“Can’t you choose a different stage name?”
“No.”
“Please change it.”
“You wanted something romantic.”
“This isn’t the kind of romance I had in mind. You could just buy me a Mach board. Or say you’re entering competitions to win me a Mach. Or that you’re working hard to get a Gary sponsorship… None of those work?”
Wei Zhi felt suffocated. “It’s 2120. Can’t you be a little more up-to-date?”
“‘Romantic’ is originally a Renaissance-era loanword. You use it and then complain it’s old-fashioned?”
“…”
Wei Zhi turned her head bewilderedly to look at the man, finding him focused on his phone. After a pause, she asked, “Are you looking up ‘romantic’ online?”
“Yes, I’m being thorough,” he replied, putting away his phone nonchalantly. “If I place in the competition, I can ask for a Gary sponsorship, then get you a Mach board. The logic is sound. What’s your issue?”
“My issue?”
“Yes.”
“I… you!” Wei Zhi wanted to ask if he was looking for a fight. “You plan to use ‘Shan You Mu’ as your name to get a Gary sponsorship?”
“Is that a problem?”
“What did Gary do to deserve such punishment?” Wei Zhi rubbed her face tiredly. “Maybe I should just buy it myself. Don’t enter the competition. If people find out you’re participating in an amateur event to save 10,000 on a board, it’ll be embarrassing. They’ll mock you—”
She played her trump card.
Unexpectedly, the man removed his face guard and smiled gently at her. “It’s fine. I’ve made up my mind. Losing a bit of face for you is nothing.”
Wei Zhi was speechless.
“A board earned through your boyfriend’s labor might make you appreciate it more, practice more seriously, and focus on proper edge control instead of constantly trying to unscrew it.”
“…”
He was truly irritating.
Wei Zhi wanted to hit him, and she did, not holding back at all.
By now, they had reached the parking lot, playfully bickering. The ski resort was closed, and most visitors had left. The lot was deserted except for Shan Chong’s car and a few vehicles that appeared to be long-term residents.
Shan Chong unlocked the car. As Wei Zhi reached for the door, he helped her, easily lifting her by the hips and placing her in the passenger seat.
Adjusting her seatbelt, she glanced at the man below. He stated flatly, “You seemed to have trouble getting in this afternoon.”
Wei Zhi fell silent.
She sat in the passenger seat, curled up like a squirrel, staring intently at her toes… Her ears perked up as she heard him start the engine, but didn’t hear the sound of him fastening his seatbelt.
The engine noise was a bit loud. She sensed the familiar presence of the man beside her drawing closer. Wei Zhi instinctively turned her head to see his calm, handsome face approaching. She held her breath, unconsciously leaning back until his shadow completely enveloped her.
The man’s arm reached across her body, pulling the seatbelt. It clicked into place.
His warm breath brushed past her nose.
“What are you daydreaming about?” he asked, settling back into the driver’s seat and leisurely fastening his seatbelt. “You look like your soul left your body.”
The tips of her ears were red.
“Are you feeling smug?” she asked.
“About what?”
“About how I,” she tilted her head, speaking without thinking, “can’t stand to be away from you for even a moment. I couldn’t even last a morning before eagerly coming to find you with my snowboard. I wasn’t even this attentive to my teachers in high school.”
The young woman’s tone was very serious, causing the man at the wheel to turn and look at her—
Only then did he realize her face didn’t match her confident words. Her nose and ears were red as if she truly felt she was being too clingy and it wasn’t good.
She seemed to be anxiously waiting for him to say that yes, it wasn’t good.
Given the serious atmosphere, Shan Chong felt he should say something to comfort his girlfriend.
But he didn’t. After a few seconds of silence, he kept his hands on the wheel, eyes forward, and simply chuckled softly.
Feeling the person beside him suddenly turn to glare at him fiercely, she even stomped her foot in annoyance: “I’m serious!”
Like a child.
“Although I don’t object to having you tied to my waist 24 hours a day, I can’t feel smug about you coming today,” Shan Chong said. “Last night, towards the end, you cried at the slightest touch. The pillow was even wetter than the sheets—”
He heard her make a choking sound.
Skipping over the unfinished sentence, he asked, “So when you showed up today, I couldn’t help but wonder, were you just acting last night?”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Shan Chong: “It wasn’t until I saw you limping to the car that I felt a bit better.”
Wei Zhi regretted bringing up the topic. She shouldn’t have asked anything.
Staring at his profile, she hesitated for a moment before shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I have another question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Just curious.”
“You build things up.”
“I’m just guessing, but you didn’t originally plan to enter that competition because you didn’t want to mix with amateur competitors. It would be like a high school graduate going back to take middle school exams…” Wei Zhi counted on her fingers, asking uncertainly, “Why did you suddenly change your mind? Was it because of what those foreigners at the mid-mountain resort were saying? Don’t tell me it’s just to get me a 10,000 yuan board?”
Although he was frugal.
But she knew if she asked him for a board…
Ah, forget about one board.
In yesterday’s situation, if she’d asked for the moon, he probably would have nodded (confident.jpg).
As she was pondering this, she heard the man’s voice—
“It’s a good opportunity to get a Gary sponsorship.”
“…You’re just brushing me off.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why didn’t you think about getting one before!”
“They don’t pay attention to park riders’ competitions. How could I get one?”
His voice sounded lazy and casual, but it was not the truth… Wei Zhi stared intently at the man’s profile for a while, finally concluding weakly: This guy could probably withstand interrogation if he committed a crime, being the last to confess. His mental fortitude was too good.
Puffing out her cheeks, she turned towards the car window with great emotion—
Facing the glass reflection, she saw her face contorted in pain from the sudden movement.
This made her feel even more wrong.
…
Back at the apartment, Wei Zhi kept a gloomy face in the room.
The man entered the room and closed the door, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He watched as she bent to remove her snow boots, carelessly kicking them aside, then hooked her toes to slip on her slippers. Her long hair swayed as she moved.
After putting on her slippers, she turned back to see the man sitting on the bed, watching her. Their eyes met, and he patted his thigh, gesturing for her to come sit.
Wei Zhi rolled her eyes and turned to enter the bathroom to remove her makeup. It wasn’t that she was particularly fussy about skiing, but the bright sun reflecting off the white snow could leave skiers with raccoon-like tan lines around their eyes from goggles. She at least applied sunscreen every day before going out.
After carefully removing her makeup, the young woman’s face was damp. She wiped it once and looked up at herself in the mirror, ensuring she looked sufficiently cool before turning to leave the bathroom—
As soon as she stepped out, she was blocked.
The man had somehow been waiting outside the door, startling her. Taking advantage of her momentary surprise, he scooped her up in his arms. Her scream caught in her throat as he carried her back to the bed, sitting down with her still in his embrace.
“Getting upset already, hm?”
She turned her head away, ignoring him.
He gripped her chin, turning it back—his hand was strong, and she couldn’t resist. Angrily, she was forced to meet his dark eyes. The man’s gaze flickered with relaxed light as he captured her lips amidst her glare.
Outside the window, the wind picked up as the sunset.
The howling wind nearly drowned out the trembling breaths and sounds of lips meeting within the room.
Her almond-shaped eyes were hazy with moisture. Her normally fair cheeks now flushed a pretty, healthy pink from his kisses, perhaps from lack of oxygen or some other reason…
“Don’t touch… mmph, don’t touch me.”
She protested without much force as he pressed her down onto the bed. Her brows furrowed, but her facial expression didn’t match her words.
“You can’t, can’t think you can get away with these tactics. I’m telling you—ah!”
He reached down to remove her ski pants.
Hearing her cry out, he looked up at her: “Hm? What? Go on.”
The man pulled off her base layer, his fingertips brushing her thigh. Perhaps he accidentally touched one of the marks he’d left yesterday, as she immediately curled up like a little shrimp—
Seeing this, the playfulness left his face. He moved her hands away from her face and leaned in to ask: “Where does it hurt?”
She was silent for a few seconds, then pushed his face away and gave the standard answer: “Looking at your face hurts!”
Shan Chong ignored her.
Ski pants, base layer, then the moisture-wicking undergarments.
When she was left in just her underwear, he looked her over. She was naturally pale, and normally grabbing her even a little would leave tender red marks…
Last night he had intentionally left some marks on her body.
Now those marks were visible. Last night’s redness had spread out, some turning deep purple, on her neck, chest, waist, thighs—
Someone who didn’t know better might think she’d been mauled by a wolf.
The man looked at his handiwork and thought he might be a beast. After a few seconds of silence, he reached out, spreading her thighs to take a look…
Originally, he wanted to see what was wrong, why she was walking so strangely.
But when he saw it, even he was shocked by the marks.
He clicked his tongue and got up to retrieve some ointment from the medical kit.
Returning to the bed, he saw her desperately trying to shrink away. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her back towards him, hearing her let out a small shriek. Unfazed, he put some ointment on his fingertip and began applying it, starting with the marks on her neck—
She didn’t know what kind of ointment it was.
It felt cool when applied.
Wei Zhi shivered from the cold sensation, her heart suddenly racing. She covered her face, peeking through her fingers at the man as he focused on applying the medicine, his expression serious…
He didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives, just genuine concern in his eyes.
It would have been better if he wasn’t like this.
A tingling sensation, like ants crawling from her toes upwards, crept up her calves, over her lower abdomen, through her fingertips, and finally to her brain. She blinked, her eyes quickly reddening.
Shan Chong was intently applying the ointment when he suddenly heard a sniffling sound. His hand paused as he looked up to see her arm pressed against her eyes, her stomach tense, half her face buried in the soft pillow, muffled.
He reached out to grab her arm.
She shook him off.
“What’s wrong?”
She didn’t speak, just kicked at him with her foot.
He patiently let her kick twice, then caught her ankle. Leaning over her, he moved her arm away, meeting her gaze—her eyes now dark and glistening with moisture—
Shan Chong was slightly taken aback.
Watching her reddened nose quiver as she sniffled, he thought there probably wasn’t a girl in the world who could act cuter than her… As their eyes met, hers widened, and a large teardrop that had been on the verge of falling suddenly dropped onto the pillow with a “plop.”
She let out a small whimper, seemingly embarrassed, and turned her head away.
Shan Chong was at a loss. He tossed aside the ointment and hugged her. “What’s wrong?”
She remained silent.
He shook her gently. “Talk to me.”
His demeanor suggested they’d stay like this until she spoke.
She buried her face in the crook of his neck, sniffling. His scent filled her nostrils, making her chest tighten and ache… Clinging to his shoulder, she cried as if her tears would never end, whimpering, “You never tell me anything.”
His hand rested on her waist, patting lightly as if soothing a child.
Feeling her head move slightly, probably wiping her tears on him, she mumbled accusingly, “I tell you everything, but you tell me nothing. How am I supposed to know what you’re thinking if you don’t say it… I, uh, I feel like even that nutcase Dai Duo knows you better than I do!”
This was pure nonsense, of course.
But girlfriends aren’t for debating logic.
Hearing how aggrieved she sounded, if it were Shan Shan, Shan Chong might have rolled his eyes and walked away, letting her cry until she exhausted herself. But in this world, everyone has their weakness…
He might be unbeatable when it came to his sister, impressive enough to surpass 95% of high-quality men, but that didn’t mean he could remain stone-hearted forever.
The man pondered for a moment, unsure where to begin.
The decision to participate in the competition had many aspects—
Firstly, there weren’t many domestic amateur competitions with so many big brand sponsors, so this one had high visibility. It could attract many up-and-coming riders looking for sponsorship, making it a good competitive platform.
Secondly, with all those sponsorships available, adding Gray to the list wouldn’t hurt.
Thirdly, with the Beijing Winter Olympics next year, domestic snow sports still carry a stigma of weakness. Being criticized on home turf didn’t sit well with him. If they had so many doubts, why not show them the caliber of amateur competitions and prove them wrong…
Finally.
“At first, I didn’t want to participate, just as you said. Maybe I put myself on too high a pedestal, or perhaps I wasn’t ready to accept being counted among the ‘amateurs,'” he said.
His chest vibrated as he spoke.
The man wiped away her tears and continued slowly—
“But then I suddenly changed my mind.”
She lifted her head from his embrace.
Looking at him.
Her body was slick, her eyes red as she gazed at him, rubbing them and eagerly waiting for him to continue… She probably didn’t realize how she looked to any man—like a soft, newborn creature from the snowy mountains, harmless and delicate.
Just one look into her eyes, and he’d tell her anything.
The man’s lips curved slightly. Some things didn’t seem so hard to say anymore. He reached out to stroke her hair. “I told you before that I wished I had met you at a better time… I regret not fulfilling that wish, but if we were destined to miss that moment, I can only move towards a better future.”
Regardless of his future career path.
From a certain moment, he decided to move forward—
It wasn’t some earth-shattering epiphany. Maybe it was seeing a mountain or a fresh-faced rider bending over to earnestly register at an exhibition booth, or simply looking up to see a setting sun.
He suddenly realized he shouldn’t remain stagnant, stuck in place, just looking back and reminiscing with pride.
There was still a long road ahead.
When he looked up, she was waiting for him at the crossroads, waving.
She told him she’d follow him anywhere, so he found the courage to face himself and keep moving forward.
…
About a week remained until the competition.
During this week, Shan Chong vanished from the world.
Well, not exactly vanished—he just retreated to the terrain park at Yunding.
His days were simple and repetitive. Morning exercises, hitting the gym, sweating through training until 10 AM, back to the apartment to shower and wake Wei Zhi, then both of them to Yunding Ski Resort.
A quick lunch, then practicing on the jumps until sunset. Wei Zhi’s filming skills improved rapidly, progressing from static shots at the bottom of the ramp to following him on her board, capturing every takeoff, rotation, and landing clearly. After hearing his focus on certain action points, she even learned to zoom in on key details…
At first, Bei Ci and the others didn’t know what Shan Chong was up to.
Until one day, he tagged Shan Chong, asking about the lack of power in the fifth rotation of an FS Cork 1800. A moment later, the little junior sister posted a short video in the group chat. When they opened it, it was indeed an FS Cork 1800.
In the video, the man’s movements were fluid from takeoff to landing, smooth as silk. He landed steadily, barely bending his knees before straightening up, as if he’d just hopped over a small snow mound.
Amidst a chorus of “6666” in the group chat, everyone knew 1800 wasn’t much for Shan Chong. But those with some technical knowledge, like Bei Ci, could see that he had indeed improved—
Five rotations were already quite a feat. Generally speaking, adding one more rotation would be pushing the limits. So by the fifth rotation, you’d expect to see his rotational momentum and inertia nearly depleted, with little distance left to the ground.
But Shan Chong’s video, clearly a recent jump, was different.
At the fifth rotation, he still had significant momentum and inertia, looking completely at ease, with plenty of height left above the ground…
[CK, Bei Ci: Whoa! Damn! Chong-ge, what are you up to? Don’t tell me you’ve worked out a 2520 in these two days you’ve been missing?!]
[CK, Bei Ci: @Dai Duo]
[CK, Bei Ci: Oh, Dai Duo isn’t in the group.]
[CK, Bei Ci: I’ll post it on the short video platform.]
He immediately uploaded the video to the short video platform.
And don’t forget to tag Dai Duo.
That night, Wei Zhi sat cross-legged on the bed, tearing open a pain relief patch and slapping it onto the man’s toned back. She heard him grunt softly as she read comments from her phone—
“User A says, ‘Just an FS 1800, why tag our Dai God for this? Haven’t you seen a big jump before?'”
…
“User C says, ‘And you call yourself a pro team? Even if U-shaped pools aren’t your specialty, you can’t be this ignorant. 1800 isn’t something you can just do with a bit of practice, right?'”
…
“User D says—”
“What happened to User B?” The man, facing away from her, bent over half-lying on the bed, thought for a moment, and raised his head. “If you’re going to read, do it properly—scroll down a bit more.”
Wei Zhi, holding a patch with one hand: “This one?”
Shan Chong considered: “Further down.”
Wei Zhi’s hand moved lower, her soft hand inadvertently brushing along his spine. The man grunted, his gaze sharpening slightly as he looked back at her… However, the young woman hadn’t done it on purpose. She was focused intently on the muscle lines of his back, looking completely innocent.
Shan Chong took a deep breath, watching as she gently touched the scrapes on his back—
Some were from a few days ago, others were new.
The older ones had turned bluish, while today’s were red and swollen. Her soft fingertips brushing over them caused a mix of itching and pain.
The man hissed, the muscles in his back tensing as he said in a husky voice, “Move your hand.”
“What’s wrong? Does it hurt?”
Wei Zhi quickly moved her fingers away, looking up at him anxiously.
The weather had been fluctuating between cold and warm these past couple of days. The snow at Yunding wasn’t thick, and there were even icy patches in some areas of the terrain park. Sometimes when he landed, he couldn’t get a stable footing and would slide out. At night when he took off his clothes, his back was covered in scrapes…
His legs and buttocks were somewhat protected by the gear, but they were still mottled with bruises. Sometimes at night when he turned over in bed, she could hear how slowly and carefully he moved.
She felt sorry for him, truly.
There were times when she saw him fall hard and take a while to get up, her heart pounding, wanting to ask what he was doing—
But she also knew there was no point in asking such meaningless questions.
What kind of answer did she expect to hear?
Wei Zhi couldn’t answer that herself.
She pressed her lips together, feeling quite frustrated as she lowered her head. She got up to fetch some ointment from the first aid kit to apply to his wounds. Her long hair fell forward, hiding her face and the restrained emotions behind it.
The man, unable to keep still, half-turned and reached out to brush her hair aside, tucking it behind her ear.
She swatted his hand away, complaining under his lazy gaze: “You’re pushing yourself too hard. It’s just an amateur competition, and you’re even using an alias. No one would laugh if you don’t place in the top three…”
“But I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” Shan Chong said honestly.
Wei Zhi looked up at him, somewhat taken aback by his candor. Ever since she had cried on his chest, accusing him of never telling her anything, he had learned his lesson and started sharing everything…
Even telling her when his waist hurt.
It was a good thing.
But he didn’t need to be quite so honest.
As she pondered this, the man had already laid back down on the bed. After a moment, he asked her to put a couple of patches on his thighs too, as they were feeling sore… While she was opening a new box of patches, he asked Wei Zhi to continue reading the comments.
Wei Zhi: “…”
Wei Zhi: “I just realized something.”
Wei Zhi: “I’ve never seen you pay any attention to Bei Ci’s or Lao Yan’s videos before. I’ve seen you swipe past them without a second’s pause—”
Shan Chong: “Hm?”
Wei Zhi: “Those big stars, all cool and aloof on the surface, do you think they secretly have their assistants read them Weibo comments and TV bullet screens when they’re bored…”
Shan Chong: “…”
Wei Zhi: “Shouldn’t that cost extra?”
Shan Chong: “Who am I doing this competition for?”
Wei Zhi: “Who? Isn’t it for your secret vanity?”
The man’s arm muscle twitched as he suddenly propped himself up. Wei Zhi, startled, scrambled backward with the pain relief patch, shrinking into a corner while clutching her phone. “Wang Xin is asking if you’ve mastered the 2520!”
His motion to pull her over paused as he turned slightly to look at her.
Wei Zhi: “The experts do see what others miss.”
The man was silent for a moment, then gave a soft “Oh.”
Then, with a calm expression, he beckoned to her.
“What is it?”
Wei Zhi held out her phone, thinking he wanted to look at it.
The man took her phone and put it on the nightstand, using the momentum to grab her wrist and pull her into his arms—
Caught off guard, she was suddenly enveloped by the overwhelming scent of medicinal patches. She squirmed in his embrace for a few seconds, feeling his arms wrap around her as he said in a calm voice: “I’m a bit excited.”
“?”
He leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose.
“I want you.”
“…”
“Will you?”
“…”
… Give you a hammer.
You think I can just say no and you’ll let it go?!
Your image is completely shattered, Chong God!