The hotel room was quite spacious at 42 square meters, but for a couple in the throes of passion, the extra 41 square meters seemed superfluous.
Wei Zhi, still perched on Shan Chong’s lap with her arms around his neck, asked why he suddenly changed his mind when he had firmly rejected Lao Yan’s proposal earlier.
The man gently tapped her nose and replied, “I just realized that beggars can’t be choosers. Plus, to put it nicely, nurturing talent from a young age is more beneficial for promoting winter sports than teaching 20-somethings. At that age, it’s mostly a hobby or obsession, but children have the potential to become professional athletes.”
“Is it impossible after your twenties?” Wei Zhi leaned back slightly, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Stop listening to nonsense online,” Shifu said, holding his little disciple intimately while delivering harsh truths. “You managed one box jump in four days, and that was with hands-on guidance. You even failed the first attempt. The difference between you and ‘genius’ is like the difference between Songhua Lake and Songhua River. Get it? Both in Northeast China, same first two characters, but worlds apart.”
“…”
She got it.
No need for such a detailed explanation.
Was he trying to be as unlikable as possible?
Wei Zhi spoke up, “Let’s discuss your money problems instead. Didn’t you say you’d come home with me after saving enough?”
The man lowered his gaze. “If you want to argue, just say so.”
“…” The young girl pouted. “You started it.”
“I’m just being realistic,” he said, patting her back as if soothing a cat. Then, true to form, he continued, “With time, you might become an admired expert, but don’t harbor unrealistic dreams about the Winter Olympics or World Championships.”
“What’s wrong with dreaming?” she protested.
“Knowing you, you’ll start believing your fantasies, then blame me when they don’t come true.”
“Am I really like that?!”
“Yes, you are.”
“…You’re the one who wants to argue.”
“…”
“Why are you so aggressive? You’re the one who said you’d come home with me after saving enough. I never demanded that. Now you’re getting defensive just because I brought it up?”
The man responded with an “Oh.” “If you wanted to discuss this, you could have… If you had asked who I liked that day in the car, I could have started saving a day earlier. Maybe I could have even participated in that FIS Ski Jumping World Cup—”
“…How is this my fault?” Wei Zhi marveled at his ability to shift blame. Then, surprised, she asked, “Does that competition have prize money?”
“Well, Dai Duo’s ranking should be worth about ten thousand US dollars.”
Wei Zhi’s eyes widened in shock. After a pause, she exclaimed, “And all you gave us for our competition was a pair of goggles! We worked just as hard! You’re so stingy!”
“The World Cup has ski resort sponsors. You only have your boyfriend as a sponsor,” he replied flatly. “Be grateful for what you get. People should learn to be content.”
Oh.
They had been together for what felt like three, four, five, six, seven, eight days now.
Every time he casually mentioned being her “boyfriend,” it felt like a dream to her.
Especially when he said it with that stoic expression—the contrast was overwhelmingly endearing. No wonder rich people in the UAE like to keep cheetahs… The joy of a large feline nuzzling up to you is incomparable to that of a common house cat.
Wei Zhi was still basking in this happiness, so whatever he said didn’t matter—
So what if they were in debt? Seeing him rack his brains to make money, it probably wouldn’t last long anyway.
Besides, even if they got married right now, it would still be…
Pre-marital debt.
Wei Zhi’s thoughts wandered far.
At that moment, the man shifted his legs. “Get off.”
The young girl felt a bit hurt and dramatically asked, “Why do I have to get off? Am I not worthy of sitting on your lap because I’m not a genius?”
“…” Shan Chong paused. “My leg’s gone numb. Do you weigh 110 jin?”
It was just an offhand question, but Wei Zhi looked utterly offended. She immediately stood up and moved to sit on the bed opposite him.
Judging by her expression, he must have guessed a ridiculously high number. The man thought for a moment and could only try to save face: “I don’t really have a concept of women’s weight. It’s not like I’ve held many.”
Wei Zhi opened her mouth, almost convinced by his excuse, but then realized it was clearly a lie—
Damn, he put his hands on people’s waists every day during lessons!
She raised her eyebrows high. “Quite proud of yourself, aren’t you? How do you manage to make even the dead sound alive?”
Seeing her anger, the man’s expression turned helpless. He patted his leg. “Alright, come back.”
Wei Zhi sat still, glaring at him.
Shan Chong put on a serious face. “Please.”
The plea was humble enough, though his whole demeanor screamed, “Don’t push your luck.”
Wei Zhi reluctantly returned, pressing her lips together—she wasn’t completely heartless. She sat on his other leg, stretching her legs out on the bed to lessen his burden…
It wasn’t about where she sat.
She just wanted to be close to him, her face pressed against his chest, listening to his steady, strong heartbeat. It gave her a sense of security—
Perhaps this was what feeling safe meant.
Whether on the slopes or near equipment, she always felt that as long as she was under his watchful eye, he would protect her completely.
And he always did.
Realizing they should make up, she tightened her arms around his neck and looked up, softly calling him “Shifu.” The sticky, sweet voice made him frown. He lowered his head, about to scold her for using that squeaky voice and strange way of addressing him—
Before he could speak, the young girl had already leaned in, quickly licking the corner of his lips.
“Don’t feel too pressured,” she said. “No matter who you meet this time, no one’s going to ask for a background check, so it’s okay if you’re a bit poor…”
Shan Chong looked at her helplessly.
Seeing him unmoved, she thought he was still dwelling on his bank balance. Feeling a bit panicked, she wracked her brain, trying to remember what the female lead in her manga did when the male lead was angry—
Oh, right.
She hugged his neck, closed her eyes, and carefully, reverently leaned in. After kissing the corner of his lips again, she kissed his Adam’s apple.
She immediately felt the hand on her waist stiffen.
It worked. She felt like a genius.
Encouraged by his reaction, Wei Zhi’s eyes brightened. She persisted, opening her mouth to leave a small bite mark on his neck as his Adam’s apple visibly bobbed—
She didn’t even have time to make the mark deep before the man suddenly lifted her up in his arms. The sudden movement startled her, and she let out a small “Ah!” clutching his neck tightly and burying her face in the crook of his neck…
The next second, he placed her on the bed and stepped away.
Suddenly bereft of his warm embrace, she rolled on the bed, kicking her feet and sitting up. “What’s wrong now? I apologized, didn’t I? I don’t care about your bank balance, and you got back at me by guessing my weight—”
Standing by the bed, looking at the young girl’s indignant expression, Shan Chong just wanted to sigh. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse: “I have to go teach now.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Oh.
He could have said so earlier.
Her incessant mumbling came to an abrupt halt.
Shan Chong finally couldn’t help but give her a deep look. “Who taught you to do that just now?”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Shan Chong: “The Gym Diary?”
Wei Zhi: “…”
“If you don’t want to directly inform your mom to prepare to be a grandmother,” the man said in a serious tone while uttering the most roguish words, “stop reading that nonsense.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Her face turned bright red. She put her hands on her hips. “So what if I read it!”
She was still trying to talk back.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw the man fall silent for a few seconds, the corner of his eye twitching slightly. “Still talking back, huh? Want to bet I won’t make you act out everything you’ve read?”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Given that his tone didn’t sound like he was joking, Wei Zhi immediately backed down.
She believed him. She believed him.
She was wrong. She was wrong.
Please forgive me, boss.
Tonight she’d light incense for Bei Ci, hoping he’d keep his dog mouth shut forever.
Seeing her avoid his gaze, Shan Chong wanted to take the opportunity to lecture her further, but at that moment, the phone in his pocket rang. He took it out and saw it was Shan Shan.
“Who is it?” The young girl leaned over.
“My sister.” Shan Chong pushed away her fluffy head.
As soon as Shan Chong picked up the phone, he realized that Shan Shan had already sent many WeChat messages before calling, but he hadn’t seen them—
[Jide Xingshan: Holy shit, I saw an incredible video online, and I think the guy in it looks like you!]
[Jide Xingshan: ………………………………… The video’s uploader tagged you.]
[Jide Xingshan: ????? So it really is you? You actually found a wife?]
[Jide Xingshan: I can’t believe it! Besides skiing, you were actually doing something productive in Xinjiang! I’m shocked! Really, is it the one you said was controlling you and not letting you do anything? Hahahahahahahahahaha!]
[Jide Xingshan: I’m going to tell Mom!]
[Jide Xingshan: Is that okay?]
[Jide Xingshan: Answer me!]
Shan Chong: “…”
The widespread distribution of videos certainly has its downsides. For instance, as long as someone in the family surfs the internet, no one can escape family scrutiny.
…
Shan Shan was just being nosy. Shan Chong couldn’t be bothered to deal with her, so he simply put his phone on silent and slipped it into his pocket. The world became peaceful.
Seeing Wei Zhi yawning continuously, he knew she must be exhausted from her excitement this morning. He confirmed that she hadn’t been affected by the widely circulated video from earlier and wasn’t secretly crying…
So he felt comfortable leaving her behind as he went out—
And what was he going to do? Just teach, as he said.
Now he was trying to make money every minute he could, but he still chose his students as before, only teaching those who had mastered basic gliding. However, he wasn’t refusing lessons as often as before.
Previously, besides refusing strange people, he sometimes refused lessons simply because he was lazy. On his way back to the hotel to find Wei Zhi, he did two things:
First, he decided to accompany her back to Nancheng. Whether or not to meet her parents didn’t matter, but he definitely needed to meet that neighbor’s brother of hers.
Second, he casually booked two lessons, randomly selecting two lucky viewers from WeChat… Those who booked lessons with him understood his picky rules. Lesson bookings came with gliding videos. Shan Chong watched them, thought they were acceptable, and replied with a “1” along with the lesson time.
When he arrived at the park, today’s student was already there—a guy in his early twenties who was here to work on small jumps.
By the time Shan Chong arrived, Bei Ci had already been playing with him for a while.
This guy had quite a few problems. Although theoretically, it’s best for carved turn skiers to progress to jumps, carved turn skiers also have their own issues—they’re obsessed with edge control to a fault—
They’d start the jump with their skis on edge, and once in the air, afraid of the sensation of being airborne, they’d habitually look down at their feet…
Forget about doing tricks, they’d fall even on straight jumps.
Seeing the student pick up his board and walk back to the jump with a dejected look, Shan Chong skied over. Before the guy could react, he was by his side, saying, “Whether it’s in the park, on flat ground, or while gliding, your eyes should always be looking in the direction you’re going in that final second… Don’t look around, keep your shoulders still, and relax—then you won’t fall.”
As he spoke, he flew straight off the jump. At the moment of takeoff, he tightened his core, pulled up, and achieved a high jump with a noticeable hang time. His skis landed with a “thwack,” immediately catching the front edge—
The wind blew the man’s ski suit, making it billow. He glided straight for a distance, then twisted slightly to stop.
“You’re wrong from the moment you take off. Straighten your skis before you reach the jump, don’t fear the speed… You’re making S-turns on the edge. When you move to bigger jumps with higher speeds, you could easily fly off the edge of the jump. It’s very dangerous,” he said, his voice as cold as a teaching machine. “Try again.”
The male student: “Ah…”
He looked like he hadn’t quite processed it all.
Shan Chong raised an eyebrow.
Bei Ci, squatting next to the jump, asked, “Just came from the little disciple?”
Shan Chong gave him an expressionless look, as if to say, “You know about that too?”
Bei Ci: “You might want to put on your face guard first.”
Shan Chong: “Why?”
Bei Ci: “Do you really need to ask?”
Shan Chong: “Am I so ugly that you can’t even jump properly?”
“That’s not it,” Bei Ci said sincerely, adhering to the principle of ‘you asked, don’t blame me.’ “It’s just that thing on your neck is a bit distracting. It wasn’t there after lunch earlier. I was wondering why you suddenly turned back halfway up the cable car—”
He hadn’t finished his rambling when Shan Chong touched his Adam’s apple, unsurprised to feel a row of small teeth marks…
“…”
He rarely experienced the feeling of “utter humiliation.”
Not even when he was carried down the mountain on a stretcher by the ski resort rescue team after a jump accident.
But now he did.
Putting on his face guard with a stoic expression, it was remarkable that he could still pretend nothing had happened and calmly continue teaching the student. Perhaps the student was also uncomfortable, but didn’t show it—
After all, what did the teacher’s love bites have to do with him?
The teacher’s quality of instruction remained excellent.
The lesson ended quickly. By the end, the guy attempting jumps could barely manage a melon grab (grabbing the back edge mid-air), though his knee lift wasn’t quite enough. Still, the basic form was there.
An hour earlier, he couldn’t even do a straight jump properly.
After class, he received a video of his last jump from Shan Chong on his phone. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he quickly transferred the lesson fee and tried to book the next lesson—Shan Chong now seemed like a magician to him, in every sense of the word.
Magic.
Shan Chong received the fee and did a few more jumps with the student while waiting for the next one. Bei Ci commented from the side, “I’ve never seen you teach two lessons in one afternoon. You’re working harder than a production team’s donkey.”
To this, Shan Chong simply replied, “It’s urgent.”
Bei Ci chuckled, about to say something when Shan Chong’s phone rang again. Seeing it was Shan Shan, he knew if he didn’t answer, she might flood his short video comments. So he picked up.
“What are you doing?” Shan Shan’s voice sounded lively on the other end. “Are you with your wife?”
She giggled at her own words.
“Teaching,” Shan Chong crouched by the snow track in the park. “What’s up?”
Bei Ci lit a cigarette nearby. Noticing the man’s glance, he offered one… Shan Chong hesitated, then waved it away.
“Nothing, just wondering if I can tell Mom you’re no longer single,” Shan Shan said slowly. “She’s been frowning at the mention of your name since the big jump incident. It’s almost New Year’s Day, new year, new atmosphere—maybe it’s time you did something to make her happy—”
“What if I met your sister-in-law during the jump?”
Shan Shan paused. “Really?”
Shan Chong deadpanned, “No.”
Shan Shan thought for a moment, then said, “Actually, it wouldn’t matter. We can’t discriminate just because someone can do ski jumps, right? It’s not a plague, just a sensitive topic in our family… As long as she doesn’t mind you having baggage, it’s fine if you like her—”
She rambled on, hitting a nerve.
As Shan Shan chattered away, she heard her brother, who never knew the meaning of “backing down,” give a low “Mm” and say in a deep, slow voice, “Her family is quite well-off. I think…”
Shan Shan: “Hm?”
Shan Chong: “I want to save up that 1.2 million for you before telling both sets of parents about this… It’s responsible to her and everyone else.”
Shan Shan didn’t say much more. She knew Shan Chong had been saving for years to get her the best prosthetic limb. She had refused before, and they’d nearly fought over it—
They actually did fight one New Year’s Day.
Their argument got so heated that their mother kicked them out. After that, they never argued about it again when they returned home.
So now she paused briefly and asked, “How much do you have now?”
Shan Chong: “About 800,000.”
Shan Shan: “…That’s almost enough, actually.”
Shan Chong: “Hm?”
Shan Shan: “I have a card with about 280,000 or 290,000 in it—”
Shan Chong raised an eyebrow: “Where did you get that money?”
Shan Shan stammered: “Just… savings.”
On this end of the phone, Bei Ci sensed the strange aura emanating from the man beside him. He took a drag of his cigarette and shifted away, distancing himself.
Shan Chong fired off a series of stern big brother questions: “Do Mom and Dad know?” “You better not have done anything illegal.” “Where’s the card?” “Give the card to Mom and Dad first.”
He interrogated until Shan Shan on the other end wished she could sew her mouth shut. She quickly confessed: “Someone gave it to me. I was planning to save it for him to use when he gets married or buys a house or a car or whatever big life event… But… I guess your marriage is more important right now?”
“Who gave it to you?”
Silence fell on the other end of the line.
Shan Chong waited patiently for a while. Then he heard a WeChat call ring on Shan Shan’s end. She seized this lifeline, saying, “Oh, you’re still teaching? I won’t bother you then. Go ahead with your lesson. Bye!”
Shan Chong gritted his teeth, about to tell her that his next student hadn’t arrived yet and he had plenty of time, when he heard the sound of the phone being put down…
The little brat thought he would hang up, so she just tossed the phone aside and left.
Some people really have the bad habit of making others hang up…
Shan Shan was one of them.
This time, she dug her own grave.
Shan Chong held the phone for two seconds, listening. He heard a “ding” as she answered the WeChat call on her tablet. Before Shan Shan could speak, a male voice rang out—
“Did you get the 50,000 I transferred yesterday? Damn, the bank shows it went through. Couldn’t you at least send a ‘1’? Where are your manners?”
On this end, in the freezing cold, the man holding the phone to his ear fell silent.
Honestly, at that moment, his heart felt colder than Altay’s minus-ten-degree weather.
He recognized that crude, foul-mouthed voice.
It was Dai Duo.
…
For the next few days, Shan Chong was in a gloomy mood.
Just pondering why Dai Duo would give his sister so much money for no reason kept him up at night.
And to casually hand over 50,000—Shan Chong could guess where that money came from—it was undoubtedly the prize money from his third place in the FIS World Cup Big Air. He probably kept only 20,000 or 30,000 for living expenses and transferred 50,000 to Shan Shan without hesitation.
50,000 yuan is about a year’s hard-earned salary for an average person in a second or third-tier city.
He picked up his phone several times, wanting to ask, but didn’t know where to start.
Because of Shan Chong, Shan Shan had known Dai Duo since she was little. Shan Chong had always noticed Shan Shan’s ambiguous attitude towards Dai Duo—
But.
There’s a big difference between “ambiguous attitude” and “becoming reality” when it actually happens.
On the flight from Urumqi to Nancheng.
As the man sighed for the 800th time while staring out the window, Wei Zhi, sitting next to him, tugged at his sleeve. “Why are you sighing again? Sighing makes you age faster. You’re already half a generation older than me, please be mindful of your image, okay?”
Shan Chong turned his head and glanced at the young girl beside him. She promptly lifted the armrest between them and snuggled up to him.
She hugged his waist and contentedly nuzzled his chest, burying her nose in his embrace and inhaling deeply…
The familiar scent of laundry detergent mixed with the man’s unique smell filled her senses.
She yawned and asked casually, “Are you having second thoughts about going to Guangzhou again? Or about teaching at the winter camp?”
Nancheng is right next to Guangzhou. Shan Chong’s plan this time was to drop Wei Zhi off at home first, then take a car from the airport to Guangzhou.
This arrangement was a bit odd, but the winter camp organizers were very accommodating. They didn’t even ask why he was going to such trouble and agreed to send a car to pick him up.
“It has nothing to do with that,” the man stroked the fluffy hair of the girl snuggling against him. After a moment’s thought, he told her, “My sister’s been acting strange lately.”
He had a spark of inspiration looking at Wei Zhi—
Maybe he should use a real-life example to show Shan Shan that childhood friends never end up together?
Just then, she looked up, resting her chin on his chest. “What’s wrong with her?”
“…Dating?” he hesitated.
“You’re meddling in your sister’s love life?” Wei Zhi’s round eyes widened slightly. “In TV dramas, nosy brothers never have a good ending… Unless she’s dating someone weird.”
“That person gave her 300,000.”
“What? Renminbi?”
“Yes, Renminbi.”
“…” Wei Zhi fell silent. “Can I see a photo of your sister?”
The thing is—
At that moment, she hadn’t even considered Shan Shan’s mobility issues. Any normal woman, upon hearing that another of her kind had earned 300,000 just by dating, would first think: Is there a photo? No other reason, I just want to see what this fairy looks like.
Shan Chong actually scrolled through his phone, only to find that Shan Shan’s Moments were set to three-day visibility, and on his phone…
There were only skiing videos.
“No photos. What does her appearance have to do with it? You know about her leg—”
Shan Chong hesitated, “Even if her leg was fine, I never noticed Dai Duo liking her before.”
He emphasized, “Not at all.”
“Dai Duo is quite nice, he—” Wei Zhi replied automatically, then suddenly hit the brakes. “Dai Duo?!”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Someone actually likes Dai Duo!”
“…Didn’t you once tug at his sleeve begging for lessons?”
“Oh, right?” The young woman scratched her head. “But I was only interested in his skiing skills. To actually like him as a person—what is there to like? His even higher level of sarcasm than yours?”
Shan Chong was equally puzzled about this, but beyond confusion, he was more worried…
It wasn’t really about Shan Shan.
It’s just that he could never associate Dai Duo with the word “considerate.” To him, that man was the epitome of thoughtlessness.
The man’s index finger unconsciously stroked the soft chin of the young woman in his arms.
Suddenly, he heard steady breathing from his embrace. The person who had been talking to him just a second ago was now hugging him in an odd position, having fallen asleep as he stroked her chin.
Shan Chong: “…”
Just like a little animal.
January in Nancheng wasn’t very cold; the place seemed to have no winter. Wei Zhi had worn very little on the way back, and now she had a blanket over her legs…
The man pulled the blanket up to her chin, covering her snugly, then placed a light kiss on her forehead before carefully embracing her along with the blanket.
…
Several hours later, Wei Zhi was groggily awakened just before the plane landed.
Even after disembarking and collecting luggage, she was still yawning, as if she hadn’t had a good sleep in eight lifetimes.
As a result, she was slow and sluggish in everything she did. For instance, it wasn’t until she had her luggage that she remembered to turn on her phone. Once on, sure enough, there was trouble—three unread messages from Han Yiming in WeChat:
[Han Yiming: What time is your flight today? There seems to be only one flight from Urumqi to Nancheng?]
[Han Yiming: Brother is off today, shall I come pick you up?]
And one sent half an hour ago:
[Han Yiming: I’m here.]
Nancheng’s airport was much smaller than Guangzhou’s. Often, only one exit was open, so waiting there to meet someone was foolproof… That’s why Dr. Han was so confident he didn’t even ask which exit to meet at.
Wei Zhi turned to look at Shan Chong beside her, thinking desperately that maybe they should just sleep on the airport benches tonight. She really didn’t want to go out through the airport’s main doors.
As if sensing her gaze, the man turned and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Wei Zhi clutched her phone.
Jiang Nanfeng leaned over at this moment: “Han Yiming is here?”
Hearing that name, Shan Chong glanced at her.
Wei Zhi handed the phone to the man. He took it and skimmed through the messages, but didn’t have much of a reaction. He just said, “So what if he’s here? It’s not like you asked him to come. Why are you acting like a thief?”
He didn’t even bother asking if she wanted to go with Han Yiming. His expression clearly said, “If you go with him, I’ll break your legs,” as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Come to think of it, Wei Zhi loved this confidence of his—
“It might be Stockholm Syndrome kicking in,” said Jiang Nanfeng, who had guessed what was happening from the atmosphere between the two.
Wei Zhi glared at her.
At this point, Wei Zhi had no choice but to reluctantly follow the man towards the exit… Everyone’s snowboards had been sent directly to the next city by express delivery, so now she just had one suitcase, which was in his hand.
As they stepped outside the airport, the cool breeze of Nancheng hit them, vastly different from the bone-chilling winds of the north and the borderlands. The air carried the scent of sunlight warming the earth, with no trace of ice and snow, unusually warm.
Beside them, Lao Yan exclaimed “Whoa” and cursed, “Damn, it’s hot.”
Wei Zhi stood at the entrance for three seconds, watching Lao Yan wave at a Mercedes van not far away, but that wasn’t the main point.
In front of that Mercedes was parked a Mercedes ancestor—
A Maybach.
Since Maybach was acquired by Mercedes-Benz, it had been fully merged into the Mercedes S-Class, relegating it to an ordinary D-class car… From then on, in public perception, compared to the luxury car lineup, the Mercedes S-Class fell short, while the old Maybach remained the true symbol of wealth and status, with two M logos on the side and front instead of the three-pointed star.
At this moment, a tall man in casual wear got out of the car, looked at Wei Zhi from afar, and called out, “Xiao Zhi.”
—Amidst the bustling crowd outside the airport, Shan Chong hadn’t even given that luxury car a glance…
But when that familiar voice he had heard a few times before rang out, he turned his head and looked at the approaching man. The man walking towards them seemed older than him, dressed in casual wear worth tens of thousands, exuding an extraordinary aura that attracted many glances as he approached.
In contrast, Shan Chong’s attire was strikingly different—
He wore all black sweatpants and a hoodie, with a black baseball cap on his head, his neatly trimmed short hair barely visible at the edges of the cap brim. On his feet were the most ordinary Air Jordans, one hand tucked in his pocket.
Through the cap brim, his gaze only lightly swept over Han Yiming.
As Han Yiming approached, the suitcase in Wei Zhi’s hand smoothly rotated once under Shan Chong’s control. The man lowered his voice and said, “I’ll go ahead.”
The suitcase slid to Wei Zhi’s hand.
She caught it with a bewildered expression.
She looked up at him, as if to say, “The drama’s about to unfold and you’re just leaving like this? Are you a dog?”
Faced with her accusing gaze, the man snickered, took off the cap on his head, and “poof” placed it on the young woman’s head… Hearing her “Ah” as she shrank her head and staggered a bit, his large hand patted her head.
Having just removed his baseball cap, the man’s hair was a bit messy, making him look even more arrogant and defiant. He just slightly raised his head to meet the gaze of the other man who had approached…
His thin lips curled into a smile, and he lazily grinned at the newcomer.
Then he turned and walked towards the van.
Wei Zhi waited for three seconds. Han Yiming came up to her, called “Xiao Zhi” again, and reached out to take her suitcase.
Having cursed Shan Chong a hundred times in her mind, she couldn’t be bothered to recall how threatening his gesture was when he shoved back the suitcase he had been pushing all the way—
Wei Zhi pressed one hand on the baseball cap the man had put on her head, instinctively pulling the suitcase back a bit.
The air froze for two or three seconds.
“Han-ge, I’m so sorry, I hadn’t checked my phone at all and didn’t know you were here. Really, you didn’t need to pick me up. Honestly. Another day, let’s get together with Jiang Chao and the others, I’ll treat you all to a meal to apologize!”
The young woman looked up, blinking at the mature man in front of her. “Um, my boyfriend came along, so I can’t go with you. If I did, he might, but not limited to, cripple my legs—”
She stretched out her hand, pointing at the van not far away.
The door was still open.
The man was sitting at the edge of the seat, one long leg stretched outside the door. As she spoke, he leaned forward slightly, looking this way with an expressionless gaze.
Wei Zhi: “…”
She swallowed hard.
Wei Zhi said sincerely, “I am actually a bit afraid of him.”