Chapter 70: Gege Will Protect You
Almost from the very beginning, Lin Siwu buried his face in the throw pillow, only daring to peek at the screen through the gaps between his fingers.
Every time an eerie shot appeared, he would shudder all over, let out a tiny gasp, and curl up even tighter.
Jiang Qing, on the other hand, was very invested. He leaned back against the sofa, his hand resting near the untouched milk. His gaze followed the plot with focus, his eyebrows occasionally arching at a clever setup or shot.
As for Lin Siyu… his reaction was somewhere in between. He was clearly watching seriously, his expression calm, but a closer look revealed his spine was straighter than usual. When twisted monsters or bloody scenes appeared on screen, his brow would furrow slightly before quickly returning to normal.
Halfway through the film, a sudden jump scare exploded without warning!
“Ah—!” Lin Siwu was so startled he practically bounced off the sofa. The pillow in his hand flew out and the milk nearly spilled. His face was pale, his heart racing, and he instinctively leaned toward the nearest person—who happened to be Jiang Qing.
He grabbed Jiang Qing’s arm with a death grip.
“Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!!”
Jiang Qing had long anticipated Lin Siwu’s move. He calmly picked up the honey milk beside him and took a sip.
What he hadn’t expected, however, was his other arm being suddenly tugged.
Lin Siyu was carefully pulling on the hem of his shirt, his other hand covering his eyes.
Are both you brothers this cowardly?
The dim blue light of the screen reflected on three very different faces—Jiang Qing was struggling to hold back a laugh, Lin Siwu was staring at the screen in shock, and Lin Siyu…
Lin Siyu had already quickly released the hem of Jiang Qing’s shirt and sat up straight as if nothing had happened, as if that small gesture of covering his eyes in fear was just a hallucination.
“Cough.” He cleared his throat and turned his gaze back to the screen. “That plot point was… designed rather cleverly.”
“Ge, who are you kidding!” Lin Siwu finally found his voice. “You were clearly scared too! You pulled on Qing-ge’s clothes! I saw it!”
Lin Siyu turned back and gave his brother a faint glance.
“You saw wrong. I was just adjusting my seat.”
“But I clearly—”
“The milk is going to get cold.” Lin Siyu interrupted him, turning his gaze toward the honey milk in front of Jiang Qing that had only one sip taken out of it. “It’s better to drink it while it’s hot.”
Jiang Qing’s gaze traveled between the two brothers, the amusement in his eyes deepening.
This was actually quite fun.
During the following scenes, Jiang Qing truly understood what it meant to be a high-pitched tenor. He was genuinely afraid Lin Siwu would scream until he ran out of breath.
“Eh? Hey, no, no, no, holy crap!”
“Why is there another one popping up here?! Aaaahhh!!!”
“Holy crap! What is that?! Can a human body really twist that way??? Wait, no, she’s not human!!! Aaaaahhhh!”
“Holy crap, holy crap, why is there a human spider?! Aaaahhh my eyes! My eyes!!!”
“I want to go home! I want to go home! Aaaahhh holy crap!”
Listening to the screams beside him, Jiang Qing once again took a sip of honey milk without changing his expression.
[Is there no folk song or village flute? The screeching and clattering are hard on the ears.]
However, having seen enough of Lin Siwu’s performance, he finally had the time to play with Lin Siyu.
Lin Siyu’s hand was still lightly grasping the hem of his shirt, whether intentionally or not.
A wicked thought suddenly struck him. He reached out, grabbed Lin Siyu’s hand, and held it.
This time, Lin Siyu went completely rigid.
“What’s the use of pulling my shirt if you’re scared? Hold Gege’s hand,” Jiang Qing said softly.
“Gege will protect you.”
In the flickering blue light of the screen, Jiang Qing clearly saw the man’s eyes go wide and a faint red rapidly spread from the tips of his ears. The hand Jiang Qing was holding was as stiff as a stone, his fingertips ice cold, yet it felt like a faint electric current was pulsing through them.
“…Jiang Qing.” Lin Siyu’s voice carried a rare hint of panic and a forced sense of composure as he tried to pull his hand back.
How could Jiang Qing let him succeed? Instead, he gripped it tighter, even maliciously rubbing his thumb against the man’s knuckles. The texture was unexpectedly nice, just too cold.
“Don’t be stubborn.” Jiang Qing leaned in. “Look how honest your brother is; he screams when he’s scared. Aren’t you tired of holding it in?”
Just then, the “human spider” on screen suddenly lunged toward the camera at a bizarre angle, accompanied by a piercing sound effect—
“Holy crap, holy crap, don’t come over here! Aaaaahhhh holy crap!!!” Lin Siwu’s scream leveled up again. He threw himself onto Jiang Qing’s back, his other hand covering his eyes tightly as he peeked through the gaps in his fingers.
Meanwhile, hit by the double attack of the sudden scare and Jiang Qing’s close-range “harassment,” Lin Siyu’s body gave a violent jolt. Subconsciously… he actually squeezed Jiang Qing’s hand back.
It was only for a brief moment, but the strength was surprisingly great.
Jiang Qing nearly laughed out loud.
“That’s more like it.” He pushed his luck, adjusting his grip until their fingers were interlaced. He even gave their joined hands a little shake. “Hold on tight. Don’t be afraid.”
Lin Siyu looked as if he had been burned by this overly intimate gesture. He wanted to pull away again, but Jiang Qing held him fast. He struggled twice without success; instead, because of the effort, his fingertips brushed against Jiang Qing’s palm, sending a wave of faint itching through him.
“…….You…….” His eyes dared not look at the screen, nor at Jiang Qing. He could only stare at their joined hands, the blush on his face deepening.
“I’m here, I’m here,” Jiang Qing answered with a grin. He was in a great mood; even Lin Siwu’s demonic voice in his ear sounded a bit more melodic now. He leisurely watched the monster chase on screen while feeling the subtle changes in Lin Siyu’s left hand—from stiff, to gradually giving up the struggle, to finally… quietly relaxing and letting him hold it.
His own palm slowly grew warm as well.
The movie drew to a close amidst an eerie, suspenseful atmosphere. When the credits began to roll, the lights in the room were quickly switched on by Lin Siyu.
Lin Siwu collapsed on the sofa like a dehydrated fish, panting as he muttered, “Finally… it’s over… I’m never watching a horror movie again…”
“I feel like all my Yang energy has been sucked out of me…”
Meanwhile, Lin Siyu retracted his hand the very first chance he got, his speed rivaling an electric shock. He stood up with his back to Jiang Qing and straightened the hem of his perfectly neat loungewear. His crimson ear tips betrayed his far from peaceful inner state.
“I’ll go prepare some soothing tea.” His voice had returned to its usual steady tone, just slightly faster than normal.
“Ge, I want some too!” Lin Siwu raised a weak hand.
Jiang Qing leaned back into the sofa and watched Lin Siyu’s back as the man practically fled the room. He then looked down at the hand that had been squeezed just now.
Mm. The honey milk was very sweet.
The movie… was also quite exciting.
After Lin Siyu left, Lin Siwu slumped weakly next to Jiang Qing.
“Qing-ge… I feel like watching one horror movie will shorten my life…” Lin Siwu leaned closer to Jiang Qing. Seeing no reaction, he nudged a bit closer.
Jiang Qing turned his head to look at Lin Siwu, who was almost glued to his shoulder. “Why are you being so cautious now? Who was it that had half their body hanging off me just a moment ago?”
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