Chapter 33 - I want to stay with you forever! (1/2)

In a cinema, Chen Qi and Dong Ci sat in the last row of a projection hall watching the movie, Helen Of Troy. It was safe here. The sound of shouting and ancient weapons crashing filled the hall and masked the conversation between Chen Qi and Dong Ci. Most people in the projection hall were couples. They were whispering, and none of them cared whether there was an insane murderer sitting here and watching the movie with them. So, they were safe.

“Where’s your husband?” Chen Qi asked,

“He is working overtime. By the way, he is not my husband. We’re not married yet.” Dong Ci corrected him.

Chen Qi held Dong Ci’s hand tightly, as if he would never let go of her.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to marry him.” Dong Ci put her head on Chen Qi’s shoulder. “I want to be with you.”

“We can’t be together.” Chen Qi said, “You will be happy with him.”

Dong Ci raised her voice, “You are not me. How can you be so sure that I will be happy with him? ‘You will be happy with him’, everyone says so. But none of them have really put themselves in my shoes. Even if you are right, I don’t want to live without you. You loved me so much in the previous life. Why do you want to leave me now? Why? We’ve just found each other. I don’t want to leave you.”

“What about your fiancé?”

“I know I owe him a lot. I will repay him in the next life.”

“I will have to hide myself from place to place. If you stay with me, you will live a hard life.”

“I want to stay with you forever!” Dong Ci looked steadfastly at Chen Qi. “I’m not afraid of death. I’m just afraid of living without you.”

“You are really annoying. I won’t come to see you again. Forget me and marry him. He’s a perfect match for you.” Chen Qi looked into her eyes and continued, “I really like you. But to be honest, you are not my style.”

“You liar!” Dong Ci cried, “You are a selfish liar! You don’t want to take me with you. You don’t want to look after me. You were talking incoherently. You are a lunatic!”

“Yes, I am a lunatic. All I want is to sleep with you.” Chen Qi detached his arm from Dong Ci’s grip and stopped talking.

The projection hall suddenly lit up because the projector broke down in the middle of the movie. Some people heckled, shouted abuse and claimed a refund. Some people asked for a replay. Some women sat in their seats and looked at their beloved men while crying sadly. Some men stared at their beloved women, sighing and feeling helpless. No matter how they felt and what they wanted, they had to leave the cinema in the end.

‘Life is like a movie. After the show, I have to part with you, though I am reluctant. I don’t know if we will see each other again. But I will miss you very much, Ci,’ he thought to himself.

Chen Qi kissed Dong Ci under the streetlight and said, “Promise me you will be happy.”