The Snow Mountain, the New Moon, and Him

A sweet little road-trip story

In the middle of the night, Wen Sa squatted by the road to Lhasa, staring blankly at the night sky.

He'd been shooting until this late, and his phone was out of battery, his camera was out of battery, and he was about to run out of energy himself. So when Pei Yunsong leaned out of his off-road vehicle to strike up a conversation, Wen Sa's eyes lit up, while his heart sank.

His eyes lit up at the sight of the mountain lights: a cool car and a handsome man, a perfect shot.

His heart sank because he couldn't take it.

.

Professor Pei cursed Lin Meng in his head ten thousand times. If that unreliable guy hadn't gone home to be with his wife, Pei wouldn't have had to pick up a kid to work as his expedition photographer and help document plants in Tibet.

The kid had quit his job and headed straight for the plateau, with no idea what nature could do. He called rare plants weeds and a Tibetan brown bear Big Bear.

That would have been bad enough.

But he also kept pestering Professor Pei to pose for wilderness photos.

.

The snow-capped mountains towered above them, and the grasslands stretched far and wide. Professor Pei had broad shoulders and long legs, and strode ahead like the wind. Wen Sa chased after him with his camera.

Wen Sa: Professor Pei, Professor Pei, take off your windbreaker!

Wen Sa: Professor Pei, Professor Pei, take off your sweater!

Wen Sa: Professor Pei, Professor Pei, take off that old-man undershirt of yours...

Pei Yunsong finally lost his patience and pinned Wen Sa down on a meadow full of wildflowers. When they finally parted, Professor Pei was breathing unevenly. He warned Wen Sa, "Keep this up and you'll run out of oxygen, understand?"

Wen Sa: "Hee-hee. Really? I don't believe you."

.

Wen Sa spent a whole week waiting to photograph the moon rising over Namcha Barwa, a sight seen by only one in ten people. He checked his camera just as the clouds parted, only to find it out of battery.

Wen Sa had been crying with emotion, and now he cried even harder. He heard Pei Yunsong say something quietly in Tibetan beside him, and asked through his tears what it meant.

Professor Pei said it meant, "You're clever."

.

Only later did Wen Sa find out that the phrase meant, "The moon is beautiful."

Old-fashioned botanist (pursuer) x enthusiastic puppy-like photographer (love interest)

1. The locations are real, but the itinerary is fictional. Do not venture into restricted wilderness areas on your own, and know your limits when traveling at high altitudes.

2. Professor Pei's professional knowledge is accurate. As for Photographer Wen... I did my best (kneels).

3. The entire novel is finished and will update daily. Feel free to start reading~

Coming next: Dear, Please Stay in Human Form. The entire novel is being written in advance, please add it to your favorites ヾ(≧▽≦)

A collection of stories featuring nonhuman characters

Honored guest! (bows) (offers the menu with both hands) (plays refined music on bone strings)

Hello! Did you order the Cthulhu Cuisine omakase? (grins with eight rows of teeth)

Ah! It's you! Welcome, welcome! Enjoy your meal! (goes to fetch your food on all fours)

First course! (The chef is cooking up a storm.)

Pre-meal dessert!

Milk, almond, honey, and cat-tail biscuits! From Egypt! The chefs behind this dish are...

A righteous, brave young warrior and his cat god!

Sweet and warm, this is a dessert no one could possibly refuse before a meal~

Second course! (The chef is busily preparing the ingredients.)

Molecular cuisine!

Thick soup of silicon-based particles, seasoned with motor oil and nutritional fluid! From the year 2075! The chefs behind this dish are...

A brilliant, cool-headed engineer and his xx robot!

This dish is a little avant-garde, but we believe it's worth a try!

Third course! (Finished and waiting to be served.)

Seafood main course!

Seafood risotto with coral, oysters, pearls, wakame, and shark fin! From the deep sea! The chefs behind this dish are...

A sweet, well-behaved aquarium owner and his salty deep-sea merman employee!

This is also the dish with the strongest Cthulhu flavor! We're sure none of our Cthulhu Cuisine offerings would pass up a traditional seafood ingredient like a handsome merman! Of course, if you can't handle too strong a Cthulhu flavor, please consider your own tastes before trying it!

If anything happens while you're eating... [garbled text] Our restaurant accepts no responsibility!

Theme: Clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver. Protecting nature is everyone's responsibility.