Chapter 2449 — Another Embarrassment

"Oh, I don't know how either. Perfect—you can teach both me and Xinyan." Wei Zhao glanced at Kang Jinglong and spoke without expression.

"Huh?" Kang Jinglong froze. "What? You don't know how either?"

"That's right. Since you're so eager to help, Kang Jinglong, you wouldn't teach only Xinyan and not me, would you? Teacher Bai advocates students helping one another—surely you won't play favorites?" Wei Zhao said mildly.

"I..." Kang Jinglong was momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected Wei Zhao to jump in and stir things up at a time like this, but there was nothing for it. "Fine. I'll do a run, and you watch me. How much you pick up depends on how quick you are. Wang Xinyan is a girl, and her parents asked me to look after her, so it's only right that I give her a bit more attention. It's not that I won't teach you—there just isn't enough time."

"Oh, then go ahead and ski." Wei Zhao nodded.

Kang Jinglong quickly changed into his ski boots and skis, then put on his ski goggles. Once his gear was all in place, he said, "Watch closely, everyone!"

"Oh." Wei Zhao answered, but a flicker of mockery flashed through his eyes—something Kang Jinglong couldn't see, since he had already turned away. Kang Jinglong warmed up, then, using the techniques he had learned from the ski instructor, began gliding across the snow...

Skiing wasn't actually difficult. As long as one avoided sharp turns, racing, and dangerous maneuvers, most people could pick it up in a very short time. Kang Jinglong had practiced before, so now he got the hang of it quickly...

Kang Jinglong skied faster and faster. He was deliberately showing off in front of Wang Xinyan—but tragedy tends to strike just when you're feeling smug. With a loud crack, Kang Jinglong's ski snapped clean in two!

Then Kang Jinglong pitched forward headfirst onto the ground. Momentum turned him into a rolling snowball tumbling down the slope. He rolled for a long while before finally stopping, covered head to toe in snow. He struggled for ages before he managed to clamber up.

Right Panhu had been crouching with two of his men some distance away. Right Panhu didn't care for skiing; he had only come along to keep Kang Jinglong company. Just as he was idling with nothing to do, he saw Kang Jinglong's accident and hurried over with his men.

"Brother Kang, are you all right?" Right Panhu helped Kang Jinglong to his feet.

"I'm... what rotten luck!" Kang Jinglong stared at the broken ski beneath his feet, speechless. His luck today really did seem extraordinarily bad.

"The ski broke? These things can break? Could Wei Zhao have sabotaged it?" Right Panhu frowned, recalling the Hidden Family Assembly—how Wei Zhao had, for no apparent reason, made Zhao Qibing's car flip. A bad association crossed his mind.

"Wei Zhao? I don't think so. I never even let him touch my skis..." Kang Jinglong hesitated, his voice uncertain.

"Hard to say with this one. He didn't touch your skis, but he's a cultivator. If he flicked out a little pebble or something, that could have cracked your ski right through," Right Panhu said.

"I'm going to find Wei Zhao!" Kang Jinglong had reached the limit of his patience. He yanked off the broken ski, carried it in his hand, and went to demand an explanation from Wei Zhao.

"Kang Jinglong, your skiing is truly divine skill—halfway down you even throw in a forward somersault with a dozen twists. We could never learn that. You ought to go perform in freestyle skiing exhibitions," Wei Zhao said with cold sarcasm. The thought that this fellow was Wang Xinyan's fiancé put him in a foul mood.

"Wei Zhao, was it you? Did you wreck my ski to make me look like a fool in front of Xinyan?" Kang Jinglong ignored the mockery and questioned him outright.

Kang Jinglong's words made Wang Xinyan glance sideways at Wei Zhao. She didn't like Kang Jinglong and wanted nothing to do with him, but he was, after all, her fiancé in name and had propriety on his side. Since she didn't want to be with him, she naturally didn't want any major clash between Wei Zhao and him either—no need to stir up trouble ahead of time.

"What did I do?" Wei Zhao blinked, then realized what Kang Jinglong meant by the broken ski in his hand. Half amused, half exasperated, he said, "You mean the ski?"

"Hmph! Good, so you admit it!" Kang Jinglong snorted coldly.

"Admit what? You bought a ski made of inferior steel plate. In cold like this, steel turns hard and brittle. Skis have to be made of aluminum alloy—something with flexibility. Don't tell me you didn't know that?" Wei Zhao said tauntingly. "You paid a high price for a piece of junk, and now you're blaming others for breaking it?"

"Is... is that so?" Kang Jinglong was taken aback, then said, "Impossible. I bought Mermaid brand skis—the best skis there are. How could there be a problem?"

"A knockoff, maybe?" Wei Zhao smiled.

Kang Jinglong's gaze slid to the ski in his hand. When he made out the three large characters reading "Entertainment Brand," the muscles in his face twitched. This was no Mermaid brand at all—it was a counterfeit with a homophone name!

Looking more closely at the workmanship, the quality was atrocious—nothing but shoddy junk passed off as the real thing! At the sight, Kang Jinglong's face flushed red. He hadn't noticed any of these details before, yet Wei Zhao had spotted them long ago.

"You... why didn't you tell me earlier?" Kang Jinglong felt a pang of guilt, though he was still somewhat indignant that Wei Zhao hadn't warned him—otherwise he wouldn't have made a fool of himself and taken such a hard fall.

"I did tell you—buy it and don't regret it. You didn't listen," Wei Zhao said.

"Damn it!" Kang Jinglong thought back. Wei Zhao really had said something like that earlier, but at the time he had assumed Wei Zhao was just being contrary. He hadn't expected it to be true—he had only himself to blame for not taking it seriously!

Wang Xinyan, however, saw it differently. She thought to herself that Wei Zhao was truly magnanimous—before a rival in love, he kept his composure and even warned Kang Jinglong in advance. But Kang Jinglong wouldn't listen. Self-inflicted misfortune leaves no one to blame.

At the words "rival in love," Wang Xinyan blushed and silently chided herself. How could she think such a thing? At the very least, she should wait until after graduation in four years to think about such matters.

"Xinyan, Jingjing, did you two understand Kang Jinglong's demonstration just now? Of course, I mean the part before—you don't need to learn the forward somersaults at the end," Wei Zhao asked.

"Jingjing has picked up some of it." Han Jingyi nodded. "Though I'm sure I won't ski as well as Brother Wei Zhao!"

Kang Jinglong silently despised Han Jingyi. This girl's flattery was far too blatant. But Right Panhu, standing to one side, knitted his brows—Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi seemed to be getting closer and closer, which did not bode well for his own chances with her. RQ