The moment Xiao Cheng embraced her, he caught her scent and his heart suddenly raced. He felt nervous, and his gaze towards Meng Jingwei held a flicker of heat.
But then Meng Jingwei instinctively pulled away from his embrace, and Xiao Cheng’s heart turned cold, his eyes growing chilly.
“I’ll help you.”
Xiao Cheng extended his hand to her.
Meng Jingwei hesitated for a moment before taking his hand, intending to learn skiing with Xiao Cheng.
“We’re ready, we’re off!”
Shu Yao and Qing Sih Huai, who had finished preparing, each gripped their ski poles and began to slide down the slope, gliding away with practiced ease.
“Here, I’ll help you.” Xiao Cheng led Meng Jingwei forward step by step. However, after just one step, Meng Jingwei fell onto the ground with a thud.
“Ouch.”
Meng Jingwei, having taken a tumble, sat on the ground and glanced at the amused looks from nearby tourists, feeling a bit awkward.
“Still want to ski like this?”
Suddenly, a familiar female voice echoed.
Meng Jingwei turned her head and was surprised to find that the speaker was none other than Chu Xue.
And standing beside Chu Xue was… Qing Mu Ye!
The two, carrying their ski equipment, walked over and stood before her.
A mocking smile played on Chu Xue’s lips, while Qing Mu Ye’s face, upon seeing Meng Jingwei, lacked its usual tenderness, replaced instead by the cold indifference he had shown when they first met.
It had been two months since she had said so many heartless words at the hospital.
Even when she visited Grandma at the Qing family’s old residence, Qing Mu Ye had never been there.
“Is there a rule in the ski resort that you can’t come if you don’t know how to ski?” Xiao Cheng bent down to help Meng Jingwei up, his face darkening, and retorted.
Meng Jingwei stood up. Perhaps fearing another fall, she tightly gripped Xiao Cheng’s hand.
When she looked back, her gaze met Qing Mu Ye’s dark, unreadable eyes. Unaccountably, she felt her heart speed up, and she became even somewhat constrained.
“You nosy busybody!” Meng Jingwei avoided Qing Mu Ye’s gaze and retorted at Chu Xue with annoyance.
“You’re calling me a dog?”
Chu Xue hadn’t expected Meng Jingwei to curse at her directly. Angrily stamping her foot, she questioned.
“If Miss Chu likes to fit the description, can I help it? I’m not your mother!”
Meng Jingwei taunted as she brushed the snow off her clothes, her anger simmering.
She hadn’t settled the score with Chu Xue for tampering with her shoes at the last jewelry exhibition, and now she had the nerve to come looking for trouble.
Since she liked being provoked, it would be wrong not to indulge her.
“Meng Jingwei, you… you’re going too far!”
Chu Xue, her fists clenched in anger, glanced at Qing Mu Ye beside her, seemingly looking for his reaction.
However, all she saw was Qing Mu Ye lowering his head to take out a cigarette, place it between his lips, and light it with a windproof lighter in a cool, handsome manner.
Although he hadn’t done anything, his dashing and fluid movements were exactly the image of her idol.
Thinking of this, Chu Xue’s anger subsided significantly.
“Forget it, I won’t stoop to your level.” Chu Xue smiled triumphantly at Meng Jingwei, deliberately showing off something in front of her.
Then she said to Qing Mu Ye, “Mu Ye ge, let’s go skiing. We finally came here, so we can’t let certain people spoil our mood.”
“Whether it spoils the mood or not isn’t important. What’s important is that your perfume smells like cheap, knock-off 9.9 yuan perfume, stifling and overpowering, polluting the air.”
Meng Jingwei’s words were sharp and unapologetic. She then added, “Xiao Cheng, let’s not do this anymore. Let’s go tubing. It’ll bring back memories of being a kid.”
As she spoke, she removed the skis from her feet.
After all, if she couldn’t ski, why force herself?
It was better to do what she could and relax, which was the best course of action.
“Alright.”
Xiao Cheng agreed with a nod, also taking off his skis and protective gear. He turned and left directly.
The two went to the tubing slope, lined up, and then sat on the inflatable tubes, starting from the highest point and sliding down the mountain.
Perhaps this kind of skiing reminded Meng Jingwei of her childhood. She slid down, walked back up, and slid down again, playing for quite some time.
*Ding-a-ling—*
At this moment, her phone rang in her pocket.
Meng Jingwei was sitting on the tube, her hands gripping the handles tightly. Xiao Cheng was behind her, and the two were rushing down the slope at high speed.
The wind whistled past her ears, and the icy wind felt like knives on her cheeks. It was chilly, but incredibly fun.
*Whoosh*, in a short while, they reached the intercepting obstacle at the bottom and stopped.
Meng Jingwei laughed heartily, stood up, and was as happy as a child.
Xiao Cheng, on the other hand, wasn’t very interested in such childish activities, but seeing Meng Jingwei enjoying herself, his mood also improved.
“It’s much more fun here. When I was a kid, as soon as it snowed, we’d use cardboard and slide down the slopes. Once, I accidentally fell into a pond. My mom fished me out of the pond, worried and angry, and then gave me a good beating.”
Meng Jingwei reminisced about her childhood while fiddling with her phone in her pocket.
Opening it, she saw it was a call from Qing Sih Huai. She said to Xiao Cheng, “It’s Uncle Qi’s call. Wait a moment, I’ll call him back.”
She dialed the number, and the other party answered quickly. Meng Jingwei asked, “Uncle Qi, are you guys done?”
“Yes. It’s almost one o’clock. We’re in private room 905 at the Delong Hotel. We’ve ordered food, so hurry over.” Qing Sih Huai said.
“Oh, okay, I’ll be right there.”
After hanging up, Meng Jingwei and Xiao Cheng immediately walked to the roadside, hailed a sightseeing car, and went to private room 905 at the Delong Hotel.
But who could have imagined that when she pushed open the door to the private room, she would see Qing Mu Ye and Chu Xue sitting inside!
They were… together?
But thinking about it, it made sense. Qing Sih Huai was Qing Mu Ye’s uncle, so it was normal for them to be eating together. It was just that she hadn’t expected Qing Sih Huai and Qing Mu Ye to run into each other earlier.
“You’re here? Come in quickly, we’re waiting for you.”
Seeing Meng Jingwei standing stunned at the entrance of the private room, Qing Sih Huai proactively greeted her.
Shu Yao, sitting beside him, couldn’t help but glance at Qing Mu Ye, then at Meng Jingwei, feeling a bit embarrassed for her.
What was going on?
Qing Mu Ye and Meng Jingwei hadn’t been in contact for two months, and now to be sitting together like this was truly…
It was enough to induce social anxiety.
“Weiwei, come, sit next to me.”
Shu Yao stood up and waved at Meng Jingwei.
Since she couldn’t avoid it, she might as well face reality.
Meng Jingwei smiled slightly and walked towards Shu Yao, sitting directly beside her. Xiao Cheng then sat next to Meng Jingwei.
With two seats between them were Chu Xue, and then Qing Mu Ye.
But from Meng Jingwei’s angle, it was just right; when she looked up, she could see his face.