Lu Zhilan is a tennis prodigy and Lu Xia's older cousin. Zhilan was expected to become a professional athlete until a career threatening injury. With no other choice, she's forced to go to Germany for surgery and rehabilitation. She's been there for...
The flash startled Zhilan and Siyang as she took the rose back from him. Both heads turned towards a smiling photographer looking at her camera.
"What a great picture! You two look like a really cute couple!"
What is it with people today?!
Siyang cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses while Zhilan nervously bit her lip.
Every time we get over one awkward stage, we manage to fall into another.
"Stay here, I'll be back soon with copies of the picture I just took." The photographer disappeared and the pair were left once again in silence.
"Do you want to wait for her?" She asked, after a few minutes passed.
He was staring at the ground. "It would be rude not to."
She hugged her stuffed fox close to her chest. Her bottom lip was jutted out as if in a pout. Siyang glanced at her and frowned. He wondered if he had done something wrong.
"Are you upset?"
She sighed. "It's just that I thought we were past all the awkwardness from before. It's like it keeps coming back to haunt us."
"I'm sorry."
Zhilan turned to him. "We're still friends, right? I like being friends."
Siyang laughed breathlessly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Of course. I think we still get like this because we've only known each other a short while."
She smiled at him. "Something else to work on."
He returned the smile. "We have time."
As they waited for the photographer, the sun finally went down completely and more lights were turning on.
Zhilan's eyes wandered around as some decorative lights around the fountain came on. "Siyang, look!"
He looked around the fountain and saw the lights. It reminded him of home a bit.
"Here we go, you two. I got one copy for each of you." The photographer gave them each a small photo.
"What do you think?" She asked curiously.
Zhilan turned to Siyang, wondering what he thought. The photo was taken at the exact moment that they both held the rose. They each had small smiles on their faces as they looked at each other.
"It's really good. Thank you, ma'am."
They waved goodbye to her and they looked at the photo one last time.
"She's good." Zhilan said truthfully.
"I agree." Siyang gently stuffed it away in his jacket while she carefully put it in her purse.
"So, should we have dinner around here? Or do we go back to the hospital and enjoy some Chinese food?" She asked him as they stood up.
"I think it would be good to go back. It's dark now." He said and put his hand on the small of her back to keep her close. He hadn't forgotten the earlier incident where that guy grabbed her without permission.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
After dinner, the pair got on to the elevator. They made it to the fifth floor and walked down the hall to their rooms. They made it to Zhilan's room first since hers came sooner.
"Thank you for coming with me today." She said gratefully.
"It was no problem. I think it was enjoyable, don't you?" He asked with a small grin.
"It was really fun. Good night, Siyang."
"Good night, Zhilan."
She opened the door to her room and sighed. She was feeling rather exhausted from the day's activities. She put down the rose and stuffed fox. She took off her purse and carefully pulled out the picture from the photographer.
It does look really good.
Zhilan grabbed one of her books and placed it in between the pages.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Siyang got dressed for bed. All the walking made him tired. He had still enjoyed himself as he saw the city. He was glad that he went out with Zhilan. The image of her face lighting up at every sight or store filled his mind. He looked over at the picture that was given to him. While it was taken on a slight misunderstanding, he couldn't deny how nice it looked. A nice memory to look back on whenever he felt like it.
Author's Note
The end of the field trip. I hope you enjoyed it! I'm happy that I've gotten a good number of reads! I didn't expect that when I decided to post the story. Anyways, that photo is going to make a reappearance later on. It'll be the center of some humor. Don't forget to vote or comment! -Violet
