Chapter 974: Ambiguity in the Cinema

Cai Xiaotang did not decline again.

After the two of them finished buying clothes, they put everything back in the car and returned to the mall.

The cinema was right upstairs, and they could wait here until the evening.

The two of them had bought their movie tickets in advance.

It was a romance film that happened to start at eleven o'clock at night.

But after finishing dinner, there were still more than two hours left before the movie started.

The other floors of the mall were already preparing to close.

Only the cinema and the arcade on the top floor were still open for business.

With no other choice, the two of them could only go to the arcade to kill time.

Cai Xiaotang could not be more familiar with this kind of place.

She had originally thought that Li Xiao shouldn't come to such places often, but she hadn't expected that after the two of them picked a few games at random, she would lose miserably!

She had almost never won a single time!

"You..."

Having lost at racing again, Cai Xiaotang couldn't help but feel a bit irritated.

Li Xiao hurriedly said, "You were the one who told me not to go easy on you just now!"

"Yes! I said that!"

Cai Xiaotang was still pouting, hating only that her own skills weren't good enough to beat the person beside her.

"Forget it, let's go look at something else."

Not intending to dwell on this game, Cai Xiaotang stood up directly and walked toward other areas.

Li Xiao hurriedly followed, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

But seeing her sulking, he found her incredibly cute.

The two of them continued to weave through the arcade.

After walking only a few steps, they saw a row of enclosed "small booths" ahead.

Inside were professional microphones and headphones, looking like mini "KTVs".

Cai Xiaotang's heart skipped a beat, and her thoughts suddenly stirred slightly.

She seemed to have... only heard Li Xiao play the bass, and hadn't really heard him sing yet!

He was good at games and good at playing the bass, but it was impossible for him to be great at singing too, right?

Maybe he was tone-deaf!

Thinking this, Cai Xiaotang saw the only remaining empty spot and hurriedly walked over.

But before she had taken two steps, she suddenly stopped abruptly.

Every "small booth" here had a curtain that could be drawn shut individually.

But right next to that empty spot, the curtain of the booth next door wasn't drawn properly.

A sliver of a gap was vaguely revealed.

Through the gap, one could clearly see a pair of intimate lovers sitting inside.

The girl was sitting on the boy's lap, and the two were...

Kissing.

And the boy's hand had already gone under the girl's clothes to do that-and-that; judging by the bulge in the clothing, it was likely covering exactly... that kind of place.

"Buzz!"

Cai Xiaotang heard a string in her mind seem to snap taut in an instant, and she was filled with nothing but speechlessness.

No way...

Did they have to be this desperate!

This was a public place, at least!

Couldn't they be a little more discreet!

If they wanted to... do that, there was a hotel right next to the mall!

She complained silently in her heart.

Just then, Li Xiao's voice sounded in her ear, asking with a half-smile, "Do you want to go over?"

Clearly, he had already seen it too.

"Go over? Go yourself if you want to!"

Cai Xiaotang knew he was doing it on purpose, so she retorted sharply, made a three-hundred-sixty-degree turn, and walked away quickly in the opposite direction, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

This was just too bizarre, wasn't it?

It would have been fine if she had seen it alone...

But it just had to be with Li Xiao!

Cai Xiaotang took a deep breath, desperately trying to drive the scene before her out of her mind.

Fortunately, Li Xiao didn't bring it up again afterward.

The two of them stayed in the arcade for a while longer, and when the time was about right, they went to the cinema upstairs.

After buying cola and popcorn, it was almost time for ticket inspection.

Cai Xiaotang had originally thought that the two of them might have the theater to themselves.

But she hadn't expected that there were actually nearly ten other people entering the screening hall with them.

And they were basically all couples.

The seats Cai Xiaotang chose were in the second-to-last row.

The other couples were in front, and everyone happened to be standing in a row, not disturbing one another.

Cai Xiaotang was secretly a little happy, and just as she was thinking this, she heard Li Xiao suddenly say with some emotion: "It seems I haven't been to a movie theater in many years..."

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Cai Xiaotang paused, unable to help letting her imagination run wild.

It had been a long time... which meant he had been here before, right?

Was it to accompany... some other woman?

Just as Cai Xiaotang was thinking this, she heard Li Xiao continue to explain.

"There was a mission at the time, and we were lying in ambush here for a long time. We originally thought that playing a movie might at least help us stay alert, but I didn't expect that day's movie to be particularly boring; it almost put everyone to sleep..."

He seemed to have thought of something interesting and couldn't help but laugh.

Cai Xiaotang also let out a sharp sigh of relief, feeling a little guilty about her own thoughts just now.

Just at this moment—"Snap."

The lights overhead went out.

The sound system also began to play.

Cai Xiaotang immediately focused her attention on the screen.

A few minutes later, the advertisements finished playing.

The movie officially began.

The opening was a very warm piece of music.

The male and female protagonists also met through a romantic accident.

Just as Cai Xiaotang was about to become immersed in the plot—the door that had been closed was suddenly pulled open from the outside!

A couple who had arrived late walked in hand in hand just like that.

Not only were the two late, but they were actually talking and laughing; as they walked up the steps, they brought a very heavy smell of food into the theater, which seemed to be some kind of fried snack.

Seeing those two walking upward hand in hand, Cai Xiaotang couldn't help but frown, her expression showing undisguised disgust.

They weren't stopping?

Could they be sitting in the same row as her?

Just as Cai Xiaotang was thinking this, she saw the two pass by the entrance of the stairs without stopping, heading straight for the last row instead.

Cai Xiaotang silently let out a sigh of relief, didn't look again, and intended to continue immersing herself in the plot.

Then she heard the two passing behind her, talking and laughing, and her mood was instantly interrupted again.

She turned her head to look back, feeling somewhat speechless.

Only then, through the light from the screen, did she see clearly that the people who had arrived were exactly the same couple she had seen in the arcade earlier, acting intimate as if no one else were around!

A sudden, ominous premonition rose from the bottom of her heart.

Countless social news stories that defied her worldview flashed through Cai Xiaotang's mind in an instant.

Immediately, she hurriedly shook her head in her heart.

That couldn't be...

Although that place earlier was a public space, at least the environment was enclosed.

This was a movie theater!

As she thought this, she forced her attention back onto the plot.

Fortunately, aside from being a bit noisy when they first entered, the people behind her seemed to be watching the movie seriously and didn't make much noise.

The plot was reaching its climax.

The male and female leads went from misunderstanding each other and not seeing eye-to-eye to finally developing feelings for each other and getting together.

Under the eaves in the rain, the handsome male lead asked the female lead affectionately and gently: "May I kiss you?"

Cai Xiaotang was already completely immersed in the plot, unable to help clenching her hands bit by bit in excitement as she watched the two on the screen slowly draw closer.

Even the music quieted down.

But just at this moment...

"Oh, you're so annoying~"

A woman's coquettish voice suddenly came from behind her, instantly giving her goosebumps all over!