Lack of Love

One week before the trip, the temperature dropped suddenly, and heavy snowfall occurred in the mountainous areas.

Zhong Qiran originally thought the trip would be canceled, but unexpectedly, the weather cleared up in the next few days. Even Li Qi smiled and said, “Even the heavens want to help me.”

Zhong Qiran smiled but didn’t say anything.

They were going to a famous ski resort in central Taiwan. They set off early in the morning and arrived at the designated hotel in the evening. They planned to stay there for two nights and then go down the mountain the day after tomorrow to visit local attractions.

After having a meal in the hotel restaurant, they went straight back to their rooms to rest.

With Zhong Qiran’s consent, Li Qi booked one room, but the beds were separate. He showed obvious helplessness.

Zhong Qiran knew that Li Qi was pretending for his sake and found it somewhat cute. He casually remembered days when someone had pursued him in a similar way before, but now, when he recalled those faces, they had long become blurred.

They had been traveling by various means of transportation the entire day, so they were tired. After freshening up, they went to bed.

The following day, the weather was still good. They reached their destination and took a cable car up the mountain. They rented clothes and equipment for skiing.

Although it wasn’t Zhong Qiran’s first time skiing, he was still not very skilled. Li Qi took the opportunity to hold his hand and shoulder, pretending to guide him.

Zhong Qiran didn’t resist. He didn’t seem to reject it, nor did he fully accept it; he was probably just adjusting.

Li Qi also didn’t take advantage of the situation but seriously taught Zhong Qiran the skiing posture.

Before long, Zhong Qiran could slide down effortlessly. At first, Li Qi was just watching from the side, but later he let Zhong Qiran play on his own.

It had to be said that Li Qi maintained a good distance. He wasn’t too close, nor did he make Zhong Qiran feel estranged. His appropriate care and thoughtfulness easily won people’s favor.

From Li Qi’s emotional intelligence, Zhong Qiran could tell he was quite experienced in relationships. If he hadn’t completely moved on yet, perhaps it would be easy for him to fall into it as well.

After playing for a while, Zhong Qiran felt a bit tired, so he slid down and rested under a nearby tree. Passing by him were couples and families, and the sound of joyful laughter echoed in the snowy area.

However, he felt somewhat absent-minded.

During the occasional moments of calm, he couldn’t help but think of that person. Many of his first experiences were given by Yan Hao and weren’t easily forgotten.

Maybe he was daydreaming too obviously because Li Qi suddenly called out to him from below.

Zhong Qiran turned to look and accidentally noticed someone standing behind the tree. He glanced briefly but quickly looked away. Everyone was wearing thick ski suits and goggles, making it difficult to recognize anyone without removing those items. He smiled at Li Qi and then realized that Li Qi’s expression suddenly changed. He widened his eyes and looked ahead as if he saw something unbelievable.

Panic quickly spread, and screams filled the air as the crowd hurriedly fled.

Zhong Qiran immediately turned his head and froze. High waves of snow were rushing toward them from that direction.

An avalanche was happening.

The accident occurred without any warning.

Before Zhong Qiran could even react, he felt his arm being tightly pulled. He knew it wasn’t Li Qi because Li Qi was too far away. Then who could it be?

But he didn’t have time to think anymore. He felt a sudden brightness followed by darkness. His body was being pushed in a certain direction, plummeting rapidly.

He vaguely realized that the spot where he had been standing seemed to be near a cliff, so did he fall down with the person who pulled him? However, he no longer felt the person’s pulling force. A powerful force of nature swept them apart.

In that split second, Zhong Qiran suddenly realized that he might die, and the face of Yan Hao flashed through his mind.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he felt his body had turned icy and numb, a bright light suddenly appeared before him.

He saw a man removing the snow above his head and pulling him out from the snow.

Zhong Qiran stared blankly at the man for a few seconds, then said, “Thank you.”

If he remembered correctly, this man was wearing the same ski suit as the person who stood behind the tree just now. So it should be him who pulled him,

The man in front of him didn’t speak but kept staring at him, occasionally patting his face and body, as if checking for injuries.

“I’m fine,” Zhong Qiran faintly sensed a familiar feeling from this man, “Thank you.”

The man stood up and made a gesture, indicating Zhong Qiran to follow.

Zhong Qiran didn’t understand why the man didn’t speak, but this man was wrapped up tightly, and he couldn’t perceive his emotions or thoughts. Nevertheless, his body naturally followed the man’s actions.

After walking a few steps, Zhong Qiran remembered to look around. The original landscape was gone, and all he could see was a vast expanse of whiteness. The only thing he could be sure of was that they did fall down from the cliff, as this place was obviously a low-lying area. Fortunately, the snowdrift there was thick enough to prevent them from being crushed. But if another avalanche occurred, they would undoubtedly be buried alive.

Zhong Qiran was stunned for a moment before remembering to move forward, but the man didn’t walk far. He stood in place, waiting for Zhong Qiran.

A strange feeling welled up in Zhong Qiran’s heart, but he couldn’t quite describe what it was.They walked a considerable distance, so far that Zhong Qiran thought they were lost. However, when he looked ahead, he noticed that the man’s footsteps were quite firm.

The man didn’t speak along the way, just occasionally turning his head to check if Zhong Qiran was following behind.

Zhong Qiran wasn’t in the habit of wearing a watch, but he estimated that they had been walking for about an hour before he saw a small wooden cabin ahead, meant for shelter.

The man pushed the door open, glanced inside, and gestured for Zhong Qiran to enter first before closing the door behind them.

There was no one inside the cabin, but it still had some warmth, at least not as cold as outside. After taking off his thick ski suit, Zhong Qiran noticed that the man was still standing at the doorway.

Without much thought, Zhong Qiran casually said, “What’s wrong? Take off your ski suit first.”

Considering the altitude of the ski resort, Zhong Qiran was unsure if rescue could arrive quickly. The two of them would have to spend a long time in this cabin, very likely overnight.

After hearing Zhong Qiran’s words, the man finally made a move. When he removed his goggles, Zhong Qiran froze after taking just one glance.

For a moment, Zhong Qiran doubted if he was dreaming or experiencing a hallucination because why would he see Yan Hao, who should not be here?

After Yan Hao took off his goggles, he didn’t hesitate anymore. He quickly removed his ski suit and entered the cabin.

Yan Hao’s previous hobby was skiing, and he had even challenged steep slopes on mountains, nearly participating in competitions. So it wasn’t strange for him to know about these shelter points and how to handle the situation.

Zhong Qiran was completely stunned, not knowing how to react.

Yan Hao checked everything inside the cabin, finding that the charcoal for making a fire was already gone, and there was only one bed with a quilt. He sat down next to Zhong Qiran, leaving some distance between them, and asked, “Are you cold?”

Yan Hao’s voice brought Zhong Qiran back to reality, and he stared at the other person without speaking.

Yan Hao shook the quilt and wrapped it around himself. He made some space and said to Zhong Qiran, “Come here.”