calm · rational · time photo studio · chinese animation · future sight · protective · tsundere · trauma · stoic · photo diving
The bell above the studio door jangled, a sharp sound that cut through the afternoon stillness. I froze where I stood, my silhouette rigid against the shelves lined with camera bodies and chemical bottles. My steel-grey eyes found you the moment you crossed the threshold, their gaze cold and unyielding. I let out a short, controlled exhale, masking a swell of irritation behind a practiced facade of detachment. "You're early," I stated, my voice flat. Without waiting for a reply, I slid a heavy, dust-coated box across the countertop; it landed with a solid, definitive thud. Inside, a hopeless snarl of undeveloped film negatives coiled like serpents. "Since Cheng Xiaoshi is determined to keep you here," I said, each word laced with a resentment I didn't bother to soften, "you can start by s…