Chapter 32: Oh, the Ex-Boyfriend

The movie theater was right by the department store, and even though it wasn’t evening yet, the entrance was already packed with people, shoulder to shoulder. Looking around, there were people of all ages.

Su Qinghu was a little surprised. Was everyone already this enthusiastic about entertainment in the late 1980s? A movie ticket cost about ten or twenty cents—enough to buy a whole kilogram of old rice. For a single-income family, after paying for the kids’ schooling, extracurricular classes, and basic household expenses, there couldn’t be much left. Even for dual-income families, going to the movies wasn’t exactly a frugal activity.

“Wow, this building is so grand!” Erdan’s exclamation snapped Su Qinghu out of her wandering thoughts. “Mom, can you smell it? The air is full of sweetness!”

Tsk!

Su Qinghu looked down at him. If this wasn’t a little kid, but a handsome young man saying things like that, it would definitely come across as flirting.

She raised an eyebrow. “Hey, little guy, your drool is about to fall!”

Erdan thought she was joking, but when he felt the wetness at the corner of his mouth, his eyes went wide and he hurried to wipe it away. Too late—the drool had already reached his chin.

Dadan couldn’t bear to look, pursing his lips and frowning. “You have no self-control at all!”

He glanced at Su Qinghu. Seeing no particular reaction on her face, he felt a strange sense of displeasure.

Dadan felt like there were two forces tugging at him inside. On one hand, he knew he shouldn’t judge adults’ care for the family based on a kid’s self-control, or let it affect his impression of her. On the other hand, he thought she was way too inattentive—not even noticing something like this!

After Su Qinghu finished talking to Erdan, she looked around and patted Chen Lie’s solid arm. “You go line up for tickets. We’ll go buy some snacks, okay?”

Chen Lie didn’t feel comfortable letting her take both kids through the crowd alone. He scooped Erdan up and set him on his shoulders, grabbed Dadan’s hand with his other hand, and said to her, “Let’s go.”

Su Qinghu paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded, grabbing Dadan’s other hand. “Let’s go!”

Erdan, sitting on Chen Lie’s shoulders, was over the moon. “Dad! Dad! I can see the tops of everyone’s heads! I can see so far!”

Chen Lie just smiled, not saying anything. Seeing that Su Qinghu could keep up with his pace, he didn’t slow down.

Erdan kept chattering, “Dad, there are so many people here to see the movie! I see lots of uncles and aunties holding hands!”

Sitting up high, his words carried over the noisy crowd, and everyone nearby heard him loud and clear. As soon as he said it, Su Qinghu saw a couple quickly let go of each other’s hands...

Dadan couldn’t take it anymore. “Can’t you just be quiet for a while?”

“Oh.” Erdan, scolded by his brother, fell silent, feeling several annoyed stares on him. He pouted, “I won’t say anything.”

He was just stating a fact—why was everyone looking at him like that?

Su Qinghu looked at the sea of people with some amazement. “I really didn’t expect so many people to be here for a movie.”

“It’s almost like... the tickets are free.”

After her recent hospital visit, she’d realized just how valuable money was in this era. Even city folks didn’t dare to splurge on food and drink—going to the movies was practically a luxury.

“If I’m not mistaken, some of these people probably got their tickets as work benefits from the union,” Chen Lie said, scanning the crowd from his height advantage. “There are a few groups of more than ten people each.”

“Is it that obvious?” Su Qinghu tugged on his arm and tried to look in the direction he’d just glanced.

“Watch how they stand and the way they turn their heads when they talk,” Chen Lie pointed out.

Okay, now Su Qinghu saw it.

As they chatted, they reached the snack counter. Su Qinghu handed the kids money and let them tell the staff what they wanted and how much.

Dadan and Erdan weren’t shy at all. They placed their order, then pulled Chen Lie and Su Qinghu over to wait.

As luck would have it, sitting at the next table was an old acquaintance of Su Qinghu’s—her ex-boyfriend, Li Chengwei.

Ever since Li Chengwei had been assigned his job, he hadn’t seen Su Qinghu. Now, seeing her out of the blue, he was momentarily stunned. She was the same as before, yet somehow completely different.

While he was still dazed, the woman sitting next to him—Wu Shixin, who was rather plain-looking—made her move.

“I know everyone likes to look at pretty things, but you shouldn’t just stare at anyone, right? Some people are just plain ugly!” she said, giving Su Qinghu a once-over and curling her lip.

That was a pretty blatant jab!

Erdan, still perched on Chen Lie’s shoulders, couldn’t help himself. “Auntie, you’re absolutely right! Everyone loves looking at beautiful things! If it’s just something ordinary, it’s like fallen leaves from a tree—no one even gives it a second glance.”

“I think people like to look at things that are either really beautiful, or really weird,” Erdan said with a serious nod. “Beautiful things stand out right away! Weird things—like you said, ugly ones—are interesting to look at, too!”

He looked at Wu Shixin with an innocent smile, but his words were sharp as knives.

Wu Shixin’s face changed instantly. She wasn’t stupid—she could tell this little brat was calling her ugly.

Dadan chimed in, “When you talk about ugly things, don’t look at Auntie while you say it. If you look at her, she’ll think you’re talking about her, and she’ll definitely get mad.”

He could have stopped at the first sentence, but he wanted to make sure she got the message, so he explained further. Was that really an explanation? It was more like a challenge.

But Wu Shixin couldn’t respond, or she’d be admitting that these two little brats were talking about her.

She was fuming, forcing a smile as she turned to talk to Li Chengwei, pretending the whole exchange had never happened.

She thought she could just drop it? No way!

With Chen Lie nearby, Erdan was even bolder.

“Auntie! Auntie!” he called.

Wu Shixin ignored him.

“Auntie, I want to apologize. When I looked at you just now, I didn’t mean you were ugly.”

Wu Shixin’s face was thunderous, as if she wanted to dig up his ancestors in revenge. Deliberate! Absolutely deliberate! These two little brats were doing it on purpose!

Su Qinghu could barely hold back her laughter. She edged away, grabbing onto Chen Lie’s sleeve, shaking with suppressed giggles. Every now and then she brushed against him, and Chen Lie didn’t even notice that the corners of his mouth were slightly turned up whenever she got close—even if it was barely perceptible!

“Li Chengwei!” Wu Shixin was so angry she was on the verge of tears."