Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 122 Pretending to be a ghost
"You noticed that even when I was teaching her to draw, you could almost hear the scratching sound of the brush on the paper?" Xu Yan interrupted her, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable force. "You noticed that the subtle changes in the light in each other's eyes during our conversations were as clear as yesterday?"

Chen Zhiwei froze completely.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, as if all her excuses were exposed under the gaze of those overly clear eyes.

Xu Yan did not press the matter further.

He looked at her intently, his gaze seemingly piercing through her facade and touching something deeper.

Then, he bent down and carefully picked up the scattered photos one by one, putting them back into the faded brown paper bag.

The seal was carefully closed, as if sinking a noisy past back to the bottom of time.

"Maybe I really have forgotten everything."

He straightened up, gently placed the file folder on the counter, his voice low and slightly hoarse with weariness.

“Those sunlight, the art studio, the unspoken promises… in my memory, they are a blank.”

His gaze shifted to Chen Zhiwei's face, becoming incredibly focused and profound, surging with a complex emotion akin to something lost and then regained.

"but--"

He took a step forward, his gaze almost touching hers, staring into her pupils, as if verifying something, or perhaps recalling something.

In that instant, his voice was so low it was almost inaudible, yet it carried a weight like a vow:

"Zhiwei, I hope... I will never, ever forget you."

Chen Zhiwei suddenly looked up at him, her eyes instantly reddening.

It was no longer just shyness or panic, but a mixture of shock, disbelief, and a thrill of suddenly seeing a glimmer of hope after being overwhelmed by a huge secret.

Her lips trembled slightly, and in the end she simply lowered her head and responded in an almost inaudible voice.

Xu Yan did not miss the fleeting fear in her eyes, a fear related to eternal oblivion.

He reached out, not to embrace her, but to gently hold her slightly cool fingers, like a silent promise, or a belated confirmation that had spanned a long period of time.

at this time--

"Bang bang bang!"

A sudden, violent knocking sound rang out, pounding on the old door of the photo studio like a war drum, shattering the tranquility inside.

Chen Zhiwei tensed up and subconsciously looked at Xu Yan, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

However, Xu Yan showed no surprise.

He even slightly curled the corners of his lips, but there was no warmth in that smile, only a coldness of having everything under control.

He raised his hand, signaling Chen Zhiwei to calm down.

"Here you are," he said softly, his tone as flat as if he were confirming a pre-booked customer.

Outside the door, the landlord's gruff voice rang out impatiently: "Xu Yan! Stop playing dead! You've been owing rent for three months. Either pay up today, or get out of here right now! If you keep dawdling, believe me, I'll throw all of you junk out onto the street!"

Chen Zhiwei was so angry that she wanted to retort, but Xu Yan stopped her with a look.

Xu Yan opened the door slowly and deliberately. He bent down and gently pushed the suitcase that had been leaning against the shadows inside the door into the light.

The box made a slight "rustling" sound as it rubbed against the ground.

The landlord stood at the door with two burly men. He was still wearing a sharp suit, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses gleamed with shrewd calculation. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips.

"This area is going to be demolished soon." The landlord took off his glasses and slowly wiped them with a clean white handkerchief, his tone cold and condescending. "If you can't pay the rent, you'd better be sensible and move out sooner rather than later, so we can avoid trouble for each other."

Chen Zhiwei couldn't help but speak up: "You clearly want to save on demolition compensation and are deliberately forcing us to leave! The photo studio's business is bad, isn't that all because of you..." The landlord sneered, his gaze sweeping contemptuously over the yellowed photos on the wall, a mocking smile curving his lips, just about to speak.

"—'This place is too gloomy and unlucky! Tear it down as soon as possible!'"

A calm voice rang out almost simultaneously with the thoughts that had crossed the landlord's mind, silencing his unspoken words.

The landlord was startled and looked towards the source of the voice, which was Xu Yan.

He was looking at him calmly, his eyes deep, as if he could see through all his thoughts.

"Who would dare to walk into a place like this to photograph 'dead people's shadows'?" Xu Yan continued in that flat tone, delivering the landlord's next line.

The landlord's facial muscles twitched; a feeling of being exposed made him furious and embarrassed.

He subconsciously pulled out a lighter, lit it with a "click," and brought the cigarette to his lips, trying to regain a sense of control through this action.

Don't order it.

Xu Yan's voice rang out again, not loud, but with an undeniable sharpness, like a cold blade slicing through the air.

The landlord raised an eyebrow, feigning composure, but said defiantly, "What? I'm just having a smoke on my own turf, and I have to follow your rules?"

“Rules are rules.” Xu Yan stared at him, his eyes calm as an ancient well. “I’ve reminded you, don’t blame me for not saying so.”

The landlord felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but he couldn't show any fear in front of everyone. He forced himself to take a deep breath and exhale the smoke: "Ha, who are you trying to scare? This is a society governed by law..."

As he spoke, he habitually tapped the threshold with his knuckles to emphasize his point, while his palm inadvertently brushed against the talisman paper on the edge of the door frame.

"Ugh—!"

With a short cry of pain, the landlord jerked his hand back as if bitten by a venomous snake. His face instantly drained of color, and his carefully maintained arrogant demeanor vanished, leaving only genuine fear.

He shook his hands, as if trying to shake off some invisible burning pain.

"Boss?!" The burly man behind him exclaimed in surprise, his hand reaching for his lower back.

Xu Yan watched all of this with a cold eye, as if he had expected it all along.

He ignored the landlord's disheveled state and instead turned his gaze to the suitcase he had pushed out the door earlier.

The landlord's fear quickly turned into a humiliated rage. To cover his embarrassment, his voice suddenly rose, becoming even more shrill and piercing. Pointing at the photos in the room, he yelled, "A bunch of dead people's shadows, what good are you guarding them for! Sooner or later..."

His words stopped abruptly.

Because everyone heard a sound coming from outside the door.

The unusual activity wasn't coming from inside the photo studio, but from that lonely suitcase sitting by the door.

It was a very faint sound, like a fingernail gently scraping the inside of a wooden box.

"Sand...sand...sand..."

The sound was slow, clear, and had a grating, sluggish quality, echoing in the silent corridor.

Immediately afterwards, the suitcase's casters turned slightly on their own, making a soft "click" sound.

The two burly men turned pale instantly, looking in terror at the door and then at the landlord.

The bizarre experience they had just had already sent chills down their spines, and now the unknown noise coming from outside the door sent even more shivers down their spines.

The landlord also heard the sound. He forced down his fear and shouted, his voice trembling with rage, "Wh...what was that sound?! Xu Yan, stop playing tricks on me!"

(End of this chapter)