Originally, Qiao Huanxuan invited Zhang Yurong to go skiing together, and they both thought it was just talk. After all, they were rivals in love, so saying something friendly face-to-face was normal. Who would really want to face such awkwardness playing together?

What they didn't expect was, after breakfast in the morning, while pondering where to go, Qiao Huanxuan came over, announcing that she had driven over and was taking them to a ski resort.

Li Yan also wanted to help Yurong relax a bit since once they went back, she'd immerse herself in work again. So, when she showed interest, he immediately agreed to the suggestion, and the three of them left together.

Qiao Huanxuan drove over herself, picked them up, and on the way, explained where they were headed.

They were really going to a proper ski resort, not just any random place to play. The destination was on a mountain in a county under their city's jurisdiction. A ski resort had been built there a few years ago, with considerable investment, and it was a decent size. Besides locals from nearby counties and cities, many people from the south came to ski and vacation.

Listening to Qiao Huanxuan's introduction, Li Yan, who hadn't returned for years, felt like a stranger and hadn't even heard of this ski resort. Back in high school, he hadn't gone to many faraway places, so he fully relied on Qiao Huanxuan as their guide this time.

After driving for over an hour, they finally arrived at the remote mountainous ski resort. In the snowy landscape, a resort appeared, built along the mountain, relatively warm and comfortable. Apart from the skiing auxiliary services and supply base being the main operations, there were also accompanying hotel facilities, allowing tourists coming from afar to enjoy their stay without worry.

Qiao Huanxuan parked the car and then led them over, introducing as she went, "We're here. They have another base on the mountaintop, but it's smaller and doesn't have accommodations. You could drive up there as well; there's a road, though it's farther around. In this weather, driving up a mountain, especially when it's not a busy route, isn't very safe. Most people park here and take the cable car up."

There's no need for a ticket to enter the ski resort vacation area. The parking lot is free, but who would come all the way here just to park? Everyone here is a consumer. Inside, all services cost money, and if you haven't bought a cable car ticket, you can't ski up. If you're brave enough to hike up, no one would stop you either.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, so there aren't too many tourists staying here. Some young people from nearby counties and cities came over as well. Overall, there were visitors, but considering the large area, it wasn't crowded.

The three of them planned to return tonight, so they didn't need to stay at the hotel, but they did need to buy ski clothes and rent skis and other gear. Since Qiao Huanxuan had been here before, she skilfully guided the two of them.

While picking out ski apparel and gear, Zhang Yurong, despite not skiing often, had previously skied with family in places like Beihai Country and Xiao Country, so she had some knowledge. Li Yan, on the other hand, knew nothing, which surprised the two women, so they laughed and helped him choose.

Before heading to the changing room to change, Qiao Huanxuan reminded Li Yan to consider the possibility of falling and leave hard objects like phones and keys in the locker to avoid hurting himself.

As Li Yan changed, he couldn't help but sigh, never expecting that over the ten years he hadn't been back, a large ski resort had appeared in his hometown. It really had become a man-made vacation spot. But since it wasn't permanently snow-covered, this business was only viable during the few severe winter and early spring months.

...

After changing into waterproof ski clothes and boots, Li Yan waited for the two women to come out. The clothes they picked for him were blue, while theirs were light yellow and pink. When the two beauties stepped out together, even though Li Yan was used to seeing them, they still caught his eye.

"Wow! In a different place, you'd definitely have a lot of people hitting on you two," Li Yan joked.

Zhang Yurong just smiled, while Qiao Huanxuan, being more familiar, joked back, "Isn't someone already trying to flirt with us now? Should we pay attention to you?"

"Pfft, I'm the Flower Guardian!"

Laughing and chatting, Qiao Huanxuan led them towards the cable car. Naturally, the two women attracted all the men's gazes along the way, and Li Yan, as the Flower Guardian, was of course ignored.

Stepping outside, the cold air was immediately noticeable. But like eating salty fish without fear of thirst, wanting to enjoy the fun of skiing meant braving the cold. At the cable car station, the crowd of tourists gathered to ski made it seem a bit busier. As Qiao Huanxuan was explaining how long it would take to ride the cable car up, someone called out to her.

"Xiao Qiao? Is it really you?" A man in casual clothes approached them, looking a bit excitedly at Qiao Huanxuan.

Li Yan glanced at him. The man looked about his age, seemingly working here.

He had never called her Xiao Qiao like that, not even those high school classmates. He only heard his parents call her that yesterday. Who was this person? A college classmate?

The man was so excited he took off his gloves, wanting to shake Qiao Huanxuan's hand, and then looked over at Li Yan and Zhang Yurong.

But Qiao Huanxuan gestured that she was holding ski poles, so she didn't extend her hand.

"Still calling me Xiao Qiao, huh? I'm all grown up now," she jokingly replied, then introduced them, "This is Zhao Yipeng, a college peer; and these are my high school classmates, Li Yan and his wife." Since Li Yan was male, it didn't matter too much, but Zhang Yurong being female, it wasn't appropriate to introduce her to people who might not be interested. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Oh… hello, hello to you all," Zhao Yipeng greeted, then looked back at Qiao Huanxuan, enthusiastically saying, "You're out skiing on New Year's Day?"

Qiao Huanxuan laughed, "With our gear, if we're not skiing, are we here for a barbecue?"

A bit embarrassed, Zhao Yipeng then warmly said, "You should have told me you were coming to ski! Just a notification, and I'd have arranged everything for you. I work here now, as a small manager, so I can certainly offer you some conveniences!"

"I see. It has been a while since we connected; I didn't even know you worked here." Qiao Huanxuan politely returned the conversation. It's not like the place was so crowded they needed special favors, nor were they concerned with saving a bit of money.

But Zhao Yipeng was different; even though he called himself a small manager, he was clearly proud, and to show his identity, insisted they skip ahead in line.

Li Yan and the others didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Though everyone gathered to queue for the cable car, the wait wasn't that long. Did they really need to skip the line? Yet Zhao Yipeng's enthusiasm left them no choice but to follow, or else more people would start looking their way with his ongoing noise.

"No need to buy tickets. Enjoy your time," Zhao Yipeng said generously, giving them three badges from a staff member, indicating their cable car fee was covered.

With many waiting tourists looking displeased, the three of them hurried onto the cable car to escape the stares and Zhao Yipeng's chatter. They sat together, with Li Yan and Zhang Yurong on one side and Qiao Huanxuan opposite. The space wasn't large, so their knees were practically touching.

"This was built a few years ago, so it's closed and can be shut off, sparing you from the harsh wind during the lift." Sitting opposite each other in the cramped space, if no one spoke, it felt awkwardly quiet, so Qiao Huanxuan started the conversation, "These badges are meant to track tourists. They're given out before boarding the cable car. On the way down, you turn them in. If mismatched numbers are found, they'll search, to avoid any accidents."

Listening to her, Li Yan wasn't too focused, his mind on Zhao Yipeng. That fervent look suggested admiration for her, not just seeing her as any regular fellow countryman or schoolmate. His enthusiasm earlier was undoubtedly to win over Qiao Huanxuan. Though he wanted to inquire about Zhao Yipeng, it seemed like jealousy, and with Yurong by his side, it wasn't the right time to ask.

As the cable car ascended, they looked through the glass, watching the snowy slopes and valleys moving below. The cable car was quite high, and when passing over valleys, it felt especially elevated. Yurong jokingly said, "Good thing it's enclosed. If our feet were dangling, I might be scared looking down from such heights."

Qiao Huanxuan assured, "Don't worry, these are rigorously tested. There haven't been any incidents over the years. We're locals. Even if news is suppressed, we'd definitely hear if anything happened."

Li Yan added, "It's like taking an elevator. Though incidents occur, they're rare."

"Yes, I understand," Zhang Yurong replied.

As if to mock Li Yan and Qiao Huanxuan, just after they finished speaking, the cable car, halfway along its route, came to a halt, suspending them mid-air! (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com to support the author and read more chapters!)