Chapter 22 – Three Promises

Bian Ji was silent as he slowly approached Yan Ankuo’s side and sat down.

Yan Ankuo seemed to have forgotten his promise from twenty minutes ago that he could “give it a try,” and naturally used Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve to justify himself, “I haven’t skied since elementary school. It’s been many years since I last reviewed it, so I’ve forgotten.”

Bian Ji watched him skillfully put on various pieces of equipment, and he didn’t look like someone who had forgotten.

“How much do you remember?” Bian Ji asked half-believingly, “Your stance, do you still have an impression of it?”

“A little bit,” Yan Ankuo said as he stood up, holding onto the rail, looking like he might fall at any moment.

“Stop.” Bian Ji pinched the bridge of his nose in a headache-inducing manner, “I’ll teach you.”

Yan Ankuo ceased his movements, behaving like a well-behaved student ready to be instructed, “Thank you.”

Bian Ji didn’t touch his skin, adjusting his spine to a slightly bent angle through the thick winter sweater, “You’ll fall like this. Squat a little lower, your center of gravity needs to be forward… yes, spread your legs a bit more.”

Yan Ankuo was an incredibly smart learner, accurately executing all of Bian Ji’s instructions except for the fact that his feet weren’t very cooperative. Bian Ji became somewhat anxious and slowly crouched down, asking, “Can I touch your legs?”

Yan Ankuo remained silent, merely looking down at him with a smile.

So Bian Ji asked again.

“Teacher Bian,” Yan Ankuo suddenly changed his way of addressing him, which made the person in question feel quite uncomfortable, “Don’t you think this sentence sounds even stranger when asked?”

Bian Ji belatedly realized that the previous question had been overly ambiguous.

“Well,” Bian Ji had no choice but to add, “I’m touching you?”

Many actions take on a different flavor when announced in advance, such as now, where Bian Ji was simply helping Yan Ankuo place his feet in a suitable skating position, yet it made him feel the atmosphere was becoming somewhat intimate.

He was squatting in front of Yan Ankuo, and if he lifted his head, his nose would touch the hem of the other’s pants. His hands lightly rubbed against the wool fabric between the legs, creating a faint sound of static electricity.

“Okay.” Bian Ji didn’t linger too long, rubbing the pads of his ring finger and thumb uncomfortably as he stood up, “Try to see if you can move forward.”

Yan Ankuo held onto the railing, took a long stride, and smoothly glided forward a meter.

“Attorney Yan,” Seeing this, Bian Ji put on a stern face and questioned him, “I suspect you’re lying.”

“It really has been a long time since I skated.” Yan Ankuo had the appearance of a wronged party, “Innocent until proven guilty.”

Bian Ji helplessly skated forward a bit and stopped not far away, “Then why don’t you try? Can you skate over here?”

Yan Ankuo barely needed encouragement, slowly letting go of the railing, mimicking Bian Ji’s earlier posture, squatting and leaning forward, then gliding another ten meters. However, Bian Ji hadn’t taught him how to brake, so the diligent student couldn’t steady himself before reaching the destination, moving forward an extra meter and coincidentally bumping into the coach’s shoulder.

In a panic, Bian Ji reached out to stop him, accidentally brushing against the rolled-up sleeve and touching the man’s overheated skin, causing his heartbeat to suddenly quicken.

“What’s next?” Yan Ankuo asked without any suspicion, readjusting his grip on the railing and asking near the coach’s ear, “Teacher Bian.”

This title was certainly not formal, especially when spoken by Yan Ankuo in such a tone and at such close proximity.

Bian Ji backed up a bit, pointing to the other side of the rink, “I’ll support you to go there, and if you feel capable, we can try going outside?”

Yan Ankuo nodded and said “okay,” and Bian Ji raised his arm to act as a human barrier. Classmate Yan was known to be a gentleman, and the palm touching Bian Ji’s arm was just loosely resting there, but Bian Ji strangely felt that the sweater was getting a bit hot.

He slowly retreated, pulling Yan Ankuo forward slowly.

Just as they were about to reach the end point set by the teacher, Classmate Yan suddenly looked into his eyes and called his name, “Bian Ji.”

Bian Ji was trying to clear his mind and couldn’t be expected to react quickly; he answered after half a second, “Hmm?”

“Do you feel,” Yan Ankuo’s right hand released for a second, pointing at their shoes, “that we seem to be dancing like this.”

One arm was raised high while the other was loosely resting on the shoulder, indeed resembling a clumsy waltz. Bian Ji was accustomed to responding to things he couldn’t answer with a question, “Do you know how to dance?”

“A little bit,” Yan Ankuo replied, but Bian Ji didn’t believe him. He thought that Yan Ankuo’s “a little bit” must be more than that.

“Then teach me next time.” Bian Ji feigned a casual response.

Yan Ankuo seemed to know that he was busy estimating the distance to the finish line and didn’t notice the implication of his own words inviting a future encounter, so he didn’t delve deeper. Instead, he gently reminded, “We’ve finished circling the inner rink.”

“Mm-hmm.” Bian Ji glanced at the crowd outside, which wasn’t too large, “Want to go to the speed skiing track?”

Yan Ankuo confidently said, “Yes.”

“You learn quickly.” Bian Ji subtly praised Classmate Yan, “We can start slow, as long as we don’t collide with others.”

“In fact, we don’t need to go that slow, if you want to play,” Beginner Yan Ankuo raised his hand in protest, “we can have a race.”

Bian Ji leaned against the railing, “But you just learned the stance!”

“Let’s give it a try.” Yan Ankuo thought for a moment, “Beginners can also compete.”

“Like this, if you lose,” the beginner seemed to have thought of a great idea, straightening up and quickly skating to stand in front of Bian Ji, facing him while holding onto the railing, “you have to agree to three requests from the other person.”

Bian Ji became increasingly convinced that Yan Ankuo’s claim of not knowing how to skate was a complete scam, just to trick him into doing things for him, but he had no evidence. What was terrifying was that, to verify his guess, he actually agreed to this not-so-brilliant proposal.

“Then let’s go outside and compete,” Bian Ji said, “there’s no one there.”

As a southerner who hadn’t touched snow much, Bian Ji hadn’t skated much either. Therefore, when he truly stood on the speed skiing track, the competitive desire from his youthful and slightly rebellious period was thoroughly ignited.

He assumed a competitive posture, bending over and leaning forward, sprinting with all his might.

The track wasn’t long, with only two turns. When passing the second turn, Bian Ji suddenly accelerated, leaving Yan Ankuo far behind. His speed was so fast that he had to glide quite a distance past the finish line before stopping.

“I won!” Bian Ji stood far away, shouting to Yan Ankuo, who was arriving late.

Yan Ankuo’s chest was slightly heaving, but he didn’t appear disappointed by his defeat; rather, his mood was quite good, “A bet is a bet.”

Bian Ji was a bit tired, holding onto the railing and taking deep breaths, “Three requests?”

“Mm-hmm.” Yan Ankuo skated alongside him out of the outer rink, leaning against the wall to rest, and conveniently took out a can of soda, handing it to Bian Ji, “There’s no time limit.”

Bian Ji hadn’t thought too much about what to do with these precious opportunities. At first, he assumed that this was a setup by Yan Ankuo to win against him, so he hadn’t anticipated the outcome of being the winner.

Actually, it might be better to save them for later, rather than waste the opportunity tonight. This was originally Bian Ji’s plan, but when he took the can, he suddenly changed his mind.

“So, the first thing…” Bian Ji opened the pull tab with one hand, removing it with a “fizz,” speaking in a very ordinary tone, “I want to see you again tomorrow.”

Yan Ankuo was in the process of taking a new can and, upon hearing these words, his movements clearly paused, but he quickly resumed as usual.

“Okay.” The loser fulfilled his promise promptly, “What time?”

Bian Ji tilted his head back to take a sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the swallow.

“You agreed so quickly?” He stared at Yan Ankuo’s profile, pausing for a moment before asking, “What if I say midnight?”

Yan Ankuo’s can wasn’t very reassuring, with soda bubbling and overflowing, yet no one bothered to wipe it clean.

The two silently faced each other for a while. Before Yan Ankuo could speak, Bian Ji withdrew his gaze and said with a smile, “I was joking! How about nine o’clock tomorrow?”

Yan Ankuo breathed deeply, only then remembering to deal with that can. He lowered his head, wiping his slender fingers one by one. His fingers moved back and forth between the white paper towels, as if tearing apart a lily flower.

Bian Ji heard him say, “Okay, nine o’clock, I’ll pick you up.”

Although he knew that Yan Ankuo wouldn’t agree, Bian Ji deliberately provoked, “No need, I’ll drive myself. My car has been idle for too long, it has gathered some dust.”

Yan Ankuo wasn’t being polite, taking the opportunity to suggest, “Then you pick me up?”

Bian Ji didn’t immediately agree, nor did he expect this answer, looking up at him in surprise.

“Parking fees in the city are quite expensive.” Yan Ankuo said seriously, “It’s better for one person to drive.”