The next morning, Shan Chong diligently got up and pulled back the covers on the adjacent bed. He glanced at the sheet, let out a nasal “tsk,” and tossed the blanket back.

Wei Zhi lay curled up in bed, wrapped in the covers like a caterpillar. Every part of her body felt as if it had been run over by a truck, aching so badly she wanted to cry. Hearing the man’s sarcastic sigh, she blinked and asked aggressively, “What’s wrong? Are you unsatisfied with something?”

Shan Chong turned around to see his little one hiding in the covers, bundled up tightly with only her eyes and forehead visible. She glared at him fiercely, as if ready to pounce and bite if he dared say anything outrageous. The corner of his mouth curved slightly.

Wei Zhi sensed this was likely the prelude to something tactless coming out of his mouth.

“I was just thinking about yesterday when you said the thing you bought didn’t have lubricant and wondered if you bought the wrong item,” Shan Chong said, bending down to lift the covers and pull at the sheet. “You overthought it.”

There was a large stain on the sheet.

After a night of extraction(?), settling, and the cold wind blowing through the cracked window, a large circular area of the sheet had hardened.

Wei Zhi was stunned for three seconds, blurting out “What’s that?” By the fourth second, she realized what it was, let out a shriek, and retreated into the covers like a turtle into its shell, leaving only a strand of hair visible outside.

A small gap appeared in the corner of the blanket as the person inside perked up her ears to listen to the sounds outside.

Early in the morning, Shan Chong’s phone was ringing non-stop. It was undoubtedly his backstabbing disciples looking for their master, unable to be away from him for even a second, like babies wanting milk.

Wei Zhi huddled under the covers, scrolling through her phone. She saw Shan Chong’s disciples jumping up and down in their group chat. Someone asked where their master was, as it was already so late and he hadn’t appeared yet.

Backstabber said, “So the king doesn’t hold morning court anymore. King Zhou had Su Daji, and the First Emperor of Qin had A’fang.”

[Little Girl Ji: You think too highly of me.]

[Backstabber: @Little Girl Ji Stop monopolizing Master, have you no morals?]

[Little Girl Ji: @ck-Chong]

[ck-Chong: ?]

[Little Girl Ji: He’s insulting me.]

[ck-Chong: Just let them talk. Be patient, it’s not like they can do anything to you.]

Wei Zhi clicked her tongue, thinking this was truly typical of a man – denying responsibility after the act and saying whatever nonsense came to mind…

Putting down her phone, she turned over, supporting her nearly broken waist. As soon as she moved her legs, she felt discomfort everywhere. There was a strange sensation down below as if the presence of something that had entered her lingered persistently—

It’s over, it’s over.

The expressionless otaku thought to herself, wondering if she had taken on his shape after just one night.

That’s how it’s always drawn in manga.

Damn.

She peeked out from under the covers with both eyes, watching the man who charged six thousand yuan an hour. He stood with his back to her, efficiently removing the sheets and duvet cover, placing them in the nearby laundry basket—

If Backstabber and the others knew that the person they were waiting for was now unhurriedly doing housework in the apartment instead of skiing, teaching, or making money, they might just faint.

“You’re going to wash that?” Wei Zhi asked.

“What’s wrong?” Shan Chong calmly removed the sheet, folding it. “If I don’t wash it, will you?”

The dark stain, circular and looking as if someone had unfortunately wet the bed, was very obvious. As the man folded it expressionlessly, Wei Zhi averted her gaze, unable to look directly at it. “Just throw it away. I’ll never be able to look at it the same way again—”

“So in the future, you plan to change sheets every day?”

“…”

Future?

Every time?

…

Who said that?

Wei Zhi couldn’t help but voice this question.

Shan Chong thought carefully about how to answer her question, and finally said very tactfully, “It’s a matter of individual physiology.”

Wei Zhi didn’t know why she was discussing this ultimate biological question with him early in the morning instead of sleeping. Mainly, after glancing at the expression on his face, she didn’t dare look a second time. She threw back the covers and sighed, “If you’re that bored, why don’t you go play with Backstabber and the others—”

“No.”

The man tossed the sheet aside and came to her bedside. He lifted the covers and slipped his hand inside, resting it on her calf through her nightgown. “I’ll stay with you.”

As that slightly warm, rough hand landed on her, Wei Zhi shuddered—

Damn, it wasn’t that she was timid, but mainly because yesterday, towards the end, they both lost control a bit…

Later, no matter how she cried breathlessly or clung to his neck and acted coy, it was useless.

Once he knew she wasn’t in pain anymore, each thrust became more forceful than the last, as if he wanted to treat her like some disposable plastic girlfriend, aiming to break her apart. It wouldn’t be over until she was ruined.

That mess was probably made during that time.

When he finally let her go, she was drenched in sweat, with that stuff all over the sheet. She felt like she was about to become dehydrated. He had to hold her and feed her half a bottle of water; she was so exhausted that even swallowing felt tiring.

Just thinking about it made her shudder.

She even questioned whether she had passed out in his arms last night rather than falling asleep. After all, as he approached now, enveloping her in his scent, she felt uneasy— She swatted his hand away and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, as if warding off some evil spirit, whimpering, “Don’t stay with me, and don’t touch me.” She said pitifully, “I came to Chongli to ski.”

The man raised an eyebrow: “Go ahead and ski. No one said you couldn’t.”

“You keep doing this, this!” She paused, her nose and ears turning red. “How am I supposed to ski? I can barely stand up! How come you’re perfectly fine! Was I the only one putting in effort last night!”

Shan Chong: “?”

Wei Zhi: “Oh, never mind— forget that last part.”

Just as Shan Chong was about to say something, Backstabber made a video call. Shan Chong answered, and seeing the dim light on this end compared to the clear sky on the other side, Backstabber’s mood immediately soured.

“You haven’t even left yet?!” Backstabber shouted in a coarse voice. “Even if you were just going out for lunch, you should be wearing shoes by now. What are you even wearing!”

“You manage heaven and earth, and now you’re managing what I wear,” Shan Chong set the phone aside and continued with the housework, tossing the folded sheet into the laundry basket. “What do you want to ask?”

“I wanted to ask about the double cork. Watch me jump once, and see what’s wrong with the second rotation, why can’t I twist through…”

“Just twist harder.”

“Boss Chong, be human for once. I’ve been all morning—”

Before Backstabber could finish, he saw the lump on the bed behind the man suddenly throw off the covers. A young girl propped herself up, wearing a white spaghetti strap nightgown, her long black curly hair in disarray. She stood on the bed with her hands on her hips, muttering “Bathroom, bathroom,” then looked down at the floor and asked, “Where are my slippers?”

Shan Chong turned his head to look at her once as if to say, your slippers, you’re asking me?

The young girl spread her arms and immediately hung onto his back, whining coquettishly, “Then carry me there.”

Something unexpectedly pressed down on his back—

That thin nightgown fabric, what could it cover? The soft touch and body heat immediately pressed against him as Shan Chong supported her bottom to keep her from falling.

Letting her cling to him and swing a few times on his back, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned his head and met the gaze of his disciple on the other end of the video call, who had frozen like an ice sculpture.

Shan Chong: “…”

The man kept a straight face as he peeled the young girl off his back and stuffed her back under the covers, tucking her in tightly.

As she was still trying to struggle out, he said helplessly, “Your senior disciple brother is on a video call.”

Wei Zhi: “…”

The man walked over and ended the call.

For once, Backstabber didn’t utter a word of protest. The issue of how to twist the second rotation of the double cork no longer mattered. Now, he just wanted to know which hospital was best for washing one’s eyes.

…

In the past, Backstabber could imagine Shan Chong getting married and having children normally.

But he never imagined he would date properly.

How to put it — based on his personality when teaching those female students, saying one thing but not the other, to be blunt, he seemed to be more polite even to members of the same sex…

It was hard to imagine that one day, a soft, rabbit-white girl in a nightgown would jump on his back, acting coy and asking him to carry her to the bathroom.

Just because she couldn’t find her slippers.

Surprisingly, he didn’t make her go barefoot or tell her to hold it.

Backstabber: “…”

Staring at the expressionless man-eating across the table, Backstabber covered his mouth tightly with one hand, his eyes twinkling with disbelief as he let out a choked sound.

Shan Chong didn’t even look up: “If you keep giving me that sarcastic look, go eat at another table.”

Backstabber: “I should have guessed from the day you asked me for a little turtle, people can change—”

Lao Yan: “What’s going on?”

Backstabber kicked Lao Yan under the table: “You’re the one who corrupted Master.”

Lao Yan: “?”

Lao Yan: “Where’s little junior sister?”

Shan Chong: “In bed, too lazy to get up.”

Lao Yan: “She’s been here for so many days and only skied for a few? Did she come here to hibernate?”

Lao Yan couldn’t be blamed. Wei Zhi had learned the basics of carving from him, and after teaching her for a few days, he’d developed a sense of responsibility. Just when he’d managed to improve a bit, she disappeared. If she vanished for a few more days, her muscle memory would reset to zero, and they’d have to start all over again.

Hearing this, Shan Chong couldn’t exactly say that she wanted to ski, but he was the root cause, could he?

He’d worn her out to the point where she trembled just walking, her eyes reddened at the sight of him, and she shuddered at his touch.

Hmm.

That was not something he could say.

So he played deaf and dumb but didn’t forget to say conscientiously: “Let her have fun. It’s not like she’s rushing to participate in next year’s Winter Olympics.”

The atmosphere of indulgence was heavy.

Pungent.

Eye-watering.

For a moment, no one at the table spoke—

The once strict and stern man who would frown upon hearing that a disciple had called in sick was gone, replaced by this unprincipled, indulgent, seriously implementing double standards hypocrite.

The hypocrite calmly ate his meal, earnestly educating his disciples, who all more or less had girlfriends or at least had dated seriously before him: “Finding a girlfriend isn’t like finding a partner for mixed doubles on the big jump.”

Everyone wanted to ask what kind of event “mixed doubles on the big jump” was.

This man would say anything to defend his wife.

Amid speechlessness, no one dared to speak up.

Until a moment later, a sarcastic voice sounded behind them: “Right, after retirement, one should enjoy old age. If you don’t date and indulge in distractions, how can you live up to your broken waist?”

This voice silenced everyone for a few seconds.

Shan Chong turned around to look at the person standing behind him—

The newcomer wasn’t wearing a white snowsuit today, but a fluorescent yellow hoodie with white pants, standing there as eye-catching as a traffic cop at an intersection…

He was holding a bowl of noodles, his eyes, which appeared gloomy due to their soft shape, were fixed on Shan Chong.

After thinking for a while, Shan Chong sincerely asked: “Do you like me or something?”

Backstabber spat his cola back into his cup.

Lao Yan looked up at Shan Chong in confusion, clearly having never witnessed such a scene even as a player.

Dai Duo, however, remained calm and expressionless: “Want me to dump this bowl of noodles on your head?”

“Then are you sick? Always meddling in others’ affairs? Even managing my love life?” Shan Chong said, “The only one besides my girlfriend who cares if my waist can still function is you—”

Dai Duo put down the noodles and pulled out a crumpled flyer from his pocket, slapping it against the man’s chest.

Shan Chong picked it up and glanced at it casually. It was nothing special, just that with the Winter Olympics approaching and the increased hype, there were more competitions, big and small. Recently, several major skiing brands like Burton, Nitro, Gray, and DC were holding a competition at the Yunding Snow Park Olympic venue…

The competition events were the same as those in the Winter Olympics.

There were cash prizes: 30,000 for first place, 20,000 for second, and 10,000 for third.

Placing also offered the chance to get brand sponsorship, become a sponsored rider, get free new products each snow season, and occasionally participate in events for increased exposure.

Shan Chong stared at the Gray logo among the sponsoring brands. To be honest, he didn’t have a sponsorship from this brand yet and wasn’t very familiar with it. He’d only occasionally gotten their products from gear shops and rarely used their stuff.

Mainly because this brand, in most people’s eyes, was best known for their Mach boards for carving, and a lot of their sponsored riders were carvers—

He hadn’t been particularly keen on this brand before.

But now he had a girlfriend who only wanted to do carving all day.

A Mach board cost 9,980 yuan at regular price with reservation, which was expensive for a snowboard.

He’d have to shamelessly ask the gear shop for another one without doing anything.

Shan Chong looked at it for a few moments, feeling tempted but not wanting to act on it, and just stuffed the flyer under his plate.

“You don’t need money anymore?” Dai Duo asked, “This competition is for amateurs, professional athletes can’t participate.”

“I’m still not going,” Shan Chong said, “Did Wang Xin ask you to bring this?”

Dai Duo looked at him once, saying nothing.

Shan Chong: “Not going.”

Shan Chong: “Go away.”

Shan Chong: “Don’t block me while I’m eating.”

Dai Duo asked again, are you just thinking about dating now, you don’t need money anymore?

Shan Chong was getting annoyed. Being managed like a schoolboy at almost thirty, sure he needed money, but he naturally had ways to get it. What was with this guy, forcing him to compete for 30,000 yuan?

Not going means he doesn’t need money?

What kind of logic was that?

The corner of his mouth curved up as the man sneered.

“Fine. I won’t date, and neither should you.”

Dai Duo: “?”

Shan Chong picked up his plate and walked away, sitting in a far corner. He continued eating while tapping on his phone, not clear who he was talking to.

…

Dai Duo didn’t know.

An hour later, just as he stood up after finishing his meal, he received a SF Express shipping notification, with the sender’s location in Shenyang.

He only knew one person there. Opening WeChat, he found a pink Nobita sunflower avatar, sent a question mark, and asked what she had sent.

[Accumulating Virtue: Bank card.]

[Duo:? Which one]

[Accumulating Virtue: Yours.]

[Duo: What’s wrong with it? Wasn’t it with you, why send it to me?]

[Accumulating Virtue: My brother said if I don’t return it to you, he won’t come home for New Year’s, and he’ll tell Mom it’s because we fought.]

[Accumulating Virtue: I Freaking—]

[Accumulating Virtue: Can you stop provoking him all the time?!!!]

[Duo: ?]

[Accumulating Virtue: He also told me to delete you as a friend, said keeping you was unlucky, and to send him a screenshot for verification after deleting.]

[Accumulating Virtue: I’ve deleted you, just letting you know.]

[Accumulating Virtue: I’ll add you back after I send the screenshot to that childish ghost.]

[Duo: ?]

The last question mark didn’t even get sent.

The huge exclamation mark left the young man sitting at the table lost in thought.

After a while, a new friend request notification appeared. He opened it to see that Nobita sunflower avatar, curled his lip slightly, revealing his white teeth.

Without thinking, he directly hit reject.

Who the F*ck isn’t a childish ghost now.

Heh.