After receiving Xia Nuannuan's call that afternoon, Qin Tian prepared to go out.
The people who came to pay New Year's greetings had basically finished in the morning, and his mother had nothing else to do. She was sitting in the room, cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV.
"Mom, I'm going to watch a movie with Nuannuan and the others."
Qin Tian walked to the doorway of the room and said to his mother.
Tang Xiuxia turned her head to look at him and nodded, saying, "Go ahead. Remember not to eat at Nuannuan's house tonight. Their house will definitely have many guests today. Come back early, as we have to go back to the old house tomorrow morning."
"Got it."
Qin Tian nodded slightly and asked, "Aren't you going out to have some fun this afternoon?"
"It's freezing, why would I go out? All the shops are closed!"
Tang Xiuxia shook her head.
"Why don't you come with us to watch a movie?"
Qin Tian suggested.
"No, no, you kids play together. What's the point of me joining the fun? Hurry up and go, don't mind me. I'll watch TV and then take a nap. It's quite comfortable."
Tang Xiuxia waved her hand.
"Okay, then I'm leaving!"
"Mhm, mhm!"
...
...
When he drove to Xia Nuannuan's residential complex, he saw the four of them walking out.
The three sisters walked ahead, chatting and laughing, while Xia Junjie followed behind with his hands in his pockets.
"Look, Brother-in-law is here."
Xia Xue spotted the car, smiled brightly, and raised her hand to point.
"Is that Brother-in-law's car?"
Xia Yaxin exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, Uncle helped buy it."
Xia Xue replied with a smile.
"Really?"
Xia Yaxin's expression became even more surprised.
"This car must be hundreds of thousands, Uncle really spared no expense."
Xia Junjie behind them muttered somewhat sourly.
The three girls looked back at him upon hearing this.
"Jun Jie, don't be rude."
Xia Yaxin frowned and scolded him.
Xia Junjie pouted and fell silent.
"It's because my brother tutored me and helped me get into Jiangda. Lao Xia gave it to him as a thank you gift,"
Xia Nuannuan explained with a smile.
"Nuannuan Jie, you and Brother-in-law are amazing. I wish I could get into Jiangda too."
Xia Yaxin said with admiration.
"Yaxin, my grades were much worse than yours before. Believe in yourself, you can definitely do it. The first step now is to get into a good high school. Just take it step by step, no need to rush."
Xia Nuannuan raised her hand to pat his head, offering encouragement with a sweet smile.
"Mhm!"
Xia Yaxin nodded vigorously.
After parking the car, Qin Tian rolled down the window and waved with a smile.
Seeing this, the three girls ran over with smiles.
Xia Junjie also followed as they urged him, wearing a reluctant expression.
After getting into the car, Qin Tian turned the car around and headed towards the mall.
Xia Nuannuan still sat in the passenger seat. She had originally wanted to sit in the back with her two cousins, but Xia Junjie was unwilling to sit in the front and got in first.
"Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law, have you eaten lunch?"
Xia Xue leaned over the seat, sticking her head out and asking with a smile.
"I have, how about you all?"
"We just finished eating too!"
"I also brought some snacks, we can eat them while watching the movie."
Xia Nuannuan patted the bulging small bag on her lap and said with a smile.
Qin Tian glanced over and nodded with a smile.
After arriving at the mall and parking, the group of five entered the mall and took the elevator directly to the movie theater upstairs.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, most shops in the mall were closed, but the movie theater was an exception.
The movies during the Spring Festival season were always the most exciting, so there were quite a lot of people coming to watch movies.
Fortunately, Xia Nuannuan and the others had already booked tickets online in advance; otherwise, buying tickets on the spot would have been quite difficult.
After buying two tubs of popcorn and several drinks at the counter, they sat down and waited for a while before the first movie was about to start.
The first movie was the most anticipated one, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," directed by Master Xing.
In Qin Tian's memory, this film was also the box office champion of the Spring Festival that year, breaking many records.
Just as they were about to queue up to enter, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away.
The group looked over and saw what seemed to be an argument happening over there.
"It looks like someone is arguing, several people are bullying a couple."
Xia Xue, like a curious baby, peered over and said.
"That guy is going to be unlucky. Those guys look like troublemakers!"
Xia Junjie said with a gloating smile.
Qin Tian originally had no interest in joining the fuss about such matters, but he was tall and could see far. Upon seeing the appearance of the young man, he was stunned.
"Wu Xin?"
Yes, that young man was none other than the top student, Wu Xin, from their third year of high school. He also had a past grievance with Xu Ying.
"Wu Xin? From our class?"
Xia Nuannuan looked at him with a surprised gaze.
"Mhm, it's him."
Qin Tian nodded.
"Then what about the girl? Could it be..."
"It's not Xu Ying."
Qin Tian guessed what she was about to ask and shook his head in denial.
In his sight, the girl being protected behind Wu Xin was not Xu Ying, but a girl wearing glasses, with an ordinary appearance and a quiet temperament.
Wu Xin had also not attended the previous class reunion. According to the class monitor Mu Nan, he had attended a wedding banquet for a cousin.
"Then... should we go over?"
Xia Nuannuan asked tentatively.
There had been some past grievances, but after all, it was in the past. As classmates, she felt a bit unable to just turn a blind eye.
Xia Xue and the other two were also dazed, looking at Qin Tian with questioning eyes.
"I'll go take a look. You all stay here and don't move. You can go in and watch the movie directly. I'll be right back."
Qin Tian dropped these words and walked straight towards them. kuAiδugg
"Brother-in-law, don't be impulsive!"
Xia Xue shouted urgently.
Xia Yaxin beside her also looked worried, casting inquiring glances at Xia Nuannuan.
"It's okay, my brother is also very skilled,"
Xia Nuannuan smiled calmly.
Xia Xue and Xia Yaxin were both stunned upon hearing this and exchanged surprised glances.
"Nuannuan Jie, are you perhaps too confident in him? Those people look like trouble."
Xia Junjie expressed his doubts and added, "It's a pity they don't seem to be from our school, otherwise I could call someone to talk to them."
Upon hearing this, all three girls stared at him with strange expressions.
"Jun Jie, don't mess around with people outside the school, or I'll tell Dad."
Xia Yaxin warned him sternly.
Xia Junjie's eyes flickered, and he chuckled sheepishly, "Sister, what are you thinking? I'm not messing around. It's just that I have a buddy in class who has a cousin outside the school who has some influence."
"What is all this? Are you reciting tongue twisters?"
Xia Xue rolled her eyes speechlessly.
"You know nothing!"
Xia Junjie gave her a disdainful look.
"Hey... how are you talking to your sister? Do you want a beating?"
Xia Xue raised her hand to scare him.
Xia Junjie pouted dismissively, still coolly with his hands in his pockets.
Rebellious teenagers his age always admired figures like gang leaders. Anyone who was influential in school and could speak with "big brothers" outside of school, no matter how convoluted it sounded, would make them envious.