SWG Chapter 22
by VolareXiao Wenyu blinked, clearing the mist from her eyes, and gently pressed her hand on the photograph.
She had taken many photos of Ruan Shengyi, but the one she finally printed was the hazy one taken through the glass.
Only the small red spot on her fingertip and the faint gleam on her glasses lens brightened the whole picture, adding to its overall hazy quality.
The person in the photo was looking down slightly, probably at the phone hidden beyond the camera’s view. Her dark tea-colored long hair blended with the ink-like night. Her face was even paler in the night, but the haze of smoke obscured some of that paleness. The lenses of her glasses reflected a faint light, making it impossible to see the expression in her eyes.
Not that one could see it anyway.
This photo was taken too hastily, the composition and framing practically non-existent, and it wasn’t even completely in focus. It was terribly blurred, but…
It was also incredibly beautiful.
Only that small patch of white remained, like a bright moon in the inky night.
The moon should hang in the sky.
Even on a photo wall, it should hang in the sky.
Blurred enough that you couldn’t quite make out who it was.
Beautiful enough that she understood a bright moon had once broken into her world.
Xiao Wenyu supported herself with one hand behind her and placed the other on her lower abdomen, whispering, “Your mom has a pretty good eye, you know.”
“At least the people I’ve been attracted to, twice now, have had faces that photograph well.”
Although her marriage had ended miserably, although the person who once walked long distances hand-in-hand with her just to take a set of outdoor photos, had ultimately drifted apart over the ability to even get out and take pictures, it was still a rather sad thing to speak of.
However, she wouldn’t deny that Lin Simu’s face was beautiful. At least in the photos taken at the very beginning of their relationship, those photos with terrible framing and composition, were able to be carried through by her face.
Now, this ordinary snapshot of Ruan Shengyi, taken almost casually, would become the wallpaper for countless screens and the backdrop for countless music videos if it were released.
The sense of story came from two aspects: the story inherent in the person in the photo and the story the photographer wanted to express. This photo perfectly blended the two. If Ruan Shengyi had had even a slight smile, this photo would have been a killer.
Xiao Wenyu stared at it for a while longer, then leaned back contentedly, folding her hands over her abdomen and gently patting the little one who was beginning to take shape, saying softly, “You need to inherit my eye for faces, but not my eye for choosing people… Oh well, when you have someone you like in the future, bring them back, and Mom will have a good look.”
“By the way, shall we give you a name?” The gentle patting stopped suddenly, and the woman pondered for a moment, saying, “If you disagree, you can raise your hand to object.”
“Okay? Angel, Xiao Angel.”
“My own angle, my own little angel.”
She closed her eyes slightly and slowly exhaled.
Only at times like this did her heart feel less agitated, less painful, and less prone to impulsive thoughts.
She waited a moment, smiling, and said, “You don’t object, so I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Good girl, such an obedient baby.”
She lay there for a while longer, then turned to pick up her constantly vibrating phone. She realized that after answering the call earlier, she had accidentally put it on vibrate, and the person had been relentlessly calling her.
Xiao Wenyu pinched the bridge of her nose and answered the phone, “Hello, The Fourth Kind Of Primary Color.”
“Sister!” A girl’s voice came from the other end of the line, with a hint of surprise. “I finally got through! That’s great.”
The little girl chirped for a moment, then lowered her voice, cautiously saying, “Sister, you wouldn’t not take my order just because of those few laughs, would you?”
Xiao Wenyu smiled helplessly and said softly, “Tell me.”
“Sister, I saw that the outdoor shots you take are so beautiful, so I wanted to ask you…”
“Do you take orders for cosplayers?”
“It’s really too hard to find a photographer in this small city who takes outdoor cosplayer orders. Outdoor photography is always either wedding photos or full-month celebrations; it’s too hard. But it’s too hard to take the train to Beishi every time, I don’t have any money!”
A barrage of words crashed over her like bombs, and Xiao Wenyu struggled to turn her head around, trying to follow this young cosplayer’s train of thought, but after a few turns, she only caught the last sentence—
“Sister, you’re beautiful and kind, you’ll definitely take it, right?”
Xiao Wenyu coughed lightly. “I shouldn’t need to do anything, right?”
“No need, no need, I’ll bring the work information, and you can learn about it on-site. Sister, is your WeChat ID your phone number? Let’s add each other and chat slowly.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you so much!! I knew that a sister who takes such beautiful outdoor shots would definitely take this job. Ah, this is really great…”
The girl was still screaming with joy even after hanging up the phone, making Xiao Wenyu want to laugh helplessly. She turned her head and saw her own bare face in the darkened screen.
Time waits for no man. She was getting old.
She couldn’t even keep up with these young people’s thoughts.
She rested for a while longer, gently patting her stomach. “Let’s go, make money, buy you milk powder~” With that, she pushed herself up slowly, gently stroking the photos on the tree trunk, then looked up at the top of the tree.
Great, her little world was becoming more and more beautiful and fulfilling.
A world that belonged only to her, unknown to anyone else.
She slowly went downstairs, holding onto the handrail. Her phone chimed, a notification that a new contact had been added.
Some gears that had almost returned to dust began to turn again with that notification.
But that was a story for later.
*
Chen Yuexin swung the shaker in her hand in a perfect arc, catching it steadily in her palm. Then, she poured out the ice in the tall glass, slowly and steadily pouring the liquor into it, adding sparkling water, and carefully drawing out perfect and dense foam.
Then, she pushed it forward, giving it to the person who had been waiting at the bar for a long time.
The woman wore a black jacket on her upper body and black cargo pants on her lower body, but she exposed a section of the white shirt inside, revealing her extremely thin waist.
She wore a ring on every finger except for her ring finger, which had a mark where a ring once was, but was now empty, particularly glaring.
The woman raised the glass in her hand, raising her eyebrows at Chen Yuexin. Holding the glass, she twisted her waist and entered the dance floor, cheering and raising the atmosphere of the entire venue.
Chen Yuexin clapped and cheered along. When everyone’s eyes were focused on the center of the dance floor, she put down her hand, blowing a strand of hair that had fallen on her forehead, feeling bored. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a person, someone who bypassed the revelry and noise and walked straight towards her.
Ruan Shengyi didn’t expect that it was her on duty today. She put down her bag, pulled out a chair, and sat down, saying, “Didn’t your teacher just finish a checkup? Shouldn’t you be home with her?”
Chen Yuexin propped her chin up, bored. “She hasn’t been uncomfortable or throwing up for the first time in ages, and today’s checkup went smoothly. She used that as an excuse to go out for dinner with her bestie; she doesn’t want me.”
Ruan Shengyi: “You’re useless.”
Chen Yuexin: ??? How did she start cursing people right away?! And with such a calm face, saying such dirty things?!
Ruan Shengyi saw her shocked and speechless expression, and a sly smile appeared on her face. She continued what she had been saying, “Otherwise, how could Xie Yu’s ‘See You Tomorrow’ let me sleep a few hours.”
“She’s your disciple, too.”
Chen Yuexin glared at her. Swaying to the music, she walked over to Ruan Shengyi’s bag. “Coming here, how come you’re bringing gifts to your teacher?”
Ignoring Ruan Shengyi’s “Do you want to die?” look, she opened the bag, and with a flick of two fingers, she reached inside and took out that bottle—
“Glue?? What are you carrying glue around for??”
Her shocked gaze shifted between the deadpan face and the glue. Chen Yuexin threw the glue back into the bag in disgust, tsking repeatedly. “I thought you had finally become sensible and brought me something good.”
“I’m here to bring you money. Make me a Sunset Glow, the more intense the better.”
“Not in a good mood?”
Ruan Shengyi shook the empty glass in her hand, her red lips slightly parted. “I’m not.”
“Bullshit.”
She poured grenadine syrup into a measuring cup, then added a few ice cubes, cursing with her mouth but never stopping her hands.
But obviously, the other person wasn’t in the mood to watch her, and she didn’t play as many fancy tricks. Soon, a Sunset Glow that gradually changed from red to yellow steadily appeared on the table.
Chen Yuexin: “Here you go, you poor thing. Spill.”
But this disciple of hers was usually taciturn. After taking the cocktail, she stared at it silently for a while, sighed, raised her glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
If she drank the sunset, would she be able to forget the sun?
Chen Yuexin didn’t even have time to stop her, her eyes widening in shock. “You… you’re crazy?”
Although she didn’t use the most potent base liquor, such a large glass down the hatch so aggressively would make her feel awful when the alcohol hit her.
Chen Yuexin pulled her face closer. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing my ass. Tell me properly. Did you break up? No, did you even manage to get with her?”
“No.” Ruan Shengyi pulled away from her hand, lying on the table. “She’s not the kind of person who would argue with me.”
“No, is this a big setback or something? You’re giving up already?”
“Shouldn’t I give up?” She turned her head to look at the dance floor. The loud music hurt her ears, but it also gave her a sense of reality.
It was as if, after so long, she finally had a feeling of being grounded.
In the center of the dance floor was a person who looked cool and suited the place. The fluffy, inky black wolf tail stopped perfectly above the black jacket. The heavy makeup could be clearly seen even through the layers of people.
The person was waving a glass and calling out, asking everyone to follow their rhythm.
Ruan Shengyi stared for a long time, remaining spaced out. Finally, the person next to her couldn’t stand it anymore and twisted her ear. “Hey, are you even listening to me? I’m imparting my chasing skills to you!!”
Ruan Shengyi ignored her. Instead, she pointed to the person in the center of the dance floor and asked, “Who is that?”
She really didn’t like that person.
She just hated people like that, hated that kind of atmosphere, which was why she left Le Xin and opened her own small bar.
Chen Yuexin looked over and made a small sound. “A young miss who likes to hang out at bars, very rich.”
“Stupid.” Ruan Shengyi stretched lazily and yawned, but her gaze fell on the person next to her who was being pressured to drink. She raised her eyebrows slightly. “Lu Ke?”
“You two know each other?”
“Yeah, sort of.” She picked up a bottle of wine and swayed towards the dance floor.
She raised her hand, squeezed into the dance floor, and then…
Stood in front of Lu Ke.
Ruan Shengyi put one hand in her pocket, bent slightly, and pressured the person who was forcing Lu Ke to drink with a fake smile. She said softly, “It’s no fun forcing a little girl to drink. How about we compete?”