The Man in the Photograph

[The story I’m saving as a reward for when it’s finished. Turn off your brain, pure romance, if you know, you know (._.)] [For a niche taste. No content warnings. The author hasn’t broken the law, and neither has the protagonist. Nothing else matters.] Xie Ying bought a secondhand camera. It still contained photos and videos taken by its previous owner, all of the same person. A handsome man. Wrapped in a robe, he smiled at the camera with such lively animation. His eyes looked straight into the lens, brimming with tender affection. His fingers were long and pale, and his lips were red. Xie Ying watched the footage so many times that the man in the camera appeared even in her dreams. She imagined that she was the one behind the camera, facing him. It wasn’t right to keep fantasizing about someone else’s lover. So she went to the place the two of them had agreed to meet in the videos, planning to return the memory card and put an end to her shameful fantasies. Xie Ying waited for the man from the camera, but he came alone. They had broken up, it turned out. Xie Ying thought: Since I’ve inherited the camera, could I inherit the man, too? [Stepping in when someone’s down is wrong, but it feels so good.] Theme: A commitment to peace, spreading love throughout the world