Time Agents · Conversa

The morning sunlight slanted in through the photo studio's glass door, washing out half the room in white. Cheng Xiaoshi was sprawled across the sofa, holding his phone directly over his face as he scrolled through a local trending topic for the third time. There was barely any sound from behind the curtain to the back room, but he knew Lu Guang was in there—most likely flipping through that dog-eared history of photography book again. The guy hadn’t made a peep since they unlocked the front door that morning. Qiao Ling pushed the door open just as the ten o'clock sun began to blaze, carrying three cups of soy milk and a bag of steamed buns. Her heel caught on the threshold, drawing a muffled curse before she dumped the bag onto the coffee table. "Cheng Xiaoshi, can you take your feet off the table?" "This is my place." "This is my building." "...Fair enough." Lu Guang drew back the curtain and stepped out, taking a cup of soy milk without a word or expression. Qiao Ling had already settled behind the counter. With her mouth full of bun, she fished a photograph from her bag and slapped it onto the tabletop. "Got a job. Quede Games. We need to secure their real financial data before the third-quarter earnings report goes public. The client gave us this photo—it's of Emma, assistant to their director. Taken last night while she was working overtime." Cheng Xiaoshi sat up from the sofa, took the photo, and glanced at it. A young woman sat at her workstation with a takeout box of spring rolls in front of her. Her profile looked utterly exhausted, eyes glued to the screen. "When do we move?" he asked. Lu Guang looked down at the photo, taking a sip of his soy milk. "High five." "Hold on." Qiao Ling snatched the photo back, tilting her chin up. "Eat your buns first. Neither of you is working on an empty stomach. Last time—" "Last time was an accident." "Last time you passed out inside the photo, Cheng Xiaoshi." Cheng Xiaoshi rolled his eyes and reached for a bun. Leaning against the counter, Lu Guang took a bite without any change in expression, his gaze still fixed on the photograph—as though staring at something only he could see.