Affection

Fang Qi's body stiffened as he felt gazes coming from all directions.

His mind went completely blank.

...Wait a minute.

What did this mean?

Why was everyone... looking at them?

Ah, could it be because...

I was talking too loudly just now?

So loud that even the movie was paused because of it?

So loud that they had to use their stares... to pressure him?

His mouth twitched slightly, trying to force a small smile.

Haha, is this...

Is this the world's... conventional way of dealing with people who make noise in a movie theater?

Ahaha, what a strange custom...!

Fang Qi was speechless.

Custom my ass!!!!

His eyes widened, and a numbness spread all the way from his spine to the back of his head!

What the hell are you looking at!!!

Stop looking!!

He glared back fiercely, hoping to dispel the creeping dread in his heart!

But those gazes didn't shift away in the slightest!

They continued... to stare eerily at the two of them.

They made no movements, uttered no words.

The entire movie theater seemed as if someone had pressed the pause button on time, frozen in this very moment.

Now, Fang Qi's body was truly frozen stiff!

He was completely paralyzed!

He looked at these eerie gazes directed at him and Liguang from every angle...

After a brief moment of blankness, his brain started working in overdrive!!

No, no, no, no, no...

This isn't right, this isn't right, this isn't right!!!

He... he had been set up!

In an instant, many things came to his mind!

He had chosen this movie theater online.

It popped up in a map app's recommendations... and he took a liking to it at first glance.

Remote, old, and hidden on the third floor of a mall.

It seemed to lack any appealing elements whatsoever.

In reality, even the elevator creaked, looking like it hadn't been maintained in a long time, not at all like a place people frequented.

But today...

The entire screening room was almost full.

No, not almost...

It was completely full!

Except for the two seats next to him and Liguang, every other seat was taken!

An old-fashioned theater without couples seating... yet it was filled with pairs of young couples.

And right now...

All these young couples were looking at him, looking at Liguang.

They were completely motionless.

The way the girls leaned on the boys' shoulders... the way the boys held the girls' waists...

The angles were all practically identical.

Even the curves of their smiles were nearly the same.

A bizarre, uniform... copy-and-paste kind of matching!

At this moment, Fang Qi felt it hard to breathe!

His throat felt as if it were being choked by something; he wanted to shout but couldn't make a sound!

Hey...

Hey, hey, hey...!

This is crazy... this is crazy...!

But... but I can't be afraid!

I can't panic!

He still had his wife!

His wife was right beside him!

His wife Liguang was super strong, absolutely invincible!

What was he afraid of! What was there to fear!

Besides... he needed to man up! He was a man who was going to become strong!

But... but, but, but...

Something was wrong?!

Why hasn't Liguang...

Had any reaction yet?!

He abruptly turned his head to look at Liguang!

The silver-haired girl was actually... still staring at him with wide, eager eyes!

Her heterochromatic eyes even held a trace of grievance and reluctance.

The silver hair under her beret was a bit messy, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks, and her small mouth was slightly pursed...

Looking exactly like a little girl thinking, Why is Master scolding me again!

Noticing Fang Qi's stiffness, she blinked, a flash of confusion passing through her mismatched eyes.

Master...?

She called out softly, her voice sweet and soft, even carrying a hint of... an obviously faked, ingratiating nasal tone!

Then she sneaked a glance at the paused movie screen...

And looked at the surrounding audience who were staring blankly at them...

Her delicate body pressed slightly against Fang Qi's.

Her small hand tugged at his sleeve, and she lowered her voice to say:

Master, stop messing around. The movie even paused because of us...

Everyone around is looking too...

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, carrying a slight trace of discomfort.

Liguang doesn't like being stared at...

She tugged at his sleeve again, tilting her small face up, her amber left eye shimmering with moisture.

Master, sit down quickly, let's keep watching the movie...

Fang Qi was full of question marks.

Hah???

He stared wide-eyed at the innocent-looking little yandere in front of him.

No, wait...?!

Wifey, what are you doing?!

Is this an issue about the movie pausing?! Is this an issue about the people around us looking?!

Did you not feel...

That the fact they are all staring at us in unison is fundamentally wrong in itself?!

Ah...?

Could it be... because it was Liguang's first time at a movie theater and she lacked experience, she really thought the movie was paused because they were being loud?

Did she really think...

That these people around them were just ordinary audience members blaming them for breaking the rules?

Bullshit!

There is a massive problem with the way these people are looking!

Those hollow, eerie, motionless stares...

How the hell is this normal?!

Anyone with a brain could tell something was wrong!

Wait...

Wifey Liguang, why are you acting abnormal too?!

Please no!!

But Fang Qi couldn't care about all that right now!

In this bizarre situation...

He had to run, run right now!

Take his wife and run as far away as possible!

He grabbed Liguang's wrist and abruptly pulled her up!

We are not watching anymore! Let's go! We are leaving right now!

He shouted in a low voice, about to drag her and dash out!

Then his movements froze.

Because he realized that he and Liguang...

Were sitting in the middle seats of this row.

Although there was one empty seat on both the left and right, further to the sides...

There were people sitting!

On the left side of the row, three couples were sitting there.

Six heads were turned uniformly toward them, their gazes... falling straight onto him.

On the right... it was the same.

All staring straight at them.

They... were blocked in the middle!

Fang Qi's heart skipped a heavy beat!

Damn it...! Should we squeeze past...?

But these people... will they attack?!

What on earth... are they...?!

Master?

The silver-haired girl... was actually still looking at him in a bit of a daze!

Fang Qi felt like his mental state was on the verge of collapsing!

Wifey, what is wrong with you...!

Don't scare me!

In an environment like this, with even you acting like this, I'm really going to cry from fear...!

Fang Qi took a deep, fierce breath, then suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered urgently:

Liguang, snap out of it!

Look closely, the people around us are very wrong!

Hearing this, the silver-haired girl actually paused for a noticeable moment.

She finally shifted her gaze away from his face and looked at the surrounding audience.

Her mismatched eyes narrowed slightly in the dim light; her amber left eye reflected those hollow faces, while a crimson hue slowly began to flow in her blood-red right eye.

She stared at those people for two seconds, and then...

With a slight turn of her body, she shielded Fang Qi behind her.

Her slender arms spread wide, like a little mother hen protecting her chick!

In those heterochromatic eyes, a crimson light flickered faintly.

"Don't look at Master..."

She murmured, her voice soft and sweet but carrying a trace of coldness.

"Master belongs to Liguang..."

Then she turned around to look behind her...

The people behind were also staring at them eerily!

Her small hands immediately pressed onto Fang Qi's shoulders. Staring at the people behind, she spoke with a hint of jealousy,

"Master, sit down! If you sit down, the people behind won't be able to see you..."

Fang Qi: "???"

No?!

Wifey, what are you doing?!

Getting jealous?!

Is now the time to be jealous?!

They are a danger! Not your romantic rivals!

He grabbed the silver-haired girl's shoulders, making her face him, and forcefully cupped her small face with both hands!

That soft, real, and warm touch actually made his panicked heart... settle down for just a brief moment.

He stared dead into her eyes and whispered through gritted teeth,

"Liguang! You better look closely! Their gazes are not normal at all!"

With her face cupped by him, Liguang's rosy little mouth was squeezed into a slight pout.

Her heterochromatic eyes blinked, the amber pupil still filled with bewilderment.

The crimson pupil, however, finally began to flicker. With a shift of her gaze, she started to seriously examine the people around them.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Then...

She blinked and looked at Fang Qi, still bewildered.

"But Master..."

Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying a trace of confusion.

"Liguang feels... they aren't dangerous at all..."

...?

Fang Qi froze.

"...What?"

He felt his voice was incredibly hoarse.

The silver-haired girl tilted her small head, the silver hair under her beret swaying gently, and pursed her little lips.

"Liguang feels..."

"They won't hurt Master, and they won't hurt Liguang either..."

Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she was trying hard to understand her own feelings.

"And Liguang feels..."

As she spoke, she looked again at the men and women who were still quietly and eerily watching the two of them...

"They feel a little bit familiar and friendly..."

...Huh?

Fang Qi felt as if his brain had instantly entered a vacuum!

Liguang... felt they were friendly?

This group of people... as expected...

Are...?!

And right at this moment, the three couples in the row of seats to his left suddenly moved.

It wasn't a stiff or mechanical movement; instead, they stood up very naturally and methodically.

They turned sideways slightly, walked past the front of that row of seats, and retreated into the aisle.

A path leading to the exit... was just yielded like that.

Fang Qi stared blankly at this scene...

His eyelids were twitching wildly!

They... were making way for him?

But those people, after making way, did not leave. They just stood quietly on both sides of the aisle...

Then, they continued to look at him with that same eerie gaze.

A chill ran down Fang Qi's spine once again!

But... he didn't have time to overthink it!

No matter what... the path was clear!

Right now, he had to leave this damn place first!

He would think about everything else later!

"Go!"

He let out a low growl!

Gripping Liguang's wrist tightly, he pulled her and dashed toward the aisle!

The silver-haired girl stumbled a bit as she was pulled, and surprisingly cast a reluctant glance at the silver screen at the last moment...

But she still obediently kept up with his pace.

The two rushed through the aisle, burst out of the half-open door of the screening room, and dashed into the dim corridor!

In the corridor...

There was no one!

Only the emergency lights overhead emitted a sickly green glow!

Their footsteps echoed in the empty space, hurried and chaotic!

Fang Qi didn't dare to stop!

He held onto Liguang's small hand and sprinted all the way!

Turning the corner—

They finally made it back to the ticket hall!

Panting heavily, Fang Qi's gaze quickly swept across the entire hall!

The front desk was completely empty, the popcorn window was tightly shut, and the red sofas in the resting area were neatly arranged.

...There was not a single person.

Before watching the movie...

There were clearly so many people.

The entire hall... was now dead silent.

Only the fluorescent lights overhead were emitting a faint sizzling sound.

Fang Qi only had one thought left in his mind now...

Run! Keep running!!!

Run as far away as possible!

He continued to hold Liguang's hand and was about to rush toward the stairwell!

Then the next second—

"Senior!!!!"

A shout of pleasant surprise suddenly exploded from behind him!

His entire body instantly froze on the spot.

...?

...Huh?