Chapter 164: Chapter 165: Thea Lynch, Focus on What’s Important
Thea Lynch’s expression was a bit hard to describe.
The couple discount of 20% was indeed attractive.
But she felt it wouldn’t appeal to Ian Preston.
A 20% discount was nothing for Ian Preston.
So hearing it from his mouth, she really thought it was a bit ridiculous.
Holding a rose, she came down from the second floor and instinctively asked, "Are we heading back to the courtyard now?"
Ian Preston descended the steps ahead of her and stood aside waiting for her.
He then walked out with her, "It’s still early, if you want to stroll around, you can."
Today’s plan was so sudden that Ian Preston had no arrangement.
It’s just past seven in the evening.
The dinner took them an hour and a half, but they exchanged only a few words throughout. Mainly because of environmental reasons; he was concerned Thea Lynch might not be comfortable, so he didn’t speak much during the meal.
"I..." Thea Lynch was hesitating on how to introduce the idea of watching a movie when the restaurant manager suddenly approached and blocked their way.
"Good evening." The manager briefly introduced himself, then rambled on about various things before pulling out two movie tickets: "This is part of our promotion; we’ve randomly selected lucky customers to receive movie tickets, right at the cinema next door."
"If you two have time tonight, you can head over and take a look. It’s a newly released romance film from yesterday."
"..." Hearing it was a romance film, Thea Lynch raised an eyebrow.
Wasn’t it supposed to be a comedy?
Who could tell her how a comedy turned into a romance film?
As she was about to refuse, Ian Preston reached out first and accepted the movie tickets from the manager, "Thank you."
Thea Lynch: "..."
"Are you planning to see a movie?" Thea tentatively asked as they exited the restaurant, "I’ve heard these romance drama films are generally quite dull."
"You probably aren’t that interested, or else..."
"I’m indeed not interested." Ian Preston, holding the movie tickets, walked by himself towards the cinema next door. Thea caught up with him and heard his latter half of the sentence: "I didn’t say I was going to watch the movie."
"Then what is it?"
Ian Preston changed his answer at the last moment before speaking, "Take a break and wait for a few of them."
——
The movie wouldn’t start for another forty minutes, so the two of them found a seat to wait.
"I’ll go to the restroom." Thea Lynch found an excuse.
She got up, with Ian Preston’s gaze following her: "Are you sure you’ll come back?"
"..." Thea was speechless. After a while, she said, "I’ll come back; I have nothing urgent tonight."
Ian Preston still kept his eyes on her.
After hesitating for a moment, Thea left her bag, "Please keep an eye on my bag for me."
That would put him slightly at ease.
"Go ahead," Ian finally relaxed a bit.
Thea didn’t actually go to the bathroom; instead, she turned a corner halfway and called Silas Cheney from a spot where Ian couldn’t see her.
As the phone rang, Silas frantically silenced it.
"Answer it." Sean Bell, arms folded, looked on gleefully: "Why aren’t you answering? The one coming to settle scores is here."
Silas: "..."
Clearing his throat, Silas crouched to minimize his presence and pressed the answer key.
"Hey, sis. How come you have time to call me now? Aren’t you supposed to be having dinner?"
"How dare you ask." Thea took a deep breath, trying to keep her tone calm, "Why didn’t you tell me you booked a couple’s restaurant?"
"Huh? Couple’s restaurant? I didn’t know." Pretending to be clueless seemed like the best tactic now.
His acting was so poor that just hearing these two sentences, Thea could almost imagine his exaggerated expression across the phone.
"Alright, then what about the movie tickets? Comedy, I would have accepted even if it was a romantic comedy, but what was with the melodrama?"
Silas couldn’t really defend himself here, "I checked recent movies, and besides horror, there was only this. I watched the trailer; it’s not that melodramatic."
"Supposedly, it’s quite beautiful, and online reviews are decent; many couples said they cried."
Thea: "..."
"Well, you can’t possibly take the two of you to a horror film. You’re brave, that’s fine, but what if it left a psychological shadow on Ian?"
Silas said this so earnestly that it sounded like nonsense.
Rubbing her temples, Thea tried to stay calm.
"Honestly, is there anything else planned afterward?"
Silas: "Nothing, really."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure, sure, just a regular movie. Treat it as a comedy; the effect is the same." Silas added, "Anyway, the focus isn’t on the movie; no matter what they show, as long as there’s an atmosphere, it’s fine."
"Thea, you need to grasp the focus!"
Though crude, the logic was not bad.
This was something Sean Bell agreed with.
The waiter approached, "Here’s your coffee."
"..."
Hearing this, Thea was curious, "Who are you having coffee with?"
Having coffee late in the evening?
"A friend, uh, discussing cooperation."
Silas covered the mouthpiece and moved aside to stay hidden, "Did Ian suspect anything?"
"He doesn’t seem suspicious of me yet."
"That’s good, that’s good. Continue according to the plan. Oh, by the way, you guys could interact a bit more."
"Hmm?" Thea didn’t understand.
Afraid of slipping up, Silas found a reliable excuse: "I heard from the restaurant that the atmosphere when you and Ian were dining seemed rather dull."
Unexpectedly needing a review, Thea hesitated for a while, "That was because you tricked me, and I wasn’t mentally prepared."
"So this time you’re prepared for the movie, right?"
"Don’t mention changing movies or anything like that. You guys finished your meal way faster than I thought, a full half-hour earlier."
"Since it’s still earlier than the showtime, you have plenty of time to build it up."
"Interaction, remember to interact!"
Thea responded, "... Got it."
When Thea returned, her gaze swept past the café on the cinema’s first floor.
A possibility flashed across her mind, but after thinking it over, she felt Silas wouldn’t be that boring.
Once she left, Silas came out.
Sean Bell sat in the position with his back to Thea the whole time, extremely relaxed.
Seeing his leisure, Silas clapped him on the shoulder: "You’re fearless; aren’t you afraid she really comes over?"
"Not at all," Sean Bell had nothing to fear, "If we’re caught, I’ll just say you dragged me here."
Silas: "..." You definitely take the cake for being cunning.
The two stayed there until the ticket check began and confirmed Ian and Thea went in before following them.
Their seats were behind Ian and Thea.
However, at the theater entrance, Sean Bell suddenly noticed a problem.
"Go on, why are you standing there?" Silas turned back.
Sean Bell asked, "How do you plan on going in?"
"?"
"Do you think they won’t notice us?"
"..."
