After bidding farewell to his family, Li Zheng took the subway, rode a bike, and sprinted, finally reaching Chang'an Cinema at 2:52 PM.
The cinema was located at the boundary between Western Market and Haidian, quite a distance from Lake Ying's usual haunt.
If it were a regular movie, settling for a cinema closer to home would have sufficed, but both had long coveted seeing "The Wandering Earth" in IMAX; anything less would be a disservice to themselves.
Moreover, purchasing tickets during the Spring Festival was challenging, and "The Wandering Earth" wasn't highly distributed, which led Lin Yujing to secure the cinema and press Li Zheng to comply a week in advance.
This layer of complexity, Li Zheng only realized once he reached the cinema's entrance.
Many looking to buy tickets on-site could only secure them for the next day, either leaving disappointed or settling for movies like "Old Pig Peyton Celebrates the New Year."
