binnovel Chapter 281 Did the neighbors come over for dinner today? 19
Chapter 281 Did the neighbors come over for dinner today? 19
"Slow down."
"OK."
"Don't rush to lift your toes."
"Slow down, a little slower, lay it flat, turn it sideways."
"Yes, that's right."
Jiang Shuwan and Lu Yan's skiing is still going smoothly.
Although his movements were still clumsy, and he glided like a cautious snail, at least he could stumble and slid down the gentle slope.
Every time I braked, it was accompanied by a small gasp and a flurry of frantic movements.
On the other hand, Su Qiao's roaring teaching style is also beginning to show results.
Zhou Yan has excellent balance and athletic ability; he can now glide slowly for a long distance on his own.
"Not bad, Zhou Yan! You've improved! Looks like I'm pretty good at teaching!" Su Qiao finally gave him a positive review after seeing that he could skate a short section on his own, and of course, she didn't forget to praise herself.
Zhou Yan, with a hint of excitement at breaking through his own limits, saw Su Qiao boasting and said, "That's because I'm exceptionally talented, it has little to do with your wailing and howling teaching style..."
"Hey! You're all smiles when you get a little encouragement!" Su Qiao pretended to push him, and Zhou Yan quickly and clumsily dodged.
After making a scene, Su Qiao spotted Jiang Shuwan and Lu Yan still practicing.
Her eyes lit up, and she pulled the still unsteady Zhou Yan closer, raising her voice to say, "Not bad, Wanwan, much better than when I taught you. How about the four of us pair up and have a competition?"
She looked around and pointed to the pole below, saying, "Go down to that marker pole. Add up the times of the two people in each group, and whoever finishes in the shortest time gets to buy a hot chocolate!"
Jiang Shuwan hesitated. She really lacked confidence in her skills and was afraid of holding Lu Yan back.
After all, she had just seen that Zhou Yan skated much better than her.
She was about to refuse when she heard Lu Yan's voice: "Okay."
Seeing Jiang Shuwan looking at him, he turned slightly to her and joked, "It's okay, trust your coach."
Although his tone was languid, seeing the determination in his eyes, Jiang Shuwan's hesitation dissipated: "Okay, let's give it a try."
"Alright! Let's set an example and show you what 'steady success' really means!"
Su Qiao, full of fighting spirit, shoved Zhou Yan, who was still mentally preparing himself, to the starting line. "Zhou Yan, you better do your best! Don't slip and fall to the ground!"
Zhou Yan tried to adjust his awkward posture: "Okay, okay, watch me."
The enthusiastic skier next to her, whom Su Qiao had temporarily pulled in to act as referee, raised his phone, turned on the stopwatch function, and shouted with a smile, "Ready—three, two, one! Go!"
Su Qiao was an experienced skater after all. At her command, she slightly lowered her body, swung the board, and glided out in a rather smooth and stylish manner.
She controlled her speed, made a small U-turn in the middle, and finally came to a steady stop at the finish line.
"38 seconds!"
"Wuhu." Su Qiao pushed her goggles up to her forehead and cheered Zhou Yan at the starting line, "Zhou Yan! Go for it, it's up to you!"
The pressure was put on Zhou Yan.
He took a deep breath, then steeled himself and began to glide with the board nose down.
His movements were as stiff as a board, but his speed increased unconsciously due to tension, and his path became erratic, causing several other people practicing nearby to give way.
"Balance! Knees! Brake! Brake, you idiot!" Su Qiao shouted anxiously when she saw Zhou Yan about to lose control.
Zhou Yan panicked and tried to brake with the rear edge, but he used too much force, causing the tail of the board to swing violently and him to lose his balance.
"Ouch!" With a startled cry, he finally succumbed to gravity and crashed into the snowdrift in a classic side fall, sliding for a while before coming to a stop, his snow goggles askew.
"Zhou Yan!!!" Su Qiao's roar pierced the cold wind.
The enthusiastic skier, suppressing a laugh, pressed the stop button as Zhou Yan struggled to his feet and finally managed to shuffle to the finish line flagpole, shouting out the time: "2 minutes and 01 second! Total time: 2 minutes and 39 seconds!"
Su Qiao ran over and, seeing Zhou Yan's disheveled appearance, helped him brush the snow off his body: "You slipped alright, barely!"
Zhou Yan was somewhat flattered that Su Qiao didn't continue to scold him: "That's rare. I thought you were going to scold me again."
"You know what 'spare the rod and spoil the child' means? But for a beginner, you've done a really good job skating such a long distance!" Su Qiao affirmed.
Jiang Shuwan watched them fooling around and couldn't help but laugh out loud, which eased her previous tension considerably.
She quietly tugged at Lu Yan's sleeve and whispered, "What should we do? I feel like I might be even slower than Zhou Yan, and I definitely won't just fall once..."
Lu Yan turned to look at her, his voice steady: "Relax, do you remember how I showed you how to skate just now?"
"I remember." Jiang Shuwan paused for a moment, then nodded.
It was their turn.
"Second group, ready—three, two, one! Go!"
“Hey, they’re sliding down together.” Zhou Yan looked at the two of them and put his hand on Su Qiao’s shoulder. “That’s a good idea. Why didn’t we think of that before?”
"Forget it, having you around will only affect my performance." Su Qiao waved his hand away in disgust.
Zhou Yan complained, "I think you're just afraid it will affect your ability to show off."
"You already know, why ask?" Su Qiao rolled her eyes.
Jiang Shuwan's hand was held firmly by Lu Yan, just like during their practice. The dry warmth of his palm soothed her nervousness as she felt his touch on her fingertips.
The snowboards began to move forward, at a moderate but steady pace.
"Go downhill, relax, it's okay."
"Follow me to the left."
"Very good, keep it up."
"Don't worry about the speed, there's no rush."
A sense of security, of surrendering oneself completely yet being firmly caught, gradually relaxed Jiang Shuwan's body, allowing her to begin to enjoy the process.
The finish line flagpole is getting closer and closer.
In the final twenty meters, Lu Yan slightly increased his speed, executed a neat side brake to slow down, and came to a steady stop next to the flagpole.
Almost simultaneously, Jiang Shuwan also mimicked his movements, swaying and stopping beside him.
"1 minute 14 seconds! Total time: 2 minutes 28 seconds!"
It worked!
They slid down together without falling even once, and they were even faster than Su Qiao and the others!
She turned her head to look at Lu Yan, her cheeks flushed from excitement and slight oxygen deprivation.
Lu Yan's forehead was also covered in fine beads of sweat. He raised his right hand towards her, his voice slightly hoarse from exercise, yet exceptionally clear, and said, "It's a pleasure working with you."
Jiang Shuwan clapped his hand without hesitation and smiled brightly: "It's a pleasure working with you."
Su Qiao ran up and hugged Jiang Shuwan tightly, saying with a hint of teasing, "You skate pretty well."
“You’re super handsome too.” Jiang Shuwan leaned close to her, almost making it clear, “But right now I really want some hot chocolate.”
"Alright, we're honored with our bet." Su Qiao waved her hand generously and said, "Then...it's on me! And let's celebrate Zhou Yan's ability to skate independently, let's go!"
"Yay!" Zhou Yan and Jiang Shuwan cheered at the same time.
The four of them took off their skis and walked towards the rest station at the top of the mountain, chatting and laughing.