Chapter 77: Before the Ski Livestream

Many of Qin Yun's fans suddenly discovered a livestream announcement on his homepage.

【October 16, 9:00 AM, Pan'an Ski Resort, don't miss it】

"Holy shit, Brother Qin is finally livestreaming again."

"Why isn't it a wilderness livestream? He's going skiing? Brother Qin knows how to ski?"

"I want to see Brother Qin survive outdoors."

"Skiing? Brother Qin's gotten full of himself—probably just playing around."

Below every video, comments flew up; the vast majority of people had huge expectations for Qin Yun's livestream, and reservation numbers surged rapidly.

Less than half an hour after posting, Qin Yun found the reservation count had reached one hundred thousand; his current fan count had surpassed eight million and was still growing.

Before leaving Beijing, Qin Yun never imagined his self-media journey could progress this smoothly, let alone with such an astonishing leap.

"Anta has already been contacted—they'll sponsor the gear, but won't pay any sponsorship fee."

Hearing this news from Su Huan, Qin Yun wasn't surprised at all. As the top domestic sports brand, they probably looked down on a self-made internet celebrity like him; sponsoring his gear was likely only because of his current fanbase.

"Then forget it. Any other options?"

Su Huan said: "Huanteng Sports is willing to sponsor this livestream for three hundred thousand yuan, as long as we display their gear and link their storefront during the stream, with a 5% commission. DJI offered three hundred thousand yuan too—same deal: exposure and storefront, 5% commission."

"Good, those two then." Qin Yun was satisfied; this meant pure sponsorship income of six hundred thousand yuan, and if people bought products through the storefront, he'd earn commissions too—this trickle of income wasn't insignificant.

"Huanteng has a flagship store in Jinhua; they should deliver the equipment today."

"Thanks for your effort."

After finishing business talk, Su Huan asked curiously: "How come you even know how to ski? Back in college I remember you were a complete rookie—you'd fall half-dead after one run."

Mentioned of his past embarrassment, Qin Yun was speechless: "That's all ancient history now. A man changes in three days—wait till tomorrow's livestream and you'll see."

"Alright." Su Huan switched to gossip: "What's Xiao Zhan really like? Is he handsome? Is Ying Bao super cute?"

Qin Yun satisfied his curiosity, then hung up and drove back to Pan'an Ski Resort with the two ski boards.

He didn't know when Huanteng's equipment would arrive, so he couldn't waste today's time—he'd bought his own gear anyway.

……

Skiing is a sport with extremely high equipment demands; from beginner to elite competition, the professionalism and fit of gear directly determine safety, experience, and upper limits.

Some say skiing gear mainly matters in the ski board, and the rest isn't particularly important.

But look at any ski resort's entry standards—you'll see basic gear must be fully equipped: ski board, bindings, ski boots, helmet, butt guard, knee pads, thermal clothing, goggles, gloves, and more.

Different gear tiers determine technical ceilings.

For example, ski boots: the stiffer they are, the better the control and stability. For example, ski suits: professional sealed suits have far superior abrasion resistance and breathability compared to ordinary waterproof ones, plus various low-temperature resistance properties.

Professional athletes on Olympic slopes use all customized gear. Ski boards you can't even buy in stores—they use aerospace-grade carbon fiber cores. Ski suits use wind-tunnel-tested drag-reducing fabrics.

After all, it's competitive sport—any tiny advantage might turn into a medal.

But for Qin Yun, there was no need to chase such extreme performance, so his gear requirements weren't that strict.

Carrying the ski boards, Qin Yun first picked a beginner slope, dressed himself thoroughly, stepped onto the board, and almost instinctively began gliding. Basic skills automatically surfaced in his mind.

Switch-foot stance, flat-ground walking, front-edge braking, back-edge braking, straight-line descent, speed control, turning, edge switching—all basic techniques flowed effortlessly under his feet.

Nearby beginner skiers stared in shock, exclaiming: "Brother, you're amazing!"

On the beginner slope, almost no one used a snowboard; compared to twin skis, snowboarding was far harder. These beginners couldn't even glide properly, so they'd never attempt a snowboard.

Even on intermediate slopes, snowboarders were rare.

It wasn't that they didn't want to choose snowboards—it was because snowboarding was too hard, had a high learning cost, and often led to injuries. A snowboarder appearing at a ski resort was unquestionably the coolest one there.

After practicing his skills, Qin Yun began moving. The beginner slope was just a twenty-meter vertical drop with a two-to-three-hundred-meter straight length; half the slope had no incline at all.

He didn't use the nearby lift track—he stood on his board, swaying side to side, and simply jumped up. The ski instructor teaching a group of beginners nearby stared in disbelief.

This wasn't flat ground—it had a twenty-meter vertical drop and a thirty-degree incline, and you just… swayed up? How?

Qin Yun ignored them. As he controlled his snowboard, his mastery of the skill deepened further; the system-given technique had become pure instinct.

"Hi, are you a coach? How much per hour?"

Qin Yun reached the summit, took a deep breath, and prepared to start—when a soft, timid voice came from beside him.

He turned to see two girls. Though bundled up, both had very high looks, around twenty years old.

"Sorry, I'm not a coach," Qin Yun shook his head; his face mask hid his identity.

Zhao Yajun blinked, her expression as if she'd heard something incredible.

Just as Qin Yun was about to move, her left hand grabbed his arm.

"Brother Qin?"

Qin Yun froze. Holy shit, how did she recognize me like this?

Seeing Qin Yun silent, Zhao Yajun added: "You're Qin Yun, Brother Qin?"

Qin Yun pulled his face mask down slightly and whispered: "It's me. How did you recognize me? Have you watched my livestreams?"

"Wow… it really is you!" Zhao Yajun burst into excitement—but forgot she was standing at the slope's peak. Her movement made her board slide instantly.

Luckily, her left hand still gripped Qin Yun's arm; as her board slid, she instinctively yanked his arm.

And Qin Yun was pulled down!

"Ahh—!"

Zhao Yajun thought she was done for, her face twisted in terror.

But the next instant, a strong arm pressed down—she instantly sank lower, then a voice came from in front of her: "Edge your board inward, hold my hands."

Qin Yun now stood before Zhao Yajun, sliding backward on his board, both hands gripping hers, posture elegant.

"Ahh—!" Zhao Yajun still screamed—but seeing Qin Yun just one meter ahead, her voice suddenly cut off.

She was skiing!

Her best friend Li Xintian's mouth hung open, eyes wide as if seeing a ghost, watching Zhao Yajun slide down.

"Mr. Qin, Mr. Qin, am I skiing?"

Zhao Yajun's heart pounded as if it might leap out—since arriving in Pan'an yesterday, she'd been falling constantly, her buttocks nearly split into four pieces.

Today she'd planned to hire a coach, but the ski resort had too few instructors, and she never got her turn, so she gritted her teeth and kept following Li Xintian to gain experience. Yet she hadn't expected to strike up a conversation with a master—his voice sounded exactly like that of a livestreamer she'd recently become obsessed with.

She tentatively asked, and confirmed it was him.

"Lower your center of gravity further," Qin Yun turned to glance at her, adjusted his snowboard's direction, and said, "Keep your balance steady. Don't be afraid—I'm here."

Those three words—"I'm here"—made Zhao Yajun's fear vanish instantly.

Skiing is like this: once you overcome fear, the learning barrier is actually very low. Why can children stand so steadily so easily? On one hand, their center of gravity is low; on the other, they have no fear.

The two-hundred-meter slope ended quickly. As speed decreased, Qin Yun grabbed her arm from behind, executed a sharp circular turn, then braked abruptly and came to a full stop.

Qin Yun looked at the girl, her expression flushed with excitement, and asked, "How was it? Are you alright?"

Zhao Yajun looked up at him, then excitedly seized his hand: "That was thrilling! Let's do it again!"

"…………"

Fine, you're a beginner—you call the shots.

"Mr. Qin, why are you in Pan'an?"

The two sat on the sled track, and Zhao Yajun asked.

Qin Yun said: "I'm livestreaming here tomorrow, so I came early to get familiar with the terrain."

"Livestreaming?" Zhao Yajun exclaimed, "Mr. Qin, are you going back to livestreaming? Aren't you doing wilderness survival anymore?"

"Wilderness can wait—this time I'm livestreaming at the ski resort. Don't forget to watch tomorrow."

Zhao Yajun's eyes darted: "Mr. Qin, where exactly will you livestream tomorrow? Can I come watch in person?"

Qin Yun laughed helplessly: "This ski resort isn't mine—of course you can come."

He pointed to another direction—the high-level ski area. "I'll be livestreaming on the advanced slope, probably for one or two hours."

Soon, the sled reached its peak, and the two stepped off the track. Li Xintian, Zhao Yajun's best friend, rushed over immediately.

"Yajun, are you okay?"

Only then did Zhao Yajun remember she hadn't introduced herself to Qin Yun yet.

"Mr. Qin, I'm Zhao Yajun. This is my best friend, Li Xintian. Isn't she beautiful and adorable? Should I introduce you two? Don't let her clothes fool you—they're so tight you can't tell anything, but underneath, she's got plenty of curves… uuuuh!"

Li Xintian's face turned bright red as she clamped her hands tightly over Zhao Yajun's mouth, refusing to even glance at Qin Yun.

Qin Yun laughed helplessly: "Hello, I'm Qin Yun—an outdoor livestreamer."

Zhao Yajun finally broke free from Li Xintian's grip and grumbled: "Mr. Qin is a top-tier livestreamer with millions of followers! Xintian, don't be so rude—uuuuh!"

Qin Yun shook his head, shifted his snowboard, and glided down.

He expertly switched edges, veering left and right, leaving a giant 'S' pattern in the snow—so cool it was unreal.

After playing with edge-switching for a while, he began carving. Carving means standing the snowboard upright and slicing its edge into the snow as he glides.

The ski instructors watching nearby nearly popped their eyes out.

Ordinary people might not grasp the difference and think it's just like edge-switching, but they knew: among snowboarders, mastering edge-switching is common, but carving? That's vanishingly rare.

Even they couldn't do it!

Unfortunately, this area was too beginner-friendly to showcase advanced techniques. After a brief adjustment, Qin Yun found it boring.

Techniques like flat 180° turns, linking carves, and bunny hops—he tried them briefly and decided it was time to head straight to the advanced slope for proper practice.

"Mr. Qin, can you teach us some more? We still can't overcome our fear."

Zhao Yajun and Li Xintian hurried over as Qin Yun prepared to leave.