Chapter 43
This was Jiang Shangwan’s first real experience of the true cold that the word “winter” signified.
As Shi Yu had said, it quickly became warm once they entered the lounge. Many people had already taken off their heavy outerwear, revealing various thin base layers in different styles underneath.
After leaving the airport, they had to sit in the car for a long time to reach Changbai Mountain. The pre-arranged car quickly picked them up and took them straight to the hotel, a one-stop journey. Jiang Shangwan lowered her head and got out of the car, walking silently into the hotel lobby, almost as if even breathing was a fear of swallowing in the cold air.
The bellboy took their luggage, and Jiang Shangwan sat down to wait. Shi Yu went to check in but was gently informed at the front desk: “Sorry, sir, the suite you reserved is fully booked. The schedule hasn’t been updated in time, would you like to switch to another room type?”
“Fully booked?” Shi Yu replied, “When I made the reservation, it showed available, and it wasn’t marked as sold out. You should have ensured there were enough rooms. Now we’re here, and you’re telling us it’s fully booked?”
“We apologize.” The front desk staff also looked troubled. “A guest booked all the rooms for a gathering, and we were unable to update the reservation information in time…”
Seeing that it was taking a while to resolve, Jiang Shangwan stood up and walked over to the tall figure, asking, “What’s going on?”
“They said the reserved suite is out of rooms, all taken by other guests for a group booking, and they want us to change to a different room type.”
Jiang Shangwan furrowed her brows. How could such a basic mistake happen at a hotel of this caliber?
“Get us a suite as soon as possible. We don’t accept changing the room type.”
Jiang Shangwan tugged at Shi Yu’s sleeve, pulling him aside: “This is their job to coordinate, why bother you with changing the room type? Just wait for them to sort it out; it’s impossible they don’t have a single room left.”
Shi Yu had handled the hotel reservation and planning, and he felt guilty that things hadn’t been managed well, causing such a delay. She had already been exhausted from the long journey.
“Haishi is relatively underdeveloped, and the service industry here isn’t as flexible as Jiangcheng.” Shi Yu, feeling sorry for her, reached out to gently touch her red, frozen ears from when she got out of the car. “Are you warmer now?”
“It’s okay, it’s much better inside.”
Soon, the manager, wearing a metal nameplate with a fancy English name, came to mediate. He appeared gentle but was actually very firm in his attitude, sticking to his script: either change the room type or refund and try other hotels.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Jiang Shangwan shook her head lightly. “This is the first time I’ve ever been kicked out.”
Shi Yu furrowed his brows slightly, a flicker of displeasure crossing his face. He pressed his lips together tightly and stepped forward to argue, but then he heard a somewhat surprised voice say, “President Jiang? Is that you?”
The front desk employee stopped their defensive spiel upon seeing the VIP guest, and a distinguished guest holding a bag walked toward Jiang Shangwan with a polite demeanor: “It really is you! What brings you here… on business?”
“Vacation.” Jiang Shangwan nodded slightly to the man, then cast a detached glance at the clueless lobby manager. “Did you reserve all the suites here?”
The man rubbed his hands together nervously. “Well, the leadership asked me to help organize a gathering, so I booked all the rooms. And you are…?”
“What a coincidence.” Jiang Shangwan said expressionlessly, “You’ve booked the suite I reserved.”
“What???” The man was incredulous, elbowing the manager beside him. “What are you standing there for? Go quickly and give President Jiang the best suite available!”
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect this mix-up. I’ve caused you trouble.”
The misunderstanding quickly came to an end. The car took them to their room, which was a detached villa with an independent snowfield hot spring. Upon opening the hotel room door, they could see Changbai Mountain through the window, and on clear mornings, they could directly view the sunrise over the golden mountain. As an apology, the hotel had carefully prepared a fruit platter, meals, and stuffed animals. Since Haishi was dry, they had thoughtfully provided a humidifier as well.
Shi Yu removed his coat and pants, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, looking like he was sulking.
“What’s wrong? I’m not even upset, but you’re getting upset. It’s all been resolved, it’s just a small thing—don’t take it to heart.”
He felt so useless.
Shi Yu thought silently to himself. His ability to solve problems was still too weak, even less useful than her face.
As though she could see through his thoughts, Jiang Shangwan wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing against his solid abdominal lines through the thin fabric of his clothes. She leaned in and kissed him gently: “Don’t think too much. You’ve only been in business for a short time, and you’re already doing great. That man used to be the regional manager of one of my former subsidiaries. He resigned and switched jobs a long time ago. He was just trying to save face because I was his former boss.”
She gently blew into his ear, “Silly puppy, feeling insecure again? If the person you met was your subordinate, your face would be more useful than mine.”
Shi Yu lowered his gaze and hugged her back. “I’m afraid you’re upset. I didn’t do well.”
“It’s just a small thing.” From her position, she dealt with a lot of complicated work every day, untangling various complicated relationships, not knowing how much effort that required. A small matter like this couldn’t stir up much emotion. It was just that this was the first time she had encountered such an unprofessional luxury hotel, which made her feel a little surprised and comment on it.
She knew he was worried about her, not because of the trouble with the hotel, but because he was afraid that her mood would be affected by such trivial matters during her vacation.
Jiang Shangwan tugged at the stray hair on his forehead, playfully running her fingers through it, lifting it up to reveal his smooth forehead, then letting it fall back down, repeatedly doing it with enjoyment. “You’re so cute.”
Shi Yu grabbed her restless hand and pushed her back onto the bed, his gaze deep and intense. He pressed his smooth fingers against the edge of her clothes. “Is it okay, President Jiang?”
Jiang Shangwan laughed, “It’s fine.”
The curtains were drawn, dim lighting was turned off, and their clothes were hastily thrown aside. They embraced each other tightly in the cold winter, their bodies warm and hot against one another, lips and teeth intertwined, the room filled with passion.
—
They had stayed in the hotel, embracing for two days. On the evening of the third day, Jiang Shangwan finally made up her mind to step out and walk in the snow.
A thick layer of snow covered the entire land. The dense goose-feather snow was something Jiangcheng had never seen before. Only in this cold northern land could one feel the purest, most biting cold and witness the spectacular sight of snow falling gently, covering the world in a silver blanket.
“I heard someone say before that the air in the north has a smell. At the time, I was surprised and confused. How can air have a smell?” Jiang Shangwan fastened her hat tightly and zipped her coat all the way up, wearing a mask that only left her cold, red-tipped nose exposed. “But now, with my feet firmly on the land, I realize it’s true. There really is a fresh, crisp air that hits your face.”
Jiang Shangwan always thought that Shi Yu smelled fresh and clean. Now, she realized that the people born in this land carried the unique, pure air of this place.
“That’s right.” Shi Yu, wearing the same black down jacket as her in a different color, reached out and brushed off the snowflakes from her hood. “The air here is very clean, neither humid nor murky. It carries the fresh dryness of nature and the cold, heavy air of the snow country.”
Jiang Shangwan quietly extended her hand from the sleeve of her jacket, palms open, catching the snowflakes as they fell. She watched as the pure, dense snowflakes melted quickly in the warmth of her hand, turning into crystal-clear water from the brief contact with her skin.
She had spent some time in Xinjiang during the winter in the past. The temperatures there were also low, with a large difference between day and night, and the environment was just as frosty. But the feeling there was completely different from what Haishi brought—here, the sensation was more direct and heavy.
As night fell, the dim yellow lights around the standalone villa illuminated the area. Jiang Shangwan and Shi Yu walked one after the other, stepping down the small stairs and following the snow path, strolling aimlessly.
Her ginger-colored snow boots left a trail of footprints on the snow, compacting the soft snow into firm little holes. Every step Jiang Shangwan took, Shi Yu followed, stepping right into her prints, completely covering them.
Sparse pine trees along the side of the road were piled high with thick snow, and every few meters, a small streetlight illuminated the dim night, decorating this not-short, not-long path.
“There seems to be rafting nearby. Should we go rafting tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“We could also try the snowfield hot springs, but I’m worried you might catch a cold,” Shi Yu said.
After a pointless, relaxing stroll, they went to a nearby town to look for food. Passing by a fruit store, Shi Yu stopped and asked her, “Do you want to try homemade frozen pears?”
“Frozen pears?”
“Yes, it’s a local specialty. You can not only buy them but also try making them yourself.”
So, they casually bought some pears to take with them and walked into a local barbecue restaurant. The thin slices of meat with pickled cabbage oozed with oil, the taste delicate, fresh, and tender, bursting with rich and fragrant meatiness in the mouth. Shi Yu ordered several different types of meat, and Jiang Shangwan tried them all, finding the flavors pretty good, though she didn’t eat much.
After finishing their meal, they took a simple walk but soon became tired and prepared to return to the hotel. Neither of them checked their phones, just soaking in the most authentic local customs of this unfamiliar little town.
Jiang Shangwan leaned against the wall by the road. With her hat on, her hair fell across her chest, and some snow gathered at the ends of her hair, which, when melted and refrozen, looked like silver-white frost dye.
She took a very thin cigarette out of her bag, pinching it between two fingers. As she lowered her head, the brim of her hat fell back over her hair, and she fumbled for her lighter but couldn’t find it.
Shi Yu, covering her slightly cold hand with his, quickly helped her look. “Let me light it for you.”
Jiang Shangwan raised an eyebrow, glancing at him. She slightly parted her red lips to hold the tiny cigarette, nodded at him, and then lowered her head again.
With a soft click, the orange-red flame ignited. He shielded the cold wind with his palm, his expression serious, but he just tilted his head to help her light the delicate cigarette end.
When Jiang Shangwan smoked, her movements were very gentle, even her puffing out of smoke was slow, with a certain seductive charm.
Her side profile flickered in the starry light, her brows and eyes soft and curved. Suddenly, with a mischievous thought, she took a deep drag, and in an instant, leaned closer to Shi Yu.