As soon as Ying Yun hung up the phone, Yang Xueyi was surrounded by an overwhelming silence.
The warmth left over from her earlier exertion slowly faded away.
The sky was dark, and the stars shone especially bright against it.
The light snowfall from earlier had become denser over time, flake after flake landing on Yang Xueyi’s face like heroes calmly marching to their deaths—melting away as they went, stubbornly stealing the last bits of warmth from around her.
The outdoor Ski Slope in Beihai Dao was famous for its pristine environment.
There were even bears in the area, and in winter, with food scarce, there were often news stories about hungry bears wandering onto the slopes to forage.
The darkness made her imagination run wild, and Yang Xueyi began to feel a little scared—and she was shivering from the cold.
She tried calling Qiao Qianqian again, but no one answered.
Cold and scared, Yang Xueyi was growing more and more resentful.
This was all because of Ying Yun!
Every time she met that annoying guy, nothing good ever happened!
Since Ying Yun had left her to fend for herself, Yang Xueyi decided to just give up and vent her frustration, both to get it off her chest and to give herself some courage.
She started sending him voice messages one after another:
“We’ve known each other for ten years! Have I ever asked you for anything? Have I ever taken advantage of you? Now I’m in trouble, and you just leave me to die!”
“You’d better hope you never run into trouble yourself, because I definitely won’t help you! When that happens, you’ll know what regret feels like!”
“When a tiger falls from power, you’re nowhere to be found. But when it rises again, who are you? Just wait and see!”
Sometimes, to conquer fear, you need a different, stronger emotion.
The more Yang Xueyi dredged up old grievances with Ying Yun, the more her blood boiled.
Suddenly, she wasn’t cold anymore—she even forgot to be afraid.
“Ying Yun! You vicious man!”
“And you call yourself an angel in white? I think you’re just a black-hearted King of Hell!”
As Yang Xueyi was working herself up, she heard footsteps—someone was striding quickly through the snow toward her.
Yang Xueyi had no desire for a showdown.
She immediately put away her phone and started calling for help, “Help! Help!”
Heaven never seals all the exits!
She was saved!
There really were people coming for some night skiing at this hour!
So what if that annoying Ying Yun didn’t come?
Yang Xueyi was just lucky—if he wouldn’t come, someone else would!
Hearing her voice, the footsteps indeed turned her way.
After a moment, against the moonlight, Yang Xueyi couldn’t make out the person’s face, only his outline—a man, very tall.
When he stood in front of her, even the moonlight was blocked.
Just standing there, he exuded an oppressive aura.
Yang Xueyi had just called for help in English.
The man turned slightly, and the moonlight fell across his face.
Yang Xueyi finally saw him clearly.
Sharp features, deep-set eyes, a cold expression.
Who else could it be but that annoying Ying Yun?
Now, he stood above her, looking down at Yang Xueyi, who was sprawled helplessly in the snow.
“What, out of words? It’s no fun scolding me through the phone. If you want to curse me, do it to my face.”
Yang Xueyi fell silent.
Fate is unpredictable—so it really was Ying Yun who came.
She glared at him, unable to hold back, “Why are you here? Come to laugh at me?”
Ying Yun’s expression was unfriendly, his tone mocking, “The King of Hell came to personally escort you down the mountain.”
After that, he ignored her and reached out his hand.
“Can you stand up?”
Yang Xueyi grabbed Ying Yun’s hand and tried to get up, but it was no use.
“My foot hurts, I can’t stand.”
She thought Ying Yun would come closer and help her up, letting her lean on him.
But before she could react, he simply bent down and, with practiced ease, scooped Yang Xueyi up.
Qiao Qianqian was right—Ying Yun, the orthopedic doctor, was indeed strong.
He carried Yang Xueyi out of the bushes and set her down on the open snow trail.
Only then did Yang Xueyi notice that Ying Yun’s snowboard was waiting outside.
No matter what, she owed Ying Yun a favor tonight.
Feeling a little awkward, Yang Xueyi tried to change the subject to something safe, “Since you brought your snowboard, why didn’t you just take the cable car up to the top and ride down? Why walk up from the bottom?”
Ying Yun glanced at her and replied in a cutting tone, “Because the earliest cable car tomorrow starts running at eight.”
So the night cable car had already stopped running.
Yang Xueyi knew this annoying guy never had anything nice to say, but since she needed his help, she swallowed her retort.
This was an intermediate trail, so it was steeper than the beginner’s.
Yang Xueyi had fallen somewhere in the middle, which meant Ying Yun had to hike quite a distance uphill to reach her.
She glanced at his snowboard.
Hiking up a snowy slope carrying a board was no easy feat.
But Ying Yun seemed perfectly calm, as if he’d just had a drink of water instead of a workout.
He gave Yang Xueyi a look, “Can you ski down by yourself?”
Ying Yun rode a snowboard; Yang Xueyi was on skis.
She didn’t want to trouble him further, but…
“I think I twisted my left ankle. It really hurts. I probably can’t make it down on my own. Maybe you could call for rescue?”
Ying Yun’s expression remained cold.
He looked up at her.
“Did you buy insurance?”
“Insurance?”
Her reaction said it all.
“You went abroad without buying insurance?”
Ying Yun looked at her like she was an alien.
“Do you know how much it costs to call for rescue overseas? You didn’t buy insurance and you dare call for help? Do you have any common sense?”
“It’s my first time abroad, and it was a last-minute decision, so I didn’t…”
Yang Xueyi bit her lip.
She really owed Ying Yun now, and all her earlier bravado from cursing him on the phone vanished.
She wilted, “So what should I do now?”
“Put your skis back on.”
Ying Yun’s voice was still cold, not the least bit troubled.
Yang Xueyi thought about it—of course, it was her leg that was hurt, not his.
Why would he be bothered?
What else could she do?
She’d just have to put her skis on and grit her teeth to slide down slowly.
But just as Yang Xueyi picked up her poles and tried to adjust her stance, Ying Yun strode over and picked her up around the waist.
Maybe orthopedic doctors really did need to test their strength.
Yang Xueyi realized Ying Yun was even stronger than she’d thought.
He carried her easily through the snow.
He walked over to his snowboard, stepped into the bindings.
Unfortunately, Yang Xueyi wasn’t in the mood to analyze where Ying Yun trained his muscles.
She’d already taken one fall tonight—she couldn’t handle another!
“You’re going to carry me down like this?”
Yang Xueyi was a little nervous.
“Are you sure you’re up to it?”
She thought Ying Yun would defend his skiing skills, but as always, this annoying guy only said two words:
“Nope.”
He glanced at Yang Xueyi, shamelessly adding, “I’m terrible.”
Yang Xueyi had a headache.
“Then how about this: I appreciate your good intentions, but let’s not risk it. I’ll wait here while you ski down and find someone more skilled to bring me down…”
At this point, Yang Xueyi had a flash of inspiration, “Why not call Li Junxin? I heard he’s pretty good at skiing, and didn’t he say he wanted to go night skiing with you? I think he was just on this trail earlier, so he must know the area well.”
If Li Junxin came, it would be the perfect chance for a hero to rescue the damsel.
She could clear up the misunderstanding about being a foreigner, and everything would fall into place!
But Ying Yun was clearly the greatest jinx in Yang Xueyi’s life.
He seemed determined to go against her wishes.
“How could I do that?”
Ying Yun said sarcastically.
“This vicious man hauled his board up the mountain just to get rid of you in one go. After all, as the King of Hell, I have to show some professional spirit—send off whoever I can.”
“Let’s go.”
Before Yang Xueyi could react, the wind in her ears suddenly changed—Ying Yun was already carrying her, charging down the mountain.
She was sure Ying Yun was doing this on purpose.
Yang Xueyi always controlled her speed when skiing, and she’d never experienced anything this thrilling.
Ying Yun’s speed was faster than anyone she’d ever seen, even those who claimed to be “experts.”
Now she finally understood why skiing was considered an extreme sport.
But she had to admit, Ying Yun was steady, his balance impeccable.
Even through sharp turns, his center of gravity was perfect. Yang Xueyi barely felt any bumps.
Contrary to his claim of being “terrible,” his skills were clearly professional.
At last, Yang Xueyi realized she could relax.
Still, she’d never gone downhill this fast before.
At a few steep spots, even though she knew she could trust Ying Yun, her instincts took over and she screamed from fear.
It only took a few minutes to reach the end of the trail, but to Yang Xueyi, it felt like a three-hour horror movie.
And if the experience just now was a horror film, then Ying Yun was undoubtedly the final boss.
Above her head, Ying Yun’s usual lazy and disdainful voice sounded:
“Still not getting down? First you grabbed my calf, now you’re hugging my neck. Are you just laying the groundwork to hug my thigh next?”
Yang Xueyi instinctively looked up and saw Ying Yun’s face right in front of her—cold, handsome, and as annoying as ever.
She’d hugged his neck without thinking during the wild descent.
Now that she realized it, she let go as if burned and scrambled away from him.
Who wanted to hug his thigh?
Shameless.
Ying Yun really was the most annoying guy ever.
Still, she ought to thank him this time.
But just as Yang Xueyi was about to speak, Ying Yun, as if he knew what she was about to say, cut her off, “If you’re going to thank me, don’t bother. I only did this for your mother’s sake. It has nothing to do with that story I told you, and I don’t intend to use this chance to get closer to you.”
“It’s like sashimi—no need to cook it, it’s better raw.”
Ying Yun glanced at her.
“Keep your distance from me.”
With that, he was about to leave.
At least they’d made it down the mountain, and Yang Xueyi could walk back slowly on her own.
But as soon as she took a step, her ankle throbbed with pain.
Could it be broken?
And she hadn’t bought insurance…
Staring at Ying Yun’s tall, straight back, Yang Xueyi quickly remembered—wasn’t there an orthopedic doctor right here?
“Ying Yun! Ying Yun! My foot still hurts! Can I go to your room and put on some Yunnan Baiyao? For my mom’s sake, could you do me one last favor?”
Yang Xueyi limped after him, thick-skinned and persistent, “Every time you travel, my mom packs your luggage for you. I know she always puts a medical kit in there, with Yunnan Baiyao. It’s been in there for ages—if you don’t use it soon, it’ll expire. Might as well not waste it…”
She grew more emotional, “My mom always says you have a healer’s heart—that you were born to be a doctor. Not only are your skills excellent, you’re especially considerate. Whenever you see someone in need, you help without hesitation. So if I ask you for help, you’ll definitely say yes, right?”
But after all that, all she got was the back of Ying Yun’s head.
He didn’t even turn around, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
Chasing after him was tiring, and Yang Xueyi’s voice weakened, “Ying Yun! Did you hear me?”
At least this time, Ying Yun finally replied.
He stopped, turned to look at her, and said with a blank face, “Didn’t hear you. I’m deaf now.”
Yang Xueyi was speechless, “When did you go deaf?”
He stared at her without a change in expression, calm as ever, “Just now, when you screamed in my ear.”
Sometimes, you have no choice but to bow your head.
Yang Xueyi decided to ignore his sarcasm and smiled, “So can I come? Please? You’re deaf, I’m hurt, we wounded souls should help each other out!”
Ying Yun’s expression didn’t soften.
“Yang Xueyi, you’re just in pain, not paralyzed. If I say no, are you really not going to follow me?”
Something about that sounded odd… but all in all, it meant he agreed!
Maybe he wasn’t so annoying after all today.
Yang Xueyi looked at Ying Yun and, for once, calmly admitted—he was pretty handsome.
Out of gratitude, Yang Xueyi decided she could give herself a pass on her daily routine—she’d allow herself to not scold Ying Yun for at least a whole hour today!
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