I'm sorry, but your fiancé loves me.

Since humbly flattering him won't work, then use the methods he's used to.

He wanted Yun Muqian to stay by his side, no matter what method he used.

After returning to China tomorrow, he will take her to a place. He has already decided on the address: a detached house on a mountain overlooking the sea in the south, surrounded by no one for several kilometers, with only a winding mountain road in and out, and an electric lock installed at the iron gate at the entrance.

He prepared enough supplies for her there. He would take away her communication equipment, leaving her an old cell phone without internet access, with only his number saved in it.

He would tell her that this is where they can start over, where no one will bother them, no outsiders, just the two of them.

If she's willing, that's best; if she's not—the door's locked, there are no cars on the mountain road, she can't escape.

He would spend every day with her, talk to her, and cook for her, just like when they first got together. He would be gentle, patient, and attentive to her every need.

As time went on, he thought she would eventually soften her heart.

He came out of the bathroom, changed his clothes, and went downstairs. Yun Muqian was sitting on the living room sofa flipping through a magazine. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and said:

"I'll take you skiing."

He walked over and said, "You mentioned you wanted to ski in Japan, and the ski resort is open today."

Yun Muqian paused her fingers as she flipped through the magazine, looked up at him, and said, "When did I say that?"

"You saw a vlog of someone skiing in Japan, you forwarded it to me, saying the place was beautiful, but you've forgotten about it."

She really forgot.

She sent him so much stuff every day—videos, articles, photos of cats and dogs—it was all just a casual message. She never expected him to remember it, and she never checked whether he had actually seen it or not.

She lowered her head and continued flipping through the magazine, then closed it after a couple of pages and stood up.

"...Okay."

Anyway, I'm just idling around.

The drive took nearly several hours. After leaving Tokyo city and getting on the highway, the scenery outside the window gradually changed from dense buildings to open mountains and fields. The winter sunlight shone on the rolling hills, which was very pleasant.

The car was parked at the ski resort at the foot of the mountain. The natural snow quality was excellent, and the powdery snow shimmered with a fine silver light under the setting sun.

There weren't many people; a few skiers were leisurely gliding along the beginner slope in the distance. Qin Qihan got out of the car, took off his equipment, and turned around to see Yun Muqian standing beside the car, wrapped in a white down jacket, looking up at the distant ski slope.

She took the pink ski suit and ski boots he handed her, and after changing, she looked like a strawberry wrapped in powdered sugar. The pink color made her skin look even whiter and smoother.

Qin Qihan pulled down his goggles, the black lenses covering most of his face, revealing only his sharp jawline and thin lips.

He changed into his ski suit, fastened his skis, stood up straight, and spread his long legs slightly apart in the snow to maintain his balance. The ski suit hugged the muscle lines of his shoulders and back, and the waistband clearly outlined his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

Not far away, a few young girls were carrying snowboards and walking towards the cable car. When they passed by him, their pace slowed down noticeably. One of them turned around and glanced at him, while the other said something in Japanese and then secretly turned around and looked at him several more times.

Yun Muqian pushed her goggles up to her forehead and looked at him standing in the sunset, half of his body illuminated by the snow, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"So many people are looking at you," she said. "You might find a girlfriend here."

Qin Qihan didn't reply. He plunged his ski pole into the snow, the metal tip making a muffled sound as it went into the powdery snow. He then turned his head to glance at her.

She couldn't see his eyes through the dark lenses, but she could feel his gaze lingering on her face for a moment.

Yun Muqian's strange premonition resurfaced.

In the past, if she had said those words, he would have frowned, then argued with her in a cold voice, asking her, "Do you really think that? Do you want me to find someone else?" and then the two of them would have started arguing in the snow.

But he didn't say anything today, acting as if he hadn't heard anything, and continued doing what he was doing.

"Let's go," he said, straightening up and handing her her ski poles. "Let's get used to the beginner slopes first."

She took the ski poles, stepped onto the skis, and tried gliding a couple of steps.

The snow was of excellent quality; the powdery snow made a soft rustling sound under her skis. It was her first time skiing, and Qin Qihan was beside her, reaching out to support her.

The two skied along the beginner slope twice. Yun Muqian stopped at the bottom of the slope to catch her breath. A thin layer of condensation had formed on her goggles, which she took off and wiped clean. Qin Qihan stopped beside her, turning his head to look at the distant ridgeline.

"Want to go up again?" he said. "The scenery is even better on the path at the top."

She suddenly turned to look at him. "You're acting really strange today."

"Something's strange about it."

"Too peaceful," she said. "Unlike you."

Qin Qihan looked at her, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Who does she resemble?"

"I don't know," Yun Muqian muttered, "but it doesn't seem like you."

The two went on a longer route, and just as she was skiing halfway down the slope, she suddenly heard a muffled sound coming from the direction of the mountaintop, like something cracking open.

She instinctively turned around and saw a crack in the snow on the mountaintop rapidly widening, like a slowly opening mouth, before shattering into countless pieces, and the entire snow surface began to collapse downwards—

The white waves of snow rolled down at a visible speed, accompanied by a dull rumble, growing larger and closer.

avalanche.

Her heart clenched, her mind went blank, and her body instinctively tried to ski sideways, but her skis were stuck in the powdery snow and she couldn't turn at all.

The white wall was approaching at an alarming speed, as if all the snow in the world was pressing down on her at the same moment.

She tried desperately to escape, but could never outrun the speed, and then someone suddenly tackled her from behind.

The force was so great that she fell forward into the snow, and then a heavy, hot body covered her, completely shielding her back and head beneath it.

She heard Qin Qihan's muffled groan coming from above. His arms braced on either side of her head, his entire back and shoulders bearing the impact of the snow wall.

The fabric of his ski suit screeched as it pounded against the snow. His breath was rapid and heavy against the back of her neck, his chest heaving against her back.

The snow waves rolled over them, and in that instant, the world lost all sound, except for the increasingly loud pounding of her own heart beneath the snow, pounding against her eardrums.

She didn't know how long she had been in the darkness, a few seconds or longer. Then she felt the weight on top of her shift, and Qin Qihan's arm moved away from the side of her head, slowly and laboriously creating a little space.

His lips brushed against her earlobe, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible:

"Are you alright?"

Yun Muqian heard his voice in the darkness, moved her fingers, and felt the heavy weight of the snow pressing down on her, but his body created a little space for her, allowing her to breathe.

She wanted to say "It's okay," but the moment she opened her mouth, a mouthful of icy snow foam poured in, choking her and making her cough.

Hearing her cough, Qin Qihan's tense body seemed to relax slightly, and the arm supporting her head swayed a little.

Then she felt a violent tremor coming from beneath them—the snow was enveloping the two of them as they slid down the slope, faster and faster, with protruding rocks and tree roots hitting their bodies beneath the snow.

Qin Qihan held her even tighter in his arms, his arms wrapped around her waist and shoulders, pressing her head into the crook of his neck, using all his muscles to cushion each impact.

She heard him grunt as he squeezed out a muffled groan with each impact, and then he finally stopped.

The snow layer came to a stop in a gently sloping depression, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Yun Muqian struggled to move, and the weight pressing on her back slowly and heavily lifted her up a little. Qin Qihan used the last bit of strength to push himself off her so that she could crawl out from under the snow.

She scrambled out of the snowdrift, using both her hands and feet, and turned to look at him.

He knelt in the snow, one hand bracing against a protruding rock. It seemed he had been hit on the forehead by the snow. A dark liquid was trickling down his forehead, meandering down his brow bone, bridge of his nose, and chin, each drop hitting the white snow and spreading into small red patches.

His eyes were half-closed, his pupils were somewhat unfocused, and his lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something.

Qin Qihan slightly raised his eyes to look at her: "...It's good that you're alright."

Then his eyelids closed, and his body slumped to the side.

When the rescue team brought them down the mountain, Qin Qihan had completely lost consciousness.

He was strapped to a stretcher, and the wound on his forehead had been given basic treatment, with a red ring gradually spreading through the white gauze.

Yun Muqian followed beside the stretcher and heard the paramedics say that he might have suffered a concussion. He should have never been injured so badly before.

......

When Qin Qihan woke up, the white ceiling made it take him three seconds to realize that he was in the hospital.

A dull pain shot through his temple. He turned his head and saw his assistant standing by the bed, his expression complex and subtle. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something but then he swallowed it back.

Qin Qihan tried to sit up, supporting herself on the mattress, but she fell back down due to dizziness after only getting halfway up her arm.

His first question was to Yun Muqian.

The assistant stood there, her fingers twisting the strap of her briefcase, her gaze darting away. "Miss Yun… she's fine. She's been checked; there are only some minor scratches."

Qin Qihan closed his eyes briefly, and the breath he had been holding in finally eased.

His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Where is she? Is she frightened? Why isn't she here...? Let her in."

The assistant didn't move, his lips opened and closed several times before finally managing to squeeze out, "President Qin..."

Qin Qihan finally realized something was wrong.

He turned to look at his assistant, the initial confusion in his eyes slowly fading. "Where is she?"

The assistant's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice grew softer and softer.

"Miss Yun...she has already returned to the country."