The people around were dissatisfied, but no one would say anything since there were four of them, after all.
Panzi and Leizi quietly explained to Run Sheng and Li Zhiyuan who these four people were and the nicknames they had in the gangster world.
Youths of this age often idolize such second-rate characters, feeling as though knowing them is a greatly impressive feat.
However, due to Li Lan, the Li family of this generation values education highly; Panzi and Leizi are in high school as well. If they had dropped out in middle school, they would likely be hanging out with those guys now.
Li Zhiyuan doesn’t mind the smell of smoke, after all, Grandmaster Li Weihan and the others smoke too, but he dislikes these four people’s loud voices, and when he can’t stand it anymore, he stands up and moves to the back row against the wall where there are chairs to sit on, significantly higher than the low, front benches.
After Panzi and Leizi confirm that Li Zhiyuan has only moved to the back, they turn their attention back to the movie.
At this moment, the suit-clad man yells back, "Sister Mei, where are the girls? We’ve been here for ages, where are they?"
Sister Mei pokes her head out from behind a wooden board and curses, "All this shouting, are you calling your mom’s spirit? Look at the time. They’ve been called for; they’ll be here shortly!"
"Hehehe." The suit-clad man isn’t annoyed, just whistles at Sister Mei, "Looks like Brother Leopard got too high. You’re sagging."
"Look at your grandma!"
Sister Mei curses again, disappearing behind the wooden board.
Soon, two women enter, both over thirty, heavily made-up, wearing skirts.
After sitting down, they lower their heads curiously at the boy sitting on Li Zhiyuan’s left and right.
"Yo, handsome, waiting here for your sister?"
"So tender and fair, are you really old enough to understand these things?"
The two begin to tease.
At this point, two lackeys of the suit-clad man stand up and sit down next to the women, hands immediately misbehaving, starting to explore; the women don’t resist so much and start a playful banter.
Li Zhiyuan realizes that this back row of chairs is not meant for regular moviegoers.
As he is about to return to sit by Run Sheng, the two couples next to him get up and enter a mysterious passage behind the curtain.
Soon after, the sound of two doors closing can be heard; there must be a few small compartments inside.
And now the suit-clad man starts shouting, "Sister Mei, Sister Mei, change the reel, change it!"
Sister Mei pops out again, cursing, "It’s not even evening yet, change what damn reel!"
The suit-clad man complains, "Heat things up a bit and get the mood going, change it!"
Some of the other film viewers begin to join in on the racket.
Although Sister Mei has Brother Leopard backing her, she has to accommodate the gangsters a bit since sometimes cursing isn’t enough – so she goes to the VCR, takes out "A Better Tomorrow," and picks another reel from the chest of drawers to play.
Li Zhiyuan notices Panzi and Leizi’s faces light up with excitement and anticipation, like young men from African tribes ready for their primal rite of passage.
Soon, the new movie starts, a period drama.
It’s in Cantonese without Mandarin dubbing, but luckily there are subtitles, though looking further down, one realizes subtitles don’t really make much difference.
At first, the scene seems quite normal with a light comedic feel; Li Zhiyuan catches sight of a short man selling pancakes and thinks this must be Xiangjiang’s version of "Water Margin."
Until a man and a woman enter a room to drink, then lie on the table, and their clothes start coming off.
That’s when Li Zhiyuan realizes what kind of film it is.
Panzi and Leizi’s eyes are glued to the screen, even more absorbed than when watching Brother Fa’s movies, afraid of missing any detail as if to etch every frame into their memories for later reflection.
Li Zhiyuan thinks that they definitely don’t pay this much attention to the blackboard during class.
Run Sheng, on the other hand, begins to blush, looking down—he is not pretending to be bashful; he is genuinely embarrassed to watch.
It was also the golden era of Xiangjiang and the island’s adult cinema midnight shows, giving birth to many classics that left a striking mark in the history of cinema.
Soon, the two men who had walked in earlier come out; they try to act nonchalant, lighting up cigarettes, seemingly to hide a certain embarrassment behind the smoke.
"That quick?" The suit-clad man doesn’t spare his lackeys’ feelings, "I’m just getting into the mood here."
He says that, but he doesn’t want to wait any longer and, along with another lackey, enters the deep passage.
Then, before their movie’s passionate scene is over, the two of them come back out.
Now, all four of them are sitting on chairs, smoking, finally quiet after their earlier noise.
As if to demonstrate what it means to drop the butcher’s cleaver and become a Buddha on the spot.
After a while, the suit-clad man starts shouting again, "Sister Mei, Sister Mei, put on ’A Better Tomorrow’!"
With a Buddha-like state, their hearts compassionate, they can’t bear to "kill."
"Damn it, so much hassle!"
Sister Mei is indeed annoyed, but she understands them. She goes back to the VCR to change the reels, adjusting the progress to continue where the movie left off.
After she’s done, Sister Mei deliberately glances at them with a smile on her lips, tinged with irony.
She knows when men are like tigers without their teeth.
Sure enough, all four men avert their gazes, pretending to be upstanding gentlemen who "see no evil."