Chapter 5 Summer Malfunctions on the Ice Field (Part 1)
"...Stop running, watch where you're going."
"oh…"
Shi Banxia awkwardly shut her mouth and followed Ji Rendong.
"We're going to the seal habitat to film tomorrow," Ji Rendong said.
"Really?! That's great!" Shi Banxia almost jumped up. Ji Rendong gently steadied Shi Banxia, who was slipping on the snow again. "Well, don't forget you've been training for a week. Don't get confused."
Shi Banxia stuck out her tongue in a corner where Ji Rendong couldn't see her, and said, "Okay."
The two chatted casually for a while and soon returned to the research station.
Before entering the room, Shi Banxia suddenly turned back and asked, "Sister Rendong, why aren't we continuing the filming?"
Ji Rendong paused, her fingers unconsciously curling slightly: "There's no other reason, I just feel that scientific research is a higher priority."
It's practically a copy-paste of Nanxingwan's words...
Shi Banxia reached out to stop Ji Rendong. "You're lying." Shi Banxia stared into Ji Rendong's eyes, as if trying to see through her.
Ji Rendong turned slightly to the side, lowering her eyes to avoid Shi Banxia's gaze, "You're overthinking it."
Before Shi Banxia could ask any further questions, Ji Rendong strode away without looking back, leaving Shi Banxia with only her back to him.
Shi Banxia was speechless. She crossed her arms and looked in the direction Ji Rendong had left, muttering under her breath, "Workaholic! Speechless!"
Early the next morning, Shi Banxia and Ji Rendong stood in the snow and ice.
Shi Banxia held the camera, looking confident—but her shivering from the cold was really funny.
Ji Rendong squinted, put on his sunglasses, and handed a pair to Shi Banxia as well. "There are no clouds today, and the sun is shining brightly. Be careful of snow blindness."
Shi Banxia took the sunglasses from Ji Rendong and accidentally touched her hand.
So warm.
Shi Banxia withdrew her hand and hurriedly put on her sunglasses. She gently rubbed her fingers, secretly savoring the warmth.
Shi Banxia looked at her reflection in the camera lens, nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and proudly shouted into the wind towards Ji Rendong, "Sister Rendong! How was it? Wasn't it cool?"
Looking at Shi Banxia's smug and childish appearance, Ji Rendong coldly left with the words, "Wear it properly, so it doesn't fall off later."
The two men, traveling in a snowmobile, soon stopped in an open area. Not far ahead was the coastline, with a layer of grayish fuzz on the ice floes—seals.
Shi Banxia's eyes lit up, but she was also a little puzzled: "Why did you stop walking?"
Ji Rendong unbuckled her seatbelt. "Today's filming assignment is to film seals. The SUV is too loud and will scare them."
Shi Banxia nodded. "Yes! The training said that seals are very sensitive and easily startled."
Ji Rendong helped unload the equipment from the car. "Well, that's why we can only use telephoto lenses. Getting too close will scare them."
Shi Banxia, camera in hand, followed Ji Rendong to the pre-selected location for filming. Seeing Shi Banxia's cautious yet serious demeanor, Ji Rendong finally breathed a sigh of relief—the week-long training had been worthwhile.
Just then, a seal poked its head out from not far from where the two were standing.
Shi Banxia suddenly became interested and stood up, but Ji Rendong quickly stopped her: "Don't go! Getting too close to them will cause a stress reaction."
Shi Banxia stood there stunned, then gave an awkward laugh, "No... my legs just went numb, I was just standing up to rest for a bit..."
Ji Rendong coughed twice and turned her head to the side, "Sorry..."
Seeing Ji Rendong's unusually somewhat helpless expression, Shi Banxia found it a little funny. She thought Ji Rendong was being too cautious. Wasn't seizing a rare filming opportunity also part of the job?
The wind on the snowfield was cold, carrying a strange odor that landed on the two of them—a fishy, sour, foul smell, unlike the one emanating from the seal pack.
Shi Banxia took a light sniff and froze on the spot, while Ji Rendong couldn't help but frown.
Shi Banxia gripped the camera tightly, a strange nervousness rising in her heart: "What's that smell...?"
Ji Rendong took a while to speak: "Maybe..." She opened her mouth, hesitating whether to continue.
Shi Banxia looked around and suddenly her eyes widened – on the ice floe not far away, a small seal was lying on its side, its pink belly pressed against the ice, its black bean-sized eyes half-open, staring blankly at the sky.
Shi Banxia's breath caught in her throat, her eyes instantly reddened, and stomach acid surged up uncontrollably. She couldn't help but take a step forward, but was stopped by Ji Rendong.
Ji Rendong pursed her lips. "Don't come any closer."
Shi Banxia stared blankly at Ji Rendong for a moment before finally uttering a few words: "Why?"
Shi Banxia took a step forward, her voice trembling with urgency, "But it's dead... We have to go and see...!"
Ji Rendong also stepped forward, saying, "No, we can't get close. That's the rule."
"Regulation--?!"
Shi Banxia raised her voice, "Rules?! But it's still a baby! Maybe...maybe there's still hope? We can't just let it go like this, can we?!"
Ji Rendong shook his head, his tone devoid of any emotion. "Judging from the smell and shape, it has been dead for more than 24 hours and has no vital signs."
"Banxia, there's nothing we can do."
It was that same calm, almost cold tone again. It was as if he were stating a fact, shattering even Shi Banxia's last shred of illusion.
Shi Banxia's breath hitched. Ji Rendong's tone was too calm. In her eyes, were her anxiety and sadness really superfluous?
Shi Banxia sneered, "Powerless? So we just take a few pictures from afar and then pretend nothing happened? Is this what you call 'prioritizing research' in your work?"
"You gave up photography and chose scientific research, only to find out that you were just coldly recording death?"
"What do you know!"
Faced with Shi Banxia's slightly accusatory sarcasm, Ji Rendong's voice suddenly rose, but she quickly lowered it again, "Recording the cause of death, analyzing environmental data, and preventing more deaths—that's true responsibility! Not rushing in and shedding a few useless tears! Sentimental sympathy is worthless here!"
Ji Rendong took a deep breath, suppressing her agitation. "Getting close to it is a disturbance. Your footprints and your scent will scare away other seals, and may even attract predators. Banxia, respecting nature means accepting death first."
"Useless tears...worthless...?" Shi Banxia's voice lowered, no longer looking at Ji Rendong. She turned her gaze to the little seal, "So, in your eyes, this kind of sadness is superfluous?"
Ji Rendong didn't speak, but lowered her eyes slightly and silently adjusted the equipment. Her movements were professional and swift, as if the momentary lapse in composure had never happened.
Looking at Ji Rendong's silent profile, Shi Banxia angrily raised her camera, but through the viewfinder, she could no longer see the distant seal pack, but rather the little seal's dull eyes and its vulnerability as it lay alone on the ice.
Shi Banxia's fingers trembled as she gently stroked the shutter button. It was a familiar action, yet at this moment it felt too heavy to press.
"So this is the only way..." Shi Banxia said softly, "If there's no way to save this little life, what's the point of all these pictures, data, and research?"
Ji Rendong paused for a moment, but she didn't turn around. She simply said, "It's so that more lives can be saved."
Ji Rendong's tone softened a bit, "Its cause of death may be related to the safety of the entire population. Was it pollution, disease, hunger, or other environmental factors? Only by figuring these things out can we avoid more 'helplessness.' That's the significance of our scientific research."
Shi Banxia looked at Ji Rendong, then turned her gaze to the sky, giving a self-deprecating laugh, her voice tinged with a sob, "So, it's about accepting death? How easy it sounds..."
Shi Banxia lowered her eyes to look at the still, heartbreaking gray figure in the camera, and took a deep sniff—the camera had become her only outlet and support at this moment.
The seagulls in the sky suddenly scattered, and the seals in the distance let out uneasy cries. Ji Rendong looked up sharply, warily glancing in the direction of the seal pack. He saw the seals gliding into the water.
“Something’s not right,” Ji Rendong said, quickly packing up his equipment, his tone unusually urgent. “We need to leave immediately!”
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