It was probably because it was a weekday, so there weren’t many people in the theater today.
Only a few seats in the front rows had silhouettes sitting together, and Fen guessed they were probably couples here to watch a movie…
Even for a theater, the atmosphere today was eerily quiet.
To be honest, although the film industry in his original world was far beyond what Novalis could compare to, Fen hadn’t actually gone to the movies very often either.
Aside from going with his mom every Spring Festival during his student days to watch some “family-friendly” Chinese New Year movie, he basically hadn’t stepped into a theater since then.
Not to mention the internet age, where information was so readily available—there were way too many ways to get access to films.
You could watch so many movies just by moving your fingers at home.
Besides, this was completely his first time watching a movie together with someone of the opposite sex around his age.
Fen quietly tilted his head and could easily catch Little Elena’s expression at this moment.
The silver-haired girl stared at the content on the screen without saying a word, only occasionally blinking her long, even eyelashes—she was clearly already absorbed.
In this enclosed space, the girl’s heartbeat, even the sound of every pore breathing, seemed amplified countless times, like a rhythmic melody, regularly transmitting into his ears.
And they were sitting way too close…
So close that Fen didn’t even need to try to sniff—the faint jasmine fragrance from the girl’s neck naturally drifted into his nose.
They hadn’t even started watching the movie yet, and already he was experiencing entirely different sensations in sight, hearing, and smell…
It could be said that this was genuinely a novel experience…
‘Wait…’
But did this also mean…
Elena could easily see his every move too?
Thinking of this, he unconsciously straightened his back, which had been slouched into the soft seat.
He stopped crossing his legs.
The young man deliberately adjusted his relaxed sitting posture.
He smoothed the bangs on his forehead, straightened his collar, and even flattened the hem of his shirt.
‘Mm… should be fine, nothing too sloppy.’
His inner sense of novelty and nervousness was no less than Elena’s.
‘Let’s first see what this Prince Charming is all about…’
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”
An incredibly classic line.
Fen could almost recite the next dialogue by heart.
In the dead of winter, the queen stood before the mirror, asking it questions.
Every day, the queen’s answer was invariably: “Of course it is you, my honored lady.”
However, as Snow White gradually grew up, the answer began to change.
“My lady, of course it is your adopted daughter—Snow White.”
“Snow White…?”
“How could it be her?”
Shock, fear, and pain erupted from this confident, strong woman’s throat for the first time.
“Crack—”
The goblet in the queen’s hand shattered.
“This won’t do…”
“I’ll make her pay!”
Instead of subsiding, her anger exploded in the silence.
The woman lost all her former composure.
Her eyes bulged with rage, her face transforming completely into a ferocious beast.
Then the scene slowly changed.
‘Wait? Snow White, the queen, the magic mirror… all these familiar characters and their motivations haven’t changed…’
‘So the plot really is the same as the Snow White I’ve seen?’
‘Then what right does it have to be called Prince Charming?’
Somehow, Fen felt his “bad movie radar” go off, but the film still managed to hook his curiosity.
The castle imagery gradually faded.
“Ah!!!”
With a girl’s startled cry, the camera transitioned to a hidden forest.
“Snow White, your stepmother has sent me to take your life—”
The man dressed as a huntsman raised his hunting rifle.
“But you are so innocent, so pure and flawless, so gentle and lovely—”
“I cannot bear to take your life!”
The young huntsman finally lowered his gun and spoke to the princess standing before him in her long gown, her skin fair as snow.
“Go, Snow White! Run away like this!”
“Find a safe place and hide yourself!”
(Narrator: Snow White was so beautiful, so kind, that even the assassin sent by her evil stepmother could not bear to harm her. And so, with the kind huntsman’s help, Snow White escaped the crisis and went into hiding.)
“Hmm—it seems like a story about good people getting good rewards…”
Elena turned her head, staring straight at the young man in front of her, the little tuft of hair on top of her head bobbing.
“Don’t rush. There’s a twist.”
Since he already knew the script’s direction, Fen confidently wagged his index finger in front of her.
“Oh, really? Then I definitely want to watch more carefully.”
The girl rubbed her eyes and continued staring wide-eyed at the screen.
The story that followed was exactly as Fen had expected.
In the dense forest, the princess met seven lively and adorable dwarfs.
They played with the princess, introduced her to the forest animal friends, helped her get used to every plant and tree in the woods, and spent a carefree time together.
(Narrator: Unfortunately, good times never last. The wicked queen learned from the magic mirror that the huntsman had deceived her. Flying into a rage, she decided to take matters into her own hands.)
The first two assassination attempts were seen through by the clever dwarfs and narrowly averted.
But for the third time, the queen carefully chose a time when the dwarfs weren’t around.
“Oh, kind-hearted girl~”
“Would you like to eat an apple?”
The queen had transformed into a kind-faced old woman, her words seductive as poison.
The naive girl took the apple and bit into it without a second thought.
It was all too easy.
“No! Don’t eat it!”
The silver-haired girl nearly screamed out loud, but immediately realized her loss of composure and quietly covered her open mouth.
(And so, the kind princess ate the cursed poison apple and closed her eyes forever. The forest friends were grief-stricken and attended her funeral. Finally, the dwarfs placed Snow White’s body in a crystal coffin set in a sea of flowers.)
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”
“Of course it is you, my beloved master.”
A shrill laugh echoed from the castle.
This time, the answer would never change.
“A kind and gentle princess died just like that…? That’s so unfair!”
Elena muttered indignantly, her cheeks puffing up almost like a pufferfish.
‘As expected, for people from another world, their sense of good and evil is really that simple, huh…’
‘But… innocent Little Elena…’
Adorable.
That was Fen’s first thought.
(Narrator: One day, a dashing prince riding a white horse passed through this sea of flowers and saw the dwarfs and animals who were mourning the princess every day.)
(From the dwarfs, he learned about what had happened and about the wicked curse the princess had fallen under…)
‘The prince has finally come…’
In the end, the devoted prince fell in love at first sight with this kind beauty.
He lowered his noble stature and gently left a kiss on the sleeping girl’s lips.
“Whoa! Whoa, whoa!”
By now, he was used to the silver-haired girl’s antics.
Fen didn’t even need to turn his head to know—this was definitely Xiao Chunv Elena, unable to handle such a “risqué” scene for her, letting out those strange yells.
(A miracle happened! Rosy color returned to Snow White’s pale face! Her tightly shut eyes opened once more!)
The dwarfs, animals, and prince on the screen all burst into enthusiastic cheers, watching the girl slowly sit up inside the crystal coffin.
With the atmosphere perfectly set, the prince knelt on one knee and made the standard marriage proposal gesture.
“My beautiful princess—”
“Would you accept my love and become my partner?”
Elena grabbed Fen’s sleeve and shook it excitedly.
“I know this! A lot of novels have similar plots.”
“Besides, Prince Charming is devoted and faithful… and Snow White is kind and gentle… they must be perfect for each other!”
The silver-haired girl’s eyes sparkled, practically saying, “Say yes!”
Fen stretched lazily, since he knew the next line by heart.
‘Oh… my beloved prince… of course I will—’
“Sorry… Prince… I’m afraid I cannot accept your request.”
An ice-cold, merciless voice came through the screen.
“Huh…?”
They both blurted out at almost the same time.
“Why…?”
The prince’s tone completely weakened.
All his confidence vanished from his brow.
Yeah, seriously, why the hell not?
“Because I have already fallen in love with the seven dwarfs.”
The girl behind the screen gave her answer to the prince—and to them.
She gazed deeply at the seven dwarfs waiting nearby, and hearts practically popped out of her pupils without her even realizing it.
Then, as if twisting the knife, she kissed each of the seven right there in front of the prince.
“???”
‘Wow! Cucked!’
At that moment, Fen completely understood why the film was called Prince Charming.
‘So in this worldview, Prince Charming is also the poor bastard, huh?’
This episode was amazing.
…