Chapter 021　 Maybe all you really want is，sex.

  *

  The next day, heavy snow fell. Even after waking up, no one wanted to get out of bed. Moreover, Su Xian had no plans for the day and just wanted to relax idly in the hotel. She pulled a large cushion closer and turned on music on her phone.

  The window was like a painting, showcasing the real-time winter scenery of Hokkaido—everything felt close to perfect.

  Suddenly, she heard a sound from the living room, so she wrapped herself in a blanket and walked out of the room.

  *

  Li Chengshi was fully focused on pan-frying lamb chops on the griddle. On the neighboring stove, fish soup with tofu was simmering, and the aroma of rice wafted from the electric rice cooker. Su Xian secretly watched him from behind for a while, but he was so absorbed that he didn't notice her. She smiled, went back to change her clothes, placed the red wine she had bought yesterday on the dining table, and slowly twisted the corkscrew into the cork.

  Just then, Liang Wenya emerged from her room, looking sleepy. Smelling the aroma, she immediately launched into praise mode, not forgetting to belittle Su Xian in the process, though Su Xian didn't mind at all.

  "Xiao Li, what time did you get here?" Liang Wenya had given Li Chengshi her key last night so he could come over anytime.

  "10:30 AM."

  "You worked hard. I'll give you a raise when we get back."

  "Thank you, General Manager Liang!"

  Pop! It was Su Xian finally opening the wine cork. As she poured the wine, she teased, "General Manager Liang, you should just adopt him as your godson."

  "Oh, I might actually consider that. I'll discuss it with Li Xiao when we get back. She raised you too well!"

  Li Chengshi knew it was a joke and just smiled.

  Su Xian, however, said with mischief, "Li Chengshi, in that case, you can call me Little Auntie."

  Liang Wenya smacked her arm and told her to go bring the fish soup over.

  Li Chengshi carefully carried the griddle to the table. "General Manager Liang, be careful, it's hot."

  The lamb chops were still sizzling on the griddle, releasing a rich aroma.

  The fish soup was also on the table—it was the Splendid Alfonsino (Kinmedai) Su Xian had been thinking about. Hmm, this puppy is quite thoughtful.

  Li Chengshi divided the lamb chops and side dishes onto everyone's plates. When handing Su Xian hers, he said, "Little Auntie, hurry and try if it's tasty."

  Seeing Su Xian's slightly awkward expression, Liang Wenya couldn't stop laughing. "He's calling you Little Auntie! Did you give him a New Year money?"

  "I'll give it later."

  "No 'later.' I want to see you wrap it right now."

  Su Xian, resigned, stood up, retrieved a souvenir envelope provided by the hotel from the bedroom, and put 20,000 Japanese yen inside.

  "Thank you, Little Auntie." Li Chengshi happily accepted it and served her another bowl of soup.

  Liang Wenya nodded. "That's more like it. See if you try to take advantage of people again."

  It was quite costly, so she probably wouldn't. But the lamb chops were too fragrant, the Kinmedai was too fresh, and even the tofu was delicious! This small financial loss could be ignored.

  *

  After eating and resting for a while, Liang Wenya urged them to go out.

  "With this heavy snow, where can we go?"

  Liang Wenya handed them 10,000 yen each and told them to go play Pachinko.

  "Just be back before 6 PM. Wang Jing and Lao Zhang are bringing back fresh king crab that they bought in Hakodate."

  *

  Stepping inside the Pachinko parlor, they were immediately engulfed by the deafening noise of the machines. Li Chengshi could roughly understand the operation instructions, and the two quickly got the hang of it. However, the game wasn't much fun. 10,000 yen was gone by 3 PM, nowhere near 6 PM. Su Xian had slightly better luck and exchanged her winnings for a box of Sapporo Agricultural College cookies, which she gave directly to Li Chengshi.

  "Thank you, Little Auntie."

  "You..." Sigh, never mind, she brought it upon herself.

  *

  There weren't many other entertainment options in the village. Su Xian thought they might have to return and bother Liang Wenya, but Li Chengshi had actually brought several sledding mats from China, saying he wanted to take her sledding on the snow slope behind the inn.

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  "What made you think of bringing these?" Su Xian was pleasantly surprised.

  "I checked the detailed information beforehand and thought they might be useful, and they're very light anyway."

  "What a little genius. Let's go to the snow slope!"

  *

  The slope was gentle, and the powder snow was soft. At first, they couldn't slide. They went up and down, compacting the snow several times, until they could finally slide slowly. If they got stuck halfway, they'd nudge themselves forward. After several repetitions, the track finally became smooth.

  Su Xian held Li Chengshi's shoulders. "Ready, Go!" and forcefully pushed him out.

  "Yeah!" He yelled happily like a child.

  Su Xian sat on a mat herself, grabbed two branches, pushed hard, and slid out with the momentum.

  "Yeah!" She couldn't help but shout herself, happy like a child.

  Li Chengshi had already slid to the flat area and was waiting for her to slide down so they could go up together again.

  After several rounds of this, the snow gradually stopped.

  *

  Su Xian had already climbed to the top of the slope, but when she looked back, Li Chengshi had stopped halfway.

  "Come on, Little Bear!"

  "Can't go further. Come down and get me."

  Su Xian shook her head with a resigned smile, slid down, took his hand, and dragged him up to the top. When she turned, she saw him secretly pursing his lips and smiling. She suddenly realized, pointed at his nose, and asked, "Are you pretending?"

  "I am not." He smiled even sweeter.

  Su Xian laughed too. Even if he was pretending, she couldn't get angry.

  "Want to slide again?"

  "As long as you keep pulling me up, I'll keep sliding."

  *

  The sun peeked out, and the weather cleared up.

  Several Japanese children gathered from various parts of the village. They politely asked to borrow the sledding mats to play, offering venison in exchange. Since the two were tired anyway, they simply gave the mats to the children and walked back holding the venison.

  "Where did they get the venison?" Su Xian asked.

  "Furano. I checked; Furano's specialties include venison and bear meat. Su Xian, let's go there together next year."

  "If you want to go, we can go together tomorrow." Although her plan was to stay put in the hotel, the plan could be changed.

  "What if I want to go with you next year too?"

  "If you want to go, then go. You can go anytime."

  Seeing that she wasn't taking the bait, Li Chengshi looked a little angry.

  Su Xian specifically liked seeing his sulky look, and now holding the venison, he looked even more like a puppy. She took a few steps forward, turned around, bent down, and made noises to call him, mimicking the way one calls a dog.

  "Su Xian, I'm angry!" he shouted, then rushed to chase her.

  Su Xian laughed loudly and ran forward.

  Before he could chase her far, Li Chengshi slipped and fell to the ground. Feeling frustrated, he simply lay down in the snow, refusing to move.

  Su Xian ran back, knelt down, and asked anxiously, "Are you okay?"

  "No."

  Su Xian reached out her hand, but he ignored it, turning his face away from her. She had no choice but to lie down beside him and look at the sky together.

  "Can you go with me next year?" He asked again. For him, eight months had passed since the accident last June. He could feel her slowly drawing closer, especially these past few days, so asking for a little bit of certainty shouldn't be too greedy.

  *

  Su Xian certainly knew what he was asking about, but she didn't want it to escalate to the level of love. He was only 24 after the New Year; he was just temporarily confused.

  "Li Chengshi, let me analyze your psychological state." She chose her words carefully. "Guys your age, especially those lacking experience, often have a lot of colorful（erotic） thoughts in their heads. I'm absolutely not putting you down; this is a normal reaction for a healthy young man. In this situation, unintentionally having an intimate relationship with an older-but-not-old woman can cause a flutter, and you get confused, thinking it's love. But think carefully: maybe all you really want is，sex."

  *