Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 61: Chapter 60: Thanks, No Haggling

Zhou Xiaotiao decided to give the photographer one last chance.

This time, after finishing a set of moves with a final wall-backflip, he landed steadily on the sand.

Zhou Xiaotiao stood up, habitually wiped his face, flicked off the sweat, and his gaze instinctively swept towards the guy with the badge.

He looked flustered, and his face wasn’t looking good either. Zhou Xiaotiao took a deep breath, and the exhilaration from exercising was instantly smothered by a more intense frustration.

”Where are the photos?”

Zhou Xiaotiao walked over, his voice slightly breathless, but he couldn’t suppress his impatience.

The sunlight was too glaring, so the photographer squinted, turning the camera screen towards Zhou Xiaotiao.

The moment the screen lit up, Zhou Xiaotiao almost choked on his own breath.

What the hell is this?

A blurry shadow with chaotic colors, it barely resembled a person, but where was the airborne moment? Where was the tension in the arched back while in mid-air? Where was the stability of the ankles snapping into place upon landing? It was all a blurry mess! The only clear thing was probably a few grains of sand kicked up before the jump!

”This?!” Zhou Xiaotiao pointed at the screen, his fingertip nearly touching it. ”Dude, I’m paying you to capture art! Capture the moment of power! Capture my pose in mid-air! What did you take? A moving mosaic? My grandma could do better with her old phone!”

Zhou Xiaotiao’s voice rose, and several skateboarders nearby turned their heads to look.

The sea breeze, tinged with saltiness, filled his mouth, but it couldn’t extinguish the anger in his heart.

”My backflip was so clean! The hovering feel! Do you even get the hovering feel? Your lens was trailing my ass, taking ghost shots?”

The photographer’s face turned red, mumbling excuses about ”the moves were too fast,” ”the sunlight was too strong,” ”I’ll be careful next time”...

In fact, finding a truly professional photographer at a scenic spot was as difficult as finding a model student in a nightclub.

Bullshit! All excuses!

Zhou Xiaotiao waved his hand irritably, as if shooing away flies: ”Alright, alright! Here’s your money. Hurry up, delete all those useless shots of me! Don’t leave a single one! Just seeing them pisses me off!”

Thinking about his powerful and tension-filled perfect moves being ruined by such crappy skills was more disgusting than eating a mouthful of sand.

Zhou Xiaotiao turned and left, feeling like everyone on the beach with a camera or phone seemed repugnant.

They know shit about photography, all they do is mindlessly click the shutter!

Too lazy to deal with anyone else, Zhou Xiaotiao walked over to a pile of discarded tires, sat down, and unscrewed a bottle of mineral water.

While gulping down the water, the stream down his throat brought a brief moment of coolness.

He looked down at the bulging veins and firm muscle lines on his arm, alongside the faintly exposed, sweat-glossed abs beneath his tank top —

This kind of line, this kind of sense of power, and no one could capture it? What a waste!

Not far away, a young girl holding a phone seemed to muster her courage, jogging over, her face flushed: ”Um... Handsome guy, your flip just now was amazing! Can I... take another shot? I didn’t get it right the first time...”

She timidly turned her phone screen towards Zhou Xiaotiao, and sure enough, it was another blurry remnant.

Zhou Xiaotiao glanced at the vague image, then looked up at her expectant yet nervous eyes. Somehow, the frustration ignited by the lousy photographer mixed with a bit of pride.

Perhaps it was because... the move was too quick and cool for ordinary people to capture.

Zhou Xiaotiao twitched the corner of his mouth, letting out a faint, sneering sound, neither agreeing nor refusing.

In the distance, the thumping bass beat was still persistently pounding, causing the sand beneath to slightly vibrate.

The girl, feeling a bit awkward and unsure of what to do, blushed and apologized before hurriedly running away.

Not far off, Jing Chaoyi and Li Younan watched the scene with interest.

To be exact, only Li Younan was watching with interest, while Jing Chaoyi wore a mildly indignant expression.

She snorted, ”What’s with that guy acting all high and mighty? Silly, with not a shred of manners, even if he didn’t want the shot taken, what’s with ignoring her like that.”

Li Younan knew Jing Chaoyi was empathizing with the girl and standing up for her.

But at that moment, the parkour guy stood up, crushing the empty bottle noisily, and kicked it straight into a trash bin several meters away. Then, he shouted loudly at the girl: ”Take another shot!”

The girl turned her head, startled. Then she saw the parkour guy sprinting over and performing a step-flip in front of her.

Landing, he let out a light chuckle, ”Got it?”

The corner of the girl’s mouth twitched slightly.

Witnessing this, Li Younan and Jing Chaoyi both couldn’t help but facepalm.

Jing Chaoyi blankly asked, ”Senior, what’s your take?”

Li Younan replied, ”With my eyes.”

Li Younan shook his head, no longer looking at that cringeworthy parkour guy, continuing to search for the next shooting subject.

That parkour guy was too full of himself. Li Younan didn’t want to photograph him, because it was just too funny. He’s very professional about taking pictures and doesn’t laugh, unless he can’t help it.

At that moment, a dude whose photo Li Younan had taken earlier brought another friend over, asking Li Younan to take a shot for him.

Li Younan was more than happy to help with that.

Because Li Younan had previously taken stunning photos for many people, several were now gathered around him, asking for his help with pictures.

Not far away, Zhou Xiaotiao suddenly noticed Li Younan being surrounded by the crowd.

...

Still carrying that mix of sweat and resentment, Zhou Xiaotiao walked towards Li Younan.

”Hey, take a shot?”

Zhou Xiaotiao lifted his chin and gestured to the distant low wall, ”Just there, the King Kong jump and cat hang... Forget it, you won’t get it.”

The tone wasn’t a negotiation, it was a notification.

As if capturing him in a photo was a gift in itself.

Li Younan had a peculiar expression, didn’t say anything, just nodded, his gaze going past Zhou to the wall he had chosen.

The sunlight was fierce, casting sideways, creating long, knife-like shadows across the wall surface.

Li Younan raised the camera, adjusting several settings rapidly, like breathing — shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity.

The lens was aimed at the wall, but not at the starting point, rather at the peak he was about to reach.

After all, Li Younan understood parkour.

Zhou Xiaotiao bounced in place a couple of times, exerting force from his ankles, like a wound-up spring.

Then, without warning, he sprinted, the soles of his feet exploding with power on the scorching sand, kicking up a small cloud of yellow dust. He pushed off the wall, leveraging his momentum, his body suddenly soared upwards, power traveling from his tense toes to his latissimus dorsi elongating into a beautiful arc.

”Click.”

Li Younan’s index finger gently pressed down, the shutter’s sound almost swallowed by the sea breeze.

Li Younan could feel the camera’s precise internal mechanics, perfectly capturing that fleeting moment of eruption.

Zhou Xiaotiao hung steadily at the top of the wall, moving cleanly and swiftly, then jumped down, brushed off the dust from his hands, and walked over with large strides, his face directly up to the camera screen, ready to critique again.

The screen lit up.

His face drew closer, then froze.

His eyes widened slightly, his breath seemed to halt for half a second.

On the screen, there was no blurred afterimage, no misfocused patches.

Only him, amid the glaring daylight and dark cement wall’s stark contrast, his entire body fully extended, as if breaking free from the constraints of gravity.

Power traveled from his straightened instep, elongated calf muscles, tightened core, to his spread shoulder blades, each stretch sharp, defined, full of explosive tension.

The background blurred, distorted by heat waves from the sand and sky, making his absolute subjectivity stand out at the peak moment.

The air fell silent for a few seconds, only interrupted by distant bass thumps and the sound of waves.

Zhou Xiaotiao didn’t speak.

His finger inadvertently rose, seemingly ready to touch himself on the screen, then stopped. He meticulously observed the picture, from left to right, from top to bottom, as if appreciating a rare treasure — and that treasure, was himself.

”Hmm...” He finally uttered a vague syllable, clearing his somewhat dry throat, his gaze still glued to the screen, ”This photo... not bad.”

The previous resentment and critique magically disappeared from his tone, replaced by an attempt to hide satisfaction that could not be concealed, his mouth even involuntarily curved upward.

[Ding, check-in task completed!]

[Random reward...]

[Reward Acquired: Carpentry Skill +1]

[Carpentry Skill lv.1: Precise positioning of mortises with one chisel, adjusting hands to achieve a 0.2-millimeter error tolerance structure, taming hardwood like leather (top brand tolerance requirement ±0.3mm)]

Carpentry?

Countless knowledge about wood types, processing characteristics, tool operation, various ancient mortise and tenon modern connections, surface treatments flooded into his mind.

And it would never be forgotten.

”Alright, it’s you. Come over later and help me take a complete set of photos.” Having said that, Zhou Xiaotiao turned to leave.

Li Younan didn’t move.

Zhou Xiaotiao turned back, raising an eyebrow: ”Come on...”

Li Younan calmly pointed at the photo on the camera, asking: ”Do you want this photo?”

Zhou Xiaotiao coughed and said, ”Not bad, I’ll take it.”

Li Younan showed a bright smile, saying: ”200 yuan.”

”Huh?”

”Thank you, no bargaining.”