Chapter 42: Cinema Crisis

Ke Mingye lifted his eyelids and slowly "woke up" from the dim movie theater.

He raised the back of his hand to shield his eyes from the light of the screen and deceptively pinched his nose bridge with his index finger and middle finger, signaling to his family that he had indeed taken a nap.

Looking around, "Spirited Away" was playing on the Imax screen, an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki. The movie had premiered twenty years ago but had just been re-released, so Bai Zini had excitedly gotten their dad to cover the cost of the movie tickets and dragged everyone to watch it.

The light from the huge screen waxed and waned, occasionally illuminating the faces of those seated nearby.

Ke Mingye was sitting in the middle of this row, with Ke Xiaomo on his right. To his left, in order, were Bai Zini, Bai Ziling, Ke Yongzhu, and Bai Qiuwu.

Bai Qiuwu was propping her chin in her hands, lost in thought, her mind clearly not on the movie.