Chapter 88: Watching a movie and a family banquet

Lanse leaned against the car, smoking, looking at the pedestrians on the roadside.

Middle-class communities have relatively strict access control systems. The security guard looked at Lanse vigilantly, always feeling that this kid didn't look like a good person.

It's not that he has any telepathy or mind-reading skills, it's just that he thinks every non-owner doesn't look like a good person, not to mention that Lanse is also more handsome than him.

Recently, Lanse's business has gradually improved, and he has also met some people and heard about the situation of Patricia's father.

Patricia's father, Mr. William Lawrence, is a civil servant in the City Hall, working for the mayor, counting as a role that is not enough to be at the top but more than enough to be at the bottom.

The Federation has three major parties: the Liberal Party, the Social Party, and the Federal Party. Mr. Lawrence is a Federal Party member.

Actually, originally there were only two major parties here, the Liberal Party and the Federal Party.

The Liberal Party is more in line with the interests of the lower-middle class in the Federation, until many years ago when the first huge split occurred within the party, triggering the final split, and the "Social Party" split from within the party.

Social Party members believe that excessive freedom will bring disaster to society and the country, and believe that attention should be paid to industrial and economic development, which is completely different from the Liberal Party's governing platform.

The Liberal Party advocates "liberalism," but was attacked by the Social Party as "liberalism," believing that excessive freedom of the people has no practical significance for the country's development and economic construction.

The core contradiction between the two parties is who is in front, "individual" or "state," and it is irreconcilable.

So a group of people who emphasized that "individual freedom should not override national interests" split out and formed the current Social Party.

Some of the Social Party's ideas have received strong support from capitalists, so they have developed very rapidly, are often the ruling party, and have a majority of seats in Congress.

Relatively speaking, the Liberal Party and the Federal Party are at a disadvantage.

This may be the reason why Mr. Lawrence is already forty years old but is still just a civil servant in the City Hall who is not enough to be at the top but more than enough to be at the bottom—the camp behind him cannot give him much help.

In this era where ideals must also bow to capital, having ideals is meaningless.

Two young girls on the roadside looked at Lanse and waved at him. Lanse also smiled and greeted them.

The summer wind always inadvertently stirs people's heartstrings. They don't necessarily want to do anything, just blowing the wind, and it seems that a short moment is satisfaction.

"Lanse!", Patricia, who walked out of the community, was like an elf coming to reality from a painting. Lanse threw away the cigarette and greeted her, hugged her, and did not spare his praise. "You look so good."

Being praised by the person you like is always happy. Patricia smiled very naturally. "I think so too!"

She said very naturally, holding Lanse's arm. "There is one thing I want to tell you."

Lanse opened the car door for her. "What is it?"

Patricia was a bit restrained. "William and the others want to invite you to go back with me tonight, and they prepared your dinner."

Lanse returned to the driver's seat and started the car. "A good piece of news."

"Don't you feel embarrassed?", the girl asked.

Lanse shook his head and said, "If meeting your closest people is embarrassing, then you should think about whether I really love you when we are together, or just want to sleep with you."

"This is something I must experience. Either I convince them, or they convince me!"

"I will become a warrior!"

He revealed a sunny and bright smile, and Patricia felt her heart almost melt.

The two went to watch a movie in the afternoon. This is a rare, cheap, and national entertainment in this era.

They went to a high-end cinema, a place where you need 25 cents to buy a ticket. This kind of place will be cleaner, and the smell will be slightly better.

In summer, in those 10-cent or 15-cent cinemas, you never know what the previous guest who sat in the seat you are sitting in did here.

The 25-cent cinema will have people specifically cleaning up, clearing garbage, and the quality of people who can come here is slightly higher.

"Love in Troubled Times," a movie about war and love. People like to force war elements into love movies. It seems that only some hardships and tragedies can make love become engraved in the heart.

Patricia watched very seriously, but Lanse was absent-minded.

Clearly she watched very seriously, but I don't know why the more she watched, the redder her face became.

At the end of the film, the heroine, after a long wait, welcomed back her husband's ashes box. She stroked the small life gestating in her belly, with a strong smile on her face to welcome a new life.

It can be seen that they already started to pursue political correctness from this period, and it indeed made many people moved.

First, there was some pattering applause, just like a 60-year-old man unbuckling his belt in the toilet—somewhat powerless.

And then there was more thunderous applause. People were moved by the girl's persistence in love, her loyalty to her family, and her watch for her husband.

Patricia was also applauding, and Lanse was too, but not so intensely.

The applause at this time is like a 7 or 8-year-old child—pants off, patter, and it's gone.

"You cried."

"Too moving!", Patricia held Lanse's hand. "Don't you think the heroine is great?"

Lanse shook his head. "Actually, she should be selfish. That way her husband wouldn't die, and her child's father wouldn't die."

"Pat, from the perspective of a movie story, or art, war, love, death, and the imminent birth of a new life form an artistic cycle."

"But from the perspective of an ordinary person, if we get married and war breaks out, I will take you away."

"I cannot choose between loyalty to the country and loyalty to love, but if I have to choose, I choose you!"

Patricia, who was already moved to tears, suddenly exploded with emotion and couldn't control sending a hot kiss.

After the two kissed for a while, she became embarrassed again, somewhat shy.

The management of the church girls' school was very strict, and those old nuns had psychological problems. They would use public corporal punishment to destroy a person from both body and spirit.

Some girls' schools have had student suicides more than once, but these have been suppressed by the church and the Federal government.

Patricia belongs to the good baby, not daring to make a mistake at all.

Lanse knew the girl was shy, pulled her out of the cinema, and at this time the sky outside had darkened quite a bit, and the sun was not so fierce.

The two ate some snacks on the roadside. In fact, the taste was very average, but Patricia ate with relish. "I rarely eat things on the roadside. My father says the food on the roadside is unsanitary."

Lanse didn't deny or refute. "Indeed."

She was eating a hot dog when her movements suddenly stopped, and then she looked at Lanse. Lanse helped her wipe off some oil stains on her face. "But if you give up experiencing things you have never experienced because of unhealthiness, you will regret it when you are old!"

"A little unhealthiness can be exchanged for a lot of happiness. I think the small sacrifice is worth it!"

"You are right, Lanse!"

Lanse took her to eat a lot of street snacks. When the sky was completely dark, she was already full.

She looked at Lanse somewhat embarrassedly. "We still have to go back to eat later. They will definitely find out."

"Then tell them."

Clearly, it should be Lanse who felt uneasy about this, but it made Patricia feel uneasy. She liked Lanse very much because Lanse respected her, and she could feel it.

That is a kind of... very special feeling. She doesn't know how to describe it, but she just knows that in Lanse's eyes, she is not some kind of thing, nor is she just a body.

The car came to Patricia's community. The security guard looked through the car window and saw Patricia. "Miss Patricia, this handsome gentleman is..."

"My boyfriend, please open the door."

The security guard nodded, opened the door, and then sighed looking at the back of the vehicle. This is perhaps the most painful thing for every security guard.

"Are you nervous?", Lanse parked the car and just came outside her house when she couldn't help asking.

Actually, it was she who was nervous, not Lanse.

Lanse shook the brandy in his hand. "If Mr. Lawrence doesn't hate brandy, I won't be nervous."

Patricia took a deep breath, held Lanse's arm, and knocked on the door.

Actually, when they were parking, the Lawrence couple had already been observing secretly behind the window. For this young man Lanse, Mrs. Lawrence liked him very much, but Mr. Lawrence still needed to observe him.

The door opened. Mrs. Lawrence specially changed into a collarless light pink dress and wore a string of pearl necklaces. She looked radiant. I don't know if her complexion was always good, or because of other reasons.

But definitely not painted with wax.

"Welcome, Lanse.", she took the brandy from Lanse's hand and gave it to her husband. "Thanks for your gift, you thought too thoroughly."

Mr. Lawrence glanced at the brandy in his hand and glanced at his daughter, knowing that this was chosen by his daughter.

She knew what wine he liked, but also quietly gave a thumbs up for Lanse's willingness to spend.

The best regular cognac brandy on the market costs more than 20. Even if it is him, he won't treat it as ration wine. Only when he encounters good things will he drink two glasses.

"Very valuable gift, just right for us to taste tonight.", he gave the wine to Mrs. Lawrence again. "Open it."

Afterward, Mr. Lawrence, as the male host of this family, invited Lanse to sit in the living room for a while.

"Drink something, black tea, coffee, or juice?"

"Water."

Mr. Lawrence was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Are you not nervous?"

Mrs. Lawrence and Patricia were not far away. They were both eavesdropping on the conversation between the two men. This was obviously more interesting than them tidying up the dining table!

At the same time, they were also looking forward