As Shan Chong parked the car, Wei Zhi and her companions had already browsed through the snow gear store. They were now quietly discussing a light purple and pink snow bib overall.
The young girl stood on her tiptoes, touching and examining various parts of the outfit. She pulled out the price tag, glanced at it, then slightly tilted her head to say something to Jiang Nanfeng. She seemed quite satisfied.
“This bib overall has a low-waist, loose design. This means when you roll around on the snow slopes, all the snow will enter your pants through the waist gap. In the best-case scenario, you’ll catch a cold. Worst case, you’ll develop chronic leg pain,” a calm male voice sounded from behind her.
Wei Zhi turned around to face the man standing behind her. He was looking down at her, and as their eyes met, he unhurriedly concluded, “It’s not suitable for you.”
“Nonsense,” she protested softly, still clutching the leg of the bib overall. “If that’s the case, who are these snow-leaking bib overalls designed for?”
Shan Chong glanced at her coldly and replied, “People who don’t fall.”
“…”
Making a face behind her mask, Wei Zhi angrily released the bib overall she had almost decided to purchase.
Ignoring her anger, Shan Chong looked towards the interior of the store. The owner approached, greeting them.
As soon as he saw Shan Chong, the owner’s face lit up.
“Well, well, which god has our store been praying to lately? These big shots keep coming one after another. We just saw off Dai Duo, who came to buy snow goggles because his previous pair was snatched by a dog on the mountain…”
The store owner, still muttering “Hey, where did that dog come from on the mountain,” didn’t notice Shan Chong’s expression. He raised his voice, “Now look at this, even our Lord Chong has been blown in by the wind… You finally decided to come down from the mountain, huh? Gas prices have gone up again, you know.”
“Not for nothing,” Shan Chong replied tersely, lifting his eyelids slightly. He chose to ignore Dai Duo’s chatter. “Gloves, face protection, quick-dry clothes… Do you have them?”
He had come to restock.
Like a debt collector.
Fortunately, the store owner was used to this—
Shan Chong, after all, was the number one influencer in the snow sports circle.
He was the golden goose for brand sponsors. Whatever he wore or used mysteriously became the season’s hottest item. Perhaps the most extreme case was the year he returned to snow sports. Due to his recovering waist injury, he couldn’t jump much, so he decided to try carving. Single-handedly, he caused the price of a Gray Mach carving board to double at the beginning of the snow season.
People understood that using the same board as a pro doesn’t mean you’ll ski as well as them. A pro could fly even with a piece of wood under their feet…
But Shan Chong, aside from his skills, had the height and physique that made anything he wore or used look stylish.
Unlike street skaters, skiing is quite a flashy sport. Men who love this sport tend to have some aesthetic sense, and once men decide to dress up, their purchasing power… even women can’t compete (this might also be why men’s ski wear often looks a thousand times better than women’s).
As such, an influencer like Shan Chong had sponsors fighting to dress him from head to toe, probably even down to his underwear…
If all his sponsorships were listed like those short video media skaters, they probably couldn’t fit on a single page.
From major brands to the large comprehensive snow gear store they were in now, all were his financial backers.
Now that he had spoken, the store owner started pondering what newly arrived gloves or face protection needed promotion… He was about to say he’d go look when Shan Chong waved his hand, saying there was no rush.
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed the hood of the white, snowball-like down jacket of the small girl beside him, pulling her to his side—
“Get her a pair of boots first… What’s your shoe size?” he asked lazily, not forgetting the main purpose of this trip down the mountain.
“36,” the person whose hood he was holding answered obediently.
The snow gear store owner looked at the small girl beside the man, who barely reached past his shoulder, and was momentarily stunned.
“Who’s this, your sister?” the store owner asked.
“Why are you insulting me?” Shan Chong casually replied, releasing Wei Zhi. “She’s my disciple.”
“Disciple?” The store owner was even more confused. “Which disciple of yours needs you to personally bring them to choose shoes? Hua Yan bought three boards, three pairs of boots, and four bindings from me this year without mentioning you once. I had to offer your discount myself—”
Meanwhile, Lao Yan was examining the new safety helmets.
He was studying a shark-shaped helmet and chimed in without looking up: “Three boards and three pairs of boots? Is Sister Hua jumping parks or performing exorcisms? Buying ritual tools or what?”
Shan Chong: “She’s working hard.”
After a moment, he looked down at Wei Zhi and added, “Completely unlike you.”
Wei Zhi responded with an “Oh,” showing no sense of competition and completely ignoring him.
Lao Yan chuckled and continued chatting with the store owner: “Did you hear that? Even laziness is legal now. He doesn’t even lift a finger, just say a few words, as benevolent as Buddha… Right now, Brother Chong is all about this little lady. A beginner who’s just learning edge changes, how can it be the same as teaching hands-on from putting on the board—”
Lao Yan put on the helmet and looked in the mirror from different angles. “Very precious.”
Shan Chong gave him a lazy glance and commented, “You look like a Southerner.”
Yan silently took off the helmet with a dark face and put it back on the shelf.
The store owner was still absorbed in the fact that “Shan Chong had taken on a cute new disciple, personally brought her to buy shoes, and hadn’t refuted a single word or punctuation mark when Lao Yan said she was a precious disciple”…
Meanwhile, Shan Chong was urging Wei Zhi to stop looking at clothes and get on with what they came for.
Snow boots are generally products from five traditional ski brands: Burton, Deeluxe, Thirtytwo, DC, and Nitro. Adidas, Nike, and Vans have also produced some, but few people buy them, and most snow gear stores don’t stock them.
Different brands of snow boots have different features and ways of wearing them. Among them, Burton sells the most. As an old, professional ski brand, it has always been the flag-bearer among various equipment.
Unfortunately, there are too few styles of ski boots, either black or dark blue, at most with some white accents… And other brands’ snow boots are mostly dark brown, liver red, etc. Once worn on the snow, they all look the same.
“Not pretty,” Wei Zhi said.
“Better looking than the ones at the ski resort,” Shan Chong replied.
Wei Zhi was convinced again.
She casually took a pair off the shelf and was examining them in her hands when the boots were taken away. She watched as the man casually pressed the tongue part and then reached in to feel the heel area before handing the boots back to her.
“Too soft,” he said. “Try another pair.”
Different snow boot brands and models have varying degrees of hardness, corresponding to different skiing styles. The ones Wei Zhi was holding were soft, with high mobility and elastic insoles—a standard freestyle boot, unsuitable for beginners learning to glide.
Wei Zhi looked at the boots in the man’s hands, about to say she couldn’t tell the difference as all the boots on the shelf looked the same.
At that moment, the door of the snow gear store was pushed open from outside.
“Old Yu, I’m here to pick up my stuff!”
The afternoon sun poured in, accompanied by a crisp voice, as a slender figure swayed in from outside—
It was a young woman who entered. She was very tall, wearing a light pink hoodie with a white turtleneck sweater underneath, and Air Jordans on her feet. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, giving her a clean and neat appearance.
She wasn’t wearing a mask, her makeup was exquisite, and she was exceptionally beautiful.
The young woman breezed in like a gust of wind, making such a commotion that Wei Zhi and Shan Chong couldn’t help but turn to look at the door.
Just a second ago, Wei Zhi was wondering who this impressive lady skier was, clearly very skilled. The next second, she heard Shan Chong call out her name in his sleepy tone, neither loud nor soft.
“Huahua.”
…
Hua Yan had originally rushed into the snow gear store with great energy.
Before her heels had even settled, she heard someone in the corner calling her name in a drawling voice. Despite the warmth inside the store, hearing that voice made half of her hair stand on end.
She hit the brakes and saw her master standing not far away, holding a woman-sized Burton snow boot, now staring steadily at her.
Her whole body tensed up, feeling as if even her ponytail had drooped by three millimeters.
“Brother Chong,” the pretty young lady blinked, “What are you doing here?”
“My gloves are worn out, came down the mountain to restock,” Shan Chong casually put the boot he was holding back on the shelf, glancing at the small girl beside him, and slowly added, “Also brought someone down to buy a pair of boots.”
Following his gaze, Hua Yan noticed the person standing next to Shan Chong—a tiny figure, reaching only to Shan Chong’s shoulder and her chin, standing there like a white ball, blinking curiously and eagerly at her.
Oh.
Hua Yan brightened up: “Oh, so it’s her! The legendary little junior sister! I just heard those guys talking about it, that Dai Duo’s snow goggles—”
Shan Chong: “Ahem.”
Hua Yan: “…That Dai Duo’s new snow goggles, did he get them?”
Shan Chong looked impassive: “How would I know?”
Hua Yan came closer, circling Wei Zhi, and after some thought said, “Hmm, she’s a good material for skiing.”
Wei Zhi looked at her curiously until Shan Chong translated from the side: “She means you’re short.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Hua Yan: “…”
Hua Yan: “Dear Master, could you please refrain from making comments that affect our unity?”
Shan Chong: “Isn’t that what you meant?”
“That’s not what I meant, don’t listen to him,” Hua Yan said to Wei Zhi, then rolled her eyes and asked the only damned straight man present, “…We’ve all heard about you taking on a cute new junior sister as a disciple. Why haven’t you added her to the group chat? Anyone can teach slope changes and edge transitions. Those bored single dogs in the chat would probably kowtow and bow three times to you in excitement, wouldn’t they?”
Shan Chong: “…”
Kowtowing and bowing in excitement…
He could almost picture it.
Shan Chong’s disciple group had hundreds of members, with only a handful of women. Excluding those who already had boyfriends or were even married, the group’s composition was probably purer than an all-boys school—
The members spent their days at ski resorts, from the beginning to the end of the snow season. When the season ended and the ladies had all left, they’d realize: This year, I’m still single.
What attitude could they have towards a little junior sister under the same roof and in the same group?
After hearing Hua Yan’s words, Shan Chong regretted calling her over.
His eyelid twitched as he casually brushed it off: “Slope changes are fundamental, very important. Why let you lot teach haphazardly?”
Hua Yan didn’t pursue the matter further. She greeted Wei Zhi with a smile, then pulled Shan Chong away to look at her new equipment.
— Since the master was here, why not have him examine which board to use first, which binding to pair it with, and how to adjust the binding angles properly?
Shan Chong was used to checking these things for his disciples, so he didn’t find anything odd about it.
“Keep looking at the boots yourself, pick out a few pairs for me to check,” he tossed these words to Wei Zhi before following Hua Yan to the counter.
Wei Zhi was left standing in front of a large wall of snow boot displays. She raised her hand and scratched her head.
She hadn’t even fully processed being left behind.
…
With Shan Chong and Lao Yan gone to check Hua Yan’s equipment, Wei Zhi and Jiang Nanfeng wandered around, touching and looking at various items.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the store owner wheeling out many boxes from the warehouse. The long ones were probably snowboards, and from one square box, Lao Yan pulled out bindings. There were also several shoe boxes.
The snowboards were from Nitro, Burton, and Gray, one from each brand. The Gray was a carving board. Shan Chong picked it up, looked at it, and weighed it in his hand: “Changing careers?”
Hua Yan snatched the board back, afraid her master might break her new board in a fit of displeasure: “Can’t I just go for a random carve to relax when I can’t nail my tricks?… Don’t you have a Mach yourself?!”
Shan Chong maintained the posture of having the board snatched away, his hand belatedly grasping at the air. His eyes swept over the remaining two boards, and after a moment of silence, he said, “Why so nervous? I was just asking. Your board is not bad. It’s been a while since I rode a camberboard. Can I borrow it for a spin?”
“It’s new! Can it withstand your tinkering? It’ll come back 85% new after one run!” Hua Yan clutched her board tightly, almost screaming as she raised her voice, “Buy your own!”
“I’m broke,” he said.
“Ask your sponsor daddies!” Hua Yan lovingly stroked the board in her arms. “They wouldn’t refuse you if you asked, right? I heard BS alone gave you three sets of clothes this year!!!”
“Kept one set,” Shan Chong said, “Didn’t like the other two, sold them.”
“…You’re quite the economizer.” Hua Yan’s face was full of mixed emotions. “But I saw you wearing all three sets in videos on that short video platform.”
“Sold them after filming the videos. At a discount.”
“You sound quite regretful?”
“All three styles sold well afterward.”
“Alright, so you’re a model now. If you ever quit skiing, consider becoming a livestream seller?” Hua Yan put down the board and turned to unpack the bindings. Without looking up, she asked, “By the way, bro, what angles are your bindings set at on your Mach?”
Shan Chong pondered for a moment, then said without hesitation, “Seems like 34, 26.”
“Small angles and aligned?”
“Mm.”
Hearing this, Hua Yan didn’t respond. She took the Gray carving board and the new matching bindings to the side to set them up herself, probably using the numbers Shan Chong had just mentioned.
The conversation in the snow gear store briefly paused.
Wei Zhi, not far away, also silently withdrew her gaze.
She turned to look at Jiang Nanfeng beside her, who was squeezing a pair of deep blue-to-white gradient Burton boots. Wei Zhi poked her.
“Hmm?” Jiang Nanfeng hummed, “What is it?”
“I didn’t understand a word they said,” Wei Zhi said softly. “What’s a Mach? Do snowboards have names? What’s camber? Aren’t binding angles always duck-footed? What does ‘small angles and aligned’ mean?”
“Are you singing a song here?” Jiang Nanfeng’s face was full of exasperation. “If you don’t understand, why listen so carefully?”
Wei Zhi’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, weakly grasped at the fabric. “Well,” she drawled, “I just happened to overhear. They seem very familiar with each other.”
Unrestrained banter.
Casual jokes.
Just holding a snowboard, they could discuss so many professional terms that others couldn’t understand, delving deep into the topic, and they seemed to have a lot to talk about.
Unlike the cold and aloof instructor at the ski resort.
When he asked to try her new board, even his eyes were relaxed.
“Isn’t it normal for them to be familiar?” Jiang Nanfeng asked curiously. “The big shot surely has more than just you as a disciple. These people have probably been learning from him for a long time, so it’s normal for them to have a good relationship!”
The words hit something significant.
Wei Zhi’s mind went blank for a few seconds. She cautiously glanced at the man not far away. At that moment, he had one hand resting on the handle of the push-pull cart, while the other fished out a shoe box from the young lady’s purchases. Without even asking “Can I take a look at your stuff?”, he directly opened the box and pulled out a pair of shoes.
It was too far to see the shoes.
She just saw Shan Chong examining them in his hands for a while, pausing, then looking at the size printed inside the shoe.
“Huahua, why are these shoes so small? Buying ski boots one size smaller doesn’t mean you’re planning to shave off your heels to squeeze in, right? Are you reenacting ‘Frozen’ here?”
“Do you know how hard it is to buy this model? Of course, I bought two sizes smaller because they were out of my size, but I’ll squeeze in no matter what… And shaving off heels is from ‘Cinderella’, not ‘Frozen’!”
The young lady’s protest came from the corner of the snow gear store. Shan Chong, who couldn’t tell the difference between ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Frozen’, showed no shame and remained expressionless, while Lao Yan beside him was laughing so hard he couldn’t stand straight.
— The atmosphere in the snow gear store was great, but it had nothing to do with Wei Zhi.
So she silently withdrew her gaze, absently touched the shoe rack beside her, and sighed. Suddenly, her chest was filled with a sour, swelling emotion…
She somewhat regretted mentioning coming down the mountain to buy shoes today.
Why?
She didn’t know.
The master had many disciples, each better at skiing than her.
“…”
Wei Zhi raised her hand and lightly hit her forehead with her fist.
This emotion was unfamiliar to her, and she was a bit surprised at where this inexplicable, ugly jealousy came from… Two experts chatting, what did it have to do with her? Really!
Feeling somewhat deflated, she crouched down.
A finger drew circles on the carpet of the snow gear store as she seriously pondered whether she had some sort of mental issue…
At this moment, the light in front of her dimmed a bit.
“This carpet hasn’t been washed since the store opened. Isn’t it dirty?”
A deep, magnetic voice sounded, and someone appeared in front of her.
Wei Zhi was stunned for a moment, looking up blankly at the person’s straight, long legs, meeting a pair of emotionless dark eyes.
The man who had been at the cashier counter had somehow returned to her side.
“How about these?”
In his lazy voice, a pair of shoes was placed in front of her—
Primarily white, but with a red inner lining and black edges.
Drawstrings on both sides.
The classic color combination of black, white, and red, with black laces in the front and a cute Velcro patch. On the Velcro was black English text: Deeluxe.
Unlike the wall of five or six brands of ski boots behind Wei Zhi, these snow boots were very attractive and looked like they would match any color of ski wear.
Wei Zhi, crouching on the ground and hugging her knees, looked up at the man in confusion, wondering where he had produced these from, as she hadn’t seen them before.
Shan Chong: “Do you like them?”
Wei Zhi: “They’re okay.”
Shan Chong: “Then let’s go with these.”
Wei Zhi: “Huh?”
Before she could react, she saw the man turn back and say to Hua Yan, who was still fiddling with binding angles in the corner: “Don’t force yourself to squeeze in. Two sizes too small is impossible to ski in. Want to amputate? I’m reasonably requisitioning these shoes.”
Hua Yan: “Huh?”
Wei Zhi: “Huh?”
Lao Yan: “Have you gotten addicted to snatching equipment to subsidize your little disciple?”
Shan Chong: “How much? Come here, I’ll transfer the money to you.”
Lao Yan: “Oh, at least you remembered to pay this time.”