Chapter 26: A Blatant Crush part 1

Turned out, Theater 7 was a couple’s room. The seats weren’t seats at all, they were beds. Just beds for two to lie down and watch the movie together, with only a single blanket to share.

“What the hell is wrong with you two? Booking this kind of theater and dragging me and Chi Ye along? Are you out of your minds?” Lin Yuran said, face darkening.

Xu Jianwei looked aggrieved. “I thought it was just the kind of seat where the armrests are connected or something. How was I supposed to know you had to lie down to watch?”

Seeing how fast Lin Yuran’s mood soured, Qin Lang finally understood why Chi Ye had never dared confess his feelings directly.

“Oh, come on, lying down is way comfier,” Qin Lang said. “Relax, Lin Yuran. Chi Ye’s a gentleman. He’s not going to try anything.”

Chi Ye lowered his lashes and looked at Lin Yuran. “Wanna stay? If not, we’ll leave.”

But now, thanks to Qin Lang’s words, leaving suddenly would seem like she didn’t trust Chi Ye. Lin Yuran hesitated. She and Chi Ye had already spent the night together more than once in those VIP study pods. This really was overthinking it.

Plus, the tickets were non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Lin Yuran couldn’t stand to waste them. Reluctantly, she agreed. “Fine, whatever.”

After finding their bed number, Lin Yuran sat there waging an internal war with herself for a few seconds before finally lying down. She was wearing a short skirt and a denim jacket today, her long, slender legs sprawled across the bed in full view, unavoidably attention-grabbing.

She sat up to pull the blanket over her legs, but Chi Ye was already unfolding it and gently laid it over her. Lin Yuran suddenly felt a little ashamed of how flustered she’d been.

The lights dimmed. The movie was about to start.

Chi Ye leaned back beside her.

The bed wasn’t very wide and lying down together meant their shoulders nearly touched. Lin Yuran’s heartbeat quickened. Sure, they’d spent the night in the same room before, but never in the same bed. Their relationship had always been pure.

Now, his body heat was bleeding into hers. That faint, clean scent of soap and wood from his skin lingered around her. Her breath started to hitch, and she couldn’t focus on the screen at all.

Worse still, not even ten minutes into the film, the couple in front of them started making out.

Lin Yuran kept popping popcorn into her mouth just to distract herself from the awkwardness. Chi Ye was holding the tub, casually eating a piece every now and then.

Halfway through the movie, Lin Yuran gradually adjusted enough to follow the plot.

It was a romance film, and when the leads had a dramatic breakup, it really tugged at her heart. On screen, the male lead, drunk and heartbroken, collapsed sobbing at the heroine’s doorstep. Lin Yuran froze, hand midway into the popcorn tub.

Chi Ye reached in at the same moment, and their hands touched. His was broad and cool to the touch. Lin Yuran instantly stiffened.

Chi Ye quickly pulled back and, clearly flustered, took a long sip of his milk tea.

Lin Yuran took a few seconds to recover. Recalling the feel of his hand, she suddenly thought: he was only wearing a T-shirt, and they hadn’t shared the blanket. It must be cold for him.

She hesitated, then tugged the edge of the blanket toward him. The moment it covered him, she could clearly feel his body tense up.

Right then, on screen, the heroine finally opened the door and embraced the crying male lead. They kissed passionately. That couple in front of them, who’d been making out the whole movie, now got even bolder. Their soft moans could be heard between kisses.

The movie scenes also got progressively more explicit. The couple onscreen moved from the living room to the bathroom to the bedroom, steamy and intense, with no intention of stopping.

Lin Yuran felt her cheeks burning. Chi Ye’s body heat felt even hotter than before. She raised her hand to cover her face and, almost involuntarily, turned to glance at him.

The theater was completely dark, the scene on screen flickering between light and shadow. She couldn’t quite make out his expression.

Sensing her gaze, Chi Ye turned his head. Their eyes met in the dimness. Though they couldn’t see each other clearly, in that instant, it was like a jolt of electricity shot through her chest.

Lin Yuran quickly averted her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chi Ye sit up, throw off the bit of blanket on him, set the popcorn on the nightstand, and turn his head away, rubbing the back of his neck as he noisily sipped from his drink.

The steamy scene on screen still hadn’t ended.

Lin Yuran took a deep breath, gave up on watching, and shut her eyes, hoping she could fall asleep instead.

These past few years, her life had always been in high gear – work, study, daily stress. Just letting herself stop thinking for a while, drowsiness quickly crept in.

As her breathing evened out, Chi Ye turned to look at her.

She had curled up with her back to him, like a tiny shrimp, that subconscious fetal position that only people with very little sense of security took.

Falling asleep so quickly in such a noisy environment, she must have been utterly exhausted.

Chi Ye leaned back and gently pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed back, tucking it in. As if sensing the warmth, Lin Yuran suddenly turned toward him, still curled up, and hugged his arm.

The soft press of her chest startled him so badly his arm trembled slightly. Her shallow breathing fell against his skin, warm and feathery, like a brush of down, making his whole body tingle.

Just his luck, the movie was still in the middle of another love scene.

Chi Ye clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms, but it did little to clear his head. The desire he’d suppressed for so long now threatened to shatter his self-control.

He took a deep breath. While he still had some reason left, he tried to pull his arm free. But just as he moved, Lin Yuran murmured something, curled tighter, and held on even harder.

“…”

Chi Ye was frozen. He lifted his free hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, then dug his thumbs into his temples.

“Little fox, you really won’t let me live, huh?”

His voice was barely a whisper.

Memories of their school days began flooding in like cracks opening in a dam.

The first time he ran into Lin Yuran pulling an all-nighter at the internet café, she hadn’t brought anything with her like she’d come out just to play. And she did hang out with him all night, playing game after game.

But the second time, she’d brought a backpack and her little dragon pillow. That time, she clearly hadn’t come to play. She came to sleep.

And she barely played at all. The moment she sat down, she hugged her workbook and quietly studied for hours.

He remembered teasing her back then: “You nap through every class and still come out top of the year? Guess humans really did evolve without me. It turns out that being a good student can be learned.”

Lin Yuran had laughed. “You’re so naive. Nothing comes easy, and every achievement is earned with bl00d and sweat.”

When she got tired, she’d curled up with her dragon pillow on the couch. That pillow had been left at his place ever since.

Her sleeping posture hadn’t changed. It always looked so defensive, like hugging that pillow was the only thing that made her feel safe. Once, he forgot to bring it back to her after washing it. That night, she tossed and turned and couldn’t sleep at all.

……

T/N: Where is that theater? I would like to invite a certain someone too