Chapter 138: Qianhai Ice Rink (480 Monthly Votes Bonus Chapter)

At that time, a pair of ice skates cost around 30 to 40 yuan, and many families would buy a pair because it was their only activity throughout the winter. The standard for ice skates back then was “Tianjin shoes, Heilongjiang blades,” meaning you had to choose skates made in Tianjin paired with blades from Heilongjiang.

Although the Shichahai ice rink was the most official and popular outdoor rink in the city, its facilities were quite rudimentary. The outer ice surface was enclosed by over two-meter-tall straw mats, serving as walls, and in the middle, a small circle was fenced off to divide the space in half—this was the ice rink’s restroom area, with the men’s section to the north and the women’s to the south. Speaking of which, one must criticize the person who designed this restroom; he must have feared his wife! The winter winds in the capital were relentless northwest gusts—inside the men’s restroom, the wind was fierce enough to chill you to the bone, while the women’s side was calm and sunny.

Young people have always been the main force in entertainment, and ice skating was no exception. Because the Shichahai rink was the most renowned, it attracted the largest crowd of youths, which inevitably brought in the city’s petty hooligans. These troublemakers were territorial; even a lingering glance on the street could spark a fight, let alone skating together. A bump or a nudge on the ice could ignite fierce brawls among these hormonally charged youngsters.

If girls got involved, the scene grew even more chaotic. Many came not to skate but to stir up trouble, making this rink the most frequent battleground for fights in the city. The locals had a vivid name for such quarrels—“quarrel fights,” a term that literally means fights sparked by deliberately looking for trouble.

The government was at its wits’ end, so they set up a straw hut on the shore, staffed day and night by several policemen and a group of workers wearing red armbands as the patrol squad. But this was merely a makeshift fix; once the young ruffians got riled up, they paid no heed to the police presence, fighting first and worrying about the consequences later. The only result was the poor straw mats used as walls, which were often torn to shreds by fleeing youths after each fight.

In truth, these young people didn’t come to skate solely for fun or exercise. Their primary purpose was socializing. In those years, there were very few activities where boys and girls could mingle freely; even swimming pools were segregated by gender. Skating was one of the rare opportunities to showcase one’s skills to the opposite sex. Bringing a new girlfriend to the rink could be a disaster—if your skating wasn’t impressive enough, she might never come back because you embarrassed her.

Among Hong Tao’s group, only he, his uncle, Big Stinky Sister, and Han Xue could skate. The other girls were well-behaved and had never even been to this rink, so they didn’t have skates and simply used their shoe soles to slide along the edge for fun. But Hong Tao was determined not to miss this chance to openly hug and hold the girls; he insisted on teaching them to skate and even rented skates for them.

Anyone who’s tried ice skating knows it’s a completely different experience from roller skating. If you can’t roller skate, you fall forward or backward; if you can’t ice skate, you end up doing the splits, legs refusing to obey, standing still while your feet drift apart, and before you know it, you’re sitting on the ice. Uncle and Big Stinky Sister didn’t bother with the group of clumsy newbies; the two of them held hands and were already circling around while Hong Tao and Han Xue struggled, rolling and crawling by the straw mats.

“I’m not getting up! What’s the point? I’ll just fall again anyway!” Tang Weidong was the first to give up, plopping down on the ice without a care for the cold.

“I’m quitting too. My pants are too tight; if they rip, it’ll be a hassle!” Han Yan also wanted to back out, wearing a pair of tight plaid bell-bottoms that hugged her small hips.

“No way! If you don’t learn, there’ll be a pay cut! Bend your knees! Why are you like a zombie with no knees? Bend more... Don’t squat down!” Hong Tao didn’t care if she wanted to learn or not; he deliberately pulled Han Yan a bit away and held her hand, teaching her skating posture while sneakily feeling her thigh and rear.

“I’m scared...” Han Yan whimpered, nearly in tears, crouched on the ice refusing to rise.

“Fine, then I’ll skate with you. Come on, get up... Spread your arms. Yes, when my legs move, you move. Don’t be afraid, I’m here.” Hong Tao’s eyes gleamed with mischief; he made Han Yan stand and then hugged her waist from behind, his whole body pressed against hers, pushing her legs forward in slow glides.

“Ahh... oh! Ha ha ha...” Han Yan, too nervous to notice Hong Tao taking advantage of her again, focused only on wobbly skating, shrieking with every glide.

“Step with your left leg... Don’t lift your leg... Keep it close to the ice... Good... Step with your right... Lean your upper body forward... Lower... lower...” Hong Tao whispered instructions while feeling every movement of the young girl’s body pressed against him. Because she leaned forward, her rounded rear was perfectly presented, much to Hong Tao’s delight.

“Han Xue, look! Your sister’s letting Hong Tao take advantage of her again. That posture looks so awkward... See, he’s even touching Yan’s butt!” Han Yan couldn’t see her own stance, but Tang Weidong did and told Han Xue, who was holding Wang Mei’s hand, teaching her to skate.

“You little brat! We’ll deal with this when we get home. That silly girl! Ignore her!” Han Xue was used to Hong Tao’s constant harassment by now. The girls no longer dared to hang their underwear out to dry in the backyard, as he always found something to say and guessed what color they were wearing that day.

“Sis! Sis! I can skate now! Ha ha ha... Faster! Faster!” Han Yan joyfully shouted as she and Hong Tao slid past Han Xue. Hong Tao was close behind, pressed against her body, his hands sneaking inside her down jacket to firmly grip her waist.

“Hong Tao, you bastard! When we get back, I’m going to rip your ears off!” Han Xue was angry at Hong Tao’s mischief and at her silly sister for losing all sense of caution once she started playing.

“Heh... ha ha ha, turning a corner...” Hong Tao winked at Han Xue with a teasing face, then pushed Han Yan in an arc before skating off again.

“Han Xue, I want to skate like that too. Push me from behind, let’s chase them, quick!” Wang Mei saw Han Yan’s carefree excitement and got jealous, urging Han Xue to do the same as Hong Tao.

“Don’t be afraid of falling! I’m no better than that little bastard anyway. I don’t know what he was in his past life!” Han Xue was tempted. The ice was crowded with young people circling around, and it made her itchy to stand and teach others instead.

“No problem. I’ve tried it. Falling doesn’t hurt. Let’s go!” Wang Mei, a young intellectual, wasn’t bothered by minor hardships, and after getting into position, she waited for Han Xue to push her.

“I must catch up with them. This... this is so frustrating! That little bastard’s brain is full of nonsense, never a good idea!” Han Xue mimicked Hong Tao’s style, hugging Wang Mei’s waist from behind, her body pressed close. Only now did she realize how intimate the posture was; their lower bodies were almost fused, legs moving together like one person, as if they were wearing a pair of pants with a shared crotch. She began cursing again.

“Stop right there!” Although furious, Han Xue and Wang Mei’s coordination was still rough, so she couldn’t pick up speed and had to watch Hong Tao and Han Yan skate past them again.

After skating for a while, Han Xue and Wang Mei grew more coordinated, their speed picking up until they could keep up with Hong Tao and Han Yan in wide circles. By then, they’d forgotten about Hong Tao’s antics. Especially Wang Mei, who was experiencing the thrill of gliding on ice for the first time. In a word: exhilarating!

The two pairs, like conjoined twins, turned their chase into a playful competition, shouting and racing each other. Even when they slipped and fell, they quickly got up without dusting off the ice shards, huddling together to skate on.

“Oh no... I’m done... can’t glide... let... let me rest a moment...” Han Yan was the first to give in. Though ice skating looked easy, it was exhausting—especially on the ankles and thighs. For a novice like her to last twenty minutes was already impressive.

“Tang Jie, come on, I’ll take you skating!” Hong Tao looked at the soft flesh rising and falling beneath Han Yan’s open down jacket. Though his body gave no outward sign, in his mind he had indulged countless fantasies. With Han Yan out of steam, Tang Weidong was still there.

“Don’t fall on me! Ah... don’t press so close! It’s embarrassing!” Tang Weidong had been watching enviously and was happy to finally get her turn. She didn’t refuse but felt a bit shy.

(To be continued...)

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