[Jiang Zhi: Jiji, want to go skiing?]
October 23, 2020.
Nancheng, 3:00 PM.
Outside the window, sparrows chirped incessantly while the phone on the table vibrated relentlessly.
In the scorching heat of late October, the South had barely entered autumn. The Indian summer persisted, keeping temperatures high. Sunlight poured through the window, bathing the white linen sofa.
Wei Zhi rolled over, half of her fair face exposed to the sunlight. Fine hair was visible, and under the heat, her flushed cheeks resembled ripe peaches. The glaring light caused the young girl’s delicate light brown eyebrows to furrow. She raised her hand, waving it aimlessly in the air as if to chase away the annoying bright light.
With a “thud,” she accidentally knocked the TV remote off the coffee table. It hit the ground, somehow turning on the TV to the fifth sports channel, which was broadcasting a past competition. The commentator droned on…
The phone continued to buzz persistently.
The noise completely dispelled her drowsiness.
Wei Zhi slowly brushed away the wisps of hair stuck to her forehead with sweat and wiped off the thin layer of sticky perspiration on her chest, a result of her midday nap in the high temperature. Her white nightgown clung to her waist, revealing not thinness, but a perfect, sensual curve.
She tugged at the hem of her dress, pinching a small piece of fabric to fan herself. The hot air that rushed in provided no relief, only adding to her irritation.
[Miss Jiji: Skiing my ass. Not going.]
Tossing her phone aside, Wei Zhi turned and was immediately captivated by the snowy scene on the TV.
An athlete in the national team’s ski suit glided swiftly from the high starting area on skis, approaching a jump that appeared to be about three meters high before taking off.
A cloud of white snow dust billowed.
In the icy, snow-covered landscape, that slender figure with the five-star red flag on the shoulder emerged from the powder. Bending to grab the board, the skier performed a 180-degree rotation, then a 360, a 720, a 1080, and finally a 1440 before landing.
On the TV, the commentator praised the performance effusively. Wei Zhi, clutching the remote, stared in amazement.
Outside the TV, Jiang Nanfeng continued to chat away on the phone.
[Jiang Zhi: On September 5, 2018, the State General Administration of Sports released the “Implementation Outline (2018-2022) for Engaging 300 Million People in Ice and Snow Sports,” effective immediately.]
[Jiang Zhi: Get up, the Sports Administration is calling you to go skiing.]
[Jiang Zhi: Miss, there’s some snow here waiting for you to ski on.]
[Jiang Zhi: Nancheng is hot as hell. I want to be a southern dog frolicking in the snow, being mocked by northern dogs for being inexperienced!]
[Jiang Zhi: Come with me! Let’s go skiing! Changbai Mountain, Zhangjiakou, Jilin, Xinjiang! How about it?]
Without even glancing at her phone, Wei Zhi hugged her knees to her chest on the sofa, eyes glued to the TV. She held the remote but didn’t dare change the channel. On-screen, a reporter was interviewing the skier who had just competed. Wei Zhi didn’t hear a word they said—
Chin resting on her knees, focused intently on the young man who had just removed his ski goggles. He had monolids and dark eyes that gleamed coldly. His thin lips curved up naturally at the corners, though he wasn’t smiling…
There was a faint mole on the bridge of his nose.
Handsome.
With a hint of cool sexiness.
Having never paid much attention to Winter Olympic events before, Wei Zhi of course didn’t recognize this flying ski god. Just before the replay ended, she managed to catch a glimpse of his title—
[Former National Snowboard Big Air Team Athlete.]
Hmm.
Former.
So he retired.
Then the replay ended, and TV Channel 5 started playing various advertisements and promotional clips for the 2022 Winter Olympics…
Losing interest, Wei Zhi pouted and changed the channel. With a melodramatic family drama playing in the background, she finally picked up her phone again.
Jiang Nanfeng was still wailing.
[Jiang Zhi: Skiing!!!!!!!!!]
[Miss Jiji: No no no!!! Don’t you remember our first attempt at skiing in Hokkaido? We both fell so much we questioned our existence. Weren’t you the one crying and swearing never to ski again?]
[Jiang Zhi: Wuwuwu, this time we’ll hire an instructor! We’ll do snowboarding!]
[Miss Jiji: You’ve already forgotten the pain. Will hiring an instructor prevent us from falling? Can the instructor hold me while I ski?]
[Jiang Zhi: If people didn’t forget pain, what would be the point of the saying “once bitten, twice shy”?]
[Miss Jiji: You’re talking nonsense.]
[Jiang Zhi: Masaerda posted a Little Red Book note, come check it out~ Zhangjiakou Chongli Wanlong’s Chen Weiting xhslink~1234abc Copy this message and open [Little Red Book] to view the exciting content!]
[Miss Jiji: …]
[Jiang Zhi: Look! Chen Weiting!]
[Miss Jiji: ?]
[Jiang Zhi: You’re just one plane ticket to Zhangjiakou away from Chen Weiting, aren’t you tempted?!]
[Miss Jiji: …]
[Jiang Zhi: …]
Ten minutes later.
[Jiang Zhi: Hello? Pay attention to me, what are you doing?!]
[Miss Jiji: Looking at ski suits.]
[Jiang Zhi: ?]
[Miss Jiji: There are so many people at the ski resort. Do you think if I wear Chen Weiting’s brand of ski suit, he’ll be able to spot me easily in the crowd?]
[Jiang Zhi: …]
[Jiang Zhi: You have no shame.]
[Miss Jiji: Of course not, after all, you taught me well.]
…
November 15, 2020.
Chongli, in front of the ski instructors’ lounge, 1:30 PM.
“Snowboard instructor? I’m sorry, all the snowboard instructors might be out teaching right now… You know, with the ‘Three Hundred Million People on Ice and Snow’ initiative, we’ve had a lot of visitors lately, and snowboarding is particularly popular—”
At the service desk, the young lady wore an apologetic smile, her voice soft and gentle as she delivered the cruel news.
Chin resting on the cold tile of the service counter, Wei Zhi shook her head slightly and turned to look at Jiang Nanfeng standing beside her—
Although their initial motivation for coming skiing wasn’t pure,
She never expected their skiing dream to be shattered so quickly…
This wouldn’t do.
They had come all this way.
“Miss, could you please check again for us?”
The girl in the white down jacket, leaning on the counter, looked harmless as she employed tactics usually reserved for coaxing her mother.
“Just ask, please? What if an instructor just finished a lesson? Look, we’ve already booked an instructor through the app. Your display shows over a hundred instructors in the team. Over a hundred! The Chongli ski resort instructor dream team…”
As she spoke, her cheeks puffed out.
Even with a mask on, only her eyes were visible in their sockets, black and white, round and pleading, like a small animal just emerging from its tree hollow after hibernation…
Only to find it’s minus 30 degrees outside and still snowing heavily.
Quite pitiful.
“Oh dear, dream team or not, there’s nothing we can do! The ski lift closes at 3:30 PM, and they start clearing the slopes at 4:30 PM. Why did you come so late—”
Wei Zhi kicked Jiang Nanfeng under the counter.
Jiang Nanfeng, feeling the pain, blurted out: “We woke up late, had to eat…”
Behind the counter, the young lady was amused.
Behind her, the alpine ski instructors who were eavesdropping also burst into laughter.
Perhaps it was the resonance of fellow food lovers that triggered a hidden plot twist. At this moment, an alpine ski instructor who looked burly and about 185cm tall finished laughing, stood up, tapped on the counter, and said to the two pitiful souls clinging to the desk outside: “Look at how miserable you are. Wait a sec, bro will conjure up a couple of instructors for you.”
Wei Zhi and Jiang Nanfeng exchanged glances—
No matter the method.
Success would be rewarded.
Under the counter, Jiang Nanfeng triumphantly kicked Wei Zhi back.
…
Wei Zhi and Jiang Nanfeng stood at the service counter, counting on their fingers as they eagerly waited for the kind alpine ski instructor to work his magic.
In the instructors’ lounge, the alpine ski instructor, like a moving small mountain, turned and walked towards the back rows of seats.
He passed by several idle alpine ski instructors engrossed in mobile games, circled a row of instructor-only lockers, and at the very back, in the shadow cast by the lockers, there was a long bench…
Someone was lying on the bench.
A ski instructor’s jacket covered his body as he lay curled up on his side, head buried under his arm.
His ski boots were neatly placed under the bench. On the bench, the jacket rose and fell evenly with the sleeping person’s steady breathing.
The alpine ski instructor strode over, unceremoniously lifted a corner of the ski jacket, shook it, and pulled it off.
“Ah Chong.”
Suddenly deprived of its warm shelter, the cold air rushed in.
The young man sleeping on the bench’s long eyelashes fluttered twice. He lifted his head from under his arm. Outside the shadow cast by the lockers, a faint mole was visible on the bridge of his nose.
His eyes opened slowly, black and white irises still carrying a hint of sleepiness. Having been forcibly awakened from a deep slumber, he neither showed anger nor made a fuss. He stared expressionlessly at the rough man crouching very close in front of him.
The latter grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and waved his hand excitedly: “Stop sleeping, big shot. Get up, you’ve got customers.”