Burton’s social media was flooded with question marks from bewildered snowboarding fans, all asking:
“Did they sign him or not?”
“He flashed the board bottom twice, and even I who don’t know CustomX now remember it. Remember to share the profits from product placement!”
“I hate these riddles the most.”
“What do you mean he can’t go back? Go back where? Where can’t he go back to?”
Besides Burton, other brands also posted similarly cryptic messages. The owner of the DF Snow Equipment store, when urged to quickly secure a sponsorship spot, replied: “We went, and then… ummm… I’ll be damned [doge.jpg]”
Among all the brands, only Gray was different.
Gray: Thanks for asking, we got him [shocked.jpg]
The spectators commented: Gray is the only capable one, the rest are useless!
@burton @nitro @bc @dc @DF Snow Equipment @All major snow equipment retailers
No one knew what happened in the resting room behind the competition area.
The situation seemed quite straightforward at the time—
It all started on this day when the domestic snow circle, whether freestyle skiers, park riders, or just casual park-goers, set aside their usual hierarchies. Everyone was uniformly shocked by this suddenly emerged, earth-shattering master.
As Shan Youmu’s video spread across the country, the brand-co-sponsored open competition was nearing its end—
After the second jump, Shan Youmu led the rankings with a combined score of 187.82 from his two jumps.
Second place was a Nitro-sponsored rider with 177.4 points. His skill ceiling seemed to be around a flat 1980, meaning he couldn’t possibly perform a more incredible move in the third jump to overtake the lead.
The third-place competitor was even further behind. Even a perfect 100 on the third jump wouldn’t be enough to surpass the leaders.
So at this point, the competition was essentially over.
Having fulfilled his mission, Shan Chong maintained his idol image. After completing his second jump and checking his score, he went straight to the resting room. After being surrounded and bombarded by various brand representatives, he finally got a few seconds of peace to play with his phone.
… He wasn’t playing seriously though.
He was mainly looking at people praising him.
Of course, it wasn’t that he particularly wanted to see these things. It’s just that when he opened the short video platform, the algorithm pushed snow-related content to him. Now, whether it was brands or snow sports KOLs, everyone was posting videos of Shan Youmu—
He was “forced” to admire his first and second jumps from 360 different angles.
To be fair, the Melon Grab was truly a great move. It looked good when executed, even if it had been a while since he’d done it and the movement wasn’t as smooth, it still looked great.
The comments section was full of praise. The most interesting part for Shan Chong was seeing comments from people who used to leave nasty messages or privately insult him on his short video platform…
These people followed him and would pop up like flies smelling… well, like bees smelling flowers, tirelessly jumping out to call him lazy, criticize his leg injury, or call him a coward for not jumping.
Now these same people were praising Shan Youmu—
[Passerby A: You can tell from his form that he practices every day. This guy is amazing.]
[Passerby B: So talented athletes should never slack off. You might unexpectedly end up in a tortoise and hare race @ck_Shan Chong]
[Passerby C: It’s already a tortoise and hare race. Before, he at least had a 2160 to post. Now even the 1800s are left to his apprentice to post. CC Dai Duo, wonder if he’s blushing after seeing this up-and-coming star’s performance today.]
[Passerby D: Ah, although the name is a bit strange, he’s a boss.]
[Passerby E: Oh ho, Shan Chong’s successor has arrived, just like that… You fans don’t need to keep hoping for this guy to make a comeback, why not look at others? Hehe.]
Shan Chong was quite vindictive. Although he didn’t plan to do anything, he remembered these people’s IDs—
What kind of joy is it to see your enemies unknowingly bow to your skills, trying to defeat your main account with your alt account?
As the man was crouching in the corner with a silent and serious face, admiring his beautiful photos, the competition organizer’s representative approached him to register his bank transfer information.
He saw today’s focus of attention slowly raise his head and give him a glance from the corner where he was hiding low-key.
The staff member, of course, was also part of the snow circle, a temporary worker recruited by the brands. Being lazily swept by that glance, he paused, his back tingling, feeling that this person’s gaze was somehow familiar.
Instead of giving his WeChat or bank card, he provided his Alipay.
The staff member entered the number and added him. Alipay also displays names, though not in full. He saw that Shan Youmu’s name was “*Chong”.
Staring at this asterisk, he looked for a long time.
Honestly, within his knowledge, a two-character name ending in “Chong” for someone who could fly off jumps so smoothly… it was hard not to think of that person.
He let out an “Ah”, paused, then changed his tone and “Ah” -ed again, slowly widening his eyes as the person in front of him unhurriedly raised his eyes to meet his gaze completely—
The pitch-black pupils were bottomless, and his monolids and narrow eyes added a touch of authority to his gaze. The man moved slightly, causing the face guard to slip a bit, revealing a light brown mole on the bridge of his nose.
The staff member was stunned, standing there holding his phone, which was still on the Alipay add friend interface, his scalp tingling.
“Chong… Chong—”
The man slightly narrowed his eyes, possibly smiling at him from behind the face guard.
He raised a finger to his lips, then waved his hand.
At this moment, another staff member in front shouted, “Clear the snow track, all riders prepare for the third round! Is Shan Youmu here? Come out of the restroom.” Hearing this, the man pushed off with his long legs to stand up, patted the shoulder of the dumbfounded staff member, and calmly brushed past him.
…
Various brand representatives rushed to find Shan Youmu, barely exchanging three sentences. Those more familiar with Shan Chong, like the owner of DF Snow Equipment, who would usually chat casually with him, were already stunned just hearing him speak, their pupils dilating in shock.
Others hadn’t realized yet.
His mouth opened and closed like a goldfish for a few seconds before he asked the man, “Brother Chong, what game are you playing here?”
The other brand representatives hadn’t caught on yet. Hearing this question, Burton’s representative casually asked, “Brother Chong? What Brother Chong? What a coincidence, you’re also surnamed Chong?”
As soon as he asked, he felt both Shan Youmu and the DF Snow Equipment store owner look at him simultaneously.
Being stared at with such piercing gazes, he paused.
And then…
Even an idiot would understand what was going on. He suddenly realized.
There was never any purple star, it was just that person who had been moving forward under heavy burdens and never gave up.
His mouth opened and closed, he let out an “Eh”, and after thinking for a while, he felt like he hadn’t come here for nothing after all—
It was like crowding to see the new top scholar parade, finally squeezing to the front row, only to discover that the person sitting proudly on horseback with a big red flower was your son who had always been quiet and seemed to study hard, but no one expected he could achieve this…
Ah, well.
At least it saves money.
“Is this your comeback competition?” he asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the man chuckle softly and ask back: “Isn’t this an amateur competition?”
This was the longest sentence the man had spoken since entering the restroom. His voice was deep, with no discernible emotion. For a moment, no one in the restroom spoke. After a while, only the DF Snow Equipment store owner — who could barely be considered Shan Chong’s friend — asked, “You came here, does Wang Xin know?”
Shan Chong thought for a moment, grunted an affirmative, and said he wasn’t blind.
“You’re probably going to be put on a pedestal now,” the snow equipment store owner patted the man’s shoulder. “I guess soon there’ll be a bunch of people you can’t roll your eyes at coming to ask why you’re not competing if you can, and telling you that national honor is above everything else!”
Shan Chong let out a scoffing laugh.
It didn’t sound like he was worried or resistant to this situation at all.
That laugh made everyone pause, unsure of what the man was thinking.
At this point, the snow track outside had been prepared, and the event staff notified the competitors that they could go out to prepare for the competition. The people in the restroom dispersed in small groups, with only Gray’s representative staying behind to say a few more words to Shan Chong—
That makes sense, after all, Gray was the only brand there that hadn’t formally collaborated with Shan Chong before.
After the parallel giant slalom battle at the mountaintop ski resort last time, they had wanted to chat with him. This time they seized the opportunity.
When asked about his intentions, Shan Chong was still interested. He only wanted two new Mach boards, asking nothing else. It was the first time they’d met such an easy-going top athlete. They just asked what he needed two boards for.
The man smiled: “My wife wants to learn to carve, I’ll accompany her.”
The brand representative let out an “Oh,” then thought for a moment, feeling something wasn’t quite right: “Your wife doesn’t do park riding?”
“When a young girl gets bumped or bruised, she needs comforting. If I’m not careful and can’t protect her from a fall, I’ll get scolded,” Shan Chong waved his hand. “Let her play what she likes, there’ll be less fuss. When she wants to try park, I’ll teach her.”
… Listen to that, he’s already talking like a father raising a daughter.
This must be the legendary dad-like boyfriend.
Unexpectedly fed a mouthful of dog food, they chatted until an event staff member came in to notify Shan Chong to prepare for his next run. As they stood up, he watched the man adjust his face guard, put on his goggles, and then don that woman’s Bren helmet, covering himself completely.
“Brother Chong.”
The man turned back.
“What are you going to do for the third jump?”
He blurted out the question.
After a brief silence, for a second he wondered if he’d asked too much until he heard the man’s emotionless voice lazily reply—
“Don’t know, the competition’s over,” Shan Chong said. “I’ll just do whatever.”
…
This time, as Shan Chong approached the jump, he received unprecedented applause and whistles.
It was like returning to a time long, long ago, when he used to stand on competition platforms at various international open events, hearing languages from all around, as people shamelessly appraised him and commented on or praised his jump techniques.
Behind his face guard, the man smiled. It was hard to describe the feeling at this moment—
Back then, he took all of this for granted.
Only after losing it did he realize how precious every opportunity in this world is, every cheer, every jump, every time on the podium.
What heaven gives, if not cherished, will be taken back.
Bending to put on his bindings, the man gradually cleared his somewhat chaotic thoughts, adjusted his helmet and goggles again, and checked his bindings one last time before starting.
He glanced at the stands. The distance was too far to see clearly, but he could make out his girlfriend in a white hoodie, clinging to the railing like a gecko. The railing was quite high; she might have been on her tiptoes, her chin just at the edge.
Behind her, his old coach in an orange snow jacket was also particularly eye-catching.
Beside him, at some point, another person in a white snow jacket appeared. This one was a bit of an eyesore, so Shan Chong quickly looked away.
He straightened up, focused on the jump ahead, and set off.
The smoothness of the snowboard gliding over the snow surface is something no other sport can provide. The cold, sharp wind rushed against his face as his speed increased.
Then came the jump.
At first, the spectators saw the man tuck his body, grab his board, and start the first rotation. They all thought he was just going to do a simple spin to secure his first place and end the competition—
Until the man completed his fifth rotation, his body, and board still as one high in the air, showing no intention of releasing the board edge.
Sitting in the stands, the backflip specialist once again found a familiar feeling. That effortless 1800 in the sky, which he had once uploaded to a short video platform to challenge Dai Duo…
Now, someone was performing the same 1800.
The same fluid, effortless movement.
At this point, the backflip specialist knew it wasn’t over, not just an 1800.
His guess was correct. The man on the snowboard effortlessly rotated another full turn. At 2160, the backflip specialist’s heart settled, while simultaneously, people at the sidelines began to stand up—
Watching the snowboard rotate another half-turn, the man unhurriedly released the board, now very close to the ground.
Another half-turn.
The stands fell silent again, this time even the backflip specialist didn’t shout;
Wang Xin let out a satisfied sigh;
Beside him, Dai Duo, who had been sitting with his legs crossed, put his feet down, slightly narrowed his eyes, leaned forward a bit, and didn’t speak, just clicked his tongue—
Among the wide-eyed crowd, only Lao Yan muttered: “Frontside cork 2520, amazing, how did he pull off everything? Is this person some kind of deity?”
As he sighed, the man landed—
His center of gravity leaned back a bit on landing, and the nose of the board lifted. His hand almost scraped the snow surface as he slid hard for five or six meters, finally losing balance and rolling to the side.
He almost stuck the landing.
But no one felt disappointed—
Frontside cork 2520!
Although he just missed sticking the landing, it didn’t detract from the fact that they had witnessed it in their lifetime!
And in a competition no less!
After three seconds of silence, as the man quietly removed his board and stood up on the competition field, the entire venue erupted!
The cheers and praise almost flipped the venue, tearing through the thick, gloomy cloud layer above the competition area, and shooting straight up to the sky.
On-site media staff ran wildly past.
Carrying cameras and microphones, they flew like the wind.
Amidst the ear-shattering cheers, their calls were crystal clear—
“Post it!! Post on all platforms!! All channels!!! Don’t miss the ones that need a VPN to access, tell them that the 2022 Winter Olympics are in Beijing, and the world’s first snowboard big air cork 2520 is also in Beijing!! Hahahahaha, sleepless nights for you foreigners!”