Chapter Sixty-Nine Ski Instructor
Jiang Chuan neither dodged nor flinched. A snowball struck his chest, exploding into a white flower on his black snowsuit, a stark and conspicuous sight.
He patted her casually, smiled, and walked over, kneeling once again at Lin Yu's feet to carefully adjust the brace.
"How do you choose a double ski?" he asked, his back hunched over as he deftly fastened the clips. "Snowboarding should produce better photos."
“I’ve skied twice before, both times on skis.” Lin Yu looked down at Jiang Chuan’s skillful movements, his black ski pants outlining the sharp muscle lines of his legs. “Someone once told me that skis are more beginner-friendly.”
Before she could finish speaking, the bindings clicked sharply, and Lin Yu instantly felt as if she were being held captive by the snowboard. She didn't mention who the person was, but simply rubbed her snowboard back and forth, savoring the long-lost feeling of restraint.
Having not skied for six years, Lin Yu found the slopes even more untamed than she remembered. She tentatively took two steps forward, then suddenly lost her balance and ended up grabbing Jiang Chuan, who was organizing his gear.
"Forget about the snowball fight!" Jiang Chuan looked up at her, a teasing smile playing at the corners of his eyes. "There will be a lot of people later, so be careful it doesn't turn into a weapon."
Lin Yu felt greatly insulted, but for safety's sake, he obediently did as instructed.
Jiang Chuan skied backwards to her side, firmly supporting her wrists with both hands, and guided her towards the gentle slope like leading a fledgling bird learning to fly. "Look straight ahead, bend your knees forward, lower your center of gravity, and position your skis in a V-shape..."
"Okay, Coach Jiang!"
Lin Yu followed him for two steps, then suddenly broke free from his hand. He believed he had begun to regain the few skiing memories he had from six years ago, and before the other could react, he confidently rushed forward.
She awkwardly bent her knees, trying to imitate the dashing figure of a professional athlete, but lost her balance after only a few meters and fell backward onto the thick snow.
The snowboards tangled and intertwined due to inertia, leaving him like a crab bound hand and foot, unable to move. He had completely forgotten the key points Jiang Chuan had emphasized.
Jiang Chuan glided down the slope, his skis drawing an elegant arc across the snow before coming to a precise stop next to Lin Yu.
He pushed up his ski goggles with one hand, raising an eyebrow slightly, watching Lin Yu struggling with her skis in the snow. Her ski suit was covered in snowflakes, making her look like a kitten that had fallen into a pile of flour.
"Professional rescue service." He bent down, grabbed Lin Yu's wrist, and lifted him up with a little force.
"Remember the procedure." Jiang Chuan flicked the snow off her goggles. "After falling, crawl to a safe area first, then press the heel buckle and actively remove your foot from the skis first. Don't try to stand up with your skis on; you'll easily twist your ankle."
Lin Yu gave a perfunctory reply, but the stubbornness in his heart was ignited by Jiang Chuan's ambiguous smile. He defiantly charged forward, and his snowboard immediately wobbled and slid towards the camp like a wild horse.
The cold wind whistled past her ears, and the thrill of the speed made her adrenaline surge. She could even clearly hear her own heart pounding.
"Look up! Look ahead!"
Jiang Chuan's shouts came from behind, scattered by the wind. But Lin Yu couldn't care less; all her attention was focused on fighting the centrifugal force that was trying to throw her off.
The snowboards shook incessantly during the downhill descent, as if they had a will of their own, ready to throw her into the air at any moment.
"Look straight ahead, and wherever your eyes are looking, that's where the board is going!" Jiang Chuan's voice became indistinct behind him. The pink snow on both sides swept past his eyes like flowing white curtains.
Lin Yu tried to slow down, but it was too late. Her snowboard suddenly swung, and the last bit of balance she had managed to maintain completely vanished. The enormous inertia threw her off balance, and she landed sideways on the snow slope.
Over the next hour, Lin Yu mastered every wrestling pose imaginable. Jiang Chuan's movements as he helped her up became increasingly skillful.
Although her buttocks might be bruised from the fall, she didn't care. Just like when she was learning to drive, the more out of control she was, the more thrilling the moment became.
When Lin Yu lost his balance for the seventh time on the snow slope, his whole body was almost twisted into an exaggerated pretzel. His skis tangled and crossed uncontrollably, and he was about to land face-first in an extremely awkward position.
The expected coldness did not come. Suddenly, her waist tightened, and Jiang Chuan's arm, like a safety belt, came across at the last second, stopping her in mid-air.
In a dizzying moment, Lin Yu felt herself being gently lifted and then put down, her back slamming into a firm embrace. Even through the thick ski suit, she could clearly feel the bulging muscles in Jiang Chuan's arms and the steady, powerful heartbeat emanating from his chest.
Jiang Chuan didn't let go immediately. Instead, he lowered his head and gently tapped her helmet with his gloved fingertips. "Honey, have you ever heard the saying: hard work doesn't always lead to success. It might just be reinforcing mistakes!"
A deep voice laced with a dangerous chuckle. "If you still can't remember the rules, I'll think of a good way to punish you after we get down the mountain!"
When Jiang Chuan called her "baby" for the first time, he deliberately pronounced the two words lightly and softly. But the thought of the punishment he mentioned immediately sent a chill down Lin Yu's spine, and she reflexively shrank her neck.
She remembered the little games Jiang Chuan had told her that made her blush and her heart race. Her face turned red as she looked up at him, but her wet eyes were hidden behind her goggles, making them seem utterly intimidating.
"Then tell me what's the right way?" Her voice unconsciously carried a hint of coquettishness.
"Come here!" Jiang Chuan didn't give her a chance to talk back and turned to ski towards the middle of the slope.
He slightly thrust his hips, adjusted his direction, and the snow obediently parted beneath his feet, easily demonstrating a standard snowplow braking maneuver, his skis drawing a perfect semicircle on the snow.
"Keep your knees bent and your weight forward. Fear will make you lose control; don't let it cloud your judgment."
Jiang Chuan glided cleanly back to Lin Yu. "Ankle control, thigh power, shoulders and gaze forward, body as a whole." His palm, through her snow pants, pressed against the inside of her thigh, covering the point where Lin Yu was exerting force.
Jiang Chuan's instructions were clear and direct. Lin Yu took a deep breath and slowly moved forward according to his guidance. The first two attempts were still a bit clumsy, but soon, under Jiang Chuan's careful guidance, Lin Yu became proficient.
The skis glided obediently beneath my feet, leaving two clear tracks on the fluffy snow, and I was incredibly steady. The wind whistled past my ears, and the skis and the snow were surprisingly in harmony.
His body seemed to have finally found its rhythm, and each tiny adjustment of his center of gravity brought a smoother gliding experience. This time, Lin Yu no longer felt a loss of control during a dive, but rather the exhilaration of truly mastering speed.
She smoothly skated to the finish line, and after stopping, she suddenly ripped off her mask, turned around and looked at Jiang Chuan, who had been following behind her the whole time. Her almond-shaped eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
"See? Aren't I handsome?"
The setting sun was sinking behind the distant mountains, its golden-red rays spilling across the surface of Lake Biwa and reflecting off Lin Yu's joyful figure.
Jiang Chuan pushed up his snow goggles, his deep eyes clearly reflecting her face, which shone with excitement. He didn't answer, but a slight smile played on his lips as he opened his arms to her.
Lin Yu, with a lingering smile on his face, glided over like a fledgling bird returning to its nest, and crashed headfirst into Jiang Chuan's warm embrace.
Through repeated practice, she finally mastered all the basic skills and was able to ski on the beginner slopes on her own, without Jiang Chuan's care. Unfortunately, the slopes were too short, leaving her wanting more.
Fortunately, it wasn't a holiday, so the ski resort was sparsely populated, and even for non-VIP members, there was almost no queue for the cable cars. They skied the slopes one run after another, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime.
The two changed out of their snowsuits and sat in front of the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows of the mountaintop restaurant. Outside the window were continuous silver mountains, and at the foot of the mountains, the lake, like a sapphire, quietly reflected the sky.
Top-grade Wagyu beef sizzles on a sizzling hot iron plate, its aroma instantly filling the air. Physical fatigue slowly dissipates amidst the delicious food and beautiful scenery.
Lin Yu sank into her seat, her stomach rumbling loudly in the sudden relaxation, the sound particularly clear in the quiet space. Jiang Chuan looked up and met her face, which was clutching her stomach and grinning sheepishly.
Her nose still had a red blush from skiing, and she was about to stretch to ease the embarrassment when her thighs and tailbone immediately protested silently. A dull ache swept through her body, making her wince in pain.
The waiter placed the grilled beef onto Lin Yu's plate, and Jiang Chuan spoke a few words to him in hushed tones in English. The waiter understood, handed him the tongs, bowed slightly, and stepped back.
He was wearing a loose black cardigan today, the sleeves casually rolled up, revealing his well-defined forearms. He took the tongs and started turning the meat pieces over.
Lin Yu's gaze unconsciously followed the muscle lines of Jiang Chuan's arm, feeling that this man exuded charm at all times, and she reached out and pinched it as if possessed. Jiang Chuan paused, flipping the piece of meat over on the plate.
"Don't be impatient!"
Lin Yu's ears immediately burned. "Spare me, Mr. Jiang, I really don't have a single drop left!"
"I was talking about beef!" Jiang Chuan said with a mischievous smile in his eyes as he placed the grilled meat on her plate.
"What are you thinking, Banban!"
"I...I was talking about beef too!" Lin Yu forked a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, but was so burned that he gasped for breath and spat the meat out.
"Slow down, no one's going to take it from you." Jiang Chuan smiled and handed over some ice water, adding aptly, "Whether it's beef or something else."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yu buried her head in the plate, demonstrating that she had just been talking nonsense and acting recklessly, and begging President Jiang to have mercy and let her off the hook.
Jiang Chuan stopped teasing Lin Yu. Thinking about her performance at the ski resort, he casually asked, "You're pretty brave and quick to learn! Did you have a coach when you were in school?"
Jiang Chuan was just chatting casually. Lin Yu, being from the north, had a natural advantage in skiing, so it was perfectly normal for him to have some basic skills.
She was busy stuffing piping hot beef into her mouth when she heard this, and paused. She puffed out her cheeks, shook her head, and mumbled indistinctly, "I've only skated twice, taught by a...classmate."
Jiang Chuan paused, his knife still in his hand. Lin Yu wasn't good at lying, as evidenced by the piece of beef he had just spat out.
He noticed that she suddenly lowered her eyes, deliberately avoiding his gaze, revealing a hint of guilt. Her unusual reaction combined with her usual words made her answer suddenly seem profound.
He almost immediately thought of the six-year-old photo he had seen in Lin Yu's bedroom during the Lunar New Year. His gaze fell on the broccoli that she had poked and splattered with juice, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.
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