The sticky rice cake stall in front of the hotel just opened, with the fragrance of glutinous rice mixed with jujube paste.
It’s only six o’clock because we stayed in the city, so we had to get up early.
Li Younan was checking his camera battery when Zhizhi leaned over and said, "Bus 12 goes to the bus station, the travel guide I checked last night said there are sightseeing buses there..."
Li Younan didn’t plan to take a taxi today. Every city has its own unique way of traveling; otherwise, it would become monotonous and boring. For example, in Huang Mountain, Li Younan planned to take public transportation, which would be slower but allow for more scenic views.
Zhizhi originally wanted to take her small car, but after hearing Li Younan’s plan and reasoning, she had a strange expression and called him a "weirdo."
But in the end, she accepted Li Younan’s plan.
It rained last night, and Zhizhi was carrying a fairly large backpack, wearing that Alalei hat. In contrast, Li Younan’s things were much simpler; over his left shoulder was a camera, and over his right was a crossbody bag containing just a few lenses, a folding hiking stick, and a water bottle.
Before finishing his sentence, a green and white bus rolled over the wet road and stopped. The electronic screen on the bus showed "Flower and Bird Market - West Gate of RT-Mart."
The two of them boarded the bus together.
Li Younan looked around with interest, while Zhizhi next to him was carefully checking the contents of her backpack. She glanced at Li Younan’s small crossbody bag, looking a bit puzzled, and couldn’t help but say, "Brother Li, why did you bring so few things? You didn’t bring food, an umbrella, or drinks... you’ll definitely regret it later."
Li Younan calmly replied, "I don’t think those things are necessary."
Getting off the bus is at the east gate of the bus station.
Next, they needed to take the sightseeing car up.
The car stopped at the side of National Highway 205, and Li Younan leisurely gazed outside, watching an elderly man in a crimson monk’s robe tying incense candles into a bamboo basket.
Li Younan remembered, there seemed to be a temple up the mountain.
This place is the Dongling Transfer Center, which is less crowded than the main station in Zhaixi.
Zhizhi pulled Li Younan away from the tour group waving small flags and headed straight for the self-service ticket machine.
As the 19 RMB ticket for the Ciguang Pavilion line popped out, she nudged Li Younan’s arm, "Look, Brother Li, some people are walking directly into the mountain!"
Li Younan followed her gaze toward the sign at the exit, which read "Only for hikers, ambulances, etc. no transfers needed."
It wasn’t until close to 10 o’clock that they finally took the scenic area’s sightseeing bus and arrived at the mountain trailhead.
There is a cable car, but the waiting time displayed on the screen at the cable car station was 120 minutes.
Zhizhi looked at the steep stone steps, speechless for a moment.
Li Younan smiled and said, "Let’s go, what are you standing there for? Aren’t you a little mountain climbing expert?"
Zhizhi looked back at her backpack, puffed her cheeks and said, "I’m sure I won’t let you down!"
The higher they went, the narrower the stone steps became.
Li Younan walked leisurely, holding the camera in his hand, but hadn’t pressed the shutter once.
Even though he had photography skills, he didn’t like taking landscape photos. In fact, regardless of which scenic area’s view he took, countless people were taking pictures; such images held little meaning for him, too uniform.
That’s why he chose a Canon camera, which was more suited to portrait photography. For Li Younan, rather than focusing on the scenery along the way, he preferred capturing the characterful subjects full of stories during his travel.
The porters would have been a great subject to photograph, but Li Younan hadn’t found a suitable subject and emotion along the way.
This kind of emotion was also somewhat bland.
Li Younan chuckled as he looked at Zhizhi behind him.
Suddenly, she slipped half a step, the entire person swayed, and the thermal lunch box in the side pocket of her backpack banged against the rock wall.
She froze for two seconds, her earlobes turning a transparent crimson.
Li Younan switched to a telephoto lens, delightedly took a candid shot of Zhizhi.
Seeing this, Zhizhi finally couldn’t help but pucker her lips, "Handsome guys are always trouble..."
Li Younan laughed aloud and went over to lift Zhizhi’s backpack with one hand. She felt instantly relieved, after which Li Younan removed his crossbody bag, saying, "Let’s swap."
Zhizhi slowly took off her backpack, a bit embarrassedly pursing her lips.
Honestly, when some girls do this, it might seem a bit dramatic, but on Zhizhi’s face, it’s just adorable and makes one want to tease her.
Li Younan resisted the urge to tease her and continued upward after swapping bags.
They reached a signature scenic spot—the Welcoming Pine.
A crowd packed the area near the Welcoming Pine, the tour guide’s small red flag swaying among the hats.
Li Younan and Zhizhi bypassed to the west side of Lotus Peak, each choosing a piece of bluestone to sit on.
Unexpectedly, it started to drizzle at this moment.
At first, a mist rose from the valley, initially covering the rhododendron bushes halfway up the mountain, and in no time, it swallowed the distant peaks, drifting over bit by bit.
Li Younan saw that many people began to open their umbrellas, and he was a bit dumbfounded.
Zhizhi ran behind him triumphantly and said with a smile, "Brother Li, don’t worry, I brought raincoats. When hiking outdoors, raincoats are much more useful than umbrellas!"
As she spoke, she pulled out two packages of raincoats from her backpack.
Li Younan put on the raincoat with peace of mind.
Afterward, Li Younan took some compressed biscuits that Zhizhi brought and ate them, regaining some energy.
The rain came quickly and went quickly. By the time they were ready to set off again, the rain had almost stopped.
Looking up, Li Younan saw the French guy from Decathlon yesterday. He was setting up his camera, taking pictures of a foreign woman.
He didn’t see Li Younan.
Li Younan recalled, it seemed his name was Pierre.
Pierre was half-squatting, focusing the camera on the woman. She leaned against the railing, with those big gray-white rock pillars of Huang Mountain behind her, and the mist was drifting up from below. He adjusted the dials on the camera, muttering something under his breath.
The woman shifted her feet.
The mountain wind blew, ruffling the woman’s hair over her face. She reached up to brush it away, but he immediately shouted two words in French, not loudly but urgently.
His gaze was on a pine tree behind the woman, waiting. Another gust of wind came, styling the pine tree dramatically, and the woman’s hair became even more tangled. Only then did he press the shutter.
Zhizhi noticed Li Younan watching and blinked, standing still beside him.
At this point, the foreign woman muttered a few words, apparently asking Pierre to take a photo with her.
Pierre showed a troubled expression on his face.
Then he saw Li Younan, paused for a moment, then smiled and waved at him.
Pierre spoke in English with a French accent, "Hey, buddy, it’s you again! Can you press the shutter?"
Li Younan was speechless for a moment, wondering why he didn’t ask if he had hands.
Suddenly he realized he wasn’t carrying the camera; it was hanging on Zhizhi, which meant he didn’t have his identification badge.
By this time, the foreign woman was urging again, and Pierre hurriedly shoved his camera into Li Younan’s hands, then moved to stand with the foreign woman.
It was a Nikon camera, but at this high level, there really wasn’t much difference, whether shooting portraits or landscapes.
Li Younan started adjusting the settings skillfully.
Noticing Li Younan’s actions, Pierre repeatedly said "no no no," and added, "I have it set up..." But Li Younan pretended not to understand, smiled at him, and raised the lens to start shooting.
Seeing this, the French woman quickly pulled Pierre aside.
One could imagine how crushed Pierre felt inside at that moment, forcing a smile uglier than crying, cooperating with his female partner for the photos.
Li Younan took about a dozen photos from different angles, reviewed the previews, nodded, and gave Pierre an "ok" sign.
Pierre, slightly helpless, came over and said in English, "Buddy, I said yesterday I’d help you take pictures; now it’s time to fulfill that promise."
Li Younan returned the camera to Pierre, smiled, and said, "No need, I don’t like putting myself in photos as the main subject; it’s too hard to capture the emotion."
Hearing this, Pierre was stunned for a moment... because it sounded a bit professional.
Just then, Pierre’s female companion jumped over, eagerly took the camera, glanced at the shots, and her face lit up with delight. Seeing his girlfriend’s expression, Pierre paused again, knowing she was very picky about photos.
And over there, Li Younan waved goodbye to Pierre, pulled the still dazed Zhizhi, and slowly continued upward.
Zhizhi looked at Li Younan’s expression, a bit surprised, and said, "Wasn’t that guy’s photography pretty professional?"
Li Younan calmly said, "It is quite professional, but the kind that gets criticized by girlfriends."
Zhizhi paused for a moment, "Ah?"
Li Younan smiled faintly, "Shooting landscapes and people are different... still gotta practice."
"Brother Li..."
"Hmm?"
"When we get up the mountain, take a few more photos of me..."
"Heh... alright."

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