As Gu Ci’s voice fell, all the surrounding lights went out, leaving only the giant screen in front playing advertisement after advertisement.

Listening to the blaring ads, Yan Luqing was still savoring the conversation between the two of them just now, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

She truly had no impression of what she had eaten, never expecting that Gu Ci had actually noticed.

With him saying so, Yan Luqing suddenly recalled what that platter looked like. She also remembered that she seemed to have indeed eaten some popcorn while playing with her phone.

Master Yan, while eating popcorn, could not help but habitually begin assigning roles to herself and Princess Ci. In terms of role, someone today was a wife both grateful and attentive, yet the Master was extremely dissatisfied with the last sentence addressed to the attentive wife.

Princess Ci’s tone…

Was there a need to emphasize “eaten up” like that? As if disdaining her for being able to eat.

Clearly it was he who saw she liked eating popcorn, he who went to buy popcorn for her. Why was it that, between the lines, there still lingered such a heavy tone of mocking her?

Truly worthy of being the Princess of Bamboo Nation, Yan Luqing thought. No matter how grateful, no matter how virtuous, she would always remain the natural enemy of our Panda Nation.

Just as her mind was wandering in seven directions, the opening music of the movie finally began to play.

When Yan Luqing watched, she felt the movie was nothing special. It began with someone discovering he had become very strange, and the people around also said he would occasionally act strange. Then he speculated that there very likely existed another soul inside his body. After several twists and turns, he discovered that it was actually his second personality.

Yan Luqing had seen similar films before, in which the protagonist seemed to split into six or seven personalities. After watching, she thought it was quite thrilling. So when it came to this film’s middle and even latter parts, she did not feel much.

Until nearing the ending, there was a scene—inside a fantasy space—the main personality confronting the sub-personality.

Yan Luqing did not know whether this could be realized from a scientific standpoint. She even turned her head slightly and quietly asked Gu Ci: “Isn’t it said that multiple personalities would not be mutually aware of each other?”

So as not to disturb the people around, and to affect only Gu Ci, she had to lean over very close.

Yan Luqing still held popcorn in her arms. She had been munching and crunching on it the whole night. When she leaned over to speak, there was that sweet fragrant scent. Without using his eyes to see, Gu Ci even felt as if what approached him was a piece of human-shaped milk candy.

He turned his head, meeting the girl’s bright eyes.

“It’s just a movie.”

“Alright then.” The human-shaped milk candy nodded, leaning back against her seat again.

Perhaps because her mind was overly relaxed, treating this movie too lightly, the subsequent plot ended up shaking the human-shaped milk candy.

The conversation between main personality and sub-personality was rather obscure, prompting the audience to ponder “What does this mean?” But at the end of the dialogue, it suddenly employed those common horror and thriller tricks: an abrupt close-up of the sub-personality’s eerie smile, coupled with a sudden blast of resounding sound like a great bell.

…

The earlier conversation had been fairly calm yet uncanny, but with this sudden shift, quite a few people in the cinema were startled, exclamations rising one after another.

Yan Luqing too was frightened into a daze, but that daze lasted only a short moment—because Gu Ci at her side suddenly touched her arm.

Yan Luqing’s originally blank state was immediately broken. She turned back abruptly, did not see Gu Ci’s face clearly, but heard him say, “Hand it to me.”

She did not react: “What?”

Gu Ci no longer spoke, simply reached out and directly took away… the bucket of popcorn from her hands.

Because it was too dark, when he took it away, his fingers for an instant nearly covered the back of her hand, the touch like cool jade.

Only afterward did Yan Luqing belatedly look toward him. She blinked: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t eat?”

“After all, listening to you eat through the whole movie,” Gu Ci’s voice carried a trace of laughter, “it’s been a long time since I last ate this thing, so I wanted to try.”

But it was precisely thanks to his sudden interruption.

In that kind of leisurely tone of his, Yan Luqing relaxed, and the feeling just now of her soul nearly being shaken out of her body vanished without a trace.

“Tried it.” Before long, Gu Ci’s voice again came by her ear, followed by the sensation of the popcorn bucket being stuffed back into her arms. “As expected, just as unpalatable as in my memory.”

“……”

Aside from that inexplicably frightening moment in the middle, the movie indeed had no plot beyond expectation. The ending was that both the main personality and the sub-personality did not disappear, but the main personality increasingly felt less and less of his own existence. It froze at that point, counting as an open ending.

After leaving the cinema, Yan Luqing still could not resist complaining to Gu Ci: “I really hate these movies that rely on forcibly heightened sound effects to scare people. This isn’t even a ghost film, I wasn’t prepared at all! If I had known this one was like that, I would have chosen a ghost film instead…”

Gu Ci glanced at her. With such full energy to complain, she did not look like she had been frightened.

“I already said before, I suggested a ghost film.”

“But you didn’t give a reason.” After Yan Luqing finished saying this, she seemed to realize something and turned back. “Could it be that you had already seen this one?”

“No.” Gu Ci said lightly.

The two walked inside the mall. Yan Luqing ignored the gazes cast from around them, incomparably curious: “Then why?”

“You don’t watch ghost films because they’re frightening.” After Gu Ci stated this fact, he lazily replied, “I only felt that, compared to a ghost film, obviously this one was even less suitable for you.”

Yan Luqing’s eyes instantly widened.

No way? How could he be so accurate? How did he know what taste she had in movies?

However, when she returned home, washed, tidied, and went to bed—

Late at night.

Yan Luqing sat up in bed, clutching her violently thumping chest, gasping for breath.

Since transmigrating for so long, this was her first time having a nightmare, and moreover, being frightened awake by a nightmare.

Fortunately she did not remember the contents of the nightmare. Everything was just a blurry mass in her mind, and Yan Luqing had no wish to strain herself to recall it.

Yet Yan Luqing instinctively felt this dream was related to that wretched movie, because just before waking, she seemed to hear that sudden blast of sound from inside the cinema.

Sitting on the bed for a while to compose herself, she pulled out Makka Pakka and spoke a few words to it—although not as effective at calming her heart as Gu Ci, it still counted as somewhat serviceable.

Very soon, Yan Luqing once again fell asleep.

The next morning, Yan Luqing discovered she had slight dark circles beneath her eyes. Since they looked a bit obvious, she lightly applied some makeup.

When she went downstairs for breakfast, Gu Ci had arrived before her. He leaned lazily against the seat, elbow propped on the armrest, supporting his face with one hand, looking both indolent and at ease.

“Awake?” When he saw Yan Luqing, he was the first to greet her, his eyes slightly bending with a smile. “Didn’t have a nightmare last night, did you?”

“……”

From Gu Ci’s tone, it was impossible to tell whether he truly cared or was teasing. After all, even when speaking gently, he might still be mocking.

Yan Luqing felt there was more of a joking intent.

After all, just yesterday he had said that movie was not suitable for her, so Yan Luqing always felt that if she really admitted to having a nightmare, it would be far too laughable.

Besides, in the end hadn’t she slept soundly!

So she immediately lifted her chin: “How could that be possible.” After a pause, afraid he would not believe it, Yan Luqing even raised an example, “Did you forget back then in the tree hole, I—”

“Alright, I believe you.” As soon as that matter was brought up, Gu Ci interrupted her without hesitation. “Speaking of that time, how long did it take you to fall asleep? You don’t even know yourself, right? I can help you recall…”

Little Black, just stepping in through the door, happened to hear Gu Ci saying this. Instantly: “????”

When?

When had they slept together????

Before his doubts were finished, he saw Yan Luqing hastily wave her hands, looking very unwilling to listen to Gu Ci: “Alright alright, eat, eat, I still have to rush to school.”

Little Black: “……”

So shy! It must be!

Confirmed, confirmed!

……

Yan Luqing had expected her second day at school to be somewhat unsettled, but had not expected it to be unsettled to the point of utter chaos.

First was Little Mahua’s overwhelming bombardment.

Beginning with “Quickly tell me the story between you and that handsome guy from T University’s Physics Department, otherwise I’m going to make a scene,” continuing with “I thought we had the kind of bond where we could entrust our lives in the Canyon of Kings, yet you don’t even tell me you’re not single,” and ending with “I’m not going to class at all today, you must explain it to me clearly.”

Altogether it was a posture of “if you don’t explain, then it’s a break of friendship.”

But it was not threatening, rather even somewhat cute.

Yan Luqing first picked the important part to explain: “The reason I didn’t say we lived together was because—” she paused, “because it involves some matters concerning his family, I can’t talk about them… But we are not living alone together! There are other people with us. So it really isn’t the cohabitation you’re imagining.”

Little Mahua: “Then is he that guy when I asked you, ‘When a boy says a girl is cute,’ the one you answered about? The boy you said you liked like a paper character?”

“……” Yan Luqing struggled for a long while, but before she could speak, Little Mahua patted her shoulder, “Alright, you don’t need to explain, I understand.”

“……” What exactly do you understand.

Then Little Mahua again asked: “Then when he came to pick you up after school? He saw your Moments, then came to pick you up, even took you to eat fried chicken—what does he mean by that?”

“……”

What did he mean?

Yan Luqing again thought of Gu Ci’s words, “a thank-you gift.”

But those winding causes and effects made her unwilling to recount everything. Yan Luqing was a little speechless—why was explaining her relationship with Gu Ci so complicated? Why could she not answer a single one of these questions simply?

“In any case.” She grabbed Little Mahua’s hand, sincerely looked at her, and worked hard to squeeze tears into her eyes. “I didn’t lie to you, we really aren’t that kind of relationship.”

Little Mahua did not exactly disbelieve her.

“If what you’re saying is true, then that’s a bit troublesome…”

Yan Luqing was stunned for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“Well, yesterday after I finished talking with you, once I knew he took you to eat fried chicken, I exaggerated it with a few of my dorm sisters, and it’s already been spread to a lot of people…” Little Mahua said. “You know, darling, this is the internet era.”

“……”

“So that photo naturally spread too. Because your face isn’t shown, many people are curious about what you look like, so that selfie of ours from my Moments got saved by a lot of people…”

“……” Yesterday after their streak of victories in Honor of Kings, Little Mahua had indeed dragged her to take a selfie and then posted it to her Moments.

Alright, alright. In short, because of Gu Ci’s “picking her up after school” this time, she had become famous.

Although becoming famous for this sort of thing was rather embarrassing, Yan Luqing thought that back in middle school she had also lived through days of being in the spotlight, so it was not something she couldn’t adapt to—just ignore it.

As long as over at T University it hadn’t—

“I mean, not just in our school,” Little Mahua cautiously looked at her, “but at T University it’s spread too.”

Yan Luqing: “…………”

Thank you very much. Already so embarrassed that her toes could dig into a pyramid, and after digging she might as well wrap herself as a mummy and go live inside.

Thus, throughout the following day, Yan Luqing became like a rare animal in a zoo. Going to the restroom—watched by excited eyes. Eating lunch—watched by excited eyes. Returning to the classroom—not only watched, but even surrounded by the few girls there, pressing her to tell the so-called “daily life” between her and Gu Ci.

Yan Luqing truly experienced the warmth and adorableness of these science-and-engineering sisters. They were clearly not rigid at all. They had no interest in their own romance, yet were extremely curious about gossip concerning others’ romances.

By the time the day ended and she returned home, she felt her throat all the more parched. Originally watching that scheduled drama with Gu Ci, partway through she wanted water more and more, and finally, during the commercials, gulped down two glasses in one go.

Gu Ci watched her action without much expression. After a while, he suddenly chuckled. “What is it, did you give a lecture today?”

“……” Yan Luqing pressed her lips together, then said hesitantly, “Not exactly, but pretty much.”

In Gu Ci’s eyes was written a “?”.

“Today I was a storyteller for a whole day.” Yan Luqing spoke while sprawling on the sofa. “Like those storytellers in ancient times, you know? The key point is, I was the kind that talks and talks but doesn’t get any copper coins.”

“Oh.” Gu Ci leisurely asked, “And what story did you tell?”

“Told—” Yan Luqing was about to answer, but the moment she thought of what exactly she had told, she abruptly got stuck. “…Didn’t tell anything, just chatted too much.”

Gu Ci tugged at the corner of his lips, and said nothing.

Just then the commercial ended. The two, each with thoughts of their own, yet with perfectly unified gazes, turned back to the television.

……

That night, Yan Luqing dreamed again.

She didn’t know whether to call it a nightmare or an ordinary dream, but once more it was related to that wretched movie—she dreamed she was in that space where the main personality and the sub-personality confronted each other, with nothing but a vague void all around. She did not know how long she stayed there, long enough for unease to set in, and then a deafening bell-like sound struck her awake.

She managed to sleep a few more hours, but in the morning her dark circles were noticeably heavier than the day before, and again she had to use makeup to cover them.

Yan Luqing suspected that she had been frightened that day, only she herself thought she hadn’t. Otherwise, how could it appear so frequently in her dreams?

But she still didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, when she had been scared by ghost films before, her reaction had been the same. In a few days, it should pass on its own.

There remained half a month until Gu Ci’s departure.

The classes at school were still difficult to understand, as if she had returned to the very beginning. Those two subjects once again became wordless heavenly books to her.

But Yan Luqing had no intention of seriously studying. The reason she could pass exams at all before was entirely because of Gu Ci, this kind of study god, tutoring her like mad. How could she suddenly keep up with normal coursework? Yan Luqing had long since made up her mind—she would attend classes only until the day Gu Ci left, and then she would immediately retreat home to squat.

The only joy of school was her classmates.

In just three or four days, she had already met quite a few interesting people, such as a boy named Lu Qingxin. He was Little Mahua’s close buddy, and Yan Luqing got to know him through her.