Chapter 57 Part 3
Half a year ago when Xi Jia was shooting for School Beauty: Soul Shocking Night, he met Charlatan Pei, thus opening the door to a new world. The director had backing for this movie. After only half a year, the movie was released with pretty high ratings. Xi Jia originally didn’t want to see this movie, but Ye Jingzhi would replay the movie trailer dozens of times at home. Whenever there was time, he would replay it. Xi Jia couldn’t pretend not to see and had no choice but to see this movie.
The audience watching this movie was particularly small. The two of them sat at the center of the theatre with only three or four others sitting elsewhere.
Xi Jia ate popcorn as he watched the movie, bored. As he watched and watched, his line of sight shifted towards the side to take a glance and noticed that Ye Jingzhi was seriously watching the movie with a concentrated gaze.
His heart went a bit soft. Although Xi Jia absolutely didn’t want to watch this kind of extremely boring and crappy movie, he didn’t think that it was tedious at all.
Master Ye watched the movie, and he watched Master Ye……It was great like this. There’s nothing wrong.
Ye Jingzhi already knew that Xi Jia only had three scenes in this movie. Once the third scene flashed past, Master Ye instantly felt a bit disappointed. He didn’t look at the screen anymore and ate a few bites of popcorn with a lowered head. He had only eaten a few when he swapped his popcorn with Xi Jia’s, “I don’t like to eat this, Jia Jia, you eat.”
At this moment, Xi Jia already couldn’t hide the smile at the edge of his lips. He reached out and quietly felt for Ye Jingzhi’s hand in the darkness of the theatre.
On the screen, the movie continued, and the speakers also emitted all sorts of sharp cries. However, neither of them sitting at the center were in the mood to watch the movie. Xi Jia’s eyes drooped as he quietly said, “Ye Jingzhi, what are you doing watching the movie when……the real thing is next to you?”
Ye Jingzhi’s body became stiff in a flash, and he stammered, “I-I’m here to watch a movie. This movie……This movie is very interesting!”
He had just said these words when the two visitors in back angrily left, “What is this crap, this kind of thing can even enter the movie theatres?”
Ye Jingzhi, “……”
Xi Jia couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Ye Jingzhi was so embarrassed that he wasn’t willing to raise his head. Xi Jia held his hand. After he noticed that everyone else in the theatre had already left, he gently rested his head on Ye Jingzhi’s shoulder and said in a quiet voice, “Alright, alright. I know you’re here to watch me. And now that we’re done watching, can we go now?” En, after going back home, you can slowly watch me.
Master Ye didn’t make out the meaning of Xi Jia’s words. He didn’t want to admit, “I-I’m here to watch a movie!”
Xi Jia continued to tease, “You’re here to see me.”
The blush on Ye Jingzhi’s face grew even redder, “T-to see a movie!”
Xi Jia, “Oh? You’re really not here to see me?”
Ye Jingzhi, “……En.”
Xi Jia indifferently said, “Then we’ll continue to watch it then. There’s still an hour and a half left.”
Ye Jingzhi, “……”
For the next hour and a half, Xi Jia was stifling his laughter as he watched Ye Jingzhi devotedly finish the movie.
Frankly, School Beauty: Soul Shocking Night was truly a crappy movie among crappy movies. Among all the movies that Xi Jia had shot before, it was second to none in crappiness. Several times, Ye Jingzhi couldn’t help but knit his brows, wanting to yawn due to boredom. But, he held back each and every time.
After finishing the movie, he still earnestly looked at Xi Jia and said with emphasis on each word, “Jia Jia, the movie is very good. Your acting……is also very good.”
Xi Jia chuckled, “I only have 3 scenes, that’s also good?”
Ye Jingzhi blushed, “……Good!” It’s good!
Unable to handle his family’s Master Ye’s meng anymore, Xi Jia no longer teased Master Ye. He could also tell that if he continued to tease him, Master Ye’s face would be able to fry an egg.
They were the only ones in the audience who had finished watching School Beauty: Soul Shocking Night. Once they left the theatre, a blockbuster movie also finished showing. There were so many people coming out of that theatre that it resembled waves. In comparison, their theatre only had the two of them. Suddenly, they became very prominent.
Walking in this sort of public place, Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi didn’t hold hands. They walked side by side, Xi Jia was looking down at the tiles on the floor, and Ye Jingzhi was quietly asking what to eat tonight.
Very content with his life, Xi Jia’s heart also slowly calmed down. Until suddenly, he heard a high voice, “Xi Jia?!”
Xi Jia suddenly stopped and turned to look. Ye Jingzhi also turned his head around to look at the speaker.
It was a young man with glasses. He came with a pretty girl to watch that blockbuster movie. It was precisely the movie with the particularly large audience. The two theatres were close together. The theatre for School Beauty: Soul Shocking Night was at the front of the hallway. Therefore, when the two of them came out of the theatre, they were walking behind Xi Jia and Ye Jingzhi.
When he saw this person, Xi Jia slightly wrinkled his brows. After thinking for a while, he smiled and nodded but didn’t speak.
The girl asked, “You know him?”
The young man went up and said, “You’re really Xi Jia! It’s me, your high school classmate, Wang Zhen, do you still remember me? We’re classmates in our second year, I sat two rows in front of you. S City No.1 High School, Year 2-Class 4, did you forget? Oh right, I was also the representative for the language class, do you remember now?”
As if he suddenly remembered something, Xi Jia’s eyes contracted. After a moment, he calmly raised his head and said in a calm voice, “I remember, Wang Zhen. Long time no see, you’re also here to see a movie?”
Wang Zhen’s gaze stayed on Xi Jia for a while. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Ye Jingzhi.
Master Ye was obediently carrying the two buckets of popcorn, looking down at him with a calm look.
Wang Zhen immediately retracted his gaze and laughed a couple times, “Right, my girlfriend and I are here to watch a movie. You’re also here to watch a movie with your friend? Such a coincidence. We haven’t seen each other for six years, right? Last month, our class reunion was last month, and everyone also mentioned you. Unfortunately, you transferred schools in your third year. If not……” His voice came to an abrupt stop before Wang Zhen said, “Hey, what’s the use of saying this. You’re also in S City right now, then if there’s a chance, let’s get in touch again. What’s your WeChat, let’s add.”
Xi Jia said with a slight smile, “My phone ran out of battery. Give me your WeChat number, I’ll add when I go back.”
When Ye Jingzhi heard this, he turned his head and looked at Xi Jia in surprise: Jia Jia’s phone is out of battery? Wasn’t it just at 60%?
Wang Zhen gave his number. Xi Jia smiled while nodding and turned to leave with Ye Jingzhi.
They hadn’t gone far when the girl could be heard quietly saying, “He’s your classmate? He’s so handsome, and the guy next to him is also very handsome. Why didn’t you say that you had a classmate that handsome before? He’s very familiar. It seems like I have seen him somewhere before. Wang Zhen, is he a star?”
“I don’t know. He’s Xi Jia. Before, he was our school hunk, but he transferred schools in our third year. No one had seen him since.”
The girl said ruefully, “So handsome. Look, he’s so handsome, how come you’re like a bum. Tsk, comparing with others, you’re not even up to par.”
Xi Jia looked down and appeared to not hear the comments behind them. He expressionlessly looked at the floor and said in an undisturbed voice, “Jingzhi, I’m hungry, let’s quickly go back.”
The “Jingzhi” this time was incomparably natural yet cold and stiff. It was uttered rapidly as if avoiding something.
A trace of confusion flashed across Ye Jingzhi’s eyes. His lips slightly parted; however, he didn’t speak. Instead, he heard Wang Zhen say with disdain, “You only know how to look at faces. I know what he was like before, unlike you. During middle school, he was in fights everyday. In high school, he was also always fighting. There’s something wrong with that person’s brain. I heard that when he was little, he’s always saying that he could see ghosts. Don’t you think that’s horrifying?”
The girl coldly laughed, “Aren’t you just jealous of him? Even seeing ghosts, why don’t you say that there are ghosts in your heart?”1
“Me jealous of him?!” The man started to laugh loudly, “En, they’re far away now. Let me secretly tell you. Do you know why he transferred during the third year?”
“Why?”
“During summer vacation in the second year, I don’t know what what provoked him, but he wanted to jump into the river and commit suicide in the dead of night. His dad also jumped into the river to save him. As a result, his dad died, and he lived. He killed his dad, alright?! I heard that at that time, he went crazy and went to the 3rd Hospital for half a year before getting discharged. Don’t you think there’s something wrong with his brain?”
“No way, there’s even such a thing that happened. Then, why did you call out to him……Eh, they won’t be able to hear us talk right? Why did you stop?”
“No way. They’re already several tens of meters away, how can they still be able to hear?”
“Let’s quickly leave, stop saying bad words behind someone’s back.”
A man and a woman quickly left the movie theatre in a different direction.
Ye Jingzhi’s body was stiff. He slowly turned his head to look at the young man by his side. Xi Jia looked indifferent. He was still looking down at the ground with an expression that was neither sad nor happy, just quietly looking.
Normal people wouldn’t be able to hear these words that were said in a quiet voice several tens of meters away. However, Ye Jingzhi could hear. Xi Jia, who had dual cultivated for half a month and whose body’s senses had improved considerably, could also hear.
Ye Jingzhi’s throat became rough. He didn’t know if that person was telling the truth or not. However, seeing Xi Jia’s cold and calm appearance made his heart ache. After a long time, he quietly called out, “Jia Jia……”
Xi Jia indifferently said, “Don’t listen to him talk nonsense. I didn’t go crazy and never went to the 3rd Hospital. These kinds of people only know how to twist the truth. I already guessed that they would say nonsense like this so I transferred schools.”
The 3rd Hospital was S City’s most famous psychiatric hospital. When Xi Jia mentioned this, he was completely calm as if it didn’t have anything to do with him.
Ye Jingzhi’s lips parted, “Jia Jia, I……”
Xi Jia looked up at Ye Jingzhi. There was a blanket of darkness in his eyes, calmly and steadily, no traces of light or hope. Looking at Ye Jingzhi, color slowly returned to his eyes. There was a thread of light. Xi Jia’s lips curled, smiling as he said, “Jingzhi, I’m hungry. Let’s go back home and eat.”
The Author has something to say:
Mirror: Jia Jia who’s hugging me, Jia Jia hug……
C+: Your Brother Jia is still your Brother Jia!
Translator’s Notes:
1 Translated literally here. To have demons/ghosts in your heart is to have a guilty conscience. ↵