Four-line Love Poem

Chapter 149

Half an hour later, Wanda Cinema.

The movie theater was packed on the weekend, the air filled with the sweet, sticky caramel scent of popcorn.

Holding a large bucket of popcorn and two cups of cola, Gu Ran followed behind Ye Zhenzhen in the ticket check line.

"What are we watching? Transformers?" Gu Ran asked casually.

These days, the only things that could make a guy willingly step into a movie theater were either long legs or mechas.

"Uh... something like that," Ye Zhenzhen answered vaguely, her eyes darting everywhere but at Gu Ran.

"Anyway, it's a blockbuster. Lots of special effects, the boom-boom kind."

Gu Ran didn't think much of it until the ticket collector took the stub, tore it in half, handed it back, and casually mentioned,

"Hall 3, The Pretending Lovers, straight ahead to the left."

Gu Ran's footsteps suddenly halted.

He looked at the ticket stub in his hand, then at the poster nearby.

Huang Bo was sporting a ridiculous emo hairstyle with a miserable look on his face, and the movie's title shone brightly under the lights.

The four large characters of the title, The Pretending Lovers, sparkled under the illumination.

"Dr. Ye." Gu Ran turned his head, looking at the girl beside him who looked like she wanted to bury her face in the popcorn bucket, his tone teasing.

"This is what you meant by... Transformers?"

"Wh-what about it!" Ye Zhenzhen's neck was completely red, but she still stubbornly tried to explain.

"This... this is also a blockbuster! An emotional action blockbuster!"

Gu Ran: ???

Is this emotional action blockbuster of yours decent?

"Besides... besides, Pei Susu bought the tickets. I didn't even look at the title. Her taste has always been unique, it's not like you don't know!"

Pei Susu: Listen to me, thank you so much...

Gu Ran held back his laughter and nodded. "Alright, the title is quite fitting. Let's go, we shouldn't let Miss Pei's 'hard work' go to waste."

Ye Zhenzhen: ...

With just one sentence, he successfully made the girl's cheeks flush red again.

Fitting? Was he talking about the two of them?

...

The two walked into Hall 3.

The lights in the theater had already dimmed, and brainwashing commercials were playing on the screen.

Gu Ran followed Ye Zhenzhen all the way to the back, feeling more and more that something was off the further they went.

Third row from the back... no.

Second row from the back... no either.

Until they reached the very last row, a highly concealed spot right in the corner.

Moreover, the seats in this row were different from the ones in front.

There was no annoying armrest in the middle; the wide red sofa was large enough to fit two people lying side by side.

Was this... the legendary couple's seat?

Gu Ran stood in front of the seat, looking meaningfully at the girl beside him, whose face was as red as a pomegranate.

"Um..." Ye Zhenzhen obviously realized the issue as well. She coughed dryly, put her small hands behind her back, and with a touch of tsundere pride, began to spout serious nonsense.

"Yeah... yeah, this 'sibling seat' isn't bad. It looks much more comfortable than the ones in front."

What the hell is a sibling seat!

This excuse was so lame that even the boss of Wanda would cry hearing it.

"Sure, a sibling seat is great." Gu Ran was amused. Taking advantage of the situation without complaining, he plopped down onto the seat.

Sinking into the soft sofa, he patted the empty spot next to him.

"Come on, sister, sit a bit closer. This is a sibling seat exclusively for the two of us."

Hearing him say that, the girl became bashful.

After dawdling to sit down, her body was as stiff as a board, trying to cover up her embarrassment by maintaining a fist-sized distance from Gu Ran.

But the original design of the couple's seat was meant for couples to snuggle, without the barrier of an armrest in the middle.

As their bodies sank into the cushions, their thighs inevitably pressed against each other.

Summer clothing was already thin and light.

Gu Ran could clearly feel the warmth radiating from her thigh under the tight jeans, as well as the slight trembling of her muscles.

He was wearing knee-length shorts, and the girl could even feel the heat coming off his skin.

The next second, Ye Zhenzhen flinched as if she had been electrocuted, but she quickly stopped moving.

She didn't move away; she just locked her gaze onto the big screen playing commercials, pretending to watch the movie intently.

The movie soon started.

It was a typical domestic romantic comedy with a somewhat nonsensical plot.

But in the year 2011, it still managed to make the whole audience roar with laughter.

They were surrounded by young couples in pairs.

From the seats in front, there were occasional whispers, as well as blush-inducing kissing sounds.

Under the enhancement of this ambiguous atmosphere, the two in the corner seemed exceptionally quiet.

Gu Ran's mind wasn't on the movie at all.

Because from the corner of his eye, his gaze kept falling on the girl beside him.

The dim lighting outlined the delicate silhouette of the girl's side profile.

Her long eyelashes were like two little fans, casting a shadow below her eyelids.

Although her eyes were fixed on the screen, the straw in her cola cup had already been chewed flat, showing she was clearly absent-minded too.

Gu Ran moved the popcorn bucket a bit toward the center and reached in to grab some popcorn.

Coincidentally.

Ye Zhenzhen also reached in at the exact same time.

Their two hands met inside the narrow paper bucket.

The moment their fingertips touched, Gu Ran felt Ye Zhenzhen's fingers suddenly flinch, instinctively wanting to pull back.

But Gu Ran didn't give her the chance.

He flipped his hand over and, under the cover of a bucket full of caramel-scented popcorn, accurately grabbed that soft, boneless little hand.

Ye Zhenzhen's body stiffened, and she instinctively turned to look at him.

Gu Ran blinked and mouthed back with an innocent look on his face.

Afraid you might steal a bite.

Ye Zhenzhen: ...

She tried to struggle a couple of times, but Gu Ran held on tight, forcing his fingers through hers until they were tightly intertwined with fingers interlocked.

The sensation of their palms touching was infinitely magnified in this enclosed and dark space.

Eventually, the girl gave up resisting.

Or rather, her weak resistance was more like a flirtatious game of playing hard to get.

Her palms began to sweat slightly, and her breathing quickened, but her body honestly leaned a little closer to Gu Ran.

As for what the movie was actually about, neither of them probably had a clue.

As the plot progressed to the middle, the male and female leads misunderstood each other in the rain, argued, and then embraced.

The background music became emotional.

"Ahem."

Gu Ran coughed lightly, his eyes involuntarily glancing at the items inside the girl's small white shoes, before leaning over to whisper.

"Um... Ye Zhenzhen, are your feet cold? Let me warm them up for you."

"I..."

Before the girl could utter a word of refusal, both her legs were forcibly pulled into his lap.

Taking off the shoes.

Warming hands... no, warming feet.

The entire operation was as smooth as flowing water, leaving the girl no chance to resist, or perhaps she simply didn't want to.

Ye Zhenzhen kept her face pointed toward the screen as if immersed in the plot, but her slightly trembling earlobes gave her away.

Feeling the friction of the fabric, Gu Ran leaned back against the seat in satisfaction, staring brightly at the screen as if he too were immersed in the story.

The two tacitly continued watching, not knowing how much time had passed.

Even when their limbs went numb from holding the same position for so long, neither was willing to move an inch.

It wasn't until the girl's face was blushing so hard it looked like it could drip blood, and her eyes were so moist they seemed ready to squeeze out water, that she tremblingly reached out and poked a certain someone, whispering, "You... you should eat some popcorn."

"No need, I have something tastier," Gu Ran whispered back without even turning his head.

Ye Zhenzhen: "???"

He really was a pervert!

The girl felt ashamed once again for instantly understanding his implication. She shrank her neck, hiding her delicate chin a little deeper into her collar, as if doing so could alleviate some of her embarrassment.

Then she tried to pull her legs back, but he held onto them tightly.

The girl had no choice but to helplessly give up and continue watching the movie seriously.

An unknown amount of time passed before the light on the big screen suddenly dimmed as the plot entered a nighttime scene.

The entire theater was plunged into pitch darkness.

Gu Ran leaned over slightly, taking advantage of the rare darkness to get closer to Ye Zhenzhen.

The girl seemed to sense something. Her eyelashes trembled violently, and the fingers gripping her cola cup turned white from the force.

She didn't dodge.

She even... raised her chin slightly.

Gu Ran: "???"

What did this mean?

Was she being this accommodating?

Gu Ran looked at the beautiful face right in front of him, those eyes that still sparkled in the dark, and those slightly pursed red lips.

He lowered his head, originally just wanting to plant a kiss on the girl's cheek.

But if she was going to be like this, then he wouldn't hold back...

If lips were two lines of an unfinished poem.

Then at this moment, they had four lines...

A minute passed, or perhaps ten.

The two of them forgot themselves, maintaining the same posture until the girl shyly pushed him away, turned her blushing face aside, and looked back at the screen.

Gu Ran smacked his lips, feeling that the cola he just drank was much sweeter now, which earned him a kick from the girl beside him.

That dog, not only did he use his tongue, but he also smacked his lips!!!

But at this moment, the girl had no strength left to bicker with him.

An unprecedented tingling sensation rushed from her tailbone straight to the crown of her head, turning her entire body into a puddle of soft water.

"Bad... bad guy."

It took a long time before she squeezed these two words out of her throat, but her voice was so soft and sweet that it sounded like she was acting spoiled.

After she spoke, Gu Ran slightly turned his head.

Seeing this, she acted like a frightened ostrich, abruptly burying her face into her collar.

She curled up into a ball, refusing to lift her head again.

Looking at this quail who had packed herself up, Gu Ran simply couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.

He swore that this was absolutely the best movie he had watched in both his lifetimes.

...

The lights in the theater suddenly came on, the glaring illumination announcing the end of the movie.

The surrounding audience stood up one after another, stretching their backs and discussing the plot as they walked out.

Only the two people in the corner of the last row remained seated without moving.

"Ye Zhenzhen?"

Gu Ran turned his head, looking at the girl who was still playing dead with her face buried in her collar, and reached out to rub her head.

It felt really good.

"Are you planning to stay here overnight?"

Only then did Ye Zhenzhen slowly raise her head.

That small face, which was usually aloof, was now as red as if she had just come out of a sauna, with even the corners of her eyes tinted with a touch of rouge.

She gave Gu Ran a resentful glare, but her eyes were watery and lacked any lethality; instead, they revealed a captivating charm.

"Gu... Gu 'Dog' Ran."

"Hmm? I'm here."

"I... I have no strength left."

Gu Ran looked at her appearing as if she was about to burn out and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He stood up and completely naturally reached his hand out to the girl.

"Let's go, I'll carry you home on my back."