Chapter 111 - 104: A Little Ambiguity in the Movie Theater

Chapter 111: Chapter 104: A Little Ambiguity in the Movie Theater

The moment Xiao Ran sat down, he smelled the perfume of the girl next to him.

He sniffed. ’Damn, it’s so strong. It’s completely overpowering the scent of my little cutie. I don’t like it!’

There was also a girl next to Yan Xici. She sat down naturally, then leaned her body a little toward Xiao Ran.

This wasn’t her showing off that she had a boyfriend.

It’s a natural human reaction. You unconsciously lean closer to the person you feel closest to.

Even the tips of her sandal-clad feet were pointing toward Xiao Ran.

As the house lights went dark, the theater instantly fell silent. The movie’s score began to play as a ball rolled toward the screen.

A classic trope.

Even Xiao Ran, who didn’t like horror movies, knew it.

He picked up a piece of popcorn and put it in his mouth. The popcorn was freshly made and tasted great.

It wasn’t very crunchy, but it was sweet and had a rich, buttery flavor.

Taking care of Yan Xici must have become a habit. Without thinking, he picked up a piece and held it to the girl’s lips.

Yan Xici’s attention was on the movie, so she was startled by Xiao Ran’s sudden attempt to feed her. When she realized what was happening, she gave an apologetic smile. She obediently moved her little head closer to his hand, opened her mouth, and extended her small tongue to gently curl around the popcorn, taking it between her pearly teeth.

Even though she was very careful, her soft, pink, tender tongue still lightly brushed against the pad of Xiao Ran’s finger.

Perhaps she felt the springy softness of his fingertip. Her heart began to beat faster. ’I was already being so careful.’

’How did I still end up licking his finger?’

As she thought this, an embarrassed look appeared in the girl’s eyes.

Xiao Ran, now realizing what happened, froze for a moment. Her soft, pink tongue was tender and slightly cool.

The tingling sensation from the touch on his finger shot uncontrollably through his veins and into his heart, which instantly started to pound.

The feeling was simply incredible.

Yan Xici’s face flushed crimson. Thankfully, the movie theater was dark, so Xiao Ran didn’t see her blush.

"Mmm, the popcorn’s delicious."

Xiao Ran smiled and whispered, "Why else do you think I’d feed it to you?"

After speaking, he picked up another piece and offered it to her.

’If she likes it, she should eat more!’

As an author, he often wrote scenes like this, but he suddenly realized that theory couldn’t compare to practice.

True satisfaction came not just from the happiness on her face, but also from the tingling sensation from her tongue—a strange kind of comfort that made his whole body tense up.

It was nerve-wracking and addictive all at once!

This time, Yan Xici had learned her lesson. Instead of using her tongue, she bit down on it directly with her teeth. Even so, her soft, pink lips inevitably brushed against Xiao Ran’s fingers.

’Honestly, his fingers are so firm,’ she thought. ’And warm, too. Boys must naturally have a higher body temperature than girls.’

Since it was the second time, Yan Xici felt a little embarrassed, as if she were doing it on purpose. But she couldn’t stop the feeling of enjoyment that rose within her.

The popcorn was sweet and delicious, and so was his affection.

She pursed her lips and said shyly, "Um, I should just get it myself."

’I like these intimate gestures, but I’m also really shy!’

"Alright."

Xiao Ran didn’t think much of it and decisively handed the full bucket of popcorn to her.

The girl carefully held the popcorn in her lap and began to eat it piece by piece.

After eating a couple of pieces, she remembered that Xiao Ran hadn’t had any more.

She decisively picked one up and held it out to Xiao Ran. "Here, this is for you."

’Brother Xiao Ran knew to feed me, so I have to feed him too.’

’I’m a good girl who knows how to return a favor!’

As she leaned closer, her scent—Yan Xici’s scent—overpowered the other girl’s perfume.

Xiao Ran took an appreciative breath.

’Her scent really is the best!’

He opened his mouth without hesitation and ate the popcorn.

The popcorn was sweet, just as sweet as she was.

Before he could savor it, the eerie music swelled, and the atmosphere turned strange again.

Xiao Ran fixed his eyes on the screen.

Heh!

’Just as I thought, it’s Zhenzi!’

A white dress that looked like it was cut from a flour sack, her perpetually long hair, and her forever-unseen face.

With Zhenzi’s sudden appearance, combined with the terrifying music, the girls in the audience who were easily scared but loved a good thrill could no longer stay calm.

Those with boyfriends hugged their boyfriends; those without hugged their best friends.

Gasps and shrieks filled the air.

The already timid Yan Xici was clearly terrified by this. She instinctively recoiled, her small hand gripping the armrest so tightly that the bones in her hand became more prominent.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.

He reached out and covered the girl’s hand with his own large one.

Feeling the warmth spreading across the back of her hand, the girl froze for a second and instinctively glanced down.

Then she saw Xiao Ran’s well-defined hand.

And just like that, the anxiety in her heart instantly subsided.

A solid sense of being protected unconsciously welled up from the bottom of her heart.

She had insisted on watching a horror movie, and now she was the first one to get scared. The girl felt a little embarrassed.

She started making excuses for herself. "Um, I’m not scared, it was just a little... sudden."

’I’m not scared at all! This is nothing!’

Xiao Ran couldn’t help but find her deadpan expression amusing.

’I told her not to watch it, but she just wouldn’t listen!’

’And she’s still being stubborn about it.’

Xiao Ran gave a helpless smile, then pulled her hand over and held it tightly in his own.

Her small hand was cool to the touch. Her skin was surprisingly fine, and it felt so soft in his grasp, almost as if it were boneless.

He couldn’t resist repeatedly caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

The gentle gesture calmed Yan Xici’s wildly beating heart, replacing the fear with an indescribable sense of security.

She pursed her lips. ’Looks like this horror movie can’t scare Brother Xiao Ran at all. I was hoping he’d get scared and grab my hand, but it turned out to be the other way around.’

’Since I can’t scare him, maybe I should be a little more proactive. It’s not like it would be the first time.’

With that in mind, she quietly used her other hand to lift the armrest between their seats.

With the barrier in the middle gone, the space instantly felt much larger.

Xiao Ran was stunned by her action. "That thing can actually be lifted?"

He’d been watching movies for so many years, but this was the first time he’d ever seen such a maneuver.

"Of course it can." The girl nonchalantly scooted closer to Xiao Ran. ’We’ve already slept in the same bed, so leaning on him isn’t too much, right?’

As her small, soft body drew near, her head came to rest on his shoulder.

Her delicate chin slid down his neck until it settled against his collarbone. As if having found a comfortable position, she finally stilled.

At that moment, Xiao Ran’s heart couldn’t help but start beating faster again. He let her lean against him.

An unknown amount of time passed before the movie finally neared its end. As the lights came up, everyone stood up, preparing to leave.

Just as Xiao Ran was about to get up, his phone suddenly vibrated. He reached into his pocket and took it out.

Shi Guang: Bro, you successfully advanced to the next round! Your book’s stats have multiplied several times over today. First in follow-reads, over a thousand. Keep it up!

Looking at his editor’s message, Xiao Ran was astonished. ’Holy cow, all in one day?’

’Could it be because Yan Xici first stormed the comment section with her friends, and then live-streamed to help promote my book?’

But no matter the reason, the credit was all hers.

Xiao Ran couldn’t resist. He placed a gentle kiss on top of her head. "Thank you."

’If I ever gave up on such a wonderful girl, I’d regret it for the rest of my life!’

With the sudden warmth on her head, Yan Xici’s mind went completely blank.

Her heart stopped for an instant, and in the next second, all the blood in her body rushed back to it at an even faster rate.

This heart-pounding sensation left her at a loss.

’Oh my god, oh my god, Brother Xiao Ran actually kissed me!’

"You... you..." Perhaps because she was shy, she started to stutter.

She couldn’t get another word out after that.