Quote:
Climb High and Ride Far (7) : In the middle of a metropolis, there aren’t many opportunities to get out and appreciate a nice snowfall. Sure, maybe you can look out of your window and appreciate the beauty of nature, but when was the last time you got to do something fun, like go sledding? Maybe never! This year, Destiny City has gone out of their way to set up the perfect hill for sledding–sixty feet tall, four hundred feet long, in a recently landscaped area of land close to the heart of the city. Vendors have set up stalls with snacks and artisan goods, and you can bring your own sled, innertube, skis or snowboard–or borrow, courtesy of the city, if you don’t have one already. Whether there’s been recent snow or not, DCU has some artificial, environmentally friendly artificial snow to keep the slopes fresh. You might not find an opportunity like this without heading elsewhere in the city, so why not take advantage of some fresh, free Winter fun?
Okay, so. Maybe it was a little childish. Maybe Lianhua ought to feel bad about this. But the thing was, a giant sledding hill set up in Destiny City was, a) absolute content gold, and b) stupid ******** fun. Plus, it was an excuse to get all dressed up in Winter Chic and do something stupid and childish and fun.
So she'd gotten herself all dressed up, and there were already #ootd vids on her TikTok and Insta to make sure her followers knew she had plans. Filming the actual sledding part would be great, too; people asked her all the time to show off how much fun she had, and maybe she could attract some attention to a local shop or two. Especially since there were booths to buy from all around the sledding hill.
Honestly, Destiny City might be a magical hot mess, but at least the city was great about putting on fun events. Almost made all the other bullshit worth it!
Almost. She still winced when she smelled cinnamon. That was distinctly Not A Vibe. But at least she'd gotten out of there mostly still okay, and her hatred was starting to slowly fade. Enough that she was willing to buy an apple cider fritter from a little booth selling all kinds of delicious winter pastries, and post a couple photos--after asking the owner's permission to promote them that way. Some smaller businesses got concerned about influencers for any number of probably totally valid reasons, between order volume and General Annoying Behavior. Totally understandable, totally fair, and that was why Lianhua bought what she wanted, and then asked about selfies and whatever.
An effort to be a less annoying ******** Influencer TM. Not that Lianhua often made efforts to be less annoying, because if people had a problem with her that was their problem, but for this....
She went through a couple other stalls doing the same routine; some were fine with the photos, others asked her not to, and either way, she got a nice bag of treats out of it. Even some things she'd be taking to Shuangxu's palce for her brother and Belial to enjoy.
And then, there was the actual sledding hill.
As she approached it, Lianhua felt a jolt of childish delight. She hadn't been sledding in forever, and the very idea had her bouncing a little on her toes. She picked up one of the city-provided sleds, and then it was a delighted jog up the slope with all the other people getting ready to go. She filmed herself the whole way, angling carefully to avoid getting other people in the shot--the art of filming in public and whatever--and gleefully narrated the entire experience.
Honestly? What a thing to bring her viewers along for.
And then, one hand gripping the sled and the other holding up her phone, she went down the mountain with a whoop of joy.
She probably looked ridiculous. The video was definitely a whooshy mess. But who cared?
Honestly, Lianhua was pretty sure this was the kind of fun she deserved.
[wc: 515 words]
