A towering figure of 1.85 meters blocked all her line of sight.
Song Lili asked, then glanced again at Lu Ziqing who was silently clearing the dishes in the hall, and hurried to stand up to help.
Wen Nian blocked her,
"Commander Lu said he would take care of it."
"How can I just sit by? I—"
"I want to watch a movie."
Wen Nian abruptly interrupted Song Lili’s words...
Song Lili thought she must have misheard.
"I said I want to watch a movie."
Song Lili took a deep breath, sounding somewhat impatient.
"There are no cinemas in this small county; only the city has cinemas. Wen Nian, stop making trouble. You coming here to Luoshe, this small county, in the middle of the night is dangerous enough."
"We can just watch it here. Haven’t we always chosen a movie online, projected it on the TV, and spent the whole night watching on the couch? Don’t you remember?"
"What movie do you want to watch?"
"I still have to drop Xiaocao off at Grandma Ouyang’s in the building behind us later, and I have to go back to school tomorrow, so I need to get up early. If you don’t go back now, Secretary Ding will definitely be worried to death."
Wen Nian frowned and paused for a moment.
Song Lili was annoyed! The current Secretary-General of the President’s Secretariat was named Secretary Qu, and she had forgotten for a moment.
That Ding wasn’t even in office yet!
"No! It’s Secretary Qu... I misspoke."
"Anyway, you should go back soon. What kind of President acts so childishly? Everyone says you’re young and reckless; do you really want to live up to that reputation?"
"If you watch a movie with me, I’ll leave."
Tang Xiaocao was sitting on the couch, looking up at them with a child’s direct gaze that always made people flustered and uneasy.
Song Lili hesitated for a moment, looked at her watch, calculated the time, and turned to Wen Nian,
"Xiaocao, I’ll take you to Grandma Ouyang’s tomorrow morning. I’ll call her now so she won’t wait up for you tonight."
Tang Xiaocao said excitedly,
"Can I watch the movie too?"
"Of course, you can."
Song Lili said with a smile.
Tang Xiaocao then looked at Wen Nian, who shrugged helplessly and sat down next to Xiaocao, "Then let’s watch it together."
Lu Ziqing was quite fast at cleaning up the dishes and utensils; in no time, he had nearly finished.
After Song Lili made the call to Grandma Ouyang and went into the kitchen, she said to Lu Ziqing, "I’m sorry, Brother Lu, for having you clear the dishes."
"The President’s orders—how could I dare to disobey?"
Song Lili stiffened a bit, momentarily unsure whether Lu Ziqing’s comment was a tease or...
"Brother Lu... when are you heading back to the military district?"
Lu Ziqing lifted his eyebrows, "When is the President leaving?"
"Uh... the President wants to watch a movie at home. He will leave after the movie."
"Watch a movie? He is in such a mood? Then I have to watch it too."
After saying that, Lu Ziqing wiped his hands and walked toward the living room.
Song Lili watched Lu Ziqing’s retreating figure, confused. What was the past conflict between Brother Lu and Wen Nian?
Why did it always feel like they were at loggerheads, and what exactly were they squaring off over?
Wen Nian found the movie, a story about cowboys in the American West, which felt very historical and had a strong narrative. Song Lili knew that this movie would have a very high reputation for the next ten years.
But at the same time, it was the longest movie of recent years!
Song Lili took a deep breath, glaring at Wen Nian, she hissed,
"A four and a half hour movie... I can’t believe you found it!"
Wen Nian watched the TV quietly, with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
In the darkened living room, only the projection from the TV screen cast fluctuating light. In a place unseen by Lu Ziqing, Wen Nian forcefully and aggressively held Lili’s hand.