Bestowal of Colors (Road Trip)

Ninema was an orphan abandoned at a lama temple and raised by the temple's Khenpo. At 22, she finally left her hometown to work as a temporary, peripheral employee at the Shazhou Mural Research Institute.

During the busy summer season, Ninema was assigned to pick up a person. It was said that this was a pioneering artist whom the director had invited many times before he agreed to come.

The wind was strong that day, making her feel a little foolish. She saw the man wearing sunglasses, his hair wildly disheveled by the wind. His thin, dark coat billowed, revealing his lean and strong forearms. He was wild, expensive, and untouchable.

The sand and wind blurred Ninema's vision, and in her nervousness, a local accent slipped out: "Are you Zhou Qiyan?"

"..." Zhou Qiyan's ethereal demeanor was momentarily interrupted.

Her name is Ninema, which means 'ancient' or 'old'. Initially, Zhou Qiyan felt that she was just like her name.

Later, by the Kunlun Mountains' Yaochi at an altitude of 4300 meters, Ninema, enraged and embarrassed, said, "Zhou Qiyan, if you keep doing this, I'll kiss you until you suffocate."

Zhou Qiyan tapped an unopened oxygen tank, squinting with a smile: "Come on." He thought such a traditional girl would silently consent to a lifetime together.

But to his surprise, he was just a romantic encounter Ninema allowed herself. An arrogant academic meets a free-spirited, Buddhist-leaning individual; a distinguished artist bows his head in love and surrender.

Those ancient civilizations gradually became clear as they journeyed through the Northwest. *The title comes from Xie He's "Gu Hua Pin Lu" (Ratings of Ancient Paintings) from the Southern Dynasties.