Chapter 59
Chapter 59 5. Curve-05
Perhaps because he had poured out over ten years of suppressed memories in one go, a heavy weight lifted from Qi Shanyu’s heart. He slept deeply and soundly, and when he woke the next day, it was nearly ten in the morning.
He slipped out from the thick down comforter, feeling refreshed, without the usual grogginess of a hangover.
Liu Yi was still lying beside him, half of his face buried in the pillow, sleeping soundly, one arm naturally draped over Qi Shanyu’s waist.
The room was warm, the bedding a little hot, and Liu Yi’s whole face was rosy, forehead damp with a light sweat, lips red and plump, looking deep in a pleasant dream.
Qi Shanyu held Liu Yi’s arm draped over him, intending to gently move it, but as soon as he shifted, the person beside him seemed to notice, wrinkled his nose slightly, and slowly opened his eyes.
“Morning…”
Liu Yi squinted, poking his head out from under the covers, voice hoarse and unclear, “What time is it?”
“Almost ten.”
Qi Shanyu reached out to shield Liu Yi’s face from the sunlight. “Do you want to get up and eat something?”
“Mm, I’m so hungry my chest feels stuck to my back.”
Liu Yi sat up, brushed the bangs covering his eyes, and got out of bed. “The breakfast service in the restaurant is probably over, but let’s go take a walk and see if we can find something to eat.”
…
Twenty minutes later, both had freshened up and gone to the second-floor restaurant. Sure enough, the buffet breakfast was over, and lunch had not started, but the restaurant still offered à la carte service. Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu each ordered sausage fried rice and trout butterfly pasta, paired with freshly baked rolls, jam, and black tea, devouring it and filling their empty, post-drinking stomachs.
After eating, Liu Yi considered how to spend the day.
“The snow seems to have stopped. Shall we go for a walk?”
He looked outside through the restaurant glass.
The snow had fallen all night, covering the mountains and forests in silver, an impressive sight rarely seen in the south, extremely beautiful.
“I remember there’s a ski resort on the mountain behind. Shall we rent a snowboard there this afternoon?”
Qi Shanyu nodded in agreement. “Sure.”
“You’ve skied before?”
Seeing Qi Shanyu answer so decisively, Liu Yi was a bit surprised.
“No.”
Qi Shanyu honestly shook his head, then added, “But my athletic ability and balance are good, so I pick up these things quickly.”
“….”
In other words, skiing was nothing—it wouldn’t challenge him.
Liu Yi felt that the usually quiet and obedient Officer Qi was quietly showing off a bit.
They returned to their room to change into snow-resistant gear and happily went outside.
Since opening up to each other and sleeping together in the same bed, their interactions had suddenly become much more relaxed.
Although one sought a stable, long-term partner, and the other was not yet ready to commit for life, their expectations of the relationship were slightly different. Yet, Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu had an unspoken understanding: they liked each other, knew the feeling was mutual… Since they couldn’t let go, they’d just enjoy it and let things happen naturally.
&&& &&& &&&
The back mountain area was also part of the hotel, with winding stairs and a sightseeing walkway. Along the way was a campground for picnics and barbecues, with complete facilities.
It was still quite cold outside. As Qi Shanyu and Liu Yi climbed the steps, they only occasionally encountered a few tourists, likely hotel guests taking advantage of the clear weather for a walk.
Walking shoulder to shoulder, Qi Shanyu took some landscape photos with his phone and sent them to his sister in Xinhai City.
“Wow, not bad at all.”
Liu Yi glanced at Qi Shanyu’s phone screen, surprisingly discovering he had a good artistic sense. Each photo used clever composition, the ratio of foreground, middle ground, and background balanced nicely. With a filter, they could almost compete in an amateur photography contest.
“Just snapping casually.”
Qi Shanyu picked his favorite among a few snowy pine shots and sent it to his sister, quickly receiving a reply: “Eeee, I’m so jealous! I want to go see snow in the northeast too!!”
They walked toward the mountain top for a few more minutes when they suddenly heard excited screams from young girls, and behind them came the crunching of boots in snow. Turning around, they saw three young girls running toward them.
The leader was quite pretty, with short hair under snow-white rabbit-ear earmuffs—the same girls from C City’s animation company Qi Shanyu had chatted with in the hotel lobby yesterday.
“Hey, Officer Qi, you’re out for a walk too?”
The short-haired girl asked excitedly, glancing at Liu Yi out of the corner of her eye.
A short while ago, these girls regretted not seeing Qi Shanyu and the handsome man with him at breakfast. Now, on a walk, they spotted the two on a mountainside viewing platform, and hurried to catch up, determined to get their WeChat IDs this time.
Qi Shanyu felt slightly embarrassed at their bright-eyed expressions but politely nodded. “Yes, just taking a walk.”
The girls immediately claimed they were just nearby, so they could walk together.
After a little nudging, they asked about Liu Yi’s identity.
Liu Yi, unwilling to deal with strangers’ curiosity, used a classic excuse he learned from Yuan Lan in the evidence department, claiming he worked in inspection, and the girls were satisfied.
So, Qi Shanyu, Liu Yi, and the three girls continued walking.
The girls, excited, chattered nonstop like little birds. Qi Shanyu and Liu Yi exchanged exasperated looks, reading each other’s minds: “I just want to finish this walk and go back.”
Suddenly, Qi Shanyu’s expression stiffened.
“Shh, quiet!”
He raised a finger to his lips, voice sternly cutting off the girls’ chatter.
The girls, startled by Officer Qi’s sudden authoritative aura, froze mid-smile, looking comical.
Liu Yi, familiar with Qi Shanyu’s serious work expression, frowned and leaned closer, whispering, “What’s wrong?”
“I think I just faintly heard a woman’s scream.”
Qi Shanyu answered gravely. “It’s a bit far, so I’m not certain.”
“A scream?”
The three animation girls exchanged glances, shocked and a little scared, shaking their heads—they hadn’t heard anything.
Given their previous excitement, even a scream twenty steps away might not have registered with them.
Before Qi Shanyu could say more, a young man’s shout reached their ears. Though still distant, they clearly heard one word—Help!
“Coming from up there!”
Qi Shanyu looked up and saw a viewing platform about thirty meters above them. Someone was lying on the edge, shouting for help.
“I’ll go check. Liu, watch them!”
Qi Shanyu said, leaving Liu Yi and the three girls behind, and ran up the snow-covered stairs to the platform.
“Hey, that one looks like our colleague!”
The short-haired girl panicked, stomping her foot, tugging Liu Yi’s coat, urging him, “Let’s go see too, hurry!”
&&& &&& &&&
When Liu Yi arrived with the three girls, besides the man who had called for help and Qi Shanyu, there was another tall, thin young man. Liu Yi recognized both from the same animation company as the girls.
“Hey, Lao Ma, Bai Yun, what happened?!”
The short-haired girl ran forward to ask the two colleagues.
“Feifei fell…”
The tall, thin Bai Yun turned pale, pointing at a gap in the platform railing, trembling as he replied.
“Feifei! Feifei! Help! Save her!”
The man surnamed Ma, terrified, lay on the snow, crying exaggeratedly. Judging by the tone, the earlier cry for help had been his.
Qi Shanyu now stood at the edge of the gap, leaning over to look down.
“How is she?”
Liu Yi stepped quickly beside him, also peering over the cliff.
“She’s there.”
Qi Shanyu pointed to an orange-red figure at the bottom, about five stories below.
From the clothing and body shape, the fallen person appeared to be a girl, lying face down in the snow, motionless, right lower leg twisted at an impossible angle, blood splattered near her head, life or death unknown.
“I’ll go down and get her.”
Qi Shanyu said.