Chapter 6 Invitation
Yu Weiyou originally thought that her photography work was at least very unremarkable, or even exceptionally bad, but she never expected that the teacher would single her out for explanation.
"Let's take a look at the photos taken by the next student."
Yu Weiyou looked up, and on the big screen was the picture she had taken of the fall. She was speechless. Usually, she could remain unfazed and indifferent when faced with her classmates' ridicule and contempt, but now she felt inexplicably panicked.
In the past, most of her teachers had basically ignored her. No matter how you look at it, Yu Weiyou, a welfare student with a criminal record, even if her grades were above average, wasn't worth nurturing.
Only this photography teacher seems to have some unclear intentions towards her, and it's very likely not for anything good.
"This student's work is quite unique among everyone. Can anyone see what's so special about it?" He paused for a moment, as if giving everyone time to think.
“Okay.” He spoke again, “It’s not the color, nor the composition, but rather, this photo has a slight time-lapse feel. Look, the doll in the photo was captured during its fall. There are faint, dynamic shadows around it. I wonder if everyone noticed that? This is the only photo that uses this special technique. And we’ll explain this time-lapse technique in more detail in the following lessons…”
"..."
Yu Weiyou's heart gradually calmed down. If there hadn't been a follow-up, she would have definitely treated this little incident as nothing had happened.
Soon, the class ended. Yu Weiyou left the classroom through the back door as usual, until she was stopped by the photography teacher just as she brushed past him.
“Yu Weiyou, my classmate.”
"..."
"Would you be interested in being my model?" He glanced at Yu Weiyou's slightly doubtful gaze, smiled, and said, "It's okay, you don't have to answer me right away. Go back and think about it carefully, and I'll wait for your answer."
After saying that, he left on his own.
model?
Yu Weiyou stared blankly at his back, completely unable to fathom his intentions.
On the rooftop, Yu Weiyou gazed at the sky.
"Should I go? What do you think, Li Rong?"
"..."
"...Miss Yu Weiyou, are you even listening to me?" Shu Ciyin shouted into her ear.
Yu Weiyou was startled and jumped. Only then did she come to her senses and look towards Shu Ciyin's direction.
Shu Ciyin sighed, "I'm really impressed with you. I've been here for ages and you haven't reacted at all? What are you thinking about?"
Yu Weiyou said expressionlessly, "Model."
Upon hearing this, Shuciyin became interested: "Model? Isn't that one of your long-held dreams? How's it going?"
Yu Weiyou nodded, looked at Shu Ciyin intently, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up: "The photography teacher asked me to be his model."
Shu Ciyin let out a long "oh" and said, "You mean that person? I feel like he's quite cunning, and everything he does has an unpredictable feel to it, um, it's chilling."
Yu Weiyou gave him a strange look again.
"Well, well..." Shu Ciyin continued with a grin, "Since you're talking about becoming a model, it's not like we can't give it a try, right? If it doesn't work out, we can always think of something else, can't we?"
“…That’s true.” Yu Weiyou straightened up. “I’m going back.”
"Hey? Wait, wait, don't go!"
Yu Weiyou didn't stop, so Shu Ciyin had no choice but to catch up reluctantly: "Isn't it a bit much to be so heartless, Miss? We finally managed to exchange a few words."
Yu Weiyou: "Speak if you have something to say, or shut up if you don't."
Shuciyin: "Uh... how about I treat you to dinner? Or I'll take you out for fun secretly?"
Yu Weiyou replied coldly, "Boring."
Shuciyin followed her, shouting, "It's so much fun, isn't it? Want to go to the amusement park? Want to chat a little longer? Or maybe we can talk another time? Hello??"
But I did talk to him a bit too much today. I even accidentally started discussing modeling with him.
In this facility, there's probably no one she can actually talk to for more than a few minutes. Yu Weiyou didn't want to get close to this jerk in the first place, but he always appeared around her, constantly trying to please her. Even though Yu Weiyou consistently treated him as an enemy and refused to associate with him or have much interaction with him, they still slowly became familiar with each other in a peculiar way.
Night falls.
It was that same dream again.
Li Rong stood on the edge of the rooftop wall, smiling as she looked at Yu Weiyou, her mouth opening and closing as she spoke.
Then……
As she fell, her face contorted in agony, her hair fell haphazardly, and her clothes tore apart.
"Yu Weiyou! Why! Why did you steal the person I loved! I considered you my best friend! I considered you the last light in my life! Why did you abandon me too? I'm not reconciled! I will never let you get away with this! You will never escape the shadows! You will never see the light again!"
No! Don't! No! That's not it...
In her last glance, Yu Weiyou seemed to see the carved pen still stuck in Li Rong's body. Suddenly, it darted out and transformed into a flower snake, lunging at Yu Weiyou.
Yu Weiyou woke up with a start from her dream, only to find that one of the two dolls on the bedside table had fallen off at some point.
Yu Weiyou leaned out and picked it up from the ground.
This doll was made by Yu Weiyou in the likeness of Li Rong. It was paired with the one that resembled herself, and they were placed on her side and Li Rong's side respectively, until Li Rong passed away and Yu Weiyou took her back.
Yu Weiyou held the doll with its blank stare, and the doll stared back at Yu Weiyou in a daze.
"I'm sorry... Did I get a little too close to Shu Ciyin? I guess I should just ignore him from now on, right?" Yu Weiyouan put the doll down before lying down.
I've never had a good impression of him anyway, so I'll just ignore him.
"call……"
Yu Weiyou let out a long sigh.
Looking back, didn't she also regard Li Rong as her most important spiritual support back then?
Her warm smile truly melted Yu Weiyou's heart, which had been frozen for so many years. Li Rong is such a lovely girl; like a little angel, she often encouraged Yu Weiyou, bringing her a lot of warmth in the cold and heartless facility.
Although Li Rong is usually a bit silly, it is precisely because of this that Yu Weiyou feels it is even more necessary to protect her and safeguard her pure and beautiful nature.
However, Yu Weiyou did not succeed.
Sometimes she almost wanted to escape this world with Li Rong.
Is this really the right thing to do? Yu Weiyou always feels lost at the moment of life and death, or is it better to keep going and let Li Rong see the outside world?
After learning the truth about Li Rong's suicide, Yu Weiyou impulsively took Li Rong's diary to Shu Ciyin and questioned her. But he only took her to Li Rong's grave.
That day, he knelt before Li Rong's grave for a long time, but many things were already too late, inexplicable, and it was too late to make amends. Even if he wanted someone's forgiveness, it was probably something he could never achieve in this lifetime.
If it were a matter of taking revenge on him, Yu Weiyou hadn't completely ruled it out, but she still felt it wasn't something she could decide on her own. Would Li Rong want Shu Ciyin to suffer retribution? Yu Weiyou didn't know; she could only do her best.
"Li Rong..."
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