Ski Into Love (Hush, the king is hibernating) [Requested]

Part 42

Chapter 42: Going to Class?

As soon as the young girl left the café, she fell silent, as if her tongue had been cut out, all her previous vivacity vanishing.

While queuing for the cable car, she remained as quiet as a mouse.

Just as they were about to board, Shan Chong suddenly turned around.

Before she could react, he raised his hand and removed the lens from her snow goggles.

Wei Zhi was startled. "What are you doing?" she asked, looking up at him with clear confusion in her eyes.

The man fiddled with her goggles for a few seconds, his gaze never leaving her eyes.

After a moment, satisfied that she hadn't been secretly crying, he snapped her "windows to the soul" shut again and said casually, "Nothing."

When it was their board turn the cable car, seeing her awkwardly shuffling forward on one foot while dragging her snowboard, he reached out to steady her.

As they boarded, concerned that her legs might be too short to reach, he lifted her onto the car.

Once seated in the cable car, however, she became uncooperative again, hastily freeing herself from his grip as soon as she was settled.

He paused for a moment but said nothing, discreetly withdrawing his hand and using the motion to pull down the safety bar.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her feet swinging back and forth beside him.

She gazed straight ahead, seemingly engrossed in the snowy landscape.

Just as Shan Chong thought she might remain mute for the day, granting him a rare moment of peace, she finally burst out, "Do they look down on me?"

Wei Zhi asked this question while staring at the people on the ski slopes below as if someone down there had performed an extraordinary feat.

Shan Chong wanted to ask if she wasn't afraid of heights, staring down like that.

"What?" he responded absently.

"I feel like they all look down on me," Wei Zhi repeated, her voice devoid of emotion, almost numb.

"Everyone looked surprised when they heard you were teaching me how to push and carve. Some didn't mean any harm, but others seemed to think I was wasting your time..."

She turned her head, looking at the man through her snow goggles.

"Does teaching me to push and carve embarrass you?"

Her voice sounded forced and brave.

The meaning behind these words was clear – she might as well have had "Please comfort me" written on her face.

At this point, according to the script, the man should smile indulgently and tell her that everyone starts from zero.
Skiing, except for a few exceptionally gifted individuals or those with prior experience in board sports, begins with stumbling and tumbling for everyone.

It doesn't matter if learning is slow; take it step by step.

Those people aren't that good either.

She'll catch up to them eventually, maybe even surpass them...

Wei Zhi could think of countless unimaginative ways to placate her, so she looked at Shan Chong, hoping he'd say something original and inspiring—preferably moving her to tears.

Under her expectant gaze, the man remained silent for a moment, then said something indeed quite unexpected.

"Since when did you suddenly become so ambitious?"