Chapter 36: Snatching Seats (Part 2)

Even though Hong Kong gunfight movies had already reached the Mainland by then, making a bunch of hot-headed young guys feel pumped up, under the social system of that time, it at most just raised their male hormones and did not actually lead to any gangsters.

These few young men were the same. Even though they drank blood wine and became sworn brothers, they did not dare to pick a fight with the cinema staff. They obediently took out their tickets right away.

The ticket inspector had seen this kind of thing many times. After glancing at the tickets, he shone his flashlight toward a row of seats to the side and said, “Your seats are over there. Move now. The movie is starting soon. If you cause more trouble, you’ll all get out.”

“Okay, okay, we’ll move. We’re moving now…”

Those guys were only around twenty years old. Hearing that they might not be allowed to watch the movie, they all instantly became docile. They stood up and walked toward their own seats.

However, as they passed by Feng Kuang, their eyes were full of resentment. Young people care about face, and Feng Kuang’s actions today had made them lose all dignity. The guys were extremely unhappy in their hearts.

“What kind of people are these? So rude!”

Feng Kuang, however, did not notice their gazes because his attention had always been on Wang Ying. Seeing the guys vacate the seats, he hurriedly invited Wang Ying and Sister Hong to sit down.

“Sister Hong, Wang Ying, come, have some soda…”

After the two girls sat down, Feng Kuang eagerly handed over the opened bottles of soda. He was sharp-minded and knew that to get close to Wang Ying, he first needed to gain Sister Hong’s approval.

After taking the soda, Sister Hong looked at the departing men. She hesitated for a moment but still spoke up. “Little Feng, you’re in the county alone. Don’t offend these people. It won’t do you any good.”

Sister Hong and Wang Ying were colleagues. They both worked at the county’s Industry and Commerce Bureau. They got to know Feng Kuang because last month he was handling the contracting procedures for the scrap collection station.

Although Feng Kuang grew up in the countryside, he had a good eye. At that time, he took a liking to Wang Ying, who was helping him with the procedures. Afterward, every day during his free time, he would find excuses to linger around the entrance of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, just to catch a glimpse of this girl.

They were all young people. After a week or two, they became familiar with each other. However, dating back then required matching social status. A city girl dating a country boy would become a laughingstock if word got out.

So, even though Wang Ying had a good impression of this diligent and clever young man, she did not dare to start a relationship with him rashly. Therefore, every time she accepted Feng Kuang’s invitation, she would ask Sister Hong from the office to join them.

As a married woman, Sister Hong had more insight than Wang Ying. She secretly found out that Feng Kuang actually had an uncle in the United States. In those days, having overseas connections was a big advantage. So she did not stop their interactions and even occasionally helped create some opportunities for them.

Feng Kuang was also very sensible. He always called her “Sister Hong” diligently and often secretly gave her many inexpensive women’s hair clips and such. That’s why Sister Hong had just given Feng Kuang a few words of warning.

“Sister Hong, it’s fine. I didn’t start it with them. Hey, have some sunflower seeds. Drink the soda if you’re thirsty. If it’s not enough, I’ll go buy more…”

After hearing Sister Hong’s words, Feng Kuang didn’t take it seriously. It was just a few exchanged words, right? With so many people around, what could they do to him?

Seeing Feng Kuang’s attitude, Sister Hong shook her head and didn’t say more. Sometimes, people only understand certain truths after suffering a loss.

Sitting on the very edge, Ye Tian heard their conversation. He opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and then closed it again. As soon as the conflict happened earlier, Ye Tian had seen it: Feng Kuang’s Blood Disaster was going to come from these very people.

But since he knew what was going to happen, Ye Tian naturally had a way to resolve it. Actually, the method was quite simple. Of the thirty-six stratagems, the best is running away. As long as they left a few minutes early and avoided these people, it would be fine.

The movie hadn’t started yet, so it was a bit early to say this. Therefore, Ye Tian didn’t tell Feng Kuang, to save him from being on edge during the movie.

The earlier conflict was just a minor episode in the cinema. As the educational film ended, the lights in the entire cinema suddenly went off. This time, it was truly pitch-black.

“Shh…”

“Hurry up and start!”

“Why is it all dark?”

For a moment, various shouts and whistles sounded in the cinema. Actually, everyone knew they were changing the film reel, but the instinctive reaction to darkness still made some people shout out.

As for those whistling, most were young people. They loved such moments, using whistles to announce their presence. Whistles rose and fell in the cinema, creating a lively atmosphere like soldiers singing in turns.

Finally, under everyone’s anticipation, a strong beam of light projected from the very back of the cinema. An image appeared on the big screen. Immediately, all the noise died down.

China’s film import system at that time was very strict. Especially importing blockbusters from the United States was almost impossible. This sci-fi movie released in 1980 did not disappoint. Just the opening credits caused exclamations throughout the cinema.

And when Superman raced the train, it got everyone even more excited. People who had at most seen some early Hong Kong “hi-yah” martial arts movies were completely stunned by this kind of unbounded imagination.

Everyone was immersed in the visual excitement the movie brought them. Ye Tian’s little face was flushed red, cheering for Superman defeating the villain. However, his young voice could only reach his own ears because the cinema was now filled with shouts everywhere.

“Hmm? Who’s looking at me?”

Just when Ye Tian was feeling extremely excited, he suddenly felt a gaze lingering on him. Due to years of practicing Daoyin techniques, Ye Tian’s sensory abilities were far more acute than ordinary people’s. A sense of alertness immediately arose in his heart.

“Those guys?”

Ye Tian followed the direction of that gaze and became more alert. It was those seat-snatchers. They weren’t really staring at him; their gaze brushed past Ye Tian when they were looking at Feng Kuang.

“Not good, we need to leave.” As this thought popped into Ye Tian’s head, he quickly gave a hard poke to Feng Kuang sitting next to him.

“Ye Tian, what?” Feng Kuang, who was so excited by the movie plot that he even forgot to try to please Wang Ying, was very displeated at the pain in his side from Ye Tian’s jab.

Ye Tian leaned close to Feng Kuang’s ear and said, “Brother Fengzi, let’s go. If we don’t leave now, you’re going to have a Blood Disaster.”

“What?!”

Feng Kuang, who had long forgotten about this matter, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head upon hearing Ye Tian’s words.