On Christmas Eve, which fell on a Friday, the sky was overcast, and snow began to fall by evening. Due to a dragging meeting, Chen An set off late. Unexpectedly, the national highway had already turned into a parking lot. An hour or two later, the traffic flow loosened up slightly, but it was still moving half a kilometer then stopping half a kilometer—not even enough for the driver to shift gears. Chen An, eager to return home, felt both stifled and anxious.
During this time, Cheng Lele sent him a WeChat message asking where he was.
Chen An replied with a pitiful expression and said: [There are too many reindeer delivering gifts on the national highway, causing a traffic jam. It’ll be a while longer.]
Cheng Lele: [Then I’ll give Santa Claus a call and ask if he can give my sweetheart the green light.]
Chen An stared at the screen, his lips curving upward.
Two seconds later, Cheng Lele sent a meme of Zhou Xun with the caption “So many people,” saying: [The cinema has tons of people today. I’ll need to help out with work later. I won’t be looking at my phone for a bit, okay.]
Chen An replied: [Okay.]
By the time Chen An drove into Taixi and exited the highway, passing through the toll station, it was already past eight in the evening.
The cinema parking lot was full of cars. Chen An circled around for quite a while before finally managing to squeeze his car into a cramped corner spot.
Taking his keys, he entered the cinema, which was indeed packed with people. Since he had taken over this cinema, he had never seen so many people. He felt his facial expression must be similar to Zhou Xun’s.
At the entrance stood a clown wearing a red wig, blowing and selling apple-shaped balloons. Behind the clown, a notice was posted on the wall, informing customers that each balloon contained a slip of paper—the front side had blessings from the cinema, while the back had a unique number. Every thirty minutes, the cinema would announce lucky numbers on the LED screen, and customers holding balloons with matching lucky numbers could receive a grand gift package carefully prepared by the cinema. The highest prize was a one-year free movie viewing privilege.
The prize was very enticing. A fairly long queue had formed in front of the clown. The people at the front were all craning their necks, expectantly watching the balloons slowly grow larger and thinner, observing the numbers inside through the gradually transparent rubber skin.
The sticks supporting the balloons weren’t ordinary plastic tubes but small glow sticks with switches that blinked on and off. The bright light made the balloons look ethereal and dreamlike, complementing the huge, glittering Christmas tree in the center of the lobby. The girls holding the balloons felt like luminous sprites dancing in the air from a fairy tale.
Chen An passed through the crowded throng and had just reached the office door when suddenly a bright light flashed rapidly overhead, and the soft background music switched to explosive dance music.
Guided by the light beam, a group of energetic young men and women appeared on the protruding leisure area on the second floor, wearing baggy clothes and dancing dynamic street dance to the music.
This must be the technical school street dance club students that Cheng Lele had invited. The cost wasn’t high, but the festive atmosphere was maximized. The boring wait time instantly became much more interesting. The crowd on the first floor all held up their phones to record videos, and quite a few were bobbing their heads along while holding their balloons.
The students danced for more than ten minutes straight to a medley of hit songs without showing any signs of fatigue. After they exited, the lobby overhead resonated with tight drum beats. The light beam directed everyone’s attention to the large LED screen.
The screen first displayed a pure white background, then a large red apple dropped down, rolling back and forth against the background. After rolling several times, it finally slowly stopped in the center. The accompanying rolling sound suddenly paused and switched to “You are my little, little apple, I can never love you too much…” The music gradually softened, then paused again. With a “crunch,” the apple appeared to have been bitten, missing a corner, resembling Steve Jobs’ Apple logo. However, the background music playfully played Windows’ most classic startup sound, “Ding, ding ding ding~” Then “crunch crunch crunch”—the apple was bitten more and more, gradually revealing a small gift box with Santa Claus’ picture on it. The ribbon on the gift box was untied, and a number flew out. As “Jingle Bells” began to play, colorful fireworks filled the entire screen.
It was designed very interestingly, with a bit of Pixar flavor.
Chen An was appreciating it when Zhong Jin passed by and, without any sense of propriety, patted Chen An’s shoulder, pointing at the big screen and saying, “Bro, my sister’s creative idea, I wrote the script, and Brother Dong did the development. Team work, you know? How is it?”
Chen An asked, “Who’s Brother Dong?”
Zhong Jin shook his head: “I don’t know him. Sister Tang Xin introduced him to my sister.”
Chen An roughly guessed that Dong Ping’s team had helped with it. They probably hadn’t dared to charge money or had symbolically collected a nominal fee.
Chen An sent a WeChat to thank Dong Ping and wished him a happy Christmas Eve. Dong Ping replied: [A small token of appreciation from Hanbai Games to our talent scout.]
Another message came in: [Is Manager Cheng interested in doing creative work for Hanbai?]
Chen An: [Using my money to poach my people?]
After sending it, he locked his screen. Chen An, with a smile on his face, looked around but didn’t see the person he had been thinking about. He asked Zhong Jin, “Where’s your sister?”
Zhong Jin said, “She’ll come out in a bit.”
“Come out from where?”
Zhong Jin said impatiently, “Just wait, will you?”
Chen An found it baffling and was about to ask again when the music changed tune—cheerful and playful, in the style of early British comedy. The song was called “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”
That light beam, like a host, guided everyone’s attention back to the small stage. This time, a group of dancers wearing strange costumes and mascot suits appeared—there was an octopus, a red-crowned crane, a tiger… It was like transitioning to a zoo, full of childlike wonder and fun.
The lead dancer in front of all the mascots was the only one not wearing a mascot suit. Today, she wore heavy makeup, making her features appear especially bold and vivid. Her red lips were bright and alluring, and her black low-cut sexy top paired with a fiery red flowing skirt made her look like a burning flame.
No one expected the lead dancer to also be a singer. Once the song’s prelude ended, she began singing and dancing:
Some things in life are bad
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
Don’t grumble
Don’t grumble
Give a whistle
Give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best.
And this’ll help things turn out for the best
And
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life
If life seems jolly rotten
If life seems jolly rotten
There’s something you’ve forgotten
There’s something you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you’re feeling in the dumps
When you’re feeling in the dumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle
Just purse your lips and whistle
That’s the thing.
That’s the thing
…
The song must have been carefully selected by her—the lyrics were incredibly positive. The Chinese and English lyrics were also thoughtfully designed with special fonts and displayed on the LED screen.
This was a highly interactive performance.
After each “whistle,” all the dancers would stop and blow a particularly loud whistle. After two rounds, the audience, infected by this free and uninhibited atmosphere, also began whistling along.
The dance moves were simple and grand, like a small musical theater show that children would see at an amusement park. Between each small cycle was a pause where everyone would make an adorable gesture of raising both hands upward. Later on, almost everyone did the movements together, singing one line: “Always look on the bright side of life.”
The atmosphere was so good it didn’t feel like being in a cinema at all—it was like being at a large concert venue, with all the rhythm controlled by the star on stage. When the song ended, people were still shouting for an encore. The lead singer blew everyone a kiss: “Remember to always look on the bright side of life! Remember today’s happiness! Remember Starlight Cinema! Merry Christmas!”
The entire venue erupted in applause. The scene became an ocean of joy.
During Christmas Eve’s prime time slot, Cheng Lele had performed a feat in a confined space, completing the entire year’s brand promotion KPI.
Chen An thought that Cheng Lele’s future truly held infinite possibilities.
Then he saw the person who had been radiant on stage run toward him like the wind, with glistening sweat on her forehead and sparkling light in her eyes.
He opened his arms to welcome the star into his embrace.
“Little Ge! I was afraid you wouldn’t make it in time for my performance!” After dancing, her breathing was unsteady, her chest rising and falling continuously. “How was my dancing?”
“When you were little, you couldn’t even remember the dance moves for ‘Love Each Other as One Family.’ I never saw you perform at school either. In front of Jiang Litao, you claimed your arms and legs were old and that you couldn’t sing and dance. Even I was fooled by you.”
Cheng Lele smiled sheepishly: “This dance was very simple. You saw me dancing up there—many people learned it after watching a few times. But I rehearsed for a long time beforehand. If only I had inherited even a little of my mom’s dancing talent, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard.”
Chen An wiped the sweat from her forehead, lowering his eyes and deliberately saying, “Then don’t dance next time.”
Cheng Lele’s dark eyes rolled: “Oh, I was also thinking of asking the dancers to teach me pole dancing and striptease. Never mind, I won’t learn.”
Chen An forcibly maintained his expression and remained silent for a moment: “Are they easy to learn?”
Cheng Lele grinned mischievously: “You want to learn? I can introduce you.” As she spoke, she pulled open the office door behind him. Chen An squeezed in, cradled the back of her head, and pressed her against the door.
In the darkness, Cheng Lele’s eyes were the only light. Chen An lowered his head and gently kissed her thin eyelids: “There wasn’t enough time this time. Next time before you perform, pin the marriage certificate at the top of the big screen.”
Cheng Lele placed both hands on Chen An’s shoulders, tilting her head with a smile: “I think pinning it at the top isn’t enough. It needs to fill the entire screen as the wallpaper. Petty guy.”
As she spoke, she leaned over and kissed Chen An. Chen An’s lips were thin and soft, his teeth white and neat. Occasionally when he said something petty, the corners of his mouth would droop slightly. Cheng Lele thought Little Ge like this was very cute, like a little kid asking for candy.
The two hadn’t seen each other for several days. Absence makes the heart grow fonder—even simple kissing could easily spark passion. After making out passionately for a while, their desire growing deeper and more intense, Chen An’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked in a husky voice near Cheng Lele’s ear, “Can we go home now?”
Cheng Lele still had sparkling little rhinestones on her face, glittering and making her face appear especially flushed: “Let me walk around a bit more and see if they still need my help.”
Chen An pressed his forehead against Cheng Lele’s, his tone so soft it was impossible to refuse: “Good baby, I also need your help. Let’s go.”
The two hurriedly ran to the parking lot. Once in the car, Chen An didn’t immediately start it. In the pitch-dark cabin, he asked, “Actually, the environment here is quite elegant too.”
Cheng Lele mercilessly pressed the power button for him and commanded, “Little Ge, let’s go home.”
Chen An shifted gears and stepped on the gas, complaining, “So unromantic.”
“Come on, hurry up. I even prepared a gift for you.”
Chen An drove forward a few hundred meters, then hit the brakes urgently and turned around to ask with surprise, “You didn’t really learn striptease, did you?”
Cheng Lele was stunned for a moment, then covered her face and burst out laughing.
Chen An, who had been ruthlessly mocked, rarely blushed. He quickly started the car and sped toward home.