Lu Yu bent down to wipe away some of his tears. "Mom works too hard taking care of us at home. We should let her go out and relax."
Lu Bochuan nodded. "Your brother is right. Be a good boy at home, and we will bring you back a present."
Lu Xun pouted again. "But Dad, I don't want a present. I just want Mom."
Lu Bochuan lifted his eyes. "There is no Mom, only a present."
Lu Xun pursed his lips and said nothing.
After a few seconds of silence, Lu Bochuan shifted his grip on the phone and tried to sound as patient as possible. "If you behave, I will bring Mom home early."
Lu Xun looked up. "Really, Dad?"
Shu Qingqing's voice drifted from the bathroom. "Is that Lu Xun? Lu Bochuan, tell him I will be right out."
Lu Bochuan looked at the phone. "In a minute, tell Mom not to worry about you, and wish her a great time here. I promise I will bring her home in five days."
Although Lu Xun was little, he knew that even if he didn't agree, Mom couldn't come back immediately anyway.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he nodded somewhat reluctantly. "You have to keep your word, Dad. Bring Mom back in five days."
Lu Bochuan gave a soft hum of agreement. "Now repeat what I just told you to say."
Lu Xun asked, "Repeat what, Dad?"
Lu Yu quietly glanced at his dad and whispered a prompt to Lu Xun. "Say, 'Mom, don't worry about me, I hope you have a great time.'"
Lu Xun rubbed his nose and repeated his brother's words to the camera.
Only then was Lu Bochuan satisfied. "Very good."
Just as he spoke, Shu Qingqing walked over.
Taking the phone from Lu Bochuan with a hint of guilt, she called out softly, "Baby, did you miss Mom?"
Lu Xun originally wanted to cry, but seeing his dad's face on the screen, he inexplicably held his tears back. "I miss you, Mom. Don't worry about me, I hope you have a great time."
Hearing his soft, sweet voice, Shu Qingqing's heart melted. "Aw, Lu Xun, you are such a good boy. And Lu Yu, while you are at home..."
She talked with Lu Yu and Lu Xun for half an hour before reluctantly hanging up the phone.
She turned and sat on Lu Bochuan's lap. "The two of them are just so well-behaved. If I had known, we would have brought them along."
"Mrs. Lu, you are not just a mother, you are also Shu Qingqing. From now until the next five days are over, you are not allowed to think about those two." With that, Lu Bochuan cupped her face and kissed her.
The next day, the two woke up bright and early to watch the sunrise.
The winter town of Levi was draped in silvery white, looking like a quiet fairytale world. Shu Qingqing and Lu Bochuan rode a husky sled, and the rime-covered trees along the way stood like tall, proud warriors escorting them on their journey.
After tasting the local delicacies at noon, they headed to the ski resort.
Shu Qingqing didn't know how to ski, but she had bought a complete set of gear.
Lu Bochuan looked at the little turtle butt-pad in her hands and couldn't help but reach out to squeeze it. "Shall I teach you first?"
Shu Qingqing strapped on the little turtle. "Sure!"
Lu Bochuan took her to the green slope and started by explaining some basic skiing knowledge and techniques.
Shu Qingqing listened very intently at first. But after Lu Bochuan taught her the initial movements and she fell on her butt a few times, she became frustrated. "It is so hard to learn! Can't I just magically become a skiing master?"
Lu Bochuan brushed the snow off her clothes. "How about I bring you here every year from now on? If you ski a few more times, you will definitely become a skiing master."
Shu Qingqing patted her bottom and stood up. Just as she was about to push herself to practice hard, she suddenly saw a pink figure fly past on the adjacent slope, as light as an arrow released from a bow, finishing with a gorgeous carving turn.
Shu Qingqing couldn't help but squeal, "Ahhh, that was so cool!"
While she was still excited, she suddenly saw the pink figure walk over, stop in front of her, and squeeze the little turtle on her butt.
Before Shu Qingqing could react, Lu Bochuan had already grabbed the person's wrist.
"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts," a familiar voice rang out.
The person in pink took off her ski goggles. "It is me, it is me, let go!"
"Ouyang Hua?" Shu Qingqing quickly pulled Lu Bochuan's arm away. "Weren't you in Switzerland?"
"I got bored of Switzerland, so I came back." Ouyang Hua rubbed her arm and threw herself into Shu Qingqing's embrace. "Boohoo, your husband is so violent, I was so scared."
"There, there, don't be scared. He just didn't recognize you," Shu Qingqing said, reaching out to pat Ouyang Hua's back.
The two chatted for a while longer. Upon learning that Shu Qingqing didn't know how to ski, Ouyang Hua volunteered to teach her.
"Let's go. I just taught a student a few days ago, so I have plenty of teaching experience. I guarantee you will learn it today." Ouyang Hua picked up her snowboard and started walking.
Lu Bochuan grabbed her by the hood and took the snowboard out of her hands. "We won't trouble you."
Ouyang Hua pouted. "Fine, be that way. I would like to see how long it takes you to teach Qingqing."
Ouyang Hua stood by with her arms crossed, watching them. To her surprise, Lu Bochuan was actually a pretty good teacher. In less than two hours, Shu Qingqing had mastered several basic moves.
"Qingqing, you are amazing! You learned so fast, you are a true athletic genius." Ouyang Hua provided plenty of emotional support.
Shu Qingqing grinned from ear to ear. However, she was too tired from skiing to move, so she simply sat on her snowboard and chatted with Ouyang Hua.
Seeing the two chatting happily, Lu Bochuan went to the restroom.
As soon as Ouyang Hua saw him leave, she immediately pulled Shu Qingqing up. "Qingqing, want to try something thrilling?"
"What kind of thrilling?"
"You will see in a minute."
Ouyang Hua dragged her over to find two ski instructors.
"Proxy skiing, fifty euros a ride. Even a total beginner can enjoy a silky-smooth skiing experience. It is super photogenic too. What do you say? You in?"
Shu Qingqing shook her head. Lu Bochuan was around, after all.
Ouyang Hua clicked her tongue, paid the money, and jumped into the instructor's arms. "Then you take pictures of me. Make sure they look good!"
With that, the ski instructor held Ouyang Hua and skied off.
Shu Qingqing quickly held up her phone to snap some action shots.
Ouyang Hua was carried back and leaned over to look at the photos. "Wow, Qingqing, you made me look so good! This could easily be my photo of the year. I have to post this on my social media."
As she spoke, Ouyang Hua poked her. "Why don't we take one together? Just like I did, have the instructor hold you for a picture. It will look so cool on social media. Lu Bochuan isn't here anyway. We can snap it quickly and post it. You can just block Lu Bochuan from seeing that specific post."
"Then I'll just..." Shu Qingqing was almost tempted, when she suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind her.
"Ouyang Hua!"
Oh no, the man himself had arrived!
Ouyang Hua turned her head to slip away, but Lu Bochuan grabbed her hood.
"Where do you think you are running off to?"
