Shen Antu saw him stand up and walk forward, and immediately called him: "You are going in the wrong direction, the bathroom is in the opposite direction."
Xie Wenxuan paused and turned: "I'm going to the kitchen to wash my hands. It's closer."
Xie Wenxuan quickly washed his hands and came back. He couldn't wait to pinch a piece of egg tart and took a big bite: "Wow! Delicious! Sister-in-law, your cooking skills are so good!"
"Really? As long as you like it." Shen Antu smiled, looking gentle and virtuous.
Xie Wenxuan did not forget his mission. He pointed to the thick photo album on the table and said, "Sister-in-law, look at this. My brother asked me to print it out for you... There is oil on my hands. You can open it and take a look yourself. If you don't remember anything, ask me."
Xie Wenxuan ate one piece and then pinched another.
Shen Antu picked up the photo album and weighed it in his hand: "Do you know everything about me and Xie Duo?"
Xie Wenxuan raised his head and took a sip of lemon juice. After he had finished what he had in his mouth, he said, "That's very clear. I happened to be studying abroad when you went abroad. I forwarded countless international emails to you two. I, Xie Wenxuan, am a magpie on earth."
Shen Antu smiled and said, "That must have been very hard for you, my brother Xi Que."
Xie Wenxuan almost spit it out: "Ahem, it's okay."
Shen Antu opened the album cover and saw an old photo with very low pixels. There was a time and introduction under the photo. Shen Antu's eyes lit up.
“Photographed in early July 2010, after the final exams of the second semester of the second year of high school”
This is a half-length photo of him and Xie Duo. On the left is Xie Duo, and on the right is Shen Antu, both wearing school uniforms.
Xie Duo had a short haircut and a serious and cold look, much like he does now. He was still handsome, but with his slightly immature face at the time, he looked like he was deliberately pretending to be a little adult.
"Xie Duo was so cute back then!" Shen Antu couldn't help but sigh and stared at high school Xie Duo for a long time.
Xie Wenxuan took the opportunity to give a round of rainbow farts: "He is quite handsome, and he is a good match for my sister-in-law."
Shen Antu turned his gaze towards himself. Shen Antu in high school was very different from the one he is now. He looked much thinner and smaller, a head shorter than Xie Duo, and his face had not yet fully developed. At first glance, he looked a little androgynous, and his expression was very gloomy, as if he was reluctant to take a photo with Xie Duo.
He stared at his photo for a while and asked, "Did we have a fight? I don't look happy."
Xie Wenxuan said: "Maybe, you were planning to go abroad at that time, but my brother decided to stay in China, and you didn't even take the college entrance examination."
Xie Wenxuan's words touched Shen Antu. Several fragments suddenly flashed before his eyes, and he vaguely remembered that he seemed to have never taken the college entrance examination.
Shen Antu stared at the group photo for a while before turning to the next one. This photo was not as clear as the previous one. It looked like a snapshot, with the background full of shadows. But the scene was vivid. Shen Antu could already imagine a physical education class on a summer day. Several boys had just come down from the court. They were all very hot and lifted up their shirts to fan themselves. Xie Duo also lifted his shirts, revealing a thin waist. Shen Antu wanted to see clearly whether he had abdominal muscles at that time, but the pixels were too low.
"I'm not in this picture." Shen Antu looked at all the boys around Xie Duo but couldn't find himself.
“Yes,” Xie Wenxuan pointed at the vague silhouette of Xie Duo and his group passing by behind them and said, “Sister-in-law, you are here!”
Shen Antu was confused: "How do you know it's mine when you can't even see the face?"
Xie Wenxuan said: "Of course I know, I was there at the time and I took the photo."
Shen Antu turned to the next photo with some doubt. It was still a blurry long-distance photo. There was only Shen Antu in the photo. He was sketching on a drawing board beside the pond. The camera was shooting from above, and it looked like someone was shooting it from above.
In an instant, memories of painting emerged. Shen Antu recalled the paint palette filled with different colors, the dyed corners of clothes, and the bucket for washing brushes.
Seeing Shen Antu staring at the photo for a long time without moving, Xie Wenxuan took the initiative to flip through the album: "There are relatively few photos from high school, and these few were taken secretly with a mobile phone. Sister-in-law, look at the back, there are more in the back."
The photos are in chronological order, from 2010 to June 2020, which is this summer. The content of the photos is mostly daily life of the two, including individual photos and group photos. Some are taken very professionally, with just the right proportions and composition, while others are obviously taken casually with a mobile phone, but there are very few full-face shots.
The two of them were looking at the photos with great interest. When Xie Wenxuan was present at some of the photos, he would talk a few more words to Shen Antu.
The last photo was taken this summer. It was a shadow photo of him and Xie Duo holding hands, the kind with only a shadow and no real object.
Xie Wenxuan sighed: "You and my brother both don't like taking pictures. We've been apart for four or five years, so there are so few photos of you together."
"Really?" Shen Antu raised his eyebrows and turned to the first photo in the album. "How can I have a boyfriend like Xie Duo who can resist posting 800 photos of us together every day on WeChat Moments to show off our love?"
Xie Wenxuan laughed: "Sister-in-law, you did show off for a while before, but there were always girls commenting below asking for my brother's WeChat, so you never posted it again."
"Is that so?"
Shen Antu stared at a few high school photos for a while, and said to Xie Wenxuan: "I don't know why, I don't remember any of the photos after that. I only have feelings for these high school photos, especially the first one."