Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

"I've arranged for someone to put everything away. Take a look, take what you need, and I'll dispose of what you don't."

The living room wasn't big; several cardboard boxes and two burlap sacks were stacked against the wall, neatly arranged.

The desk by the window is old-fashioned, and under the glass top of the tabletop are several yellowed photos, the contents of which are illegible.

“Your dad lived in this house back then, and I lived next door. At that time, he was interning at CCTV, and I was working at a publishing house while preparing for graduate school. We were both broke, and we had to spend a lot of time calculating how much money we could scrape together to buy a pack of cigarettes at the end of the month.”

Cheng Yan walked to the window and sighed, "Later, when your dad returned to Xingcheng, I gritted my teeth and scraped together the money to buy this house. At the time, it was a little over three thousand, and everyone said it was ridiculously expensive. They thought the price would drop after the 08 Olympics, but your dad insisted that I buy it. Unfortunately, no one has lived here much since then."

"The area is about to be demolished, and they dug up a lot of your dad's old things, which is why they called you over..."

Ding Heng didn't respond to that question and simply brushed it off.

It is true that his father and Cheng Yan were close friends, but it is also true that Cheng Yan's son works in finance in Hong Kong.

In certain social interactions, it's fine to offer help appropriately, but there's no need to get too involved.

Cheng Yan glanced at his watch: "I have some things to do this afternoon. You guys pack up first. If you need anything, I can call someone to help you. I'll treat you to dinner again tomorrow!"

Ding Heng politely replied, "No need, Uncle Cheng, please continue with your work."

The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor. Ding Heng looked around and rolled up his sleeves.

"Let's move."

There were about ten cardboard boxes and woven bags, of various sizes.

Ding Heng bent down and picked up the heaviest one, while Wen Shu quickly moved another box. It wasn't heavy, but it was quite large, and when she held it in her arms, it blocked most of her view.

"Brother-in-law, where are we moving all this?"

"Let's move downstairs first, I've made an appointment with Lalamove."

The two of them went up and down the stairs repeatedly.

The third floor isn't very tall, but the old building has narrow staircases, and the corners are piled with neighbors' belongings, making it difficult to move things around.

Wen Shu wasn't very strong; she had to rest after carrying two loads, and the edges of the cardboard boxes left red marks on her palms. She didn't say anything, just shook her hands and continued.

On her last trip, she picked up a small cardboard box that wasn't sealed. After taking a couple of steps, the box wobbled, and the contents almost slipped out.

She quickly stopped and bent down to hold the bottom of the box.

"Are you okay?"

Ding Heng walked over from behind and took the box from Wen Shu's hands.

"It's nothing, it's just a little loose."

The two went downstairs together and piled the things at the entrance of the building. Lalamove hadn't arrived yet, so Wenshu squatted down and couldn't resist opening the small cardboard box.

Inside were several photo albums and a bunch of odds and ends of old objects.

At the very top is a point-and-shoot camera; its plastic casing is yellowed, and the lens cap spring is broken, hanging loosely.

She picked it up and examined it from all angles.

"Kodak."

Ding Heng squatted down beside her: "It's a model from the early 2000s. My dad used this back then."

Cheng Yan's statement just now was actually a bit of an exaggeration.

Back then, neither my father nor Cheng Yan's family was too poor. Even after my grandparents passed away, they left my father a sum of tens of thousands of yuan in savings, so he wouldn't be unable to afford cigarettes at the end of the month.

It's just that when people reach middle age, they inevitably exaggerate their hardships when recalling the past, especially in front of younger generations.

Wen Shu pressed the shutter button, and with a crisp click, the shutter sounded clear.

"It still works?"

"I don't know, we'll have to try loading film."

Ding Heng took the camera and flipped it to the bottom: "You can still buy film of this stuff now, it's just a hassle to develop it."

Wenshu put the camera back in the box and then picked up a photo album and opened it.

The first page is a group photo, with the young Ding Wenjie still in the very center.

"Uncle was more and more handsome when he was young."

"Of course, otherwise why would my mom like him?"

Wen Shu laughed out loud, then flipped through the pages, becoming more and more engrossed in reading.

"Brother-in-law."

"Ok?"

"Uncle...why didn't you stay in the capital back then?"

"Probably because of my mom, or maybe I just feel it's pointless to stay here."

"No fun?"

"He's a restless person. After spending a few years in the capital, he felt that life within the system was predictable... So when he went to Hunan TV, he found that it was not as good as CCTV."

Ding Heng sighed, "If he had stayed in the capital, I might be able to get into Peking University now that I have a Beijing residency permit."

Wen Shu was amused and burst out laughing.

Lalamove arrived in a large van.

The driver got out of the car to help load the items into the carriage, and Ding Heng pulled Wen Shu to sit in the back.

"Let's go back to your sister Hua Qing's place first."

The car drove out of the alley and merged into the main road.

Wen Shu fiddled with the old camera the whole way, her pupils revealing a deep interest.

Ding Heng, who was standing to the side, watched without saying a word.

Upon arriving at Huaqing Apartment, the two carried their belongings upstairs and piled them in a corner of the living room.

Wen Shu was exhausted and collapsed onto the sofa. Hei Dou suddenly appeared from somewhere and jumped onto the sofa, rubbing against her legs.

So she simply bent down and scooped up the black bean. The black bean immediately rolled over in her arms, revealing its soft belly, and made a gurgling sound in its throat.

Where is Sister Hua Qing?

Wen Shu scratched Hei Dou's chin and asked.

"The rehearsal didn't finish until after 6 p.m."

Ding Heng brought out two glasses of water from the kitchen and handed one to her.

Wen Shu took a sip, and Hei Dou took the opportunity to jump off her arms and started meowing and acting cute towards Ding Heng again, but Ding Heng completely ignored it.

"So, brother-in-law, you have to pick her up tonight?"

"Ah."

Ding Heng glanced at his phone: "It's still early, let's rest for a while, and then go out to buy some things later."

What to buy?

"You will know when you go."

Wen Shu didn't ask any more questions, drank a couple more sips of water, leaned back on the sofa, and closed her eyes to rest.

Half an hour later, the two went downstairs to hail a taxi.

The taxi stopped near the China World Trade Center, and Ding Heng led her into a three-story glass building.

The spacious room, spanning over 700 square meters, is lit with soft, warm white light. Along the walls are rows of glass display cases showcasing cameras and lenses from different brands.

From beginner to professional, from film to digital, it's like a small museum.

On the other side is the experience area, with several long tables lined up in a row, on which are placed tripods, fill lights and all kinds of shooting props.

Wen Shu stood frozen at the doorway: "This is..."

"Camera Experience Store".

Ding Heng walked inside: "Several brands have their own sections, you can try them on freely."

A young female shop assistant greeted them with a warm smile: "Hello, welcome. What would you two like to see?"

"Just take a look around first."

Ding Heng turned to look at Wen Shu: "Which brand are you interested in?"

Wen Shu shook her head blankly.

She doesn't even recognize all the camera brands, let alone be "interested" in them.

"Then let's start with the basics."

Ding Heng walked to the Fujifilm display case and pointed to a silver and black camera inside: "This one, the X-T30 II, is lightweight, stylish, and suitable for girls to get started."

The shop assistant took a camera out of the display case and handed it to me.

Wen Shu caught it; the body was lighter than she had imagined, and it fit perfectly in her hand, with a cool and smooth metallic feel.

"Feels good to hold, doesn't it?"

Ding Heng came up behind Wen Shu: "Try it, hold the lens with your left hand, grip the camera body with your right hand, and place your index finger on the shutter button."

Wen Shu did as instructed, but her posture was stiff.

"Relax your body, don't tense up."

Ding Heng reached out, grasped Wen Shu's hand holding the camera lens, gently lifted it up, and then used his index finger to press on the web between the thumb and index finger of her right hand.

"Here, press firmly against the fuselage, leave no gaps."

Following Ding Heng's guidance, Wen Shu slightly adjusted her posture, pressing her palm against the curved surface of the machine, finally finding a feeling of "holding" rather than "holding".

"Yes, that's it."

Ding Heng released his grip and took a half step back.

The salesperson handed over another demo unit: "Would you like to try out the shooting feel? There's a shooting area over here."

Wen Shu nodded and followed the shop assistant to the experience area.

On the long table was a still life table with a few fruits and a small ceramic jar on it, and the lighting was soft.