When Jiang Ran and Xu Yang finally managed to reach the shore, the sun had already set and the ice field was ushered in a dark and mysterious night.

The Arctic region is vast and sparsely populated, with many icebergs and heavy fog. The air is much better than in bustling cities, and the stars at night are exceptionally bright and dazzling.

"There are so many stars here," Xu Yang said, looking at the sky, "but there are no auroras."

Jiang Ran didn't even look up at the light watch. "It's just getting dark. The aurora doesn't usually appear this early. We're still on the shore, and the ice isn't solid. It'll be dangerous at night. Let's head north and find a suitable location to wait for the aurora."

"Okay." Xu Yang responded, then couldn't help but look back, "But we brought so many things...what should we do?"

"What can I do? I'll just take it with me all the way."

"All right."

After dragging his luggage for a while, Xu Yang finally couldn't help but speak: "If I had known..."

"Knowing this earlier is priceless," Jiang Ran said without turning back. "After all, people always have to pay the price for their momentary greed, don't they?"

Xu Yang: “…”

So the anger hasn't subsided yet?

They previously relied on light tables and the position of the sun to determine direction, but now that night had fallen and the sun had disappeared below the horizon, this method no longer worked.

Fortunately, Jiang Ran has enough experience in surviving in the wild, and he can find the direction forward by relying on the starry sky.

At night in the Arctic region, the only way to identify the direction is to rely on the Big Dipper or the Three Stars, which are located on both sides of the North Star and rotate around it continuously.

The Big Dipper is brighter than the Trident. If you connect the dipper's tips in a straight line, extending about five times the distance outward from the dipper's mouth is where the North Star is, or the direction of north.

Jiang Ran led Xu Yang all the way north, and only stopped to set up camp when they thought they had reached a suitable place.

At this point, the many supplies they had brought with them along the way began to show their usefulness.

Xu Yang comfortably covered himself with the quilt, peeking out his head. "I'm so tired after a busy day. I'm going to catch up on some sleep. When the aurora comes out, call me, okay?"

Jiang Ran waved his hand and casually said "Okay".

However, after lying there for only a few minutes, Xu Yang suddenly remembered something and poked his head out from under the quilt again.

He was clearly feeling sleepy, and his voice had become a little hoarse. He half-opened his eyes and spotted Jiang Ran, then mumbled, "If the aurora doesn't come out in the second half of the night, I'll take over the night watch."

Jiang Ran didn't expect him to get up just to say this. She was a little surprised, but it was a good intention after all, so she replied seriously: "Don't worry."

When Xu Yang heard this, he immediately crawled back into bed.

Finally I can have a good night's sleep.

Xu Yang slept for a very long time and even had several dreams that were intermittent.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already bright outside. His heart skipped a beat and he immediately woke up.

I threw back the quilt and rushed out the door. As soon as I took a step, I saw Jiang Ran sitting at the door of the snow house.

"You..." Xu Yang was speechless. After a while, he spoke intermittently, "Why didn't you call me last night?"

Jiang Ran was obviously very tired, and even his voice was much lower. "I kept thinking about waiting a little longer, and didn't check the watch... Then it was dawn, and there was no need to call you."

"Then you...then you should go and rest." Xu Yang was a little flustered, racking his brains for words, "I'll make lunch, and I'll call you to eat at noon... There's still one night left tonight, I'll wait with you, it's just the aurora, you're sure to see it."

Jiang Ran's heart was slightly moved, but he didn't show it on his face.

She just asked with a tired teasing, "You can cook? I didn't know it after all these days."

"You've done it so many times, you should be able to do it by watching." Xu Yang's voice trailed off as he spoke. "Besides... the supplies I brought this time include ready-made ingredients and pots."

Jiang Ran: “…”

No wonder it's so heavy.

Jiang Ran felt relieved, but then he thought about the tough battle he would have to fight in the evening, so he finally went back to lie down in the snow house.

Xu Yang had just woken up a few minutes ago and the bedding was still warm. Jiang Ran yawned as soon as he got in.

Unfortunately, at noon, Jiang Ran still didn't get to eat the meal made by Xu Yang himself.

Xu Yang proved with facts that cooking skills cannot be learned just by looking at them.

However, Jiang Ran was still very tired both physically and mentally. Xu Yang insisted not to let her cook, and she herself didn't really want to do it. After the two of them discussed it, they simply made do with some snow water and compressed biscuits for lunch.

Jiang Ran was still thinking as he swallowed a piece of compressed biscuit.

Fortunately, the sponsor did not stuff a few bottles of water into her luggage, otherwise she would be so angry that she would not be able to sleep.

In the afternoon, the two of them had another good sleep and felt refreshed when they woke up at night.

We sat together, chatting casually while waiting for the aurora to appear.

One hour...

Two hours...

Four hours...

By the second half of the night, there was still no sign of the aurora.

As time went by, their expectations became lower and lower, and in the end, they even stopped looking up at the sky.

Xu Yang knew how much Jiang Ran was looking forward to the aurora, and he tried every way to comfort her: "Don't worry, the aurora is not like a volcano. If you wait a few more days, it will appear. At worst, after the test period ends tomorrow, I will say hello to the support team and ask them to come later and wait until you finish taking pictures of the aurora before leaving."

However, Jiang Ran didn't react much. He just waved his hand slightly and said, "No need."

This was really beyond Xu Yang's expectations.

He thought Jiang Ran would be very happy if he could stay for a few more days.

Puzzled, Xu Yang asked, "We haven't traveled all that long, but we've certainly made it through mountains and rivers. We've managed to cross the ice belt and dragged our luggage here with untold hardships, all just to see the aurora. Don't you want to stay here and do what you want to do?"

Jiang Ran just shook his head slightly when he heard this. "Photography is not something that will necessarily be rewarded if you put in the effort. I've long been accustomed to it. And after all, photography is a solitary thing. I don't want so many people to wait with me and turn the beautiful things into a burden."

She was silent for a moment before continuing, "You talk about trekking through mountains and rivers. It's all the same. In the end, whatever scenery you see is just luck. Some people go to watch the sunrise at five o'clock, only to see dark clouds, while others go to watch the tide in early October and see nothing."

"I don't quite understand."

Xu Yang said: "In the world I know, if you work hard, you will be rewarded."

He paused again before asking, "Is something with unpredictable results really worth looking forward to and yearning for?"

Jiang Ran laughed when he heard it.

"It's precisely because it's unpredictable that it's so desirable."

She said: "Before the veil of the result is lifted, no one knows whether it will be beautiful or ugly, fat or thin. My favorite photo may be a candid shot, and the things I have fully prepared for may not go as expected... It is precisely because tomorrow is full of surprises that I look forward to it so much."

Xu Yang didn't say anything the whole time. He just listened to Jiang Ran quietly.

These words were not that difficult to understand, they just deviated from his past life experiences. However, Jiang Ran said them so confidently, as if they were the truth. This sense of dislocation made him lose his mind.

Xu Yang thought for a long time and finally came up with something. However, just as he opened his mouth, Jiang Ran suddenly jumped up.

"Look! Look what that is!"

Xu Yang followed her gaze and saw a wall of light descending from the sky.

It was bright and dark, from the deep red and purple on top to the bright blue light at the bottom, it passed through the deep black night and fell into the world, and finally arrived in front of them through the starry sky.

That's the northern lights.

It was the Northern Lights that they had no longer hoped for after a long wait.

Jiang Ran was extremely excited. He grabbed the ball that was circling above his head and ran towards the direction where the aurora was spreading.

Xu Yang stood behind, looking at Jiang Ran's excited back as he walked away, and did not move for a while.

Perhaps such an accident...

A little more wouldn’t be bad?

The test period ends at 12 noon the next day.

There was no danger on the ice field, and the aurora they had been longing for was captured. In addition, because of the aurora, both of them slept very late last night, so the next day, both of them became lazy and did not get up until noon.

I didn't know it, and we were all shocked.

Before I walked out of the snow house, I saw a big head lying at the door, looking inside curiously.

Oh my god, it’s a polar bear!

Jiang Ran woke up almost instantly. She didn't dare to make a sound. She just walked lightly to the still sleeping Xu Yang and poked his arm hard.

Xu Yang was still immersed in his sleep. When he was suddenly woken up, he immediately became irritable. Before he even opened his eyes, he opened his mouth to curse, but Jiang Ran covered his mouth in an instant.

Jiang Ran leaned over to his ear and whispered, "There's a polar bear outside. Don't speak loudly, or you might scare it."

Before the polar bear was scared, Xu Yang was scared first, and his eyelids, which were half open, immediately opened.

The polar bear was still outside the house, staring at them intently, so the two of them could only speak in low voices.

Xu Yang: "How come there are polar bears here? Didn't you say there are no polar bears in Iceland?"

Jiang Ran: "You also said that, that's Iceland. Iceland is almost not in the Arctic Circle, and of course there are no polar bears. But don't forget, we crossed the sea specifically for the aurora, and now we are in Greenland."

“There are polar bears in Greenland?”

"Yes, haven't you seen it all with your own eyes?"

“…”

Xu Yang was silent for a while, then asked the crucial question: "Does it eat people?"

Jiang Ran nodded seriously: "Eat."

"I heard that if you see a bear, you can pretend to be dead..."

"That's fake." Jiang Ran retorted without hesitation, "Pretending to be dead in front of a polar bear is practically the same as committing suicide."

The polar bear saw the two people inside whispering and not taking him seriously at all, and soon he became angry.

It slapped its huge palm on the igloo, trying to knock down the bad thing that was blocking its way.

Although the igloo was strong, it could not withstand the tossing and turning of the polar bear. A lot of snow immediately fell off it. Judging from the way it was crumbling, it was likely to collapse soon.

Jiang Ran was a little anxious: "We can't go on like this, the snow house will soon collapse."

Xu Yang was about to speak when he suddenly realized something and pulled her back a step.

The next second, a snow brick fell from where they had just stood.

Jiang Ran's heart was in suspense.

She quickly pulled out the controller from her bag and said, "Activate the life bladder! It's too dangerous to stay here any longer."

However, Xu Yang grabbed her hand and stopped her from pressing the button.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Ran asked.

"Don't worry, I have a way." Xu Yang said.

Jiang Ran was just about to ask him what the method was, when he saw him take out a space button and took out a safety shield out of thin air.

Xu Yang opened the safety cover door: "Come in quickly!"

Jiang Ran didn't have time to hesitate and went in immediately.

Of course, Xu Yang didn't stand outside. He squeezed in before the snow house collapsed completely, and then locked the door of the safety cover.

Now it's safe.

Just as the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, the snow house collapsed completely.

Snow blocks and bricks fell from the top and hit the shell of the safety cover one after another.

With the safety cover in place, it is always safe.

The polar bear had not given up yet. It pushed away the layers of snow and squeezed next to the safety cover.

The safety cage itself wasn't large enough to fit one person, but it was quite cramped for two. Xu Yang and Jiang Ran were squeezed in, and even turning their heads was difficult. Xu Yang couldn't see the polar bear's condition, and could only get a glimpse of it through Jiang Ran's real-time report.

"It wants to open the safety cover."

"It failed and now wants to break the safety shield."

"Okay, it failed again."

“…”

Of course, the reality is not that easy.

Seeing that he couldn't do anything to this little thing, the polar bear became very angry and pushed the little thing out.

Jiang Ran and Xu Yang were already clumsy inside the cover, and now being pushed around by the Arctic Circle made them feel even more dizzy. Their bodies were pressed against each other, and they soon became dizzy.

Fortunately, polar bears are not too persistent.

After trying for almost half an hour and failing to shake the little thing, the polar bear finally let them go temporarily and sat down next to the safety cover, panting.

It was not until this time that Jiang Ran had enough energy to wake up his unclear mind. He supported himself with both hands on the inner shell of the safety shield, moving himself a centimeter or two away from Xu Yang.

Unfortunately, her hands and feet were weak at this time. As soon as she exerted force, she fell back and fell directly on Xu Yang.

Xu Yang took a breath and said, "Can you please stop moving?"

"If you don't want to move, then don't move. Anyway, it's you who's being pressed down, not me." Jiang Ran said unhappily, "You still haven't told me where the space button and the safety shield came from? If I remember correctly, this seems to be against the regulations, right?"

"Isn't it for you?" Xu Yang was even more annoyed than her. "Who knows when you'll want to take some weird photos? I thought if you were concentrating, you might not be able to pay attention to the lifeboat, and you might get into danger. So I put a safety cover on you so you can shoot safely inside."

Jiang Ran then realized that he was doing this for his own good, and couldn't help feeling touched and embarrassed.

But she still felt a little confused. "But since you brought a space button, couldn't we have loaded our luggage into it during our long journey? Why did you carry it all the way yourself, working yourself to death, and never once did you use it?"

"Oh, don't try to trick me," Xu Yang said, "I've never done anything illegal or against any discipline since I was a child."

Jiang Ran laughed: "Earlier at the volcano, you drove the spaceship over here, isn't that considered a violation?"

When Xu Yang heard this, his face immediately turned sour. He said sullenly, "That was the first time I did something illegal."

Jiang Ran looked down at Xu Yang in surprise.

So much time has passed, and Xu Yang has never mentioned this matter. If he hadn't mentioned it today, would he never have told me?

Outside the safety cover is pure white ice and snow. The cold is so strong that even a breath can form cool icicles.

In the small space of the safety cover, the body temperature gradually permeates the air, making people feel a little warm in their hearts.

The author has something to say:

Polar Bear: Hello? Do you treat me like air?