"A Glimmer of Light in the Flower Market"
The March wind still carried a chill, yet it had already softened the tender buds on the branches and awakened the bustling flower market on the outskirts of the city. The cobblestone path, damp with the moisture of last night, creaked under the heels of passing shoes, mingling with the calls of vendors, like an unrecorded folk tune.
Ah Yu walked at the front, carrying a camera bag, the canvas strap leaving shallow marks on his shoulder. He always did this; whenever he encountered a scene that interested him, he would automatically switch to "exploration mode," his steps light as if afraid of missing something. Zhong Hua followed behind, carrying an empty wicker basket, his gaze occasionally drifting across the crowd to Ah Yu's swaying back, like watching over a cat that might easily run away. Lin Wanqing walked between the two, twirling a newly bought mint in her hand; the rustling of the plastic wrapper became an invisible rhythm between the three of them.
“I heard that a new batch of Cymbidium orchids has arrived here,” Lin Wanqing said, chewing on a candy, the coolness on her tongue spreading to her eyebrows. “You said last time that you wanted to take pictures of orchids covered in dew, and today is quite a coincidence.”
Ah Yu abruptly stopped, the strap of his canvas bag snapping against his shoulder. As he turned, the wind ruffled his bangs, revealing a glint in his eyes: "Where?"
Zhong Hua followed his gaze and saw a crowd gathered around a stall not far away, with colorful flowerpots piled up like small mountains, and water droplets on the leaves shimmering like tiny stars in the sunlight. He reached out and straightened Ah Yu's wind-blown collar: "Don't rush, watch where you're going first." When his fingertips touched the warm skin on the back of her neck, both of them paused for a moment, then looked away as if nothing had happened.
Lin Wanqing was recording with her phone, and in the shot, Zhong Hua's hand was still hanging in mid-air. Ah Yu's ears were quietly turning red, like cherries ripened in the spring sun. She suddenly felt that this scene was more interesting than any flowers or plants, and quietly pressed the save button.
Wandering through the crowded flower stalls, Ah Yu indeed found the Cymbidium orchid in the corner. The stall owner was probably a casual person; he placed the flowerpot directly on the bluestone slab, surrounded by several bundles of freshly cut carnations, their purple petals drooping with dew, making the orchid appear even more slender. Ah Yu immediately squatted down, his camera bag slamming to the ground with a "thud," but he didn't bother to pick it up; his fingers were already adjusting the settings.
"The light is just right," he murmured to himself, his eyelashes casting small fan-like shadows under his eyes. The morning light filtered through the gaps in the canvas awning, slanting across the leaves of the orchids, making each hair stand out clearly, and the dew on the tips of the leaves seemed to be enchanted, refusing to drip.
Zhong Hua stood behind him, naturally spreading his arms to block passersby. A little girl carrying a sunflower ran by, almost bumping into Ah Yu's camera. He gently reached out to stop her, whispering, "Slow down, don't touch the flowers." The little girl looked up at him, her eyes bright as if filled with dew, and suddenly pointed behind him: "Uncle, your shadow is on brother's camera, it looks like a flower!"
Zhong Hua paused, looking down to meet Ah Yu's gaze. Their eyes met briefly in mid-air, then recoiled as if burned. Ah Yu's finger hovered over the shutter button, suddenly realizing that the orchid in the lens wasn't so important anymore; rather, it was the shadow cast on the camera cap, its edges fuzzy in the sunlight, truly resembling a half-open orchid, its petals still glistening with light.
"Click." It wasn't Ah Yu's camera.
Lin Wanqing stood two steps away, holding her phone, the screen still lit. She waved her phone, her eyes crinkling into crescents with laughter: "The two of you together will look even better than flowers in a photo." She then opened the WeChat group and sent the photo. The group only had the three of them, and their names were still the ones they'd chosen in college—"The Photography Team Never Disbands."
Ah Yu leaned closer to look at the photo, and Zhong Hua followed suit, looking down as well. In the photo, he was squatting on the ground, his profile hidden in the shadow of the orchids, the camera obscuring half his face, only his tightly pursed lips visible. Zhong Hua stood behind him, his shadow cast obliquely on the camera, truly resembling a budding orchid, and his lowered gaze, softer than the morning light, gently rested on the top of Ah Yu's hair.
"When was this filmed?" Ah Yu's voice was a little muffled, as if something was blocking her throat.
“Just now,” Lin Wanqing put her phone back in her pocket and casually picked a carnation leaf, “when you two were focused, even your shadows were in love.”
Ah Yu's ear tips turned red again, this time with a blush spreading across his neck. He wanted to say something in rebuttal, but when he turned his head, he met Zhong Hua's gaze. Zhong Hua had lowered his head at some point, his eyelashes catching a few specks of sunlight, casting a faint shadow on his glasses, like someone had accidentally sprinkled some gold dust.
"Don't touch it," Zhong Hua said softly, as if afraid of blowing away the dew on the tips of the leaves. "There's dew on the petals."
Ah Yu then realized that his hand had somehow slipped out, his fingertips only half an inch from the orchid petals. He abruptly pulled his hand back, his palm empty, yet seemingly still carrying the coolness of dew. Zhong Hua's shadow was still on the camera, and as he lowered his head, the "flower" swayed gently, as if nodding.
The stall owner then came over with a water bottle. Seeing them fiddling with the orchids for a while, he smiled and said, "This Cymbidium sinense is a rare variety. It was just transported from Yunnan this morning. Look at the leaves, how vibrant they are."
Ah Yu's attention was immediately drawn back, and he began adjusting the camera angle again. Zhong Hua continued to shield him from the crowd, but his eyes couldn't help following Ah Yu's movements. He remembered the first time Ah Yu photographed orchids in college; he squatted in the greenhouse for three hours, his knees were numb, but he still refused to get up. In the end, Zhong Hua had to carry him back to the dormitory. Back then, his camera was secondhand, with a small scratch on the lens, but it was always polished until it shone.
"Are you done taking pictures?" Zhong Hua asked in a low voice. Seeing Ah Yu nod, he reached out and picked up the camera bag for him. "I'll carry it. Your legs are numb from squatting."
Ah Yu didn't refuse, but as Zhong Hua took the bag, she suddenly said, "I also want to take a picture of that shadow from earlier."
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