Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!

Chapter 286 - 278: The Wrestling Duo

"In our team right now, who has the most Contribution Points?" If it’s difficult to decide who to teach first, let’s go by Contribution Points, to be fair and just.

A tall, skinny figure stepped out from the crowd. His eyes were full of hopeful anticipation, staring directly at her, which gave her a start.

Isn’t this Cheng Sicheng?

Why does he have that look? It’s not like she treated him badly, but he looks like she owes him a fortune.

Wait, why does she feel guilty under his gaze? It’s really baffling.

Wow! This kid’s doing well. Who would’ve thought that he outperformed all these big guys? She glanced toward the men in the team, each embarrassedly looking away as if they hadn’t seen anything.

Until she met another pair of defiant eyes, those were Hu Yixiu’s; it seems his Contribution Points weren’t low either, his face clearly showed his unwillingness.

Then, Cheng Xiaoxiao announced that this pair of skis belonged to Cheng Sicheng.

"Everyone, perform well in the future; there will be plenty of opportunities."

Looking at the boy opposite, Cheng Xiaoxiao felt slightly uncomfortable. Just a few months ago, the two of them were about the same height. How did it happen that in the blink of an eye, she could only look up at him, a full half a head taller? He seemed deprived along the way, yet he still managed to grow taller than her, though he was clearly younger.

Ah! Comparing with others can be so exasperating.

Of course, what Cheng Xiaoxiao considered as deprived was compared to her previous life. In a place like Qingshan Village, with its poor conditions, Cheng Sicheng’s family was the worst off; they hardly ever eat meat throughout the year, nowhere near sufficient nutrition for a growing kid. Now, although life outside was tough and full of twists and turns, the food was significantly better; how could he not grow?

She hadn’t noticed before. Cheng Xiaoxiao squinted her eyes again, scanning the other kids in the team. Quite a few had grown in height, even her younger brother Cheng Jia had grown a lot, yet she hadn’t grown much... Life really isn’t fair.

Oh, got sidetracked... Back to the present.

Handing the skis to Cheng Sicheng, she offered him the greatest encouragement, "Young man, I have high hopes for you!"

Seeing the girl’s bright smile and teasing tone, Cheng Sicheng’s heart fluttered. Xiaoxiao really believed in him? Believed in him!

Holding the skis in his hands, his heart was full of sweetness. This was the first gift Xiaoxiao had given him, and he would cherish it well.

He would definitely not let her down.

"Let’s go; I’ll teach you."

With that, she took Cheng Jia by the hand and stepped over the fence.

Cheng Sicheng set aside his wild thoughts; he was not yet worthy to stand by her side. She was too dazzling, but... one day, he would achieve it.

Under Cheng Xiaoxiao’s guidance, Cheng Jia and another fixed their feet, using the ski poles to slowly rise.

Cheng Jia couldn’t wait to take the first step, but then slipped, and his foot flipped upwards with a "whoosh," out of control.

He thought he would fall heavily into the snow, but in the next instant, he found himself being lifted up by a hand.

Cheng Jia’s face turned beet red; he thought it was easy, but it was hard even to take a step.

"Take it slow. Why the rush? Do you think skiing is that easy to learn?" Cheng Xiaoxiao scolded her brother, irritated.

Cheng Sicheng felt grateful that his instinct kicked in as soon as he stood up. Since he sensed something was amiss, he didn’t start recklessly, avoiding making the same gaffe.

Then, Cheng Xiaoxiao patiently taught them the essentials of skiing, guiding Cheng Jia forward with small steps, explaining how to maintain balance to avoid falling...

A quarter of an hour later, after Cheng Xiaoxiao finished teaching, she let go, and Cheng Jia fell with a flop again.

Followed by numerous more falls, Cheng Sicheng, despite his steady nature, received the same treatment.

Everyone’s faces showed that things weren’t as easy as they thought. The initial excitement had waned considerably.

Cheng Jia and Cheng Sicheng both had stubborn natures. Falling only drove them to stand back up and try again, gradually gaining experience.

They repeatedly recalled the techniques, adjusted their posture, kept their backs slightly arched, and used their hands lightly but surely, exploring step by step.

One step, two steps, three steps, no falls; Cheng Jia gave two more sturdy pushes, sliding a great distance. He felt so excited that he burst into laughter, realizing that he managed to learn it! Haha!

But joy turned to mishap, as his skis went out of control, his left foot tripping over his right. He lost balance and fell heavily backwards.

Seeing someone prideful and laughing moments ago, now sitting down in the snow, everyone around erupted in unsympathetic laughter.

Embarrassed, Cheng Jia got up from the snow, using some effort to stabilize himself. Taking a deep breath, he slightly spread his feet and carefully adjusted his direction. He refused to believe it—if his sister could ski this well, he surely could too.

On the other side, Cheng Sicheng wasn’t having much luck either. With a slight push, he was gliding, but after a few steps, it felt like his feet were working against him, his motions were uncoordinated and unaligned, akin to a blocked mental method practice, obstructed and jerky, leading to a painful split.

With his face flushed from pain, fearing Xiaoxiao would see this embarrassing moment, he sneaked a glance at her, but she was patiently teaching Cheng Jia not far away. He quickly got up, pretending nothing had happened, and continued to practice.

Hearing the laughter from behind drew Cheng Xiaoxiao’s attention; she glanced back at him.

The young man blushed instantly, falling again unguarded.

Cheng Xiaoxiao walked over to Cheng Sicheng, pulling him up, "Are you alright?"

Cheng Sicheng quickly shook his head, unable to admit such an embarrassing thing.

Yet Cheng Xiaoxiao was already aware, as the system’s quirky laughter still echoed in her head.

Cheng Xiaoxiao reassured Cheng Sicheng with a few words and began teaching patiently again.

This time, with Cheng Xiaoxiao guiding him throughout, Cheng Sicheng discarded his quickened heartbeat, studying earnestly. Gradually, he found some feel, and the falls became less frequent.

Meanwhile, Cheng Jia also started grasping the technique, and the distances of his slides grew longer.

After two hours...

The two were numb to the falls but had gathered ample experience through them.

At least now, they had started finding some patterns, allowing them to maintain focus. They could now continue for ten to twenty meters without falling.

The next day, the wind and snow grew heavier, seemingly dropping the temperature even more. Yet, the dazzling snowfall couldn’t dampen the boys’ enthusiasm. The area soon filled with colorful figures of various sizes, big and small.

Overnight, the crafting department had produced more than a dozen pairs of skis, and children assigned to them eagerly tested them out.

This resulted in a spectacular scene where someone would get up only to see someone else fall, with an endless variety of falling styles appearing.

It drew endless laughter from the onlookers.

By now, Cheng Jia felt much better about skiing. As long as he kept his speed in check, he barely fell and eagerly shared the tricks he’d learned with his mates. Demonstrating while explaining.

With Cheng Jia’s earnest teaching, the other kids picked it up quickly, and their skiing postures gradually became more standard.