"Done shooting." The female waitress said in the hot pot restaurant.
After the photo was taken, she whispered, as if afraid that people at other tables would overhear, "Handsome guy, beauty, you two are the most photogenic guests I've snapped today."
"Here's the photo." She handed over the photograph.
"Thank you." Cheng Zhu took it.
Photos from an instant camera don't immediately reveal the image; many people choose to shake the photo by hand, as if it makes the image appear faster.
Cheng Zhu had always found, the most intriguing part of using an instant camera was this process.
Slowly watching the image appear bit by bit on the photo, from partial to whole, from blurry to clear.
He didn't rush to sit back across; instead, they sat together on the same bench in the hot pot restaurant, watching the image gradually appear on the photo.
Then, a problem arose.
They were neither spouses nor a cohabiting couple who could bring a single photo back to a shared home.