A Fansite Photographer Appears

Cen Xia was sitting down to rest when a phone screen was suddenly shoved in front of him.

Eyes open, he stared blankly at himself in the camera.

While he was still dazed, another handsome face appeared in the frame. Their faces were only a finger's width apart, but Pei Huaiyi didn't think that was close enough and put an arm around Cen Xia's shoulders.

"Smile," he said.

Cen Xia instinctively bared his teeth in a smile, and the camera captured the moment.

Pei Huaiyi was so handsome it was an affront to gods and men, while Cen Xia showed eight teeth and looked so goofy it was hard to look at him.

Only after Pei Huaiyi lowered his hand did Cen Xia belatedly ask, "What are you doing? Why did you take a picture of me?"

"To send to my mom."

"?"

Cen Xia looked utterly puzzled. "Does your mom have the same hobby as you?"

At first, Pei Huaiyi didn't understand what he meant. He paused to think for a moment before it clicked. "No."

He gathered his thoughts and explained, "My mom wanted me to come home tonight, but I didn't want to, so I told her I'd made plans with a friend today."

After a pause, he added, "Yeah, you're that friend."

Cen Xia frowned. "Then shouldn't you have asked me before taking the picture?"

"You're unhappy?"

"No kidding."

Pei Huaiyi's status had accustomed him to doing as he pleased all his life, and he hadn't realized that what he'd done had offended Cen Xia.

But he was good at admitting his mistakes. "I'm sorry."

The ready apology left Cen Xia somewhat speechless.

After a moment's silence, he relented. It wasn't a big deal anyway. "Forget it. Go ahead and send it." Before the words had even left his mouth, he immediately changed his mind. "Wait, use another one. I look too ugly in that one."

Pei Huaiyi looked at himself in the photo. "It's fine. Not ugly."

Cen Xia's face was expressionless. "Could you not be so selfish? Could you stop thinking only about yourself?"

Hearing that, Pei Huaiyi looked at Cen Xia in the photo again, his expression unchanged. "You don't look ugly either."

"...You'd better really think so."

Looking perfectly candid, Pei Huaiyi deleted the photo from his phone right in front of Cen Xia. "Take another one?"

Cen Xia took his phone without ceremony and opened the camera. He looked up at Pei Huaiyi, who was half a head taller than him, and said lightly, "Lower."

Pei Huaiyi obediently did as he was told.

Cen Xia put an arm around his shoulders and smiled at the camera. The lens distorted their faces, but at least he didn't look as ugly as before.

After taking the picture, he tossed the phone back to Pei Huaiyi.

Pei Huaiyi sent the photo to his mom without even looking at it.

[I made plans with a friend this week, so I'm not coming home.]

Less than a minute later, she replied.

[How come Mom has never met this friend?]

Pei Huaiyi typed three characters and sent them: New friend.

While Pei Huaiyi was busy replying, Cen Xia decided to go find Ding Yiheng. It was a little crowded over there, but it was better than staying with Pei Huaiyi.

Before he got close, Cen Xia spotted Ding Yiheng jumping up and down outside the crowd with his phone raised.

"What are you doing?" Cen Xia grabbed him.

When Ding Yiheng saw him, he stuffed the phone into his hand. "You're tall. Get some shots for me."

"There are too many people. I can't get a shot at all, and when I finally do, the person's all blurry."

"Who am I shooting?" Cen Xia held the phone high. Why was he doing nothing but taking pictures today?

"Who else? The president, of course!"

"Why are you filming him?"

"My cousin wants it. She's in class right now and can't get away."

"Doesn't your cousin like Pei Huaiyi?"

Ding Yiheng waved that off. "She likes anyone handsome."

Cen Xia held up the phone and recorded without complaint.

"Send it over and let your cousin take screenshots herself. I'm not very good at taking pictures."

Ding Yiheng made an OK sign.

The camera wobbled before Cen Xia found He Wangsheng, who was passing the ball.

Out of uniform, his build looked lean, but the veins stood out on the arm holding the basketball, full of explosive power. His slightly long hair was soaked with sweat and looked a little disheveled. His eyes, usually touched with a hint of laughter, were narrowed slightly now, their sharpness on full display, and a faint flush spread across his fair skin after the intense exercise.

Though he was making the most violent dunks and steals, his expression remained calm.

He looked utterly different from his usual self.

Judging by the reaction of the crowd watching, the contrast was more than enough to draw people in.

In the camera, He Wangsheng, who had been passing the ball, suddenly stopped. As if sensing something, his gaze met Cen Xia's directly as Cen Xia recorded intently from behind the camera.

A mere second later, he looked away again, as though their eyes had met by chance.

Cen Xia thought he had just happened to glance this way. With so many people around, who knew what he was actually looking at?

Cen Xia didn't record for long. He lowered his hand and returned the phone to Ding Yiheng. "Take a look. Satisfied?"

Ding Yiheng opened the video, gave it a quick once-over, and sent it to his cousin.

His cousin, who was in class, instantly replied with a sticker. Clearly, her body was in the classroom, but her heart was on the court.

Before long, He Wangsheng came off the court too.

Only then did the crowd gradually disperse.

"Let's go."

Cen Xia and Ding Yiheng returned to their class's spot, but Pei Huaiyi was nowhere to be seen.

Cen Xia put the two empty water bottles together, ready to throw them away.

Before he reached the trash can, He Wangsheng appeared from who knew where.

He was still wearing the clothes he'd played basketball in, a vivid, fiery red that clashed with his own air. A white towel hung around his neck, and he gripped one corner with his long, well-defined fingers to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The faint flush from the intense exercise had yet to fade, and even his lips were a little brighter than usual.

That's so strange, Cen Xia thought.

But as for what exactly was strange, he couldn't think of the right word.

Cen Xia hadn't planned to greet him as he passed, but He Wangsheng didn't let him go.

"What a coincidence, Cen Xia."

Cen Xia had no choice but to stop and put on a smile. "Yes, what a coincidence."

"Are you taking part in next week's basketball game too?" Perhaps because he'd been exercising, his voice was a little deeper than usual.

"I am, but I'm a substitute. I probably won't get a chance to play," he said honestly.

He Wangsheng nodded slightly and smiled. "Being a substitute doesn't necessarily mean you won't get a chance to play. I'm looking forward to watching you."

Cen Xia thanked him and gestured with the empty bottles in his hand. "I'm going to throw these away."

"Wait a moment." He Wangsheng suddenly bent down close to him and reached out to pick something off his shoulder.

As he approached, Cen Xia couldn't smell any sweat on him. Instead, there was even a faint trace of mint.

Does this guy's sweat smell like mint?

His thoughts wandered.

He Wangsheng judged the distance perfectly, pulling away after only a second of contact, holding the thing he'd just taken off him between his fingers.

It was a scrap of paper, seemingly one that had landed on him when the coach tore up some paper.

He Wangsheng dropped the scrap into the plastic bag Cen Xia was about to throw away. His eyes were gentle as he looked at him and smiled. "Sorry for the trouble, could you throw this away too?"

"Oh, sure."

Watching He Wangsheng leave, Cen Xia suddenly thought of the right word: sensual.

Ding Yiheng was gathering his and Cen Xia's things when his cousin sent him a message.

[Did you shoot this video?]

Ding Yiheng put down what he was holding and hurried to reply. [Want to thank me? Just send me some money!]

[Get lost. Did you shoot the video or not?]

Ding Yiheng immediately replied, [No, my good buddy shot it. Is it not good? Oh, just make do with it!]

A while later, his cousin asked, [What's your buddy's name?]

Ding Yiheng was puzzled. [Why do you ask?]

She hasn't fallen for him, has she? Because he shot a good video? Surely not... Remembering that Cen Xia had also asked about his cousin today, he felt goosebumps rise. Could they be destined for each other?

He hurriedly sent her Cen Xia's name without holding anything back.

On the other end, Ding Yiheng's cousin, Qi Jiayan, received the message and immediately sent the video above to a group chat.

Silent and Speechless: [Girls! Look at 4 minutes and 34 seconds in this video! Quick!]