■ A timid little quail in person, wild and carefree online, a snowboarding prodigy
■ A traditional daddy in person, constantly yelling "baby" online, an ice hockey center and terrifying powerhouse
■ Contrasting builds | Height difference | Competitive-sports couple | Online romance identity reveal | Older, doting father-figure type
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Yan Lue is a snowboarding prodigy who dominates the slopes but has been single since birth.
After winning a routine North American leg of the circuit, he became a trending topic worldwide on X when people thought he had insulted the audience during an interview.
His teammate and friend Yu Haohao rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "You’re supposed to wink, not roll your eyes! You’re supposed to smile and make a heart, not pout and throw a punch!"
Who would have thought that Yan Lue, whose presence on the course could easily overpower the whole crowd, was actually socially anxious in private? Because he showed no expression and didn’t celebrate after competitions, the media and onlookers often mocked him as an arrogant poser.
He had hoped to improve his image by interacting with the audience this time, but things went wrong. Before he knew it, he’d gone from a poser to a jerk.
As Yan Lue patted his friend’s back to help him calm down, he defended himself. "There were too many people watching the interview. It’s not good for pushing past the limits of my social anxiety."
Yu Haohao rolled his eyes, but still indulged him. "So we need to find you a stranger for a one-on-one practice session?"
Eager to dodge the blame, Yan Lue nodded emphatically. The very next day, his remarkably efficient friend dragged him to a masquerade ball to find someone...
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Leon Brin is the NHL’s hottest Russian-born center, a terrifying powerhouse.
He never backs down from a collision with an opponent on the ice, but when he accompanied his younger sister to a ball, he was ambushed by a fluffy, human-sized rabbit.
The little one in the bunny suit only came up to his chest. The snowboard strapped to their back performed an expert edge-change right against his inner thigh.
Leon endured the pain and reached up to grab the rabbit ears.
The person inside the costume was bundled up from head to toe, barely showing a pair of red eyes. Their body was still trembling uncontrollably.
"I didn’t hit you. You’re crying too soon."
Leon shook his head with a laugh. Swallowing his frustration, he made a concession. "Say something nice to me and I’ll let you go."
The rabbit froze for a moment, then reached into the costume’s pocket and fumbled around for a long while before tremblingly presenting a card with their contact information on it.
Yan "Rabbit" Lue asked nervously, his voice barely audible. "Would... online be okay?"
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Two months later, Yu Haohao remembered to ask how Yan Lue’s social-anxiety training was going. With a teasing lilt, he asked if Yan Lue had already managed to scare his online friend away.
"He hasn’t run."
Yan Lue scraped a fingertip along the edge of his snowboard, looking troubled. "But something seems a little off..."
"What’s off?"
"He keeps calling me baby."
"That’s normal!"
"But sometimes he wants me to call him daddy, too. Is that normal?"
Yu Haohao hesitated slightly. "Sometimes... when do you mean?"
"When we video chat every night..."
Yan Lue’s cheeks flushed without him realizing it. "He says he wants to see my legs."
Theme: Love overcomes every obstacle and never gives up.
