red moscow

Chapter 3161 Watching a Movie (Part 2)
For Sokov, who had seen "Miracle," guessing the plot of "A Lady for a Day" was a piece of cake. Sure enough, a dozen minutes later, the plot progressed to a letter from the old lady's daughter, saying that she had met a count's son at school, and the count, in order to find out about her family situation, planned to come to New York to meet the old lady in person.

At this point in the film, the screen suddenly went blank, and then the lights in the small auditorium came back on. Sokov, somewhat surprised, asked, "What happened? Why did the movie stop halfway through?"

"Misha!" Asya said with some surprise, "As is customary, there's a 15-minute intermission halfway through the movie to allow the audience to use the restroom or have coffee in the lounge outside. What, you didn't know that?"

"I know, I know, of course I know." Sokov genuinely had no idea that there would be such a bizarre rule for watching movies here. But to avoid arousing suspicion due to his ignorance, he could only feign composure and say, "I just haven't watched movies for years and have forgotten about this rule." He even gave a dry laugh after saying that.

“Misha, would you like to go out for a coffee?” Asya asked.

“No, no.” Sokov turned to look at the half-empty auditorium, shook his head and said, “So many people have left, they’ve probably all gone outside for coffee. If we go out now to join the fun, the movie might have already started by the time our coffee is served. I think we should just stay here.”

“You’re really amazing.” Since they weren’t going out for coffee, they couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. Gulia said to Sokov approvably, “You could guess the plot after only a few minutes. Have you seen this movie before?”

“How could that be!” Sokov shook his head and said, “This is the first time I’ve seen this movie today too. As for why I could guess the plot, the reason is simple: I’ve read a lot of books by American authors and can roughly guess the formulas they use.”

Gulia was skeptical of Sokov's statement. She looked at Sokov and asked tentatively, "You really haven't seen this movie?"

"I really haven't seen it," Sokov said confidently.

Seeing that Gulia was about to ask something else, Asiya quickly said, "Gulia, don't question Misha anymore. I absolutely believe what he says."

When Gulia heard Asiya say this, she didn't say anything more, but a playful smile appeared on her face.

Seeing the expression on Gulia's face, Asiya knew that the other woman thought she was saying this intentionally to save Sokov's face, so she quickly added, "You may not know this, but Misha wrote a book last year, and it sold very well after it was published."

Hearing Asiya say this, Gulia immediately became interested and couldn't help but ask, "What is the title of the book? I want to see if I've read it before."

Sokov looked embarrassed. If he had been injured, he would have told Gulia the title of the book without hesitation, but he hesitated now. Since he was injured and returned to the modern world, many things had gone wrong. He didn't know whether the book "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" was written by Vasilyev or that he had moved it himself.

The captain sitting in the front row stood up, turned around and extended his hand to Sokov, saying in a friendly tone, "Hello, comrade! Let me introduce myself, I am Captain Sintsov, the supplement editor of the Military District newspaper."

Out of politeness, Sokov stood up, shook the other man's hand, and introduced himself by his surname: "Hello, I am Sokov."

"When you analyzed the plot development with your two female companions, I was somewhat skeptical, but reality quickly proved me wrong. Your analysis was surprisingly accurate," Sinzov continued. "I just overheard your companions mentioning that you once published a novel that was a bestseller. Therefore, I would like to make a request of you."

"What unreasonable request?"

"The supplement to the Military Region Daily has just been established and urgently needs a large amount of paper. I wonder if you could contribute to our supplement?" Perhaps worried that Sokov might be unwilling, he added, "Don't worry, the payment will definitely satisfy you." After hearing Sinzov's request, Sokov smiled faintly and politely declined, saying, "I'm sorry, editor. I think I may not be able to contribute to your publication?"

"Why?" Sinzov asked, puzzled. "Do you have some concerns?"

“Editor, you’ve misunderstood,” Sokov explained. “One reason I said I couldn’t contribute to your publication was that I wasn’t familiar with your style, but more importantly, I’m likely to be very busy with work and won’t have time to write anything.”

Sinzof frowned slightly: "Comrade, may I ask where you work? Perhaps I can speak with your superiors to give you enough time for your creative work."

Sokov smiled faintly, said nothing, but winked at Gulia beside him, signaling her to reveal her identity to the other party.

Gulia nodded, then stood up and said to Sinzov, "Captain, standing in front of you is General Sokov, the newly appointed deputy commander of the military district. Do you think he will have time to write for your newly established supplement?"

Shinzov stared wide-eyed in astonishment at Sokov, never dreaming that the civilian he thought was a military family member was actually the deputy commander of the military district.

"I'm sorry, Comrade Deputy Commander!" Sintsov snapped out of his shock, immediately stood at attention, and saluted Sokov: "I didn't know your identity. Please forgive me if I offended you just now."

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Sokov said magnanimously. "It's a small matter, don't worry about it."

Sintsov turned and sat down, but then stood up again and asked respectfully, "Comrade Deputy Commander, I'm going to the rest area to buy coffee. Would you like me to bring you a cup?"

“No need, Captain!” Sokov waved his hand at him and said with a smile, “Thank you for your kind offer.”

After Sokov finished speaking, Sinzov asked somewhat nervously, "Comrade Deputy Commander, I would like to go to the rest area now. May I leave?"

“Yes, of course,” Sokov said. “Hurry up, or the movie will start.”

Shinzov raised his hand to salute Sokov again, then fled as if his life depended on it.

Watching Sinzov's departing figure, Sokov couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. He guessed that Sinzov, now aware of his identity, would be extremely uncomfortable being allowed to continue sitting in the row in front of him. The best way to escape the awkwardness was to leave early under the pretext of buying coffee.

Soon, as the lights in the auditorium dimmed, the movie resumed. But Sinzov's seat remained empty, confirming his suspicions that he had left early, using the excuse of buying coffee, to avoid embarrassment.

Asya also noticed the empty seats in front and asked in a low voice, "Misha, why hasn't the captain in the front row returned yet? Is it because it's too dark and he can't find his seat?"

"Never mind him," Sokov said casually. "Focus on the movie; the rest of the plot will be even more exciting."