Chapter 21: Asking Sister Ruan Out to a Movie

Classroom.

When Fang Yifan returned, his childhood friend Qiao Yingzi and his dream girl Huang Zhitao immediately rushed over. Having already heard the explosive news, Qiao Yingzi scolded him directly: "Are you insane? Why did you provoke him for no reason? Now look, you've gotten Uncle Fang into trouble. Are you happy now?"

"Alright, that’s enough. Uncle Fang will be fine," Huang Zhitao said, pulling at her outspoken friend.

After venting, Qiao Yingzi began to comfort Fang Yifan, eventually mentioning their original plans: "You won't be able to go to the movie tonight either..."

"I'm going! Why wouldn't I!" Although Fang Yifan was furious and regretful about getting his father into this mess, he had worked so hard to ask his dream girl out to the movies that he couldn't possibly bail now.

He would go even if it killed him.

Besides, his father had only been taken in for questioning; the final outcome was still unknown.

Qiao Yingzi and Huang Zhitao were both surprised by his lack of concern—that he still had the heart to see a movie at a time like this—but thinking that this might be his way of venting, they said nothing more.

Today was the second day of school, but the morning was mainly occupied by the mobilization rally and college entrance exam counseling. Time slipped away until noon, and since there were no formal classes in the afternoon, it was mostly self-study.

Before they knew it, it was time for school to end.

Qiao Yingzi, Huang Zhitao, and Fang Yifan went to the cinema together. When they ran into He Chen at the school gate, Fang Yifan’s eyes turned red again, but he was pulled away by Qiao Yingzi and Huang Zhitao.

He Chen could tell at a glance that Fang Yifan wasn't looking for a fight; he was just using this to get his dream girl to comfort him.

"Do you want to see a movie?" He Chen tilted his head slightly and asked Ruan Liuzheng, who was in the back seat of his bike.

"Huh?" Ruan Liuzheng was stunned by the sudden invitation. Her face turned red, and she dared not look up. Just as she was wondering how to answer, she heard He Chen—without waiting for her response—call out to her desk mate, Du Tian-tian, who was walking by: "Crown Prince, let's go see a movie! Mission: Impossible 4!"

"You're talking nonsense again! When did I become a Crown Prince? Are you trying to take advantage of me?" Du Tian-tian walked over, complaining, yet he didn't refuse.

He Chen’s practice of Crane Qigong had long been mocked as an imitation of the Jiajing Emperor from *Ming Dynasty 1566*. Now that he was calling him "Crown Prince," even if it was just teasing him about wanting to go home early to inherit a large family business, it was definitely a jab. After all, by that logic, He Chen calling him Crown Prince was no different from calling him "son."

"I haven't agreed yet!" Ruan Liuzheng saw He Chen inviting Du Tian-tian and, before she could even speak, he was already riding his bike to leave. She panicked. After blurting that out, she met the gazes of He Chen and Du Tian-tian. She felt incredibly frustrated, cursing He Chen over and over in her head, but covered it up by saying, "I’ll go ask Xiao Xue!"

She was happy he invited her, but now that Du Tian-tian was coming along, having two boys and only one girl felt too awkward.

She wanted to refuse, but this was the first time He Chen had asked her to a movie; even if it wasn't just the two of them, she couldn't bring herself to say no.

She might as well invite her best friend to make it two boys and two girls.

She took out her phone and called her desk mate, Xia Xue, who immediately agreed. Just as they were discussing where to meet, a boisterous voice came from the side: "You guys are going to the movies? Great! Count me in!"

"Make that two!"

"Make that three!"

Ruan Liuzheng knew right away that Lin Miaomiao was joining the fun. She looked up and saw Lin Miaomiao’s eyes sparkling behind her glasses.

Beside Lin Miaomiao, Deng Xiaoqi, who was in a subtle competitive relationship with her, stood with her long legs and smilingly raised her hand to join as well.

Qian Sanyi, the top student riding his bike, also joined the crowd.

"Great! The more the merrier!" Lin Miaomiao happily accepted the outcome and began to organize: "There are too many of us to bike. Let's leave our bikes at school and take the bus together!"

"No!" He Chen refused flatly.

"Why?" Everyone looked over, puzzled by his firm refusal. Lin Miaomiao pouted.

"I have no problem with taking a bus, but I will never, ever take a bus with Lin Miaomiao. Not in this lifetime!" Facing their confused stares, He Chen uttered even more baffling words.

"Lin Miaomiao, take my advice: from now on, no matter where you go, do not take the bus! You can just think of yourself as having a 'naturally dangerous bus-riding constitution'!"

"What are you even talking about?"

"He Chen, you haven't just been practicing Qigong, have you? Did you start studying fortune-telling too?"

Everyone teased him, not believing a word of it.

He Chen smiled without explaining, though his gaze as he met Lin Miaomiao’s was very certain.

Don't let the fact that Lin Miaomiao was still a naive, empty-headed girl fool you—she had the exact same face as Li Shiqing from *Reset*.

This was a world of domestic urban drama crossovers. What did you expect He Chen to do, having watched the show *Reset*?

He was definitely going to be safe rather than sorry and simply prevent himself from taking a bus with her.

Time loops like *Groundhog Day* or *Happy Death Day* might seem interesting, but the bus explosions in *Reset* caused severe psychological trauma every time.

The painful memories were cumulative!

That was real pain!

If he could help it, He Chen certainly didn't want to experience it.

Even if he were to fall into a situation like *Reset*, he wouldn't be as helpless as Li Shiqing and her companion; he could easily control the situation to prevent the explosion. Still, he didn't want to go through it.

Better safe than sorry.

What if he was too late?

That was a bomb on a confined bus; it could actually kill people!

Although Lin Miaomiao didn't understand, she hesitated when she met He Chen’s eyes and nodded: "Fine, I’ll listen to you. I won't take the bus anymore!"

"Let's take a taxi!" Qian Sanyi suggested. "There are six of us, we can just take two cabs."

Everyone looked at He Chen, waiting for his decision. After all, the activity was his idea.

"That works." As long as he wasn't taking a bus with Lin Miaomiao, he had no objections. They parked their bikes, split into groups of three, and headed to the cinema.

On the way, Ruan Liuzheng stayed in contact with her best friend Xia Xue, who had left school early. When they arrived, Xia Xue was already waiting there, looking pretty.

"So lively!" Xia Xue looked at the group and teased: "He Chen, this is the first time you've organized something like this, right? Why are you in such a good mood today?"

Before He Chen could answer, someone nearby said indignantly: "He’s happy seeing others suffer. How twisted can his mind be?"

Everyone turned to look at Fang Yifan’s angry face, with Qiao Yingzi and Huang Zhitao standing next to him, wearing awkward smiles.

"It depends on who is suffering!" He Chen laughed. "If I wasn't happy when criminals suffer, wouldn't that mean I have no sense of right and wrong? That would be truly twisted! Besides, if even you have the mood to see a movie, I must be happy too. Filial piety—I must laugh!"

"You!" Fang Yifan was so angry he instinctively stepped forward, only to be quickly pulled back by his childhood friend Qiao Yingzi, who dragged him inside first.

He Chen was completely unfazed. He went with the others to buy tickets and headed in to watch the movie.