Chapter 20: The Consequences of Watching Horror Movies

  The little Yu on the other end of the phone suddenly screamed again, and it took a while to calm down. Her tone was suddenly cold and calm, as if possessed by a ghost: "Forget it, I've already seen through the world, even if another Xiao Qiao came, it wouldn't shake my lonely and desperate heart. By the way, help me say hello to Xiao Qiao who is sitting next to you."

  "Alright." Knowing she was a bit neurotic about her spiritual stuff, I automatically translated what she said to mean that she wouldn't get close to men before coming out of seclusion. I nonchalantly said, "If it's nothing serious then hang up first, the movie on my end is about to start."

  "Hey, don't be in a rush, I came to find you today to talk about something serious. Do you still remember Tan Xuechang from high school?"

  "Is that Tan Yue from high school?" I repeated, "The handsome one?"

  Qiao suddenly leaned over next to me, quietly picked up a piece of popcorn and ate it. I looked at him for a moment, then directly handed the paper bucket into his arms. After recalling for a moment, I honestly said to my phone, "I don't remember such a person in high school."

  "Damn, this crappy memory." She despised me from over there, "You were the first gay couple to get together in high school, and his boyfriend looks just like Jing Boran."

  "Oh," I suddenly realized, "it was him after all, and then what?"

  "He contacted me today and said he wanted to invite us out for dinner. I won't go anyway, you and Ah Qian should just give him some face and go."

  "Want to have dinner? Okay, when?" I replied promptly.

  "The time hasn't been set yet, but I gave him your phone number, and they'll go to the dessert shop to find you." Xiao Yu said worriedly, "Bai Yaoyao, remember, the one who is a bit shorter is called Tan Yue, his boyfriend can be called Xiao Jing, but whatever you do, don't forget their names when the time comes. It's too embarrassing."

  I nodded repeatedly, suddenly remembering she couldn't see and spoke out loud: "Got it."

  "Don't forget to tell A Qian."

  "Okay." I hung up the phone as soon as I finished speaking.

  Bai Yue scolded me: "Elder sister, it's very impolite of you to hang up on someone like that, without even saying goodbye."

  I couldn't help but laugh: "Excuse me, when was it that you ever said goodbye to me from childhood to adulthood?"

  She pouted and glared at me before turning her head to talk to Hua Jian.

  "A Yao, who wants to treat you to dinner?" Cheng Qiao blinked at me.

  I took the popcorn back into my own arms: "A senior in high school, oh no, it should be two."

  "Two?" Jing Qiao was stunned.

  I looked at him strangely: "What's wrong? Are you doubting my counting ability?"

  He pursed his lips and remained silent.

  I continued: "They are the first perfect match I personally brought together, after all. I didn't expect they're still together now, it's really memorable, and I wouldn't be able to rest in peace if I don't see them again. Although I've almost forgotten what they look like. Speaking of which, when I get back, I have to check what Jing Boran looks like, otherwise when the time comes and he's standing right in front of me, I still won't recognize him, that would be really embarrassing."

  "You mean... they're gay?" Qiao's eyes lit up.

  I looked at him with a subtle expression as he raised his eyebrows: "You get so excited just talking about homosexuality?"

  He pursed his lips but smiled silently.

  Suddenly, the lights in the projection hall went out all at once, and even the advertisements on the big screen came to an abrupt halt. The sudden darkness before my eyes made me involuntarily close them.

  Qiao's voice came softly with a hint of smile: "I'm just glad they're gay."

  I was stunned and speechless.

  So when can I also celebrate that you are gay?

  The screen in front of me gradually appeared with images, and I began to concentrate on watching.

  When buying tickets, I was informed that tonight there are not only new domestic horror movies, but also two classic films from Japan and Thailand. I've seen more Japanese horror movies, while this is my first time encountering Thai ones, so even though I knew I wouldn't be able to watch the whole movie, I still had a lot of interest in it.

  The domestic horror film started with bloody scenes, and the cinema was filled with ear-piercing screams from time to time. I watched it with rapt attention while eating popcorn, my appetite not being affected at all.

  It wasn't until Bai Yue couldn't help but let out a loud shriek that I finally couldn't hold back and let out a huge yawn.

  The hand placed beside me was suddenly pinched. I turned my head with sleepy eyes, and then met Cheng Qiao's bright and sparkling eyes.

  "What's wrong with you?" I raised my hand.

  He whispered: "A Yao, did you read it carefully?"

  "I've been watching carefully." I replied softly to him.

  "Don't you feel scared at all?"

  Although the projection room was dimly lit, I still clearly saw the intense knot on his face and couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Terrifying." Afraid he wouldn't believe me, I emphasized my tone and repeated myself, "Very terrifying, really very terrifying."

  He furrowed his brow: "Why didn't Yaoyao react at all? Look, the other girls are screaming and even Yueyue covered her eyes just now."

  I took a sip of Coke to refresh myself: "No way, from childhood to adulthood it's always been like this, the more I see those thrilling scenes, the sleepier I get."

  "How could this be?" He looked stunned.

  "I don't know, maybe it's because I subconsciously knew all this was fake, so I just didn't feel anything. Look," I pointed at the screen, "it's like now, the heroine is frantically running around in the corridor outside the operating room with a terrified expression, and everywhere is dead silent, with a foggy view, and accompanied by such... um, rhythmic music that anyone knows something scary will suddenly pop out next? So every time I get to this kind of scene, I'll guess where those fake things will come from, and after I've imagined all the possible angles 360 degrees without dead spots, when those things finally appear, I just feel like it's a matter of course, so I find it boring, and can't help but fall asleep."

  He fell silent: "Not even one movie has scared you?"

  "Maybe," I said hesitantly, "but since I've never watched a horror movie all the way through, I don't know what parts of the ones I have seen might keep me up at night."

  "You've never watched a whole one?" he asked incredulously.

  I nodded: "I usually fall asleep when I see forty minutes and sleep until the end of the movie before being called awake."

  He fell silent for a moment: "Was it like this when you went with He Mottian before?"

  I was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "I've only been with him once, and I slept from start to finish, because I didn't want to watch horror movies that day anyway..."

  "Sister, you guys are too disrespectful to me, keep whispering and chattering nonstop here, it's annoying." Bai Yue looked at me with dissatisfaction, got up and sat down on the other side of Hua Jian with her waist bent.

  I'm speechless.

  Cheng Qiao silently stared at me for a while, then turned her head and didn't say anything either.

  I stuffed the popcorn into his arms: "Alright, let me sleep for a while, call me when you put down the phone."

  After finishing speaking, I leaned back and rested my head on the back of the chair. Although this posture was a bit uncomfortable, it could barely allow me to doze off.

  I don't know how long I slept, but as soon as I opened my eyes in a daze, I saw on the screen a thing with only half of its bloody and blurry head left, chopping people. Although it looked very infuriating, this perspective... seemed a bit strange.

  My left ear suddenly felt a slight pain, as if something was pressing on it. A sweet smell of popcorn mixed with the scent of milk bath soap faintly crept into my nostrils. I was stunned for a moment before realizing that my head was resting on something very elastic. I sat up straight abruptly.

  "A Yao, you woke up so quickly?" Cheng Qiao smiled slightly and spoke softly.

  "Wasn't I leaning against the chair? How did it become your shoulder?" I rubbed my somewhat stiff neck in astonishment.

  He seriously answered my doubts: "It was A Yao who didn't sleep honestly, at first he leaned against the back and slept well, but after a few minutes his body started to tilt to the right. I was afraid that your waist would be twisted, so I helped you straighten up. Unexpectedly, just after a while, you tilted again, and after helping you straighten up five times in a row, I couldn't do it anymore, so I had to put your head on my shoulder."

  "It turns out that's the case, sorry about that. But when I sleep at home, my posture never changes every time I wake up, even my mom says I'm too honest in my sleep, I didn't expect it to be like this here..." I trailed off, just smiling awkwardly.

  "Even the most honest sleep can't help but be manipulated when it encounters a dishonest person."

  I turned my head to look at Hua Jian and asked him in a low voice: "What do you mean?"

  "Ayao," Qiao poked my hand softly and coquettishly, "my shoulders are sore from sleeping on you, can you help me massage it a bit?"

  My heart suddenly turned into a pot of honey, and I couldn't care less about Huajian's answer. I quickly turned around to help Cheng Qiao massage her shoulders: "Is this pressure okay? Do you want me to add more?"

  He looked at me with a satisfied expression: "This is just right."

  "I'm really sorry about that, I actually attacked you while you were sleeping. To be honest, you could have just twisted my waist and woken me up instead."

  "That's absolutely out of the question. Disturbing A Yao's beautiful dream is the most unforgivable thing in the world." Cheng Qiao said with a smile.

  I bit my lip and looked at him, unable to help but say: "Xiao Qiao, you're really too cute."

  He gazed at me with pursed lips and smiled.

  "Shameless." Hua Jian said in a low voice.

  After helping Cheng Qiao pinch her shoulder, the projection room suddenly responded with a neat burst of gasps. I turned my head to look at the screen and found that it had reached another thrilling scene again.

  The empty room had nothing but basic furnishings, no one was in sight, no footsteps, no background music, it was so quiet that it was terrifying, except for the sound of human breathing.

  The atmosphere in the auditorium was moved by the movie, and the whole scene became very solemn, with faint sounds of sobbing still audible.

  "A Yao, in a situation like this, would you be afraid?" Cheng Qiao blinked.

  I stared at the screen for a moment before saying, "I've seen this one."