Photos from the festival

The atmosphere of the campus art festival was warm and vibrant in the early winter breeze. The teaching building was decorated with lights and colorful display boards and student works, making the campus vibrant. Lin Weixi, holding a camera, shuttled through the crowd, occasionally focusing the lens on the students performing on the stage.

The photography club's exhibition area was set up in the corridor on the first floor of the teaching building. Three of her works were meticulously framed and hung on the wall. One of them was a photograph of the sycamore trees beside the basketball court, their golden leaves gleaming in the sunlight. She stood not far from the exhibition area, pretending to sort through other works, but her eyes kept glancing at her own photo.

"This picture has a great composition." The photography club president stopped beside her. "Especially the use of light. It's very touching."

Lin Weixi thanked him softly, but in her heart she was thinking of another photo that had not been exhibited - that was the moment when Chen Wang jumped up to shoot on the basketball court, and the sunlight gilded him. She had developed that photo, but she only dared to hide it in her diary.

The art festival award ceremony was held in the afternoon. When the principal read out "First Prize in Photography Group, Lin Weixi", she was stunned. Shen Siyu pushed her from the side, and she stood up in a daze and walked towards the stage.

Amidst the applause, she accepted the certificate and involuntarily glanced toward the audience. Standing in the crowd was Chen Wang, smiling and clapping. At that moment, the world seemed to quiet down, leaving only his approving gaze.

After the award ceremony, classmates gathered around to congratulate her. Lin Weixi hugged the certificate, feeling like she was dreaming. At this moment, Chen Wang walked through the crowd, and she subconsciously clenched the certificate in her hand.

“Congratulations,” he said, smiling. “That was a really good photo.”

Lin Weixi's heart skipped a beat: "Have you seen my work?"

"I saw it just now when I passed by." Chen Wang pointed in the direction of the exhibition area, "especially the photo of the basketball court. It reminds me of every evening after training."

At this time, several boys from the basketball team came over, and one of them patted Chen Wang on the shoulder: "Isn't this our handsome number seven? Can I take a picture of him someday?"

Everyone laughed, and Lin Weixi laughed too. Amid the noise, Chen Wang suddenly lowered his voice and said to her, "Actually, I like the photo you took of the sycamore tree better."

She looked up in surprise and met his smiling eyes. It turned out that he had noticed, noticed the hidden thoughts in the photo - that was the place he passed by every day during training.

After school, Lin Weixi came to the empty exhibition area alone. As the sun set, her photo shone softly in the twilight. She thought of what Chen Wang said, and a subtle sweetness welled up in her heart.

"I knew you were here." Shen Siyu's voice came from behind, "You've been in the spotlight today. Even Chen Wang came to praise you."

Lin Weixi gently stroked the basketball court in the photo: "He's just being polite."

“Come on,” Shen Siyu took her arm, “He looked at every photo and even asked the president what camera you used.”

This news made Lin Weixi's heartbeat start to accelerate again. She remembered Chen Wang's serious expression when he spoke, and the way he remembered every detail of the photo. Does this mean that he has also started to pay attention to her?

That night, she carefully placed the certificate under the glass of her desk and taped a miniature version of her award-winning photo next to it. In her diary, she recorded every detail of the day:

"When he praised my photos, his eyes lit up. He said he liked the one with the sycamore tree the best. Was it because he knew that was where I watched him train every day? Maybe I was overthinking it, but at least today, we had a conversation that belonged only to the two of us."

She paused at this point, remembering how he walked through the crowd toward her during the awards ceremony. At that moment, she was no longer a bystander hiding behind the camera, but was truly standing where his gaze reached.

This realization made her immersed in a light and happy feeling all night long. Even in her dreams, he smiled and said to her, "You take beautiful photos."