Li Jie didn't eat much of the snacks; she seemed to be focusing entirely on the movie.

In fact, besides never watching a movie with a guy before, she didn't have much time to watch movies by herself either. It's only when the person she's supposed to protect goes to see a movie that she follows along for protection, like last time with Yu Xiaodi. But the purpose is to protect the client, so it's impossible to watch attentively. For fear of getting too engrossed and missing something, she constantly reminds herself to stay distracted. Watching a movie in such a distracted way is merely spending time inside the theater.

Today was different, though. Today, she was here to relax with Li Yan. During this time, she intended to let go of worries, tension, and everything else, to completely unwind so she could start afresh! Without the pressure of having to protect someone and with Li Yan by her side, she could entirely relax.

Of course, Li Yan was still a man, and watching a movie with a man always had a bit of a unique feeling.

For Li Yan, watching a movie with a girl was undoubtedly a pleasant experience, much better than being alone.

After the movie ended and the lights came on, Li Jie turned to Li Yan and said seriously, "Li Yan, thank you for letting me experience complete relaxation."

"Hehe, how so completely relaxed? During the entire process, weren't you worried I might take the chance to hug you or something?" Li Yan looked at her with a half-smile.

Li Jie felt a bit embarrassed because on the way, she was either held by the shoulder or hand in hand with him. She thought in the darkness, where it wasn't convenient to speak up or avoid, he would surely take advantage. Unexpectedly, he behaved so honestly the entire time, which indeed surprised her.

"No, it was more that I usually visit the cinema because the client wants to watch a movie, and my mind is mostly on the client's safety. But today was different; I wasn't protecting anyone, and with your protection, how could I not be at ease?"

As she was speaking, Li Jie felt her phone vibrate, quickly retrieved it, and her expression turned serious upon seeing the display.

The crowd was starting to leave; the footsteps and chatter of the audience were quite noisy, making Li Jie cover one ear with her hand to listen to the call. After listening, she hurriedly pocketed her phone and stood up.

"Is everything okay?"

"My dad is in trouble!"

"They acted so quickly?"

Li Jie shook her head: "No, he said he followed me to the cinema and then got beaten up by some jerk!"

Li Yan's expression instantly grew more animated. Damn, was that guy following us just now Li Jie's father, Li Chengfeng? No wonder he seemed older and had some skills, no wonder there was anger but not murderous intent. Uncle, why didn't you say so earlier?

Thinking about it closely, he also chuckled bitterly to himself. It seemed he didn't give the man a chance to speak earlier, directly pulling him to the stairwell for a beating, and even knocked him out. Maybe he had only just woken up now!

"Even though I'm fifty, my skills are still sharp. A jerk who could beat him must not be an ordinary jerk, and it might be related to this mission, only coincidentally not having the chance for murder at the time. I have to hurry out!" Li Jie analyzed and said worriedly.

People are accustomed to squeezing, whether it's on buses, subways, or elevators; there's always a crowd, even if there's enough space. After watching a movie, there's only a few minutes' difference in leaving a bit earlier or later, but everyone is used to squeezing to leave first. They were initially sitting still, so now they were at the back of the crowd leaving the hallway, and wanting to get out would require some patience with the slow-moving crowd.

Seeing that it was only about ten meters to the exit, Li Yan furrowed his brow, "Oh no... I have a stomach ache!"

"What?" Li Jie looked at him in surprise.

"Maybe the ice-cold cola with the freshly popped popcorn upset my stomach. I can't hold it; I need to go to the bathroom first. You don't have to wait for me; you and your dad head back first! I'll catch up with you later!"

Li Yan wasn't about to admit face-to-face that he was the jerk who beat him, so he unhesitatingly chose the bathroom escape.

"..." Li Jie felt a bit awkward, but this wasn't something one could endure. She couldn't drag him out with her! "Then be careful!"

"How could I fall into the toilet? You be careful too, bye!" Li Yan said as he quickly ran sideways towards the restroom.

Exiting the cinema, Li Yan paused, lit a cigarette, pondering whether to waste some time inside before heading out, or to run and loop around to reach the exit first...

"What? Planning to sneak in and watch another one?" Someone came over from the direction of the bathroom.

Starting to clear the restroom? Li Yan turned his head and saw a man whose face was swollen like a pig's head.

Damn... Li Chengfeng?! This old guy is cunning, he must have woken up and come in early, having it all planned out.

"I'm not watching anymore, goodbye!"

Seeing Li Yan trying to slip away again, Li Chengfeng swiftly stepped forward, grabbed his clothes, and sneered, "If you run again, I'll scream for help! Let's see if the security can catch you! My bruised face is solid proof that you hit me!"

He has some self-awareness, knowing he's no match for Li Yan. Back in the day... even the brave fear the young!

Seeing him so prepared, Li Yan had no choice but to stop. There were still quite a few people inside the theater who hadn't left yet; if he shouted, some people would come over, and even if they didn't help, just gathering around would be awkward. Especially since Li Jie probably hadn't left yet, hearing her father's voice would be an immediate catch in the act, even more awkward than being found out later.

"Alright, let's not beat around the bush..." Li Yan offered him a cigarette and lit it up.

Seeing him like this, although worried that Li Yan might slyly slip away, Li Chengfeng hesitated for a moment before taking it and lighting it up himself.

"Did you deliberately send Li Jie away with that phone call? Did you want to talk to me alone? To think you predicted I'd head to the restroom, you're indeed cunning!" Without Li Jie present, Li Yan wasn't as embarrassed.

After taking a puff, Li Chengfeng coldly said, "Cunning? Is this your attitude? Shouldn't you apologize first before we talk?"

"Apologize for what? I hit you, so what? Who told you to sneak around stalking us?" Li Yan said with a cocky smile.

Li Chengfeng choked on his smoke because of his words, coughing.

"Cough, cough!... Kid!" Li Chengfeng struggled to open his swollen eyelids, glaring at Li Yan: "Apologize for what? You dare to speak to your future father-in-law like this, you're the first one, aren't you?"

"Cough, cough..." It was Li Yan's turn to choke on his words. "Future... father-in-law? Dude, you might have misunderstood the situation?"

Seeing Li Yan act like he had taken advantage and denied it, Li Chengfeng grabbed him by the arm, "Kid! Let's not talk about other times, just today, I saw you having lunch alone with my daughter, holding hands on a stroll, watching a movie sitting close like a couple! Are you pretending nothing happened? Are you in denial?"

Oh no, this misunderstanding just got huge! Li Yan never expected the person following them was actually Li Jie's dad. If he had known, he wouldn't have held her or taken a stroll, he would have just walked straight to the cinema properly.

He couldn't be blamed; during lunch at the restaurant, he saw with his own eyes that special agents from Si Country were surveilling, tracking, positioning them, and although he noticed Li Chengfeng nearby, he didn't recognize him. As for the young Yun Country bodyguard with Julian, it seemed like he was from their company. As for Li Chengfeng, he never directly saw him, perhaps he was mingled with the guests at the restaurant when they left as the lighting dimmed and it got chaotic. Who knows if he left first with Julian or mingled with the guests.

"This problem... is hard for me to explain, you'd better ask Li Jie! As for hitting you earlier... you know today was chaotic, who could tell if you were an assassin there to stalk and assassinate? We should leave here quickly; soon they'll really clear the place."

"Don't think about brushing it off! You're Li Yan, right? Li Jie's diary is filled with your name. Seeing how close you were today, you still dare say there's nothing between you two? You know, other men trying to put an arm around her would be flat on their face!"

"..." Li Yan was speechless and a bit shocked. In this day and age, Li Jie still keeps a diary? And this old man even read his daughter's diary? Why is my name written in it?

He could only think of two reasons: one is when he pissed her off at the pool, she must have written his name out of anger, thinking of ways to get even with him; the other was when he saved her at the music hall and took her home, leaving her conflicted between resentment and gratitude, thus writing his name so many times. Other possibilities seemed unlikely...

But even if these were the reasons, it wasn't easy to explain them to Li Chengfeng!

"This issue... needs to be communicated slowly! As for your getting hit by me, I wasn't holding back at all, and my strikes were heavy. You must hate me now and want me to stay away from Li Jie, right? No problem with that, I absolutely won't resist, won't get too close to her, at most we'll just keep a gentleman's distant and ordinary friendship. Uncle, are you satisfied with that?" Li Yan said quickly.

"Satisfied, my ass! What do I care about a gentleman's distant relationship? I want you and Li Jie to be lovers! Why would I want you to leave? You hit me hard, and I'm very satisfied!"

"..." Li Yan was speechless. Is this guy a masochist? The harder I hit, the more satisfied he is?

"You can easily knock me down, showing you have the strength to protect my daughter and keep her in line, I am naturally satisfied, you're the best candidate for a son-in-law! Stop being modest, it's you, and you've already given the token of love, so it's settled!" Li Chengfeng laughed heartily.

(The second update, more effort tomorrow! Seek the basic monthly pass!) (To be continued, for further details please visit www.qidian.com, with more chapters. Support the author, support legitimate reading!)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.