Chapter 34: Ploys Part 3

He spoke as fast as a lit firecracker and bolted right after.

He Siheng yelled after him in anger, “Next time my ass! You begged me to come out and now ditch me— you think there’ll be a next time?”

Zhou Yu didn’t look back. “Bye, Heng Bro! Next time I’ll treat you to a meal!”

“…”

He Siheng was truly speechless. He turned to meet Tan Jing’s gaze and irritably looked away.

“Did we eat too much and make you mad?” Tan Jing suddenly asked.

He Siheng’s eye twitched. “I’m not that petty.”

Tan Jing: “Then where did I make you mad?”

“Mad? When was I mad?” He Siheng denied vehemently. “I’m not mad at all. My mood is great—”

Crunch.

Before he finished, Tan Jing had taken a photo of him with his phone.

Tan Jing showed the fresh photo. “Look, could your furrowed brow crush a fly?”

He Siheng: “…”

He Siheng really had to take a deep breath to suppress his anger. “Delete that ugly photo right now!”

“It’s not ugly,” Tan Jing said. “With your face, every shot looks good.”

No one dislikes hearing such praise, especially when it came from someone like Tan Jing who seemed so serious.

Even the sulky He Siheng felt his ears warm up a bit.

“So, Handsome Guy, what’s got you mad?” Tan Jing pressed while the iron was hot.

“…Really not mad.” He Siheng turned his face away, paused, and gave a lame excuse anyone would see through. “I just ate an orange candy; it was too sour. Not mad at you.”

Tan Jing drawled an “oh” in an amused tone and didn’t press further, seemingly buying it.

As He Siheng walked silently toward the cinema, Tan Jing suddenly said, “That Omega boy just now was a Japanese exchange student.”

He Siheng halted and turned, his gaze bewildered with a hint of surprise. “Exchange student?”

“Yeah, he got separated from his group and asked me for directions. His Chinese isn’t great, and his English is barely passable. It took a while to explain the way clearly.”

“…Oh.” So it wasn’t about exchanging contact information.

He Siheng suppressed the inexplicable flicker of delight in his heart and the unconscious upward curve of his lips. He coughed lightly and touched his nose somewhat guiltily.

Tan Jing caught all of his little gestures and narrowed his eyes slightly. “You thought he was hitting on me, so you were throwing a tantrum at me?”

“W-What?” He Siheng choked on the question, like he’d been caught red-handed doing something bad. For a moment, he didn’t know how to react.

Tan Jing stared at him unblinkingly. “Why were you unhappy that someone was hitting on me?”

“I…”

“You were jealous?”

“J-Jealous? No way!” He Siheng denied it immediately and hurried to explain. “I just think I’m handsomer than you. If anyone’s gonna hit on someone, it should be me first.”

As he spoke, he busily pulled out his phone to check the time and urged them along while walking. “The movie’s about to start. Hurry up if we’re gonna watch it.”

Tan Jing watched his flustered retreating back, his expression pensive.

This new horror flick had drawn quite a few young viewers with its reputation for sheer terror.

He Siheng had been pretty scared of ghosts as a kid—especially on stormy nights, when he’d always been too frightened to sleep alone. As he grew older, his courage had improved, but he still didn’t have the guts of a lion.

He hadn’t expected the movie to be this frightening beforehand, dismissing it as Zhou Yu’s exaggeration. But only a third into the plot, He Siheng was already breaking out in cold sweat. Zhou Yu had actually understated it this time.

Every time that ghost popped out, it made him tremble three times over.

To make matters worse, Tan Jing was sitting right next to his left hand. Young Master He was determined not to lose face—no matter how sky-high his pride was—so he tensed every nerve in his body, refusing to let a single hint of fear slip.

That was how he ended up drenched in cold sweat.

Fortunately, they’d bought a bucket of popcorn before entering the theater. He Siheng kept stuffing kernels into his mouth whenever he could, using it to ease his fear.

Amid the tension, he couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at Tan Jing with his peripheral vision. The other young man had his elbow propped on the armrest, fingers resting against his chin, his index finger tapping lightly on his face now and then. He seemed absorbed in the movie—or maybe lost in thought.

In any case, he looked utterly relaxed, completely unaffected by the film.

He Siheng straightened his back unconsciously, mimicking an equally fearless posture.

Just as he reached for more popcorn, another slender, lean hand suddenly dipped into the bucket.

As if by complete accident, it caught hold of his fingers.

He Siheng assumed Tan Jing had just bumped him by mistake and waited a few seconds, but the other didn’t let go right away.

Only then did He Siheng turn his head to look, his face full of bewilderment.

But Tan Jing wasn’t even watching the movie. He had turned his face toward He Siheng, a half-smile playing on his lips. “Didn’t you eat enough at lunch?”

He Siheng put on a bold front to explain. “I just think this movie’s too boring. It’s no fun without snacks.”

Tan Jing raised a brow and let out an “oh,” leaning closer to him. He lowered his voice. “I thought you were scared.”

“W-Who’s scared?” He Siheng denied it vehemently.

He felt his stammering made him sound guilty, so he turned the tables instead. “I think you’re the one who’s scared. Talking to me for some courage?”

“Yeah,” Tan Jing admitted openly. “I’m really scared.”

He Siheng froze, not expecting such straightforward honesty.

In the next moment, the young man’s long fingers slipped smoothly between his, shifting from a grasp to fully interlaced ones.

Tan Jing requested without a hint of shame, “So do me a favor and help me out with some courage.”

He Siheng: “…”