Chapter 22

Chapter 22

*

Jin Mo didn't catch the deeper meaning in Chen Yuanshan's words, simply assuming he was trying to win Yin Jihong some favor. Thinking about it, that made sense too.

After all, someone had gone to all that trouble to hook her up with top-tier gear for her Xinjiang trip. Since she'd already brought it all, she might as well lug it around.

Her ski suit was already heavy enough, so one more backcountry backpack wouldn't make much difference.

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze from Jin Mo, his gaze briefly locking with Chen Yuanshan's for a silent two-second exchange.

Wang Xu couldn't explain why, but he felt the temperature around them drop a few degrees. He rubbed his arms and said to Jin Mo and Shen Yi, "Alright, let's move!"

Chen Yuanshan's easy smile was back as he said to Jin Mo, "Momo, stay safe. I've got something to take care of first—I'll come in later to film you."

Jin Mo waved at him and replied with a smile, "Okay."

The backcountry ski park was massive, with rolling trails spreading out across the mountain. Deep snow blanketed the uneven rocks and trees, untouched by grooming machines, keeping the snow soft and pristine.

Sunlight sparkled across the powder snow, catching in fine silver glints. Standing at the top of the slope, Jin Mo took a deep breath of the crisp air, pushed off gently, and glided down the trail.

She moved with agile grace, keeping her center of gravity low. Her ski edges cut through the fluffy powder, kicking up sprays of white snow. When she hit the rolling bumps, she caught air, landing steady and light, her movements flowing as if she were one with the snow.

The unpredictability and rough terrain didn't rattle her—if anything, it made her eyes light up with excitement.

Every turn, every speed check had just the right amount of force—the crisp precision of a pro blended with a young woman's natural agility, carving clean, beautiful arcs across the white expanse.

Wang Xu and Shen Yi followed behind her. Wang Xu couldn't help shouting, "Momo, that was awesome! Your speed control is insane!"

She heard the wind whistling past her ears as Wang Xu kept the praise coming: "That turn—your edge bite was so steady and precise! Even smoother than at Keketuohai last time. You haven't lost a step!"

Wang Xu was the type of coach who never skimped on encouragement—if there was anything worth praising, he'd lay it on thick. Even someone as level-headed as Jin Mo couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed by the barrage of compliments, though a small swell of pride rose in her chest.

The action camera on her helmet was steadily recording her first-person view, the lens tracking her every move, capturing every frame of powder spray and ski carving.

After finishing a run, she leaned against a tree to rest and casually sent the clip she'd just recorded to Yin Jihong.

Baby: "Got it."

The reply was a bit odd. She couldn't help asking, "Got what?"

Baby: "I know what I gotta do."

Baby: "I'm texting Wang Xu right now to get you on the national team."

Baby: "With that level of skill, you're taking the championship next year, no question."

She couldn't help but laugh at his goofiness.

Actually, before Yin Jihong officially brought Wang Xu in as her coach, all of her skiing foundation and technique had come from him.

Later, she'd found out by chance from the coach who'd taught them as kids that back then, besides training with her on weekends, Yin Jihong had also put in extra practice on his own every morning and evening—all so he could help her fine-tune her technique when they skied together.

She knew better than anyone that Yin Jihong didn't actually love skiing the way she did, and he wasn't all that into tennis either. He was naturally gifted—whatever he set his mind to, he could nail it without breaking a sweat. So the reason he put in the time to master all this was never for himself. It was always so she could enjoy the things she loved to the fullest.

Her thoughts drifted back to their last trip to Keketuohai. When she'd stopped mid-run to rest, Yin Jihong would ski by and love to pack a little snowball to toss at her.

Sometimes he'd deliberately show off, carving a flashy serpentine line backward—only to wipe out spectacularly within three seconds, landing flat on his back in the snow and nearly making her laugh herself sick.

The more she thought about it, the more that hollow feeling in her chest grew.

There were plenty of people at the park—Wang Xu was full of energy, and there was Shen Yi, a new friend she'd made.

But none of them were him.

She must have zoned out for a while—Wang Xu had already skied down to the next slope.

Shen Yi, though, had deliberately slowed down and came to a clean stop beside her, carving a crisp stopping line in the powder. "You feeling okay?"

She put her phone away. "No, I'm fine."

"Good." Shen Yi nodded, scanning the trail ahead. "The next two slopes are steeper, with more rocks and moguls. The backcountry gets more gnarly."

Jin Mo thought for a moment. "Wang Xu said you're a big deal."

Shen Yi knew she wanted to see for herself if he was the real deal or just Wang Xu's hype. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Without another word, he dropped his center of gravity, dug his edges in, and carved straight down.

Shen Yi's skiing was clean and decisive.

No flashy moves, no wasted motion. Whether carving hard on steep slopes, side-slipping through trees, or shifting his weight through rolling terrain, every move was crisp and precise.

Jin Mo followed behind, watching him handle several gnarly blind turns and rocky sections as if they were flat ground.

Some moves looked simple but actually required years of built-up snow sense and split-second mental calculations to pull off so smoothly. He was honestly flawless at this—on par with a lot of pros.

It was only natural to appreciate someone who was great at what they did, especially when Shen Yi was humble and happy to share his tips and tricks.

After skiing together for most of the day, Jin Mo had gotten past her initial awkwardness around Shen Yi, and they started chatting more.

When they hit a steep section, she briefly lost her balance and, near the bottom, took a spill.

Wang Xu happened to be farther off, but Shen Yi immediately stopped beside her, pushed his goggles up, and offered his hand.

The fall hadn't actually hurt—the snow was thick and soft, and she'd landed on her butt with barely any impact.

But there was nothing nearby to grab onto, and buried in the deep snow with her backpack on, she couldn't easily get back up on her own.

Jin Mo looked up at Shen Yi's calm face, then at his outstretched hand. After a moment's hesitation, she placed her hand in his.

With a light tug, he pulled her up out of the deep snow.

Once she was steady on her feet, Jin Mo quickly pulled her hand back and thanked him. "Thanks."

"No problem." Shen Yi seemed to want to catch his breath and didn't put his goggles back down. "Wanna head back up and rest for a bit?"

Jin Mo hadn't taken a break since hitting the slopes, and after that fall, she was feeling a bit tired.

So she pushed her goggles up too and nodded. "Sure."

...

Chen Yuanshan held a coffee in one hand and hit pause on his phone's recording with the other.

He watched Jin Mo and Shen Yi walking side by side up the slope. They were both easy on the eyes—handsome guy, pretty girl—standing out against the vast white landscape like a picture-perfect scene. Everyone who passed them couldn't help but look.

He looked away and casually sent the video he'd just recorded to Yin Jihong.

Yin Jihong had always been bad about replying to him, and it wasn't until Jin Mo and Shen Yi were almost at the entrance that he finally texted back, taking his sweet time.

Ji: "Too lazy to open it."

Shan: "I seriously suggest you click and watch."

Ji: "Tch, Momo already sent me a bunch of videos, all POV shots."

Ji: "What's so special about your video that it's worth wasting my precious time?"

Shan: "Why don't you just skip ahead to the last ten seconds and see if it's worth it."

After sending that message, Chen Yuanshan silently counted.

Just as he reached ten, Yin Jihong's voice call suddenly came through.

He answered with a smirk, holding it to his ear and responding lightly, "Mm?"

On the other end, Yin Jihong's voice was hoarse like a rusty hinge: "Who the hell is that guy?"

Because the shot was taken from a distance, and the other person was wearing a helmet with goggles pushed up on his forehead, it was hard to make out his full face.

Chen Yuanshan drawled, "Take a guess."

"Like hell I will." Yin Jihong's voice was laced with barely contained anger. "Where's Wang Xu? Slacking off? Doesn't he want his triple pay anymore? And you—what the hell did I send you there for? Instead, you're just chilling here filming videos and taking calls? Why don't you go chop that guy's hand off?"

"Why the hell would I chop his hand off?" While the other was fuming, Chen Yuanshan's tone grew even more relaxed. "He didn't do anything out of line. Momo fell, and he helped her up. That's not a problem."

Yin Jihong on the other end could tell he was deliberately teasing him, and his blood boiled. "So this guy isn't a random stranger?"

"No, Momo knows who he is." Chen Yuanshan paused. "Whether you know him, I've got no clue."

Even furious, Yin Jihong's mind was quick. He recalled the series of weird spam texts Chen Yuanshan had been sending since this morning and finally realized how serious this was.

"Tell your fever I said hi."

Chen Yuanshan watched as Jin Mo pushed open the resort's door and waved at him with a smile. He smiled back, then casually said one last thing into the phone, "Let it burn a few more days, and you can start waiting for wedding candy."

-

After a brief rest on the slope and heading back into the resort, Jin Mo noticed that Wang Xu was sticking to her like glue.

This "sticking like glue" thing had gotten almost creepy. Wang Xu stayed about two meters away from her at all times, like a perfectly synced clone, mirroring her every move exactly.

When she skied, he skied; when she stopped, he slammed on the brakes.

Jin Mo found it really awkward and gently reminded him, "Brother Xu, is there something wrong with how I'm skiing these sections?"

Wang Xu quickly waved his hands frantically. "No! It's great!"

She could only say, "But you're following too close. I can't move freely."

"Oh, sorry." Wang Xu scratched his head with an embarrassed look. "It's just that I didn't keep a close enough eye earlier and I just got chewed out..."

Jin Mo latched onto the key word in his sentence: "Chewed out?"

Anyone who could chew out Wang Xu—she could guess who it was without even thinking.

Wang Xu had let it slip, and seeing her staring at him, he knew he couldn't take it back. So he gave up and said, "Boss Yin gave the order. He said wild snow is dangerous and told me to watch you like a hawk, not let you out of my sight for a step."

Jin Mo thought of someone's bossy attitude and couldn't help but laugh. "He sure has a long reach."

Thinking about that, she pulled out her phone and messaged Yin Jihong: "Brother Xu was doing fine. What did he do to piss you off now?"

Ji: "Him? He might as well be blind."

Ji: "Didn't even notice there was a stinking bug next to you."

Jin Mo was a bit taken aback.

A stinking bug? In this snowy white wilderness with not a bird in sight, where would a bug come from?

Before she could type a reply, a new message popped up.

Ji: "My Jin Mo radar is going off."

Ji: "Momo, the outside world is too dangerous. If you run into a creepy guy, call me immediately."

Ridiculous.

He was always rambling, so she didn't take his words too seriously and casually tucked her phone back into her inner pocket.

Meanwhile, back in Yin Jihong's office.

Cheng Shu held an ear thermometer, pressed it against Yin Jihong's forehead with a "beep," glanced at the display, and reported, "Boss Yin, 38 degrees."

Yin Jihong frowned at his phone without looking up: "You've measured it ten times a day and it's always 38 degrees. Is this thermometer broken? Throw it out and buy a new one."

Cheng Shu, without a word, calmly stuck the ear thermometer into his own ear, and "beeped" again: "36.7 degrees."

Yin Jihong: "..."

He then asked impatiently, "Has the private flight route to Xinjiang been approved yet?"

"Approvals are slow during the holidays. We're pushing it through."

"And the pilot?"

"He's still home for the New Year. Also, the last flight to Xinjiang today already left."

He asked, keeping his cool, "Then what time is the earliest flight to Xinjiang tomorrow?"

Cheng Shu: "Six a.m., arriving before noon, but it's completely full."

"I don't care how you do it." He locked his phone with a snap. "Even if you have to throw someone out of a pigpen, you better free up a seat."

-

Jin Mo skied her heart out until the resort closed and the lifts stopped, then reluctantly left.

Once in the car, Chen Yuanshan handed her a warm cup of water: "Hungry?"

She nodded eagerly. "I'm starving. I could eat a horse."

"Should I ask the restaurant to swap the steak for an elephant?" Chen Yuanshan joked. "Everything's set at the restaurant. We can eat as soon as we arrive."

In the past, when they'd have Wang Xu come to coach, she and Yin Jihong would always have him stay for dinner, so Jin Mo figured tonight would be the three of them having dinner.

But when she spotted Shen Yi in the passenger seat, she thought, "We're not close, but we skied together all afternoon and he was helpful. Out of courtesy, I should at least ask him."

So she lightly tapped the back of the passenger seat. "Shen Yi, do you have plans tonight? If not, you can join us for dinner."

Shen Yi turned back, his gaze briefly sweeping over Chen Yuanshan beside her, and hesitated for a moment. "Sure, thanks for having me."

A playful smile tugged at the corner of Chen Yuanshan's mouth. "This place is packed usually. With such short notice, I'm not sure we can get a table."

Author's note:

Red envelopes are still dropping randomly! Keep showering me with bookmarks, comments, and nutrient solutions~ Love you all! Also, don't forget to bookmark my column! Feel free to check out and bookmark my next new story, "The Crane," a Beijing circle tale (might also switch to a Beijing circle ensemble piece), but either way, it's all about mature, spicy dynamics, haha.

I'm seriously laughing my head off!!! Shanmei is literally Yin Puppy's love bodyguard!!! Puppy, you really—without Shanmei, you'd be doomed, I'm telling you!! She's truly dedicated! Even five points isn't enough!! She's blocking the second male lead for you every single moment! I'm dying laughing here.

Puppy, oh Puppy, I suggest you grow a pair of wings and fly over here, because if you don't hurry, your girl's really going to be stolen, hahaha!! You'll really be waiting to eat wedding candies at this rate, haha!!

I'm asking you, when are you gonna come deal with that pest?? How many chapters has it been? Can you get it together or not?!

Everyone, leave passionate comments now! Let's all laugh at the Puppy together!!!