Cliff (1)

… He listened to the recording several times in bewilderment and stiffened as if the ice and snow outside the window had suddenly lifted the roofs and poured straight into his heart.

Each word was clear but hard to understand when putting them together.

“You said the same thing with my friend in the past.”

He leaned against the wall blankly for a long time before an image finally came to his mind.

He remembered it clearly, but it was as if he had forced the short memory down, not wanting to recall it.

And now, it finally emerged at the bottom of the memory river, bringing with it mud and sand.

It was at the staircase of the school building that he solemnly said, “The most important thing between friends is the heart.” Ruan Qingmu smiled for a long time for some reason, his peach blossom eyes narrowing into a crescent moon.

Then, he said with a smile, “You said the exact thing with my friend in the past.”

He also remembered asking, “Was it because of that friend that you mistook me for the first time? He didn’t only look like me but also said the same thing?”

That afternoon, Ruan Qingmu leaned against the stairs, tilting his head to look at him with a faint smile in his eyes. “That’s right, you’re like that same person. I thought that I had met him again with just one glance at you.”

At that moment, he was unhappy and asked, “Is it a childhood friend?”

But Ruan Qingmu shook his head and replied, “We haven’t been apart for long.”

***

Not long apart, it could only be a friend from middle school.

Was he that very similar to that person? To the extent that he rushed over to him at the first meeting and followed himself to the competition class?

Furthermore, it turned out that Ruan Qingmu had always liked boys and had fallen for someone else at a much younger age, only that he had not understood his heart before.

So much so that it came to the point of frustration that he, the latter, although also very good, was ultimately different from the previous one…

It was late at night as he quietly walked out of the bathroom, put on his clothes, and walked to the door of the mountain residence villa.

It was cold outside, not quite icy but still wintery, and the mountains were silent.

He sat alone in the cold, staring silently into the distance.

***

It was natural to wake up late when out on a trip. The two families had an appointment for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Ruan Qingmu slept comfortably and cozily the night before, waking up refreshed in the morning.

When he turned his head, Qin Yuan was asleep next to him with a slight frown forming on his brows.

Ruan Qingmu moved closer to him, tilted his head while supporting his cheek, and quietly watched him. After looking at him for a while, he felt that the frowning brows were quite unpleasant, so he stretched out a finger and gently stroked it.

Aiya, he couldn’t smooth it out and woke up his fellow boyfriend.

He looked at Qin Yuan as he opened his eyes in a blur and giggled. “Your stamina seems no good.”

He was usually up so early, but after receiving a hot springs adult gift yesterday, he became tired like this. Tch.

Qin Yuan looked at him in a daze for a long time before he struggled to get up from his half-asleep state. He sat up, clutching his forehead.

Ruan Qingmu withdrew his smile and moved closer, looking at him rather thoughtfully. “Are you not feeling well?”

He was fine last night. How come after a good night’s sleep, not only were there bloodshot eyes, but the circles around them were also slightly gray?

Qin Yuan raised his hand, blocking Ruan Qingmu’s hand from touching his forehead, and lowered his eyes. “It’s nothing, only having some difficulty sleeping. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

Ruan Qingmu let out a “tch.” “Your precious body is really delicate.”

He leaped out of bed and pulled open the curtains. It was sunny outside and the white snow of the green hills in the distance reflected the golden glow. “Let’s wash up quickly! We’re skiing today. You’ve agreed to teach me!”

Due to everyone’s different waking times, breakfast was ordered and brought to their rooms  .

The two families ate separately and made an appointment to go skiing at around nine in the morning.

The snow here was not much at the bottom of the mountain, but the further up the mountain, the more it accumulated and remained unmelted. A carefully selected slope opened above the mountainside, with a suitable slope that was just right for beginners to practice.

The Qin father and son were sports experts, but none of the remaining women and children knew how to ski. Qin Zhufeng found a ski instructor to teach the two women while he took the children to play on the side and Qin Yuan personally led Ruan Qingmu to the beginner’s ski slopes.

Learning a sport for the first time was naturally chaotic, and it took half a day just putting on snowboards and giving lessons.

It was good that everyone was so excited. The children were happy and laughing as they wore their professional goggles and wrist and elbow pads.

Although the little mute couldn’t hear or speak, he could learn faster than the adults simply by staring at the instructor’s gestures. Before long, he could decently ski around the trial area.

Qin Zhufeng, on the other hand, had a more challenging time with the two women. Mu Wanli was a quick learner and got up as soon as she fell and became more and more courageous while Wei Qinglian was always crying out in pain and asking her husband to help her adjust the equipment.

Ruan Qingmu and Qin Yuan found a separate track, and Ruan Qingmu raised his ski pole proudly. “These are not so different from the crutches I used before.”

As soon as he finished, he didn’t step steadily on the snowboard and fell to his knees, landing on his face in the soft snow.

Ruan Qingmu: “… Eh? It’s really different from using crutches.”

Qin Yuan crouched and pulled him up.

The two boys stepped on long snowboards under their feet, and it was not easy to exert themselves, stumbling woefully and hugging each other before they could quickly stabilize themselves.