As the four of them rode the gondola up the mountain, Wei Zhi couldn’t help but mutter “liar” under her breath every time she glanced at Shan Chong.

Later, even when she stopped muttering, her eyes, fixated on Shan Chong, still clearly spelled out the word “liar.”

However, Shan Chong remained unfazed. With unwavering composure, he gazed at the snowy scenery outside the gondola, his eyelashes not even twitching.

Upon reaching the summit, Jiang Nanfeng tossed her snowboard near the entrance of the advanced C-slope.  Like a magnet, Wei Zhi gravitated towards her, standing side-by-side.

Shan Chong, observing this, thought to himself, *She’s surprisingly cooperative today. Usually, she’d put up a fight to avoid the advanced C-slope. What’s gotten into her?*

“So eager today?” he questioned.

“Hee hee,” she replied with a mischievous grin.

…That “hee hee” seemed to confirm the adage: something unusual is bound to happen.

After securing their boots to their snowboards, the two friends awkwardly descended the slope, almost hand-in-hand. On steeper sections, Wei Zhi resorted to heel-edge turns.  Shan Chong trailed behind, observing her every move and occasionally correcting her technique.

“Focus your gaze, stop looking around.  It’s your right leg that needs to initiate the turn, why are you counter-rotating? Look ahead, is there a ghost on the left you’re afraid to see?”

His voice, though distant, reached Wei Zhi. She halted, turning her head slightly to look back at him.

“What are you looking at? What’s there to see back there?” Shan Chong questioned.

Feeling unjustly accused, Wei Zhi retorted, “You were talking behind me, wouldn’t I instinctively look back?”

“Now you’re blaming me?”

“Isn’t it your fault?”

Shan Chong swiftly moved ahead of her, stopping about four or five meters in front. “Is this better?” he asked, patting his gloves together and beckoning her with a curl of his finger. “Come here.”

Instinctively, Wei Zhi glided two meters towards him before realizing something was amiss.  She abruptly braked, placing her hands on her hips and scolding him, “Are you trying to train a puppy?”

Seeing her anger reflected in the lively sway of the ponytail bouncing behind her head, Shan Chong’s mood lifted slightly. A hint of amusement touched his lips as he raised his hand, beckoning her once more. “Come here, let’s practice front-side turns.”

Wei Zhi leisurely slid towards him, naturally grabbing his sleeve and then sliding her hand down to grasp his hand. Shan Chong instinctively returned her grip.

“Lift your left foot, step on your right, and follow the board’s direction with your gaze. Don’t rush to turn your head, keep your shoulders parallel to the board, straight board first,” he instructed, his voice steady and reassuring. “Slowly now, step down with your right foot… what are you afraid of? I’m holding you—now gently bend both knees forward, shins against the boot tongues, slowly…”

Following his verbal cues, Wei Zhi shifted her weight from her heel edge, her board carving a smooth arc on the snow as she passively completed a heel-to-toe turn, transitioning to a front-side edge.

With Shan Chong holding her hand, they practiced front-side turns for about fifteen meters. When he finally let go, she managed to clumsily push herself forward for another three or four meters.

“Good,” Shan Chong acknowledged. “Keep practicing. If you can master front-side turns by this afternoon, tomorrow we’ll—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed Wei Zhi’s head slowly turning, her gaze straying towards the edge of the slope. Following her line of sight, he saw Jiang Nanfeng and Lao Yan sitting by the side. Jiang Nanfeng was waving at Wei Zhi, her body perched on her snowboard.

“I’m going to take a break,” Wei Zhi announced, stretching her neck.

They had barely covered a few hundred meters. *A break? Seriously?*

Shan Chong was about to refuse when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see the young woman, her chin raised, staring at him with pleading eyes magnified by her snow goggles. “Break!” she insisted.

Shan Chong was speechless.

Resigned, he steered Wei Zhi towards the edge of the slope.

The summit offered numerous advanced runs, all converging as they descended.  Protective netting separated the slopes, and between them lay forested areas—the renowned off-piste zone of the resort.

This off-piste zone was ungroomed, and riddled with visible obstacles. Beneath the thick, undisturbed snow lay hidden dangers—protruding rocks that could damage a snowboard’s base.

Despite the risks, the off-piste zone held a certain allure. Many experienced snowboarders flocked to the resort specifically for this challenging terrain, embracing the thrill of riding “au natural,” as they called it.

Wei Zhi and her companions stopped for a break on the groomed slope, right next to the off-piste area.

The two young women huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, Shan Chong leaned against the netting, casually chatting with Lao Yan about park jumps and other snowboarding matters. He couldn’t resist poking fun at Le Zi, who had landed on his backside after failing a front-side turn on a jump, much to the amusement of his students.

As Lao Yan chuckled at the image of Le Zi sprawled on the ground, unable to get up and losing face in front of his students, Shan Chong casually turned his head. He spotted the young woman fidgeting by the edge of the slope and watched in disbelief as she unzipped her snow jacket.

“…”

With temperatures plummeting below freezing, Shan Chong frowned, a “tsk” escaping his lips. He was about to scold her when he saw her pull out two bottles of cola from her jacket.

Shan Chong was bewildered.

With an air of triumph, Wei Zhi tossed one of the bottles to Jiang Nanfeng. Then, with surprising agility, she flipped onto her stomach and crawled towards the netting. Lifting a section, she squeezed half her body through the opening.

“What are you doing?” Shan Chong questioned, his voice laced with disbelief.

The young woman, dragging her snowboard behind her, continued her awkward crawl through the snow, panting with exertion.  Her backpack, adorned with a bright green turtle shell, bobbed along with her.  Hearing Shan Chong’s question, the turtle shell wobbled, its head popping out.  She turned back, her tone as matter-of-fact as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “I’m burying the cola. We’ll dig it up tomorrow!”

Shan Chong thought he had misheard. “What?”

“Burying the cola! To dig up tomorrow!”

Wei Zhi had already found a twig and was digging in the snow.  Finding the twig inadequate, she tossed it aside and began digging with her bare hands, like a dog digging a hole.

Disturbed snow swirled around her, some of it reaching Shan Chong. He had been leaning over, holding the netting up with one hand to talk to her.  The sudden gust of icy snow caught him off guard, tickling his nose and causing him to sneeze.

At the sound, Wei Zhi immediately straightened up and turned around.

She caught Shan Chong rubbing his nose as he pulled his face mask back up.  Against the sunlight, she could only make out the outline of his high-bridged nose.

“…”  Not having held any high hopes for her instructor’s hidden features, Wei Zhi wasn’t particularly disappointed.  She focused on the important matter at hand. “Did you catch a cold?”

Before Shan Chong could answer, she continued, “I told you to dress warmer.  You were so confident about not getting snow on you, I don’t know where you get your confidence from.”

Her voice was soft and low, a sweet murmur in the cold air.

Looking at the young woman with her jacket unzipped and her gloves covered in snow, Shan Chong felt his temple throb.  He felt none of the sweetness she exuded, only a growing urge to yell.

With a darkened expression, he dropped the netting and retreated to the groomed slope, turning away to avoid looking at her.

Seeing him withdraw and ignore her, Wei Zhi shrugged, deflated.  She turned back to her digging, calling out to Jiang Nanfeng, “Don’t just stand there, come help me… this snow is frozen solid!”

Jiang Nanfeng, who had been filming the whole ordeal, tossed her phone to Lao Yan and joined Wei Zhi in her digging endeavor.

Lao Yan, still young and full of playful energy, found himself caught up in the moment.  He had never expected to be digging holes in the snow with his students, but here he was, aiming the phone camera at the bottle of cola in Wei Zhi’s hand.  “Perfect, product placement,” he declared.

“Coca-Cola, sponsor us!” Jiang Nanfeng chimed in.

Their antics sent Wei Zhi into peals of laughter.

The three of them, back to the slope, formed a line with their rear ends facing the camera.  Their laughter and chatter filled the air.

—And in the middle of it all was Wei Zhi, her bright green turtle backpack a jarring sight.

“…”

Shan Chong shuffled further away from the spectacle.

Other skiers and snowboarders occasionally passed by.  Those on the far side of the slope remained oblivious, but those who ventured closer couldn’t help but pause, drawn in by the sound of their merriment.  They would crane their necks, only to be greeted by the sight of three people huddled in the trees, digging a hole.

Strangers, their curiosity satisfied, would simply shrug and move on.

However, the advanced C-slope was frequented by many who knew both Shan Chong and Lao Yan.  One such acquaintance, after observing the scene for a while and recognizing Lao Yan’s backside, turned to the man leaning against the netting, his posture as still as a statue.  “Chong-ge, what’s going on?” he inquired.

One person asked.

Then another.

…Soon, a small crowd had gathered.

Another acquaintance, after watching for a good while, was about to ask the same question when he looked up and felt the oppressive aura emanating from the man standing guard beside them.

He hesitated.  “Ah Chong…”

At the sound of his name, the statue-like figure stirred.  He glanced down at the turtle backpack furiously digging in the snow and silently shifted his position, using his body to block the sight of the offending turtle.

Without a word, he waved his hand dismissively at the newcomer, urging him to leave.

Sensing the low pressure, the man seemed to have used up all his courage with that one “Ah Chong.”  He mumbled an “oh” and quickly made his escape.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the netting, the joyous sounds continued, reaching a fever pitch as their task neared completion.

“Is this deep enough?”

“I think so.”

“Yan-yan, did you get that on camera?… Pass me the phone to help me push the cola in, it’s too narrow here.”

“Oh, right, here… You’re putting it in sideways! See, it fits!”

“Yay, it’s in!”

Another flurry of movement was followed by cheers as the three of them searched for twigs to mark the spot.

Shan Chong didn’t turn around, but he bore witness to the entire cola-burying process through their enthusiastic commentary.

Just as he thought it was over, Jiang Nanfeng’s voice rang out again. “Jiji, your shifu isn’t even helping.”

“It’s okay,” the young woman’s soft voice reached his ears. “He doesn’t get to drink any tomorrow.”

Shan Chong was speechless.

It wasn’t really about the cola.

But for a fleeting moment, Shan Chong wondered if he was getting old.

Why else would he constantly indulge this green turtle of a student?

—Six thousand yuan per hour lessons, and he’s practically giving them away for four hundred, buy-one-get-one-free, and now basically free altogether.

Are you afraid of falling? Here’s a butt pad.

—Wants to slack off? Let her slack off.

—Can’t master a skill? We’ll get to it later.

—Bad eyesight?  Fine, he won’t bother arguing.

—Not practicing?  Fine, he’ll even shield her from embarrassment as she makes a fool of herself by the side of the slope…

What was he thinking?

Was one “shifu” really worth that much?  Did they think he was the snowfield’s guardian angel?

…

By the time they had finished burying their treasure and tumbled back down the slope, it was already past four in the afternoon.  Being located in the north, darkness fell early in Chongli, and the sun was already dipping below the horizon.

As soon as they reached the bottom, Jiang Nanfeng declared herself exhausted.  She thrust her snowboard into Lao Yan’s arms and headed towards the ski lodge.

Wei Zhi watched Jiang Nanfeng go, then turned back to look at Shan Chong.  After a moment’s hesitation, she took a tentative step in the direction of the lodge.

Before her foot could touch the ground, someone grabbed the hood of her jacket from behind.

Her heart skipped a beat.  She turned around to meet a pair of calm, dark eyes.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the man asked.

“…Back to eat,” Wei Zhi replied, her eyes darting nervously.

Shan Chong ignored her blatant attempt at acting innocent.  With an impassive expression, he tightened his grip on her hood, pulling her off balance.  She yelped as she stumbled, landing clumsily against him.

Her shoulder collided with his chest, but he didn’t react.  As she winced, raising a hand to rub her shoulder, he dragged her towards the gondola lift, her feet barely touching the ground.

The ascent took about ten minutes.  By the time they reached the top, the sun was halfway below the horizon, its last rays painting the slopes a golden yellow.  A few crows perched on a nearby tree, their caws echoing eerily in the twilight.

The scene couldn’t have been more desolate.

…It’s getting dark, shouldn’t they just take the gondola back down and go eat?

Just as Wei Zhi was about to voice her suggestion, the gondola screeched to a halt.

Wei Zhi was speechless.

As she stood there, her expression a mixture of shock and disbelief, the man beside her acted as if nothing had happened.  He tossed her snowboard at her feet.

“Advanced B-slope, let’s go.”

Wei Zhi turned to look at the unfamiliar slope.  Total length: 6.7km.

………………………………………………6.7km!

She opened her mouth to protest, but Shan Chong cut her off, his voice cold and resolute.

“You’ve had your fun this afternoon, lounging around and digging holes.”

“…”

“Now, let me enlighten you on my teaching plan.  Either you master front-side and backside turns by the end of today, or I’ll come up here to collect your body tomorrow morning,” Shan Chong stated flatly.  “Tomorrow, we either start on C-turns, or I give you a proper burial.  Those are your options.”

“…”

“Now, let’s begin.”

Wei Zhi, completely shut down and rendered speechless, could only stare at him in stunned silence.