I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 31

Holding a Finger in the Mouth

What kind of person do you think I am

The lights inside the movie theater were dim.

Lin Shu, holding popcorn and milk tea, found her seat by the faint light.

To her left were Ding Xi and Yan Jie, to her right was an empty seat, and to the right of the empty seat sat a couple, intimately leaning together and chatting.

The movie officially began.

It was a funny romance movie.

Shen Man looked forward, glanced at the screen, and her gaze fell upon Lin Shu.

Lin Shu was eating popcorn while watching the movie; from her back view, she seemed to be in a good mood.

Five minutes after the movie started, people were still coming in.

A girl sat down next to Shen Man and said in a low voice, “Hello, could I trouble you to switch seats with my boyfriend?”

“When we bought our tickets, there were no connected seats left. His seat is just a few rows ahead, that empty one.”

Shen Man looked over; it was precisely the empty seat next to Lin Shu.

She smiled lightly, nodded, and stood up to walk out.

Yin Ruxu was somewhat surprised to see her suddenly leave.

Seeing a boy sit down, she immediately understood that they were switching seats.

She looked at the boy and asked, a little unhappily, “Why didn’t you switch with someone else?”

“The people next to us are all couples, so it wasn’t good to switch,” the boy answered.

Hearing this, Yin Ruxu was a little dissatisfied and placed the popcorn in her hand on the armrest.

The boy tactfully did not lean against the chair on her side and instead leaned against his girlfriend.

Shen Man walked through the aisle and sat down in the empty seat next to Lin Shu.

She extended two slender fingers, bent them slightly, and lightly tapped on the armrest with her knuckles.

The sound of ‘dida dida’ spread between their two seats.

Lin Shu heard the sound and frowned.

She glanced at the person next to her and continued to eat her popcorn.

The ‘dida’ sound turned into a ‘dong dong’ sound.

Lin Shu grew a little impatient, put down her popcorn, tilted her head, and stared intently at the person in the adjacent seat.

After looking for a moment, she gradually adapted to the surrounding dimness and slowly made out the appearance of the person beside her.

“Shen Man, what are you doing here?” Lin Shu cried out in surprise, then quickly realized her voice was too loud and hurriedly covered her lips with her hand.

“Shushu, what a coincidence, you’re here watching a movie too,” Shen Man answered with a light smile, a trace of surprise in her voice.

Lin Shu pouted, ate a mouthful of popcorn, took a sip of milk tea, and asked, “Did you come by yourself?”

“Someone invited me to the movies.” Shen Man’s lips curved into a smile as she withdrew her hand and placed it on her lap.

“Who?” Lin Shu asked.

“Yin Ruxu,” Shen Man said with a smile.

Lin Shu snorted disdainfully, turned her head, and continued to watch the movie.

Just then, a funny scene came on, and she laughed happily.

Shen Man watched quietly.

After eating half the bucket of popcorn, Lin Shu felt a gaze from beside her that was constantly stuck on her.

She tilted her head and glared at Shen Man, “Why do you keep staring at me?”

“Is the popcorn good?” Shen Man leaned over and asked in a low voice.

As she spoke, she kept looking at the remaining popcorn, as if she wanted to eat some.

Lin Shu felt the warm breath on her cheek. Her body stiffened, her back pressing tightly against the chair, and she subconsciously hugged the popcorn tighter, saying warily, “This is mine. If you want some, go buy it yourself.”

Shen Man let out a light laugh and straightened up.

Lin Shu quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes turned to the screen, and she started eating popcorn while watching the movie.

Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation on her finger.

She looked down and saw Shen Man sucking her finger, stealing her popcorn.

Lin Shu froze instantly, her eyes widening in astonishment.

“Not bad, it’s sweet,” Shen Man commented nonchalantly.

“You…” Lin Shu’s little face instantly turned red. The finger that had been in her mouth still felt wet and warm, and a sensation like an electric shock spread through her entire body.

Her face and back were now all hot.

After being stunned for a moment, Lin Shu came to her senses, glared angrily at Shen Man, and warned in a low voice, “Don’t you dare eat my popcorn again!”

“Alright,” Shen Man agreed with a light smile.

Lin Shu was not reassured and moved the popcorn to her other side.

Every few bites, she would glance warily at Shen Man.

Shen Man sat there with a composed expression, looking as if she were seriously watching the movie.

After finishing her snacks, Lin Shu wiped her hands and mouth with a tissue, thought for a moment, and asked, “Why aren’t you sitting with Yin Ruxu?”

“Someone wanted to switch seats with me,” Shen Man replied.

“You’re that kind-hearted? Someone asks to switch with you, and you just switch?” Lin Shu asked suspiciously.

Shen Man smiled and didn’t speak, her fingers tapping lightly on the chair.

Lin Shu lowered her gaze to look.

Shen Man’s fingers were long and slender, and her skin was very fair; even in such dim light, that whiteness was clearly visible.

The up-and-down tapping motion traced a beautiful arc in the air, pleasing to the eye.

“Shushu, in your heart, what kind of person am I?” Shen Man tilted her head, her pitch-black eyes deep and profound.

Her slightly deep voice, in the quiet and dark place, seemed to carry a soul-stirring magic.

Lin Shu’s heart tightened.

For an instant, it was as if her breathing had stopped.

She lowered her head and swallowed nervously. When she looked up again, her eyes had recovered their usual arrogance. “What kind of person you are has nothing to do with me.”

After speaking, she shot Shen Man a sideways glance and continued to watch the movie.

Shen Man let out a light laugh.

She leaned back comfortably in her chair, crossed her legs, and her gaze fell upon the big screen, the corners of her lips curved in a half-smile.

Lin Shu glanced over, blinking her eyes in confusion.

Even though she didn’t like Shen Man, she had to admit that Shen Man was a very beautiful woman.

This beauty was not just in her appearance, but more in an elegant and composed temperament, as if everything was within her control. That lightly smiling face would never show an out-of-control, flustered expression.

She, on the other hand, was always the one being provoked to anger.

As Lin Shu thought about this, she snorted in dissatisfaction.

Shen Man leaned closer and asked with a quiet laugh, “Shushu, what’s wrong?”

“What’s it to you?” Lin Shu said haughtily, turning to the side to discuss the recent funny part with Ding Xi.

Shen Man watched the two of them conversing in low voices, laughing and talking, and let out a light laugh.

Her cell phone vibrated.

Shen Man picked up her phone and saw a message from Yin Ruxu: “Sorry, something came up, I have to leave first.”

“Okay,” Shen Man replied, then put down her phone, sat up straight, and closed her eyes to rest.

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The movie ended.

The lights came on, and the quiet space instantly became lively and bustling.

Many people left their seats, smiling and discussing the movie’s plot.

Shen Man opened her eyes and sat quietly.

Lin Shu stood up, glanced at her, and said, “Why aren’t you moving yet?”

“I’ll wait until most people have left before going out,” Shen Man said unhurriedly, leaning quietly against her chair, her gaze peacefully watching the crowd flowing out.

“I want to get out,” Lin Shu said, dissatisfied.

Shen Man looked up, and seeing that Lin Shu wanted to pass by her, she slowly drew in her legs to make room.

Lin Shu waited, her little face puffed up.

The space between the rows of seats was not wide, so if someone was sitting, the person trying to get out had to turn sideways.

Lin Shu straightened the hem of her clothes, stared at Shen Man, and started to move out sideways.

Suddenly, the light overhead flickered, making a piercing ‘zizi’ sound.

The screams of many girls sounded from all around.

Frightened, Lin Shu subconsciously ducked down, her hands tightly hugging Shen Man’s arm.

“Shushu, don’t be afraid. It was just the light flickering, it’s alright,” Shen Man comforted her softly, her slender fingers stroking through Lin Shu’s soft, long hair before coming to rest on her soft back.

Lin Shu’s body stiffened for a moment; she could clearly feel the warmth of the hand on her back.

She blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering rapidly, just like her heart was beating.

After waiting a moment, that loud sound didn’t happen again.

Lin Shu looked up, carefully glanced at the light fixture overhead, and immediately got up from Shen Man’s embrace. She reached up to smooth her slightly messy hair and strode away.

Shen Man stood up and followed behind her.

“Didn’t you say you were going to wait until everyone left before leaving?” Lin Shu turned back, a trace of anger on her fair little face.

“I feel like it’s about time now,” Shen Man answered calmly, scanning the area.

After speaking, she walked forward, overtaking Lin Shu.

Lin Shu immediately followed.

The two of them walked outside.

Lin Shu looked all around and asked, “Didn’t you come with Yin Ruxu? Where is she?”

“She already left,” Shen Man said.

Lin Shu ‘tsked’ and revealed a gloating smile. “Maybe she thought watching a movie with you was boring and found an excuse to slip away.”

Hearing this, Shen Man’s expression didn’t change. She asked with a smile, “Shushu, do you think it’s boring?”

“Watching a movie with me,” she added after a pause.

Lin Shu’s smile froze. Quickly, she pouted and retorted loudly, “Who watched a movie with you? I came with Ding Xi and the others.”

“I would never want to watch a movie with you.” She said this sentence very firmly.

Shen Man’s lips curved slightly, her eyes brimming with a smile, a look of complete understanding in their depths.

“What are you smiling at?” Lin Shu questioned angrily.

“Nothing,” Shen Man said, walking out with the crowd.

Lin Shu snorted and didn’t follow.

Shen Man walked outside.

A heavy rain began to fall from the sky, the hualahuala sound like an explosion next to one’s ears.

The sky darkened, and visibility became low.

Many people were standing at the entrance of the movie theater, all complaining about how heavily the rain was falling.

Shen Man took out her phone and called Lin Shu.

The call only connected when the ringing was about to end.

“Shushu, it’s raining heavily outside. A lot of people here are hailing taxis, so it’ll probably be hard for us to get one back,” Shen Man said.

“Why is it raining again?” Lin Shu frowned in irritation. “The weather was fine when we came out.”

As Shen Man listened, the voice on the phone grew closer and closer. She turned her head and saw Lin Shu’s figure not far away, walking towards her.

She waved at Lin Shu and hung up the phone.

Lin Shu walked over, and upon seeing the state of the rain outside, her pretty, delicate eyebrows knitted together tightly, her little face full of displeasure.

Ding Xi and Yan Jie followed behind her.

Yan Jie said, “Lin Shu-jie, my dad is off today. I’ll ask him to come pick us up.”

“No need, I have someone to pick me up,” Lin Shu said, calling Tan Kai.

After a good while, the other end finally picked up, and Tan Kai’s hearty laughter came through. “Lin Shu, what’s up?”

“Where are you? We’re trapped at the movie theater. Come and pick us up,” Lin Shu said.

“I’m at Shao Qi’s house, playing games with him,” Tan Kai said. He got up and walked to the balcony, saw the rain outside, and added, “Where are you? I’ll head over to pick you up now.”

Lin Shu immediately gave him the address, a smile reappearing on her face as she said happily, “What game are you and Shao Qi playing? I want to go play too.”

Hearing this, Tan Kai paused for a moment and said, “But you’re not interested in games…”

“Don’t worry about that, just hurry up and come get us and take us to Shao Qi’s house,” Lin Shu interrupted him.

“Who are you with?” Tan Kai asked.

“Shen Man.”

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