Chapter 17
On the eve of the sports meet, the class was filled with restless atmosphere. The cultural and arts committee member did not come to find Su Rui in the end. She seemed to have received some kind of "reminder" from Azhe and turned to find another classmate who also had a camera.
Su Rui didn't feel too disappointed about this; he even felt a faint sense of relief. He was used to observing the world from behind the camera, rather than being the center of attention. Ling Yao's order, to some extent, gave him a reasonable excuse to stay in the corner.
Yet, his love for photography remained unquenched. He'd flipped through the photo album Ling Yao had "casually" placed in his drawer countless times, until the edges were curled. He'd still use his old, secondhand camera to secretly capture moments he found interesting: a cat relaxing in the sun, the shimmer of raindrops hanging on a spiderweb, his grandmother's profile, focused as she mended clothes through her reading glasses...
He carefully kept these photos in a hidden album, a quiet and rich world that belonged only to him.
On the day of the sports meet, the weather was beautiful. Ling Yao was undoubtedly the star of the show. Whether in the high jump or the sprint, wherever he was, the cheers were the loudest. He was like a dazzling star, drawing all attention.
Su Rui followed Ling Yao's "orders" and did not participate in any filming. He just sat quietly in the stand area designated for the class. However, his eyes could not help but follow the radiant figure.
When Ling Yao easily crossed the high jump bar again, his clothes lifted up when he landed, revealing his slender waistline. Sweat glistened in the sun, and his whole body was full of vigorous and proud vitality - Su Rui almost subconsciously raised her mobile phone and quickly pressed the shutter button.
A very slight "click" sound was drowned out by the cheers from the surroundings.
Su Rui's heart was pounding because of this act of secretly taking pictures, as if he had done something extremely wrong. He hurriedly put it down and looked around like a thief, afraid of being discovered.
Fortunately, no one noticed him.
He lowered his head, held his breath, and clicked on the photo he had just taken.
The composition was a bit skewed, and the image quality was a bit blurry due to the distance and the equipment. But in the photo, Ling Yao was frozen at the highest point of his leap, his body stretched into an arc full of power and beauty. The sunlight cast a dazzling halo around him, and his face, which always showed a hint of impatience and arrogance, actually captured a rare trace of concentrated seriousness.
It’s so beautiful...you can’t take your eyes off it.
Su Rui looked at the photo, her fingertips felt slightly hot, and a complex emotion of secret joy, guilt and great satisfaction surged in her heart.
Just then, a shadow fell.
Su Rui was so frightened that she looked up suddenly, her hands trembled, and her phone almost fell to the ground.
Ling Yao had walked over at some point and was standing right in front of him. He had just finished a game, his hair damp, his breath still slightly panting from the workout, his eyes dark as he looked down at him... the phone in his hand.
"What are you filming?" Ling Yao's voice was emotionless and slightly hoarse from exercise.
Su Rui's face flushed instantly, and his heart nearly jumped out of his throat. He frantically tried to lock the screen and hide his phone, but his panic only made his attempts to hide it more obvious.
"Nothing... nothing..." His voice was as small as a mosquito's hum, and he almost didn't dare to look Ling Yao in the eyes.
Ling Yao didn't say anything, but just held out his hand. The meaning was obvious.
Su Rui froze, fingers tightly gripping the scorching phone, a fierce internal struggle raging. Handing over the phone would mean his secrets and his intrusive prying would be completely exposed to Ling Yao. Not handing it over… he couldn't imagine Ling Yao's reaction.
Finally, he still trembled and very slowly placed the phone into Ling Yao's open palm.
Ling Yao picked up his phone; the screen was still lit, revealing the photo of him high jumping. He stared at the screen for several seconds, his brows slightly furrowed, his expression unclear, whether joyful or angry.
The surroundings seemed to be a little quieter, and some classmates looked over curiously.
Su Rui was so ashamed that she wished she could find a hole to crawl into. She hung her head and waited for judgment.
However, the expected ridicule or rebuke did not come.
Ling Yao simply manipulated the screen with his fingers for a few times, seemingly sending the photo somewhere, before throwing the phone back to Su Rui. His tone remained calm, even a bit disdainful:
"This is a terrible shot. The composition is crooked and the lighting is not captured."
Su Rui caught the phone in a panic and looked up blankly.
Ling Yao had already turned around, wiping his sweat with a towel while walking back nonchalantly, leaving only one sentence:
"Next time you want to take a photo, tell me in advance. Stand closer."
Su Rui stayed where she was, watching Ling Yao's back as he walked away, then looked down at the photo on her phone that had not been deleted. Her heart was still pounding, and a huge, unreal feeling of joy, as if she had survived a disaster, slowly spread over her.
He... he wasn't angry. He even... allowed for "next time."
In the evening, Su Rui's phone vibrated. It was a message from Ling Yao.
There is no text, only an attachment.
Su Rui clicked on the download and her breathing suddenly stopped.
It was a photo. A high-definition photo taken with professional equipment. The subject of the photo was Su Rui, sitting in the corner of the stands.
He lowered his head slightly, his profile blurred in the afterglow of the setting sun. He awkwardly held the thick photography album in his hands, absorbed in it. The soft light fell on him, isolating him from the noisy surroundings and creating a picture of tranquility and loneliness.
The composition is precise, the light and shadow are excellent, and he captured a certain expression that he himself was not aware of.
Next, another message popped up, in Ling Yao's usual style:
"It's much better than that crap you filmed."
Su Rui looked at the carefully captured photo of him on the screen, then looked up at the setting sun outside the window, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
It turned out that when he was secretly watching him, he had also been watching him.
In a way he had never imagined.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
