Tong Hua’s gaze had been completely captivated by the black-clad figure gracefully descending from the advanced slope.
The person moved with effortless ease, each turn executed with relaxed confidence. Occasionally, a few showy little jumps carved sharp arcs in the snow, looking so incredibly cool under the sunlight that it seemed like a skiing promotional video.
Tong Hua stared, mesmerized, her mouth slightly agape beneath her kitten-eared hat. She couldn’t help but utter a sincere exclamation: “Wow! That’s amazing!”
She didn’t really understand the technical difficulty of those moves, but the overwhelming sense of confidence and grace in mastering the snow ignited the competitive, challenge-seeking fire deep within her bones.
“I want to be that cool too!” This thought sparked like a tiny flame, instantly flaring up.
Thus, inspired by the power of her “idol,” Tong Hua completely forgot that she was still a complete beginner who hadn’t even properly learned how to brake.
Ambitiously, she dragged her snowboard, huffing and puffing as she climbed a bit higher up the small slope she had just been on, convinced she was ready to attempt a more thrilling run.
“Hua Hua! What are you doing? The slope gets steeper over there!” Jiang Mo was the first to notice her intention and hurriedly called out.
Su Qingyu and Xia Lingxi also looked over, their expressions disapproving.
Unfortunately, the warning came too late. Just as Tong Hua adjusted her stance, before she could even finish mentally chanting “I will conquer you,” she lost her balance. The snowboard beneath her feet seemed to instantly break free from restraint, carrying her uncontrollably as she accelerated down the slope!
“Ahhhhhhh—I’m out of control! Get out of the way!” The sensation of weightlessness seized her instantly. Tong Hua screamed in terror, her voice carving a shrill trajectory across the ski resort.
She flailed her arms and legs, trying to regain balance, but all her efforts were futile against the acceleration.
Jiang Mo’s face paled, and she immediately rushed to help. Su Qingyu and Xia Lingxi’s hearts leaped into their throats.
As for Tong Hua, in her extreme panic, she saw herself hurtling toward a figure that had stopped at some point ahead, its back turned to her—the very same black-clad figure she had been admiring! Survival instinct overrode everything else! She closed her eyes and lunged forward recklessly, her hands clawing wildly in the air, trying to grab onto anything that could save her—
Riiip—!
A clear, sharp sound of fabric being violently torn.
Time seemed to freeze.
Tong Hua felt herself crash into a solid support—likely the person’s sturdy calf. The powerful momentum was cushioned, and she finally came to a stop, her face buried firmly in the cold snow, mouthful of icy flakes and all.
Still shaken, she struggled to lift her head, wiping the snow from her face. Her gaze first focused on—
The waistband of the other person’s snow pants, which she had desperately grabbed and yanked during the collision, was now pulled down a significant stretch! It revealed a section of firm, well-defined, snow-white thigh skin belonging to an athletic guy, and… against the backdrop of pristine white snow, an eye-catching, flamboyant pair of black briefs emblazoned with bold black lettering!
That patch of black, stark against the icy, snowy landscape, stood out like a flag fluttering in the wind, announcing the tragedy that had just occurred.
The person who had been attacked froze instantly.
In the next moment, almost as a reflex, he yanked his pants back up with a speed so fast it left an afterimage, his movements clearly marked by embarrassment and fury.
He spun around abruptly, shoving his ski goggles up to his forehead in a fit of irritation, fully revealing a face that was strikingly handsome yet now etched with frost. His eyes were deep and sharp, his nose high and prominent like a mountain ridge, and his tightly pressed thin lips radiated extreme displeasure.
Those eyes, as if distilled from the fiercest winds of the Alps, were cold and ruthless, filled with undisguised hostility and mockery, fixed squarely on the bewildered culprit still sitting dazedly in the snow, her mind completely blank—Tong Hua.
Dead silence fell over the scene.
Only Xiao Yu, Nan Chao, and Si Jin, who had just skied nearby and witnessed the entire incident perfectly, remained frozen as if under a spell, their mouths agape wide enough to swallow an entire snowball.
“Pfft—hahahahaha!” The silence was shattered by Xiao Yu.
After a two-second pause, he erupted into uproarious laughter, doubling over so hard he nearly toppled off his snowboard. Slapping Nan Chao beside him, he howled, “Holy shit! Hahaha! Pulling… pulling down his pants! He Sui got his pants pulled down in public! Hahahaha!”
He Sui lowered his head, glanced expressionlessly at the waistband of his pants that had just faced peril, and confirmed they were properly secured.
Then, he raised his eyes again, his icy gaze like a scalpel, locking onto the little figure wearing a ridiculous white kitten hat, her face a mix of innocence and confusion, as if she hadn’t yet realized the earth-shattering deed she had just committed.
Fury turned to cold amusement.
The corners of his thin lips curled into an icy smile as he hurled words dripping with sarcasm and mercilessness, each syllable sharp as an icicle, straight at Tong Hua: “If you can’t ski, why aren’t you sticking close to your coach? Did your brain come from a secondhand market and still hasn’t connected to Bluetooth?”
Tong Hua: “!!”
In all her life, this was the first time she had ever been called brainless!
The words exploded in her ears like thunder, washing over her with the shame of social humiliation and the shock of such biting sarcasm.
Normally, with her fiery temper, she would have jumped up and retaliated at such an insult.
But at this moment, having just experienced the most awkward and humiliating moment of her life, with that flaunting black underwear still haunting her vision like damning evidence, all her confidence had drained away in that single “grab.”
Her face flushed crimson with shame and embarrassment, she instinctively covered her face with her thick-gloved hands and let out a feeble, flustered apology, like a small animal: “S-sorry… I didn’t mean to…”
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, trembling with lingering shock.
He Sui couldn’t even be bothered to spare her another glance, his mind still replaying the embarrassment of having his pants pulled down in public.
He turned away coldly, even instinctively and resentfully tugging at his pants once more to ensure they were secure, then pushed off with his ski poles and skied away without looking back.
That figure remained tall and handsome, yet inexplicably radiated an aura of frustration and speechlessness that seemed to say, “Damn, I must have the worst luck in the world to end up in this godforsaken place and run into such an idiot.”
He was probably internally screaming with regret right now: If only he hadn’t gotten carried away and decided to show off on the beginner slope, and then stopped to watch some fool ski! This little act of showing off had literally cost him his pants!
Tsk, and she had quite the grip! She’d even managed to yank down his thermal leggings!
Tong Hua remained frozen in her kneeling position on the snow, her mind already in utter chaos, a fierce internal battle raging: Ahhh! So embarrassing! I can’t face anyone! I just publicly pulled down a stranger’s pants! And I saw his boxers!
At that moment, Su Qingyu, Jiang Mo, and Xia Lingxi finally rushed over, their faces etched with anxiety and lingering fear.
“Hua Hua! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” Jiang Mo was the first to crouch down, anxiously checking her arms and legs.
“You scared us to death! Why did you suddenly charge down like that?” Su Qingyu’s voice was also filled with lingering apprehension.
“Does anywhere hurt? Are any bones out of place?” Xia Lingxi gently supported her shoulders, her tone full of concern.
The fussing and concern from her three older sisters was like the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
The shame, lingering fear, and grievance that Tong Hua had been desperately holding back instantly burst through the dam. With a sudden, loud “Waaah—”, she burst into tears without warning. Large teardrops rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the melted snow on her face, making her look utterly pitiful.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Are you really hurt? Tell us where it hurts!” Seeing her cry, the three of them panicked even more, thinking she must have injured herself somewhere. Su Qingyu immediately reached for her phone to contact the medical station.
But between sobs, using all her strength, Tong Hua let out a grief-stricken, snowfield-shaking wail: “I… I’m fine! Wuwu… but… but I’m never coming to the Alps to ski again in my entire life!!”
Her voice was choked with tears, yet exceptionally loud, filled with profound despair over her social death and a farewell to this icy land that was a tangled mix of love and hate.
The surrounding air seemed to grow quiet for another moment.
Only Xiao Yu’s barely suppressed, yet still audible, “Pfft” sounded especially clear.
Her Alps adventure, within the first hour of stepping onto the slopes, had completely veered off course in such an earth-shattering, unforgettable way.