Chapter 62: Snowboarding

The shadow continued along the mountain road.

Ten minutes later, carried by its incredible speed, they reached the snow line near the upper slopes.

Ahead, the road gradually disappeared beneath a blanket of snow. Less than a kilometer farther on, every trace of the pavement vanished completely into the endless white.

Seeing this, Lu Nian'an guided the shadow off the road entirely.

Instead of following the winding mountain road, she chose the simplest—and most direct—approach:

climbing straight toward the summit.

The enormous shadow scaled the slope with ease, and before long, the group found themselves standing atop the summit.

Frigid, thin air rushed toward them, but for the five of them, none of whom had exerted themselves much, it was hardly enough to cause any discomfort.

Charles looked down toward the mountainside.

The ski resort that had still been operating a few years ago was gone, leaving behind nothing but snow-covered slopes and the skeletal remains of abandoned facilities.

Under those conditions, skiing safely should have been nearly impossible.

But before he could say anything, Lu Nian'an directed the shadow into motion.

The massive figure charged downhill, its gigantic strides sending fountains of snow exploding into the air with every step.

An uneasy feeling immediately settled in Charles's chest.

And just as he'd feared—

A thunderous roar erupted behind them.

He spun around.

The snow high on the mountain had begun to collapse, layer after layer breaking loose like a line of falling dominoes.

"Wait—"

He had barely spoken when the shadow carrying them came to an abrupt stop.

Its body rapidly stretched and reshaped itself.

The towering humanoid dissolved into a massive elevated platform, supported by several enormous pillars that drove deep into the snow beneath them.

The five of them were lifted high above the mountainside.

The avalanche swept down from the summit.

At first, it was only scattered chunks of snow breaking free.

But as more and more snow was drawn into the slide, the avalanche rapidly grew into a roaring white torrent.

A roaring tide of snow surged beneath the platform before continuing its descent toward the foot of the mountain.

Only when it reached the middle slopes did it become a truly colossal avalanche.

Less than two minutes later, the rumbling gradually faded away.

From the summit all the way down to the snow line, the once uneven, powdery snowpack had been compressed into a broad, smooth slope.

It looked almost as though someone had carefully groomed it.

Charles stared silently at the scene before finally letting out a quiet sigh.

"...Well."

"I guess this counts as grooming the ski run."

As though nothing unusual had happened, Lu Nian'an casually raised a hand.

Pitch-black shadows spread outward along both sides of the slope, forming low barriers that enclosed the run from top to bottom.

From a distance, it actually looked remarkably similar to a real ski resort.

Once she finished, the elevated shadow platform slowly descended until it rested level with the snow before shrinking back beneath her feet.

She then reached into the Under-Reality and retrieved the snowboards and various snowboarding equipment Charles had prepared earlier.

"That should be enough. We can go snowboarding now.”

Then she crouched down and looked at the two children, who were still frozen in place.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't want to ski anymore?"

Only then did Elena and Lukas finally recover from the shock of witnessing what could only be described as a man-made avalanche.

They opened their mouths to speak, only to realize they'd been standing there with them hanging open for far too long.

Several seconds passed before they both burst out at once.

"Big Sis is amazing!"

"You're super amazing!"

The two little ones bounced up and down excitedly, their eyes practically sparkling with stars.

Then Elena suddenly remembered something.

Tilting her head, she asked with complete seriousness,

"But Big Sis... Isn't your Ability making cakes?"

"Making cakes?"

Lu Nian'an blinked.

"Yeah!"

Elena nodded vigorously.

"You made so many delicious cakes before!"

Lu Nian'an and Xia Jiuwei exchanged a glance, both barely suppressing a laugh.

Holding back her smile, Lu Nian'an crouched down and asked,

"Then if my power is making cakes..."

"...where do you think all those snowboards just came from?"

Elena immediately fell into deep thought.

Her little brain worked furiously.

A few seconds later, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"I know!"

"Big Sis has lots and lots of Abilities!"

"Super lots!"

Beside her, Lukas nodded enthusiastically.

"Big Sis must be the strongest Esper in the whole world!"

Having arrived at what they considered a perfectly reasonable conclusion, the two children happily thanked the sisters before racing back to Charles, eager to learn how to snowboard.

Charles first helped the children put on all of their protective gear.

Knee pads.

Elbow pads.

Helmet.

Nothing was left out.

The slightly oversized helmets fit perfectly over their knitted winter hats.

Next came the thick snowboard boots, which he securely fastened onto their snowboards.

"First, let's practice walking."

Under his guidance, the two little ones began shuffling awkwardly across the snow.

Their weight rocked from side to side, making them look like two wobbling penguins.

Watching them, Xia Jiuwei couldn't help laughing.

Once they had grown somewhat accustomed to the equipment, Charles geared up himself and began the lesson in earnest.

"The most important part of snowboarding isn't learning how to ride."

"It's learning how to fall."

"Falling isn't a problem—as long as you know how to do it safely."

He demonstrated first.

Leaning slightly forward, he allowed himself to fall naturally, crossing both arms over his chest as the thick snow and winter clothing absorbed the impact almost completely.

"If you're falling forward, never try to catch yourself with your hands."

Climbing back to his feet, he brushed the snow off himself.

"That's the easiest way to injure your wrists."

The two children immediately shrank their necks and nodded earnestly.

"As for falling backward, that's much easier."

"Just imagine sitting down."

For quite some time afterward, Charles had them repeatedly practice both forward and backward falls.

Only after they had become comfortable with both did he begin teaching them how to snowboard.

He didn't introduce any complicated techniques.

Instead, he taught them the simplest and safest method.

Keep the board perpendicular to the slope, use the board's edge to control speed, and let gravity carry them gently downhill.

They started on a tiny slope.

The children stumbled and fell through several runs.

Once they finally found their balance, Charles led them to the long ski run Lu Nian'an had just "prepared."

The broad, gentle slope stretched all the way to the foot of the mountain, steep enough for the boards to glide naturally without becoming dangerous.

The three of them stood together at the top.

Ahead lay an endless ribbon of pristine white snow.

Cheering excitedly, the children pushed off and slowly began their descent.

Xia Jiuwei simply sat on the cold snow, quietly watching Charles teach the children.

The three figures drifted slowly down the slope, leaving a long trail behind them across the untouched snow.

She watched them for a long while before speaking with a hint of nostalgia.

"...Grandpa was probably like that with me when I was little."

Only after the family of three had become tiny black dots in the distance did Lu Nian'an finally speak.

"When I was in middle school, my dad once took my younger brother overseas to ski."

Her voice remained calm.

"But he never took me."

Xia Jiuwei blinked in surprise.

Lu Nian'an gazed toward the distant snow-covered peaks, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"Honestly... even if he'd taken me, I probably wouldn't have thought skiing was all that fun."

"But watching them now..."

"I suddenly kind of want to try."

She turned toward Xia Jiuwei.

"Will you go snowboarding with me?”

Xia Jiuwei blinked.

Then she smiled.

"Of course."

Xia Jiuwei wrapped both of them in pitch-black Under-Reality energy.

Moments later, complete sets of snowboarding equipment materialized around them.

Protective gear.

Goggles.

Snowboard boots.

Even snowboards.

Everything they needed.

Xia Jiuwei looked down at the board attached to her feet before cautiously taking a step forward.

Thunk.

The snowboard landed heavily against the snow.

With both feet fixed to the same board, she wobbled awkwardly, walking like a penguin taking its first steps.

Beside her came the unmistakable sound of someone trying very hard not to laugh.

She turned.

Lu Nian'an had one hand covering her mouth, her shoulders trembling as she struggled to hold it in.

"What are you laughing at?"

Xia Jiuwei narrowed her eyes.

Lu Nian'an immediately looked away.

"Nothing."

But the smile threatening to escape had already betrayed her.

Just as Xia Jiuwei was about to pounce—

She noticed a shadow tentacle behind Lu Nian'an.

Raised high above her shoulder was a cellphone.

Displayed on the screen...

...was a recording of Xia Jiuwei's earlier penguin-like walk.

She froze.

A faint blush spread visibly across her ears.

"Lu Nian'an!"

she shouted through gritted teeth.

The next second, she lunged.

Unfortunately, with both feet locked onto a snowboard, her balance betrayed her.

After only a single step—

She pitched face-first into the snow.

Whump.

Snow sprayed everywhere.

Lu Nian'an finally burst into laughter.

"Hahaha—"

"You're still laughing?!"

Xia Jiuwei scrambled out of the snowbank indignantly.

By then, Lu Nian'an was already gliding downhill.

"Hehe."

"Come catch me."

"Lu Nian'an! Get back here!"

Xia Jiuwei hurried after her.

The two of them sped down the mountainside, accelerating faster and faster.

In less than three minutes, they had already overtaken Charles and the children, who were still making their careful descent.

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

The two figures shot past like arrows.

Lukas's eyes immediately lit up.

"Dad! Big Sis and the other Big Sis are so fast!"

"I want to go that fast too!"

Charles watched the two distant figures rapidly disappear into the distance.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"No."

"You really don't."

Lukas clearly wasn't convinced.

Then, in the very next moment—

Distracted by watching them, his board tilted.

"Ahhh!"

Splat.

He buried himself headfirst in the snow.

Fortunately, Charles had already spent plenty of time teaching both children how to fall properly, and they weren't moving very fast, so he wasn't hurt.

Charles stopped, helped Lukas back to his feet, and brushed the snow off his helmet.

"See?"

"Taking it slow like us is much safer."

"And it's still plenty of fun."

He pointed toward the two tiny figures that were now barely visible in the distance.

"At the speed they're going..."

"...if they hit something, they might go flying."

Lukas shrank his neck.

That sounded perfectly reasonable.

So he obediently nodded.

The three of them continued making their slow, steady way down the mountain.

Meanwhile...

Less than ten minutes later, Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an had already reached the bottom of the slope.

Xia Jiuwei brought her board to a stop before taking careful steps toward Lu Nian'an.

Lu Nian'an, meanwhile, had backed herself all the way to the edge of the slope.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

A mischievous smile slowly spread across Xia Jiuwei's face.

"So."

"Are you ready to pay for what you've done?"

Lu Nian'an simply plopped down in the snow, looking completely unbothered.

Completely giving up.

"What price?"

"My phone."

Xia Jiuwei held out her hand.

"Let me delete that video."

"No."

"Oh, come on—"

Xia Jiuwei immediately threw herself at her, rolling around shamelessly beside her.

"Delete it!"

"No."

"Delete it!"

"No."

"Lu Nian'an!"

It wasn't long before Lu Nian'an's carefully maintained poker face finally broke.

She snorted—

Then burst into laughter.

That only made Xia Jiuwei even more flustered.

"Stop laughing at me!"

But seeing her puffed-up, indignant expression...

Only made Lu Nian'an laugh harder.

It wasn't skiing itself that made her happy.

What truly made her smile...

...was seeing Xia Jiuwei acting like herself again.

The confusion, hesitation, and heaviness she'd been carrying in her heart seemed to have been swept away by the snow and the laughter.

After fooling around for a while longer, the two of them finally settled down, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the snow.

Neither of them spoke.

They simply watched the brilliant white mountains and the sunlit valley stretching into the distance.

A gentle wind drifted across the snow.

For a moment, the world seemed to contain nothing but the snow, the sky...

...and each other.

Sometimes...

being together like this was enough.