August 18th, 7:30 PM, this is the time when Li Jing Ocean Park has the least amount of visitors throughout the day.

Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami walked shoulder to shoulder through a dim underwater tunnel, the deep blue lighting overhead casting on their expressionless faces.

It was silent around them, with few people in the tunnel, as if they were truly deep under the sea. At this time, everyone else was looking for food; who would still be wandering around the aquarium?

Tomorrow, they would take a plane to Hai Fan City, and after that, it would be intense preparation for the impending conflict.

The relationship between Lake Hunting and the Year Beast Monarch was heating up, a war could break out at any moment. Whether it was Hai Fan Mountain or Hai Fan City, none would be spared from chaos, leaving no time for leisure activities.

So before departing, Ayase Origami suggested visiting the aquarium in Li Jing, saying she had been to the amusement park before, but had never been to an aquarium since childhood.

Xia Pingzhou was looking at his phone and initially wanted to refuse. He said without looking up, "Forget it."

After all, it was the summer vacation period, and everywhere in Li Jing was crowded with people, congested like tides; even taking a breath would be difficult.

But seeing Ayase Origami already dressed in a sea-blue kimono, silently turning her dark eyes, staring motionlessly at him, he understood her intentions.

Xia Pingzhou had no choice but to use his phone to look up the nearest aquarium and had the Hacker book two tickets.

So they set off in the late afternoon, first watching a screening of Shunji Iwai’s "Swallowtail Butterfly" at the cinema, a re-release after more than twenty years.

Xia Pingzhou was feeling sleepy, resting his head on Ayase Origami’s shoulder.

The girl in kimono stared motionlessly at the screen; it was her first time watching a movie in a cinema, surrounded by darkness, with only the movie screen emitting light, making her dark eyes glow brightly.

She watched attentively for a long time.

When the song "Sunday Park" played in the movie, the colorful scenes showed abandoned boys and girls running in the landfill.

Xia Pingzhou woke up, and this time Ayase Origami fell asleep, so the two of them simply leaned their heads together, while a little boy next to them looked at them speechlessly, his expression as if to say, "Are you here to poop?"

After the movie ended, both were deeply asleep, the kimono-clad girl opened her eyes, she slightly turned her head, gazing down at Xia Pingzhou sleeping on her shoulder.

At this moment, a paper swallowtail butterfly flew out from her sleeve, gently fluttering on his cheek, its wings brushing past his ear.

Soon, Xia Pingzhou’s eyelids trembled slightly, finally waking up, and looked up to meet the gaze of the kimono girl.

The two of them were very close, staring into each other’s eyes in silence for quite a while, until Xia Pingzhou yawned and looked away.

"Is the movie over?" Xia Pingzhou asked at that moment.

"Kitten, not serious." The kimono girl said.

Xia Pingzhou rubbed his forehead, intending to say she had been sleeping too, but eventually sighed, not bothering to retort. He said he’d seen the movie before, and the protagonist died in the end; it was a sad story, not worth watching.

Ayase Origami was silent for a while, nodding, "Watching what the kitten hasn’t watched."

"Why?"

She didn’t explain, just held Xia Pingzhou’s hand, walking out of the auditorium on her own.

They wandered aimlessly in the dark screening hallway, without buying new movie tickets, just randomly entering a screening room and sitting in an inconspicuous corner.

Xia Pingzhou didn’t bother to buy extra tickets, since their last movie tickets were booked by the electronic pet, which never paid formally anyway.

This time they watched "Dreams of Robots," a movie about a lonely owner buying a robot from a mall one day, living together for a long time, but eventually forced to part ways.

In the middle of the movie, the little robot lay on the beach, closing its eyes, losing its arms and legs, with no one to find it.

Seeing the little robot dreaming of its owner coming to find it multiple times, Xia Pingzhou’s eyes suddenly turned slightly red, though his face remained expressionless.

Actually, he had watched this movie many times before, in his cell, when he was bored and alone.

At this moment, Ayase Origami was slightly stunned.

She slowly turned her head, her empty yet beautiful eyes stared motionlessly at Xia Pingzhou’s profile.

It was the first time she’d seen a boy cry in front of her, instinctively staying put, watching silently for a very long time, never removing her gaze from his face. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Are you here to watch a movie, or to watch me?" Xia Pingzhou asked expressionlessly.

Ayase Origami was silent for a moment, then withdrew her gaze, "Watching the cat."

"You can watch at home too."

"It’s different outside."

After this, they left the cinema, drawing the attention of many onlookers on their way, with some raising their phones to take pictures, believing the girl was doing a Cosplay, otherwise, who would wear a kimono on the street during the day.

However, both Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami were already remarkable in appearance, enough to attract attention, especially the latter, cool, indifferent, serene.