Chapter 61

Chapter 61 5.curve-07

Qi Shanyu understood why Liu Yi had raised this question.

Although the rescue had been rushed and there hadn’t been time to investigate carefully, Qi Shanyu himself had just climbed over the railing and hadn’t felt any looseness. Moreover, the girl who fell wasn’t particularly petite, just of average build—there was no way she was heavier than the two of them combined. How on earth did she end up so unlucky as to break the railing?

“I’m in the same room as Old Ma. I did go up the mountain with them.”

Bai Yun looked somewhat distracted and not very eager to speak, but he still briefly explained the situation.

“Feifei and Old Ma were taking photos on the observation platform. I went to the convenience store in front to buy water… it was less than ten minutes. When I heard Old Ma’s cries for help, I ran back immediately…”

He ran a hand through his hair, muttering softly, “I don’t know how badly Feifei is hurt…”

The two girls from the C City animation company exchanged a meaningful glance, silently communicating with each other.

Qi Shanyu repeated the key point from Bai Yun’s words: “They were taking photos at the time?”

Bai Yun nodded. “Feifei is usually quite artistic. She often posts travel notes in her social circle. Old Ma often helps her take photos.”

At this, the tall, thin youth seemed to snap awake from a dream, slapping his forehead. “Right, Old Ma’s camera is still with me!”

He took off his backpack and pulled out a miniature DSLR camera.

The camera had been handed to Bai Yun by Ma Mingxi while he accompanied his girlfriend onto the ambulance, to carry it back to the hotel. Even though it was a light mirrorless camera, it was still a few pounds of solid weight—too cumbersome to take to the hospital.

The camera had no password; anyone could open it. Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu took it and began looking through the photos.

As Bai Yun had said, there were plenty of photos stored inside, most of them of Song Feifei.

Ma Mingxi, skilled in graphic design at the animation company, had a more refined aesthetic than typical straight men. In real life, Song Feifei’s appearance was only slightly above average, but through his camera, she looked like an artistic, fresh-faced goddess—her beauty enhanced by threefold.

Liu Yi’s fingers swiped to the most recent photos, and sure enough, several were taken on the observation platform.

“Look at this!”

Liu Yi tugged Qi Shanyu’s arm and brought the camera screen over.

Qi Shanyu saw in the photo the railing snapping and Song Feifei tumbling down the cliff—the shutter was likely pressed reflexively by Ma Mingxi at that exact instant, capturing the dramatic moment.

The photo was slightly tilted, the scene blurred, probably because the accident happened so suddenly that the photographer’s hand shook.

Even so, Qi Shanyu could see the railing falling behind her and the footprints in the snow that belonged to the girl alone. This evidence clearly proved that at the time of the accident, Song Feifei had been alone—she had fallen by herself.

Qi Shanyu and Liu Yi exchanged a glance, then returned the camera to Bai Yun without saying more.

&&& &&& &&&

After the morning incident, Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu had no mood for skiing in the afternoon.

After changing clothes, they had intended to go back up the mountain to check the accident site, but for safety, the hotel had closed the entire mountain path, saying the local police would handle the investigation. With that, there was nothing more they could do and they gave up.

They spent a leisurely afternoon wandering the hotel and went to the restaurant for buffet dinner.

They unexpectedly encountered the C City animation company group and saw Ma Mingxi among them.

“You came back way too early!”

When Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu entered the restaurant, they heard several girls standing in front of Ma Mingxi’s table, chattering, “Feifei is still in the hospital! Why aren’t you staying with her?”

“She’s in the ICU. I can’t get in. Should I sleep in the hallway all night!?”

Ma Mingxi seemed very irritated, not wanting to pay attention to the girls. He stirred a few noodles on his plate, grabbed some, and ate.

“The hospital is close. They’ll notify me if anything happens. Feifei’s parents are also here. What else is there for me to do?”

He ate a few more bites, slapped the plate down, and hurried out of the restaurant.

As he passed Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu, he glanced at them, his gaze lingering a bit longer than normal.

……

During the meal, the girls who had already become familiar with Liu Yi and Qi Shanyu naturally sat at the same table.

They had already compared notes privately. Seeing the two share a room and nearly never apart, they were convinced these two were best friends, leaving no chance for themselves.

Still, even without prospects for romance, “eye candy” was enjoyable. Watching them was entertaining.

And because the girls knew they had no competition, they interacted naturally with the two handsome men, like peers traveling together—relaxed and at ease.

Perhaps irritated by Ma Mingxi’s attitude, the girls vented about their colleague relentlessly.

“He’s usually useless and inattentive to Feifei. He probably spends more time at home watching anime than dating her.”

“Exactly! If it weren’t for the photos to act artsy, Feifei wouldn’t like him at all.”

“I think they’re about to break up. I saw them argue at the office after work last time.”

“Look at him now. Feifei is in ICU, and he’s back eating buffet! Amazing he still has an appetite!”

Qi Shanyu didn’t fully understand terms like “anime,” but he got the gist: this was a story of a hardcore otaku and a lively, real-world girl struggling to be together, barely compatible, likely about to break up.

It made him feel a little blocked in his chest.

His own breakup with his ex-boyfriend Li Jin seemed similar to Ma and Song’s situation.

Although he wasn’t an otaku, he was busy with work, inattentive to Li Jin, and their personality and value differences grew into a resentment that exploded, ending in a bitter breakup.

Qi Shanyu, glancing at Liu Yi, couldn’t help projecting his own failed romance onto him, and the dull pain in his chest turned into something almost unbearable.

“Hey, your lasagna is about to turn into a sieve.”

Liu Yi nudged Qi Shanyu with his elbow.

Qi Shanyu snapped back to reality, looking down to see his lasagna poked through seventeen or eighteen times, the neat layers collapsed, cheese and meat mixed messily—hardly appetizing.

Afraid Liu Yi would notice his thoughts, he focused on eating.

“Honestly, Feifei might as well dump Old Ma and be with Bai Yun.”

The girls’ conversation still revolved around Song Feifei and her unreliable boyfriend, but like all gossip, it inevitably dragged in a third person.

“Really? You think so too?”

The short-haired girl laughed shortly and winked at her friends. “I always thought Bai Yun likes Feifei too!”

“Yes, yes! I noticed that too!” The other girls nodded eagerly.

“I saw it before—every time Feifei posts on social media, Bai Yun is almost always the first to like it!”

“One girl added, “He’s genuinely good to her, always helping out, never refusing.”

“Yeah, sometimes he even secretly watches Feifei…”

The girls got more excited as they talked, some quietly humming a song.

“But Bai Yun is six years younger than Feifei. She probably sees him only as a little brother, right?”

The short-haired girl sighed. “Feifei is almost thirty; she usually wouldn’t like someone that much younger…”

Qi Shanyu felt another pang in his chest; even his lasagna tasted a little sour.

“That doesn’t matter! Age-gap romances are trendy now!”

One girl immediately refuted.

She seemed to suddenly realize how absorbed they’d been, ignoring the two handsome men at the table, and turned to Liu Yi, seeking affirmation: “Right?”

Liu Yi froze, then smiled and nodded. “Right, it’s quite popular now.”