Graduation photo
The June sun cast dappled shadows through the sycamore leaves, and the clamor of the graduation ceremony filled the entire campus. Lin Weixi, wearing a slightly loose graduation gown, stood in the class line, her fingers unconsciously stroking the camera lanyard.
"Wei Xi, look here!" Shen Siyu waved in the crowd, and the tassels of her bachelor's hat swayed gently with her movements.
Lin Weixi raised her camera and captured this morning full of farewells through the viewfinder. Classmates gathered in groups of three or four for photos, laughter and blessings intertwined in the air. However, her eyes could not help but search for that familiar figure.
On the steps in front of the auditorium, Chen Wangzheng was surrounded by his basketball teammates. They took turns posing for photos with him, arm in arm, and exchanged goodbyes. The sun shone on his smiling face, and his graduation gown made him stand taller than usual.
Lin Weixi quietly adjusted the focus and pointed the lens in that direction. At the moment of pressing the shutter, Chen Wang suddenly turned his head, his eyes passing through the crowd, looking straight at her lens.
The moment their eyes met, her hand trembled slightly.
After the ceremony, the class took a group photo on the playground. Lin Weixi deliberately stood in the corner of the last row so that she could naturally look at Chen Wang in front of her. When the photographer shouted "three, two, one", she quietly turned her eyes to him, but unexpectedly found that he was also looking back at her.
That moment was forever frozen in the graduation photo - she tilted her head slightly, he half turned around, and their eyes met in the early summer sunshine.
"Wei Xi, let's take a picture!" Shen Siyu pulled her towards the cherry blossom tree. Just before the shutter was pressed, Chen Wang and Zhou Xu happened to walk through the background. After the photo was developed, Lin Weixi realized that the way he turned back to look at the camera was as if he was looking into her eyes.
The moment that made her heart beat faster had arrived. The head teacher suggested that the whole class form groups to take photos, and the crowd immediately became lively. Lin Weixi stood there, watching the classmates go looking for people they wanted to take photos with. Chen Wang was surrounded by several girls, and patiently complied with everyone's request to take photos.
She held the camera tightly, mustered up the courage to walk towards him. Five steps, three steps, one step...
"Chen Wang, can I take a photo with you?" Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Chen Wang turned around and smiled gently: "Of course."
He walked to her naturally, keeping just the right distance. Lin Weixi handed the camera to a passing classmate, feeling her heart beating so fast that it seemed to jump out of her chest.
"Look at the camera!" shouted the classmate who was helping to take the photo.
Lin Weixi stood up nervously, but felt Chen Wang leaning towards her gently. His shoulder brushed against her bachelor's gown, bringing a subtle warmth.
"Three, two, one—"
Just before the shutter sounded, Chen Wang suddenly whispered, "Happy graduation, Lin Weixi."
After the photo was developed, she saw her eyes slightly widened and a smile that could not be suppressed at the corners of her mouth. Chen Wang's expression was unprecedentedly gentle, and his eyes were shining.
In the afternoon, the students gradually dispersed. Lin Weixi sat alone on a bench beside the playground, looking through the photos in her camera. She carefully saved every picture that had Chen Wang in it.
"Still taking pictures?"
Chen Wang's voice came from behind. He had appeared there at some point, his bachelor's gown already removed and draped over his arm.
"Yeah," she replied softly, "I want to record more."
He sat down at the other end of the bench, a perfect distance between them. A breeze blew, ruffling the tassel of her graduation cap.
"Can you show it to me?" he asked.
Lin Weixi hesitated for a moment and handed the camera over. Chen Wang flipped through the photos one by one, and when he saw their group photo, his fingers paused slightly.
"It's a great shot," he whispered.
At this time, a junior student came over and asked, "Seniors, can you take a photo for us?"
Chen Wang took the phone from his schoolmate and adjusted the angle naturally. Lin Weixi stood beside him, looking at his focused profile, and suddenly remembered the afternoon in high school when she secretly took a photo of him for the first time at the basketball court.
Time flies, and it is time to say goodbye.
After taking the photo, the schoolgirl thanked him and left. Chen Wang returned the camera to Lin Weixi and suddenly said, "Let's take another one with my phone."
He turned on the front camera and moved slightly closer to her. On the screen, their faces were closer than ever before. Lin Weixi could clearly see the shadow of his eyelashes and the shallow dimples at the corners of his mouth.
"It's time to shoot." He reminded softly.
The photo captures this moment: her slightly widened eyes, filled with surprise, his smile gentle and genuine. The background is the sun-drenched playground, the campus where they spent three years together.
"I'll send you a copy." Chen Wang operated the phone.
Soon, Lin Weixi received the photo. She looked at the two people standing side by side on the screen, and suddenly felt that this graduation season was complete because of this photo.
As the sun set, they walked side by side across the empty campus. At a fork in the road, Chen Wang stopped and said, "Just drop me off here."
Lin Weixi nodded and watched him turn and leave. After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned back: "By the way, I like the photo very much."
At that moment, the sunset fell on him.
That night, Lin Weixi posted the photo in her diary. Next to the photo, she wrote:
"It turns out that every secret crush in youth will eventually solidify into a photograph. It can't speak, but it records everything. Just like this photo today, the shoulders gently touching through our graduation gowns are the closest distance between us, and also the most perfect distance."
She gently stroked his smile in the photo and felt that this ending might be the best arrangement.
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