17 The Date 8 (1/2)

'Jun Yang, you're just here to enjoy a movie with a normal friend. Just relax and focus…' Jun Yang hypnotized himself. 'This is just a normal movie date with a normal friend and classmate…'

Repetition sometimes worked wonders because as he repeated the mantra in his mind, Jun Yang slowly convinced himself of the 'truth' that was within it. And that was exactly what he did, which was to focus on the movie.

The movie that they were watching that day was an action flick, with a superhero theme that seemed to be the hallmark of a box office hit these days.

Jun Yang was only halfway through the movie when he already came up with a conclusion for it. He found the movie to be rather predictable and honestly quite pedestrian. By then, Jun Yang could already tell how the movie was going to end.

It was a quintessential good versus evil movie plotted in the frame of a hero's journey. The hero started off weak and he had to overcome several layers of challenges before he gathered enough resource to beat the bad guy.

As predictable as the plot was, it did not detract from the overall quality of the movie. After all, the main purpose of such movies was to appeal to the public taste. A plot that was too confusing might even be a hindrance for a good showing. All it needed was good effects and relatable characters and on that front, Jun Yang thought the movie did quite well.

Jun Yang extended his hand to grab some kernels from the box of popcorn. To his surprise, something suddenly appeared and latched onto his hand like a snake ambushing its prey. Jun Yang turned his head to look and he realized it was Feng Qi grabbing his hand.

Jun Yang tried to struggle loose but it only made Feng Qi held onto him even stronger. Jun Yang raised his head, wanting to tell Feng Qi to let go of his hand but once he did, he caught Feng Qi's face in profile framed by the light coming from the movie screen.

The lines on the young man's face were enhanced by the difference in light like they had carved the lines on his face deeper. His facial feature became more dimensional and Jun Yang was captivated. He noticed the pool of light that seemed to gather at the dimple that was formed due to the smile on Feng Qi's face. Not for the first time in his life, Jun Yang thought, 'He's so handsome.'

Perhaps he could sense Jun Yang's gaze on him, Feng Qi suddenly turned his head around. The boys looked into each other's eyes. Jun Yang saw his reflection in the pupils of Feng Qi's eyes.

Feng Qi was originally confused as to why Jun Yang had been staring at him but after a few seconds, his face lit up with a smile like it usually would when Jun Yang was in his presence.