Lin Zhexia couldn’t remember if she had moved closer to him.
Her lowered hands, looking somewhat awkward, seemed to have accidentally brushed against Chi Yao’s hand in the confusion.
Her final impression of the photo-taking was Chi Yao leaning slightly closer to her, then his hand rising behind her under the photographer’s guidance.
After the “click,” the moment was frozen in time.
The shop owner used an instant camera and took two photos of them.
Since Lin Zhexia’s posture was rather stiff and she hardly changed positions, both photos turned out almost identical, with only subtle differences.
In the photos, the night was illuminated by countless lights, with many blurry figures passing in the background. In the center of the frame stood a girl in a white coat holding cotton candy, staring blankly at the camera. Beside her was someone much taller, looking downward, slightly tilting his head to glance at her from an angle. His jawline and neck contours were exceptionally defined, his pose relaxed and natural.
The subtle difference between the two photos was in what Chi Yao did with his hand behind her head—he made two similar gestures.
He had made a “peace” sign.
Because he held it above her head, it looked like a single rabbit ear.
In the other photo, his fingers were slightly curved, making the “peace” sign bend downward, as if the rabbit ear was drooping.
After receiving the photos, Lin Zhexia quickly pulled Chi Yao away from the stall.
Once she calmed down, she thought maybe she was overthinking things and it might just be an ordinary gesture, so she asked, “What were you doing with your hand?”
Chi Yao replied, “Isn’t it obvious?”
“?”
“Rabbit ears.”
“…”
So they were rabbit ears.
Lin Zhexia moved past this topic and asked, “Do you want one of the photos?”
Chi Yao’s voice was cool: “Does the human prop not even get paid for his services?”
Lin Zhexia asked, “So do you choose first or should I?”
Chi Yao said, “Whatever.”
Lin Zhexia didn’t hesitate: “I’ll choose first, then.”
She carefully compared the two photos. Chi Yao looked good in both, while she appeared awkward in both, making it difficult to decide.
Finally, she shuffled the photos and picked one with her eyes closed.
She drew the one with the drooping rabbit ear, where the young man’s slightly curved fingers made the whole pose seem somewhat cute.
“…” She couldn’t help saying, “Why are you so photogenic?”
Chi Yao took the other photo from her hand and said, “Because I’m good-looking.”
…
So shameless.
Also impossible to refute.
After exploring most of the market, everyone decided to head back early since walking at night wasn’t convenient.
“It’s ten o’clock,” Chen Lin said, “Any later and my mom will scold me.”
Tang Shuxuan added, “Me too, my mom just called me.”
Xu Ting offered, “I’ll see you two home then. The three of us can share a taxi.”
While talking, Tang Shuxuan stood next to Lin Zhexia, waiting for the car.
She noticed Lin Zhexia was still looking at the instant photo and realized she was still concerned about what had happened earlier. She whispered in her ear, “It’s fine, don’t take it to heart. Why are you so nervous today? It was just taking a photo together. With your relationship with Chi Yao, no one would think anything of it.”
“What kind of relationship do you and Chi Yao have? You two grew up together like brothers—even if you went out tomorrow showing that photo and claiming it was a couple photo of you and Chi Yao, no one would believe it. Relax.”
Lin Zhexia remained silent.
Her fingers holding the photo tightened slightly.
Tang Shuxuan looked toward the road and said, “The car’s here, we’re leaving now. Bye-bye.”
Lin Zhexia put the photo down and waved at her: “See you tomorrow.”
Perhaps because of the photo incident.
On the way back, Lin Zhexia and Chi Yao didn’t talk much.
“I’m a bit tired from all the fun.”
When they reached the entrance of their apartment building, Lin Zhexia put the photo in her pocket and pointed at the door: “I’ll go up first.”
After thinking for a moment, she added, “I’ll keep this photo safe.”
As Chi Yao waved goodbye, he shook the photo in his hand and said, “No need for safekeeping, just put it up.” He thought casually, “Hang it on your desk.”
Lin Zhexia: “?”
Chi Yao: “So you can admire my face every time you look up.”