Chapter Ninety-One: Photographing the Moon, Part One

It was time once again for the monthly break. Lin Nan put on the mask he had bought online, and as soon as classes ended, he set off for home with only a light bag on his back.

Last time, when Lin Nan had slipped out of the school gates to buy books, he had unexpectedly run into one of his middle-aged male fans outside the campus. After that, more and more people had recognized him, and he had nearly been surrounded.

Though he did not want to admit it, Lin Nan could now at least be called a celebrity.

Basketball still had a fairly wide audience across the Great Xia realm, after all.

This also indirectly proved how perfectly the first National High School Basketball League had come to a close.

So Lin Nan had started growing his hair out, no longer wearing that neat and simple cropped style.

He thought that by the time his bangs had grown in and the second National High School Basketball League began, he would no longer need to wear a mask when going out.

He did not want to be a star. He only wanted to be an ordinary person, free and unburdened.

With the mask to help him, Lin Nan managed to get on the bus without trouble.

The moment he got home, he saw Lin Lang and Ye Xinlan cooking together in the kitchen.

Lin Nan shouted, "Dad, Mom, I’m home!"

Then he kicked off his shoes and rushed straight to his room.

Just around the corner, he saw several boxes and packages placed on the floor.

Those must be the equatorial mount, the astronomical telescope, and the camera.

Although he had bought only entry-level brands, this setup could really only be used to view the moon and satellites, celestial bodies relatively close to Earth.

Even so, the seniors in the stargazing group still felt that Lin Nan was being a little wasteful with his money.

From their chats, they had already gathered that Lin Nan was basically a complete beginner in astronomy.

Their advice to beginners was to first buy a cheap pair of binoculars and use those to observe the heavens.

Once one had a rough grasp of the positions of the major constellations and galaxies, then one could think about photography.

But from their conversations with Lin Nan, they had also learned that he did not seem short of money, that he was modest in attitude, and that his knowledge of astronomy was advancing by leaps and bounds each day. He was, in their eyes, a very diligent beginner indeed.

So everyone was rather looking forward to what Lin Nan’s first attempt at shooting the night sky would turn out like.

Lin Nan himself also came to understand that book knowledge never quite feels real until one has tried it.

He had thought that by reading many images and tutorials, he had learned enough, but when the equatorial mount, telescope, camera, and the rest were actually laid out before him, he still had to follow the manual and search on his phone, installing everything step by step.

The astronomical telescope was just as it appeared on television.

First, the tripod used for support on the ground should be extended as little as possible, in order to lower the center of gravity of the entire setup.

The higher the tripod was raised, the less stable it became.

Then the equatorial mount had to be installed, aligned carefully with the mounting holes.

The screws at the base of the tripod had to be tightened firmly; they were what secured the equatorial mount.

The mount could not be loose, or it would greatly affect celestial observation.

One must not install the telescope first. The counterweight shaft and the balance weight had to be mounted before anything else.

Only after the weights were in place could the telescope itself be attached above them, to avoid the instrument falling.

Once the telescope was installed, the system had to be properly balanced. Only then would the equatorial mount operate smoothly and tracking accuracy improve.

...

After dinner, and after repeatedly studying the manual and asking the seniors in the stargazing group, Lin Nan spent the whole afternoon getting every detail of the telescope assembly and setup into his head.

After that, he kept disassembling and reassembling it over and over again. Each time he was faster than before, each movement more practiced than the last.

Only when he had reached the normal speed that the seniors in the group had described did Lin Nan finally stop to rest.

The seniors in the group found themselves liking Lin Nan, this beginner, more and more. Although he often asked questions that were very much beginner questions, his rate of progress was plain for all to see.

What teacher would not like a child who loved learning and was eager to learn?

Meanwhile, Lin Lang and Ye Xinlan remained on the sofa in the living room, watching television.

Watching Lin Nan constantly going in and out, rummaging through the toolbox in the living room at every turn, the couple felt a familiar warmth and happiness.

At that moment, Lin Nan looked rather like he had a year ago, when he trained in basketball: so earnest, so wholly focused.

The way a person looks when devoting himself seriously to something is very captivating to others, regardless of whether that person is male or female, young or old.

Although Ye Xinlan, with her middle-school education, could not understand what Lin Nan was doing at the moment, seeing her son so earnestly busy made her feel that he was very happy, doing what he truly wanted to do.

All Ye Xinlan knew was that Lin Nan was setting up an astronomical telescope.

And that tonight, their family would go to Qinglan Mountain to watch the moon.

Ye Xinlan was a little curious. What was so special about the moon? Was it not simply round, or sometimes curved?

Still, thinking of the bright moon, Ye Xinlan suddenly realized that the stars visible in the night sky now seemed far fewer than when she was a child.

Most likely that was because of environmental pollution.

As for Lin Lang, although in his past life he had been an outstanding teacher with a solid grasp of many subjects, he also knew that what mattered most to a teacher was not how much he himself knew, but whether he could teach every bit of what he knew to his students, one detail at a time, and guide them to learn on their own.

He also knew that astronomy was an extremely profound discipline.

If one were a researcher, one would need to master a great deal of cosmology and physics.

Even as an amateur, it would still take at least a year or two to get started.

Of course, for someone like Lin Nan, whose learning efficiency was astonishingly high and whose mind was quick and nimble in the prime of youth, that time would be greatly shortened.

Perhaps because he still carried the mentality of an old man from his previous life, Lin Lang simply stayed in the living room with Ye Xinlan and did not go over to study the telescope with his son.

But Lin Lang also knew that Lin Nan had already grown up, especially when compared with his peers.

Right now, Lin Nan stood out in both thought and action.

The "Million Club" had already given Lin Lang a tremendous surprise, and he believed that in the future Lin Nan would only keep surprising him more and more.

And as a man, Lin Lang was very happy to see Lin Nan grow up early, becoming independent and self-reliant, instead of forever teaching him hand in hand.

After dinner, Lin Nan found a large toolbox at home and carefully packed away the astronomical equipment after dismantling it.

Then the family went out together, and Lin Lang drove them toward Qinglan Mountain.

Qinglan Mountain lay in the suburban area of Qingshui County. From home, it took Lin Lang about half an hour to drive to the foot of the mountain.

As the nation’s economic level rose, more and more tourist attractions in Qingshui County had been developed, and Qinglan Mountain was one of them.

The citizens living in the city also seemed to be growing tired of the bustle of their nine-to-five lives, feeling that once in a while, going into the countryside to see mountains and waters and breathe some fresh air was a fine choice indeed.

As a result, the number of tourists at some of the county’s scenic spots was quite impressive, especially those from Linnan City.

During the May Day holiday, the number could even reach tens of thousands, turning the entire scenic area into a packed and crowded place.

Lin Lang also knew that ten years later, things would become even more severe.

A famous scenic spot where, during the National Day holiday, people waited in line for half an hour just to move one step forward—such scenes would often appear in the future.

But of course, that would not be happening now, and it was already evening.

So when Lin Lang drove up to the ticket office, there was not a soul in sight.

After parking the car, Lin Lang was just about to get out and pay for tickets when a car that had just passed by suddenly stopped ahead. A figure stepped out of it and hurried toward him.

"President Lin, what brings you here?" asked a middle-aged man, dressed respectably but with a very obvious beer belly, as he jogged over enthusiastically.

At the sound of the voice, Lin Lang turned to look.

The middle-aged man running toward him looked somewhat familiar. His surname seemed to be Li. He was the principal of Qinglan Mountain Martial Arts School, and also the person in charge of the scenic area on Qinglan Mountain.

He had been at the same table when Lin Lang last dined with the county education bureau chief.

Thinking of that, Lin Lang let a faint smile appear on his face and replied in a calm voice tinged with a trace of surprise, "Ah, Principal Li. My wife, my son, and I came to Qinglan Mountain to look at the stars. My son just bought an astronomical telescope. I heard the environment here is very good."

Principal Li froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that answer.

But he quickly said, "President Lin knows the place very well indeed. When the weather is clear, there are always people coming to Qinglan Mountain to photograph the stars, all of them astronomy enthusiasts. I didn’t expect your son to be interested in this as well."

After a pause, Principal Li continued, "Shall I accompany you all up the mountain?"

Lin Lang was just about to refuse, but then he remembered that the man was a local and must know the mountain well, and would surely know the best place for stargazing.

For his son’s sake, Lin Lang smiled and said, "Then I’ll have to trouble you."

"Not at all, not at all."

Principal Li’s face broke into a smile, as though guiding Lin Lang personally was an honor.

He turned and got into his car, and the guard immediately let them through.

Lin Lang drove behind him, without even having to buy tickets.

The car wound upward along the twisting mountain road. Inside, Lin Nan had an odd feeling.

He had heard every word of the conversation between his father and that man.

The address "young master" was truly strange to Lin Nan’s ears, leaving him with a feeling he could not quite describe.

Lin Nan asked, "Dad, why was that man being so enthusiastic toward you?"

Before Lin Lang could answer, Ye Xinlan smiled and said, "Because your father is remarkable, so people respect him."

Lin Nan half-understood and half-did not, thinking to himself:

That man had indeed been very enthusiastic just now, but it still felt a little awkward. He preferred the feeling he had when he was with Wang Jinsong and the others.

He did not want to become so "remarkable" in the future that everyone treated him like that.

About twenty minutes later, Lin Lang followed Principal Li’s car up to the summit, where they arrived before a huge iron gate.

Principal Li got out, used a key to open the gate, then got back into the car and drove inside.

Lin Lang followed behind.

At that moment, Lin Nan was sitting in the rear left seat by the window, gazing at the darkening night sky outside.

He did not notice that in an open area to the right of the car, a familiar girl was asking the man beside her curiously, "Dad, didn’t you say that people weren’t allowed up there? Then how did I just see those two cars driving up?"