Inside the Cinema

"You already know he’s a scumbag, yet you still went and toyed with him. Aren’t you afraid he’ll deliberately chase you down, win you over, and then dump you harshly just to get revenge?"

Wu Mengchen smiled from the side. "Xiao Ya, your attitude toward Gu Sheng is a little off! Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him."

"What~ Sis Chen, you can’t just say things like that!"

Le Erya instantly bristled like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on. She stiffened her neck and argued, "What do you mean, I’ve fallen for him? I only see him as an interesting toy!

"That’s right, a toy. He can only ever be a toy."

Le Erya emphasized it repeatedly, but somehow, she sounded rather lacking in confidence.

"Really~~"

Wu Mengchen spoke with a grin, her tone tinged with teasing.

"Of course it’s true~"

Le Erya swore up and down. Honestly, before today, she really hadn’t considered the matter at all!

"All right, all right, no need to explain. Sis Chen understands. She understands everything!"

Wu Mengchen put on the air of someone who had been through it all, leaving Le Erya utterly baffled. She and Gu Sheng really were completely innocent—they had nothing going on, all right? How had her words become so suspicious the moment they reached Wu Mengchen’s ears?

"I’m~ not talking to you anymore~"

Le Erya stomped her foot anxiously, then hurried into the theater.

"Hehe~~"

Wu Mengchen laughed at Le Erya’s back for a while. She had deliberately teased Le Erya. Who told this little girl to interrupt her experiment today?

Although going out to have fun today had been nice, and she had even run into Gu Sheng, an interesting subject, if she didn’t teach this energetic girl a little lesson, she would still feel rather uncomfortable!

"You…"

Lin Qinghe glanced at Wu Mengchen. It felt as though Dr. Wu’s aloof demeanor had vanished completely. Yet another person had been dragged down from her pedestal by Le Erya.

"They followed us in!"

After Gu Sheng and Huang Anqi found their seats and sat down, Huang Anqi glanced back and quietly spoke.

"What are you nervous about? They’re here to watch a movie too!"

Gu Sheng smiled at her and gently soothed her, holding her slightly cold hand. "I’m right here. What are you afraid of?"

"Oh!"

Huang Anqi obediently nodded and quietly returned to her seat. She took the popcorn and soda Gu Sheng had brought and began eating in small bites.

Because she kept worrying about Le Erya and the others behind them, her movements were mechanical, and everything tasted like wax.

"Ta-da-da-da-da~~~~ Hehe! Little Brother Gu, we meet again!"

Le Erya’s voice sounded again. Sure enough, she had followed them in, unwilling to let Gu Sheng off easily.

"Sis Yaya! Have you heard of being like a lingering ghost? Or of ruining the mood?"

Gu Sheng was almost too exasperated to complain. Did Le Erya have no sense at all? Couldn’t she see that he was trying to win Huang Anqi over? Yet she had still come to interrupt and play third wheel. One-star rating, Sister.

Of course, Gu Sheng wasn’t actually flirting with Huang Anqi. The girl was frightened and had moved closer to him, and he had offered his hand to comfort her. The two of them looked intimate, almost like a couple.

"I can’t help it! Our seats are right next to yours!"

Le Erya waved the three movie tickets in her hand. Then, right in front of everyone, she exchanged tickets with the girl to Huang Anqi’s right and the two people to Gu Sheng’s left. Afterward, she waved the tickets smugly at Gu Sheng, then unexpectedly sat down to Huang Anqi’s right.

"Could you move your foot?"

A clear female voice sounded beside him. Gu Sheng looked up and saw that it was another elegant beauty who had come with Lin Qinghe and Le Erya.

The beauty had a hint of aloofness and a scholarly air. Her youthful-looking face, enhanced by a pair of glasses, made her seem even more refined. Her entire being radiated a captivating charm.

"Oh~ Oh…"

Gu Sheng stared blankly for a moment, like a young boy seeing a beautiful woman for the first time. He cast her a shy glance, then hurriedly withdrew his right foot, which had been blocking her way.

In reality, however, he felt a terrible headache coming on, because he knew he would have to start acting again. And this time, he had to deal with an even more troublesome beauty.

As expected, Lin Qinghe and the elegant beauty took the two seats to Gu Sheng’s left, with Lin Qinghe sitting at the far left.

The beauty sat to Gu Sheng’s left, sandwiching him between herself and Huang Anqi. Lin Qinghe and Le Erya sat on his other sides.

Of the five seats, four were occupied by exceptionally beautiful women, while the lone man in the middle knew all of them. This naturally drew plenty of resentment toward Gu Sheng and attracted quite a few eyes.

"Your name is Gu Sheng, right, little brother?"

After sitting down, the beauty seemed to feel that the gazes focused on Gu Sheng still weren’t heated enough. She turned around, reached out, and greeted him. "My name is Wu Mengchen. I’m Xiaoya and Xiaohe’s colleague.

"You can call me Sis Chen. If anything comes up in the future, you can come to me for help, little brother!"

"Oh! Ah!"

Gu Sheng reacted with exaggerated surprise, looking utterly flattered. He kept shaking Wu Mengchen’s delicate hand, showing no intention of letting go.

"Pfft~~"

Wu Mengchen couldn’t help laughing. "Little brother, you look so cute like this!"

As she spoke, she even reached out with her left hand and pinched Gu Sheng’s cheek while laughing, treating him entirely like an amusing toy.

Yet Le Erya turned the tables on him at that moment. "Gu Sheng, what are you doing, you little brat? Taking advantage of Sis Chen, are you? Hurry up and let go of your lecherous hand."

Gu Sheng was speechless. Le Erya said nothing about Wu Mengchen pinching his cheek, yet she made an issue of him shaking hands with her. The unequal treatment was far too obvious!

"It’s fine, it’s fine. If Little Brother Gu wants to hold my hand, just let him," Wu Mengchen said magnanimously.

Huang Anqi’s gaze turned toward them. Could this girl be jealous? No, that had to be his imagination!

How long had she even known him? How could she possibly be jealous over him? If it were little Xin’er, that would be another matter. But if Xin’er were here, it would probably be even harder to get her to declare her claim. Having Sister Mei come help him would be more realistic.

Gu Sheng thought this to himself, but his hands moved quickly. As if afraid of causing a misunderstanding, he immediately withdrew his right hand from Wu Mengchen’s.

"Little brother, am I really that scary? Seeing you like this makes me so sad," Wu Mengchen said coquettishly, leaning slightly toward Gu Sheng. A faint fragrance drifted into his nose.

"Sis Chen, um… Is it cramped over there?"

Gu Sheng shifted awkwardly to the right, nearly pressing against Huang Anqi.

At that moment, Huang Anqi had inexplicably lost her usual boldness. She simply let Gu Sheng face Le Erya and Wu Mengchen’s joint assault alone.

"Not at all! I just wanted to get to know Little Brother Gu properly. Seeing you act like this is making your big sister a little sad."

Wu Mengchen smiled with pursed lips. Her right hand boldly grabbed Gu Sheng by the shoulder and pulled him over to her, making him sit beside her again.

When the movie began, she didn’t even watch the big screen. She simply stared at Gu Sheng the entire time, watching him until he began to feel uneasy.