In between love and death《Zhanyi version》

Chapter 21

Wang Yibo's POV

"S-Sorry, I have no idea how this entire thing works," I stammered in embarrassment, but Lily only smiled kindly.

"Haha~ It's okay, let's just give it a try," Lily pushed some coins in the slot and the screen lighted up a timer.

"So, should we just sit and smile?" I grin mischievously.

"Too boring! Let's just go for crazy~" She smiled at me.

"Haha~ I was actually hoping you would say that," we made funny faces for the first three shots, Lily tapped on the screen to view our photos, both of us fell into a pit of laughter at our ridiculous faces.

"Oh my God! What kind of face is that?!" I once again fell into a burst of laughter while pointing to the screen, Lily was pouting.

"I was trying to cope this ghost I saw a few days ago," Lily made the face again and I laughed even harder, I wiped away the tears in my eyes as she swipes to another photo.

"You're not being fair, Yibo," she pouted.

"Eh? What do you mean?" I turned to her.

"You said, 'go crazy and make funny faces,' none of these is crazy enough!" She once again made a cute pout, as if she was a four years old kid.

"What? I look horrible in this one!" I copied Lily's pout and she grinned at me.

"No! You look cute in all three photos!" I went completely silent at her comment, Lily grinned playfully at me, wiggling her eyebrows, and I pinched her arm as hard as I could.

"Y-You're not supposed to say that, I am handsome!"

"O-Owh, ow! Haha~ I'm sorry, please have mercy, and yes you're handsome Yibo, so handsome," I crossed my arms and pouted my lips once again.

"Don't be like that, Yibo, how about another round of normal photos this time?" I immediately went to face the camera again pretending to ignore her, in the first two pictures, we smile normally.

I get ready to smile for the last shot when slips something on my hair, I reached up to my hair and felt something soft like petals underneath my fingertips.

"Just as I expected, roses fit you perfectly," my heart skipped a beat as my eyes rest on her smile, it seemed so familiar in some ways . . .

And it was so different from her usual warm encouraging smile, this one made me feel like I was in a time bubble of nostalgia, it felt good yet sad.

"B-But I am not pretty like a rose, at all . . ." Lily shook her head, and answered me, "I think you're right, you're much prettier than a rose, Yibo, and I hope you know I meant every single word of that . . ." And just as suddenly the photo booth didn't seem so small and uncomfortable, it felt so . . . Safe and warm with Lily like this, and somehow this carried a feeling, a remembrance of something, it was on the tip of my tongu-

"Hey! Are you done in there!" The sudden interruption forced me back to reality, Lily pulled away, rubbing her neck awkwardly, and I sat up, trying to calm my red cheeks.

"I guess that's all the time we've got."

"Yeah, but I had fun," she scrunched her nose with a smile.

"Then this was really worth it," while saying so, Lily handed me the printed photos, I pressed them close to my chest and replied her answer softly, "I will definitely treasure this!" Lily smiled warmly at me, putting another copy in her pocket, I hope you too will treasure it . . .

***

We strolled past some more shops, I could feel my cheeks starting to warm again when I saw our reflection in the store windows, we almost looked like a brother and sister.

"Do you want to go to this shop, Yibo?" Lily's kind voice broke my train of thoughts.

"N-No, I was just admiring the pretty clothes," Lily nodded lightly.

"You look a bit tired, Yibo, do you want to take a rest for a bit?" I sighed deeply, happy she noticed it.

"Yes! That would be a great idea, I am honestly a bit thirsty from all the walking," Lily nodded at my answer before responding, "then I know the perfect place!"

We walked by some more shops in the mall, and in the end, Lily took me to a cute little café, I read the names with a breathless gasp.

"This is that trendy café with the cute macaroons! I've always wanted to come here!"

Lily slightly turned her head towards me with a warm smile, "Then let's spend some time here, shall we?" Lily offered me her hand and I took it excitedly.

We were already seated in one cosy corner and in a matter of minutes, the table is laden with tea and macaroons of many different colours and flavours, and I looked at each of them in awe.

I kept staring at all of the beautifully designed macaroons while mumbling softly, "wow . . . Everything looks so delicious!"

"What's your favourite flavour, Yibo?"

I put my chin on my hand, "am I too boring if I say chocolate?" She smiled at me with a small wink.

"Of course not, everybody loves chocolate, never trust someone who does not like chocolate, Yibo," she held up a chocolate macaroon near my lips, and I stared at her.

I give her a small pout before taking a small bite of the delicious macaroon, she smiled while drinking form her tea, her eyes teasing me from behind the rim of the teacup, I look away with a small pout visible on my face.

"Ah! This is so delicious and refreshing!" Once again I moaned while eating the delicious blue macaroon.

"I'm glad to see that you're having fun with your life now, it makes me happy too," that smile warmed me up much more than the tea actually did, even so, my gaze fell back on the table.

"I have to admit my life is looking a lot better than before, but . . ." I sighed a little, looking at the beautiful teacup in my hands, "I know it won't last forever, it can turn cruel and harsh in less than a second, and though I am really thankful for all of this, but my mind still hasn't changed," I met Lily's eyes determinedly, "I am still ready to die at any moment," Lily remained silent.

And I could tell from her eyes that she wanted to say something, but in the end, she doesn't, and there we sat, in silence for a moment, both wrapped in our own thoughts, I really wanted to know what was inside Lily's mind.

"Lily, what's . . ."

"There you are!" A sudden voice interrupted mid-sentence, both of us look up to see Zhan striding towards our table quickly, "I looked everywhere for you, Yibo!" Zhan whined cutely with an annoyed expression.

"S-Sorry, I got lost and w-well, my friend here helped me . . ." I saw how Zhan's eyes went from me to Lily.

"Listen here, buddy! How dare you-" Zhan's words were cut off when he sees Lily for the first time, his eyes wide open and the atmosphere fell a few degrees down before Zhan muttered a few words that left me confused . . .

"L-Lily?! I-It can't be . . . But you . . ." I glanced quickly between Zhan and Lily, trying to understand what was happening, and Lily met my eyes with a mysterious smile, and the few words that left Zhan's mouth left me stunning.

"It can't be! You died two years ago . . ."

Word count: 1307 words