Chapter 24: Skiing

The car drove for a long time, and just as Jiang Nai was dozing off after finishing breakfast, they finally arrived at a ski resort called Polaris, located north of Lake Tahoe, known for its top-notch service and facilities.

Li Qingji parked the car in front of the hotel, and as soon as they got out, Jiang Nai spotted Lu Feng and his girlfriend Lin Hui not far away, likely waiting for them. Both were dressed in ski gear; Lu Feng wore a flashy fluorescent yellow outfit, while Lin Hui was in pink overalls, her hair styled in two cute braids.

“You guys finally made it! We’ve been waiting for you forever,” Lu Feng said as he stepped forward to take their luggage. “Let’s go; we’ll drop off the bags first, rest a bit, then head to the slopes.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Nai replied.

“No need to be polite,” Lu Feng said.

The hotel was booked by Lu Feng, so naturally, they only reserved one room. After Jiang Nai and Li Qingji rested in their room for a bit and had some snacks, they followed Lu Feng and Lin Hui to the ski slopes. Since Jiang Nai had no skiing gear, they stopped by a ski equipment shop along the way.

She didn’t understand much about the items, just obediently followed behind Li Qingji, taking whatever he handed her.

“What color do you want?” he asked while choosing a jacket.

Jiang Nai hesitated in front of the colorful snow gear for a moment: “White?”

“Not that one.”

“Why not?”

Li Qingji shot her a glance and said bluntly, “If you drop it, you won’t find it.”

“…”

That made sense; in the vast expanse of white, a white snow suit would blend right in.

“Alright, then I’ll go with blue.”

“Sounds good.” Li Qingji picked out a small-sized set for her to try on first.

Lu Feng and Lin Hui were fully equipped, but in front of the shop, girls’ shopping desires always ran high. While Jiang Nai was trying on gear, Lin Hui had already picked out two more snow suits.

“Enough of that! You haven’t even mastered the basic moves yet; what’s the point of buying so many clothes?” Lu Feng teased.

Lin Hui shot him a glare: “What’s wrong? Are you not willing to spend?”

Lu Feng quickly smiled again: “Of course I don’t mind; buy as many as you like.”

The happy girlfriend let out a soft huff and scampered off to pick out clothes.

Lu Feng shook his head, standing next to Li Qingji: “Girls are really troublesome. Hey, does Jiang Nai do this too? She gets moody when in a relationship.”

Li Qingji, still holding a pair of snow boots, placed them on a chair and glanced at Lu Feng.

Lu Feng answered his own question: “I don’t think Jiang Nai would. She always seems so calm and quiet. Ah! That’s really nice, just great.”

Jiang Nai indeed didn’t get moody easily, but when she did…

Li Qingji recalled a few days ago at the hotel when she got angry with him for lying; her face was tightly drawn, frustrated yet trying to hold it back, which was rather amusing. Li Qingji silently curved his lips into a smirk.

At that moment, Jiang Nai came out in her new outfit, asking, “How does it look?”

Li Qingji assessed her for a moment, then said, “Looks good. Put on the boots.”

Jiang Nai took the snow boots and exclaimed, “They’re so heavy! How do I wear these?”

“Turn the button on top to tighten it, then tie the laces,” Li Qingji instructed.

Jiang Nai sat down and struggled to fit her feet into the boots. After some effort, she leaned forward for a while but still couldn’t figure out how to tighten them. Finally, she looked up at Li Qingji helplessly.

“…You said to turn which way?” she asked.

Li Qingji looked down at her and then at her boots, then knelt in front of her.

Jiang Nai was startled by his sudden movement and instinctively pulled her feet back, but Li Qingji gently pulled them forward again. “Don’t move; let me help.”

The snow boots were thick and snug around her calves, so she couldn’t feel his hands at all. Still, Jiang Nai felt a bit uneasy, both because of Li Qingji’s position and what he was doing. But since she genuinely didn’t know how to put on the boots, she slightly leaned forward and paid close attention to how he was doing it.

Tighten, turn, tie the laces… Li Qingji was very skilled and quickly helped her get the boots on.

“Got it now?” he looked up at her.

At that moment, Jiang Nai was looking down, and they almost bumped faces unexpectedly.

Both froze for a second.

Li Qingji’s gaze softened as he paused for a few seconds before asking, “I’m asking you, did you learn how to do it?”

Jiang Nai hurriedly straightened up, stammering, “Ah, yeah, I learned it. It looks pretty simple watching you.”

“Alright, then stand up. Let’s take a few steps outside.”

“Okay.”

Lu Feng led Lin Hui to the beginner slope for newcomers to practice skiing. Jiang Nai could only go there. Before heading up, Li Qingji taught her some basic knowledge, like how to put on and take off the snowboard.

“Earlier, you said the client was around here. Where are they?” Jiang Nai asked while warming up.

Li Qingji replied, “He won’t be in the beginner area.”

Jiang Nai paused. “True… so when are you meeting him?”

“No rush,” Li Qingji said. “Just focus.”

Jiang Nai straightened up. When she was younger, Jiang Nai had taken roller skating lessons for a while, and she was quite balanced, so she thought snowboarding, which also requires balance, shouldn’t be too difficult for her.

With confidence, she headed to a beginner slope and put on her board.

“Eh?” However, once her legs were strapped to the board, she suddenly felt a bit confused—how to get up from a sitting position?

“Give me your hand.”

Li Qingji’s voice came from above her. Jiang Nai saw him move in front of her.

She looked up and asked, “How do I stand on my own?”

The person in front of her had put on a face guard, so only his eyes were visible. His light-colored eyes had a hint of exoticism, looking stunningly beautiful. Jiang Nai didn’t dare stare into his eyes for too long and quickly averted her gaze.

Li Qingji said, “Stretch out your hand, and I’ll tell you once you’ve glided a few times.”

“Okay…”

Li Qingji pulled her up from the ground.

They started with learning the heel edge technique for going downhill. Jiang Nai noticed that although Li Qingji usually spoke little, he was quite good as a teacher. At least he was able to explain things clearly enough for her to understand.

The key points were to edge the board with the heel side, lean slightly forward with her upper body, sit back with her hips, bend her knees, and drop down…

Li Qingji stood in front of her, holding her hands, his gaze sweeping over her movements and posture. He commanded her not to look down but to keep her eyes straight ahead.

Jiang Nai had no choice but to look into his eyes, trying to keep her mind focused on snowboarding.

So, they glided down a few times, and Jiang Nai began to find some rhythm.

Meanwhile, next to them, Lu Feng and Lin Hui had moved from holding hands while skiing to playing a stacking game. Lu Feng would pick Lin Hui up and slide down with her or let her stand on his board, looking like they were playing out a romantic drama.

To be honest, it looked quite fun.

Because her legs were really sore at this point.

“Do you want to play like that?” Suddenly, Li Qingji’s chilly voice interrupted her thoughts.

Jiang Nai cleared her throat and said, “Of course not… only young couples play like that. I’m here to learn how to snowboard seriously.”

Young couples.

Li Qingji let go of her hands. “As long as you know you’re here to learn, try going down on your own.”

Jiang Nai felt a bit nervous.

Li Qingji reassured her, “I’ll be watching you. No need to worry.”

“Alright, so I’m going down?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Prepare, start sliding—

Jiang Nai slid down at a pace comparable to that of a turtle. Initially, she was managing fine, but soon the speed began to increase. Her heart rate rose with her panic, and her balance was immediately thrown off.

“Ah!”

With a thud, Jiang Nai fell back hard onto the snow. Fortunately, she was wearing protective gear under her clothes, so it didn’t hurt too much.

“What are you panicking for?” Li Qingji quickly came to her side. “If you control your balance, you won’t fall.”

Jiang Nai rubbed her backside, feeling that he was just making light of her situation.

Li Qingji bent down to unstrap her board. “Try again.”

Jiang Nai got back up. “Okay.”

However, the second attempt ended in another fall. The third time, the fourth time… Every time Jiang Nai felt she was about to glide successfully, she ended up crashing down in various awkward positions, eroding her confidence. Finally, after another fall, she simply lay on the ground and didn’t get up.

Li Qingji walked over and squatted down beside her. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Nai propped herself up on her arms and gave him a glance filled with resentment.

“Did you hurt yourself?” Li Qingji asked.

“It hurts,” Jiang Nai mumbled. “Didn’t you say you would watch me? Why do you keep letting me fall?”

Perhaps it genuinely hurt, as Jiang Nai, amidst her resentment, spoke with a hint of grievance. The sunlight fell into her eyes, making them glisten.

Li Qingji suddenly felt a twinge of softness and chuckled lightly. “I said I’d watch you, not that I’d stop you from falling.”

Jiang Nai was taken aback and raised her voice, “What’s the difference if you’re not stopping me?”

Li Qingji found it amusing. “Are you throwing a tantrum at me?”

Jiang Nai turned her head away, forcing a smile. “Boss, how could I dare?”

“Clearly, you’re afraid,” Li Qingji replied, removing her board again and holding it up. “This time, your posture was correct when you slid down, but in the middle, your focus was off. When you’re sliding to the right, look to the right—don’t just glance around. But you’ve made significant progress; you’re learning faster than others at the same level.”

Jiang Nai was still feeling down, but upon hearing the last part, her eyes lit up. She sprang up from the ground. “Really? Am I doing well?”

Li Qingji gestured towards Lin Hui, who was still wobbling down the slope while being held by Lu Feng. “Look at her; you can tell. She’s been practicing for two days.”

Jiang Nai thought to herself that Lin Hui hadn’t been learning; she had been too busy being lovey-dovey with Lu Feng to focus on skiing. Still, she felt quite happy. At least Li Qingji was praising her.

Jiang Nai went from having no confidence to being eager as she walked towards the conveyor belt. “Let’s go again; this time I’ll definitely do it!”

Li Qingji smiled slightly, handed her the snowboard, and didn’t join her on the lift.

“I’ll wait for you down here. Slide down by yourself.”

“…Alright.”

The beginner slope was quite short. Once Jiang Nai reached the top after riding the conveyor belt, she put on her board and stood up on her own. Looking down, she spotted Li Qingji’s position. Dressed all in black, only his eyes were visible, and they were intently watching her.

Jiang Nai felt an inexplicable surge of motivation. She wanted to prove to him that his praise wasn’t unfounded—she truly had talent and could quickly master the heel edge technique in a short amount of time.

Once ready, she took a deep breath and gradually began to glide down.

With her posture, focus, and strength… without Li Qingji nearby giving her instructions, she managed to move smoothly.

Everything was going well, and victory was in sight!

Jiang Nai sensed Li Qingji’s figure drawing nearer from the corner of her eye, and her heart raced with excitement from the speed.

She really could manage without falling!

She was approaching the bottom!

Jiang Nai let out a breath, no longer thinking about controlling her direction, allowing the board to glide downwards.

“Li Qingji! I can ski now!”

The weather was clear today, the sun gentle and shining on the snow, making it slightly blinding. Li Qingji wasn’t wearing goggles, and neither was Jiang Nai, so he clearly saw her approaching with her eyes smiling brightly, her gaze more dazzling than the sunlight.

His heart stirred slightly, and he unconsciously took a step forward, wanting to remind her not to let her guard down. Before he could say anything, he noticed her slightly wobble and lose control.

“Jiang Nai!”

But she was already completely out of control.

“Ahhhh—”

Just when Jiang Nai thought she was about to crash onto the snow again, she caught sight of someone rushing towards her out of the corner of her eye. In the blink of an eye, he caught her in a slightly chilly but secure embrace, tightly locking her waist and controlling her board to stop!

“I told you to pay attention to where you’re looking. Your gaze determines the direction of the board. Have you forgotten?” 

His slightly deep voice pierced through the face guard, sounding very close.

She looked up at him, her hands gripping his chest tightly. Perhaps due to the thrill, when she met his eyes, Jiang Nai felt her heart racing to an unbelievable speed, as if it were about to leap out of her chest. She even sensed a ringing in her ears.

Jiang Nai’s breathing was erratic. “I didn’t forget…”

Li Qingji replied, “Then why aren’t you balanced?”

“Okay, maybe I forgot a little…” Jiang Nai’s mind was a mess, unsure of what she was saying. “I suddenly lost control of my speed and thought I was going to fall hard again.”

Li Qingji shook his head, both helpless and amused. His hand, still resting on her waist, subconsciously rubbed her back. “What’s so hard about it? Didn’t I catch you?”

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