By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 80 Climbing Huangshan

The steamed cake stall at the hotel entrance had just been set up, and the aroma of glutinous rice mixed with jujube paste filled the air.

It was only six o'clock, and because I lived in the city, I had to get up as early as possible.

While Li Younan was checking the camera battery, Zhizhi leaned over and said, "Take bus number 12 to the bus station. I checked the travel guide last night and it said there are tourist shuttle buses there..."

Li Younan didn't plan to take a taxi today. Every city has its unique way of traveling; otherwise, everything would be monotonous and boring. For example, in Huangshan, Li Younan planned to take public transportation, which would be slower but allow him to see more of the scenery.

Zhizhi originally wanted to drive her car, but after hearing Li Younan's plan and reasons, her expression became a little strange, and she said, "weirdo."

But in the end, they accepted Li Younan's proposal.

It had rained last night. Zhizhi was carrying a fairly large bag and wearing her Arale hat. In contrast, Li Younan's belongings were much simpler: a camera slung across his left shoulder and a crossbody bag slung across his right shoulder, containing only a few lenses, a folding cane, and a water bottle.

Before the words were finished, a green and white bus came to a stop on the wet road, its electronic screen displaying "Flower and Bird Market - RT-Mart West Gate".

The two boarded the bus together.

Li Younan looked around with interest, while Zhizhi beside him carefully checked the contents of his backpack. She looked up at Li Younan's small crossbody bag, her expression a little strange, and couldn't help but say, "Brother Li, why did you only bring so little? You didn't bring any food, an umbrella, or even drinks... You'll definitely regret this later."

Li Younan calmly said, "I don't think those things are necessary."

The east gate of the bus station is right next to where you get off the bus.

Next, we'll take a sightseeing bus up.

The car stopped on the side of National Highway 205. Li Younan leisurely looked out the window and saw an old man in a crimson monk's robe tying incense and candles into a basket on his back.

Li Younan remembered that there seemed to be a temple on the mountain.

This is the Dongling transfer sub-center, which is less crowded than the main station, Zhaixi.

Zhizhi pulled Li Younan away from the tour groups holding small flags and headed straight for the self-service ticket machine.

When the 19-yuan Ciguang Pavilion shuttle ticket popped up, she nudged Li Younan's arm: "Look, Brother Li, someone is walking straight into the mountain!"

Li Younan followed her gaze to the sign at the exit, which read, "For hikers and ambulances only, no transfers required."

It wasn't until nearly 10 o'clock that the two of them arrived at the trailhead by the scenic area's sightseeing bus.

There is a cable car, but the electronic screen at the cable car station displays a waiting time of 120 minutes.

Zhizhi stared at the steep stone steps, speechless for a moment.

Li Younan said with a smile, "Come on, what are you standing there for? Aren't you a mountain climbing expert?"

Zhizhi looked back at her backpack, puffed out her cheeks, and said, "I definitely won't let you down!"

The higher you go, the narrower the stone steps become.

Li Younan strolled leisurely, holding a camera in his hand, but did not press the shutter once.

Although he has photography skills, he doesn't like taking pictures of scenery. In fact, no matter which scenic spot it is, there are many people taking pictures of it, so those pictures don't have much meaning for him; they're all too similar.

This is why he chose a Canon camera, which is more geared towards portrait photography. For Li Younan, he prefers capturing the people and scenes full of stories along his journey rather than looking at the scenery.

The porters should have been a great subject for a photoshoot, but Li Younan couldn't find a suitable subject or the right mood along the way.

This emotion is also somewhat repetitive.

Li Younan looked at Zhizhi behind him with amusement.

Suddenly, her foot slipped half a step, she swayed, and the insulated lunchbox in the side pocket of her backpack crashed against the rock wall with a "bang".

She froze on the spot for two seconds, her ear tips turning bright red.

Li Younan switched to a telephoto lens and happily took a picture of Zhizhi.

Seeing this, Zhizhi finally couldn't help but pout: "Handsome guys are all bad guys after all..."

Li Younan laughed and picked up Zhizhi's backpack with one hand. She immediately felt much lighter. Then Li Younan took off his own bag and said, "Let's switch."

Zhizhi slowly took off her backpack and pouted a little shyly.

It has to be said that when some girls do this, you might feel it's pretentious, but on Zhizhi's face, you'll only feel it's cute, and you might even want to tease her a little.

Li Younan resisted the urge to bully her, changed his backpack, and continued walking uphill.

We arrived at a landmark attraction – the Welcoming Pine.

The area around the Welcoming Pine was packed with people, and the tour guide's little red flag swayed among the fluttering brims of his hat.

Li Younan and Zhizhi went around to the west side of Lotus Peak and each chose a blue stone to sit down.

Unexpectedly, it started to rain at that moment. First, the mist rose from the valley floor, first covering the rhododendron bushes halfway up the mountain, and then quickly swallowing the distant peaks, drifting over little by little.

Li Younan was dumbfounded to see that many people had started to open their umbrellas.

Zhizhi ran up to him triumphantly and said with a smile, "Brother Li, don't worry, I brought a raincoat. When hiking outdoors, a raincoat is much more useful than an umbrella!"

As she spoke, she pulled two raincoats out of her backpack.

Li Younan put on the raincoat without any qualms.

Afterwards, Li Younan ate some of the compressed biscuits that Zhizhi had brought, which restored some of his strength.

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 spotted the Frenchman from Decathlon yesterday. He was setting up his camera and taking pictures of a foreign woman.

He didn't see Li Younan.

Li Younan recalled for a moment, and thought his name was Pierre.

Pierre crouched down, his camera pointed at the woman. She was leaning against the railing, behind her were large, grayish-white stone pillars like those in Huangshan, with mist rising from below. He adjusted the knob on his camera and muttered something under his breath.

The woman shifted her foot.

A mountain breeze blew in gusts, ruffling the woman's hair and covering her face. She tried to brush it away. He immediately called out twice in French, his voice not loud, but quite urgent.

His gaze was fixed on a pine tree behind the woman. He waited, and then another gust of wind came, shaping the pine tree and making the woman's hair even more disheveled. Only then did he press the shutter.

When Zhizhi saw Li Younan stop and watch, she blinked and stopped moving as well.

At this moment, the foreign woman muttered a few words, seemingly asking Pierre to take a picture with her.

Pierre looked troubled.

Then he saw Li Younan, paused for a moment, then smiled and waved to Li Younan.

Pierre said in English with a French accent, "Hey, buddy, it's you again! Do you even know how to press a shutter button?"

Li Younan was speechless for a moment. Why didn't he ask if you had hands?
Suddenly, I realized that I didn't have a camera on me. The camera was hanging on Zhizhi's body, which meant I didn't have an identification tag.

At this moment, the foreign woman started urging him again. Pierre quickly handed his camera to Li Younan and then moved closer to stand with the foreign woman.

This is a Nikon camera, but when it comes to high-end cameras like this, the differences aren't that significant. Whether shooting portraits or landscapes, there won't be much difference.

Li Younan skillfully began adjusting the parameters.

Noticing Li Younan's actions, Pierre said "no no no" several times and said, "I set it up..." Li Younan pretended not to understand, smiled at him, and raised the camera to start filming him.

Seeing this, the French woman quickly grabbed Pierre.

One can probably imagine how devastated Pierre must have felt at that moment, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace as he posed for photos with his female companion.

Li Younan took more than a dozen photos of them from different angles, then looked at the preview of the finished product, nodded, and gave Pierre an "OK" sign.

Pierre walked over somewhat helplessly and said in English, "Buddy, I said I'd take your picture yesterday, now it's time to keep my promise."

Li Younan returned the camera to Pierre, smiled, and said, "I don't need this. I don't like putting myself in a photo as the main subject; it's too difficult to capture that kind of emotion."

Upon hearing Li Younan's words, Pierre paused for a moment... because it was somewhat technical.

At this moment, Pierre's female companion jumped over, snatched the camera, glanced at it a few times, and a look of surprise appeared on her face. Seeing his girlfriend's expression, Pierre was taken aback again; he knew his girlfriend was very picky about photos.

Meanwhile, Li Younan waved goodbye to Pierre, then pulled the still-dazed Zhizhi along and slowly continued uphill.

Looking at Li Younan's expression, Zhizhi was somewhat surprised and said, "Was that person's photography skill pretty professional?"

Li Younan calmly said, "It's quite professional, but the kind that will get you scolded by your girlfriend."

Zhizhi was taken aback: "Huh?"

Li Younan smiled slightly: "Photographing landscapes and photographing people are different... I still need to practice."

"Brother Li..."

"Ok?"

"Take lots of pictures of me when we get up the mountain..."

"Heh... okay."

(End of this chapter)