(Next chapter at 13:30. Tears, it's been zero monthly passes these days...)

"Trapped in the cable car, they initially encourage and comfort each other, but when they get restless and scared, they start blaming and accusing each other. I wonder if they'll still be together afterward! If they end up freezing and hospitalized, my chance will come..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan was filled with anger, his fist inside the glove torn by the steel cable was already clenched tight. It had to be said, this was a very insidious trick. If he hadn't risked coming here and overhearing this, the three people would have thought it was just an accident. Waiting in mid-air for half an hour or an hour, everyone could help and care for each other. But if it went on until midnight or the next day, wouldn't there be more resentment?

A person's rationality always gets worn down by harsh conditions. By then, perhaps he would blame them for not listening to him, not letting him go down first; they might blame him for being a rookie skier and offending people, otherwise there'd be no need to go to such a remote place and waste time; they might even blame Qiao Huanxuan's suggestion, thinking if they hadn't come here to ski, nothing would have happened; further, perhaps Yurong would blame Li Yan for listening to Qiao Huanxuan or for not staying home during New Year, where they'd be comfortable...

Of course, these are the worst possibilities. Even if all three of them remain rational, there would inevitably be some friction in their hearts, even if unspoken complaints would affect their relationships. At least Qiao Huanxuan and Zhang Yurong might not get along peacefully.

And if they ended up frostbitten and hospitalized, he could take advantage of the opportunity to approach Qiao Huanxuan in the hospital, and might actually succeed!

Li Yan took a deep breath, inhaling a lot of cold air, trying to calm himself down. He feared that he might rush in and take down Zhao Yipeng and Xiao Fang!

Even if he were to take them down, it should be somewhere else and in another way, to avoid getting involved unnecessarily.

Just then, Zhao Yipeng's gloating sneer inside suddenly shifted in tone: "But you do have a point, can't let them freeze for too long. But my future wife can't be frozen too badly; a fever and hospital visit is fine, but don't damage that face. If it gets frostbitten or scarred, it's not worth it."

"That's right, can't freeze the sister-in-law too badly. We work here all the time, no big deal, but sister-in-law must be a delicate beauty, unlike us." Xiao Fang chimed in with flattery.

Zhao Yipeng seemed to glance at the time, "Hmm... it's been nearly an hour now, it should have some effect. Start the cable car and let them down!"

"Got it!"

If Zhao Yipeng, the supervisor, wasn't here watching, Xiao Fang, operating the cable car, wouldn't dare leave the guests hanging in mid-air during a blizzard. Even with Zhao Yipeng present, he feared trouble would fall on him later, which is why he constantly asked for instructions. If he hadn't asked so much, Li Yan wouldn't have had the chance to overhear these things.

Now hearing Zhao Yipeng saying to let them down, Xiao Fang, worried about the guests' comfort, quickly prepared to activate the cable car.

But at that moment, Zhao Yipeng stopped him: "Wait!"

"Supervisor, wait longer?"

"No, help me think, should I wait in here or outside? The act has to be convincing!"

Li Yan, while trying to calm himself down, was preparing to save the people first. Upon hearing they were about to start the cable car, he decided to wait. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yipeng was still pondering how to make his act more believable, completely unconcerned with what others were experiencing in the blizzard, physically and mentally! His fist clenched tighter, his foot wanting to kick the control room!

"Outside for sure!" Xiao Fang suggested, "Didn't you say you drove up the mountain? At least get some snow on your feet. And you need to show you bravely drove down through the snow-covered mountain path in the dark and blizzard, adding more tension and excitement, with a flash of insight that they might be stuck in the cable car, so you should run over in a hurry, panting, not acting cold when you go out."

"Oh you got it figured out! You've done this often?" Zhao Yipeng cursed jokingly.

"No way, just thinking for your sake!"

"Alright! Start now, I'll run outside for a while, then when they come down, I'll just arrive, having made the phone call to you, just like I just drove down, more believable!" Zhao Yipeng finished instructing, then opened the door and stepped outside.

Li Yan held back, but only from killing them! Escaping punishment was impossible, he certainly wouldn't let them off. Xiao Fang was innocent, just following orders, dealing with him was meaningless and would only widen repercussions. Zhao Yipeng, however, wouldn't go unpunished!

Upon hearing Zhao Yipeng step outside, Li Yan quietly moved to a hidden position.

"Damn, it's cold!" Zhao Yipeng must have been sitting inside for a long time; stepping out into the cold wind made him shiver. He cursed, tightened his clothes, stomped his feet, and began a slow jog forward.

At this moment, Li Yan also heard the sound of the cable car starting up! The cable car swayed and rubbed against the cables, suddenly resuming movement with a bit of a grating noise. However, having just experienced being stranded in mid-air, and with two people still on board, this sound now seemed to transform from noise into celestial music.

His purpose in risking his descent was to start the cable car, and now he didn't need to find someone to achieve this goal. Li Yan was naturally half relieved. There was still some time before the cable car with them aboard reached the ground, and he had other tasks to attend to!

...

Zhao Yipeng had only run a few meters when he suddenly felt darkness in front of him. Before he could understand what was happening, he was already knocked unconscious.

Afterward, Li Yan dragged him like a dead dog down to the foot of the mountain.

Zhao Yipeng was wearing quite a few clothes, but since he wasn't going skiing, he hadn't worn waterproof ski outfits. If he were left lying in the snow, it wouldn't take long before his clothes got soaked by melting snow and made him even colder. Currently, it was snowstorming, and before long his body would be covered by snow, further wetting his clothes.

But Li Yan thought this wasn't quick enough! When he struck, he had measured the force, ensuring this guy wouldn't wake up quickly even if stimulated by the cold. But that Xiaofang was with him earlier, and if Zhao Yipeng wasn't around, Xiaofang would likely come looking for him soon. Thus, he needed to speed things up!

Having surveyed the terrain, Li Yan dragged him to a ditch. Though it contained no water, it was packed with snow, creating an illusion of a misstep and fall.

If one were to run and misstep in the dark, spraining an ankle seems quite normal, right? He stomped hard on one of Zhao Yipeng's ankles, ensuring the ankle was indeed "sprained."

Since he had already stumbled and sprained his ankle, causing him to faint, injuring other parts from a fall seemed reasonable, didn't it? Having sprained his ankle for him, Li Yan didn't mind continuing to bruise his forehead, kicking out with the tip of his ski boot!

After holding back to cautiously administer several calculated kicks, Li Yan tossed Zhao Yipeng into the ditch and then kicked a lot of snow onto him, especially over his lower body. Applying ice can numb an injury, and burying someone in snow has the same effect, right?

After dealing with Zhao Yipeng, Li Yan quickly returned to the spot where the cable car would dock.

Apparently, Xiaofang had turned a blind eye, not wanting to interrupt Zhao Yipeng's hero rescuing beauty act. This, however, worked in Li Yan's favor. Once the cable car docked, he immediately went over to open the door, seeing Zhang Yurong and Qiao Huanxuan shivering and huddled together for warmth.

"Yurong, Huanxuan! We're here, you're safe now!" Li Yan reached out a hand to help them.

The two women had finally waited for the cable car to start, their spirits lifting a little. Seeing Li Yan unharmed reassured them even more. However, having sat for so long, their legs were a bit stiff, making it difficult to disembark.

Supporting each of them with one arm, Li Yan helped them walk forward.

Xiaofang glanced out the window and, seeing only three guests with no sign of Zhao Yipeng, seemed slightly surprised and hurried outside.

"Need any help?"

"Help, my ass!" Li Yan seized the chance to vent his frustration and kicked Xiaofang, knocking him to the ground. Not waiting for him to react, he continued to berate him: "You're something, huh! I'll report you! Remember, I'm not complaining about you all, just you! You trapped the three of us tourists mid-air, almost freezing us to death. I'll complain to the tourism office, call 315, and contact the TV station. Just wait to be fired, and your resort will be under review!"

Xiaofang tumbled to the ground, bewildered and angry, but Li Yan's words struck him still.

The complaint was about "him," not "them." "Them" implies a group, shared accountability, possibly covered by the boss or manager. But "him," means just him, endangering his job! Of course, if exposed, the resort wouldn't escape unscathed. Severe punishment against him as damage control was the bare minimum.

Looking around, there was no sign of Director Zhao! Could it be a setup? He wasn't on duty in the morning and had never even seen Zhao Yipeng or greeted them, leaving him in a position of pure hearsay, making Xiaofang break into cold sweat.

"An... accident... an absolute accident..." Xiaofang stammered, getting up, at a loss on how to explain.

Li Yan didn't leave immediately but sat the two down, grabbed a handful of snow, and started rubbing their exposed faces and ungloved hands. When skin is frozen stiff, plunging it into hot water is inadvisable, it must be warmed by snow.

(Thanks to the brothers who tipped over the past few days: Yagami Light II, aho1996, Yangming, Gold and Silver are Perfect, Cp Pampas, dongmin8061, Only Black and White, Aj Xuanyan, Shi Qin, Baishui Lao, Cavalry, Yu Xuan's Dad, Top Friend, BeiChen Tian GuoGuo, City Kid Geng) (To be continued. For the rest of the story, please log on to www.qidian.com. More chapters, support the author, support legitimate reading!)