Chapter 142 - 131: A Long-Awaited Date (2)

Chapter 142: Chapter 131: A Long-Awaited Date (2)

’And I just took a few sips from it... Is this... is this an indirect kiss?’

Jiang Xueli’s face grew redder and redder. She had a strong feeling it was.

Lin Zhengran handed the drink back to her. "If you can’t finish all these hamburgers, that’s fine. We can just get them to go."

Jiang Xueli stammered as she took the drink, her expression clearly brightening. "Okay..."

She smiled. "But don’t worry, Zhengran. I’m still really hungry. There probably won’t be much left."

With that, in her excitement, she took a few more huge gulps of the drink and started chomping down on a hamburger.

Her appetite was back.

Half an hour later, with Jiang Xueli eating her heart out, there really wasn’t much left.

Only one hamburger and two chicken wraps remained. Of course, her so-called "gorging" wasn’t all her own doing, as Lin Zhengran had eaten nearly half of it.

But the four snack packs and one chicken wrap alone were enough to make Jiang Xueli clutch her stomach, completely stuffed.

"You’ve made my belly so big," she said, clutching her overfull stomach.

After breakfast, the two of them sat at the table and started looking up showtimes for the romance movie.

It turned out there were no morning showings at all, though there was one at 10:30 AM.

Of course, this was basically an unwritten rule. After all, it was rare for a movie theater to suddenly schedule a romance movie as the first showing of the day.

That was because the species known as "couples" was inherently incapable of waking up early.

They would only venture out to shop after they’d had their fill of cuddling in bed. The evening was the peak time for ticket sales.

Jiang Xueli looked at the showtimes on the screen. "Aww, that movie isn’t playing in the morning. What should we do now?"

Don’t be fooled by her question. She had actually known this since last night. Her current act was all a lie. If they had to wait for the 10:30 AM movie, their date would be extended by a significant amount!

Today, it was Scheming Jiang’s time to take the stage.

Who would have thought that Lin Zhengran would say, "If that movie isn’t playing, let’s just watch something else. How about this one? It’s being hailed as the rise of domestic animation."

Having lived two lives didn’t stop Lin Zhengran from enjoying some entertainment from time to time. After all, wasn’t he still a sixteen-year-old boy at heart?

Jiang Xueli actually quite enjoyed those kinds of movies too.

’But... if we watch this one, will we still see the 10:30 AM romance movie?’

She was too embarrassed to ask. She had said it was her treat today, but she only had enough money for one movie.

Besides, Zhengran had been the one to suggest it.

"Okay, that works. Say, Zhengran, have I seen this tagline somewhere before? Am I remembering it wrong? I seem to recall it ’rising’ before."

"Who knows? Anyway, rising a few more times can’t be a bad thing. It shows it’s thriving."

So, the two of them went to the movie theater and bought tickets.

While getting their tickets checked, the young woman at the counter unexpectedly asked, "Excuse me, are you two a couple?"

Jiang Xueli stiffened and looked at Lin Zhengran.

Lin Zhengran nodded.

Only then did Jiang Xueli happily say, "Yes, we’re a couple!"

The ticket taker explained:

"Well, this morning we have a promotion for couples! If you just face each other and touch the tips of your noses, you can get a free bucket of popcorn!"

Jiang Xueli’s heart skipped a beat. "Really? But... but where do we have to do that? Right here?" Though she wanted to do it, she deliberately asked Lin Zhengran:

"Zhengran, don’t you think it would be embarrassing to do that here? But they’re giving away popcorn... It’d be a waste not to get it, right?"

In response, Lin Zhengran just pointed to a sign next to them.

Jiang Xueli looked over and saw that the sign said the promotion started at 10:30 AM... which was exactly when the romance movie was scheduled to start.

The ticket taker also said, "The promotion hasn’t started yet. It begins at 10:30 AM. So if you two are interested, you can come back to see another movie then."

Jiang Xueli’s face fell.

’Then why the heck did you even bring it up?’ she thought. ’It would’ve been better if you said nothing at all. There’s no way I can see the 10:30 AM movie.’

’I don’t have the money for it!’

Lin Zhengran watched Jiang Xueli’s crestfallen expression, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He had an idea.

The ticket taker asked again, "By the way, would you two like to buy any popcorn and drinks?"

Having just eaten their fill, the two of them of course declined.

After the ticket taker tore their ticket stubs, the two of them walked into the theater proper.

But as soon as they reached the door to their screening room, Jiang Xueli remarked from the other side:

"Wow, so this is what the inside of a movie theater looks like! Why does it seem so pitch-black in there?"

Lin Zhengran was baffled. "You’ve never been here before?"

Jiang Xueli shook her head as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Nope. Who would I come with? My parents are always busy, and I usually have to practice my singing, so I don’t have any particularly close friends. There’s just... well, since I met you. What about you, have you been before?"

Lin Zhengran found this ridiculous. ’Has this girl lost her memory or something?’

"Did you forget? I came with you last time. Weren’t you the one who kept going on and on about how you fell asleep?"

"Oh, right!"

She suddenly remembered how she’d been complaining for days about not seeing the movie properly last time. How could she have forgotten! But...

Jiang Xueli said blankly, "I really don’t have any memory of watching that movie with you... I just remember that I came with you... and then I fell asleep."

Lin Zhengran thought for a moment. "That’s probably because you were too tired last time. You were groggy the whole time, maybe even sleepwalking through it."

"Emmm, that’s possible. Well, I’ll be sure to pay close attention this time!" she said, clenching her little fists.

The two of them pulled the door open and were immediately plunged into a darkness so complete they couldn’t see a thing.

Jiang Xueli sounded a little panicked. "Zhengran... It’s so dark. How are we going to find our seats?"

Lin Zhengran took her small hand. "Just follow me. Your eyes will adjust in a moment."