“Ah~ He’s already got a wife and kids, I think…” Liang Sheng whispered softly into Ou Lu’s ear.
“Oh, oh…” Ou Lu finally understood.
Liang Sheng had a pretty good eye for people. When the male coach had escorted her and Ou Lu into the ski resort, he’d used a perfect gentlemanly touch—just holding their arms, and he was even wearing gloves on his hands.
“Eeeek—” The green-haired girl, clutching the railing, slipped out from under her feet like a comical clown.
Wah wah wah… This was so embarrassing!
Ou Lu’s athletic talent was a bit better than Liang Sheng’s. After about half an hour, she’d mastered the basics of ice skating and could glide along on her own, slowly but surely.
Meanwhile, the green-haired girl was still wobbling at the ankles, her legs going soft and shaky, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
“Urgh!” Liang Sheng leaned back and nearly split her legs wide open in another fall.
Ahhh… How humiliating.
Liang Sheng clung to the railing and slowly, painstakingly slid down to sit on the ice.
“Don’t get discouraged. Get back up and keep going,” the male coach said with genuine patience, encouraging her to try again.
Yeah! The coach really was a patient, responsible guy!
Liang Sheng steeled her resolve. She had to learn to skate properly and not let down the coach’s good intentions!
Another half hour passed, and the male coach covered his face with his hands.
My God, this has to be the biggest failure of my ice skating coaching career! No wonder that fortune teller grabbed me a few days ago and warned me I’d hit a rough patch soon. I’d scoffed at the time—what kind of hurdle couldn’t I clear? Looks like I was too cocky for my own good.
Liang Sheng noticed the male coach’s expression darkening at first and thought he was just tired. She soon realized, though, that he really was exhausted—mentally exhausted, especially from dealing with a certain green-haired girl.
“Uh…” Liang Sheng felt a pang of awkwardness.
Over on Ou Lu’s side, she was gliding smoothly now. She spun in a graceful circle and came to a stop beside the male coach and Liang Sheng, patting the coach on the shoulder. “Coach, why don’t you go help some other students? I’ll take over teaching Liang Sheng.”
The male coach glanced at Liang Sheng one more time, his eyes filled with seven parts agony and three parts reluctance.
That reluctance stemmed from his failure to pull off this rescue mission, to overcome this particular hurdle.
But his “constipated” look of pure suffering made Liang Sheng too guilty to keep bothering him.
“Coach, let Sister Oulu teach me~ I learn faster from a pretty big sister~” Liang Sheng hugged Ou Lu’s arm, her body swaying unsteadily for emphasis.
So, is it because I’m the wrong gender that I’m not fit to teach you? the male coach thought silently, tears streaming down inside. He felt thoroughly wounded, thank you very much!
“Alright then. I’ll go check on those new students over there,” the male coach said, pointing to a group in the distance. “If you run into any problems, just call me over, and I’ll sort it out.”
“Okay, okay, got it!” Liang Sheng nodded her little head vigorously and waved him off. “Go on, Coach—thanks so much!”
Once the male coach had left, Ou Lu wrapped her arms around Liang Sheng’s waist.
Eh? Liang Sheng’s face flushed red. Why had this female boss lady suddenly gotten so bold?
Seeing the green-haired girl staring at them, Ou Lu paused. “You just glide forward. I’ll hold your waist—try it like this and see if it helps you get over the fear. I’ve been watching you, and I think you’re just scared of falling.”
“Oh, oh…” Liang Sheng ducked her head, her cheeks burning even hotter. So she’d been overthinking it.
“Eeeek!?” Liang Sheng nearly slipped again anyway.
Nope, still no good. For a total sports dunce like her, athletic stuff was just too tough.
“No worries, take it slow~” Ou Lu was patient as ever, switching to a new position and pulling Liang Sheng along at a gentle pace.
Ah~~ Who knew this strong, domineering mature beauty could be so patient and tender when teaching someone?
Under Ou Lu’s patient guidance, Liang Sheng finally managed to learn—wobbling and weaving, but skating all the same.
“Ah! I—I did it! I—I did it!” Liang Sheng’s face lit up with excitement, red as a beet. She nearly bounced in place, overcome with the kind of wild joy that comes from finally nailing something impossible.
“I passed! Haha, I passed!” It was like shouting, “I aced it! Haha, I aced it!”
“Then… I’ll let go, and you try on your own? Nice and slow?” Ou Lu started to release her grip on Liang Sheng’s hand.
Liang Sheng’s eyes widened in slow horror, her mouth flapping open with panicked “Ababa” noises as she clung to the female boss lady’s hand. “No no no no! Oh no oh no oh no no no no!”
Ou Lu burst out laughing at her frantic flailing. “You can’t have me holding you forever, right?”
In her panic, terrified that Ou Lu might let go, Liang Sheng whipped her head side to side like a rattle and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, no filter. “Hold me, Sister Oulu! Hold me for life!”
“Eh?” Ou Lu froze, her hand still caught in Liang Sheng’s grasp.
In her mind, a massive loudspeaker blared on loop, replaying Liang Sheng’s words:
“Hold me for life!”
“Hold me for life!”
“For life!”
“Life!”
“Life…”
“Life…”
Her brain finally caught up.
Uh! Realization dawned late, and Ou Lu’s face exploded into a deep blush.
“Ding~” Favorability increased.
“Ou Lu’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 142”
While Ou Lu was lost in stunned comprehension, Liang Sheng snapped out of it too. She glanced at Ou Lu’s face and jumped in shock.
Holy crap! Why’s it so red?
She replayed her own words and remembered blurting something about being together for life.
Uh… Should she explain it away?
But then she recalled the favorability bump, and Liang Sheng figured Ou Lu wasn’t just okay with it—she loved hearing stuff like that!
“Sister Oulu~” With that in mind, Liang Sheng blinked her big, pitiful doe eyes and tugged at her arm coquettishly. “Keep holding me while we skate~ I love the feeling of skating with you holding me~”
S-So cute! Ou Lu’s heart skipped a beat. Who could resist this?!
“O-Okay! Sister won’t let go of your hand~” Ou Lu felt like she’d snorted a line of pure bliss, totally high on the moment.
Heh heh~ Pretty girls really did eat up her cute act.
Liang Sheng beamed with smug satisfaction. Having this adorable face and charming looks really paid off out in the world~
Skating while being held felt so reassuring—no fear of falling, because she knew that even if she stumbled, the person skating beside her would catch her.
Just as the two were lost in their sweet, affectionate bubble, a few clueless idiots glided over—whether on purpose or by accident, one bumped right into Ou Lu.
“Hey! What’s your problem?” the bumper, a man, snapped before Ou Lu could even speak.
Liang Sheng looked over and saw a burly musclehead, rippling with tendons everywhere, a scar slashing across his face. He looked like bad news.
