Sheng Jiaoyang felt helpless upon hearing this. It"s only been two days since we last met, and we even had a video call yesterday.

Shen Zhining"s expression sank when he noticed her hesitation. He raised his hand and pinched her cheek as if to vent his anger. "Last night, I was frightened by the video you sent me. How are you going to make it up to me?"

"Are you really such a scaredy-cat?" Sheng Jiaoyang cast him a skeptical look.

"Yes, so how do you think the mental damage you did should be compensated?"

The mental damage fee has already been paid out…Brother, that"s enough!

Sheng Jiaoyang rolled her eyes. "How about you prank me back?"

"If revenge breeds revenge, will there ever be an end to it?"

I can"t believe that you"re playing it smart! Sheng Jiaoyang looked at him and asked, "How do you want me to make up for it?"

With a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, Shen Zhining wrapped his arm around her and gently pinched her waist as he said, "Just…repay me with your body."

Although they were separated by their clothes, the spot that was pinched still felt a little itchy. The main reason for this was because his movements were flirtatious with an inference, which made her heart ticklish.

"You"re charging too much for mental damage, aren"t you?"

"If you can make me laugh in a minute, I won"t need any compensation."

Make him laugh? "But I"m not a comedian!"

"Ten seconds have already pa.s.sed."

Sheng Jiaoyang instantly moved her hand to tickle him, but his expression remained the same. She thought that there was no reaction because she was tickling him through his clothes. As such, she moved her hand under the hem of his ash-grey woollen sweater and poked his waist. The skin there felt different from when she was touching her own waist. A glint flashed across her eyes as she wondered if he had six-pack abs, and the hand poking his waist secretly reached his abdomen. She studied his abs so intently that she"d forgotten all about that one-minute countdown.

"Time"s up!"

"Ah?"

Sheng Jiaoyang looked up at Shen Zhining with a confused expression.

"You didn"t make me laugh,” Shen Zhining declared. He naturally wouldn"t tell her that he"d smiled for a second while she was touching his abs.

He was always deceived by this little liar, so he at least needed to reciprocate once or twice.

"What are you going to do then?" Sheng Jiaoyang looked at him with an innocent, wide-eyed look.

"Repaying your debt with your body."

Sheng Jiaoyang felt helpless. How did they end up on this topic again?

"Zhining, as you know, I"ve travelled a long way to get here, and I"m tired. I"ll rest early today, and we can have an in-depth discussion on this issue afterwards,” Sheng Jiaoyang said cautiously.

"An "in-depth" discussion?" He repeated these words and specifically emphasized the word "in-depth", which was laced with an overtone.

Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly blushed. The way he repeats it changes the whole meaning and makes it so indescribable.

A smile was visible in Shen Zhining"s eyes. They"d cross that bridge when they got there, so he didn"t tease her anymore and kindly let her off this time.

"Do you want to take a bath?" he thoughtfully asked.

"Yep."

Sheng Jiaoyang answered straightforwardly. But, after responding, she suddenly recalled that there was no bathtub in the room she was staying in.

"Go get your clothes, I"ll run the water for you." Shen Zhining then headed towards the bathroom.

This is Shen Zhining"s bedroom!

Sheng Jiaoyang bit her lip and felt a little embarra.s.sed, but then she remembered that Shen Zhining had also used the bathtub in her room before. What was there to be embarra.s.sed about? She stopped worrying and went to the room next door to look for her suitcase.

As she soaked comfortably in Shen Zhining"s bathtub, she let out a long sigh. She played with the foam for a while and then lay on the bathtub headrest and closed her eyes to recuperate.

She was indeed very tired after the long flight, and she"d also had some wine earlier, so she fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

Sheng Jiaoyang vaguely felt that someone was carrying her, but she was already immersed in her sleep, and she didn"t even bother to wake up. It was probably because she knew that this was Shen Zhining"s room, and she felt a habitual trust in him. She was dependent on him, hence she felt secure.

When she woke up the next day, it was already morning.

It felt nice and warm with the blanket wrapped around her as she rubbed against the edge of the blanket. She kept her eyes closed and turned to go back to sleep, but her hand inadvertently touched something warm.

Oh, wait, she touched it again. It"s not a thing, it"s a person…

A person?! Sheng Jiaoyang sobered up in an instant, and she opened her eyes to see Shen Zhining"s face.

This scene gave her a sense of déjà vu.

By the time she recovered her senses, she was already trapped in Shen Zhining"s arms.

"Was touching me nice?" His voice was slightly hoa.r.s.e, containing a hint of languidness.

Sheng Jiaoyang licked her lips and inexplicably felt her throat dry up.

"I…huh, wasn"t I taking a bath?" A scene suddenly popped up in her mind.

"That was last night."

"Then, how did I get out?" Sheng Jiaoyang bowed her head and saw that she was wearing the pajamas that she"d taken out of her suitcase. She had no recollection of leaving the bathroom.

"What do you think?" Shen Zhining asked in an ambiguous tone.

Sheng Jiaoyang froze for a moment. Don"t tell her that Shen Zhining had carried her out?!

"Who else do you think could carry you?"

"So, you helped me change into my pajamas, too?" Sheng Jiaoyang raised her hand to cover her eyes as she could no longer face Shen Zhining.

When Shen Zhining saw how embarra.s.sed she felt, a smile blossomed on his face.

"No, Eve did."

Sheng Jiaoyang breathed a sigh of relief. Wait…Shen Zhining only said that Eve changed her clothes, but he didn"t say that Eve carried her out of the bathroom. Besides, Eve probably didn"t have the strength to carry her.

She parted her fingers a little and peered at Shen Zhining from between her fingers. Did this guy see her stark naked?

Shen Zhining immediately caught her peeking at him. His lips curled upwards as he swept a meaningful glance at the blanket. "Don"t worry, there"s nothing to see."

Sheng Jiaoyang stared at him wide-eyed and removed her hands from her face. She then glared at him and asked, "Are you mocking me?"

"I"m just stating a fact."

This loathsome fellow! Sheng Jiaoyang extended her hand and pushed him away. She then lifted the blanket and got off the bed.

"Did you become angry from embarra.s.sment?" Shen Zhining asked from behind her.

Sheng Jiaoyang snorted and left his bedroom without looking back.

"As expected, there are no good men in this world!" While looking for a set of clothes to wear, Sheng Jiaoyang muttered under her breath.

They were going out to play active sports, so the clothes she"d brought were mostly sporty outfits.

Once she"d changed clothes, she stared at the mirror for a while, straightened her chest, and said to herself, "I"m a little curvy."

When Sheng Jiaoyang sat next to Shen Zhining at breakfast, she cast a sidelong glance at him, bearing a secret grudge.

"Where are you guys going today?" Fu Lailin asked.

"We"re planning to go skiing," Shen Zhining answered.

Grandfather Shen glanced up at them and said, "That sounds fun!"

Fu Lailin looked at him with a smile. "They should enjoy exciting activities while they"re young. At your age, you aren"t fit enough to do thrilling activities anymore."

"Who says I can"t?" Grandfather Shen felt as if someone had trampled on his foot.

"I didn"t say you couldn"t, I just said that you weren"t fit enough," Fu Lailin sternly reprimanded.

As she watched the old couple quarrel, Sheng Jiaoyang smiled. Suddenly, a pair of chopsticks were extended and she looked down to find a fried egg in her bowl. She raised her chin slightly without looking at Shen Zhining. Hmph, trying to coax her with just this? This is unacceptable!

After breakfast, Sheng Jiaoyang organised her belongings for a while and then they set off.

"Wake up, we"re here."

Sheng Jiaoyang opened her eyes and found that the car was parked at the hotel"s entrance.

Shen Zhining raised his hand and rubbed her head as he said, "Let"s check-in and rest early today. We can go skiing tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Sheng Jiaoyang obediently followed Shen Zhining into the hotel.

When she entered the hotel room, she stood at the floor-to-ceiling window and admired the Swiss scenery outside. Only then did she feel that she"d truly arrived in Switzerland. She"d slept almost the entire way, so she didn"t get to enjoy much of the scenery.

"This is my first time in Switzerland. Zhining, why don"t we go for a walk?"

"Rest for a while, and then we"ll go out."

"I slept in the car all the way here, so I"m not tired."

"Then, let"s go."

They walked around and grabbed something to eat. When they walked back to the hotel room, they washed up before going to bed.

Early the next morning, they departed for the Alps.

In Switzerland, this section of the mountains was one of the main attractions and it was well-equipped. As a result, there were many tourists around.

Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, they unexpectedly saw quite a few Asian faces. Some people must have taken the chance to travel here with their families.

Since they were skiing today, Sheng Jiaoyang specifically wore contact lenses and had her hair tied up.

Once she"d changed into her ski outfit, she stood on the beginner ski track. As she looked down and saw that even the beginner ski slopes had such a big drop, she became a bit nervous. Moreover, she"d never skied before, so she was naturally afraid of the unknown. Only an expert wouldn"t be nervous as they watched people speed down on sleighs and others occasionally fall.

"Zhining, can you ski?"

"Yes." Seeing her nervousness, Shen Zhining held her hand. "Your balance isn"t bad, don"t worry."

With his words, Sheng Jiaoyang felt more at ease.

"This is my first time skiing at a ski resort, and before this, it was skating."

"I"ll accompany you to do more firsts in the future." He didn"t act affectionate, but this simple sentence revealed his deep affection towards her.

Just like a flood breaching its dike, it would only become increasingly profound, and so would this feeling. Once it started, if one didn"t get away from it in time, they"d slowly sink deeper and deeper.

Sheng Jiaoyang stared at him and felt touched.

"Go, go!" The ski instructor rushed them.

After falling a few times, Sheng Jiaoyang had almost mastered balancing. With Shen Zhining looking after her, she felt at ease as she continued to ski, and the more relaxed she felt, the better she skied.

Ultimately, Sheng Jiaoyang took Shen Zhining to the middle section since she wanted to challenge it at least once. After gaining a sense of achievement, she wanted to challenge the advanced section as well, but was held back by Shen Zhining. The advanced section contained too many uncontrollable factors, and there were both challenges and dangers for beginner skiers.

Although she failed to challenge the advanced section, Sheng Jiaoyang was still very happy. When she returned to the hotel, she was still excited.Previous ChapterNext Chapter