The rest didn't matter. The main point was that Shen Xingrou had a valid argument—most of the coaches were men. Was he supposed to watch some guy teach his girl hand-in-hand?
Shen Xiaoxing couldn't swallow that. He'd rather let Shen Xingrou, the amateur, teach her.
"Your sister-in-law is a beginner. Watch yourself."
"Relax, I'm a pro at skiing. I even won first place in a competition the year before last."
Shen Xiaoxing raised an eyebrow. He vaguely remembered hearing she'd won some award, but he had no idea what event it was for.
An Che had already changed into his gear. Though he was a beginner too, his excitement clearly outweighed his fear. Han Chong was personally guiding him through the precautions.
"Sister-in-law, should we go change too?"
An Ruo nodded and said softly to the man, "I'll go get changed. If you're bored, head to the lounge upstairs for some tea."
The open viewing deck was too cold, and he couldn't warm up by exercising.
By the time An Ruo had her gear on, Han Chong had already finished a lap around the slope with An Che. Seeing her come out, he waved happily.
But he wasn't paying attention to what was ahead, skated too fast, and accidentally took a tumble.
An Che scrambled up awkwardly, brushing the snow off himself.
Seeing he was fine, An Ruo paused for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "When I fall, will I look as ugly as he did?"
Her question successfully made Shen Xingrou laugh.
"With me here, I won't let you fall."
A gasp rippled through the crowd. Everyone turned to see He Su, without any assistive gear, performing aerial flips and jumps on the highest slope. His moves were fluid and seamless.
Shen Xingrou put on her helmet and sneered coldly, "Tch, a decent doctor learning to ski, dressing all flashy. Does he love showing off that much?"
An Ruo glanced at her secretly. These two were really a pair of bickering lovebirds, classic case of mutual disdain.
"Don't panic if something happens. Take it slow." Shen Xiaoxing picked out a pink helmet for her and put it on himself, giving her a worried reminder: "Don't be nervous. No one's staring at you."
With his reassurance, An Ruo felt her fear fade.
She smiled and nodded. "I'm off."
Shen Xiaoxing curled his lips, casting a soft glow through the icy snow, and waved at her with a faint smile.
The ski slope was packed with people, dark figures zipping past. An Ruo steadied her mindset and began gliding slowly, following Shen Xingrou's instructions...
"Keep this pace, don't rush, take it easy."
He Su skated past them, turned around to show off by skiing backward, and raised an eyebrow smugly. "This speed is slower than the tortoise and hare race."
"..."
"Move it, you're blocking my sister-in-law. She just learned, don't distract her!"
An Ruo was terrified of crashing into He Su ahead. She lost control of her speed and unexpectedly fell hard onto the thick snow.
It didn't hurt, but it was so embarrassing!
"He Su!"
Shen Xingrou gritted her teeth. "You jinx!"
She quickly braked and helped An Ruo up from the ground.
He Su instinctively reached out, but halfway, he remembered to keep his distance and froze. Just then, his phone rang.
He swiped to answer, and a furious male voice came through: "Get the hell away from her. If I see you near her again, you'll spend the rest of your life in bed!"
"..."
Was it really that serious?
All he did was tease his little wife a bit. Did that warrant such a harsh threat?
He'd endured humiliation and risked his life as a spy for him, suffering scorn and disgrace. Win or lose, he was still part of the Shen family!
He Su hung up, pouted, and propped himself on his ski poles to wander off alone.
...
After playing all afternoon, they were drenched in sweat despite the freezing winter.
An Ruo took a hot shower. The resort was huge, with plenty of activities, especially the hotel they were staying at—beauty SPA, hot springs, an arcade, and a dance performance in the third-floor lobby at night.
As they were heading to a private dining room, An Ruo pushed the man around a corner in the elevator hallway and ran into two tall, upright men.
One of them looked familiar.
Huo Jinyan whistled lazily. "Oh, isn't this our A-Xing? What brings you here to enjoy yourself..."
Before he could finish, he caught the man's warning glare and swallowed the rest.
"This must be the sister-in-law, right? I've heard A-Xing talk about you often—smart, virtuous, charming, and great figure—" Huo Jinyan yelped as someone pinched his waist, glaring at the culprit behind him.
Sheng Nanzhou shot him a look like he was an idiot, then greeted An Ruo politely: "Hello, sister-in-law. First time meeting. I'm Sheng Nanzhou."
An Ruo replied courteously, "Hello." After a pause, she added, "It doesn't seem like our first meeting."
Last time, she'd sneaked into a socialite event, and a rogue had stopped her, insisting on a dance. Then a man suddenly appeared to rescue her, in that kind of way...
She pursed her lips. Seeing how close he was with this reckless guy, it probably wasn't just a casual friendship.
Wait, they both knew Shen Xiaoxing and were his close friends. That... wasn't that dangerous?
Sheng Nanzhou suddenly recalled their first encounter. Meeting again now, he awkwardly licked his lips, unsure how to explain.
"Uh... well, I..."
The man introduced them in a deep voice: "These two are fairly close brothers of mine. This is Sheng Nanzhou, and this one dressed like a peacock is Huo Jinyan, the eldest son of the Huo family in Shencheng."
Huo Jinyan raised an eyebrow. When did he dress like a peacock?!
"Alright, they're not that close of brothers. Aren't you hungry? Let's go to the restaurant."
An Ruo didn't want to chat with them either. Two men—what could she, a woman, talk about with them? Besides...
This Huo Jinyan kept glancing at her. Was that habit similar to Shen Tingfeng's, that womanizer?
She pushed the man past them, bidding farewell, and walked straight into the restaurant without stopping.
Once they were gone, Sheng Nanzhou pouted in disbelief. "A-Xing's so unfair, saying we're not close brothers!?"
"And he said I dress like a peacock. Where's the resemblance?"
Sheng Nanzhou looked him over and said seriously, "Yeah, you do look like a peacock."
"..."
"Doesn't he usually live cautiously? Why's he boldly traveling now, not afraid of the Shen family's second branch targeting him?"
"You don't get it, do you?" Sheng Nanzhou raised an eyebrow. "With his wife by his side, he's obviously planned everything thoroughly. It's near the end of the year, so taking her out to have fun and make her happy is normal, isn't it?"
Huo Jinyan rubbed his chin. "Speaking of which, has A-Xing really fallen for her?"
"A hundred percent."
Sheng Nanzhou had seen him hand over his exclusive black card to An Ruo to use freely, and when he learned she'd snuck into a dangerous zone, he flew back immediately just to watch her escape safely.
The Shen family's eldest, who once ignored romance, had finally bloomed. Anyone with eyes could see he was in love with An Ruo!