Movie Theater
Screening Room
Two young girls sat in the movie theater, one holding popcorn while the other held a popcorn bucket.
However, both girls appeared rather tense, their minds wandering, seeming confused and bewildered. The exciting movie content failed to capture their attention.
"We miscalculated," Zhao Yan thought to herself, her face showing signs of frustration.
Xuan Ying looked even more distressed, her entire being radiating an atmosphere of loss and gloom.
She couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.
For the first time, she had found someone she liked, and it was both girls' first time going to the movies together, accompanied by her lifelong best friend. These three joys overlapped, creating even more layers of happiness.
What should have been a dreamlike moment of happiness had somehow turned into this. Why did it have to be like this!?
"Xuan Ying, the movie's starting," said Zhao Yan, naturally understanding her friend's dejection, as she reached out her delicate hand to pat Xuan Ying's shoulder.
Hearing this, Xuan Ying turned to look at Zhao Yan, forcing a faint smile that appeared rather pale, clearly still in a terrible mood.
As for why things turned out this way?
Because Su Cheng really did just invite them to watch a movie!
He only bought two tickets!
......
Going back to an hour earlier
The three of them were walking together to the movie theater.
Su Cheng walked in the middle, with Zhao Yan on his left and Xuan Ying on his right.
Zhao Yan maintained a perfect distance from him, but Xuan Ying kept accidentally bumping into Su Cheng.
Su Cheng wasn't a fool; he could naturally tell that Xuan Ying might have poor spatial awareness, so he intentionally kept his distance from her.
As for her liking him?
Don't be silly, how could the daughter of a major shipbuilding company be interested in a poor boy from the slums?
Especially after what happened today.
Besides, his interaction with both girls was limited to school, and today they were merely trying to make up for wrongly accusing him before.
He figured that after watching the movie and having dinner, they would be even, and afterward, they'd go their separate ways.
...
"You're so brave to have reported a wanted criminal," Xuan Ying suddenly said beside him, her eyes fixed on Su Cheng as if looking at a rare treasure, sparkling with admiration.
Su Cheng paused upon hearing this.
He turned to look at Xuan Ying, seeing her staring at him with wide eyes, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"Actually, I just happened to pass by and recognized him, then called the police. There wasn't any danger at all."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Ying suddenly clasped her hands behind her back, stepped in front of Su Cheng, and dramatically spread her arms wide, looking at him with complete admiration: "But even so, I think that's already amazing."
She spoke while gazing at him adoringly.
"Uh..."
Hearing this, Su Cheng could only smile awkwardly.
Beside them, Zhao Yan's lips twitched at the sight. She knew Su Cheng preferred to keep a low profile, yet Xuan Ying insisted on praising him to his face. Wasn't this just making him uncomfortable?
This tactic might work very well with other classmates, but with someone like Su Cheng, such an aggressive approach wouldn't work. If anything, it would make him avoid them in the future, which would be counterproductive.
Sure enough,
When Xuan Ying saw Su Cheng fall silent, disappointment and regret immediately showed on her face.
But this didn't defeat her; instead, she changed the subject: "What type of girls do you like?"
At this moment, Xuan Ying tilted her head slightly, leaning forward to her left, revealing her fair collarbone, her beautiful eyes fixed unblinkingly on Su Cheng.
"This... this is the 8-degree magic angle, her cuteness level is now 30% higher than usual."
Zhao Yan was startled, not expecting Xuan Ying to deploy her killer move so directly.
This move, when used on any male, would inevitably cause them to be enchanted by her cute appearance and blurt out the word 'cute.'
Then she would follow up with: "Do you think I'm cute?"
Xuan Ying's move was incredibly powerful, and normally no man could force her to use it.
If Su Cheng were to answer that she was cute, then he would somehow end up naturally confessing to Xuan Ying.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yan looked at Su Cheng with a serious expression, waiting for his response.
"Ahem!"
But to Zhao Yan's surprise, Su Cheng coughed and said: "Mature and gentle."
At these words, Xuan Ying's expression instantly froze, her mouth hanging open in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She stood petrified.
"Mature and gentle."
"Mature and gentle."
"Mature and gentle."
Severely discouraged, Xuan Ying followed behind the two like a wounded puppy.
Su Cheng had just said he didn't like her type.
"We're almost at the movie theater," Zhao Yan reminded them.
But for some reason, she unconsciously pushed out her full chest, instantly displaying mature charm.
However, Su Cheng paid no attention to either of them, instead lowering his head in silence.
Because for a moment, he had almost changed his partner preferences, which terrified him.
This was a matter of principle; he had almost blurted out the word 'cute.'
How could he not be shocked?
After swallowing the bitter, bloody, salty taste from biting his tongue, he took a deep breath to calm himself down a bit.
"It seems I need to stay away from people with higher charm than me in the future," Su Cheng secretly resolved.
Just now, Xuan Ying had only teased him as a classmate, and he had nearly couldn't handle it.
Thus, the three arrived at the movie theater, each lost in their own thoughts. They attracted many glances along the way, after all, one man with two women, both being rarely beautiful young ladies, was quite a sight to behold.
Some men looked at Su Cheng with envy, clearly wishing they could take his place, typical cases of jealousy causing their plasmolysis.
This feeling of being the center of attention made Su Cheng very uncomfortable, giving him an indescribable sensation.
But both girls seemed used to it, showing no discomfort at all, and their gazes would occasionally sweep over him.
Fortunately, no cliché scenarios occurred.
Like hooligans trying to hit on them...
Someone getting their bag stolen...
Or the girls' pursuers suddenly appearing and using him as a shield...
Indeed, such things only exist in novels.
This made Su Cheng sigh inwardly.
After arriving at the theater and selecting the movie, they headed to the living area.
Because they needed to wait an hour before the movie started.
This was the largest movie theater in all of Flame City, offering not just movie screenings but also various value-added services for customers to choose from, such as coffee shops, bars, lounges, dessert stations, and both Chinese and Western restaurants, plus 100% Dolby Atmos coverage throughout the theater.
In short, it was a very high-end establishment.
"Very good, worthy of the man I've set my sights on."
Xuan Ying looked at Su Cheng's back, having regained her spirits.
As a quality girl,
She was confident she could change Su Cheng's preferred type.
If necessary, she could become more mature.
Besides, the main event was coming up, and she couldn't mess it up again.
During dinner later, she might find an opportunity, and even during the movie, she could pretend to fall asleep and rest her head on Su Cheng's shoulder, secretly absorbing his energy without anyone noticing.
Thinking of this, Xuan Ying's eyes filled with cunning, as if she could already see herself leaning against him. Her cheeks reddened, and she pressed her hands against her burning face.
Seeing this, Zhao Yan shook her head, thinking to herself: "Her scheming is written all over her face."
Su Cheng noticed Xuan Ying standing there in a daze and curiously turned to ask her: "What's wrong?"
"No... nothing, you go buy the tickets, make sure we're sitting together! We'll wait for you at the restaurant on the third floor!"
Xuan Ying quickly hid her infatuated expression and tried to appear calm as she looked at Su Cheng.
"We'll choose the seats first and send you the locations later."
"Alright, no problem."
Su Cheng nodded, then nodded to Zhao Yan as well before turning toward the ticket counter.
"Wow, so expensive," he exclaimed upon seeing the prices at the ticket counter.
Regular seats: 300
VIP seats: 599
This price could make ordinary wage earners flinch, let alone Su Cheng.
"Please give me two VIP adjacent seats for this one."
Su Cheng pointed to one of the posters and said to the ticket seller.
Since this was meant to show gratitude, naturally he wanted the best, and since both girls were from wealthy families, he naturally wanted to give them the finest service.
But why only buy two tickets?
Because he wasn't narcissistic enough to think the two girls wanted to watch the movie with him.
So he didn't want to put himself in an awkward position.
They just didn't want him to feel burdened, so he had to be tactful.
If they ran into people they knew, their reputation might suffer because of him.
"Thank you."
After paying and receiving the seat cards, Su Cheng thanked the clerk and prepared to find Zhao Yan and Xuan Ying.
In the elevator,
He took out his phone and started searching for "Western dining etiquette."
Because there was a Western restaurant in the leisure area.
He had never eaten there before.
So he needed to be fully prepared to avoid embarrassing the two girls.
But if he were eating alone, he would definitely do whatever felt comfortable.
Never mind well-done steaks - if it were just for comfort, he could even gnaw on a live cow basking in the first rays of morning sunlight.
"Left knife, right fork, no drinking lemon water..."
Su Cheng recited mentally, quickly memorizing it, then went to find the two girls according to Zhao Yan's directions.
Soon after, he found them both sitting on a sofa outside the door touching up their makeup.
"You're here!"
Seeing Su Cheng approach, Zhao Yan quickly stood up.
As she spoke, she pointed her slender, fair finger at the empty seat beside her.
Su Cheng froze, while Xuan Ying excitedly grabbed his arm and pushed him to sit at the inside of the table.
Su Cheng was completely bewildered, not understanding why these girls were being so enthusiastic.
Didn't they know about maintaining proper distance between men and women?
Was she like this with everyone?
Fortunately, this wasn't the Western restaurant.
"I want to sit here."
Xuan Ying said as she sat down across from Su Cheng.
Zhao Yan slightly furrowed her brows, thinking: "Has she changed?"
Because by all accounts, she should have sat on her side.
After hesitating briefly, Zhao Yan quickly adjusted to her confusion and sat down next to Su Cheng.
"You order."
After sitting down, Xuan Ying opened the menu, then stood up and handed it to Su Cheng while bending forward.
The key point was that she didn't cover her chest!
"This is too bold!"
Zhao Yan was incredibly shocked seeing this from the side.
So that was it - Xuan Ying had abandoned her cute strategy and instead chose to scheme against Su Cheng!
If Su Cheng were to stare at Xuan Ying's chest, she could quickly cover herself and say: "What are you looking at?"
Then pretend to cry and say something like: "How will I ever get married now!"
Finally, Su Cheng would have no choice but to comfort her and apologize.
Xuan Ying's move was truly brilliant!
She had no idea where Xuan Ying learned such tactics.
Did she look it up online when she went to the bathroom earlier?
It was not only ingenious but practical - truly a divine technique.
"Will Su Cheng fall for it?"
Thinking this, Zhao Yan turned to look at Su Cheng, wanting to see his expression and if he had taken the bait.
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
Su Cheng's gaze wasn't on Xuan Ying at all, but rather fixed on the menu, his pupils slightly widened in surprise.
Clearly, he was shocked by what he saw on the menu.
"So expensive..."
The poor Su Cheng inhaled sharply looking at these prices.
He unconsciously took the menu and began browsing through it intently, turning page after page.
The prices on the menu made him feel dizzy.
Seeing that Su Cheng hadn't glanced at her body at all, Xuan Ying felt both relieved and somewhat disappointed, thinking to herself: "Indeed, this man is truly different."
She had just found this strategy online, seeing how others had used this method to secure their happiness.
The internet said that to catch happiness, one must have tactics.
Good girls without strategies could only watch helplessly as bad girls stole away the men they liked!
So she decided that from now on, she would be like those sisters online and take initiative!
Finally, she gritted her teeth and decided to try this method, after all, she wanted her own love story too.
"Uh... I'm not picky... you order."
After looking through the entire menu, Su Cheng handed it back to the seated Xuan Ying with an embarrassed expression.
Even the cheapest vegetable dish was over a hundred yuan.
Although they were treating him, Su Cheng felt immense pressure and didn't know how to react.
He decided in his heart that he would never go out with rich kids again.
"Then let me order."
Zhao Yan noticed the embarrassment in Su Cheng's eyes and took the menu from his hands with a smile.
"This side of Su Cheng is quite cute."
Xuan Ying sat to the side, secretly observing and admiring.
"What about you?"
After marking several items, Zhao Yan passed the menu to Xuan Ying, giving her the choice.
"Hmm..."
Xuan Ying took the menu and ordered three drinks: coconut juice, milk, and orange juice.
Could this be another strategy?
Zhao Yan wondered.
Soon, all the dishes and drinks were served, arranged neatly on the table.
Perhaps considering his feelings, Zhao Yan had ordered simple home-style dishes rather than anything extravagant.
"What defines maturity and gentleness? This is it!"
Su Cheng secretly admired Zhao Yan's thoughtfulness.
Beside him, Zhao Yan noticed Su Cheng's subtle glance, and inwardly smiled, a slight curve appearing at the corner of her mouth, but she quickly concealed it.