The sun was slanting west, the deep blue clouds tinged with a subtle, ambiguous yellow, like a toppled oil painting palette.
Night quietly approached, and the horizon was slowly stained with a deep, mysterious blue.
Quiet and peaceful, fine snowflakes drifted through the air.
Yang Xueyi stood at the mountaintop, soft powder snow beneath her feet, surrounded by a birch forest encrusted with ice crystals.
Hokkaido’s winter was as beautiful as a dream.
Yet she had no heart to appreciate this fleeting and precious “blue hour.”
Her gaze was fixed on the end of the ski slope below.
There, a few young people stood, relaxed and at ease.
Some were still putting on their snowboards.
Among the standard black, white, and gray ski suits, a bright blue one stood out.
Qiao Qianqian, who was busy taking snow scene photos, slid over and, catching Yang Xueyi off guard, snapped a candid shot of her.
She then looked at the camera and started wailing exaggeratedly, “Xiao Xue, you’re way too photogenic! It’s like a goddess descended! Seriously, you should stop doing translations and be my full-time model!”
After graduating from the Foreign Languages Institute as an English major, Yang Xueyi joined the China headquarters of a multinational pharmaceutical company, specializing in translating medical documents, drug patent applications, registered medicines, and product manuals.
She had worked diligently for several years.
This was Yang Xueyi’s first paid annual leave.
She hadn’t planned where to go, but after one phone call from Qiao Qianqian, she immediately decided to come to Japan with her.
Unlike Yang Xueyi, who worked in her field after graduation, Qiao Qianqian—her university classmate—had a passion for photography.
She became famous in college after a set of portrait shots unexpectedly went viral.
After graduation, she switched careers to become a photographer and now co-owns a studio with friends, enjoying a bit of fame.
Unlike Yang Xueyi, Qiao Qianqian was in Hokkaido for work.
This Japanese destination wedding shoot was her biggest business deal recently.
The bride and groom met at this ski resort called tomamu, and eventually came together.
So the wedding venue was also chosen at the place of their first meeting.
The wedding was extravagant, inviting many guests, including several prominent figures often featured in Finance Daily.
Before the wedding, the list of celebrity attendees was already circulating on social media.
Yang Xueyi had seen Li Junxin’s name on it.
At the same time, Qiao Qianqian received an advance list of VIP guests, which matched the social media leaks.
She was instructed to pay special attention to photographing not only the newlyweds but also the VIPs.
Li Junxin was among the VIPs.
The sky was already growing dim.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Yang Xueyi looked at Qiao Qianqian and pointed at the figure in the bright blue ski suit.
“Qianqian, that’s Suoyin Technology’s Li Junxin, right? No mistake?”
“No mistake. I double-checked the guest list and asked the wedding staff. It’s definitely him—he’s the only one in a bright blue ski suit, and he even had his name custom-printed on the back. He’s so narcissistic it’s unreal.”
Though no one else was around, Qiao Qianqian instinctively lowered her voice.
“But Xiao Xue, are you really sure about this?”
“Of course.”
Qiao Qianqian swallowed nervously.
“How are you planning to seduce him? Do you need me to set up a chance encounter?”
“No need.” Yang Xueyi smiled.
“A successful woman always takes the initiative!”
She waved at Qiao Qianqian.
“‘Vixen’ project officially starts. I’m off!”
With that, Yang Xueyi deftly put on her ski goggles and slid straight down the mountain.
She was off to seduce Li Junxin.
***
Yang Xueyi’s plan was solid.
Starting from the top of the beginner slope, she’d reach the bottom in ten minutes, then “accidentally” lose control and bump into Li Junxin, who was standing off to the side.
Though her skiing skills weren’t enough for intermediate or advanced slopes, on an empty beginner slope, she could “accidentally” bump into Li Junxin at a safe speed without any real harm.
Then she’d just have to take off her goggles, apologize, and that would be it.
Nothing else needed.
But she hadn’t expected that plans never keep up with changes.
As she slowed down midway, Yang Xueyi encountered a ski slope “torpedo.”
She didn’t know when the person behind her on twin skis had come up, but the reckless skier couldn’t even control their speed.
Yang Xueyi was knocked off her original track, forced to accelerate by the impact, and slid out of control in the wrong direction.
She wasn’t much of a skier—her only techniques were picked up during a previous company outing.
Now, thrown off course, her mind went blank from nerves, and all her emergency reactions were wrong.
At the end of the direction she was heading, there wasn’t Li Junxin’s bright blue ski suit, but there were still a few people.
At the front was a man in a black ski suit, tall and prominent, with his back to Yang Xueyi, clearly unaware of the impending danger.
Unable to control her speed, Yang Xueyi shouted, “Watch out!” but her voice was swept away by the wind and snow, and no one noticed.
She was too close to the end of the slope.
Even if she tried to slow down, she couldn’t.
In her panic, she even fell, landing on her butt and screaming as she slid uncontrollably toward the man.
It’s over!
At the moment of collision, Yang Xueyi instinctively closed her eyes.
Reflexively, she reached out, trying to grab something to steady herself, but deep down, she knew it was probably futile—they’d both be knocked over by her crash.
But the expected impact and pain never came.
No one else fell with her, either.
Yang Xueyi came to a stop, steady and upright.
She blinked in confusion, opening her eyes to find that, in her panic, she had grabbed onto the leg of the man in the black ski suit.
He must have had strong core muscles, because even after being hit from behind, he only staggered slightly before quickly regaining his balance, standing tall like a tree in the snow.
In the midst of an accidental avalanche, he had stopped Yang Xueyi’s desperate fall and given her a lifeline.
From afar, she had thought he looked tall, but now up close, Yang Xueyi realized he was truly imposing.
The other men with him were also tall, at least 1.8 meters, but this man in black was even taller, at least 1.85 meters by her estimate, so much so that his height completely blocked out the light above her.
Yang Xueyi’s unexpected collision must have triggered his athletic reflexes—his muscle memory allowed him to stay steady.
The calf she was clinging to was rock-solid and full of strength.
Thank goodness it was him she crashed into.
If it had been someone less athletic or strong, they’d both be a mess on the ground by now.
But Yang Xueyi’s relief didn’t last a minute.
The tall man turned his head and looked down at her. In the half-lit dusk, Yang Xueyi saw his face clearly.
It was a face colder than the surrounding snow.
Cold, but not bland.
In fact, his features were the opposite of plain—deep, striking, like an oil painting in the snowy twilight. High nose bridge, sharp brows and eyes.
If Qiao Qianqian were here, she’d say this was a face that looked good from any angle, absurdly handsome.
But beneath that, his expression was distant and hard to approach.
Others might find his good looks pleasing, but for Yang Xueyi, it was nothing but darkness before her eyes.
She recognized this face.
Her earlier relief vanished, replaced by the sinking feeling of stepping in dog shit.
“Ying Yun! Are you okay?”
Not far away, a girl who had just put on her skis slid over anxiously, followed by the men who had been with him, all concerned for his well-being.
“Still alive,” Ying Yun replied coolly, not sounding friendly at all.
He pressed his lips together and stood there, looking down at Yang Xueyi still sitting in the snow.
“When are you going to let go of my leg?”
That cold, familiar voice snapped Yang Xueyi back to reality.
She let go, braced herself on the snow, and struggled to her feet.
Thanks to her helmet and ski goggles, no one could recognize her as long as she didn’t take them off.
Absolutely, she could not let Ying Yun recognize her!
In a flash of inspiration, Yang Xueyi stood up and pretended not to understand what Ying Yun said.
Mimicking a Japanese accent, she nodded and bowed, pinching her voice and apologizing in exaggerated, broken Japanese.
Sure enough, Ying Yun’s companions started muttering as soon as they heard her voice.
“A Japanese? This sakura girl’s voice is pretty sweet. Ying Yun, want to get her contact info? In case there are any issues, she should be responsible, right?”
Yang Xueyi was nervous, but Ying Yun just curled his lip and dismissed the idea, his tone cold and a little sarcastic, “Why would I get a Japanese’s contact info? Nothing to discuss.”
With the main figure’s words, and seeing that Ying Yun was fine, his friends waved Yang Xueyi off.
Ying Yun didn’t spare her another glance.
She watched them get on the lift and head to the intermediate slope.
He didn’t recognize her!
What a close call!
“Xiao Xue, are you alright?”
Soon, Qiao Qianqian slid up beside her, clearly having witnessed everything and was fuming, “That ‘torpedo’—let’s go find them, that was too much! Good thing the guy you crashed into was steady, or you’d both have been a mess!”
Still shaken, Yang Xueyi waved her off.
“Forget it.”
Looking around, she realized Li Junxin in the bright blue ski suit had long disappeared.
She’d have to find another chance for their “encounter.”
Qiao Qianqian fussed over her, checking that Yang Xueyi was really fine, then perked up, pulling out her treasured camera.
“My professional instincts kicked in—I snapped a shot when you crashed.”
She zoomed in, then gasped like she’d discovered a new world.
“Xiao Xue, do you know who you just crashed into?”
Without waiting for an answer, Qiao Qianqian shoved the zoomed-in face on the camera in front of her, announcing, “That’s Ying Yun!”
She looked excited.
“That’s the only son of Yuanyang Logistics Group’s president, Ying Wenjun!”
“Last year, I shot a charity event for his dad’s company. He attended with his mom, and he was so, so handsome! Like, no bad angles at all—others look better in photos, but for him, photos can’t even capture half of his real-life looks. Every frame is flawless.”
“My professional instincts made me want to ask if he’d model for me, but once I learned his background, I gave up.”
Once Qiao Qianqian started gossiping, she was in her element.
“You know Yuanyang Logistics is a group, a family business. His dad is chairman and the only decision-maker, and Ying Yun is the only son, pampered since childhood.”
“He’s not just good-looking, he’s smart too. He could’ve just inherited the business, but he insisted on making his own way—he got into Rong University Medical School, went straight through to a master’s and PhD, and at twenty-eight, he’s already an attending orthopedic surgeon at Rong City First Affiliated Hospital. His life is just too easy.”
Qiao Qianqian looked envious.
“Honestly, his life is smooth sailing, no worries at all. The only trouble he has is that if he can’t be a doctor, he’ll have to go home and inherit the family business. Someone even joked about him—Ying Yun opens a power-fantasy novel and thinks, ‘This isn’t satisfying at all.’”
“No idea why he’s here on vacation.”
Qiao Qianqian looked at Yang Xueyi, a bit exasperated.
“Li Junxin isn’t worth it. Sometimes you need to know when to let go. Why not just give up on him?”
“Ying Yun is the real catch. Even though your ‘encounter’ target changed, crashing into him is fate! Why didn’t you ask for his WeChat, saying you were worried about his health? If you’d just taken off your goggles and let him see your face, there’s no way he wouldn’t have added you!”
“I was afraid I’d hurt him and he’d come after me for revenge.”
Yang Xueyi said seriously, “Like you said, he’s from a different world. Why would I ask for his WeChat? We’re not a match. Besides, I can’t give up halfway—I’m focused on Li Junxin, I have to see it through.”
She still didn’t know why that annoying Ying Yun was at the ski resort, but having calmed down, she felt she wasn’t as unlucky as she thought.
At least her quick thinking had gotten her out of trouble.
She’d always scoffed at learning Japanese as a second language, but now she realized that knowing more languages really is an asset.
A broader skill set could change your destiny!
See, she’d fooled Ying Yun.
All thanks to her solid skills!
Maybe she could branch out into Japanese translation in the future?
She hadn’t practiced much, but her improvisation just now was pretty good!
She was a low-key language genius!
Just as Yang Xueyi was feeling smug, her phone chimed with a WeChat message.
She opened it to see a pitch-black profile picture.
[Is that the best you can do with your second language?]
[Instead of pretending to be Japanese, you might as well crash into me again and give me a concussion and amnesia. That’s more believable.]
[With your skiing skills, that’s a piece of cake.]
Yang Xueyi stared at the words on her phone, suppressing the urge to explode.
As long as Ying Yun was around, all her good qualities fell apart.
If she could, she’d devote 25 hours a day to anti-Ying Yun activities.
If heaven gave her another chance, she swore she’d never crash into Ying Yun like today.
Next time, she’d go all out and take that annoying guy down with her.