Early the next morning, board the train and set off!
The sightseeing train resembled the old-fashioned ones in movies, moving very slowly. Lu Zheng and Lin Wan sat on one side, gazing at the lakes and mountains outside the window. It felt quite pleasant.
“Are you two from China?”
A warm, clear voice spoke in English.
Lu Zheng and Lin Wan turned to look at the couple seated opposite.
The man was refined and elegant, handsome and dashing.
The woman was tall and youthful, vibrantly beautiful.
She wore full designer brands, like a proud peacock. Her gaze towards Lu Zheng and Lin Wan carried a subtle superiority of the upper class.
The man dressed low-key and fitted, brands unrecognisable. His face held a perpetual elegant, appropriate smile. His eyes towards them lacked aggression.
However, clearly, from boarding until now, the woman clung to his arm constantly, her words full of flattery. It showed his status far exceeded hers.
Moreover…
Lu Zheng subtly scanned around and spotted two burly men posing as tourists, seated fore and aft. Though chatting or on phones, at least one always watched the man.
Tsk tsk, two bodyguards!
Given the woman’s gaze, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan preferred no interaction.
“Yes, from China.”
Lu Zheng replied politely, then turned to the window, clearly unwilling to continue.
The woman huffed lightly. The man patted her hand, turning to Lin Wan. “Is this young lady a model?”
The woman’s eyes sharpened. She tightened her grip on his arm.
“No,” Lin Wan shook her head.
“Perhaps I mistook. I thought I saw a model resembling you in a Chinese magazine. Occupational habit.”
The man smiled and extended his hand. “Robert, a fashion designer.”
Lu Zheng shook it.
Robert smiled faintly, meeting Lu Zheng’s eyes before releasing. “With such a beautiful girlfriend, caution is wise. But I mean no harm.”
“Better not. Otherwise, you might regret it deeply,” Lu Zheng said calmly.
Robert chuckled. The woman beside him seemed insulted.
“Regret? Robert is not just a fashion designer. He is also from the Bao Yi Group…”
“Nancy.”
The woman pouted, stopping.
But she quickly realised her near-mistake. Eager to boast for Robert, what if it attracted that pretty East Asian woman’s interest?
Nancy glanced hurriedly at Lin Wan, seeing her focused on the scenery outside, not turning back.
“An ignorant woman…”
Robert turned, giving Nancy a faint look.
She shivered, then flashed a brilliant, gorgeous smile, retracting her earlier expression. She turned to Lu Zheng and Lin Wan.
“I am Nancy, a model. Pleased to meet you. Shall we team up on the mountain later?”
“No need. We are beginners. We will play ourselves and not disturb you.”
“No disturbance,” Nancy smiled. “I am not great at skiing either.”
Lu Zheng waved. “Our first time here. The scenery is excellent.”
Robert pulled Nancy over, nodding agreement. “Though I come several times yearly, I never tire of it.”
After that, both sides ceased interaction, speaking softly among themselves.
“Think he understands Chinese?” Lin Wan leaned close to Lu Zheng, whispering.
“I bet he does,” Lu Zheng murmured. “These days, Western elite-educated second-gen rich kids know at least some Chinese.”
After all, modern China was impossible to ignore.
Lin Wan nodded. “Ignore him.”
Though Robert remained refined throughout, with Tony as precedent and how one glance subdued Nancy, it proved his complexity.
Whether ulterior motives or genuine friendliness, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan wanted no involvement.
They resolutely ignored the opposite pair. Lu Zheng became a ruthless photographer, shooting portraits of Lin Wan in her seat.
Different window backdrops, varied poses. Each photo a beautiful landscape painting.
En route to Jungfraujoch, the train stopped five minutes at two viewpoints. Lu Zheng exerted full skill, amplifying Lin Wan’s beauty further.
Her allure greatly irked Nancy, photographing nearby.
Truthfully, Nancy was pretty with a good figure, a rising model.
But comparisons are odious. Despite her brands, beside Lin Wan, she seemed ordinary.
Her poise and aura, against Lin Wan’s valiant grace, resembled a delicate, fragile vase.
…
Train arrived at Jungfraujoch.
Europe now in winter, the peak a blanket of white.
“First the Ice Palace, then the Sphinx Observatory,” Lin Wan said.
“Go!”
They visited the Ice Palace, then Sphinx Terrace. Near noon, lunched at the resort restaurant, then reached Jungfrau Ski Resort.
Jungfrau Ski Resort.
One of the world’s top ten, divided into areas, over two hundred kilometres of pistes, covering three hundred plus square kilometres.
Gentle short slopes for beginners, steep descents for experts.
Rented boards, fully geared, they waddled into the snowfield.
“Where to?” Lin Wan’s eyes burned.
Lu Zheng raised a brow. “Take it slow. Start easy.”
In regular pistes, many visitors. Besides skiers, families with five-six or even three-four-year-olds.
Lu Zheng guided Lin Wan through several regular runs, then…
“That’s it?”
Lin Wan watched frequent fallers among ordinary folk, puzzled. “So simple. How do they still fall?”
Lu Zheng: “…”
Neither had learned skiing before. But asking a yoga master to square dance, they would likely ace it.
Honestly, besides natural downhill runs, ordinary artificial pistes offered little sensation.
“Let’s try other runs.”
The vast resort: beyond station-near artificial fields, others semi or fully natural. Barriers only in dangerous spots, many bounded by woods or cliffs.
Naturally, fewer people further out. Skiers here were experts.
Lin Wan grinned provocatively. “No true qi. Race?”
“Deal!” Lu Zheng grew excited.
They reached a run’s start, prepared.
“Three, two, one, go!”
Like two arrows, they shot off with a whoosh, startling onlookers to turn.
“Amazing!”
“Experts!”
