When Tong Hua returned to Su Qingyu’s luxurious and warm vacation estate at the foot of the snow-capped mountain, she felt as if a part of her soul had been left forever on the ski slope where she had experienced the most mortifying moment of her life.
During dinner, the lavish buffet hall was brightly lit, filled with the enticing aroma of food. Guests chatted in hushed tones while soothing background music flowed gently through the air.
Yet, none of this could heal the trauma in Tong Hua’s heart.
Her slightly messy, wavy long hair cascaded loosely over her shoulders. She was dressed in a fluffy, full-body cat pajama set complete with a tail, matching cat-paw slippers on her feet, and even a trembling white cat-ear headband that came with the outfit.
But her entire being seemed drained of all vitality. Slumped lifelessly in a soft armchair, she barely touched the exquisite food on the plate before her.
She looked like a kitten whose scruff had been seized by fate and whose fur had been mercilessly rubbed bald—exuding an aura of utter despair and gray desolation.
“Alright, alright, it’s fine, it’s fine,” Jiang Mo tried to comfort her in her straightforward way, spearing a large piece of grilled meat and stuffing it into her mouth. She mumbled, “I saw that handsome guy didn’t actually do anything to you in the end. He just left directly. Probably didn’t take it to heart.”
Xia Lingxi elegantly cut into the steak on her plate, frowning slightly as if trying to recall something. “Speaking of which, that guy looked somewhat familiar.”
“Not just familiar,” Su Qingyu took a sip of her juice, her tone certain. Her extensive social network and deep understanding of their circle now came into play. “That’s He Sui from our department. The only son of the He family in Beijing.” Her tone was calm, but the words “He family” alone carried enough weight.
“Holy crap! He Sui?! The legendary He Sui who’s rarely seen but always talked about?!” Jiang Mo nearly choked on the meat she had just stuffed into her mouth, coughing violently, her eyes wide with shock. “You mean… the one whose family is insanely rich, who’s both handsome and annoyingly arrogant, whose grades are ridiculously good, who shows up only a few times a semester but causes a stir every time he appears?!”
“It’s him?” Xia Lingxi also remembered, adding, “I heard he’s exceptionally good at math. He scored a perfect mark in the science section of the college entrance exam.”
“Well, they’re all formidable people. Better not mess with them, better not mess with them.” Jiang Mo gave a thumbs-up, her tone a mix of admiration and a conscious desire to “stay away from the big shots.”
“Wahhh…” Hearing this, Tong Hua let out an even more despairing whimper. She pulled the oversized hood of her pajamas over her head, curling into a ball, wishing she could vanish on the spot.
He was actually a fellow student! And such a prominent figure at that! Great, just great—she had embarrassed herself right in her own backyard! How was she supposed to survive in the Computer Science Department at Hai University now? What if she ran into him on campus…
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Jiang Mo racked her brains for comforting words. “Someone of He Sui’s caliber probably… probably won’t hold a grudge against a little kid like you.” The attempt at comfort sounded both awkward and painfully blunt.
Inside Tong Hua’s mind, her inner self was already banging her head against a wall in frustration: If only I hadn’t tried to show off! So what if I couldn’t ski? I could’ve learned slowly! Why did I have to imitate the experts? Now look what happened—I ended up pulling down the expert’s pants and creating this unbearably awkward feud that could dig out a three-bedroom apartment!
While Tong Hua was immersed in her own EMO world, unconsciously poking at the cake on her plate with a fork, engaging in profound self-reflection and replaying awkward memories, a large round table not far behind them welcomed several equally young guests.
The restaurant was noisy with chatter and music, and the girls didn’t notice the commotion behind them.
“Holy shit! I almost died laughing today! He Sui, you finally got what you deserved! Hahahaha!” Xiao Yu’s highly recognizable voice, full of schadenfreude, rang out, clearly audible even amidst the surrounding noise.
He Sui leaned lazily against the back of his chair, swirling a glass of water in his hand, not even bothering to lift his eyelids. He retorted coldly, “If your mouth is too comfortable and has nothing better to do, let it grow something useful, like hemorrhoids.”
Xiao Yu was momentarily choked by this vicious curse, but the thought of the classic scene on the ski slope today instantly turned all his frustration into joyful energy. He shook his head smugly, “Hmph, Brother Xiao is in a good mood today. I won’t stoop to your level, you exhibitionist~”
Nan Chao suppressed a laugh and lowered his voice to speak to He Sui, “Hey, Old He, let me tell you something serious. That girl who… uh, accidentally bumped into you today is from our department. Her name is Tong Hua. She’s practically the department’s living panda, the dean’s top priority for protection.”
He Sui finally lifted his eyelids slightly, his tone indifferent, “A little kid? She’s already a junior in college, isn’t she a giant baby?”
“She’s really only eighteen!” Si Jin leaned over, wearing an expression that said, “You old man just don’t get it.” “She’s a full three years younger than us! How can you call her a giant baby? You’re the 21-year-old fossil!”
“Eighteen?” He Sui raised an eyebrow. He rarely attended classes and truly knew nothing about the department’s so-called “celebrities.”
“Yeah! Tong Hua! A little genius!” Nan Chao eagerly chimed in, his tone as if he were talking about himself, his face animated with excitement. “Three years ago, when she was fifteen, she won the only special prize in the National Advanced Mathematics Competition and was directly admitted to Haida University. It even made the local news! Fifteen years old!”
“Oh! Think about what you were doing at fifteen?” Xiao Yu chimed in again with his annoying tone.
He Sui casually thought back to his own fifteen-year-old self, who was already tinkering with a few small companies, but he didn’t say it out loud.
He merely let out a light snort, the corner of his mouth curling into an ambiguous smile, tinged with coldness and a hint of amusement. “Hmph… really? As long as she’s over eighteen.”
Xiao Yu felt a chill run down his spine at He Sui’s sudden, somewhat sinister smile. “Holy shit! He Sui, why does your smile look so sneaky?! Feels like you’re up to no good!”
He Sui lazily glanced at him, “That’s because you’re sneaky yourself, so everything looks sneaky to you.”
“You… holy shit!” Xiao Yu was precisely targeted again, seething with helpless rage.
Not long after, He Sui looked down at his plate, which had originally been piled high like a small mountain of food but was now completely empty. The culprit, Xiao Yu, was still eyeing the last piece of meat on his plate.
He clicked his tongue in disgust, “Xiao Yu, are you a pig? You finished your own food, then Nan Chao’s, and now you’re scavenging mine?”
“So what?” Xiao Yu said righteously, “Young people are still growing!”
He Sui looked him up and down, the disdain in his eyes completely unconcealed. “Hah, your limbs move like they’re prosthetic. And you still have the nerve to talk about growing? Even if you grow more, it’d just be a waste of resources. I suggest you go back to the factory for a rebuild.”
“Damn it! He Sui! That’s crossing the line into personal attacks!” Xiao Yu nearly jumped up.
He Sui couldn’t be bothered to engage further. He stood up, ready to head back to the food area for more snacks.
At the same time, at the table opposite, Tong Hua stared at the last bite of cake on her plate, which she had unconsciously poked into mush. She sighed gloomily and stood up, announcing to her roommates, “I’m going to get another slice of cake.” Her voice was weak and lifeless, clearly still mired in frustration.
With her head lowered, the oversized hood of her pajamas completely blocked her peripheral vision. Her fluffy cat-paw slippers dragged lazily across the floor as she drifted toward the buffet table like a wandering ghost.
And so, the gears of fate—unfortunately—began to turn once more.
Thud!
One wasn’t watching where she was going, and the other wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings.
Tong Hua collided solidly with a firm yet slightly warm human obstacle, her nose throbbing with pain.
“Ouch! That hurts, hurts, hurts…” she cried out, the impact causing the hood of her pajamas to slip off, revealing her entire face.
Without the heavy ski suit or the obstruction of ski goggles, she was now fully exposed under the bright lights.
Her slightly curly long hair was a bit tousled, making her delicate face appear even fairer and more refined.
From the pain and shock, her large, cat-like eyes glistened with unshed tears. Her long, curled eyelashes fluttered like tiny fans, and her pink, pouty lips were slightly parted. Her entire face was flushed and fair, and paired with her fluffy cat-themed pajamas and headband, she looked exactly like a pampered ragdoll cat that had accidentally escaped from home—startled, bewildered, and utterly lost.
Compared to her appearance on the slopes that morning, bundled up with only her eyes visible, she now appeared clear, complete, and strikingly impactful.
He Sui staggered slightly from the impact and looked down.
What met his eyes was a face adorable enough to melt most people’s hearts.
A fleeting thought of admiration crossed his mind, but his words were far from kind. “You look quite cute, but what a shame—you’re an idiot.”
Tong Hua clutched her aching forehead and nose, tears of pain welling in her eyes. She was about to look up and see who had been so careless. “Who is it? Why aren’t you watching where—!”
But as she lifted her head, she met the face she never wanted to see again—handsome yet etched with mocking coldness. “…you’re going,” her voice trailed off into a whisper.
Oh no! It’s the guy in the black shorts! Wait, no—it’s He Sui! That sharp-tongued, terrifying schoolmate!
All the words she had prepared to confront him instantly stuck in her throat. The memory of her earlier social blunder flooded back, drowning her once more.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she instinctively took a sharp step back, ignoring the pain. She stammered hurriedly, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”
Her voice was frantic and panicked. Without daring to look at He Sui’s reaction, she turned and dashed back to her seat at the fastest speed her cat-paw slippers could manage, disappearing with a whoosh. She curled back into the depths of her chair, pulling the hood tightly over her head as if it could shield her from everything.
He Sui: “…?”
He stood in place, watching the little one who had darted away like a startled kitten and vanished in an instant, slowly forming a question mark in his mind.
Was he really that scary? Enough to make someone flee as if they’d seen a ghost?
He touched his own face, for the first time feeling a subtle… doubt about his appearance.
Then, that playful, slightly mischievous smile crept back onto the corner of his lips.
Hah, interesting. She sure runs fast.
This “ill-fated encounter” that began on the snowy slopes clearly wouldn’t come to an end with just one panicked escape.
On the contrary, it seemed to be racing toward an even more interesting direction.