After passing the rocks, Shen Jingqi arrived at the east side of the lake.
At a certain point, Shen Jingqi couldn't see the tower anymore.
After walking forward for about ten steps, the tower's outline reappeared.
Shen Jingqi looked to the left side; there was a single seat by the lake where blankets of snow had piled up.
The entire east side was devoid of people.
Shen Jingqi walked along the lakeside, heading towards a pavilion up ahead.
There were faint voices coming from inside the pavilion, as though someone was on the phone.
This person was dressed in a thick down jacket, completely bundled up.
Shen Jingqi walked past him sideways.
Walking another few dozen meters, he reached the north side of the lake.
Here, the voices of people grew louder.
You could see the ice surface dotted with ice carts and skates everywhere.
Ahead was a large sign:
[Ming Lake Ice Rink: Trial Operation Starts]
December 22, 2024 — January 17, 2025 (Tentative) Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NovᴇlFire(.)nᴇt
[Ice Cart and Skate Rental Reservations:
Enter the reservation system through the "Shen University APP Smart Venue Module" and "Shen University Campus Information Portal Smart Venue Module" to apply for skate and ice cart rental.]
[Ming Lake Ice Rink will adjust opening hours according to weather changes (those bringing their own skates may enter under staff guidance)]
The mirror-like ice layer on the lake was crowded with people, and above them, dense strips of information.
Screech, screech, screech!
The sound of ice blades carving across the ice surface.
Merging with the cheers and screams of the gliding crowd.
The ice blades were like small mirrors standing on the larger ice mirror, skimming across.
Amidst a cheer, seven people hand-in-hand skated side by side.
Their feet lifting and placed down in unison, the ice blades rose and fell together, leaving endless trails of ice petals behind them.
Shen Jingqi felt his blood begin to surge.
Though he was not on the ice rink at that moment, nor wearing skates, he experienced the same feelings as the skaters.
Shen Jingqi hailed from the north.
Come winter, after the first snow, accumulation began.
Thick snow could reach several dozen centimeters deep.
On the roads, snow compressed by vehicles gradually formed glossy surfaces.
Shen Jingqi remembered cycling on it without a worry of slipping or anything.
Then, there were many rivers in the north.
In winter, they easily froze over.
Thick ice layers several dozen centimeters thick.
Shen Jingqi and a few buddies once tossed large stones onto the ice, only to leave shallow dents.
When it got cold enough to freeze the ears, some kids would wrap up tightly, bringing skates and ice carts to the ice to chase each other.
Once, Shen Jingqi passed by a river and saw a few friends skating on ice carts.
There was a polished, shiny ice surface formed on a very high slope, looking especially beautiful from afar.
Probably, many children would like such spots.
From a height, overlooking as one rushed down, it brought not just thrill and excitement but also an unspeakable joy—a feeling as if the soul wanted to soar.
Shen Jingqi watched a little boy climbing onto that slope with an ice cart.
"Hey, I've made it. Watch me."
The boy proudly and boastfully placed the ice cart atop the high slope.
Sitting on the ice cart, he held two ice picks, fixing them on the ice surface beside the cart.
The boy swung the ice picks, and the ice cart glided down from the high slope.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, I'm flying, I'm flying!"
The boy shouted loudly.
His voice was naive and resonant in the chilly wind.
A massive ice hole appeared on the ice surface!
The boy and the ice cart vanished!
Only countless ice shards, ice blocks, and splashes were left behind.
A few buddies panicked.
They crouched on the ice not far away, peering at the ice hole.
Silent water wrapped the small body in the corner they could see, drifting towards downstream.
After a while crouched on the ice, the clothes stuck to the ice like glue.
The boys struggled carefully to stand up, fearing to incite the wrath of the ice layers around.
Once away from the ice surface, they shouted.
Unlike the Sensory Paradise's monitoring, there was no quick rescue.
When the adults arrived running, the boy was nowhere to be seen.
Detective teams and police brought a police dog.
The police dog panted heavily, sniffed an ice pick on the ice, and circled sniffing the ice surface.
Then, it started running along the ice surface, occasionally lowering its head to sniff.
At some point, the police dog refused to go further.
Its feet were covered with ice shards, bleeding in some areas.
"Parents, we can only do this much. Wait until spring when the ice melts, then look again."
The middle school principal and police spoke to the boy's parents, helpless and regretful.
"This damn brat, spent the whole holiday not doing homework, only playing around; now, he's lost his life, and can't even find his body."
The boy's parents, eyes red, sobbed furiously.
That winter vacation, the school emphasized again that no student could privately go skating on the ice.
Shen Jingqi remembered wearing thick clothes and watching intently.
He had an ice cart but had only played with it on the small pond near his home.
The pond water was mere dozens of centimeters deep.
When everything froze strong, you could only skate a dozen meters before having to turn back.
Yet Shen Jingqi still had endless fun.
Besides this place, Shen Jingqi was not allowed to go out to skate on ice carts.
He watched the boy's ice cart and ice picks until the boy was swallowed, leaving only an ice pick behind.
Later, when Shen Jingqi passed by that spot, he found himself unintentionally looking at that high slope.
It really was just a slope.
In other seasons, when ice and snow melted, that spot became a rapid water stream.
The river was very long, running through several districts.
Shen Jingqi thought the boy had perhaps already traveled to many places.
Later, as Shen Jingqi entered high school, most of his time was spent studying.
During a summer vacation when studying at Shen University's medical school, Shen Jingqi returned home and saw an anti-pollution sign placed by the river.
Shen Jingqi realized he'd been lost in thought again.
His attention unknowingly drifted away.
When he pulled his attention back to the present, he suddenly recalled a clue.
It came from Wang Zhichen's account, when he was on top of the biology building, that girl told him a sentence.
"It's sunny, let's go play on the slide."