Kenneth Osborne came out after showering and changing, and before heading to the dining room, he was confronted with a movie ticket beside the living room sofa.
"... 'I Love You'?" Kenneth Osborne looked at the movie title displayed on the ticket with a blank expression, internally questioning: What the heck is this?
Of course, facing his parents who were full of hopeful expressions, he maintained his usual good temper and easy-going persona, smiling as he said, "Dad, is this a welfare movie ticket from your workplace union? Why is there only one?"
"Don't pretend to be clueless, you brat!" Mrs. Osborne wished she could jump up to knock a playful bump on Kenneth's forehead and forcibly pushed the movie ticket into his hand, saying cryptically, "You've worked hard this semester, go watch a movie tomorrow, and catch up with your friends. — These are your future contacts, Kenneth, you understand what mom means, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, tomorrow night at the prime time of eight o'clock, the seats are also the best. Each ticket costs over two hundred!" Mr. Osborne nodded happily, "How about getting a haircut tomorrow?"
Kenneth had anticipated his parents would pull this trick, so he had already gotten a haircut in Imperial Capital before coming home, ensuring it would last a month.
The hair-cutting and styling skills in this region truly make one feel like dying.
In his teenage years, Kenneth preferred to have a buzz cut rather than try the local "cut and blow-dry."
He stuffed the movie ticket carelessly into his pants pocket, smiling as he headed to the dining room, saying nothing, but obviously refusing the "cut and blow-dry."
Mr. and Mrs. Osborne took comfort in seeing him accept the movie ticket, exchanging relieved glances.
The family gathered in the dining room for dinner.
Brooke Osborne's culinary skills were as good as ever.
Although Kenneth's mood was complicated, he ate plenty of the dinner carefully prepared by his sister.
It was just too delicious, giving him a slight buzz.
He also had a bit of red wine, feeling slightly tipsy.
After eating, he returned to his room. He fiddled with his phone for a bit and posted on his social media, specifically choosing the "local relatives and friends" tag.
[What kind of movie is 'I Love You'? Has anyone seen it? Want to watch it?]
Then he uploaded a screenshot of the movie ticket.
Once Kenneth posted this, within a minute, he received hundreds of likes and dozens of replies.
All were from his junior high and high school classmates in River City.
[Classmate A]: [Is our River City No. 1 High School pride Kenneth Osborne back?! When can we gather?!]
[Classmate B]: [Kenneth Osborne look at me! I also want to watch this movie! Not talking anymore, I'm off to find scalpers for a ticket exchange!]
[Junior Girl C]: [Senior Kenneth, may I ask about your college major? Shy Grin.JPG]
[Classmate D]: [Is it really Kenneth? You're going to watch such a terrible movie? You're not the Kenneth Osborne I know! Shocked Face.JPG]
...
In less than five minutes, his social media was festive, brimming with the unique "New Year vibe" and enthusiasm of River City, a third-tier city.
But he looked for a long time without seeing the comment he was hoping for.
Already asleep?
Kenneth looked at his phone's time; it was just eleven o'clock at night.
Do Heavenly Masters live such regular lives, sleeping and waking early?
Kenneth silently muttered to himself, slowly lying on the bed, turning off the room lights, and continuing to scroll through his phone.
At this moment, his mom sent him another WeChat friend recommendation, saying: [Kenneth, this is your Uncle Newman's only daughter Sarah Newman, isn't she pretty? She admires you and wants to ask you about some academic matters, she wants to transfer schools].
[Uncle Newman is the wealthiest man here, Keith Newman].
Kenneth certainly didn't know who this "Uncle Newman" was, and initially intended to act like he hadn't seen it.
But seeing his mom specially add a note saying he's the wealthiest in River City, he sighed and replied, "Got it."
However, he didn't proactively add Sarah Newman's WeChat, only told his mom, "You can just send her my WeChat card."
Mrs. Osborne understood his intention, agreeing that they didn't need to eagerly add Sarah Newman's friend.
Since it was the Newman family's initiative, Sarah should actively add her son as a friend.
"I forgot, forgot, I'll send Kenneth's WeChat card to Sarah right away." Mrs. Osborne then returned to her room, sitting on the sofa at the bedside, doing her daily routine of forwarding things on WeChat.
[When is waking up the healthiest? The answer is shocking!].
[Almost Fatal! Laundry detergent shouldn't be used together with this!].
[Shocking! Steps taken daily related to mortality rate (a must-read)!].
All were things middle-aged newcomers to WeChat loved, sharing them in family groups, spreading the freshly opened new world to close friends and family.
Kenneth had long muted the family group notifications, and thus didn't see these "daily wellness" jokes his mom forwarded.
He mulled over for a while, seeing it was already past eleven, yet the person hadn't reacted, neither replying nor liking.
Previously, whenever he posted on social media, she would reply instantly, always grabbing the "sofa" (first spot).
This time it was eerily silent; did he mistakenly categorize her?
Kenneth checked his groups a few times, confirming she was in all his groups.
Probably sleeping?
It must be; otherwise, with such a blatant signal, how could she ignore it?
Before sleeping, Kenneth was still reluctant, specifically tagging Lawrence Winters.
[@Little Heavenly Master, how's tomorrow's date? Is it suitable for socializing and watching a movie? Smile.JPG]
Lawrence wasn't asleep at this moment.
She was reading the book her uncle wrote — 'Self-Cultivation of the New Era Great Heavenly Master'.
It's said to compile her uncle Nick Zeller's thirty years of career insights, an absolutely luxurious limited edition, only one copy, no other.
Because her uncle printed and bound it himself with A4 paper at the neighborhood convenience store.
The cover was also hand-drawn by her uncle — two talismans.
Mirrored symmetrically, one above, one below.
Lawrence used this book as a bedtime story.
Normally, she'd fall asleep within minutes of reading.
Today, though, she grew more energetic the more she read.
It was truly filthy.
She was now on a one-way road toward becoming Nick Zeller's "ironclad fan."
Thus, she didn't notice Kenneth's social media post in real-time.
Until Kenneth tagged her, her phone chirped with a notification.
Lawrence grabbed her phone, glanced at it, and slowly typed a series of: [???].
Kenneth realized Lawrence didn't sleep but hadn't liked his social media post.
He felt slightly odd.
With an intricate expression, he stared at his phone, not noticing that his mom had also sneaked onto his social media, liking and commenting.
[Mrs. Osborne]: [Come see, come see! The coolest guy in the neighborhood is going to see a movie tomorrow! Flowers.JPG]
Then Kenneth saw a friend request notification pop up.
[Princess Sarah]: [Are you Kenneth Osborne from River City No. 1 High? I'm your junior Sarah Newman. Your mom sent me your WeChat card].
He pondered whether to accept Sarah Newman's WeChat friend request now.
Unexpectedly, Lawrence wandered over to his social media to have a look around, instantly grasping the situation, laughing so hard she rolled over in bed.
Then Lawrence posted on her own social media.
[Today's weather is great, taking the coolest guy in the neighborhood out for a stroll. Dog Head.JPG]
Then uploaded a photo of her family's little puppy frolicking on the grass, with a line of text P.S. on the photo.
[The coolest guy in the neighborhood — no objections accepted!]