After He Sui’s not-so-gentle but unexpectedly effective guidance, Tong Hua felt as if her meridians had been unblocked. She spent the entire morning diligently practicing and reinforcing her skills on that gentle slope.
The number of falls decreased significantly, and her sliding posture became much more composed. Though still miles away from elegance, at least she was no longer sliding around like an overexcited husky.
By noon, she could finally glide relatively smoothly from the top of the slope to the bottom and brake steadily, though occasionally she still needed to flail her arms a bit to maintain balance.
This tremendous progress instantly inflated her confidence, almost making her forget her own name.
Leaning on her ski poles, she stood in the snow, hands on her hips, her little chin held high, and let out a smug hum: “Hmph~ Skiing! Nothing to it! Got it under control~” She even clumsily made a pinching gesture with her thickly gloved hand, looking both amusing and adorable.
However, her newly established “expert” mentality crumbled in an instant the next second when she saw He Sui speeding down from the advanced slope, executing a clean, powerful 360-degree aerial spin followed by a perfect landing, leaving her wide-eyed with amazement.
“Wow! That was so cool!” she exclaimed, her eyes round with awe.
Of course, she was emphasizing the move itself, definitely not the person performing it…
Not far away, Xiao Yu was curling his lip in He Sui’s direction. “See that? He Sui’s off to the beginner slope again to unleash his restless show-off energy. He gets all itchy if he doesn’t flaunt it for a day.”
But Tong Hua seemed not to hear Xiao Yu’s sarcasm. Dragging her still somewhat heavy skis, she waddled like a clumsy yet determined little penguin, step by step, toward He Sui, who had just finished showing off and was now resting in place.
“He Sui! He Sui!” she called out, her voice tinged with excitement and anticipation.
Hearing her, He Sui turned his head, his goggles pushed up on his forehead, revealing those eyes with a hint of careless wildness. He looked at her and asked, “What? Does the little genius want to pull someone’s pants down again?”
Tong Hua automatically filtered out his sharp tongue. Her little face was flushed from the exercise and her novel idea as she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling brightly. “That move you just did, the spinning one! It’s amazing! Can you teach me?” Her entire expression screamed, “I want to learn! Teach me now!”
Xiao Yu, hearing this, immediately perked up. He skied closer and said to Tong Hua in a tone that suggested she was about to witness a historic rejection, “Kid, that’s He Sui’s exclusive signature move, his trump card. He won’t even teach us! Back when I…” He was about to cite his own past failed attempts to learn it, but what did he hear the next second?
He Sui lowered his gaze to the little kitten staring up at him with eager eyes. Instead of immediately refusing or launching into mockery, he merely raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of scrutiny. “Sure. But this move is difficult. It requires strong core strength and a good sense of air control. It’s nothing like the snowplow brake you just learned. Are you sure you want to learn? Don’t cry if you fall. I’m not Jiang Mo—I won’t comfort you.”
Tong Hua listened to his arrogant and punchable tone and immediately felt disdain, her little expression exceptionally vivid, with a hint of sarcasm: “Who needs you to coax me~” The drawn-out ending tone and lively eyes were exactly like a real-life Loopy-style sarcastic meme, incredibly amusing.
He Sui couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth lift slightly at her reaction, but he quickly restrained himself, deliberately putting on a stern face and mimicking her earlier demeanor, pretending to turn and leave: “Is this your attitude when seeking a teacher? So disrespectful—it seems you don’t really want to learn~”
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t go!” Seeing him about to leave, Tong Hua panicked, forgetting all about her little temper. She quickly reached out a small hand and grabbed the sleeve of his ski jacket. “Teacher He! Teacher He! I was wrong! Please be magnanimous and teach me! I really, really want to learn!”
She immediately switched to a solemn, serious, and eager expression, her change of expression so fast it was astonishing.
He Sui stopped, turned back to look at her, and seemed quite satisfied with her respectful attitude. He reluctantly nodded: “Alright~ Since you’re so sincere, I’ll reluctantly give you a few pointers.”
“Fake goods~” While he turned back to adjust his snowboard, Tong Hua immediately resumed her earlier sarcastic little expression, muttering under her breath in a voice so soft only she could hear it.
He Sui’s ears twitched, as if catching that faint sound, and he abruptly turned his head.
Tong Hua reacted extremely quickly. The moment he turned, she had already switched to an utterly innocent and pure expression, her big eyes blinking, long eyelashes fluttering like little fans, as if silently saying: “I’m so well-behaved~ I didn’t say anything just now~ Look at my sincere big eyes~”
He Sui stared at her for two seconds but, finding no evidence, could only turn back suspiciously.
As soon as he turned away, Tong Hua immediately mouthed exaggeratedly and silently at his back. Judging by her lip movements, she was clearly repeating: “Fake—goods—!”
This scene was witnessed entirely by Xiao Yu not far away.
Xiao Yu was completely petrified, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a snowball.
Pointing in the direction of He Sui and Tong Hua, his finger trembling, his voice changed pitch: “N-no way… he, he just agreed to teach her?! Just like that?! Then what about that limited-edition custom AJ I begged my dad for money to give him when I asked him to teach me that move, only to get scolded for half a day?! That was tens of thousands! Tens of thousands!! And all I got in return was his ‘figure it out yourself’?!”
Nan Chao and Si Jin very tacitly tuned out the surrounding world, focusing intently on Xiao Yu’s breakdown-fueled roar. Both of them clutched their stomachs, laughing so hard they nearly rolled on the snow.
Nan Chao gasped between laughs, adding insult to injury: “Count yourself stupid! Count yourself foolish! Count yourself having too much money with nowhere to spend it! Hahahaha! Or… or maybe you should really consider getting a sex change? Maybe Old He would be gentler with you if you were brand new? Hahahaha!”
Si Jin laughed even harder, slapping his thigh: “No, no, no! I bet Old He would just kick him out of the dorm with one foot, adding: Pervert! Stay away from me! Hahahahaha!”
“He—Sui—!” Xiao Yu listened to his companion’s merciless laughter, watched He Sui over there already starting to explain the key points of the movements to Tong Hua, and was overwhelmed with grief and indignation. Furious, he punched the air right where he stood with a set of wild, formless, yet spirited “turtle-style” punches, sending snowflakes scattering in all directions.
Meanwhile, in the center of the snowy field, He Sui patiently demonstrated the key points of the movements to Tong Hua, completely ignoring the storm of resentment brewing nearby, courtesy of Xiao Yu.
He watched Tong Hua listening attentively, her small brows occasionally furrowing slightly as she struggled to grasp the difficult points, and felt that this teaching process… wasn’t so boring after all.
At the very least, it was far more interesting than watching Xiao Yu throw those wild punches.