On this ordinary day, no one expected that the deserted Yunding Ski Resort terrain park would witness a pinnacle battle of domestic snowboarding big air.
Today, Dai Duo seemed determined to challenge Shan Chong. Whatever move Shan Chong performed, Dai Duo followed, aiming to outdo him:
When Shan Chong did a backside 1800, Dai Duo went for a backside 2160.
When Shan Chong attempted a frontside 1960, Dai Duo countered with a frontside 2160.
If Shan Chong landed steadily, Dai Duo pushed himself to overcome his habit of landing on the back edge, striving to land faster and more stably than his rival.
Wang Xin, standing on the jump, was reminded of the “rabbits” in marathons – paid pacers who lead the race. Below him, Shan Chong attempted a frontside 2160 but fell, slowly getting up. Immediately after, a white figure flew off the ramp – Dai Duo executed a frontside 2340, landing heavily but steadily.
It was a frontside cork 2340.
If he could pull off this move at next year’s Winter Olympics, it could mark China’s first medal breakthrough in snowboard big air.
Moved almost to tears, Wang Xin quickly shared the unedited, unfiltered video in their group chat, adding:
“Sharing a frontside 2340 without a butt-check. I’m tempted to call the Olympic Committee and ask if we can bring a rabbit to the big air competition [crying emoji].”
It was afternoon, and everyone was either lounging with their phones or resting by the slopes. Wang Xin’s video immediately stirred up the group chat.
Spectator 1: My god Dai? Awesome! Worth saying thrice!
Spectator 2: I remember watching him as a high schooler at Changbai Mountain. Now he’s the pillar of China’s snowboard big air. Never judge a book by its cover. So proud of little brother Dai Duo!
Spectator 3: Holy crap! That spin! Like a flying top!
Spectator 4: Our god Dai needs a rabbit? Hahaha!
Spectator 5: I’m more curious about who the rabbit is!
Spectator 5’s comment piqued everyone’s curiosity. They rewatched Wang Xin’s video, and in a brief moment before Dai Duo’s jump, they caught a glimpse of a black figure with a yellow snowboard. As Dai Duo approached the ramp, this person had just landed, at a slightly off angle, bending forward and using one hand to steady themselves before sliding out!
They rolled 360 degrees, kicking up snow, then flipped their board and stood up in one smooth motion!
… Even their fall had style.
The ever-curious Spectator 5 was the first to recognize who it was.
Spectator 5: @Wang Xin This is no ordinary rabbit. An Angora Giant rabbit?
Spectator 6: Who?
Spectator 5: …
Spectator 5: Shan Chong.
The group chat exploded.
Someone asked Wang Xin if he had found a sheepdog instead of a rabbit.
Another joked that using a Tibetan Mastiff as a sheepdog would result in eaten sheep.
Others questioned why Shan Chong was on the jump;
They asked Wang Xin if yesterday’s interview had motivated Shan Chong to make a comeback;
Someone claimed they had caught Shan Chong secretly practicing big air many times –
It made sense. Last time, to battle Dai Duo, the man had publicly shared his big air video after years, spinning like a helicopter, matching professional athletes who lived and breathed big air. Who would believe he hadn’t been practicing?
As speculations flew, Wang Xin leaned against the starting ramp with his phone. Soon, Shan Chong came up carrying his board, unaware that a WeChat group was hotly debating what animal he most resembled…
He exchanged a glance with Wang Xin.
Turned away and sneezed.
Wang Xin’s unusual silence today made Shan Chong seriously ponder what he had done in yesterday’s interview to make the whole world (except Dai Duo) seem to pity him so much.
He pulled down his face guard, intending to ask Wei Zhi to check the video of his recent fall, but before he could speak, Wang Xin said from behind: “You shifted your gaze too early – you thought you were about to land when you still had almost half a rotation left. Your vision led your upper body to twist, and your lower body instinctively followed, so your board angle wasn’t right at landing. You felt it and leaned forward awkwardly.”
Shan Chong considered this and regrettably found Wang Xin was probably right.
Grateful that Wang Xin was speaking normally instead of yelling at him, Shan Chong felt a sense of déjà vu from three years ago. Back then, during training, he and Dai Duo would jump while Wang Xin watched from a high point with binoculars or just his eyes –
When they returned to the starting ramp with their boards, he’d grab them and point out what they did wrong, telling them what not to do.
He missed those times.
His gaze flickered, and the man put down his snowboard, turning to say something… At that moment, Dai Duo, in his white snowsuit, came up behind him dragging his board. Having overheard Wang Xin speaking, he glanced at them as he arrived.
“No use talking so much,” he said lightly, lifting an eyelid. “Your legs were just weak and couldn’t hold you up.”
Saying this, he shouldered past Shan Chong and stood at the starting ramp.
Placing his board at his feet and stepping into one binding, he thought for a moment, then looked back at Shan Chong: “Try to live a more disciplined life.”
For a second, genuine confusion appeared on Shan Chong’s face.
He reflexively glanced back at Wei Zhi.
She was crouching not far behind him, whistling softly, deliberately looking away while using a snow scraper to carefully remove the ice buildup on his board’s bindings.
He turned his head back.
Stepping forward, he nudged Dai Duo’s board aside with his toe, standing beside him. With a cold face, he said, “Were you hiding under my bed last night to hear how undisciplined I was?”
Dai Duo was about to retort.
Behind them, Wei Zhi suddenly coughed loudly.
The two antagonists simultaneously closed their mouths. Dai Duo flashed a fake smile at Shan Chong, strapped into his board, and slid away.
…
That day, Shan Chong practiced until the sun was nearly setting. Wei Zhi successfully became a woman whose phone was full of videos and photos of her boyfriend.
After eating a little, on the way back to the hotel, she began seriously reviewing her captured footage. She was still scrolling as they reached the hotel entrance. Having finally selected seven or eight shots and about to choose two more for a nine-grid post, her phone was snatched away.
She looked up, bewildered.
Shan Chong casually slipped her phone into his pocket.
Hearing her “Ah” and seeing her hand grasp at empty air, eyes longingly following her phone, then shifting upward to her expressionless boyfriend.
He was still wearing his snow gear from the afternoon.
When his face turned serious, he exuded his coach’s aura.
Wei Zhi, already feeling guilty and having almost forgotten that guilt, now had it all rushing back with just one look from him. Her heart skipped a beat, and she took a small step backward.
Shan Chong glanced at her.
The young woman’s slightly widened eyes looked at him vigilantly, as if facing a great enemy yet also a bit scared, like she might bolt if he so much as stomped his foot…
Seeing her like this, the man almost lost control of his expression and laughed out loud.
She was adorable.
But he couldn’t let her know he found her utterly adorable right now.
“What’s going on between you and Dai Duo again?” he asked, his tone calm as if it were a normal question.
He truly wasn’t trying to scare her, but if he asked this question while smiling, he’d probably get some half-hearted excuse. Through Shan Shan and Wei Zhi, Shan Chong gradually realized that young women these days were indeed experts at “pushing boundaries” –
Give them an inch, and they’d take a mile.
Seeing her eyebrows gradually rise as she tried to feign innocence, she asked, “What? What’s going on between me and Dai Duo?”
And he even had to use the word “again.”
Shan Chong opened the door. Wei Zhi darted in, took off her coat, and dove under the covers in a flash as if the blanket were a barrier and everything outside it were man-eating monsters.
“Nothing’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing.”
“Didn’t talk?”
“What could I say to someone who only knows how to bark?”
“Then why couldn’t you lift your head when he was talking this afternoon?”
“What do you mean couldn’t lift my head? I saw that your board’s bindings were all iced up. What if your bindings came loose? What if your foot couldn’t grip properly? I was just cleaning them for you-“
“He talked quite a bit this afternoon. When I mentioned which of his comments you couldn’t lift your head to, you didn’t dare look up, did you?”
“…”
Damn it.
Help.
Wei Zhi bit her lower lip, turning her face away in despair… She instinctively retreated backward, and unexpectedly, her bottom hit some paper boxes under the pillow.
The sharp edge of the box startled her. Suddenly, she remembered what inappropriate items were hidden under the pillow. Her face rapidly changed from red to white to green. She stiffened like a corpse, her body moving before her mind could process. She shifted backward heavily.
By the time she realized this action was as good as admitting guilt, she was already flustered. She quickly looked up at Shan Chong, praying he hadn’t noticed her strange behavior—
But reality is often crueler than imagination. The man stood by the bed, watching her. Her phone, adorned with cute charms, was still in his snow jacket pocket. He crossed his arms, looking down at her.
Their eyes met. The man unhurriedly raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s hidden under the pillow?”
Wei Zhi’s hair nearly stood on end.
It did stand on end.
Pushed to her limit, her ears began to redden. Her throat made a sound of despair, and she heard her own incredibly tense voice, almost shrill: “What do you mean, what’s hidden?”
Shan Chong didn’t bother arguing.
That’s the good thing about Northeasterners—they prefer action to pointless talk.
He calmly took off his snow jacket, tossed it onto his bed, then turned back and grabbed her arm—
Before she could react, he’d lifted her like a weightlifting champion.
Wei Zhi wasn’t light.
She was soft and plump. When squeezed without clothes, her fair skin would show red marks, tender and soft… He knew not to pull her arm too hard and hurt her, so he pulled her up a bit, using both hands.
Holding her waist, he lifted her. Glancing at her pillow, he realized he had no free hand to lift it. So he simply hoisted her over his shoulder.
Her soft belly pressed against the man’s broad shoulder. Wei Zhi let out a yelp, her voice tinged with panic and tears. She thought she’d never find broad shoulders attractive again—they were just wide enough to hang her comfortably.
Shan Chong carried her, one hand around her waist. If she squirmed, he could easily reach her skin—
He bent his knees slightly, used his free hand to lift the pillow, and saw three boxes of contraceptives underneath.
He paused.
As the room fell into dead silence, he felt someone tug at his hair. Before he could react, he heard the young woman hanging over his shoulder imperiously command: “Say something! Don’t be silent! Don’t be shocked! Don’t smirk!”
When in her life had she ever dared to tell a man “Don’t.”
Now she’d said it three times in a row.
Shan Chong, still holding her waist, didn’t take offense. He bent down and picked up one of the boxes she’d sat on and flattened, taking a look—
At least she’d gotten the large size.
If she’d bought the small size, she might have been thrown out the window tonight.
“What’s this about?” Shan Chong asked. “Did Dai Duo give these to you?”
Wei Zhi was speechless at his train of thought: “Why would he give me these—oh, well, it’s not completely absurd. He almost did. This afternoon at the convenience store, he insisted on paying for me… until he saw these three boxes of, um, items.”
After her self-deprecating explanation, Shan Chong understood—
It was simply a matter of the two young ones meeting at the convenience store during their break.
Then Animal One (male), extremely dissatisfied after yesterday’s interview video incident, vented his frustrations to Animal Two (female). After his outburst, he might have realized he’d gone too far.
Awkwardly, he tried to make up for it by buying her snacks.
Animal One rummaged through Animal Two’s snack basket and found something he shouldn’t have seen.
His dissatisfaction escalated.
He stormed off angrily.
That must have been how it played out.
This time, Shan Chong couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. His girlfriend still hung steadily over his shoulder as he examined the box in his hand, then tossed it back onto the bed. His free hand patted her round bottom again: “Did you make sure he saw the size written on the box?”
She answered by tugging on his ear.
The man turned his head to look and saw that her ears were red enough to burst into flames. She looked like she couldn’t dare to speak, as if one more word from him might make her die of embarrassment on the spot…
Extremely vulnerable.
Perhaps this is what it means to love someone—
When she cries or acts unreasonably, when she’s coy or shy, in his eyes, she’s the most adorable thing in the world.
And when she curls up into a ball, trembling in his arms, she can easily ignite his fire, extinguishing it only to have it roar back to life.
He chuckled deeply, reaching up to tug at the collar of the sweatshirt he wore under his snow jacket. His collarbone peeked out, then disappeared back into the shadow as the collar snapped back—
The brief coolness from the open collar did nothing to help.
It turned out that fire was burning in his heart.
It wouldn’t be easily extinguished.
He carried her firmly to the bathroom.
He set her on the sink counter, and she leaned back.
Fortunately, he quickly steadied her. She gripped the edge of the sink to sit up straight, but before she could speak, the man leaning on the counter raised his head and kissed her—
It was different from any kiss before.
There had been passionate, joyful, urgent, or longing kisses… but never one so tender.
His tongue gently parted her lips, finding hers to intertwine.
Patiently and carefully, he explored every corner of her mouth, not out of technique, but as if he couldn’t help wanting to be closer—
Closer to her body, closer to her breath, closer to every part of her…
“Shan Chong?”
“Mm?”
He kissed the tip of her nose, then looked up at her. His dark eyes seemed to sparkle like stars under the bathroom light. “Not afraid of me anymore?”
Even at a time like this, he had to tease her mischievously.
Afraid.
How could she not be?
Now his gaze was as deep as an abyss. One step closer, and she’d be devoured mercilessly.
His breath fanned across her nose, his possessiveness leaving no room to breathe. It was as if the whole world had disappeared—air, light, water—leaving only him.
His fingertips still carried a hint of coolness from outside.
When they touched her soft belly, the slightly cold sensation made her inhale sharply, sucking in her stomach and trying to retreat—
“Yes,” he said. “This is the core.”
Speaking as if he were teaching on the ski slopes, his large hand pressed against her bare abdomen.
He leaned forward, trapping her between his arms and the bathroom mirror.
“Why are you running away?” His voice was low and hoarse.
His fingertips roamed freely.
Like ants, exploring everywhere.
She clung to his shoulders, muscles tense.
But her toes curled.
Leaning against him, his breath hot on her skin, she squinted, her heart racing from the heat.
“We… we haven’t showered yet,” she whimpered. “Wait—”
“Let’s shower then.”
He bit down on her, using a bit of force. Hearing her muffled sound, unsure if it was pain, he felt her body weight shift almost entirely onto his shoulders…
It was as if a fire had been lit, burning fiercely.
He temporarily pulled away, propping himself up to stare at her. In the dim bathroom light, she looked as if covered in a layer of mist.
He smiled slightly.
“Shall I help you wash?”