Yang Xueyi didn’t linger—she played in the water for a bit, then turned to walk back toward Li Junxin.
There was another young man sitting next to him, probably a friend.
The two were chatting quietly, occasionally glancing her way.
As Yang Xueyi got closer, she finally heard their whispered conversation—
“Junxin, isn’t that your type? Are you going to make a move? Not worried she has a boyfriend?”
Li Junxin looked confident.
“So what if she does? You think I can’t compete? I’ll go ask for her contact info—bet you anything she gives it to me right away!”
Everything was going perfectly.
Yang Xueyi smiled slightly and sat on the empty lounge chair near Li Junxin, giving him the perfect chance to approach her.
But as expected, when things are going too smoothly, something always goes wrong.
Before Yang Xueyi could bask in her successful scheme, a familiar, irritating voice cut in coldly—
“Li Junxin, didn’t your mom say if you dare get a foreign girlfriend, she’ll break your legs?”
After Ying Yun’s voice, Li Junxin sounded a bit confused.
“Huh? Bro, what?”
“She’s Japanese,” Ying Yun said coolly.
“She ran into me at the Ski Slope earlier, babbled a bunch of Japanese, didn’t even use honorifics—clearly not sincere about apologizing.”
As he spoke, his gaze swept over to Yang Xueyi, pointedly saying, “Are Japanese people so rude these days?”
His tone wasn’t much different from usual, but Yang Xueyi could hear that unique sarcasm only Ying Yun could pull off.
Qiao Qianqian had seen plenty of men and was right about one thing—Ying Yun’s personality was awful, but in the wave pool, his physical advantages were on full display.
Tall, broad-shouldered, muscular in all the right ways—not too much, just enough to be alluring. He exuded a careless sort of magnetism.
Too bad Yang Xueyi was in no mood to appreciate it.
She just felt like her luck was at rock bottom.
Ying Yun is Li Junxin’s “brother”?
What kind of brother?
Was his appearance in Japan not just a coincidence after all?
The annoying brat himself seemed blissfully unaware of how unwelcome he was.
With his long legs, Ying Yun sat down right next to Li Junxin, issuing his edict as if he were the emperor, “Don’t bother asking for her contact info.”
He shot a chilly glance at Li Junxin.
“I don’t want to see you in my department after your mom breaks your legs.”
Moments ago, Li Junxin had been all swagger in front of his friend, but as soon as Ying Yun appeared, he folded instantly, not daring to argue or even make a peep.
He nodded obediently, “Right, right, thanks for the reminder, bro. No way could I bring home a Japanese girl—my mom would kill me.”
As soon as Ying Yun sat down, his good-looking but icy face seemed to drop the temperature in the thirty-degree air, like the whole season had changed.
Li Junxin couldn’t sit still, and before long, he and his friend found an excuse to leave—something about wanting to night ski—and dashed off, leaving Yang Xueyi no chance to clarify she was Chinese.
A perfect opportunity, ruined by Ying Yun!
Yang Xueyi was furious.
Was Ying Yun sent by the heavens just to mess with her?
That annoying brat had to be doing this on purpose!
Now that Li Junxin was gone, Yang Xueyi had no reason to stay.
But just as she was about to leave, Ying Yun spoke up in a mocking tone—
“Li Junxin’s family isn’t even close to being considered rich. All this effort you’re putting in for him? Not worth it.”
He glanced at Yang Xueyi, but quickly looked away as if he’d seen something filthy.
His already hard-to-please face grew even darker.
“Yang Xueyi, can’t you even afford a swimsuit in the right size?”
Mind your own business!
To catch Li Junxin’s eye right away, Yang Xueyi had purposely bought a size smaller, a sexy style to show off her figure.
Who would’ve thought her plan to attract Li Junxin would only end up drawing a high-and-mighty “poverty insult” from this young master.
The way Ying Yun looked at her, as if staring too long would give him pinkeye, made Yang Xueyi fume.
“Who are you? Do we know each other? Are we close?”
Ying Yun sneered, “Of course not. How could I possibly have a foreign friend like you? I could never reach your level, honored guest.”
Pretending to be Japanese had just been a desperate move to avoid being recognized by Ying Yun, and Yang Xueyi hadn’t thought it through.
If she’d known it would backfire like this, she’d never have done it.
She could just imagine Ying Yun bringing up her fake-Japanese act for the rest of their lives—even carving it on her tombstone.
“Ying Yun-ge? You’re here at Smile Beach too? Want to do some water sports?”
Thankfully, a few young women came over, breaking the awkwardness.
Whenever there was a third party present, Yang Xueyi and Ying Yun would always tacitly pretend not to know each other.
Yang Xueyi had no desire to keep up the act.
She ignored Ying Yun, got up, and left the wave pool, wishing this had been an ocean so a big wave could just sweep him away.
Because of that annoying brat, Yang Xueyi couldn’t even smile at Smile Beach.
But she had no idea—her troubles were only just beginning.
***
Back in her room, after Qiao Qianqian returned from shooting night snow scenes, she brought a blow that hit like a sledgehammer.
“Turns out Ying Yun is the bride’s cousin. He’s so busy at the hospital, everyone thought he wouldn’t make it, but it just so happened that the doctor he shares ward duties with needed to swap shifts, so he managed to get a short leave for the wedding.”
Qiao Qianqian looked full of anticipation.
“That’s great! He’s a VIP guest too, so now I can take photos of him out in the open!”
Li Junxin was also a guest on the bride’s side—no wonder he called Ying Yun “brother”…
Yang Xueyi felt a headache coming on.
But thankfully, Qiao Qianqian also brought good news along with the bad.
She’d run into Li Junxin and his friends while shooting snow scenes at the top of an intermediate slope.
So he really did go night skiing after saying so to Ying Yun?
“They recognized me as the photographer and had me take a few shots for them. They said they’d ski until nine. I came back early to let you know.”
Yang Xueyi checked her watch—there was still an hour until nine.
She wasn’t going to let this chance slip by.
She quickly changed into her ski gear and headed straight for the intermediate slope.
The resort’s snowy night was beautiful and tranquil. Riding the gondola in silence, Yang Xueyi’s mood finally lightened for a moment.
But that good mood vanished the moment she stepped off the lift and reached the starting point of the slope.
Not only was Li Junxin nowhere to be seen, there wasn’t a single other person around—she had the entire slope to herself.
Ski until nine?
There wasn’t even a shadow of anyone left.
But after the two setbacks with Ying Yun today, Yang Xueyi was already calm.
This was her first trip abroad. She’d been so focused on scheming to attract Li Junxin, she hadn’t even enjoyed her vacation.
Now that the slope was empty, she might as well make the most of it.
Her skills were just enough to handle the intermediate slope.
Normally, the crowds made her too nervous to practice there, but tonight, with no one else around, she mustered her courage and began to ski down slowly.
Compared to the beginner slope, the intermediate one was more varied, with steep sections mixed among the gentle.
Yang Xueyi had to stay focused the whole way.
After making it down smoothly the first time, she felt both nervous and exhilarated.
She quickly took the lift back up to practice again.
No wonder they say skiing makes you lose weight.
After several runs, Yang Xueyi was not only warmed up but in high spirits.
She was actually pretty good!
She really did pick things up fast!
But she forgot—skiing always punishes anyone who gets cocky.
The empty slope and her earlier success made her careless.
On one steep section, Yang Xueyi forgot to slow down, lost her balance, and tumbled off the course, landing in a patch of withered shrubs buried in snow.
Her first reaction was panic—the pain was everywhere, her whole body felt like it was falling apart, but her calf hurt the most.
Worse, she was stuck in the bushes, exhausted.
The snow had cushioned her fall, but it also trapped her so she couldn’t get up.
She could hear the crowds from the beginner slope, but on her intermediate run, there wasn’t a single staff member in sight.
Thank goodness for cell phones.
Gritting her teeth, Yang Xueyi called Qiao Qianqian, but after three tries, all she got was the sound of an unanswered call.
Then she saw a message from Qiao Qianqian from half an hour ago—
[Not coming back tonight, met a super manly mixed-race guy at the bar, going to enjoy a spicy night.]
While things were heating up for Qiao Qianqian, Yang Xueyi was freezing.
No help from Qiao Qianqian.
There was only one other person she could call…
Bracing herself, Yang Xueyi started a voice call to the blacked-out avatar.
Thankfully, after a moment, the call was picked up.
Ying Yun’s cold voice came through—
“Didn’t you say we didn’t know each other? Why are you calling?”
She had said that not long ago, so now it was up to her to smooth things over.
“Ying Yun!”
Afraid he’d hang up, Yang Xueyi tried her best to sound dramatic.
“Let me tell you a bedtime story: Once, there was an elephant and a little mouse. They didn’t know each other. One day, the little mouse was starving, and the elephant took pity and gave it some food. Later, the elephant fell into a hunter’s net, and the little mouse, remembering the kindness, chewed through the ropes and saved the elephant! They went from strangers to friends!”
Ying Yun’s tone darkened.
Yang Xueyi could already imagine his annoyed face.
“Yang Xueyi, what are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying, helping others is helping yourself. Don’t look down on those weaker than you—sometimes a small kindness brings a big reward…”
Thick-skinned, Yang Xueyi cleared her throat.
“Right now, you have a chance for a good deed. I’m giving you this opportunity!”
Ying Yun was blunt.
“I’m hanging up.”
“No, no, no! Can you please come to the intermediate slope? I fell and can’t get up, and I can’t reach my friend. I just sent you my location! Ying Yun, seriously, thank you! You’re a doctor—you can’t just leave someone to die, right?”
All she got in response was a dial tone.
Ying Yun had already hung up!