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“I’ve never really looked at them before but aren’t these pictures too… generic? This is the intersection two blocks from here.” Qiao Ling tiptoed to peer closely at the framed picture, reaching out to touch the glass. She then bent down to look at the one below it. “Hey, isn’t this from my Moments?”
Lu Guang didn’t look up from the lens he was cleaning. “It is.”
“Why did you print it out? It’s just a bowl of noodles.”
“To demonstrate the print quality of a picture taken using a phone camera.”
“And it’s not bad right?” Cheng Xiaoshi came out from the darkroom, a wide grin on his face. “The printer we got was worth the money.”
Qiao Ling rolled her eyes and examined the next picture. “Is this from a security camera? It’s so grainy.”
“Ah, yeah. We get shopkeepers coming in to print out pictures of shoplifters sometimes.” Cheng Xiaoshi joined her by the wall to look over the pictures.
“Maybe business would improve if you had nicer display photos,” Qiao Ling mused.
“People already know what they need before they come here.” Lu Guang put the lens into a box for safekeeping until it’s picked up by the customer. “We have other albums for them to flip through too.”
“Well you’d have nicer things to look at during the day,” she countered.
“It’s fine, the pictures are fine,” Cheng Xiaoshi interrupted. He leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear. “Lu Guang picked these out.”
“Really? I thought he’d have better taste,” she whispered back, glancing over her shoulder.
“He’s really attached to them too. I tried to swap some out and he wouldn’t talk to me until I fixed it.”
“Well of course he got mad, you messed with his stuff!”
“Why are you on his side now?”
“I can hear you both,” Lu Guang said.
“Sorry,” Qiao Ling said sheepishly. “They’re nice pictures and it’s fine as long as you like them.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to switch them out from time to time though,” Cheng Xiaoshi muttered and Qiao Ling ground her heel on his foot to shut him up. “Ow!”
“I’m taking a break.” Lu Guang folded the cloth in his hands and placed the neat square onto the counter, then headed upstairs, leaving them to argue and watch the store.
“You made him mad!”
“You’re the one who brought up the pictures!”
There weren’t any customers that required his expertise, so Lu Guang sulked until closing. As he walked down the stairs, he could hear Cheng Xiaoshi working in the darkroom and humming to himself. The front door was already locked so he began cleaning, wiping down the counter and sweeping the floor.
It wasn’t that he distrusted Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi, but Lu Guang gravitated to the pictures on the wall and checked if any had been disturbed.
Everything appeared to be in its place.
But upon closer inspection, there were fingerprints on the glass and a layer of dust had settled on the frames. He took them down one by one and stacked them on the counter for cleaning. With the first one in hand, the picture of the intersection that had caught Qiao Ling’s attention, he began wiping.
It was a boring picture. The composition was lacking, it was out of focus, and there was actually a dark smudge in the corner that, surprisingly, neither Cheng Xiaoshi nor Qiao Ling pointed out. It was a few years old now. The corner store had changed ownership three times since, and there was not a person in sight, almost like a ghost town. Lu Guang glanced around to check that there was no one around and that Cheng Xiaoshi was still working in the darkroom, then took a closer look at the picture.
“Ah, damn. Something really is wrong with it.” He can’t see the person speaking, but it must be whoever took the picture. Lu Guang didn’t remember their face.
“Don’t worry, there’s a photo shop on this street. We can have them take a look at it.” Their friend came into view, tugging them along.
“I don’t have money for a new one if it’s broken.”
“Maybe it’s just dirty. We can ask them to clean it.”
They headed up the familiar street and turned into the Time Photo Studio.
“Welcome!” Cheng Xiaoshi stood behind the counter, beckoning them in.
“Could you take a look at my camera? There’s a dark spot whenever I take a picture.”
"Sure.” The man passed the camera to Cheng Xiaoshi and he took a few experimental shots. “It might be the sensor that’s dirty. Do you mind if we keep it overnight for my friend to take a look? Lu Guang is better at cleaning these than I am.”
As if summoned by his name, Lu Guang walked through the door.
“Lu Guang, do you have a second to take a look at this?”
Lu Guang walked behind the counter, giving the customer a quick nod before taking the camera. “The sensor is dirty.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.” Cheng Xiaoshi beamed, elated to have been right, as if the confirmation was just as good as direct praise.
“I can take it to the back and clean it for you now,” Lu Guang said to the customer.
“Please.”
“Feel free to wait here, but there’s also a tea place down the block. If you’d like, you can pick it up tomorrow too,” he said.
“We can be back in an hour.”
Cheng Xiaoshi waved them goodbye as the customers hurried out the door.
They didn’t return until two hours later but when they do, Cheng Xiaoshi grinned at them as if he had the best news in the world.
“Your camera is ready and as good as new.” Braggart. But the customers did look satisfied and told him so. “Come back if you need anything else. Lu Guang is great with handling digital cameras. He can help you with anything you need.”
Lu Guang had heard all of this and more. Cheng Xiaoshi was open with his praise and he heard similar things filtering through the walls as Cheng Xiaoshi chatted with customers every day. But he never got to watch the way he said it — gaze level without a shred of doubt.
Lu Guang always wondered what that confidence was grounded in. A naive optimism, perhaps? Just because Lu Guang hadn’t let him down before didn’t preclude him from doing so. Cheng Xiaoshi was no stranger to that.
That was why a routine moment such as this was so precious to him. Lu Guang dreaded the day he would fail to meet Cheng Xiaoshi’s expectations and he would never get to see Cheng Xiaoshi’s bright smile and unwavering belief in him again. He tried not to take those moments for granted but it was too easy to let them slip through his fingers.
There was nothing else to see in this picture and the frame was clean so Lu Guang put it aside and moved onto the next.
The bowl of noodles in the photo was actually remarkable. Last year, they took a trip to see the ocean and stopped to eat dinner at a restaurant Xu Shanshan recommended before returning home. Lu Guang wouldn’t mind returning just for the food.
“Wait! I need a picture of everyone’s food first!”
Cheng Xiaoshi already had noodles hanging from his mouth and he slurped them up. “Want me to spit it back out for you?” He said without swallowing first.
“Ew, no! Just don’t eat anymore.” Qiao Ling leaned over the table to get a few shots of their orders, but Lu Guang remembered those photos being blurry from the steam. “Alright you can eat now.”
“Lu Guang, let me try some of yours.” Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t wait for permission and dipped his chopsticks into Lu Guang’s bowl, fishing out a bite of noodles. “Yours is good too. Want to try mine?”
“I do!” Qiao Ling scooped some of her own onto her porcelain spoon and dipped it into the soup. “Here, let’s trade.”
Cheng Xiaoshi copied her and they swapped spoons, complimenting each other’s choice before switching back.
“Lu Guang, try some too.” Cheng Xiaoshi arranged another spoonful and held it out for him. “Say ‘Ahh.’”
Lu Guang played along, opening his mouth for Cheng Xiaoshi to feed him. The taste of the soup bloomed on his tongue, salty and made of bones left simmering for hours.
As he watched, Lu Guang’s stomach growls, asking for more of those chewy noodles.
“It’s good,” he said to Cheng Xiaoshi, and began to eat from his own bowl.
“But which one do you like more?” Cheng Xiaoshi stared at him, chopsticks held loosely in his hands over his bowl until Lu Guang replied.
“They’re both good, just different.”
“That’s what I think too!” Cheng Xiaoshi reached across the table to steal more of his noodles. “Good thing there’s two of us. That way we can always have both.”
“You’re right,” Lu Guang said, and reciprocated.
They had every intention of heading home after that, but Cheng Xiaoshi spotted an ad in a window for discounted sparklers on the way to the station. With their buy-two-get-two haul in hand, they went back to the beach to light the sparklers over the sand.
Qiao Ling tried to get a picture of the sparks reflected in the water as the waves rolled in and Cheng Xiaoshi waved his in frame, sending sparks flying every which way. Lu Guang watched as stars burst to illuminate his face and mischievous grin. Cheng Xiaoshi caught him looking and gave him a wink that made Lu Guang’s face burn against the cold ocean breeze, the sound of waves roaring as loud as his heart.
That smile made Lu Guang a yes-man, completely under Cheng Xiaoshi’s thumb. Which is why he didn’t stop Cheng Xiaoshi as he pointed his sparkler at Qiao Ling to spray sparks in her direction. She pushed him into the wet sand which started another bout of bickering that lasted through the train ride home.
The ocean is far away now, but he can order noodles for dinner tonight. Lu Guang put the frame on top of the other clean one and moved onto the next.
Lu Guang only had this surveillance photo because the convenience store was robbed a few hours after they left. The owner had given him every recording from that night to sort through and find the best image to print out when the police had lacked the initiative to do it themselves.
This photo in particular had been of no value to the case. The camera recorded the alley to the side of the store, facing two large dumpsters. It mainly caught employees taking their smoke break outside or the occasional person taking a shortcut, just like they had that night. Lu Guang watched as he and Cheng Xiaoshi walked into frame. Cheng Xiaoshi was leaning on him, holding up a beer can in a cheer, then stumbled as Lu Guang rushed to steady him.
Lu Guang can’t hear anything — these systems weren’t designed to pick up audio — but he remembered what Cheng Xiaoshi whispered into his ear that night, the feeling of Cheng Xiaoshi’s breath ghosting against his cheek.
“I’m happy you’re here with me.”
Lu Guang hadn’t known what to say at the time, but there would have been no opportunity. Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes go half lidded as he leaned closer, tilting Lu Guang’s chin up so that their lips could meet.
The kiss tasted like cheap beer and the alley stank of days old trash, but Lu Guang didn’t push him away. He had kept him steady, held him close, so that their kiss could last as long as it did.
He wondered if Cheng Xiaoshi remembers it — their first kiss. They’ve had more since, so many that Lu Guang stopped keeping count. There had been no reason to bring it up either, but he sometimes buys that brand of beer just to see if Cheng Xiaoshi will say anything.
Maybe he’ll buy it again tonight.
“Lu Guang.”
He nearly jumped at the sound of Cheng Xiaoshi beside him.
“What is it?”
Cheng Xiaoshi handed him a photo. “Take a look at this one.”
Lu Guang turned away to look out of habit.
He recognized the place. It was at their university where the trees bloomed pink in the spring after a persistent rainy season. The ground is speckled with rain and puddles hadn’t formed on the ground yet, but it won’t be long with the dark grey clouds looming overhead.
Cheng Xiaoshi slipped his phone back into his pocket as he walked along the path then up the steps into a building on the left. He folded his umbrella shut, shaking out droplets of rain before putting it into a bag.
“Aw, it’s raining? The weather report said there was only a low chance today,” Xu Shanshan greeted him in the entryway as she rummaged through her bag.
“It’s March. We probably won’t see the sun for another month,” Cheng Xiaoshi teased, earning a glare.
“Take that back! Oh, of all days to forget my umbrella too.”
“You can use mine.” Cheng Xiaoshi held out the bag to her.
“It’s okay, it’s not coming down too hard. I can run for it and take a cab.” The rain immediately came harder as if spiting her.
“Really, it’s fine,” she protested as he pressed it into her hand anyway. “Won’t you need it later?”
“I have a plan and you can owe me a favor,” he said with a wink as he walked off, leaving her to fume by herself.
Cheng Xiaoshi went to class, diligently paying attention until the hour is up. Then, he’s the first out of the room.
“Lu Guang!” Lu Guang stood in the entryway, watching the sky from behind the glass door.
“Where’s your umbrella?” Lu Guang asked. Lightning flashed through the sky with thunder following immediately after. The rain pelted down harder like a procession of drums on the concrete.
“Don’t have it.” Cheng Xiaoshi hooked their arms together. “Let’s share.” He tugged Lu Guang toward the door but he didn’t budge.
“I don’t have one.”
Cheng Xiaoshi froze. “What do you mean you don’t have one? I saw you with one earlier.”
Lu Guang rubbed his face with his hand. “I saw you with one too so I let Qiao Ling borrow mine. What happened to yours?”
“I lent it to Xu Shanshan.”
They stood in contemplative silence, watching as the trees shake in the wind. One step past the overhang and they’ll be soaked through.
“The lost and found,” Lu Guang said, turning and walking down the hallway. There might be an umbrella there.”
There was one — oversized and with rainbow petals — though it’s made more to block the sun than the rain. They risked it anyway, both holding onto the pipe-like handle to keep it from blowing away in the wind. Leaves and debris swirl in the air and skim off the top as they pushed through to the bus station, ducking under the overhang once it’s in sight.
“Let’s just run for it next time,” Cheng Xiaoshi bemoaned, “We’re still soaked.” His wind bitten cheeks were a rosy red and he was right, the umbrella didn’t do much to protect them from the wind blowing the rain into them. Their pants were wet and their shoes were muddy. Cheng Xiaoshi leaned the closed umbrella against the wall and pretended it was never theirs as they board the bus home.
"We should have kept the umbrella,” Lu Guang said, holding out the picture for Cheng Xiaoshi. “It would have been good for a beach trip.”
“So I was right about that day!” He pushed Lu Guang’s hand back. “It’s for you.” Cheng Xiaoshi brought out a slim photo album and slid it to him over the counter. “I didn’t realize why those pictures were important to you until I saw you looking into them. I’m sorry for changing them without asking first.”
Lu Guang accepted his apology and flipped through the book. He remembered when some of them were taken — when they went to the zoo and a giraffe licked his head, and when Qiao Ling had gotten sick and they tried to make porridge only to burn it.
“I thought we could hang some that I recognized too.” Cheng Xiaoshi averted his eyes, but glanced back to check his reaction. “What do you think?”
Lu Guang looked at the blank wall, then down at the pictures in front of him. Cheng Xiaoshi was right. The photos he hung up are snapshots of times that only Lu Guang can see and remember.
The store is theirs in equal halves. It was named that way and built with both their efforts. It wouldn’t be fair to display moments important to only Lu Guang.
Lu Guang reached for the frames, trying to pick at least one to switch out as a sign of goodwill, but there’s none that Lu Guang can bear to part with.
“I’ll buy some more frames tomorrow.” Lu Guang stacked the photo album on top of the frames.
“What? We can barely see the wall already!”
“I’ll make them fit.” These, and all the ones to come.