Chapter 1 Focusing on the Ice Field (Part 1)
When Shi Banxia's lens frosted over, she lay helplessly in the snow, trying to use her body heat to save the camera battery in her arms.
"My camera!"
Looking at the frost and cracks on the lens, Shi Banxia felt like crying but had no tears. She wiped the lens haphazardly with her sleeve.
Ten minutes later, while she was still encouraging herself, "Stay calm! You can do it!" Shi Banxia was slapped hard by reality.
Ji Rendong stood a few steps behind Shi Banxia, her brows slightly furrowed, her voice still calm, carrying a hint of detachment: "I reminded you to bring protective bags. Ordinary equipment can't withstand the cold here."
Shi Banxia froze. She remembered the reminder she had deliberately ignored, opened her mouth, her throat tightened, and she couldn't say anything.
Shi Banxia stared at the lens in her hand and smiled self-deprecatingly. It turned out that the so-called "warm images" first had to fight against the malice of the sub-zero polar region.
Shi Banxia was a rising star photographer who was participating in an international photography exhibition in D City at the time.
The awards ceremony had just ended, and Shi Banxia, holding her Newcomer Award trophy, yawned. She wasn't really interested in winning; she was staring blankly at the tropical rainforest photo of herself on the screen.
"Xiaxia, look!" The assistant squeezed in and shoved the screen in front of Shi Banxia: "The polar expedition team is recruiting photographers. They say they want to leave behind a set of 'warm and touching polar images' in Country N!"
Aurora borealis, glaciers, and snowfields! Perfect for you!
Shi Banxia glanced at the screen and scratched her head: "The polar regions? Country N? Are you sure you're not kidding me? I've never been to such a cold place before..."
The assistant's eyes sparkled: "But they provide the latest antifreeze equipment, and the salaries are high! Don't you really want to give it a try?"
After a moment's hesitation, Shi Banxia's desire to chase the unfamiliar "aurora" ultimately overcame her fear of the cold.
"...I'll take this order."
One month later, at 78° North latitude, at the N country's scientific research station.
Wearing three down jackets and dragging her luggage, Shi Banxia looked at the endless snowfield and felt a chill creep up her spine.
She stood in the snow, her breath blurring her vision—a far cry from the aurora photography she had imagined.
But when the members of the expedition team warmly welcomed him into the house, he swallowed back the words "I want to go home" that were on the tip of his tongue.
Shi Banxia, with her cheerful personality and ability to chat and laugh freely with people she has just met, is naturally well-liked.
The team members warmly prepared a welcome party for her, but noticing that she was yawning frequently, they considerately ended the party early and took her to her room.
In the darkness, Banxia lay on her bed, looking at the "No Signal" message on her phone screen, and sighed deeply.
I simply tossed my phone aside.
"Since we're here, let's make the best of it! I, Shi Banxia, won't be defeated so easily!"
The next day, Ji Rendong, as a researcher and photography assistant, arrived at Shi Banxia's door. The result was—she stood there for half an hour, but the photographer inside didn't open the door.
Just as Ji Rendong was hesitating whether to open the door directly, the door opened.
Shi Banxia, sporting dark circles under her eyes and messy hair, looked up and met that cold, aloof gaze.
What came into Shi Banxia's view was Ji Rendong, who was wearing a black coat, with delicate features, a cold temperament, and an expressionless face.
Ji Rendong raised an eyebrow slightly—the photographer the team had found was actually a young girl who looked quite naive.
"Hello, I am Ji Rendong, the researcher in charge of assisting with the filming. Filming will begin in half an hour, please be prepared."
A cool voice came from above, instantly waking Shi Banxia from her daze, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Sorry! I overslept!"
After saying that, Shi Banxia turned around and rushed back to her room, hurriedly stuffing her camera and batteries into her bag: "Oh no... my first impression is ruined... what should I do? Hey? Where's my coat?"
Ten minutes later, Shi Banxia came out with her camera. Her hair was still slightly curled at the ends, but she looked more energetic.
Ji Rendong remained standing upright, handed Shi Banxia a work badge, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke softly:
"The shooting location is cold, which will greatly reduce the battery life of ordinary batteries and may cause frost to form on the lens. It is recommended to bring spare antifreeze batteries and a protective bag."
Shi Banxia patted her chest, her tone tinged with pride:
"Don't worry, the equipment is the latest, guaranteed to produce Hollywood blockbuster-quality results!"
Ji Rendong glanced at the camera in Shi Banxia's hand with a slightly suspicious look, then nodded lightly without saying anything more.
On the way to the filming location, Shi Banxia stole glances at "Miss Ji" beside her. She had been half asleep and busy getting the equipment, so she hadn't really gotten a good look at the other person.
Perhaps due to stereotypes, Shi Banxia always thought that scientific researchers were all unkempt people.
Ji Rendong is quite different—despite being a scientific researcher, she is so beautiful that it's impossible to look away.
She has fair skin, beautiful eyes that her dark circles can't hide, delicate features, and a cool and aloof temperament, like a cold moon in the polar night.
"Is she really a scientific researcher, or a celebrity?" Shi Banxia wondered to herself.
Their eyes met unexpectedly…
People can be really busy when they're feeling awkward. Shi Banxia lowered her head awkwardly and pretended to fiddle with the camera, while Ji Rendong just silently looked away.
The two remained silent the entire way. Upon arriving at the filming location, Shi Banxia, camera in hand, was ready to show off her skills—only to be met with a vast expanse of white snow.
Let alone animals, there are hardly any plants, right?
Suddenly, a snowflake landed on Shi Banxia's nose. Just as she was about to cry out, Ji Rendong gently pressed her shoulder and made a "shh" gesture, signaling her to look up.
Shi Banxia looked up and immediately spotted a greyish-gray puffin in the tree. Before Ji Rendong could speak, she couldn't resist raising her camera—
"Crackling sounds".
A crisp shutter clicked, startling the puffin. It flapped its wings, and a gray shadow quickly disappeared into the gray sky.
Shi Banxia was taken aback, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ji Rendong hesitate to speak.
"Ah...sorry! I forgot to turn off the shutter sound..." Shi Banxia scratched her head apologetically.
Ji Rendong gently shook her head: "It's alright. The animals here are naturally timid, so their high level of vigilance is a good thing."
Shi Banxia reluctantly put down her camera, feeling somewhat regretful. She had originally wanted to take her first photo of polar creatures, but her attempt had backfired.
Shi Banxia adjusted the camera settings, trying to capture the next scene. But what happened next constantly shattered Shi Banxia's confidence.
Over the next few hours, Shi Banxia, intentionally or unintentionally, did everything she could to scare away animals: flashing her camera frequently to frighten away the puffins, and nearly slipping while running to take pictures. After several mishaps, even the boldest Arctic hare hid in the snow.
Ji Rendong frowned, beginning to question the photographer's amateurish performance.
She didn't even make the basic preparations. Was she really here to work? Or was she here for tourism?
Ji Rendong remained silent, and Shi Banxia could sense his helplessness and dissatisfaction. Somewhat awkwardly, Shi Banxia obediently stayed close to him, holding her camera, and didn't make a sound.
Just as Banxia finally calmed down and was preparing to start shooting again, something even worse happened—the camera battery started issuing a warning: low temperature, low power.
Shi Banxia hurriedly raised her camera and looked at it, her face darkening – the lens was covered in white frost.
Shi Banxia hurriedly removed the batteries and stuffed them into her pockets. After searching through all her pockets, she realized she only had regular batteries. Her brows furrowed even more: "Oh no, I brought the wrong batteries..."
She secretly regretted taking the wrong ordinary battery that wasn't frost-resistant, and even more so, she regretted not listening to Ji Rendong and bringing a protective bag—that way, at least the lens wouldn't frost over...
Seeing Shi Banxia's flustered state, Ji Rendong, though dissatisfied with Shi Banxia's impetuousness, could understand the helplessness of a newcomer.
She experienced the same helplessness and confusion when she first arrived at the research station.
Ji Rendong glanced at Shi Banxia's face, which was red from the cold, pursed her lips, sighed almost imperceptibly, and finally spoke softly:
"It's getting windy, let's go back."
On the way back, Shi Banxia hurried along.
The snow was slippery, and Shi Banxia slipped and fell to the ground, the camera lens hitting the ground with a dull thud. She hurriedly picked up the camera lens.
"...My camera!"
Ignoring the pain, she hurriedly stuffed the battery back into her bag, picked up the lens, and wiped it haphazardly.
"I reminded you to bring a protective bag."
Ji Rendong sighed, reached out and helped Shi Banxia up from the snow, and said in a low voice, "Let's go back to the station and change the battery."
When Ji Rendong helped her up, Shi Banxia froze for a moment, then staggered to her feet, still clutching the camera tightly in her arms. Shi Banxia bit her lip, cursing inwardly:
Why did I even take this job...?
On the snowmobile that took them back to the station, Shi Banxia clutched a hand warmer tightly, rubbing her hands together in her seat...
Ji Rendong glanced at Shi Banxia's red, frostbitten fingertips and the frosty camera lens in her arms in the rearview mirror, then looked away and silently closed the car window.
Ji Rendong broke the silence, but her voice was devoid of warmth: "Ordinary batteries can't withstand the low temperatures of the polar regions. The temperature difference here is huge, and even exposed lenses will frost over within minutes."
Ji Rendong slowly spoke, adding, "Miss Shi, although this is your first time in the Arctic, you are not well prepared."
"Didn't you notice? Your device beeped three times while you were filming."
Shi Banxia didn't respond immediately. Her eyes welled up with tears, a mixture of shame and anger. She wasn't slacking off; who knew this godforsaken place could be this cold?
What bothered Shi Banxia even more was Ji Rendong's tone. It was as calm as if he were evaluating some unimportant experimental data.
Was Ji Rendong's statement one of concern or criticism?
Shi Banxia gripped the camera tightly, her knuckles turning white. She recalled the smugness she had felt before setting off, showing off her "latest equipment," but now she couldn't even do basic shooting.
Ji Rendong's words pierced her ears. She looked up out the car window, staring at the puffins flying over the distant ice field—that should have been the first polar image she had ever taken.
"I will definitely take better pictures," Shi Banxia said softly, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.
Shi Banxia gritted her teeth and secretly vowed, "Ji Rendong, I will make you understand—I can definitely do well, I don't give up so easily."
After a long pause, Shi Banxia's muffled voice finally came from the back seat: "Thank you... Miss Ji..."
A note from the author:
Xia and Dong are both very, very good children!
The series is ongoing and I have a backlog of chapters. Because I am currently very busy, except for the first six chapters, I will update every other day unless there are special circumstances. Please understand!
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