Jiang Ran had genuinely lost face. Those people didn’t even realize that the main character of their gossip was right beside them, so she got to listen in on the stories about herself quite openly.
The gossip started in the evening when Jiang Ran saw the message in the WeChat group. Especially the part describing her as delicate and fragile enraged her so much that she paced around the room three times.
Qiu Nian had initially been baffled about where Beijiao had managed to find a girlfriend—especially one who carved turns with her legs spread apart (八字刻滑), which she found rather amusing. After all, even though both techniques involve carving turns, those who carve with legs apart and those who carve with legs parallel have distinct styles and, in theory, contrasting vibes. How could Beijiao, who practiced parallel carving, end up with a girlfriend who carved with her legs spread wide?
Just as she was confused, she looked up and saw Jiang Ran pounding her chest, her ears turning red with anger. That obvious, telltale expression made Qiu Nian burst into laughter: “It’s you, huh?”
Jiang Ran stared at her expressionlessly.
Qiu Nian asked, “What did you do this afternoon? Didn’t you go play with Diguiyou? Did you get caught by another stray dog again?”
Jiang Ran wanted to argue but couldn’t utter a single word. Her lips twitched slightly. Qiu Nian’s tone gave her the illusion that she was playing with fire and getting burned by her own doing.
But Qiu Nian didn’t bother to consider her feelings: “So on the chairlift, what did he do to make you cry?”
Her tone was normal, even neutral. After all, there were cameras on the chairlift; nothing inappropriate could happen there.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she said that, Jiang Ran let out a shriek of “Ah!” She couldn’t even stand the word “cry” anymore.
It was just too embarrassing!!!
Help me!!!
Well, nothing happened, technically. But he did everything within the allowed conditions, using a mix of coaxing, deceiving (the “deceiving” in the sense of fraud), and even some threats!
At first, Qiu Nian was somewhat surprised, but then she realized and pointed at Jiang Ran, mocking her: “You should be grateful to Diguiyou right now. If he hadn’t forcibly adjusted the angle of your bindings and you hadn’t been using the Mach that you rarely use anymore, he might have recognized you just by looking at your board (BC RX or Gray Type-R) from outside the chairlift cabin. That would’ve been really embarrassing.”
“Stop, stop,” Jiang Ran felt like her soul was about to fly out of her mouth. “Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know. Let’s just keep this between us. No one else must ever find out that the person crying in the chairlift cabin was me—”
Otherwise, how could she hold her head up at Songbei Ski Resort?
“What if the dog tags you in the group?”
“…He won’t,” Jiang Ran said with a blank expression. “He keeps his mouth shut.”
“You’re doomed,” Qiu Nian shook her head. “You’re still defending him at a time like this. You’re completely doomed.”
“This isn’t defending him,” Jiang Ran muttered, her lips twitching. “Your standards for compliments must be really low.” As she was muttering to herself, Ajie and Li Xingnan returned.
As soon as the door opened, Ajie was still at the door taking off her ski boots, while Li Xingnan came in first. As soon as he saw Jiang Ran, their eyes met, and he calmly asked, “What did Beijiao do to you again? Why were you crying on the chairlift for no reason?”
Jiang Ran: “…”
Qiu Nian was already laughing so hard she nearly fell off the sofa.
Jiang Ran quickly turned her head and glared at Qiu Nian with wide eyes.
“One, we’re still fighting, so he’s not someone I’d gossip about,” Qiu Nian wiped her tears and climbed back onto the sofa, then pointed at her phone, which was placed far away on the coffee table. “And two, my phone is over there. I haven’t even touched it just now.”
“What are you two talking about?” Li Xingnan asked, confused.
“Who told you that the one crying on the chairlift was me! That wasn’t me!” Jiang Ran turned back around and said seriously to Li Xingnan. “I don’t know who they’re talking about in the group. What does Beijiao’s new girlfriend have to do with me? Don’t make random assumptions.”
“You adjust the binding angle of the Mach outside first before talking nonsense,” Li Xingnan sat down on the sofa. “What are we eating tonight?”
Jiang Ran replied sullenly, “Sh*t.”
Qiu Nian couldn’t hold back anymore: “Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”
Aju didn’t feel like cooking, and there was no reason for Li Xingnan to come to the villa and cook for them only to be kicked out by Qiu Nian. So, with no other choice, everyone decided to go to the commercial street for dinner.
They didn’t know what to eat, so they just found a local restaurant. They climbed onto the heated brick bed and sat down. Jiang Ran was holding a pen, struggling to decide between fish and goose, when a group of people came in noisily from outside. It turned out to be the group from Chongli, and, coincidentally, among them was the one person she least wanted to see at that moment.
He was tall, and as he entered the room, he had to bend down to lift the curtain. Coming in from the cold, he straightened up and immediately saw the woman with black curly hair sitting on the kang directly facing the door, holding the menu and staring at him expressionlessly.
Their eyes met briefly, and then they quickly looked away.
At that moment, the group from Chongli sat down at the neighboring spot to Jiang Ran’s group. Among them were one or two who recognized Li Xingnan, and they leaned over to greet him, suggesting they should drink together later.
Li Xingnan glanced at Jiang Ran, who was hiding almost entirely behind the menu, leaving only the top of her head visible, clearly wanting to leave right away. It was rare to see her like this, so he found it amusing and nodded with a smile to accept the invitation to socialize.
As soon as he agreed, Jiang Ran immediately gave him a hard kick from beneath the kang.
Li Xingnan let out a sharp intake of breath.
“Oh man, Beige isn’t going to treat us tonight, right? This good news is spreading like wildfire, hahaha!”
At this moment, a loud voice rose from the group, clearly taking over the conversation at the neighboring table. Jiang Ran quickly glanced over and saw that the speaker was a fat guy who had barely sat down before shouting that he wanted to order the most expensive dishes to empty Beijiao’s wallet.
She scoffed disdainfully. Treating everyone? She thought to herself, you’re basically asking for his life, aren’t you?
Unexpectedly, Beijiao didn’t even utter a single word of objection. He smiled slightly and said, “Alright.”
Holding the menu, Jiang Ran was a bit surprised.
At this moment, Qiu Nian leaned over and asked, “Can we order now? I’m starving to death.”
Her voice was just the right volume. People around probably didn’t think much of it and ignored her. But at that moment, Beijiao, who had been drinking tea, had just brought the hot tea to his lips. Upon hearing her, he paused, raised his eyes, and glanced over.
…It was probably because he happened to catch sight of Jiang Ran, ears perked up, eavesdropping so intently that she had even forgotten to order her meal.
He put down the teacup. His dark pupils flickered, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he let out a soft, derisive laugh.
Jiang Ran: “…”
Your mom’s.
I really appreciate it.
…
Jiang Ran ate her meal in a gloomy mood.
—Who wouldn’t lose their appetite when hearing completely baseless gossip about themselves?
For example, she had just managed to pick up a goose wing with her chopsticks, and was just about to bite into the tip, when she heard someone at the neighboring table say in a loud voice: “I heard this from Dalong.”
Jiang Ran’s action of biting the goose wing came to a halt.
“He said that day he saw a young lady pushing up the slope on her skis. While pushing, she somehow got distracted and caught her front edge, then she fell forward, looking like it hurt a lot… He thought she must have been badly hurt, but then he saw her silently get up from the ground, flapped a bit, and still knew to quickly move to the side of the slope before sitting down. He thought she was quite adorable, so he went over to help her up.”
Jiang Ran bit through a section of the goose wing bone.
At the table, Qiu Nian, Li Xingnan, and Ajie were all staring at her with six eyes wide open.
Aju whispered, puzzled, “Pushing up the slope and catching the front edge?”
Qiu Nian: “No wonder you were asked about your bruised knees earlier and you said it was from bumping into something at home?”
Li Xingnan: “Maybe your pushing up the slope skills are rusty from not doing it for so long?”
“Are you going to eat or not?” Jiang Ran asked. “Is this bread not big enough to stuff your mouths shut?”
The people at their table could keep quiet under her oppressive mood, but the people at the neighboring table were merciless and wouldn’t let her off the hook. They continued cheerfully: “He said he thought he had finally earned some happiness after years of hard skiing practice, but it turned out he was helping someone else’s girl!”
“Hmm,” a deep, pleasant male voice responded calmly. “I was teaching a class at that time. The student was a bit too enthusiastic, and she saw it. She wasn’t very happy and threw a tantrum with me.”
He used a declarative tone.
Jiang Ran rolled her eyes and muttered, “What are you bragging about? I didn’t even look at him much.”
However, the men at the neighboring table let out a chorus of sighs—
“Ahh, she was really clingy!”
“Didn’t you tell her that teaching beginners usually involves holding hands for a while? It’s hard for newbies, right?”
“I tried, but when I first started teaching, my girlfriend wasn’t happy watching me. I had to wait until she wasn’t nearby to help the student up. Once, the student said: ‘Coach, can you act more normal? The way you’re doing it, even if we don’t have anything, it feels like we do.'”
“Hahahahahahahahahaha damn! That’s why I don’t teach beginners—oh wait, I don’t have a girlfriend, so it doesn’t affect me at all! Hahahahahahahahaha!”
Although they were all middle-aged, some even in long-term marriages, their innate male pride told them that who wouldn’t miss the good old days when their girlfriend would get jealous if they looked at another girl?
Just thinking about it was sweet to death!
And Beijiao using such a calm tone? That would make anyone jealous to death!
However, the joy belonged to the men, not the women.
Amidst a chorus of “tsk tsk tsk,” Jiang Ran held a bottle of cola, her straw almost bitten off a piece, as she furiously denied everything: “No, no, no! I was just simply pushing up the slope and caught my front edge. I fell because I’m just bad at skiing!”
At the neighboring table: “Dalong thought the girl was distracted when he invited her out that day, but didn’t take it seriously. Later, at the bottom, he met Beige once and saw the girl staring at Beige from a distance. He was still clueless then. He asked the girl if Beige looked good, hahaha, he said when he looks back now, he wants to die!”
Jiang Ran: “He can die if he wants to. I never said anyone was good-looking.”
At the neighboring table: “Going up the mountain was even worse. At the chairlift, Beige directly blocked his way with his snowboard. He said he was so scared he didn’t know what was going on. By the time he realized, Beige was already on the chairlift and he was left outside.”
Possibly imagining the scene, the neighboring table burst into laughter.
“And then?” Someone asked with the eager tone of someone begging for a spoiler to a continuing drama, full of anticipation.
“Then, as Amao said, at the transfer station, he saw the girl who was on the same chairlift as Beige crying. He originally wanted to get on the chairlift, but Beige didn’t let him on. Did they argue on the chairlift?” The storyteller asked Bei Jiao.
“No.” Bei Jiao said, “Who knows why she was crying. I didn’t even scold her.”
His tone was actually quite indulgent.
Successfully drawing another round of sighs from the table.
“Later, when they reached the top of the mountain, Dalong thought they didn’t know each other, until Beige pulled the girl onto him and kissed her right in front of him. Dalong said he was completely stunned! If he had known she was Beige’s girl, he would definitely have kept his distance!” The person at the neighboring table sighed, “It’s so exciting, youth is so good!”
Jiang Ran helplessly banged her forehead on the table.
“Exactly what kind of fairy is this, making you all so enchanted? It’s like when the people from Chongli come to Jilin, it’s as if they’ve entered the Jade Pond, fighting over a fairy!”
“Who knows, I heard she’s really pretty, with long curly hair and fair skin. She doesn’t speak very gently, but maybe she has that kind of soft southern accent?”
“I bet she’s pretty rich too. Who the hell uses Mach when they’re at the stage of pushing up the slope and catching the edge as a beginner!”
“Didn’t you say she does carving turns with legs spread apart?”
“Not sure, Dalong first said he saw her fall while pushing up the slope, then later said he saw her carving A2 giant slalom like Ping Jianhe De had possessed her, so fast and skillfully that she might even be able to carve parallel turns. Probably she was just playing with him when she pushed up the slope then—”
“Long curly hair, can carve parallel turns, pretty girl, ah! I know someone like that!”
As soon as the person finished speaking, the people at the neighboring table suddenly turned their heads in unison, looking at Jiang Ran, who was expressionlessly holding her cola.
“What are you looking at?” Jiang Ran let go of the straw. “I do parallel carving turns, not Mach.”
The people at the neighboring table fell into brief silence under her sharp tone.
“…This one doesn’t fit, this one doesn’t fit. Does Jiang Ran’s voice have anything to do with being soft-spoken?”
“Jiang Ran’s face is written with ‘no love, no affection.'”
“Don’t be too hard on Dog Brother. He’s okay with other things, but he’s really not quite up to par with Jiang Ran… He’s just a bit unworthy.”
Upon hearing this, Bei Jiao didn’t get angry. Instead, he let out a low chuckle.
In this regard, he was quite similar to Jiang Ran. For things he had already accomplished, he didn’t care what others said or how they slandered him.
—After all, he had already done them.
“If Bei Jiao can get Jiang Ran, I’m willing to engrave his name on the sign at the entrance of the Chongli Expressway. He will be the eternal glory of our Zhangjiakou!”
“Don’t do that. Let me imagine Jiang Ran’s face. Suddenly this story doesn’t sound so romantic and pleasant anymore. It feels like it’s tinged with a bit of a bloody vibe—”
The neighboring table continued their lively discussion.
After gossiping about her disguise, they proceeded to attack her directly in a belittling manner.
Jiang Ran slammed her cola bottle down: “I’m still here, you know!”
The neighboring table fell silent for a few seconds again.
“Look, look!” The people from Chongli weren’t afraid of her, the local “tiger.” “Like this, if I could be made to cry by Bei Jiao on the chairlift, I could call him my big brother for the rest of my life!”
This opened the floodgates.
After all, they were all sitting on the same heated brick bed, almost back to back, so close that once they started chatting and after a few drinks, the table became a bit chaotic.
Everyone no longer sat in their designated seats, scattering instead in a messy way across every corner of the room.
The vibe over in Chongli seemed quite different from that in Jilin. People from Jilin preferred to stay in their own bubble, practicing their skills in isolation. But this group of newcomers brought a livelier atmosphere, raising their glasses and mingling enthusiastically.
The dinner stretched past nine o’clock and still hadn’t ended.
Li Xingnan was drinking with them, while Qiu Nian was chatting with a talkative guy, trying to catch up on the latest snow-related gossip.
Beijiao had somehow unobtrusively settled beside Jiang Ran at some point. Leaning slightly against the wall behind him, he had downed a couple of drinks and now smelled faintly of alcohol, sitting quietly—drunk yet still reserved.
Jiang Ran was still upset about his earlier nonsense. She had originally wanted him to leave, but upon glancing at him and seeing the unfocused look in his eyes, she softened and decided to let it slide.
Suddenly, an older man, seemingly a senior among them, turned to Beijiao after saying something to someone else. “Hey Jiao, bring your girlfriend around sometime so we can meet her. You finally bloomed, and we’re all happy for you.”
Beijiao heard the comment, lowered his eyes, and softly replied with a low “Hmm,” then thought for a moment before adding, “Okay.”
His tone was unusually obedient.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed he seemed to be spacing out, probably genuinely drunk, not even aware of what he was saying… Jiang Ran thought to herself that he had agreed so readily, but where would he find someone to present as his girlfriend? Rent one from Taobao?
Thinking this, she couldn’t help but glance at him.
He was still lost in his thoughts, staring blankly. She let out a nearly inaudible, disdainful snort, barely above a whisper—
At that moment, a large hand quietly covered hers, which was resting beside her.
The hand moved unobtrusively at first, inching slowly closer before gradually enveloping hers. By the time she realized it, her entire hand was already entangled with his.
His hand was rough.
His palm was scorching hot.
Pressing against the softness of her knuckles, his fingers shamelessly rubbed between hers, insinuating themselves into the gaps, clinging tightly as he gently squeezed her fingertips.
Jiang Ran tugged once, but his grip was too strong to budge. With everyone around, she couldn’t make too much of a scene, so she resigned herself to letting him hold her hand, wondering why his hands were so coarse, making her increasingly restless.
But he didn’t let go.
The older man who had spoken was also from Northeast China. Hearing Beijiao’s quick agreement, he was delighted. “You tell your wife, if she feels uneasy about our enthusiasm, don’t be shy. We’re all good people. She doesn’t have to worry about us bullying her—”
Beijiao chuckled softly, then replied in his hoarse voice, “No, she’s got a bigger temper than you guys. Nobody could ever bully her.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ran wanted to punch someone.
But he still held her hand tightly.
His fingers continued to play with hers, gently squeezing her fingertips. She looked down and saw her fingers turning pale under his grip, only to flush red again once he released them slightly.
It felt playful.
They say fingers are connected to the heart, and as Jiang Ran’s hand lay in his palm, her heartbeat seemed to quicken. Suddenly, she recalled that in her memory, she and Beijiao had never really held hands properly—
Right.
They had just gotten together, and not long after, he had ruined it. When had they ever had the chance to hold hands?
So confusing.
Jiang Ran stared at their interlocked hands at this moment, and at the oblivious relatives and friends around them, wondering: what exactly was this now?
As she was lost in thought, she felt a thrill from sneaking around like this. She bit her lip, and then the real excitement came—across the table, a child suddenly leaned over and asked, “Why are you two sitting so close?”
Startled, Jiang Ran’s chest tightened. She wanted to speak but couldn’t, struggling to pull her hand away from Beijiao’s, only to find his grip firm and unyielding.
The child looked at Beijiao, who merely calmly lifted his eyelids—normally, he wouldn’t dare to tease Beijiao like this, but now, fueled by alcohol, he pointed at the young man’s cold, restrained face and giggled, “Let me take a photo. You’re not afraid your girlfriend will get jealous when she sees it today, right?”
Jiang Ran didn’t respond.
Beijiao said, “No.”
The child wiggled his fingers playfully. “Player.”
Jiang Ran thought, well said.
But Beijiao was completely unfazed. “She doesn’t even care if I die or live. She’s even worse than me.”
Jiang Ran moved her fingers slightly, scratching desperately at his palm, but he seemed to have lost all sense of pain. “I’d actually like to see her get jealous for me,” he turned to look at Jiang Ran, “Do you think that’s possible?”
Jiang Ran blinked, and after three seconds, her fingertips, silently subdued under his palm, paused. “I think… that’s unlikely.”
Dark pupils shimmered with emotion.
A brief standoff ensued before he scoffed softly, neither disappointment nor anything else clear in his expression, then turned his head away.
…
After several rounds of drinking.
By the end of the meal, barely anyone could stand.
Beijiao was loaded into a car by his companions, whether from drunkenness or drowsiness, he was unusually quiet, leaning back in the rear seat.
He looked out the window. Outside, Erche and Nian were arguing again. The man bent down to say something to her, and she pushed him, kicking up a pile of snow and smacking it into his face. He seemed unfazed, pulling her into his arms by the wrist and kissing her.
Watching the two of them, Beijiao felt a mix of novelty and envy. The people around them acted as if they hadn’t seen anything at all—
Even Ajie stood calmly nearby, arms crossed, waiting patiently for their passion to subside.
He thought about how if he dared to kiss Jiang Ran in broad daylight—
She would definitely kill him.
Not even a kiss—just calling her name might get him killed.
She hadn’t even told many people that Beijiao from Chongli was just a mutt, her apprentice, the one she had personally trained and guided through the slopes…
She hadn’t mentioned a single word about it.
Even though the current situation had evolved into such a surreal scenario, where she was on the verge of becoming his apprentice, and had even cried in the gondola because he scolded her a bit for not pushing up the slope properly.
Frustrating.
The dark-haired young man withdrew his gaze from the window, exhaled deeply, his long lashes casting a shadow over his eyelids as he closed his eyes to rest.
Who knew how many minutes passed.
“You drank and you’re driving?”
A gentle female voice came from the front passenger seat. Beijiao’s ears perked up. He glanced and saw Jiang Ran leaning by the car window, her eyes darkening in the night, reflecting the streetlights, yet unusually bright.
The driver’s seat was occupied by a nineteen-year-old kid, even younger than Beijiao. A regular college student, he turned bright red when a pretty older sister suddenly leaned over to ask about them. “It’s okay, I didn’t drink. Brother Wang didn’t let us—”
Jiang Ran simply said, “Oh.”
She pulled her head back in, not even glancing toward the back seat the entire time.
She left quickly and cleanly, leaving the kid in the driver’s seat lost in thought—she wasn’t even one of their group, just a girl from the neighboring table who had barely spoken all night and seemed unfamiliar with everyone. She hadn’t even talked to him at all…
Why had she suddenly come to check if they were driving under the influence?
After she was long gone, the kid finally turned around, leaning over the driver’s seat to excitedly ask the man behind, who seemed to be resting his eyes. “Brother Bei, did you see that? Did you see that?! She was asking about me!”
The man who had appeared to be asleep with his eyes closed suddenly opened them.
He bent his long legs and kicked the back of the driver’s seat. Calmly, he said, “She was asking about you? Don’t dream.”
Caught off guard, the kid grumbled as he drove off.
…
Jiang Ran had first returned with Qiu Nian to the villa. After leaving the restaurant, Qiu Nian and Li Xingnan had another argument, and she stormed off to her room in a huff. Ajie was pretty drunk too, collapsed on the bed and impossible to rouse.
In the pitch-black house, the lights hadn’t even been turned on. Jiang Ran settled the two drunkards in their rooms and then stepped out.
The living room still carried the scent of alcohol from the two of them. After the earlier commotion and accompanied by Ajie’s thunderous snores from inside the room, everything had returned to quiet. Standing alone in the living room, Jiang Ran stood there, lost in thought.
[Whose Ranran Duck: I won’t go.]
…What was there to explain? Delete it.
[Whose Ranran Duck: Are you still awake?]
Too much hesitation. Delete, delete.
[Whose Ranran Duck: It’s too late tonight, you might be drunk too. Let’s talk about the postcard tomorrow.]
Too formal? Not good. Delete, delete, delete.
Putting down her phone, Jiang Ran took a deep breath, stood up from the sofa, and went out.
Half an hour later.
She stood in front of a room in the Phase II apartment building, looking up and cross-checking the room number with her memory three times to confirm. After hesitating for a long time, biting her lip, she began knocking on the unfamiliar door.
Inside, there was no response for a long while.
Patiently knocking six times, she found her courage had run out. Glaring at the closed door, she muttered, “Stupid dog,” took a small step back, and turned to leave.
But just at that moment, the door opened in response to her knocks. The man she had just cursed stood there, dripping wet hair, in the doorway. His handsome face had been steamed a shade paler by the hot water, his pitch-black eyes still carrying the humidity from the bathroom.
His hair was still dripping, droplets falling onto the hood of his sweatshirt.
He didn’t seem to be showing any surprise at all, just saying, “Hmm?”
Eyebrows slightly raised, he looked a bit surprised to see her standing outside.
Jiang Ran was thrown off by his confused “Hmm?” and almost wanted to point her finger at him and snap, “Didn’t you ask me to come? Now you’re pretending to be innocent after drinking a little!”
Her chest heaved, but she thought again—why argue with someone who was drunk—
She stared at him expressionlessly. “Where’s Zhao Keyan?”
She remembered they were roommates.
“You came to see him?”
“Bei Jiao.”
A calm tone full of warning.
“He went to the new ski resort in Tonghua for an event,” he replied succinctly. “Left just now. He won’t be back for the next few days.”
Jiang Ran thought for a moment. He indeed hadn’t appeared at the dinner table tonight. She simply said, “Oh.”
Bei Jiao opened the door a bit wider. “Is there something you need from him?”
Jiang Ran was irritated by his feigned ignorance and refused to answer his pointless question. She stood silently outside, glaring at him—while he, seemingly unfazed, silently gazed back. The two of them stood there, one inside the door, one outside, locked in a standoff.
Neither willing to speak first.
At that moment, a draft blew in from the corridor’s end—someone inconsiderate must have left the window open. The icy wind, mixed with snow and cold, was bone-chilling. Jiang Ran, caught off guard, shivered involuntarily.
Bei Jiao noticed. He widened the door gap slightly but didn’t invite her in. Mumbling, “Wait a second,” he turned and walked back into the room.
Standing outside, she saw the hem of his jeans were damp as he turned—probably had just finished washing and hastily put them on when he heard the knock…
But none of that mattered anymore.
As he turned away without hesitation, that crisp, decisive back view—once she thought was so attractive—now only filled her with a sense of bitterness from the bottom of her heart—
It was her own bitterness.
An indescribable sense of grievance surged from her toes upward. She recalled her hesitation before knocking on the door earlier, and her lips tightened involuntarily. Compared to his indifference, she felt like a fool for coming here on her own.
She felt her breath growing heavier, so she quickly closed her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
A deep voice sounded beside her ear. When she opened her eyes, she found he had somehow returned to the doorway without her noticing—
The door was now fully open, and she could see the interior of the room behind him.
Snow suits were tossed on the sofa, some belonging to Bei Jiao, others to Zhao Keyan. In the living room, a suitcase was neatly packed and standing upright beside the wall. On the blank wall leaned several dry snowboards, one familiar Gray Type-R among them—Bei Jiao’s board.
She subtly withdrew her gaze. At this moment, she saw him holding a postcard. She nodded slightly and accepted it from him. “This is it.”
But once again, the scenario she had imagined—where he might use this as an excuse to linger—did not happen. He even cooperated by letting go immediately.
…This was a good thing.
Jiang Ran told herself not to go crazy. This was normal for him.
But no matter how much she tried to prepare herself mentally, as soon as she looked up at his calm face, she still felt so angry she wanted to smash something—
Look in the mirror! How could he be so certain she didn’t like him!
Who was as cold as a frozen pear left on the windowsill all night? He used to hold her, acting as if he cherished her so much, coaxing and tricking her into coming tonight to get this postcard or he’d tear it up. Now she was here, and he really just handed her a postcard!
So impressive!
Not even a polite offer to come in for a glass of water!
What’s wrong with him!
Jiang Ran cursed him a thousand times in her mind, yet she didn’t dare to think for even a second about what else she might want from him. She simply attributed all her anger and anxiety to him—
Holding the postcard, the dog remained obediently silent. But Jiang Ran only felt increasingly suffocated. Bowing her head, she coldly said, “Then I’m leaving. There are two drunkards at home waiting for me to take care of.”
Actually, she knew nothing about taking care of people; at most, she’d just cover them with a blanket.
If they vomited, she would keep a safe distance and considerately shut the door for them, waiting for them to clean up the mess the next morning.
But right now, this excuse sounded perfectly reasonable.
She even reached out to pull his open door, feigning a sickly tenderness—actually, who shuts the door for someone else from outside the room?
Yet she didn’t care about that now. Under his gaze, she felt sweat forming on her forehead, and her sweaty palm almost slipped off the metal doorknob—
She was ready to close the door and flee.
Even in that second when she grabbed the doorknob, he made no move to stop her.
Jiang Ran didn’t doubt that the moment the door shut, tears would spill from her eyes—she could only hold out until then—watching the door crack slowly closing, victory in sight.
Just as she was about to succeed, suddenly a foot appeared behind the door.
He was still wearing slippers; the door stopped with the toe of his slipper caught in the gap—finally unmoving.
“Jiang Ran.”
He spoke, his tone not great, slightly hoarse and dull.
Jiang Ran froze, her tears hovering on the verge of falling. She looked up at him blankly, her expression stunned.
“You thought you could just take the postcard and leave after I asked you to come tonight?”
He tilted his head, leaning against the door frame. “Didn’t you have any other expectations when you came here?”
…
The room behind him was dark, no lights turned on, only the bathroom door left open, emitting the only source of light, with water dripping from the showerhead.
Jiang Ran knew all this, simply because after Bei Jiao asked her about her expectations, he didn’t even give her a chance to answer.
The door was pulled open again, and the person inside barely needed to bend down. With a long reach, he grabbed her by the shoulders—she was still standing at the door, shocked—and half-dragged, half-carried her into the room, simultaneously lowering his head to capture her lips with his.
The sudden cold lips covering hers made her shiver; the postcard in her hand dropped to the floor. Instinctively, she turned her head to pick it up, but he pushed her face back with one finger under her chin.
“Pick it up tomorrow.”
His tongue delved into her mouth, entwining with hers, his voice muffled as he sucked on her tongue. The humid scent of shower gel enveloped her—
Jiang Ran wanted to ask what he meant by “pick it up tomorrow.”
Tomorrow?
Before she could even react, he dragged her into a fast-paced whirlwind.
When he pressed her against the wall beside the door and kissed her, he used his free hand to shut the door behind them. The “bang” of the door closing echoed like thunder in her ears, making her shoulders tremble.
When he leaned in again, attempting to kiss her once more, she subtly turned her face aside, causing his lips to land on her nose. He didn’t seem to mind, and took the opportunity to open his mouth and gently nibble her nose.
She hissed, “Are you a dog?”
“Mm,” he made a low growling sound from his throat, “Try dodging again, I’ll bite you.”
She blinked.
He clearly sensed her distraction during the kiss—
Raising an eyebrow, he stopped, his perky nose nuzzling her flushed cheek, “What’s wrong?”
“… Nothing, I just can’t stop thinking about what you said earlier,” Jiang Ran honestly replied, “Aren’t you drunk?”
Actually, what he said made sense. She had hesitated for so long before coming, knowing deep down she had her own expectations, thinking that something might happen after she came—
Snowy winter wilderness, just the two of them alone…
With the mood right, well, if something happened, it happened. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. After all, even on the cable car earlier, she hadn’t resisted his embrace or his kiss.
If she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t have let him touch her at all.
The postcard certainly wouldn’t have ended up in his hands.
She had willingly handed him the leverage, and if he didn’t use it, then he must be the one with the problem.
But this “something”…
It shouldn’t go as far as needing to “last until tomorrow.”
“You’re so drunk, you shouldn’t do too much… you won’t have the strength.”
Translation: According to statistical data, drunk men generally don’t perform well.
Jiang Ran thought she couldn’t find a more tactful way to phrase it. She was even a bit worried this dog with poor Chinese comprehension might not understand what she meant.
But he smiled instead. Two hours earlier, those rough fingertips that had entwined and played with hers gently caressed her reddened eyes. He nearly whispered, “Not that drunk.”
…
A few minutes later, Jiang Ran found herself on the bed in one of the bedrooms.
“Wait!”
She immediately propped herself up on her elbows, her mind exploding, unable to understand how his alcohol tolerance had improved so much that he still had the strength to carry her all the way into the bedroom after drinking so much tonight—
He was indeed not that drunk.
At least when he carried her into the room, his steps didn’t sway even slightly.
She hadn’t managed to voice her protest when his broad shoulders suddenly blocked out the light in her eyes. His large hand pressed her shoulders back into the soft bedding.
She was wearing a long knitted dress, dark gray in color, with a shirt underneath and a thick green sweater over it—
But right now, her sweater and Bei Jiao’s damp hoodie were tangled together, crumpled and thrown near the foot of the bed.
“Wait! I said wait!”
Her long skirt had risen above her knees during the commotion.
Perhaps she struggled too violently, finally causing him to stop.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked, “I gave you the chance when I handed you the postcard. If I were you, I’d have grabbed it and run.”
“…”
“Instead of looking up at me with that face, like you’ve been tricked, about to cry.”
Jiang Ran wanted to argue a bit, like saying she wasn’t about to cry, but just then, as if he knew what she was about to say, he leaned down and gently rubbed his lips against her still slightly reddened eyes…
Implying that he had seen everything.
A drop of water fell from his hair onto her forehead.
“Plip.”
As she instinctively closed her eyes, he leaned down again to kiss her. His scorching shoulder, through the thin shirt, felt like a small mountain, firmly controlling her.
The heat was so intense that she couldn’t help but tremble, her whole body feeling like it had been electrocuted, the rushing blood flowing straight to her heart.
She was forced to bite his tongue, her heartbeat racing like it was about to burst from her chest.
Her mind was a complete mess.
Until he pulled her shirt out from under her skirt, his slightly rough hand unhesitatingly touched her delicate skin.
She panicked, pressing his hand down, wide-eyed in the darkness, asking, “What are you doing?”
He raised an eyebrow, questioning, “What do you mean, what am I doing?”
At the same time, as if to show her what he was doing, he increased the pressure of his hand. Instantly, she let out a scream, like a fish on a chopping board, suddenly struggling and jumping!
Her scream almost shattered his eardrums.
“Don’t scream,” he said helplessly, “The soundproofing isn’t good.”
This worked, and Jiang Ran immediately dared not make a sound.
He lowered his head again to kiss her.
Instantly, he could feel the body in his arms, which had been tense like a bowstring, relax and soften. Her back, which had arched up, fell back onto the bed. After a moment’s hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
She was somewhat addicted to his kisses—she really liked how his scent filled her nostrils. He hadn’t smoked all evening, so his taste was clean.
He still smelled freshly showered, while she hadn’t bathed and was shamelessly polluting him.
Eventually, she was almost actively clinging to him, her tongue even eagerly prying open his teeth. He very cooperatively let her take the lead—
It was quite an achievement to control such a large canine.
She let out a satisfied hum from her nose.
When she realized it, her shirt buttons had already been undone.
His head dipped down.
…
Outside, it must have started snowing again. The snowflakes lightly tapping against the window created a soft sound. A dim streetlight shone through the window, becoming the only source of light in the room.
The room’s light seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer. Jiang Ran couldn’t tell how much time had passed. Bei Jiao unfastened his jeans’ button, and she just happened to reflexively glance down at the sound—
Then she couldn’t help but let out her second startled scream of the night.
Bei Jiao paused his hand on his jeans, “What’s wrong? Is it really that ugly?”
He thought back to their previous discussions on this topic—the matter of size—and how eventually, they had gathered a million people to judge.
Jiang Ran covered her eyes, “Why aren’t you wearing underwear!”
“…Didn’t have time,” his voice sounded a bit innocent, “I was halfway through a shower when you knocked.”
“…”
Now she understood where the water stain on his pants came from.
To soothe her emotions, he didn’t continue his actions. His jeans half-off, stuck around his hips, he lowered his head again, kissing her forehead, her earlobe, her nose—
His warm breath enveloped her, and she soon relaxed her guard, dazed and confused.
Until he lifted one of her legs.
She was a bit puzzled about what he was trying to do.
Her leg was wrapped around his solid waist.
The skirt pooled at her waist and shoulders.
Her hazy, lust-filled mind was suddenly jolted awake by an unfamiliar sensation that couldn’t be ignored. She abruptly opened her eyes and slapped him without thinking.
With a loud “slap”—
Jiang Ran was stunned.
Looking up at the young man with black hair and dark eyes silently staring down at her, his pitch-black eyes flickering with shock and confusion, the sweet and sultry atmosphere abruptly shattered.
Jiang Ran blinked, speaking in the most innocent tone in the world, “I said I didn’t do it on purpose. Can you believe me?”
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