Song Qiuyu lowered her head and looked at Jiang Xiao, who was crouching on the floor.
“I’ll help you tie it on!” Jiang Xiao said seriously.
Song Qiuyu pouted and knit her brows in difficulty, yet she still obediently moved her left foot half a step forward, standing there while lifting it slightly.
But soon, she felt something was wrong.
She felt that this high-and-mighty posture created too much distance, so she simply sat down on the floor before offering her bare foot to him again.
“What are you laughing at? Hurry up and tie it for me.”
“I just think you’re really cute, Xi’er!”
As soon as those words fell, Song Qiuyu’s brows furrowed.
She gnashed her teeth, feeling slightly annoyed, and simply kicked Jiang Xiao’s shoulder near his mouth with a light tap.
She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head, using a deliberately arrogant tone. “I didn’t do it on purpose. My foot just slipped!”
“Internal thought: ‘Yeah, I know.'”
As he spoke, Jiang Xiao turned his head to look at the flawless, fair bare foot on his left shoulder, which was as soft as milk candy, and let out a gentle chuckle.
‘She really can’t sit still.’
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable from being stared at, the arrogant foot suddenly lost its nerve and tried to retract.
Jiang Xiao, however, caught the foot that wanted to flee and pressed it back onto his shoulder.
“Don’t move. Let me tie it for you like this.”
“…”
Song Qiuyu stared at him, her small nose twitching as she let out a soft huff.
‘Then again, who could refuse having a beautiful girl’s delicate foot stepping on their shoulder? Haki Xiao, you bastard, you’re secretly enjoying this again, aren’t you! How hateful!’
The string of red bells was carefully tied on by Jiang Xiao. The red string slightly pinched the flesh of her ankle, and the bells swayed with a small range of motion.
As she watched, her eyes narrowed, and her mind uncontrollably replayed the sound of the bells that had rung all night in that dream.
Her heart began to race.
“Xi’er, why are your feet and forehead so hot? Do you have a fever again?”
Jiang Xiao’s worried voice rang out.
When this voice reached Song Qiuyu’s ears, however, her brain—filled with the lingering warmth of the ambiguous dream—translated it into something else entirely: “Are you feeling frisky again?”
“Who’s feeling frisky?”
Song Qiuyu frowned and retorted in exasperation, “I am not!”
“?”
Jiang Xiao looked at her strangely for a few seconds, then looked at her flushed cheeks. The expression on his face slowly began to change.
“Yeah, I know!”
Jiang Xiao smiled with narrowed eyes, his mood lifting instantly.
Although he didn’t know exactly what Xi’er was thinking, his intuition told him there was an eighty percent chance it involved them doing something scandalous.
Being able to hear the undisguised joy in Jiang Xiao’s voice, Song Qiuyu suddenly felt a sense of embarrassment as if she had been seen through.
She felt uncomfortable all over.
Once the red string bells were tied, she forgot to put on her slippers and forgot to finish her makeup, heading outside barefoot.
But she was caught by Jiang Xiao in time and dragged back.
After being pressed onto a bench, Song Qiuyu put on a look of resignation and cooperated with Jiang Xiao as he began to apply her makeup.
Now, she no longer feared the eyeliner pen poking her eyes.
What she feared more was the look in Jiang Xiao’s eyes when he drew the eyeliner.
A lover’s gaze cannot be hidden.
It was too gentle, and too fiery.
By the time they arrived at the ski resort, it was nearly 9:00 AM.
As soon as Song Qiuyu took off her warm greatcoat, she was hit by the oncoming snowy wind, causing her whole body to shudder.
It was freezing!
She had overestimated the warmth of these clothes!
Even though she was so cold she wanted to put the greatcoat back on, she kept her expression composed and took off her warm shoes.
The golden bells on the red string around her ankle jingled softly.
The rounded tip of her left foot was the first to touch the icy snow. Immediately after, her entire arch tensed.
With a sense of resolve, the thin ball of her foot landed, followed by her entire sole stepping down.
She took a sharp breath from the cold and placed her right foot on the snow as well.
Amidst the continuous jingling of golden bells, she walked resolutely under the camera’s lens.
At this moment, she was standing at the highest point of the ski resort, on a snowy slope. She lowered her gaze toward the tourists and Jiang Xiao’s group skiing below.
This was a reshoot of the Snow Woman’s distant silhouette—a scene where the Snow Woman was peeking from afar.
The accumulated snow beneath her feet was piercingly cold. It was fine while moving, but if she stayed still like this, she felt as if her blood might freeze.
However, she had to remain still.
She could only force herself into character, trying to ignore the cries for help from her feet.
Looking at Song Qiuyu, who was just a small black dot in the lens, Aider smiled and impatiently zoomed in, then zoomed in further.
The person who was usually obedient and lively now had a cold face, radiating an aura that warned others not to approach as she stood far off and gazed into the distance.
After watching for a while, she smoothed the corners of her clothes, pressed her legs together, and sat down on the snowy slope with elegance and dignity.
The light in her eyes as she looked into the distance gradually brightened.
It was as if she had found her target among the vast sea of people.
Acting is an actor’s best makeup. In her current state, Song Qiuyu no longer possessed any of the greenness of a college student; she only had the unique temperament that a Snow Woman should have.
“Oh my God, she really is the heaven-sent Snow Woman!”
Aider let out an emotional exclamation of excitement.
As soon as Jiang Xiao and the others finished their filming tasks, they rushed back immediately.
They watched Song Qiuyu sitting quietly on the snowy slope through the lens, their expressions more or less shocked.
As her closest roommates, Xie Zhuran and Lin An felt their left and right brains clashing again; the internal battle was fierce.
Just when was Song Qiuyu going to admit that he was a girl?
They truly couldn’t accept the idea that Song Qiuyu was a boy.
But as soon as they remembered their roommate was supposed to be a guy, they quickly calmed down.
However, although the overall scene was beautiful, the most eye-catching thing was still Song Qiuyu’s feet. The red string bells tied to her left ankle added a very bright splash of color to the icy snow.
It was quite the eye-catcher.
It was just… it would also make people unable to stop themselves from looking at the Snow Woman’s fair, delicate bare feet and the exposed slender calves.
They looked so white and tender, as if a single touch would break the skin…
*Hiss, hiss, hiss.*
The science guys’ lips moved slightly.
They almost wondered if a rattlesnake had woken up from hibernation. If not, why were they surrounded by the sound of rattlesnakes flicking their tongues?
But why would rattlesnakes appear in a ski resort in batches?
One guy knit his brows tightly, not daring to look around.
Soon, this scene ended.
While the others were either reminiscing or continuing to admire the view, only Jiang Xiao picked up Song Qiuyu’s shoes and greatcoat and rushed over.
“Wait for me! I still need to take a few behind-the-scenes shots!”
Aider snapped back to his senses and followed closely behind.
A moment later, after a few clicks, Song Qiuyu obediently cooperated, following the professional photographer’s instructions throughout the process to adjust her posture.
Jiang Xiao watched quietly from the side.
Even though she was stepping barefoot on the snow, as long as the lens was pointed at her, she wouldn’t tremble even once.
She looked as if she truly were a Snow Woman born of the wind and snow, no longer the mortal Song Qiuyu.
The Xi’er under the lens was simply radiant.
“These are truly the most beautiful photos I’ve taken all year, bar none!”
“Teacher Lemon, can I trouble you to build a snowman or something?”
“Yes, yes, just like that, hold it!”
Aider’s excited voice rang out continuously.
Jiang Xiao let out a huff in his heart.
‘She’s beautiful, isn’t she? My wife, of course she’s beautiful! But you can only look.’
Song Qiuyu didn’t know what was on Jiang Xiao’s mind and continued to cooperate seriously.
After the extra shots were finished, she put on her shoes and draped her greatcoat over her shoulders. However, before her body could stay warm for long, they had to immediately start the next scene.
After successfully filming several scenes, they arrived at the plot point where the Snow Woman comes down the mountain and secretly follows the character played by Jiang Xiao back to the travel hotel.
However, just as Song Qiuyu was walking carefully behind Jiang Xiao with her bare feet on the snow, a sudden heavy snowfall disrupted all their remaining arrangements.
For safety reasons, everyone stopped work and prepared to return to the travel hotel first.
“Please wait a moment!”
Song Qiuyu suddenly raised her hand.
“I think even though this heavy snow came suddenly, we can use it to make a small change to the script!”
Her two feet, which were about to turn red from the cold, stomped on the snow and rubbed against the back of her feet to get some warmth.
“Change it so that Jiang Xiao accidentally gets lost in the snow and falls, and then the Snow Woman following behind him carries him back to the hotel.”
“No!”
Xie Zhuran crossed his arms over his chest and gave a decisive refusal.
“That’s too dangerous. The snow is falling too hard now; we should hurry back.”
After saying that, he looked at the others beside him. After exchanging glances, he confirmed that everyone had the same thought.
Only Jiang Xiao had not yet voiced his opinion.
He had already run over with the greatcoat to drape it over Song Qiuyu, then knelt down to place her shoes by her feet.
“Old Jiang, you think so too, right?”
Xie Zhuran firmly believed that Jiang Xiao would be on their side.
Jiang Xiao and Song Qiuyu had such a good relationship that there was no way he would agree to such a dangerous attempt.
“Right,” Jiang Xiao nodded.
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu lowered her eyes, feeling a bit disappointed.
So even Jiang Xiao didn’t support her this time.
She supposed it might be a bit too risky, but she had a feeling that the result of filming it like this would be exceptionally good!
Xie Zhuran, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness.’
“I support Song Qiuyu’s idea. I also think we can make use of this heavy snow,” Jiang Xiao suddenly smiled and continued.
As the words fell, a giant question mark popped up in everyone’s mind.
“Old Jiang, are you serious?”
Xie Zhuran was baffled but shocked.
Jiang Xiao nodded.
Xie Zhuran glanced at the surprise on Song Qiuyu’s face, then looked at Aider and his team. His heart sank.
Even if Old Jiang and Old Song insisted on staying to film, if the photographer didn’t agree, the two of them alone couldn’t do it!
‘I miscalculated. I really didn’t expect Old Jiang to support Old Song unconditionally like this!’
Song Qiuyu and Xie Zhuran shared the same thought, and she couldn’t help but frown.
Setting aside the fact that Xie Zhuran and the others wouldn’t agree, to film the best effect in heavy snow without a shaky hand was impossible for an amateur crew like theirs. The only ones who could achieve it were likely Aider and his team.
Aider and his team were the professionals.
Before Song Qiuyu could open her mouth to try and convince them…
“Aider, I believe with your professional level, you should understand what kind of beautiful images you’re about to capture. You probably won’t be able to capture anything better for the rest of the year.”
Jiang Xiao spoke up first.
“Are you sure you don’t want to try?”
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu was stunned, and Aider hummed softly in thought.
Indeed, without anyone else saying a word, he could roughly imagine the scene just from the fragments Teacher Lemon had described in text.
If the two of them could perform that scene successfully and it could be filmed smoothly…
It certainly wouldn’t be bad.
“Aider, if you’re willing to believe in us, please give us a chance. Just once!” Song Qiuyu was quite nervous.
“Autumn Rain Bro, this is really too risky. How about giving this up, or keeping it for later and using artificial snow?” Lin An couldn’t help but try to persuade her.
“Alright, I’ve made up my mind.”
At that moment, Aider spoke.
Everyone looked over. Each had their own thoughts, but the majority naturally hoped that Aider would also reject this risky filming plan.
Aider began to laugh. “Then let’s try it. Just once!”
The air in the ski resort suddenly fell silent for a few minutes.
No one had expected Aider to agree so readily.
That included Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao.
They looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.
“Aider, you’re doing this again!”
Suddenly, Aider’s assistant let out a deep sigh, showing a face that had seen too much and was weathered by experience.
“It was the same when we shot the seascape last time. You insisted on filming in the middle of a storm. Why don’t you go apply to be Bear Grylls’ photographer instead?”
“That would definitely be exciting enough, wouldn’t it!”
‘Huh?’
‘So he often chases excitement like this?’
Song Qiuyu was stunned.
“It’s the same principle as ‘wealth is found in danger.’ The more dangerous the weather, the more likely you are to capture peerless imagery!” Aider said with a loud laugh.
Hearing this, the ten people present suddenly became curious about the filming conditions of the videos on Aider’s account and how Aider had managed to survive until now.
Looking at the members of Aider’s team, although they all looked like they didn’t want to work with Aider anymore, they all stayed in the end.
Clearly, they were all used to Aider’s style, and their relationship was genuinely good.
“I give up, I give up!” Xie Zhuran scratched his head.
“Looks like I can only risk my life to accompany the brave. If Old Song and Old Jiang are filming in a blizzard, there’s no way I can return to the hotel alone.”
Lin An agreed as well.
“Brother, Autumn Rain Bro, you must stay safe.”
Jiang Li took Jiang Yu’s hand.
“The wind and snow are too strong now. Jiang Yu is still young; I have to take him back first.”
Jiang Yu pouted and didn’t say a word.