Four people occupied the cable car.
Wei Zhi hummed contentedly while wiping her ski goggles, casually complaining, “Why do these glasses keep fogging up?” She repeatedly took them on and off, fiddling with them several times.
Shan Chong grabbed the goggles and examined them. “Where did you buy these?”
“From a street vendor.”
“And you expected them to be fog-proof?” Shan Chong wiped them with a tissue from the cable car and tossed them back. “Get a new pair.”
“Can’t afford it.”
“Nonsense.”
Their brief discussion about ski goggles ended. Aside from Shan Chong occasionally responding to Wei Zhi’s chatter, everyone else was engrossed in WeChat conversations…
Well, not exactly.
It wasn’t particularly lively either.
It was more like Bei Ci throwing a one-sided tantrum.
[ck, Bei Ci: Aah! You just took her as your disciple like that! What happened to ‘newbies don’t deserve it’?! @ck, Chong]
[ck, Chong: Didn’t you see how close she was? She was practically riding my face. Wouldn’t you be scared?]
[ck, Bei Ci: …]
[ck, Bei Ci: When I was clinging to your leg begging you to take me as your disciple, my face was pressed tightly against your thigh muscles. How come you weren’t scared then?]
[ck, Chong: Can’t help it. I was young then. Now I’m old—people become more timid as they age.]
[ck, Bei Ci: …]
The biker in the cable car stared at his phone, then looked up at the person sitting opposite him with an expression that said, “You’re full of it.”
Unfortunately, Shan Chong completely ignored him.
Lao Yan pulled up his face guard to hide his expression, leaving only his eyes visible, crinkled with laughter as he struggled to catch his breath.
[Lao Yan: Poor Bei Ci. Why be so blunt? When your little turtle inexplicably ended up on another woman’s bottom, you should have known this day would come.]
[sakura Yan: Poor Bei Ci. Why be so blunt? When your little turtle inexplicably ended up on another woman’s bottom, you should have known this day would come.]
[A Wai: Poor Bei Ci. Why be so blunt? When your little turtle inexplicably ended up on another woman’s bottom, you should have known this day would come.]
…
[ck, Little Lion: Poor Bei Ci. Why be so blunt? When your little turtle inexplicably ended up on another woman’s bottom, you should have known this day would come.]
Human emotions are complex. After reveling in Bei Ci’s misfortune, everyone mercilessly abandoned the outdated senior disciple and enthusiastically discussed the new junior in the group chat—
Given that Shan Chong had retired with relevant coaching certifications, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had taken on a municipal or national-level athlete as a disciple…
But a beginner who could barely push down the slope?
It wasn’t that they looked down on newcomers—everyone had been a beginner once. But even the worst skier in their group had accumulated several months of experience…
After all, no one came to learn basic slope-pushing from Shan Chong. They were all wolves with eyes gleaming at the sight of park features. Entering the park without a solid foundation was practically suicidal.
Naturally, everyone wanted to know who this rule-breaking newcomer was and urged Shan Chong to add her to the group chat.
Unfortunately, he simply pocketed his phone and pretended not to notice.
Just then, the cable car reached the summit. As they disembarked, Lao Yan and Bei Ci reluctantly left the fresh master-disciple pair, looking back repeatedly.
…It wasn’t that they wanted to leave, but Shan Chong’s glare warned them that if they didn’t scram, they might need a snowmobile rescue to get down.
“Why did they leave?” Wei Zhi asked, hugging her snowboard.
Before she finished speaking, someone took the snowboard from her arms. Shan Chong, now carrying two boards, gave a noncommittal “Mm” and casually glanced at his two disciples’ retreating figures. “The park is halfway down the mountain. They need to take the advanced B route to get there.”
Hearing them constantly mention the park piqued Wei Zhi’s interest. “Is the park fun?”
Shan Chong eyed the young girl warily and answered diplomatically, “It’s alright.”
“Do you know a bit about park riding too?” Wei Zhi asked. “If I want to learn park riding in the future, could you teach me?”
…What did she mean by “know a bit”?
This question truly challenged a man’s pride.
“I do,” Shan Chong glanced at her and said, “I could teach you with my eyes closed.”
Wei Zhi’s face lit up with excitement, and she started walking in the direction Lao Yan and Bei Ci had gone.
Shan Chong was momentarily stunned. By the time he reacted, he barely had time to call out to her. He dropped the snowboards and grabbed her collar, pulling her back. “Where are you going?”
Wei Zhi flailed her arms in the air. “To the park! I want to learn park riding too! Jumps! Rails! Barrels!”
“I’ll knock some sense into that head of yours,” the man’s voice was level and cold. “If you can learn to change edges in the next few days, consider yourself lucky. As for the park… you’d split your ass open.”
“That’s impossible!”
“How is it impossible?”
“How could anyone split their ass open?”
“It happens,” Shan Chong said. “I did.”
Wei Zhi immediately looked down at his bottom.
She had barely glanced when the man hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up. Their eyes met, and he released her, asking, “Where are you looking?”
“…”
His tone, as if speaking to a pervert, made her feel wrong…
He was the one who brought up his bottom first!
Besides, what could she see through his pants anyway?
Hmph. Stingy.
“As if I care. Your butt isn’t even that perky,” she muttered.
“…What?”
“Nothing.”
“Say that again if you dare.”
“You’ll open the Victoria’s Secret fashion show this year with five-meter wings on your back! Happy now?”
“Chatterbox.”
…
Today, they were still rolling around on the advanced C slope.
After the morning’s grueling session, Wei Zhi no longer shrieked at the sight of the steep slope. Without Shan Chong telling her, she obediently reached out to grab his sleeve, letting him pull her to a slightly gentler area before starting regular practice.
Today, they were practicing backside falling leaves. Ignoring the constant “tsk” and sighs from the person behind her, Wei Zhi felt she was making progress. When she first learned, she’d fall after gliding only a meter or two. Now she could traverse the entire slope before falling.
Maintaining a half-squat position was a bit tiring, though.
After traversing the slope twice, Wei Zhi stopped at the far right, sat down holding the side netting, and looked back at the man behind her. “I’m tired!”
The man, standing with his hands behind his back, remained unmoved. “You’ve barely pushed down a few meters. Are you planning to make just one run this afternoon?”
“Yeah.”
“…Don’t ask for trouble.”
“Then two runs.” She held up two fingers. “Two runs isn’t too much, right?”
“It’s already past three.”
“So?”
“You said two runs, so take your time. When the cable car closes at four, I’ll accompany you climbing up on foot.”
“Don’t joke around.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
Wei Zhi immediately tried to stand up, but after pushing against the snow with both hands and making a token effort to rise, her bottom seemed to be anchored by a thousand-pound weight and fell back down.
She looked at Shan Chong awkwardly. This time, he showed some humanity and didn’t mock her. He calmly slid in front of her and effortlessly lifted her from the ground—
“Hold tight, we’re switching to frontside.”
As soon as he spoke, Wei Zhi found herself spun around. Shan Chong now faced downhill, pulling her along, while she faced uphill. The force on her legs suddenly changed from leaning back to leaning forward, giving her aching thighs some relief.
“Keep your upper body straight, don’t stick your butt out or hunch over. Let your knees bend naturally downward, and press your shin against the tongue of your boot. Feel the support the boot tongue gives you…”
“It doesn’t feel very supportive. The boot tongue is a bit soft.”
“The rental boots are worn out, so they don’t provide as much support or fit as well. If you want to ski seriously in the future, you should buy your boots…”
Learning the frontside was similar to the backside, progressing from frontside pushing to frontside falling leaf.
However, if you catch an edge while riding frontside, it’s easy to accidentally catch the back edge, which could cause you to fall backward dangerously… Given Wei Zhi’s propensity for falling, Shan Chong didn’t dare let her try on her own just yet.
The two pushed downhill hand in hand, accompanied by Shan Chong’s monotonous instructions—
“Don’t stand on your toes. Bend your knees slightly, relax.”
“Look up.”
“Keep your back straight… not that straight, relax, you’re as stiff as a statue.”
“Look up.”
“I said look up, don’t look at your feet… You’re looking down again!”
Frontside riding made her calves ache quickly. Wei Zhi’s legs were already sore and startled by the sudden rise in his voice, her legs gave way and she “plopped” down on her knees.
Shan Chong let go of her and looked down, watching her comfortably kneeling in front of him, massaging her calves.
After a while, she grabbed his pant leg, her small hand climbing up, past his waist, clutching his wrist as she bounced back to her feet…
Standing straight, seeing Shan Chong’s lack of response, she tugged at his sleeve, indicating he shouldn’t space out and that they could continue.
Shan Chong guided her down about three meters, then suddenly stopped again.
“…” Shan Chong said, “Kid, let’s make a deal.”
“Hm?”
Becoming his disciple did make a difference. Even the way he addressed her became more affectionate.
Nice.
“When pushing frontside, don’t look down. Look into my eyes.”
Wei Zhi raised her head in confusion, suddenly meeting his calm black eyes. Her fingertips, hidden in her gloves, tensed slightly. She immediately lowered her head, affecting coyness: “I’m shy.”
However, the man was completely unmoved: “You’re shy looking into my eyes, but not shy staring at my crotch?”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Shan Chong: “If you’re not embarrassed, I am. Look up.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Wei Zhi was about to say something when suddenly as if sensing something, she tilted her body and peeked out from Shan Chong’s side—
Then she saw a sight that made her hair stand on end.
From the distant mountaintop, a light-colored figure was rapidly approaching!
The newcomer appeared to be a young man with a slender build. As he glided, his body was almost completely flat against the snow surface. His high-speed descent left a deep track in the snow behind his skis…
Carving!
This person was likely an expert at carving.
Every time it looked like he was about to fall, he would lift his foot and complete an edge change, standing upright. After one such edge change, he suddenly jumped, spun several times in the air, and landed steadily before resuming his flat skiing position—
Carving combined with freestyle.
The man approached them at an incredibly fast speed, and when he was about fifty meters away, he suddenly straightened his skis and shot directly towards them!
Like a missile homing in on its target in a white ocean!
As the figure in her pupils grew closer, Wei Zhi’s deep brown eyes constricted slightly, and she suddenly tightened her grip on Shan Chong’s hand!
“Person! Person! Torpedo! Torpedo! High-level torpedo!” (*Torpedo: A beginner who recklessly charges down the slope, posing a safety hazard)
As the sharp sound of ski edges cutting through snow grew louder and closer, it seemed a collision was imminent!
By now, even without Wei Zhi’s terrified screams, Shan Chong had heard the sound of the skis cutting through the snow. In the nick of time, Wei Zhi suddenly found herself airborne—
A tremendous force hit her, and a strong arm caught her back. In the whirling confusion, her nose bumped against the man’s hard chest. She let out a muffled “Ouch,” inhaling a pleasant, cool fragrance.
Before she could look up, with a muffled “whoosh” of skis, an estimated three-meter-high wall of snow suddenly rose like a tidal wave, filling her field of vision!
The flying snow completely covered the head, shoulders, and back of the man who held her in his arms.
As the snow dust settled, a few snowflakes landed on Wei Zhi’s nose tip, ice-cold.
Some of the cold snow dust entered her nostrils, causing her to sneeze heavily twice. Her mind was still blank.
She even forgot to extricate herself from Shan Chong’s embrace. Still, in his arms, she turned her head—just in time to see the back of the reckless carver-freestyler disappearing without even looking back.
With his departure, the slope returned to its initial tranquility.
“…”
Wei Zhi was speechless for three seconds.
Then she exploded.
“Hey! You’re leaving without even saying sorry? What kind of manners are those?!”
The young girl cursed and grumbled, flailing and waving her fists in the direction the uninvited guest had left.
In her anger, she didn’t notice that the man holding her with one arm to prevent her from tumbling down the mountain remained silent, his gaze fixed on the direction where the intruder had disappeared.
His usually calm dark eyes flickered slightly, gradually becoming as deep and unfathomable as a dark lake, revealing no emotion beyond their icy depths.