They all want to control me!

Chapter 17 We Are Very Similar

It is said that the three most popular dating spots are amusement parks, aquariums, and movie theaters.

Lin Ran didn't have the Golden Eyes, nor did he encounter a little female dragon named Xia Mi, but he could refer to the three holy lands.

He instructed Jiang Qiaoqiao to take Tao Zhiyao to see a movie. There weren't any good movies this summer, but there were some older films being shown.

Lin Ran and Jiang Qiaoqiao chose the movie "Departures" together. It tells the story of a cellist who is laid off and loses his job, and how he goes from resisting the profession of mortician to gradually accepting it and letting go of the conflicts between his childhood and his father.

There's really no other choice. The film industry is in a slump right now, and people in the industry are barely making ends meet. They can only make movies with high box office numbers, like children's films.

Of the two older films, only "Departures" is of decent quality. Although it has its flaws, the story and performances also have many highlights.

Of course, the key point is that Jiang Qiaoqiao wants to see it.

While waiting in line after buying her tickets, Tao Zhiyao ran off to buy popcorn and cola. Her stomach seemed like a bottomless pit, as if it could never be filled.

Having just eaten barbecue, Jiang Qiaoqiao's stomach is still full, and she has no desire to eat anything else.

"Her appetite is terrifying..."

"Ahem, more than this, I'm curious why you chose 'Departures,' that movie..."

Lin Ran hesitated to continue, as the film explored many aspects of life and death, which were likely untouchable wounds for Jiang Qiaoqiao.

Jiang Qiaoqiao said softly, "I watched this movie when it was first released, and I cried buckets. I want to watch it again to give my past self an explanation."

"Oh, I see. I thought you were a masochist looking for a beating," Lin Ran said, making a crude remark.

Jiang Qiaoqiao hissed, "You damn Lin Ran, you can't speak unless you're being a jerk, huh?"

"right."

"You big dummy!" Jiang Qiaoqiao laughed and scolded, "I've figured it out now. You've never acted like a jerk in front of Tao Zhiyao. You're just being discriminatory."

"How can you understand me so well, Qiaozi?"

"Alright, that's enough. Tao Zhiyao is back."

Jiang Qiaoqiao held Tao Zhiyao's little hand and walked into the screening room, sitting in the best viewing spot in the eighth row.

The lights in the screening room went out.

At the beginning of the movie, the male protagonist accompanies the company president to a family's house. Their daughter committed suicide by burning charcoal and died peacefully. The company president asks the male protagonist to try to prepare the body for burial.

As the plot unfolded, the noisy sounds in the screening room gradually subsided.

Jiang Qiaoqiao glanced at Tao Zhiyao beside her. Tao Zhiyao had a few pieces of popcorn in her mouth and was staring intently at the screen, completely absorbed in the story.

"Compared to the two of us, those who haven't seen the movie are more immersed in it," Lin Ran said.

"The first viewing is the best, but the second viewing is different," Jiang Qiaoqiao said. "I can no longer empathize with my past self, why I cried so much, I can't feel it anymore."

"Feel the same."

"Lin Ran, have any of your relatives passed away?"

"Yes," Lin Ran said. "My grandfather passed away when I was in the third grade of elementary school. Before that, my home was quite far from the school, and my grandfather would come to pick me up from school every day. I would make him wait in a far place so that my classmates wouldn't see him."

"Why? It's normal for elementary school students to be picked up by their parents."

Lin Ran thought for a moment and said:

"Children have a tendency to show off, thinking they are adults and don't need others to pick them up or drop them off. If their classmates see this, they will laugh at them. But as they grow up, they don't feel that way anymore. In reality, no one is paying attention to them. It's all psychological."

"I don't have the same worries as you," Jiang Qiaoqiao said. "My parents were busy with work, so Aunt Zhao, the nanny, would pick me up from school. Back then, my family wasn't very wealthy; we only drove an Audi."

"Alright, enough with the Versailles."

"Hehe." Jiang Qiaoqiao chuckled twice, her little scheme exposed, then lowered her voice and asked cautiously, "I don't mean to offend you, I just wanted to ask... did you cry at Grandpa's funeral?"

"No," Lin Ran answered decisively.

"Are you an abnormal child too?"

"Huh? You seem to have a misunderstanding, like a child. I was a primary school student back then, a little kid, and I didn't know what 'death' was at all. My aunt pulled me to my grandfather's portrait and made me cry, but I couldn't cry. I became very rational, as if I had detached myself from emotions and was in a different world."

Jiang Qiaoqiao said softly, "My parents' funeral was held while I was in the hospital. Relatives and friends came to visit me, comfort me, and tell me not to be sad. But I didn't feel sad at all at that time. It's similar to what you mean by detaching from emotions."

Lin Ran said with ill intent, "Let me guess, did you have a big cry about a week or two later?"

"you also?"

"Yes, although I didn't cry at the funeral, some time later, one day after school, I was pushing my bicycle out of the school and passed by the place where my grandfather used to wait for me. The scenery around me was exactly the same as before, except that one person was missing. I realized that the old man had left forever. My eyes welled up and I cried my eyes out. It was a rainy day at the time, and it was pouring rain. I pointed my middle finger at the sky and cursed God for raining rain that fit the atmosphere so well."

"...As expected of you, you talk about serious things in such an unserious way."

A slight smile appeared on her lips. Hearing that Lin Ran's state of mind in the face of her deceased relatives was similar to her own, she felt as if she had found another kindred spirit in the world, and she felt a little happy.

"It's not that I'm being irresponsible," Lin Ran retorted. "I'm just facing everything with a more optimistic attitude. Since we can't change the objective world, we can change our attitude towards things and live more comfortably and happily."

After saying that, Lin Ran clicked his tongue:

"We've gone off-topic. We were watching The Undertaker and talking about Tao Zhiyao's date, but we suddenly veered off-topic. I feel like I'm giving you a life coach."

"We were just chatting casually. We've both seen the movie 'The Undertaker,' so it's normal for the conversation to drift to other topics."

Jiang Qiaoqiao glanced at the girl next to her, whose eyes were already red and swollen, brimming with tears. She would burst into tears whenever Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack came on.

I bought popcorn and cola, but only ate a few bites at the beginning of the movie and then left them sitting there.

Jiang Qiaoqiao grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into her mouth, savoring the junk food that her nanny, Aunt Zhao, would never allow her to eat, thinking to herself:

"Lin Ran, we really have so many things in common."

"You haven't met enough people. Actually, there are quite a few people who feel the same way as us."

"My friend can have as many as he wants!" Jiang Qiaoqiao's tone became more forceful, clearly showing her anger.

"Heh." Lin Ran laughed mockingly.

The movie has ended.

Tao Zhiyao stood at the bathroom door wiping away tears, constantly throwing tissues into the trash can.

"The male lead... the male protagonist didn't say a single word to his father until the very end, sob sob sob..."

"Don't cry, don't cry. In the end, the male lead let go of the burdens of the past, so it's a good ending."

Jiang Qiaoqiao hugged the girl, patting her back repeatedly with a strange expression, and mentally complained to Lin Ran:

"I, a cripple who has always been taken care of, am now taking care of someone else, and it's the girl that you, this abstract thing, like like."

Lin Ran laughed and said, "Taking care of Tao Zhiyao isn't as troublesome as taking care of you. It's getting late after the movie. Once she's calmed down, you can take her back to school. I want to show you something."

"What is it?"

"A song called 'Coral Sea'."