Chapter 19
Jiang Zhong’s ears turned beet red from the warm breath Xi Qin blew on them, and his neck felt numb.
Jiang Zhong gritted his teeth, “We’re still in public!”
“So, does that mean I can kiss you if we’re not in public?” Xi Qin chuckled.
Jiang Zhong was exasperated, “No, you cannot!”
“Alright.” Xi Qin grabbed Jiang Zhong, who was about to turn and leave, and suggested, “Let’s go watch a movie.”
Before Jiang Zhong could even respond with a “Yeah,”
Xi Qin added, “The cinema is darker, and no one will see anything in the last row.”
“Shut up.” Jiang Zhong almost wanted to cover Xi Qin’s mouth, “How did I not notice before how… how…”
“How what?” Xi Qin asked with a smile.
Jiang Zhong glared at Xi Qin and asked, “Is this your first time dating?”
“Yes, it is. Aren’t you a first-timer too?” Xi Qin replied innocently.
Jiang Zhong continued to glare at him for a while before saying, “I don’t believe it.”
“Why not?” Xi Qin maintained his innocent demeanor, “I really am a beginner.”
“You seem very experienced,” Jiang Zhong said with a hint of bitterness.
Xi Qin gave a thoughtful “Hm” and looked deeply into Jiang Zhong’s eyes, smiling, “Maybe it’s because I’ve wanted it for so long that I’ve picked up some experience.”
“Who have you been thinking about?” Jiang Zhong averted his gaze awkwardly.
Xi Qin didn’t speak but gave him a “You tell me” look.
Jiang Zhong felt a bit pleased inside but pretended to be stern and asked, “So how long is ‘a long time’?”
“A long time, longer than you can imagine,” Xi Qin said.
“Oh? Really?” Jiang Zhong tilted his head with interest, “Longer than I can imagine? Let me guess.”
Xi Qin smiled.
“You wouldn’t be…” Jiang Zhong dragged out his words, looking at Xi Qin with a teasing expression, “You fall in love with me at first sight, would you? When was it? Freshman year?”
Xi Qin squinted his eyes, neither confirming nor denying.
In the end, Xi Qin didn’t get to do anything with Jiang Zhong in the cinema.
Since they had decided to go to the movies on a whim and it was New Year’s Day, almost all the showtimes were fully booked, and the last row had no seats left.
Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin ended up sitting in the corner of the fourth row on the right, surrounded by people in front, behind, and to the left.
As the movie started, the big lights in the screening room were turned off, plunging the surroundings into darkness. At this moment, Xi Qin reached his hand over to Jiang Zhong’s side.
Taking advantage of the cover of Jiang Zhong’s coat, which he had just removed, Xi Qin gently took Jiang Zhong’s hand.
Jiang Zhong kept a serious expression, eyes fixed on the movie screen.
After a moment of rigidity, Jiang Zhong’s other hand subtly moved, nervously adjusting the coat to cover Xi Qin’s entire small arm and the armrest between them.
He once again sighed inwardly, relieved that the coat was thick and large enough due to the cold weather.
In the one-and-a-half-hour domestic film, Jiang Zhong almost couldn’t follow the plot, and at times, he nearly couldn’t even understand his own language.
All his thoughts were on the mischief Xi Qin’s hand was causing.
Xi Qin, that shameless person, wasn’t holding hands properly.
From time to time, he would pinch Jiang Zhong’s fingers or lightly scratch his palm with his nails.
Jiang Zhong was itching uncontrollably, and just as he was about to pull his hand away, Xi Qin tightened his grip.
Once Jiang Zhong stopped struggling, Xi Qin began his antics again.
Jiang Zhong dared not make too much noise and glared at Xi Qin out of the corner of his eye.
Xi Qin, eyes on the big screen, saw Jiang Zhong looking both annoyed and helpless out of the corner of his eye, and he was almost laughing with delight.
After a few back-and-forths, Jiang Zhong couldn’t bear it any longer and…
He inserted his fingers between Xi Qin’s fingers, gripping tightly.
Xi Qin indeed settled down and allowed Jiang Zhong to take action.
At the same time, the movie was approaching its end.
Jiang Zhong: “…”
Alright, at least he got to know the ending!
Hmm? The character survived until the end? He’s the protagonist?
Jiang Zhong watched the ending with a blank expression, confused.
As the ending theme song played, the lights in the screening room were turned on.
Xi Qin remained still in his seat, and Jiang Zhong, still held by him, couldn’t leave.
People around them gradually left the screening room, and the cleaning staff came in to clear away the trash people had forgotten to take with them.
“Are we leaving?” Jiang Zhong asked.
“There’s an ¹easter egg scene,” Xi Qin said matter-of-factly.
Jiang Zhong rubbed his forehead in frustration, “I couldn’t even make sense of the main plot, and you still want to watch the after-credits scene.”
Jiang Zhong stayed with Xi Qin until the end of the movie, saw nothing at all, and “escaped” from the screening room under the cleaning lady’s curious gaze.
The movie didn’t have any easter egg scenes!
In the hallway, as Jiang Zhong put on his coat, he shot a sharp glance at Xi Qin, which then turned into amusement as he thought about it, and they both ended up laughing for a while.
Xi Qin cleared his throat and said seriously, “I need to go to the restroom.”
“Mm.”
“Go wash your hands,” Xi Qin added. “Your palms are all sweaty. You’re such a sweaty person… I like it.”
“Go away,” Jiang Zhong said, wanting to hit him. “Having your hands in the down jacket for over an hour, of course, you’ll sweat!”
“Well, I like it anyway,” Xi Qin said.
Jiang Zhong muttered, “Shameless.”
What is the process of dating supposed to be like?
For Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin, who are both experiencing their first relationship, this question is a bit too advanced.
After leaving the movie cinema, Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin looked at each other for a moment.
“What should we do next?” Jiang Zhong asked.
As a responsible boyfriend, Xi Qin felt he shouldn’t say ‘I don’t know’ again.
So, Xi Qin thought seriously for a moment, “It seems like it’s time for lunch.”
Jiang Zhong: “…”
“It’s still early,” Jiang Zhong said, exasperated. “Besides, we just had breakfast before we came here. I’m not hungry at all. Are you?”
“Not hungry,” Xi Qin admitted honestly.
Since they couldn’t continue walking around outside, given that it had snowed heavily last night and was especially cold as the snow melted, they decided to visit a nearby shopping mall where a large event was happening.
Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin then sat on a bench on the side, chatting while watching others play games.
When they got excited, Jiang Zhong even dragged Xi Qin over to join in on the fun.
After lunch, Xi Qin finally thought of a place to go: the arcade.
“Let’s go. You go play the dance machine,” Xi Qin said. “I like watching you dance.”
Jiang Zhong sneered, finally reaching this day when he could make unreasonable demands with his new status: “You only like watching me dance? Don’t I look good when I’m not dancing?”
Xi Qin clearly didn’t expect Jiang Zhong to say that. He was stunned for a moment before murmuring, “No, you look good anytime. Let’s not go.”
“Let’s go,” Jiang Zhong said, suppressing his laughter and pretending to be stubborn. “Since you like watching me, I’ll dance for you.”
In the evening, Jiang Zhong received a call from Zheng Yinqiu, asking if he was coming home for dinner.
His parents, Father Jiang and Mother Jiang, were very busy and only had New Year’s Day off. They would be back to their hectic schedules the next day, so Jiang Zhong wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.
Xi Qin took him back to the place where they had met in the morning.
Jiang Zhong had a look of guilt on his face.
“It’s okay,” Xi Qin comforted him. “We’ll have plenty of time in the future. Once we’re back at school, we can see each other every day.”
Jiang Zhong nodded. “Mm.”
“Go inside.”
“I’ll wait until your car arrives before going in.”
It was getting dark, and there were no other pedestrians in the area except for them.
Xi Qin smiled and adjusted Jiang Zhong’s hat, covering his exposed ears.
After waiting for nearly three minutes, the sound of a taxi approaching came from around the corner.
Without warning, Xi Qin lowered his head and quickly kissed the corner of Jiang Zhong’s mouth.
In the brief moment of Jiang Zhong being stunned, Xi Qin whispered hoarsely, “Alright, I’m leaving now. Go inside.”
–
¹”easter egg” refers to a hidden detail, joke, message, or extra scene intentionally placed by creators for viewers to discover.