Extra 03

On the first day of the holiday, Li Qingji and Jiang Nai set out for the airport early in the morning. On the way, Jiang Nai sent messages in the group chat with Xue Lin and Lin Hui. Both of them had met previously when they attended her wedding in Melbourne.

At that moment, Jiang Nai and Lin Hui were passionately complaining in the group chat about Xue Lin’s boldness. This time, Xue Lin had brought her new boyfriend along—who happened to be a 19-year-old younger guy.

“Won’t you get carsick staring at your phone all the time?” Li Qingji glanced at her and asked.

Jiang Nai swiped her phone downwards and admitted, “A little dizzy…”

“What are you chatting about so happily?”

“Nothing much. It’s just about Xue Lin bringing her boyfriend along. I haven’t met him yet, so I’m just a bit curious,” Jiang Nai explained. “Do you know how old her boyfriend is?”

Li Qingji asked, “How old?”

“Nineteen.”

Li Qingji said, “Just started college?”

Jiang Nai replied, “Sophomore year. They met on the street. Xue Lin thought he was cute and just went up to ask for his WeChat. One thing led to another, and here they are. Pretty bold, huh?”

Li Qingji chuckled softly.

Jiang Nai continued, “She was like this back in college too. Very daring. I remember one time she even dragged me along to ask for a junior’s WeChat.”

“You went to ask for someone’s WeChat?” Li Qingji asked, clearly interested.

“I was just dragged along. She’s the one who asked the junior for his WeChat, not me. At the time, I already had—”

Jiang Nai’s voice suddenly cut off, and she stopped herself just in time. What she had at the time, she couldn’t say out loud. However, Li Qingji quickly figured it out.

She probably meant that she already had someone she liked back then. That person was Pei Xuan, the one who made her join the programming club even though she didn’t know a thing about coding.

“Anyway, Xue Lin was so enthusiastic that she ended up scaring that junior away,” Jiang Nai redirected the topic.

“Mm,” Li Qingji responded calmly.

Jiang Nai pursed her lips and glanced at him.

He leaned back in his seat, his expression as neutral as ever.

Feeling a little guilty for some reason, Jiang Nai quietly observed him for a while before sneaking another glance. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Li Qingji turned to look at her and said, “Listening to you.”

Jiang Nai cleared her throat. “I—I’ve finished talking. After that, the junior ran off, and that was the end of it…”

“Mm,” Li Qingji said. “Do you want to rest for a bit?”

There was still half an hour before they reached the airport, and Jiang Nai, who had been excited and woke up early, was indeed a bit sleep-deprived. After silently observing Li Qingji for a while and realizing that he didn’t seem angry about her unfinished sentence, she relaxed a little.

“Okay, I’ll rest for a while.” She leaned close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Li Qingji adjusted his posture slightly to make it easier for her to lean on him as she closed her eyes for a nap.

After a short rest, they arrived at the airport. They went to the waiting area, where they spotted a group of people chatting happily from a distance. Jiang Nai raised her hand in greeting, and Lin Hui noticed her.

“Jiang Nai!”

Jiang Nai walked over and sat next to her. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Lin Hui waved it off. “Not at all. We were just talking about your wedding in Melbourne. It was so much fun.”

Xue Lin said, “Yeah, yeah. If someone gets married again, it’d be great to go somewhere like that again.”

Lin Hui replied, “Then you should be the next one!”

“Me?” Xue Lin laughed. “My boyfriend isn’t even old enough for the legal marriage age yet.”

“Jie, if you’re willing, we can get married the moment I reach the legal age,” said the young boy sitting by the window, his expression full of sincerity.

Jiang Nai glanced over and sized him up.

He was good-looking and had that… “puppy-like” charm.

Xue Lin was startled by his bold words and gave him a meaningful look. “Don’t say things like that so casually.”

“I’m not saying it casually,” he insisted earnestly.

Xue Lin smiled but chose not to continue the topic. “I forgot to introduce him. Jiang Nai, this is my boyfriend, Xu Guannan. Xu Guannan, this is my good friend I told you about, Jiang Nai.”

Xu Guannan stood up with a bright smile and said, “I know. Hello, jie!”

Jiang Nai hesitated for a moment and responded, “Hello, hello…”

Xue Lin continued, “And this is her husband, Li Qingji.”

Xu Guannan looked toward Li Qingji. Li Qingji had already glanced over when Xu Guannan first called Jiang Nai “jie.”

Just moments ago, when Xu Guannan greeted Lu Feng, he had cheerfully called him “Feng-ge” with ease. But now, facing Li Qingji, he found himself a bit tongue-tied. The aloof demeanor exuding from Li Qingji made him hesitant to approach him with the same familiarity.

“… Hello,” Xu Guannan finally managed to say.

Li Qingji replied with a faint “Mm” before withdrawing his gaze.

Everyone there knew what Li Qingji’s personality was like, so they didn’t find the interaction awkward. Once introductions were over, the girls quickly resumed their lively conversations.

Lu Feng sat down next to Li Qingji and whispered, “Jiang Nai’s friend really has a thing for younger guys, huh?”

Li Qingji shot him a glance.

Lu Feng continued, “Is this what women like nowadays—college boys? What do you think? Is he okay?”

Li Qingji replied coolly, “Better than you.”

Lu Feng dropped his voice. “Better than me? Really? Am I not as good-looking as him?”

Li Qingji, clearly done with the conversation, stood up. “I’m going to get something to drink.”

Lu Feng immediately followed. “Hey, clarify this! Are you saying I’m not as handsome as that kid? Seriously?”

At the counter, Li Qingji poured himself a cup of coffee and then a glass of milk. “This kind of question—shouldn’t you ask your girlfriend? Why are you pestering me about it?”

“You’re the one who said he’s better than me!”

“And my opinion matters that much to you?”

“Of course! You’re the man I love most!”

Li Qingji’s face instantly went cold. “Get lost and go grab drinks for the others.”

Lu Feng: “…Oh.”

Li Qingji returned with the coffee and placed another cup of milk in front of Jiang Nai. After a while, the plane took off. The journey was long. By the time they landed and drove to the resort, it was already completely dark.

Fortunately, the resort had excellent facilities, with various restaurants, leisure shops, and even bars. After checking into the hotel that evening, they found a nearby restaurant for dinner and then called it a night.

The next morning, they officially went out for skiing. Jiang Nai hadn’t touched skis or boots for a long time. As she put on the boots, she felt as though her feet weren’t her own—they felt clumsy and heavy.

“Wait for me, wait for me!”

In contrast to her, Li Qingji seemed completely unaffected by the ski boots. Even in loose ski pants, his long legs were evident, and he took one step that covered two or three of hers. He was even holding two snowboards, one of which was hers.

He turned back to wait for her.

Jiang Nai followed along, huffing: “I think I’ve gotten worse. I can’t move properly.”

Li Qingji: “Get used to it. Whether you’ve regressed or not, we’ll find out when you get up there.”

Jiang Nai: “Oh.”

Lu Feng and the others were already waiting at the cable car station. When the two of them arrived, the group rode up the mountain together. Li Qingji was not at ease about Jiang Nai’s first attempt at skiing after such a long break, so he was very cautious. After warming up on the mountain, he carefully reiterated all the safety precautions and followed behind her as she skied the intermediate slope.

Jiang Nai was indeed a little rusty. After a short while, she fell face-first into the snow.

Li Qingji skied up from behind, smoothly turning to a stop in front of her and skillfully using the front edge to stabilize himself. He helped her up from the ground.

“Watch your line of sight,” Li Qingji steadied her. “Does it hurt?”

Jiang Nai shook her head, still a bit excited: “It’s been so long since I fell like this—I kind of missed it. What’s wrong with me?”

Li Qingji paused: “Do you like falling?”

Jiang Nai’s eyes smiled behind her snow goggles. “Nope! I’ll do my best not to fall next!”

Lin Hui and the others had also started on the same slope for their first run and quickly arrived nearby.

“You fell? Are you okay?” Lin Hui stopped and asked.

Jiang Nai: “I’m fine, I’m fine. I just wasn’t careful.”

Whoosh—

As the two spoke, a blue figure sped past them, performing a very clean and impressive inside-turn Ollie 180.

“Wow… That’s so cool,” Jiang Nai couldn’t help but exclaim.

Lin Hui: “Xue Lin’s boyfriend has pretty good skills, huh?”

Jiang Nai nodded in agreement.

Lin Hui said, “Alright, Jiang Nai, I’m heading down.”

“Oh, okay.”

Jiang Nai was also about to continue skiing. Before she did, she asked Li Qingji: “Is what Xu Guannan did just now considered really good?”

Li Qingji let go of her and said indifferently, “That’s basic.”

“That’s basic? Then what am I?”

Li Qingji didn’t hold back: “A beginner.”

Jiang Nai: “…”

“Don’t get impressed so easily. Improve your standards,” Li Qingji said, lightly tapping her helmet. “Let’s go down.”

“…Oh.”

Li Qingji helped Jiang Nai down the slope three times, and on the third attempt, she smoothly skied down on her own. Only then did he feel at ease and head to the advanced course with Lu Feng. Jiang Nai originally wanted to try it too, but one stern look from him told her not to seek her own demise.

So Jiang Nai stayed on the intermediate course with Lin Hui and Xue Lin.

“As expected, older men are more patient. Xu Guannan ran the intermediate course with me once and immediately went off to the advanced slopes to play,” Xue Lin complained when they were at the mountain summit.

Lin Hui replied, “Young guys are like that.”

Xue Lin sighed, “This is the time when I envy your boyfriends.”

“Come on, he’s not my boyfriend; he’s Jiang Nai’s boyfriend,” Lin Hui clarified. “Li Qingji is so afraid she’ll get hurt that he stayed behind her for all three runs. Lu Feng doesn’t do that.”

Xue Lin added, “That’s married-man behavior for you. He knows what’s up.”

Jiang Nai coughed lightly. “It’s mostly because I’m not very skilled.”

The three chatted for a bit longer and then skied down happily. After two more runs, they rested at the base of the mountain, deciding not to go back up for now. Sitting on a chair, Jiang Nai texted Li Qingji on WeChat.

[We’re taking a break and want to grab something to eat. Where are you guys?]

Surprisingly, Li Qingji replied quickly:
[We’re at the top, coming down now.]

[Okay, we’ll wait for you.]

Jiang Nai put down her phone. “Li Qingji said they’re coming down soon.”

Lin Hui perked up. “Really? Let’s wait for them near the slope so we can record a video of the guys.”

Hearing that, Jiang Nai recalled a time in the U.S. when they were also waiting at the base. She had recorded a video of Li Qingji jumping off a snow mound. She’d kept the video ever since and had even rewatched it secretly at home before coming on this trip.

It was so cool.

Jiang Nai, clearly interested, agreed, “Alright, let’s go over there!”

The three girls changed spots and found a spot near the base of the advanced slope where they could get a good view. After waiting for a short while, familiar figures appeared in the distance.

Xu Guannan wore blue, while Lu Feng, ever flamboyant, stood out in bright orange-yellow gear. Li Qingji’s snow outfit was white, but he was easy to spot thanks to the misty blue snow goggles Jiang Nai had gifted him.

The three of them skied down one after the other, picking up impressive speed.

Jiang Nai took out her phone.

“Hey? Are they hitting the snow mounds now?”

Lu Feng led the way, jumping off the snow mound first. Right behind him, Xu Guannan followed suit, mimicking his jump.

Lin Hui observed, “Looks like they just learned that—pretty impressive. He didn’t dare try it before. Hey, Xue Lin, your little boyfriend’s not bad.”

Xue Lin replied, “I’d never skied with him before, so I didn’t know he was this skilled.”

Just as they finished speaking, a white figure suddenly soared off the snow mound in Jiang Nai’s video. Unlike the two earlier, this figure didn’t just jump; he spun midair, carving a perfect arc before landing smoothly.

The two girls exchanged a glance. “Holy—! That’s amazing!”

They completely forgot about complimenting their own boyfriends earlier.

Jiang Nai’s heart, which had leapt along with that figure, finally settled as he landed. It kept thudding uncontrollably in her chest.

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