Chapter 163

Hua Xin's eyes sparkled with excitement as she playfully nudged Xia Yan, her cheerful expression causing Xia Yan to pause for a moment. This was her first time watching a movie. Everything around her filled the girl with wonder. It seemed that many of her "firsts" had been shared with Xia Yan: her first time participating in the school sports meet, her first time going out shopping, her first time eating out alone with a friend, her first time watching a movie... A complex emotion flickered in Hua Xin's eyes. "It'll start soon, after lights out," Xia Yan smiled and said softly. His hand, resting on his waist, unconsciously patted his pocket, checking to make sure the small rectangular box was still there, not lost or forgotten. "Okay." "Speaking of which, I've actually seen Alien, but I don't know if this movie will be any good. I hope it won't be like Pacific Rim 2, something I can't handle." Hua Xin grabbed a few popcorn kernels and popped them into her mouth, the sweet taste spreading through her mouth. She, who had a particular fondness for sweetness, narrowed her eyes slightly. The happiness brought by the food made the girl even more excited about watching the movie. So this is what popcorn tastes like. In the past, let alone watching movies, she had only ever seen popcorn being made online—by pulling open something resembling a gas canister on the street. As for eating it? Thirteen Spices was still more affordable. "It shouldn't be too bloody or scary, right?" "Hmm... it might be a little bit scary." "But it's okay." Xia Yan gripped his pocket tightly, trying to sound calm. Hua Xin nodded, not noticing Xia Yan's odd behavior while waiting for the movie to start. She wasn't particularly afraid of anything scary. She was more excited about the unimaginably large screen! Suddenly, the lights illuminating the entire theater went out. The whispers around them gradually subsided. The girl looked at Xia Yan with slight surprise, then the bright light from the screen illuminated their faces. The surround sound created by the specially designed speakers slowly began to play, and Hua Xin's eyes gradually brightened. A sense of novelty she had never experienced before made her as happy and joyful as a child seeing Ultraman for the first time. "So clear..." the girl murmured involuntarily. At first, she thought that she would be too far away to see clearly, but now the constantly changing screen told her the answer. "Remember to eat popcorn." "But I wonder if it will scare you so much that you can't eat it later." Xia Yan reminded her quietly. However, his stiff body seemed a bit unnatural. "Hehe, I'm not scared at all." The girl's attention was completely focused on the movie, and she didn't notice the hand that was quietly reaching out... Watching the credits roll, Hua Xin looked at Xia Yan, who had touched her hand, speechless. "Are you a primary school student? Why do you have to hold hands for everything?" "Yes, please protect me, sister." Xia Yan said with an unusually shameless and innocent face. 128. Xia Yan is a coward, Hua Xin is a coward. 3k6 "Did you see the female lead's brother?" "He looks a bit like you." Hua Xin suppressed a laugh as she looked at the white female lead pulling her black brother on the movie screen, then leaned slightly closer to Xia Yan and whispered. Although it was a bit silly, the female lead was still very beautiful from an aesthetic point of view. "Actually, you look more like him." "Both are equally silly." Xia Yan replied, not to be outdone. In order not to make his voice too loud, he also leaned closer to the girl. The two of them went from the initial "Chu River and Han Border" to the current dividing line drawn on the table by a teenage boy and a teenage girl. It existed in name only. The girl's smiling face suddenly darkened. "Me, like that guy?" "You'd better watch your words!!" The two of them were still holding hands, and Hua Xin then lightly pricked the back of Xia Yan's hand with her fingernail, leaving a faint red mark. Just like carving a cross-shaped screw mark on a mosquito bite. "Pay up." "Medical expenses..." Xia Yan said instantly, feigning pain, then leaned back as if he'd been shot. "?" Medical expenses? The girl's smile vanished instantly upon hearing these three words. Replaced by a quiet surge of shame and anger. No, she'd finally managed to let go of this matter, so why did Xia Yan keep bringing up medical expenses?! Could it be that he knew everything and was deliberately hinting and teasing her? But given Xia Yan's personality, that seemed unlikely. Hua Xin made a mental note of this, adding another stroke to the mark she'd just carved on Xia Yan's hand, making it a cross. "Hiss..." Xia Yan gasped, saying nothing more. It wasn't the girl's actions that caused him pain, but rather an itch. Well, rather than an itch on his hand, it was an itch in his heart. The movie theater wasn't as dark as the girl had imagined after the lights were turned off. The screen showing the movie was enormous, emitting enough light to make it easy to see one's surroundings, but from a distance, faces might be obscured. Looking around, only a few people were scattered among the seats below them. Xia Yan had chosen a seat in the center, theoretically offering the best viewing experience, but the film's subject matter was considered somewhat niche and inappropriate for the time, resulting in no one behind them. In other words... they were essentially in the "last row." Even if they did something adults would normally do here, probably no one would know or see. Behind the camera in the corner was probably a security guard slacking off. Or perhaps there wasn't even a security guard. Xia Yan secretly glanced at the girl's profile. Bathed in the soft light of the screen, her naturally beautiful face appeared fair and lovely, her long, flowing eyelashes seeming to brush against his heart like feathers. A few strands of her smooth, flowing black hair cascaded over her shoulders, the rest unbound, reaching her waist. To be honest, he had seen quite a few girls, including many beautiful women of all kinds. Whether it was Liu Ruoyun, Lin Qingyu, or even those girls who were no longer in his contacts but whom he had only sporadically replied to before, the feeling of being adored by everyone that he had longed for as a child was now a commonplace occurrence. The first friend he added in high school had gradually lost contact with him; he didn't even know if they had deleted his contact information. The definition of "beautiful" is based on personal aesthetics. What one person likes, another may not. But the aesthetics accepted by the general public should, to a certain extent, represent the majority. But Xia Yan