“It’s under the soil.”
Danzeng pointed toward a small mound of earth.
“Dig around there.”
Lin Mo immediately crouched down and carefully brushed away the loose dirt.
A few seconds later, her eyes lit up.
“There really is one!”
She quickly dug out the mushroom and held it up like a trophy.
Her face practically glowed with accomplishment.
“But wait…”
She looked at him curiously.
“It was completely buried.”
“How did you know it was there?”
At least now she could confirm one thing.
The problem wasn’t her eyesight.
Danzeng smiled.
“Experience.”
Then he thought for a moment.
“And intuition, I guess.”
Lin Mo instantly deflated.
Of course.
That wasn’t something she could simply learn overnight.
The two continued foraging through the forest.
With Danzeng leading the way, their harvest quickly grew larger and larger.
Before long, they returned to the campsite carrying a bag full of wild mushrooms.
Back beside the stream, Danzeng got to work.
He connected the portable stove and poured purified water into a pot before lighting the burner.
Then he carried the mushrooms to the riverbank and carefully washed them.
Afterward, he took out a small cutting board.
Using a pocket knife, he sliced the mushrooms into thin pieces with practiced ease.
Canned meat.
Dried flatbread.
Seasonings.
Cooking utensils.
One by one, he arranged everything neatly beside the stove.
Before long, the simple outdoor meal looked surprisingly professional.
Lin Mo sat nearby watching.
Completely fascinated.
There wasn’t much she could help with.
So she simply observed.
For some reason, every step felt strangely enjoyable.
It reminded her of playing house when she was little.
“Do you eat spicy food?”
Danzeng asked while sorting ingredients.
Lin Mo shook her head.
The hand reaching toward the chili peppers paused.
Then he quietly put them away.
“You like spicy food, don’t you?”
Lin Mo felt slightly embarrassed.
“You don’t have to accommodate me.”
“I can try eating it.”
In her mind, people from Sichuan and Chongqing practically survived on chili peppers.
“It’s fine.”
Danzeng’s voice remained calm.
“I don’t really like spicy food either.”
Lin Mo nodded.
Completely unaware that he was lying.
Soon, the rich aroma of mushrooms drifted through the air.
The scent mixed with the fresh smell of grass and flowing water.
It was enough to make anyone hungry.
“It’s ready.”
Danzeng handed her a bowl and a pair of chopsticks.
“Come eat.”
By now, Lin Mo was starving.
She took a sip of the soup.
Then froze.
Her eyes widened instantly.
The flavor exploded across her tongue.
Whether it was because she was hungry or because the mushrooms were genuinely that delicious, she couldn’t tell.
All she knew was that it tasted amazing.
“This is incredible!”
Danzeng laughed.
“Incredible?”
“It’s just a random stew.”
“I don’t care what it is.”
Lin Mo smiled brightly.
“It’s really delicious.”
Then she added sincerely,
“Thank you for treating me today.”
“I didn’t help with anything.”
“And I probably wasted a lot of your time.”
Suddenly, Danzeng looked at her.
His expression grew serious.
“Lin Mo.”
The way he said her name made her instinctively look up.
Their eyes met.
His gaze was direct.
Warm.
Intense.
For a moment, everything else seemed to disappear.
“You don’t have to be so polite with me.”
The air fell silent.
Lin Mo’s heartbeat skipped.
Then stumbled.
For a brief second, a strange thought surfaced.
Am I imagining things?
Why did it feel like he treated her differently?
Better than everyone else.
Far better than everyone else.
A ripple of panic spread through her chest.
Almost immediately, she lowered her head and focused on her food.
As though eating could somehow save her.
Danzeng noticed her silence.
After a few moments, he quietly changed the subject.
“I’ll take you back afterward.”
“That’s enough activity for today.”
His voice returned to its usual calmness.
“You’re still adapting to the altitude.”
“You need more rest.”
Lin Mo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Maybe she really was overthinking things.
“Okay.”
She nodded quickly.
…
After returning to the guesthouse, Danzeng took out his phone.
“Now that we’ve officially met…”
A smile appeared on his face.
“Let’s exchange contact information.”
“You can send today’s photos and videos to my email later.”
“Okay.”
Lin Mo immediately pulled out her phone.
Her obedient response made Danzeng laugh inwardly.
Ever since they met, the word he heard most often from her was probably:
Okay.
At this point, he honestly couldn’t tell whether she genuinely had no temper…
Or simply couldn’t be bothered arguing with people.
…
Back in her room, Lin Mo finally felt her restless emotions gradually settle.
She sat quietly for a while.
Then shook her head.
What’s wrong with me lately?
There wasn’t much time to dwell on it.
Opening her laptop, she organized the photos from the day and sent everything to Danzeng.
Afterward, she picked up her sketchbook and paints.
She needed something to focus on.
Something to calm her mind.
The moment she closed her eyes, the scenery from the Eye of Genie resurfaced.
Towering snow mountains.
Endless grasslands.
A sky so vast it seemed to swallow the world.
The memory remained vivid.
And with it came a flood of inspiration.
For Lin Mo, landscape painting had never been simply about drawing scenery.
It was a conversation.
A journey of the soul.
As a professionally trained designer, she understood something many people overlooked.
Every line carried emotion.
Every brushstroke told a story.
Art wasn’t merely about reproducing what the eye could see.
It was about preserving what the heart could feel.
And she wanted to capture that feeling.
Preserve it.
Give it form.
Ideas began exploding inside her mind.
One after another.
Faster and faster.
Excitement surged through her.
She immediately began sketching.
Rough outlines.
Composition studies.
Color planning.
Every step was recorded using time-lapse photography.
Under her brush, clouds drifted across the page.
Snow mountains seemed to breathe.
Grasslands rippled with life.
Galloping horses looked ready to leap beyond the paper itself.
As she painted, a new idea gradually took shape.
What if the painting process could overlap with the real scenery?
What if viewers could witness not only the landscape itself…
But also the emotions behind its creation?
Then it wouldn’t simply be a painting.
It would become a dialogue.
A conversation between artist and nature.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.
The entire afternoon vanished in the blink of an eye.
By the time she finally finished the artwork, evening had already arrived.
Without even bothering to eat dinner, she rushed back to her computer.
The footage was imported.
Editing software opened.
And a clear vision began taking shape.
Each video would become a miniature landscape documentary.
It would begin with real footage.
Transition into the painting process.
Then gradually merge the finished artwork back into reality.
Until the boundaries between illustration and nature disappeared completely.
She wanted people to pause.
To slow down.
To appreciate the craftsmanship and emotion hidden behind every brushstroke.
Rather than rushing the edit, she carefully selected footage that conveyed growth and creation.
The confident lines used to sketch mountain outlines.
The playful energy of painting grasslands.
The delicate touches used to create tiny wildflowers.
Every frame carried the warmth unique to hand-drawn art.
She devoted equal attention to the sound design.
Instead of dramatic background music, she chose natural sounds.
The fluttering of prayer flags.
The distant calls of cattle and sheep.
The rhythmic thunder of horse hooves crossing grasslands.
Layered beneath them were sounds from her own creative process.
Pencil scratching against paper.
Brushes dipping into water.
Paint spreading across the page.
One by one, she blended everything together.
The result perfectly recreated the feeling she had experienced while creating the artwork.
A conversation with nature.
Pure.
Honest.
Real.
By the time she finished, the night was already deep.
Without hesitation, she created a brand-new account.
Then uploaded her very first video.
The moment the upload completed, she pressed play.
On the screen, painted snow mountains gradually merged with real peaks.
Illustrated clouds drifted alongside living clouds.
The sounds of pencils and brushes intertwined with mountain winds.
Watching it all unfold before her eyes, Lin Mo suddenly felt her vision blur.
Her eyes had become moist.
This wasn’t merely a design project.
It was a gift.
A gift born from the meeting of her senses, emotions, and the magnificent land of Genie.
People wouldn’t simply see beautiful scenery.
They would witness an artist using her brush to touch nature.
Using her heart to preserve beauty.
At that moment…
Lin Mo felt as though she had finally found herself again.
…
Meanwhile, Danzeng had spent the entire afternoon traveling between schools throughout the Genie region.
Whenever he returned home, he always brought supplies for the local children.
Books.
School materials.
Toys.
Even during his rushed stop in Kangding, he hadn’t forgotten to stock up on donations.
By the time he returned to the guesthouse, it was already late.
Exhausted, he entered his room.
Then opened his email.
Almost immediately, he noticed the files Lin Mo had sent.
To be honest, the marketing position he mentioned earlier had mostly been an excuse invented on the spot.
He hadn’t expected much.
But the moment he opened the first photograph…
The fatigue vanished from his eyes.
Every image was stunning.
The lighting.
The composition.
The atmosphere.
Everything felt fresh and unique.
Most importantly, every photograph reflected Lin Mo’s sensitivity toward the land.
Her perspective was different.
Gentler.
More observant.
For the first time, Danzeng fully understood just how talented she truly was.
Then he reached the final photograph.
And froze.
It was a picture of him.
His back faced the camera.
A black coat fluttered in the wind.
He walked alone across endless grasslands beneath towering snow mountains.
The vast wilderness surrounded him.
Yet instead of loneliness, the image radiated freedom.
Fearlessness.
The feeling of a man walking forward without concern for where the road might lead.
Danzeng stared at the screen.
For several seconds, he didn’t move.
She secretly took this?
A strange warmth spread through his chest.
Unexpected.
Yet undeniably pleasant.
Growing up, Danzeng had always hated being photographed.
But this one felt different.
The atmosphere.
The emotion.
The story hidden inside the frame.
Everything felt perfect.
Without hesitation, he changed his profile picture to the photograph.
Then he opened his chat window with Lin Mo.
After thinking for a moment, he typed:
The photos are excellent.
Especially the one of my back.
I really like that one.
…
At that exact moment, Lin Mo had just finished showering.
Hearing the notification sound, she casually opened the message.
Then immediately froze.
Her eyes widened.
Her brain short-circuited.
Wait.
How did I accidentally send him that photo too?!