Gu Zhaoping's eyebrows twitched violently as she stared in utter astonishment at the young man who had suddenly flung himself at her. Even she was taken aback by his reckless and shameless behavior.
Her face was a picture of disbelief, as if she were witnessing someone having a mental breakdown. Was this guy suffering from some psychological disorder? Or had that collision knocked something loose in his brain?
Gu Zhaosi, of course, didn’t notice his sister’s expression. Right now, he was overwhelmed with the tearful relief of someone who had narrowly escaped death. It was like that moment in the famous painting The Creation of Adam, where God reaches out—except in his case, he had seen a blinding halo of light in that split second.
Just as he was trapped in a life-or-death crisis, teetering on the edge of disaster, a goddess on skis had descended from the snowy heavens to save his sorry life.
Avalanche of snow, divine intervention!
And against all odds, she had actually pulled him back from the brink!
He had survived. He could hardly believe it.
But the real shock came when she lifted her ski goggles—and he saw his sister’s face staring back at him.
Well, half her face. Though only her brows and eyes were visible, he knew Gu Zhaoping well enough to recognize her instantly.
Gu Zhaosi’s pupils dilated in shock.
At that moment, he completely forgot his earlier claims of being estranged from Gu Zhaoping and the rest of their family.
He recognized her immediately—she had distinct features. A faint brown mole dotted the space between her brows and the bridge of her nose, her eyelids were thin, and her nose had a slight bump.
In that split second when she had appeared against the light, Gu Zhaosi had studied her face with unprecedented intensity, absorbing every detail until he was left with nothing but the overwhelming urge to burst into hysterical sobs.
He was done. Absolutely done. He was quitting skiing for good. From now on, he’d stick to writing songs, return to his music career, and compete with Chu Yanze like a normal person!
Gu Zhaosi’s crying was so raw and unrestrained that not even the most skilled actor could replicate such genuine emotion.
Finally, Gu Zhaoping had had enough. She lifted her foot and kicked him square in the chest, sending him sprawling backward.
At this point, Theodore finally snapped out of his daze and skied over to them, staring at the young man in disbelief.
This was absurd. He had never seen anyone try to strike up a conversation—or whatever this was—in such a ridiculous way.
Gu Zhaosi was still bawling his eyes out, snot freezing on his face, when Gu Zhaoping’s kick sent him tumbling back into the same snowdrift he’d just escaped.
Dazed, he sat there, feeling the icy sting on his backside before propping himself up on his hands and staring up at her, legs splayed awkwardly.
"Stop yelling," Gu Zhaoping said coldly, her gaze carrying a hint of barely concealed disdain. "Don’t repay my kindness with nonsense. If you’re alive, go find the medics yourself. I’m heading down."
What did that mean?
It took Gu Zhaosi a second to realize he was still fully decked out in his ski gear.
In that instant, all thoughts of his secret identity, his feud with the family, and his self-imposed exile vanished. He scrambled to his feet, shoved his goggles up, tore off the mess of gear covering his face, and half-crawled toward her in desperation.
"Sis! Sis, it’s me!"
He yanked off his goggles, shook them free of snow, and pushed back the tangled strands of hair plastered to his face, revealing strikingly handsome, angular features.
If not for the tears, snot, and general look of a man on the verge of a mental breakdown, his appearance would have been breathtakingly striking.
Theodore, who had turned to look, felt his pupils constrict again.
This guy… actually bore some resemblance to Gu Zhaoping. What was going on? He didn’t have time to dwell on it.
"I don’t know you," Gu Zhaoping said flatly.
She planted her ski poles into the snow, adjusted her stance, and prepared to continue downhill.
Gu Zhaosi was stunned. Seeing her dismiss him so completely, as if he were a stranger, sent a jolt of panic through him. Desperate, he lunged forward again—
And shamelessly latched onto Gu Zhaoping’s leg like a lifeline.
Gu Zhaoping: "…"
Her patience had limits. She turned her head slightly, looking down at him from her superior height as he clung to her calf in the snow.
Even through layers of ski gear, Gu Zhaosi could feel the coiled tension in her leg muscles, ready to kick him off at any second.
His mind barely had time to process how his sister had gotten so strong. The first thought that flashed through his head was: Damn, my sister is badass. That sheer power radiating from her made it clear that if he didn’t explain himself fast, she really would send him flying.
Under her icy glare, Gu Zhaosi quickly pinpointed the root of their conflict.
His past arrogance, his refusal to stay in touch with the family, and especially his habit of ignoring Gu Zhaoping’s attempts to reach out—all of it came crashing down on him.
In less than 0.01 seconds, he underwent a complete emotional reckoning. Wiping the frozen tear tracks from his face, he wailed, "I was an idiot! I’m sorry, sis, I’m so sorry! I’ll never pull that kind of crap again!"
Snot and tears streamed down his face in equal measure. Whether it was the adrenaline from surviving or sheer emotional collapse, he had completely lost the ability to function on his own. Right now, all he wanted was for his sister to drag him to safety—preferably while he clung to her like a limpet.
Gu Zhaoping was once again forced to stop as he clung to her, baffled by the spectacle of this grown man groveling in the snow. She was half-convinced he’d lost his mind.
After a long, measured pause, she finally pulled out a satellite phone and lifted it to her ear.
"Hello, rescue team?" Her voice was eerily calm against the mountain winds. "There’s been an accident up here. Oh, and bring a psychiatrist too, if you have one."
Gu Zhaosi, still lost in his post-traumatic sobbing, didn’t even register what was happening until the rescue team arrived in a flurry of urgency. Only when two medics grabbed him by the arms and started dragging him away did he snap back to reality.
He craned his neck, still calling out to Gu Zhaoping even as they hauled him off. "Sis! Sis!"
She had just been trying to help a stranger, and now she’d ended up with a lunatic attached to her.
Gu Zhaoping frowned.
After dragging away the loudly shouting young man, the leader of the rescue team, sweating profusely, approached Gu Zhaoping to express his gratitude: "We’re truly sorry and deeply appreciate your help. Without your intervention, our ski resort might have faced a serious accident today—one that could have made headlines in the news."
Gu Zhaoping closed her eyes briefly, feeling a headache coming on.
If the rescue team hadn’t arrived in time, she would have been the one sending that man to the news.
Gu Zhaosi, still in shock even after being dragged into the temporary medical facility on the mountain, kept asking, "Where’s my sister? Didn’t she come?"
"Your sister? Who’s your sister?" The medical staff exchanged puzzled glances. According to their records, this guest had come alone—how did he suddenly have a sister?
Gu Zhaosi pointed outside, disbelief written all over his face. "That woman—the one who just saved me—she’s my sister! Didn’t you notice?"
The medical staff glanced at each other, recalling the cold, unreadable expression on the woman’s face—as if she’d have let this young man suffer if they’d arrived a second later.
After a moment of hesitation, one of them whispered cautiously, "Maybe we should call the psychiatrist too."
Knowing he had to undergo the examination, Gu Zhaosi had no choice but to lie still and let them check for injuries.
Fortunately, apart from a minor ankle issue, most of his injuries were just soft tissue bruises and a few hematomas—nothing serious.
Listening to their discussion, Gu Zhaosi let out a relieved sigh. At least he’d made it out alive.
Once the examination was over, he couldn’t wait any longer. "Where’s my sister? Is she still waiting outside?"
The medical staff exchanged silent looks, thinking to themselves that this young man was quite handsome—what a shame he’d apparently lost his mind after the ski accident.
Regretfully, they replied, "Sorry, sir. That woman said she doesn’t know you and has already gone down the mountain. She also asked that you refrain from harassing her."
Gu Zhaosi froze.
It took him a moment to process the words.
When it finally sank in, his eyes widened in utter disbelief.
What the hell was this?
Had his sister really decided to cut ties with the Gu family?
Did she save him just to avoid the guilt of letting him die, without a single thought for their sibling bond?
Gu Zhaosi was frantic. His mind was a whirlwind—forget about his thesis, his rivalry, or the Gu family drama. Right now, all he wanted was to find his sister and demand answers. What had happened to her these past few months? Were the rumors about her true? And how the hell had she gotten so good at skiing?
"Hey—wait! Mr. Gu, where are you going?"
In the blink of an eye, the young man limped out, clutching his snowboard.
The medical staff could only stare, speechless, as if they’d just witnessed a madman in action.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhaoping and Theodore continued their leisurely descent down the mountain. After the earlier incident, both moved with extra caution, avoiding any challenging maneuvers and simply gliding down in silence.
When they reached a gentler slope, they even paused for a moment. Theodore finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity. "That man earlier—did you know him? He seemed… familiar with you."
"I don’t know him," Gu Zhaoping replied calmly, her tone perfectly indifferent, as if she’d never met the man before.
Theodore nodded, deciding he must have imagined things. Still, something about those two had struck him as oddly similar.
Wait—that was it. The resemblance.
If he ignored everything else and just focused on their features, there was an uncanny likeness—almost like siblings.
Theodore chuckled at his own wild imagination.
That couldn’t be possible. Gu Zhaoping’s brother was Gu Zhaoye, the heir to the Gu family. Rumor had it he hadn’t even attended this summit, staying in their home country instead.
Besides, Theodore had seen photos of Gu Zhaoye—he didn’t look like that man at all. And by all accounts, Gu Zhaoping and her brother were practically at war, with the whole world waiting to see their feud unfold.
No way would he call her "sister" like that.
So that man must have just been a random, mentally unstable tourist. Maybe his resemblance to Gu Zhaoping was why he’d latched onto her.
The weather, unfortunately, had taken a turn for the worse—far worse than the forecast had predicted.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, threatening a snowstorm. Theodore squinted up at the sky and said, "The conditions don’t look good. We might need to turn back."
"We should leave the mountain as soon as possible. The snow’s coming fast," Gu Zhaoping agreed, picking up speed as she glided ahead.
Theodore watched her retreating figure, impressed once again by her skill and composure. Even after such a dramatic incident, she remained unshaken—calmly saving a life and then continuing down the mountain as if nothing had happened.
His interest in her deepened. No wonder, he thought, that Valentin, young as he was, had taken such a quick liking to her.
Sometimes, even he found her hard to resist.
After a brief pause, Theodore followed her down.
At the foot of the mountain, the production team for the reality show Luxury Seasons was making preparations.
They had booked a row of cozy cabins and were gearing up for an intense filming session. Compared to the treacherous slopes above, this beginner-friendly ski resort was far more manageable.
Many novices were practicing here, including Liang Zhiwei. Though she was cramming at the last minute, it was better than nothing, and Chu Yanze patiently kept an eye on her.
Nearby, Ruan Nian glanced up at one of the cabins.
That was where Gu Zhaoye was staying—the production crew had arranged the largest room for him. Of course, by Gu Zhaoye’s standards, the conditions were still rather poor. He had remained inside the entire time without stepping out, and naturally, no one dared to call for him. After all, the current activities weren’t particularly important.
Ruan Nian glanced around and found a secluded spot to send a message to her contact.
This was an opportunity she had worked hard to secure—taking advantage of the time difference with China and while everyone else was busy practicing skiing, she would stir up public opinion back home.
By the time they realized what was happening and tried to respond, the rumors would have already spread too far to contain.
After enduring criticism for two episodes of the show, Ruan Nian had had enough. She was waiting for this moment to completely reverse her image.
Once the message was sent and acknowledged, a flood of "exposés" began circulating among major gossip accounts and influencers, quietly gaining traction.
At that moment, no one present—neither the participants nor the audience—had any idea what was about to unfold.
The previous episode had sparked massive backlash, and even days later, discussions about it were still rampant online.
On any platform, countless people were dissecting the events of the episode—chief among them the conflict between Gu Zhaoping and Gu Zhaoye, as well as Ruan Nian standing up for Liang Zhiwei.
Next in line were the speculations about the love triangle between Liang Zhiwei, Ruan Nian, and Gu Zhaoye.
Had Liang Zhiwei been there first, with Ruan Nian stepping in after their breakup? Or was there something even more complicated going on?
Such romantic entanglements were always the juiciest gossip fodder for the public.
Then, suddenly, a new "exposé" quietly surfaced.
It was a detailed takedown of how, during Ruan Nian and Gu Zhaoye’s relationship, Liang Zhiwei had allegedly maintained contact with Gu Zhaoye.
The post included evidence like matching outfits on the same dates and video footage of them visiting the same locations.
In short, the entire thread led to one conclusion: Liang Zhiwei was the other woman.
According to the post, Ruan Nian and Gu Zhaoye had been involved for a long time, and during a rough patch in their relationship, Liang Zhiwei had swooped in to comfort Gu Zhaoye.
Later, when Ruan Nian and Gu Zhaoye reconciled, Liang Zhiwei supposedly refused to back off, continuing to insert herself into their lives.
The post even claimed that despite Gu Zhaoye repeatedly rejecting and humiliating her, Liang Zhiwei persisted out of sheer unwillingness to walk away empty-handed.
Every breakup and makeup between Gu Zhaoye and Ruan Nian allegedly had Liang Zhiwei’s shadow looming over it—though no one knew exactly what role she played.
The moment this exposé dropped, it spread like wildfire across the internet.
"Holy crap, what’s going on? This actually looks legit. Wasn’t it Liang Zhiwei who was there first, but Gu Zhaoye never gave her anything?"
"Didn’t Liang Zhiwei tell Gu Zhaoye to leave her alone and focus on Ruan Nian? So what’s with all this? It doesn’t seem fake."
An insider chimed in: "Finally, the truth comes out. I’ve been waiting for this day. Liang Zhiwei was never the innocent one. With her status, fame, and background—nowhere near Ruan Nian’s level—how else could she have gotten close to Gu Zhaoye? She used Ruan Nian’s name to latch onto him, thinking she could replace her, but in the end, she got tossed aside like trash."
That was the power of words.
To say these claims were entirely fabricated wouldn’t be accurate.
During Ruan Nian and Gu Zhaoye’s on-and-off relationship, Liang Zhiwei had indeed frequently appeared between them, like a wedge driving them apart.
But in reality, it was Gu Zhaoye who sought Liang Zhiwei’s comfort whenever his emotions were in turmoil.
This so-called exposé had simply flipped the script.
But people weren’t interested in the truth.
They just wanted drama.
A wealthy heir with significant influence in the entertainment industry, controlling endless resources and a notoriously bad temper—
Liang Zhiwei stood alone against him, with no one to back her up.
Even her own company was unreliable, the type that would take money and throw her under the bus.
How could she possibly fight back against Gu Zhaoye?
Liang Zhiwei had endured this miserable existence for years. Only this time, unexpectedly, Gu Zhaoping had stood up for her. For the first time, Liang Zhiwei had mustered the courage to tell Gu Zhaoye to get lost.
But how could it be that simple? The truth couldn’t possibly be so straightforward.
At that very moment, Liang Zhiwei was carefully gliding forward on her snowboard, completely unaware that the Chinese internet was ablaze with these so-called "scandals" about her.
Whoever was behind this had clearly been watching her for a long time, meticulously compiling and twisting her experiences into a "tell-all" post spanning thousands of words, complete with photos and videos, painting her as a scheming, shameless homewrecker who would stop at nothing for fame and fortune.
Even the scene at the restaurant where Gu Zhaoye had publicly berated her was now being spun as her own manipulative ploy—a deliberate provocation.
...
Watching the skyrocketing "sympathy points" in her system, Ruan Nian finally let out the breath she’d been holding.
She wanted to laugh but also felt like crying. Finally, her charm points were back—finally, she had something to work with.
This had been a meticulously planned PR battle. With Liang Zhiwei’s flimsy company backing and her utterly incompetent manager, how could she possibly dig herself out of this mess?
As her sympathy points surged, Ruan Nian exchanged them for luck points again.
But when it came to allocating all her points to luck, she hesitated. Gritting her teeth, she halved the amount and redirected the rest back to her appearance stats.
Her looks were her foundation—she couldn’t afford to lose them. The last time she’d neglected them, she’d felt her image take a massive hit. Maybe that was why public opinion had turned against her so quickly.
Without further hesitation, Ruan Nian maxed out her appearance stats.
She boosted her luck a little too, though not by much—but it should be enough.
"Now, let’s begin the real mission."
The production team held the task cards, shivering in the cold wind as they read out the challenges for this episode. With a mysterious tone, they said, "This is the hardest task of the episode. Whoever draws it might face an extremely daunting solo challenge—be careful."
Given the association with extreme sports, everyone could easily imagine how tough it would be. They all tensed up, wary of picking that particular card.
After much effort, the production team finally managed to bring Gu Zhaoye forward.
He stood right in front of Liang Zhiwei in line, who immediately took a step back, putting a full three meters of distance between them.
The awkward gap left everyone silent. They wanted to sneak glances but didn’t dare look too openly, afraid Gu Zhaoye might notice.
Ruan Nian was first in line. After drawing her card and confirming her task—which wasn’t too difficult—she let out a sigh of relief. All she had to do was maneuver a snowboard into the nearby woods to retrieve some items.
Her luck seemed to be holding up.
As the line ahead grew shorter, it was finally Gu Zhaoye’s turn. His hand hovered over the cards for a moment.
Suddenly, a scream echoed from a distance—Ruan Nian’s voice. He frowned and looked up.
Someone nearby quickly explained, "It’s nothing, just a small animal startled Ruan Nian. Let’s continue filming."
But Gu Zhaoye acted as if he hadn’t heard. Without hesitation, he turned and strode straight toward Ruan Nian.
Of course, the domineering CEO had to stand by the woman he loved, whether it was a harmless creature or a potential fall.
"I’ll deal with this first. Hold the draw."
The director: "..."
This man really was unpredictable. But there was nothing he could do, so he motioned for the next person to step up.
That next person was Liang Zhiwei.
Following the order, she picked the top card and turned it over—only to freeze in shock.
It was the hardest one.
A solo descent from the mountain’s peak… completing a sharp turn on the way down?
Even the director was stunned. If Gu Zhaoye hadn’t walked away, this card would have been his?
