Chapter 77

She leaned close to Li Pu's elbow, her small, soft lips slightly parted, and her pink tongue flicked out, gently licking a few times.

Behind the large iron gate of the cinema, the innocent young girl, like a cluster of small animals, licked the wound of a slightly older boy. At their age, none of them had a strong sense of gender, so after the girl diligently licked a few times, she asked, "Does it still hurt?"

"Uh, it's just a bit itchy... Actually, it's fine. I get this kind of injury almost every day." Li Pu felt a bit embarrassed for the first time in his life. No one had ever been so gentle with him— even when they played house, it never happened.

"Let's get ready to watch the movie, or it would be a waste to sneak in." Li Pu pointed to the two large doors in the distance and said to the girl, "See that door? Inside is the hall where they show movies, with hundreds or even thousands of seats, and it's never full. We just need to sneak in."

"But, there are people who sneak in to watch movies for free—there's no way around it, as none of us have much pocket money. I only learned this after an older brother from junior high brought me. So sometimes, a ticket checker will sit in a seat near the entrance, waiting to catch people."

"But the cinema's business isn't good, and usually, there's only one ticket checker on duty. So one of the two entrances is definitely safe," Li Pu continued, sharing his experience.

"Half a chance?" The girl's eyes widened, worriedly asking, "What if we get caught?"

"We're just kids, so if we get caught, they'll just pull our ears and throw us out," Li Pu shrugged. "But don't worry, you hide in the bathroom, and I'll scout ahead. If I get thrown out, I'll just climb back in."

"I don't like having my ears pulled~" But after thinking for a moment, the little girl, with a sense of righteousness, decided to go with him to scout.

Fortunately, either the ticket checker was lazy today, or they had chosen the safe door. The two successfully sneaked into the cinema and quietly sat in the third row of empty seats.

"Really interesting... It feels like we're 007 secretly infiltrating," the little girl felt her heart pounding. It was her first time playing such an adventurous game.

The movie "A Thousand Years of Love" had only been playing for about ten minutes. The story was about a medieval peasant girl who fell in love with a prince. The queen, likely an anti-Mary Sue, had the court wizard use a cursed necklace to turn the peasant girl into a puppet. A thousand years later, the puppet, displayed as an art piece, was accidentally found by a college student who removed the necklace from her neck, breaking the curse. The peasant girl continued her Mary Sue journey in the modern era... In short, it was a typical old romantic story, but with elements of fantasy and humor, Li Pu and the little girl were still very interested and watched it to the end.

After the movie, the boy and girl walked out of the cinema with the sparse crowd, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Ha, we made it out!" The little girl, like a happy fawn, laughed brightly, celebrating their successful infiltration and escape.

"You're much more lively than you look," Li Pu grinned. Although they had only known each other for an afternoon, he already felt a strong connection with the girl.

"I've always been lively," the girl made a funny face at the boy and then smiled, saying something he didn't understand in English, "It was like 'Lady and the Tramp' today."

"What?" Li Pu was completely confused.

"A Disney cartoon!" The girl spun around, her skirt flaring as she turned to the boy. At that moment, her innocent smile seemed to shine brighter than the setting sun.

By now, the sky was filled with the glow of the evening, and the sun was setting. It was getting late, and since they lived in the same neighborhood, Li Pu took a shortcut through a field path to send the girl home.

The girl, wearing small sandals, walked through the grass, her tender legs feeling itchy from the dense leaves of the cow grass. The boy, holding a branch, swatted at the summer mosquitoes while chatting with the girl. They talked about comics, games, and the nearby elementary school.

"Changsheng Elementary School? I might transfer there too," the girl thought to herself.

She began to look forward to staying in the country longer with her mother.

"Here's my home, 302 in Building 6, Unit B."

At the apartment building, the girl pointed out her home to the boy and waved, "Bye~ Thanks for playing with me today."

The dim streetlights, mixed with the bright moonlight, illuminated the girl's face, which was a bit dirty from climbing up and down with the boy. Her smile was much happier than when they first met.

"Will you come with me on more adventures?" The little girl, holding the hem of her dress, tilted her head slightly, looking forward to his answer.

"Sure, you're pretty interesting, more fun than the other boys I know," Li Pu made a funny face and waved as he backed away, "See you tomorrow! Chenxian!"

The girl watched the energetic boy run home, mimicking the posture of a hero from a TV drama. When she turned around, she saw her mother standing behind her.

"Is this your new friend? You're such a little wild monkey..." Her mother walked over and gently patted the girl's head, "Did you have fun?"

"Uh-huh!" The girl nodded happily, "His name is Li Pu. He scared away the mean dog and played with me all afternoon."

"I saw most of it," her mother smiled. She raised her finger and gently tapped the girl's nose, "You're all dirty, go take a bath."

The girl obediently followed her mother upstairs. When they pushed open the door, she saw a handsome white man sitting on a suitcase.

"Xian, you should listen to your father," the white man looked at the girl with a gentle smile. He raised his right hand, and in his palm was a human head, with a stream of blood trickling from his fingers and dripping onto his wrist.

—It was the head of the boy named Li Pu.

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When the girl woke up, it was exactly six in the morning.

"Ugh~ I finally had a good dream. Why did Dad have to ruin it at the end, it's so annoying..."

She hugged her head in frustration, twisting and turning in bed, trying to fall back asleep. But the shock from the dream was too great, and she couldn't fall back asleep.

The girl turned on the bedside lamp, got up, and stood in front of the mirror at her vanity.

In the mirror, a beautiful girl with long, smooth hair that reached her hips was reflected. A few strands of hair were sticking up, making her look a bit silly.

But in the advanced research institute in Greenland, she was recognized as one of the most outstanding intern researchers in recent years.

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