Chapter 12 Let It Snow a Little Longer

The place Luo Shisi mentioned…

The place Luo Shisi mentioned was east of the village.

Whenever it snowed in winter, it became the happiest time for the children in the village.

Lin Chao followed for about ten minutes. When they arrived, he leaned forward with his palms on his knees, breathing slightly heavily.

Perhaps because he had just recovered from a fever, his body was still somewhat weak, and he couldn’t handle walking such a long distance very well.

It was a slope not far from the main road. Luo Shisi had said it wasn’t that steep, but after one glance, Lin Chao still thought it looked a bit high.

Luo Shisi had only called the girls, and after clearing snow for so long, all the way here, their faces weren’t flushed nor were they out of breath.

Clearly, they came here often. As soon as they reached the slope, they cheered and pulled out a plastic box from a nearby dirt hole.

Luo Shisi stood among the crowd, frowning, one hand on her hip, using the other to direct them.

“Hey, be careful! If you get hurt, your dad will come crying to my house again!”

“Put it over there! Over their task, can it even stay in that spot? It’s sliding down! Hey!”

As she spoke, she quickly bent down to grab the box: “Be careful when you’re carrying it! If anyone drops something, they’ll have to go down and get it themselves.”

Lin Chao glanced down the Ski Slope and his pupils slightly contracted.

So long, so high… Even though there were safety measures below, he couldn’t help feeling afraid.

The girls chattered noisily as they took a pump out of the box and inflated the Inflatable Rafts.

Lin Chao watched from the side and noticed that Luo Shisi was meticulous and had a natural talent for leadership. She broke down each task and handled everything methodically.

Especially the confidence she exuded from within it was inexplicably convincing.

The Inflatable Rafts were brightly colored and flat before being inflated. There were about ten of them.

Counting himself, Lin Chao tallied only eight people in total.

Which meant he couldn’t use the excuse of too many people to avoid skiing.

Lin Chao pinched his chin, squatting to the side, drawing circles in the snow with his finger, his face full of melancholy.

When Luo Shisi turned around and saw him like that, she laughed, shook the snow off her hands, picked up a yellow Inflatable Raft, and squatted down beside him, mimicking his posture. “What’s up?”

Lin Chao instinctively replied, “I’m scared.”

His voice was soft and low, tinged with childishness.

Only after speaking did he realize who had asked. He pressed his lips together but stubbornly refused to look up.

Seeing him curled up into a ball, Luo Shisi couldn’t help but laugh. She pulled him up with one hand: “What are you afraid of? If you’re scared… I’ll go with you.”

Seeing Lin Chao pout and about to refuse again, she quickly added, “You’re here because I invited you. I can’t let you just watch us play alone…”

“Besides, once you try it, you’ll see it’s really fun! If you don’t like it, you can refuse then, okay?”

Her words came rapid-fire, leaving Lin Chao with nothing to say.

Seeing him nod, Luo Shisi led him to the starting point.

The others were already experienced and had gone ahead. The snow slope was now marked with several tracks. They sat on the Inflatable Rafts, holding the handles at their sides, and whooshed down.

A look of envy appeared in Lin Chao’s eyes.

Luo Shisi waved a hand in front of his face: “Snap out of it. Sit.”

Lin Chao blinked and following Luo Shisi’s instructions, sat down and adjusted his position.

Once he was settled, Luo Shisi whistled, turned around, and went to get her Inflatable Raft.

But when she came back carrying it under her arm, Lin Chao was nowhere to be seen at the starting point.

“Shit!”

Luo Shisi’s heart skipped a beat.

She hurriedly looked down on the slope, desperately searching for that flash of yellow. Spotting it, she quickly boarded her inflatable sled and chased after him.

Lin Chao had originally been waiting for Luo Shisi in place, but then a girl noticed him standing still and kindly gave him a push.

“Why aren’t you moving? Here, let me give you a push! Go!”

Lin Chao’s face turned pale with fright: “Wait a moment!”

The snow path ahead had been compacted by several children, and with light snow still falling from the sky, the speed was incredibly fast!

Caught off guard by tremendous force, he was pushed down the slope. The inflatable sled carried him rushing down the snow-covered hill, his hair blown completely backward, while snow spray kicked up by the sled splashed back onto his face, cold and tingling.

Clenching his teeth, Lin Chao gripped the handles with all his strength, hearing only the pounding of his own heartbeat.
He couldn’t hear Luo Shisi’s voice behind him at all.

“Slow down! Lin Xingxing! Slow down!”

It was too fast. This Ski Slope wasn’t very professional, and for beginners, if the speed was too high, the insufficient buffer distance at the bottom could cause a collision with the trees below.

It was all her fault she should have explained the skiing techniques earlier.

But now wasn’t the time for self-blame.

Luo Shisi adjusted her center of gravity to make her sled descend faster.

With no safety measures in place, her maneuvers made the girl beside her exclaim: “Fourteen, that’s too dangerous!”

But there was no other way. Lin Chao didn’t know how to control his direction or slow down, and there were several trees ahead of him.

She was the one who brought him here, she couldn’t let anything happen to him on her watch!

Luo Shisi focused ahead, performing various extreme dodging and overtaking maneuvers that startled the nearby girl.

But it was still too slow he was about to encounter the first tree…

During the descent, Lin Chao gradually began to feel something beyond fear.

He finally understood why everyone enjoyed experiencing different lifestyles.

This sensation was utterly novel.

He felt as if he were running alone in another world. He moved against the wind, with snow swirling around him, while the scenery on both sides rapidly receded.

This was his first true taste of freedom.

It was as if all past pains and scoldings had vanished with the wind in this world, he alone was his own master.

Free as the wind…

Later, when he stood on the national podium and the host asked him what sparked his love for freestyle skiing… the first thing Lin Chao thought of was this small, shabby ski trail hidden beneath the wind and snow.

He was moving fast, but he soon spotted the trees ahead and couldn’t help feeling panicked, wanting to scream.

Suddenly, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind Next time, run faster. Don’t stay put waiting for others to save you.

Lin Chao steadied his mind with effort, cheering himself on.

You can do it… You can!
He glanced around and noticed a girl turning to the right ahead. Lin Chao quickly observed and mimicked her movements.

The inflatable sled was extremely fast, already carrying him toward the nearest tree.

Only ten meters left!

Lin Chao stared at the distance, his knuckles turning white from gripping the handles.

Gritting his teeth, he imitated the girl, shifting to the right and leaning his body accordingly.

But it still wasn’t enough!

In that split second, he closed his eyes.

But at that moment, a hand grabbed his sled, forcibly pulling him away from his original path.

Luo Shisi broke out in a cold sweat, her heart trembling violently the moment she caught him.

Thank goodness… she caught him…

Lin Chao staggered as he was pulled along, glancing at the girl who was steering their path with a stern expression. For some reason, he didn’t dare speak.

The ski run was long, and he had only completed half of it.

For the latter half, the girl earnestly explained skiing techniques to him with a serious face.

It was as if she had become a different person.

She taught with such dedication that Lin Chao gradually began to listen attentively.

When they reached the end of the slope and glided to a stop in the buffer area, Lin Chao was about to raise his hand to ask her a few questions… when he saw Luo Shisi bend over, resting her head on her knees, her chest heaving uncontrollably.

Lin Chao didn’t know what was wrong with her. He wanted to ask but didn’t know how to begin, his outstretched hand hovering over her back, clenching and unclenching.

After a long moment, he heard her voice trembling with emotion:

“Lin Xingxing, you scared me to death…”

Lin Chao froze for a second, then felt a warm current surge through his heart. His eyes instantly reddened, and his nose tingled with emotion.

This feeling of being deeply cared for was indescribable.

The dangerous moment from earlier replayed in his mind repeatedly Luo Shisi’s anxious face, her strong fingers reddened from the cold as she pulled him to safety, all conveyed an inexpressible sense of security.

Although many unfortunate things happened during this winter break, he had met the best person in his life.

Lin Chao gently lowered his hand onto the girl’s back, a serene smile appearing on his face.
Even if they were destined to be from different worlds, even if they might soon go their separate ways, this brief intersection of their lives filled him with immense gratitude.

She had truly, unintentionally taught him so much…

She taught him how to view the world, taught him not to give up, told him that family wasn’t something one could choose, and that he wasn’t at fault.

She told him to walk with his head held high to see the scenery ahead.

Perhaps she didn’t realize how much these lessons had transformed his confined life, but they had indeed created tidal waves in his world, allowing him to see different possibilities in life.

He really wanted to etch this moment into memory forever… to tell other children similarly trapped by family and public opinion that they deserved more love.

Everyone deserves a colorful sky.

Lin Chao withdrew his hand, looking at her sincerely as he said with deep appreciation:

“Thank you, Luo Shisi.”

This was the first time Luo Shisi had heard Lin Chao call her by name.

His voice was gentle and clear yet carried a certain strength that made the listener feel valued.

She turned her head to look at him, but when she met Lin Chao’s eyes, she suddenly felt embarrassed, blushing as she awkwardly mumbled in acknowledgment.

When she looked back, she saw him with red-rimmed eyes, happily lying on his back in the snow, watching the snowflakes drifting down from the sky. He reached out to catch one in his palm, only for it to melt into a tiny droplet in the blink of an eye.

She heard him whisper wistfully:

“I wish I could keep this snowfall.”

Hearing this, Luo Shisi thought of something. Mimicking him, she lay back in the snow, with one hand cushioning her head.

She reached toward the sky, fingers slightly spread to let snowflakes drift through the gaps between them, a smile playing on her lips as she said: “Okay.”

Luo Shisi turned her head slightly to look at Lin Chao, smiling as she asked: “How high do you think the sky really is?”

The atmosphere between them felt natural, as if the snowfall had brought them closer.

Lin Chao thought for just a moment before pinching his fingers together and gesturing toward the sky. Between his thumb and forefinger, he encompassed a small space and said: “This high.”

“How could it possibly be this short!?” Luo Shisi immediately laughed, swatting away his fingers and placing her own hand up instead, raising an eyebrow as she said, “You measured it way too low it should be this high!”

Seeing her fingertips indicating about five centimeters higher, Lin Chao also let his true nature show, frowning as he pressed her fingers down slightly: “This height is correct!”

Luo Shisi allowed him to adjust her hand, gazing at his face with some fondness for his vibrant expression this was more like it, very handsome.

If only this snowfall could last a little longer.

That would be perfect.

The day after tomorrow was New Year’s, and she wanted to give it to him…

the New Year’s gift he wanted most.