After Marrying the Aloof Beauty, I Totally Fell for Her - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: “I Didn’t Squeeze You Too Hard, Did I?”

“Not at all.”

Nestled in her arms, Mu Yan wasn’t sure if she’d been choked up by those words or what. Her eyes widened slightly, staring dazedly at An Ning for a moment before extending a gloved hand.

An Ning blinked. “?”

She had no idea what Mu Yan was trying to do, but she didn’t dodge. In fact, she didn’t even try to—deep down, there was a faint sense of anticipation.

That hand reached straight for her cheek, precisely grabbing hold of the soft flesh and giving it a merciless squeeze.

It didn’t hurt, but An Ning imagined she must look ridiculous right now.

“Musshh tisshh?” Even her voice sounded distorted.

Mu Yan rubbed her face like she was venting some grudge, only releasing her once her cheeks were burning red. With a light snort, she muttered, “Silly.”

That was her full commentary on An Ning’s heartfelt confession.

Yet An Ning didn’t feel the least bit let down. In fact, she laughed even more joyfully.

After all, they were standing so close to each other. Mu Yan’s face was red as a ripe peach—was she really upset? Not likely.

“Okay, okay, I’m silly,” An Ning admitted with a grin. Then she added cautiously, “I was wrong earlier too. I shouldn’t have questioned your abilities. If I do that again, just scold me… no need to take it out on yourself.”

What she really wanted to say was, “Don’t risk your body like that,” but she was afraid Mu Yan would immediately walk off if she did.

Even now, thinking back to that moment filled her with lingering fear. Her own body could take a fall, but Mu Yan—what the coach said was true—Mu Yan’s body needed to be treated with extra care.

Mu Yan gave her a glare and struggled slightly. An Ning immediately tightened her arms around her, apologizing, “That was my bad. Don’t be mad.”

Mu Yan was being coddled like a child again.

Looking at the girl’s panicked expression, terrified she might fall, Mu Yan finally stopped resisting. After a long moment, she mumbled, “I know.”

Of course she knew her reaction was irrational, unreasonable, and just plain bratty—but around An Ning, she simply couldn’t control herself.

Since becoming famous, she’d been bombarded online with accusations of being talentless and undeserving. She never even cared enough to look.

She knew her own worth; what others said didn’t matter.

But An Ning was different. In front of her, Mu Yan could never maintain that cold, detached facade.

Because from the start, An Ning had been the only one who persistently tried to pull her out of her world—to show her sunshine and flowers.

Though she never succeeded in turning Mu Yan into a “normal” person, she had ended up being pulled into Mu Yan’s world instead.

To Mu Yan, An Ning had become a part of her—a precious, irreplaceable part.

All the walls she’d built to protect herself crumbled before An Ning even had a chance to knock. The door simply swung open on its own, the owner’s will ignored.

With Mu Yan’s acceptance, An Ning felt the earlier fall was completely worth it. They skated a while longer, only stopping once Mu Yan had fully mastered the skill. Then they changed shoes and took the cable car up the hillside.

The attractions up on the hill looked way more exciting than the ones below. From the cable car window, An Ning saw not just the snow sledding she’d noticed earlier, but long snow slides and a bumper car area adapted for snow. She thought, if it weren’t for the cold, the organizers might’ve even thrown in a giant pendulum ride.

The cable car dropped them off right next to the snow sledding area—it seemed to be a major highlight.

As they walked toward the entrance, they saw a man sitting in a sled zoom down a steep slope, his screams echoing through the air.

“Hello! Here to try the sled?” a staff member asked enthusiastically. An Ning nodded and turned to Mu Yan, “You go first, Mu laoshi?”

But before Mu Yan could respond, the staff member hesitated and said with some concern, “I’m afraid she might not be able to…”

Mu Yan remained silent, but An Ning asked, “Why not?”

“Well, the sleds do have a traction mechanism underneath, but if the rider is too light, there’s a risk of derailing,” the staff explained while eyeing Mu Yan up and down. “That’s why we require children to ride with a guardian.”

In other words, Mu Yan was too skinny and needed a companion.

Mu Yan: “……”

An Ning: “…Pfft.”

Mu Yan shot her a sharp look like an arrow. An Ning quickly stifled her laugh and awkwardly twitched her mouth. “Then can I ride with her?”

The staffer gave them both a good look—probably evaluating whether two adults could squeeze into one sled.

An Ning noticed Mu Yan’s face was getting darker by the second and quickly reached out to grab her hand.

Mu Yan glanced over. An Ning gave her an innocent smile and gently patted her chest in a calming gesture.

Don’t be mad. Don’t be mad.

Mu Yan silently withdrew her gaze, took a deep breath, and let the staff continue their inspection.

If she hadn’t just promised not to be upset earlier, she would’ve definitely turned and walked away.

An Ning silently thanked her lucky stars while struggling to hold back her laughter.

She didn’t think Mu Yan looked that skinny, but it didn’t stop her from thinking how cute her teacher looked when angry about something like this.

“All right, it’s fine. This way, please,” the staffer said after double-checking with the tech team. He led them to a sled that was slightly larger than the standard model.

It was a pretty pink color with cute cartoon characters on it. The smaller seat was in front so that an adult behind could hold a child securely—clearly a ride meant for parents and kids.

Do. Not. Laugh.

Mu Yan gave her a look that even carried a hint of silent resentment. An Ning did her best to suppress her grin and forced a deadpan tone. “It’s… a bit flashy, sure. But we’re adults. We don’t care about stuff like that—as long as it works.”

Mu Yan: “……”

The woman silently turned away, keeping a straight face as she got into the smaller front seat with help from the staff. After buckling up, she looked up—and found An Ning trembling from holding back her laughter.

An Ning didn’t dare delay. She quickly climbed into the sled as well.

She hadn’t realized just how small the space was until she got in. With almost no gap between the seats, she had to straddle Mu Yan from behind, wrapping around her completely.

It was practically like having Mu laoshi snuggled in her lap.

Should she… hug her?

All her previous confidence vanished. Her heart raced. Her hands hovered awkwardly on her knees—unsure whether to hold or retreat.

Without adrenaline clouding her judgment, her mind spiraled—Was she taking advantage of this situation?

“You need to hold her—for weight balance,” the staff member helpfully explained, oblivious to the tension in the air. “That’ll stabilize the ride.”

“Oh—okay,” An Ning mumbled, and hesitantly wrapped her arms around Mu Yan’s waist, gently pulling her closer.

Mu Yan didn’t resist. She leaned back into An Ning’s arms, her silky hair brushing against An Ning’s cheek and releasing a soft fragrance. An Ning just hoped the thick clothing would hide her trembling arms.

“All ready?” the staff asked.

“Yeah.” An Ning nodded solemnly—just as she caught a flash of red.

Mu Yan’s ear.

Looks like she wasn’t as calm as she pretended to be.

That realization filled An Ning with a strange delight. She took a deep breath of the crisp snow air and steeled herself for the descent.

With the staff’s signal, the sled began to slide. Down the steep slope it went, gliding over the packed snow and accelerating fast.

The cold wind howled in her ears. Icy snowflakes brushed her cheeks. The snow track blurred into motion. It felt like leaping off a cliff—her heart sank and soared with every dip and rise. It was so intense she had to scream.

“Aaahhh!” An Ning cried out and tightened her hold, pressing her face against Mu Yan’s forehead.

Her head was icy from the wind, but with the rubbing and the contact, it slowly grew warm.

All of An Ning’s earlier hesitation vanished. In that heart-stopping descent, the only thing she could think of was holding the person in her arms tighter.

Everything around them felt distant and unreal—only Mu Yan in her embrace, their faces touching, felt real.

There was nothing left to question or avoid.

Just scream, just hold on, and hurtle toward the finish.

As the sled neared the bottom, it suddenly slowed down, sending up a spray of snow that dusted the two of them.

An Ning closed her eyes and instinctively raised a hand to shield Mu Yan’s face, pulling her into the crook of her neck.

They stayed like that even after the sled came to a full stop.

An Ning hadn’t yet recovered from the adrenaline—she wasn’t even sure whether it was the sled ride that thrilled her more, or the warm breath on her neck.

Mu Yan simply rested quietly in her arms, not moving or speaking.

“How was the ride?” The reception staff came over cheerfully to unbuckle their belts.

“It was… good,” An Ning said through chattering teeth, still reeling from the blast of wind and snow.

Mu Yan finally sat up from her embrace and turned to look at her. Despite being dusted with snow, she still looked far more composed than An Ning. Just a few flakes on her hair and coat, and a slight flush on her face.

Her dark eyes fixed on An Ning, as if she was about to say something but held back.

What’s with that look, Teacher Mu ?

Seeing An Ning staring at her like a confused puppy, Mu Yan silently pointed to the arms that were still tightly wrapped around her waist.

“Oh!” An Ning blushed and quickly let go. She hadn’t even realized she was still holding on—even with the belts off.

They stepped out of the sled and faced each other, both looking rather disheveled.

This time, Mu Yan was the first to laugh. She brushed the snow from An Ning’s face and gently chided, “Why are you just standing there? Got frozen?”

An Ning blinked blankly at her, then broke into a smile. “I didn’t squeeze you too hard, did I?”

Mu Yan’s hand paused midair.

The truth was, the sled itself wasn’t all that thrilling for her. She’d once spent a month riding roller coasters just to capture the feeling of dizziness for a painting—this was nothing in comparison.

But this time, she had felt a rare thrill—because the girl behind her kept hugging her tighter and tighter, almost as if she wanted to melt them into one.

Even through thick clothes, she could feel that intense pressure and the dull ache it caused.

But she didn’t hate it. On the contrary, her heart—which didn’t so much as flinch on actual roller coasters—had gone into overdrive because of An Ning’s closeness, even if it was nearly forceful.

If only the snow track were a bit longer, maybe she really could melt into An Ning completely.

And never separate again.

She didn’t dare say those twisted, shameful thoughts aloud. So when faced with An Ning’s concerned expression, she actually felt a little embarrassed.

She dropped her gaze. Long lashes trembled and sent a few snowflakes fluttering down. She shot An Ning a quick glance and tried to pull her hand away.

But An Ning grabbed it before she could.

Did I say something wrong again?

An Ning didn’t know. All she knew was—she didn’t want to let Mu Yan go.

Mu Yan lifted her head. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, the corners of her eyes tinged with red. Her voice held a trace of irritation: “What are you doing?”

Maybe she wasn’t mad?

An Ning couldn’t be sure about Mu Yan’s mood—but it didn’t stop her next move.

With a hopeful smile, she leaned her face into Mu Yan’s hand and gently rubbed against it, pleading sweetly, “There’s still snow here… Wipe this part too?”