Chapter 15

Ch.15

Yi Ran walked up to Song Yu Meng and said a soft “hey”.

“Ya!” Song Yu Meng immediately called out in fright, her heart racing.

Frightened, she patted her chest with a startled expression then said venomously: “Are you trying to scare this lady to death?”

She thought that Yi Ran didn’t notice her, but not only did she see her, Yi Ran even came over. What was with that odd expression though?

“Song Yu Meng, what the hell is this get-up? It’s so ugly, can’t you wear something normal?” Even though it was meant to be a joke, there was still truth behind it.

Having just suffered a shock and now a scolding, Song Yu Meng’s temper flared up.

“Why are you such a busybody! What this lady wears is up to this lady, it doesn’t have anything to do with you!”

Not only was her dressing spicy, but her character was also just as fiery. Plenty of men in the theatre were already planning on making a move; if not for the fact they just saw her arguing with someone, they were all ready to ask if they could send a friend request to Song Yu Meng on WeChat.

With all the admiring looks, Song Yu Meng grew even bolder and raised her chin: “Can’t you see so many people are attracted by this lady’s charm? You’re the blind one!”

Yi Ran’s expression twisted even more, feeling embarrassed on Song Yu Meng’s behalf.

There were too many eyes in the theatre, it truly wasn’t a suitable place to talk. Yi Ran grabbed Song Yu Meng’s wrist and pulled her forcefully out of the theatre.

“Let go of me!” Song Yu Meng struggled to try and get away.

Yi Ran pretended as if she didn’t hear her and continued pulling her towards somewhere with no people, not reducing the amount of strength she was using to hold her wrist.

Song Yu Meng struggled to get her hand free to no avail. She couldn’t understand how Crazy Yi suddenly was so strong, and she couldn’t figure out why she was getting pulled away.

The stairwell was empty, so Yi Ran pulled Song Yu Meng in and released her wrist.

The pale skin of her wrist was now reddened, and Song Yu Meng immediately rubbed her wrist gently. Yi Ran saw it and said guiltily: “Sorry, I used a bit too much strength.”

Song Yu Meng glared at Yi Ran: “What’s the point of apologising now? You’ve already hurt this lady!”

“Then I’ll rub it for you?”

Yi Ran said it seriously, but Song Yu Meng felt a bit embarrassed.

“As if you know how to do it? You’re so rough, what if you hurt this lady again?” Song Yu Meng said disdainfully.

Yi Ran “oh”-ed and Song Yu Meng said unhappily: “What did you drag this lady here for? Did something go wrong in your brain again?”

“Don’t move.”

“Huh?”

Song Yu Meng was completely taken aback by Yi Ran’s sentence and stood still.

Yi Ran untied the jacket from her waist and draped it over Song Yu Meng’s waist, tying a knot with the sleeves in front.

Yi Ran’s jacket was slightly oversized and the sleeves were just wide enough to cover Song Yu Meng’s exposed waist in the front while the body of the jacket covered the back and extended all the way to slightly above the knees.

The whole time Yi Ran was tying the jacket on her waist, Song Yu Meng was frozen in place and confused. What was she doing? Why was Crazy Yi tying the jacket on her?

“Hey, Crazy Yi! Are you nuts? Why did you put a jacket on me?”

Ignoring her, Yi Ran walked a few circles around Song Yu Meng scrutinising her from every angle. When she confirmed that there wasn’t much exposed skin left to be seen, she said: “If you don’t want to be stared at by lecherous men, keep my jacket tied on your waist obediently.”

So Crazy Yi pulled her away and tied her jacket on her because of this. Song Yu Meng indeed didn’t know she was being stared at by horny guys.

Song Yu Meng felt happier after realising Yi Ran’s good intentions, but she wouldn’t say it out loud. “A mini skirt paired with a jacket, it’s so ugly! This is the truly terrible outfit!”

Yi Ran smiled blandly, “whatever you say.” She checked the time on her phone, 1.10pm, “there’s only ten minutes till the theatre hall opens, I need to go buy my ticket now.”

Yi Ran jogged out of the stairwell before realising Song Yu Meng didn’t follow, so she hurried her up: “What are you standing there for? Come on.”

They quickly walked back to the movie theatre and Yi Ran went to the ticket counter with Song Yu Meng by her side.

“Jiejie, give me a ticket for 《Crime and Punishment》at 1.30pm.”

“Sorry meimei, the tickets sold like hotcakes, the last one was sold just a minute ago.”

“It’s sold out?” Yi Ran yelped in surprise.

“Yeah, the tickets for 1.30pm are all sold out. Why don’t you check if anybody cancelled their tickets online?”

Yi Ran pulled out her phone and checked in a rush, but there were no refunded tickets.

The lady had also checked that no one refunded their tickets, so she said: “Meimei, how about getting tickets for the next show?”

The next show would only start at 4pm, so Yi Ran shook her head.

“It’s alright, thanks anyway.” Yi Ran walked out of the queue, feeling disappointed over not being able to get the tickets. She had wanted to watch a movie to relax after the exams, but it seems like she would have to wait till tomorrow.

“You didn’t get one?” Song Yu Meng asked.

“Nope, they sold out a minute ago. The next showing is at 4pm, but it’s a bit too late, so I didn’t get a ticket.” Yi Ran sighed, “seems like I’m destined not to watch the premiere today.”

Song Yu Meng felt a bit bad, after all, Yi Ran failed to get the ticket because she was helping her. Glancing at the jacket on her waist, she made up her mind.

She had an extra ticket that would have gone to waste anyway.

“Well, seeing that you lent me your jacket, this lady shall be kind and give you a ticket for free.”

Yi Ran startled, “you’re giving me your ticket? But what about you? Don’t you want to see Han Fan’s movie?”

Folding her arms, Song Yu Meng laughed: “Crazy Yi, are you dumb? If this lady only had one ticket, do you think I’d give it to you? Clearly, it’s because I have an extra.”

Yi Ran looked at her doubtfully: “An extra ticket? Why? Are you that much of a wastrel, buying two tickets for one person?”

“You’re the one wasting money[1]! This ticket was supposed to be for Liu Luo Yang gege.”

Yi Ran raised an eyebrow in amusement: “So where’s Liu Luo Yang? Can it be that you wanted to invite him out but got rejected?”

“You’re the one getting rejected! Liu Luo Yang gege clearly was busy and couldn’t make it. If he was free, he would definitely watch the movie with me.” With a single mention of Liu Luo Yang, Song Yu Meng immediately looked bashful.

Yi Ran couldn’t bear to watch, “Please, do you believe this sort of lies so easily? He clearly has time, he just doesn’t want to watch the movie with you.”

The bashful expression disappeared. “Mind your own business, if you continue sprouting rubbish, this lady isn’t going to give you the ticket.”

Yi Ran lowered her head and held her hands together, begging: “Don’t, I’ll stop talking.”

“Hmph, that’s more like it.” Song Yu Meng pointed to the ticket machine and said, “You go get the tickets, I’ll send you the QR code.”

Yi Ran walked over obediently and retrieved the tickets, giving one to Song Yu Meng before looking at the seat number on the ticket.

The seats were in the last row, at the leftmost corner.

“You actually got the leftmost seats in the last row.” Yi Ran teased with a smile.

Song Yu Meng immediately rebutted with a guilty look: “What? Can’t I?”

“Of course you can, it’s just that your wishful thinking has been destroyed with me sitting next to you.”

How could Yi Ran not figure out Song Yu Meng’s intentions? Nobody would buy such an out-of-the-way seat unless they wanted to do some exciting things under the cover of darkness.

Song Yu Meng blushed furiously and insisted: “What rubbish are you saying? If you’re going to keep it up, give the ticket back to me!”

“Cough cough, pretend I didn’t say anything.”

There was still ten minutes before the hall opened, so the two of them sat on the benches outside to wait.

Keeping her gaze on the floor, Yi Ran said: “Honestly though, I think you look even better when you don’t have makeup on.”

Song Yu Meng looked gloomy and said: “Whatever, this lady’s makeup wasn’t put on for you to see anyway.”

“But I’m the only one looking at you here, aren’t I?” Yi Ran lifted her head and looked closely at Song Yu Meng. Her makeup was just as dramatic as she was, resulting in a less gentle look than her bare face.

Yi Ran’s eyes had a particular depth to them, it felt almost as if she would be sucked in if she stared into them for too long. Song Yu Meng quickly turned her head away, not daring to look any further.

“What are you looking at me for? Does this lady have something on her face?” She could feel her face heating up, but it was hidden by the blush she applied.

“Nah.” Yi Ran stood up and looked at the popcorn vendor. “You want some popcorn? I’ll go get some.”

“No, it looks too sweet, I don’t want to have any.”

“Alright, I’ll have it myself then.”

Yi Ran bought a large popcorn and threw two kernels into her mouth. It was crunchy, covered with butter and sweet. Delicious.

“Really don’t want any?” Yi Ran shook the tub of popcorn in front of Song Yu Meng.

She looked at Yi Ran then at the golden popcorn, before reaching out a hand to put a kernel in her mouth.

“Isn’t it delicious?”

“How is it delicious? It’s pretty average. I’ll get sick of it if I eat just a bit more.” Song Yu Meng gazed at the popcorn and said, “I’d like to see how you finish such a large tub.”

Yi Ran laughed: “Just like this.” She stuffed a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

– 1.30pm –

The employee checked their tickets and let them enter the hall. Song Yu Meng never thought that she would be watching the movie today with Crazy Yi. Yi Ran had the same feeling, thinking she would be watching it alone.

After the commercials were over, the lights dimmed in the theatre and the movie started.

Beginning with an intense car race, the audience was captivated, letting out a “wow” in unison. Song Yu Meng’s expression changed, and her eyes moved from the screen to two people in the middle of the third row.

Liu Luo Yang and Xu Yuan.

About 30 minutes into the movie, just as it was getting exciting, Yi Ran suddenly heard a voice from her left.

“Damned white lotus!”

It wasn’t loud, and only Yi Ran could hear it. She looked over at Song Yu Meng, confused, the movie long forgotten. What’s going on with her?

Even though the theatre was dark, Song Yu Meng felt the heat of Yi Ran’s gaze and she pushed her face with her right hand, whispering: “Watch the movie, what are you looking at this lady for?”

Yi Ran was speechless, having had her face pushed away, thinking: Then what are you talking for?

After a short interlude, the most thrilling parts of the movie were over, so Yi Ran put her full attention on Song Yu Meng.

She thought about how she heard Song Yu Meng say “damned white lotus”, surely Xu Yuan couldn’t be here too?

She followed Song Yu Meng’s gaze and saw that Xu Yuan and Liu Luo Yang were sitting in the third row. From this angle, they looked incredibly close, almost as if Xu Yuan was resting her head on Liu Luo Yang’s shoulder.

It suddenly became clear to Yi Ran. No wonder Song Yu Meng was so angry. Not only was she lied to, but Liu Luo Yang was also watching a movie with the girl she hated most. It would be odd if she wasn’t angry.

Yi Ran giggled, and the stranger on the right of her looked at Yi Ran with an odd expression.

Immediately covering her mouth, Yi Ran continued smiling.

[1] 你才挥霍钱呢 – Think of it as a “no, you!” retort. Example, someone says you’re being incredibly annoying, and you’re like “no, you!”. It’s a pretty childish comeback, but yeah hahah.