not an enlightened student when it comes to relationships.

The vibration of my phone was like a loud urge for me.

I don’t care!

I clenched my teeth, held my breath and came to Bai Qixuan’s ear, and then everything came to an abrupt end ……

It was clear that the target was close, but I didn’t dare to cross the line, and I didn’t boldly stand up to it as Shen Wunian had taught me.

Brother Bai, I ……’

Bai Qixuan’s entire body froze and his eyes stopped blinking for a split second.

This made me more and more nervous, ‘I’m going to the toilet!

I practically jumped up and stumbled out of the screening room in the dark.

As I rushed into the bathroom to take a deep breath, the man in the mirror was pale and weak, a total stranger at first glance. I closed my eyes tightly, and when I calmed down, I took out my mobile phone and started to reply to Shen Wunian, only to find that he had just sent me a string of duck emoticons.

Duck duck duck, duck duck duck doubt, duck duck confusion, duck duck melancholy ……

At first glance, it was something he had looked for directly in the app, but the fact that someone like him would be looking for emoticons was unexpected enough in itself.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, I put my phone down and leaned against the sink, speechless to the point of laughing out loud.

‘Why are you still pretending to be cute ……’

Although I didn’t want to admit it, my frazzled nerves seemed to relax a lot after being interrupted by Shen Wunian.

After washing my face, I wanted to go back to the screening room, but I didn’t want to leave the washroom until I met Bai Qi Xuan face to face.

The apologetic look on his face had already given me a hunch, so I wasn’t too surprised when he opened his mouth and said that a client was having a drinking party and wanted him to come over.

This client is very important, it’s our big client, I don’t know why he suddenly looked for me today and said he wanted to introduce me to his friends ……’.

I understand, the film can be seen next time, but opportunities like this don’t come along every day. It’s okay Bai, you go ahead.’

Years of training my eyesight to see at such times also played a part, and without Bai Qixuan opening his mouth again, I understandably made the decision for him.

‘You’re really not angry?’

He watched my reaction carefully, as if he could not leave as long as I gave a negative answer.

‘I’ve never been angry with you.

But he also knew I wouldn’t.

By the time I got back to the screening room alone, the content of the film had progressed to the point where it was completely incomprehensible to me.

So I simply gave up trying to understand the plot, took out my mobile phone and resumed what I had just interrupted by the emoticons – to send Shen Wunian a message.

[He left on a temporary matter.]

[Then you’re not alone?]

Shen Wunian came back very quickly, almost as if he was guarding his phone, waiting for me to reply.

[I can’t help it, I’m going back to school after the film.]

[The door to the dormitory is still open this late?]

[The cinema is very close to the school, it’s only a ten-minute walk].

When choosing a cinema, Bai Qixuan let me choose one near the school, saying that he had a car and that it was convenient for him to go anywhere, but not for me.

[The Iliad?]

[Well, have you read it? I went to the toilet and came back and couldn’t read it].

Shen Wunian didn’t get back to me for a long time, so I could only force myself to concentrate on the hit-and-miss film plot until ten minutes later, when Shen Wunian sent another message.

[Want some popcorn?]

Popcorn? I squinted and stared back and forth at the line a few times, asking him where he was.

He sent a photo, I looked at it, is it the ticket hall outside?

[How many lines in how many halls?]

My whole body sat up straight, typing fast: [Why did you come here? Isn’t this place far from your home?]

[I happened to be in the neighbourhood for a social engagement. Do you want me to find my way through the theatres one by one?]

[……]

Feeling that he really would do that, and struggling for a moment, I sent my location as well.

[Hall 5, row 11]

After that, I kept my eyes on the direction of the entrance to the screening room. After two or three minutes of staring, the heavy door of the screening room was slowly pushed open and a tall figure stepped out of the bright outside world and, in a play of light and shadow, crossed the crowd and came straight to my side.

As we looked at each other, the first thing that was pushed over was a large bucket of popcorn, steaming hot, freshly popped, and then in the few seconds that I looked down and froze, Shen Wunian’s voice, accompanied by the sweet aroma of caramel, was also beside me.

‘Whatever you don’t understand, I’ll explain it to you.’