The next day, Wei Zhi woke up naturally. She rubbed her eyes and stared blankly in bed for half a minute before grabbing her phone to check the time: 9:30 AM.
Almost reflexively, Wei Zhi sprang out of bed and hurriedly opened WeChat, only to be met with an unexpectedly quiet interface. Unlike usual mornings, there was no message from the person with the Crayon Shin-chan avatar at the top of her chat list, telling her to hurry up and meet at the ski equipment hall.
Today, Crayon Shin-chan was dead silent.
“…”
There was no class today.
The young girl sat on her bed, her mind blank once again.
“…”
An unpleasant day had begun, from waking up to facing a WeChat as quiet as a mouse.
As Wei Zhi sat clutching her phone, lost in thought, Jiang Nanfeng beside her was roused by the sheer force of her resentment.
Rolling over and struggling to open her eyes, Jiang Nanfeng looked at the person sitting upright in the next bed and offered a sincere assessment: “Although you’re not married yet, I can already picture what you’ll look like on your divorce day, standing at the civil affairs bureau watching your husband walk away with a rich woman without looking back.”
“Could you use some punctuation when you speak?” Wei Zhi retorted.
“I won’t,” Jiang Nanfeng replied.
Wei Zhi whipped her head around and asked, “I don’t have class, but don’t you?”
“I told Yan Yan we’re taking a break today to accompany you to other ski resorts,” Jiang Nanfeng yawned. “What’s with that ungrateful tone so early in the morning? Don’t make me want to hit you.”
Wei Zhi let out a dismissive snort, showing her complete lack of appreciation for Jiang Nanfeng’s sympathy. She genuinely didn’t want to be pitied, feeling as if she was being treated like some poor, abandoned creature.
Honestly, if that person was busy, so be it. It’s not like he was the only ski instructor in all of Zhangjiakou and Chongli…
What’s so great about him anyway?
Her eyes rolled in their sockets as a mischievous idea formed. Wei Zhi grabbed her phone and opened a short video app.
She scrolled and scrolled until she found…
Candidate Number One.
A skiing-related content creator based in Zhangjiakou, a regular at the foot of the mountain ski resorts. Estimated height: 180 cm. His spins on the slopes made him look like both a freestyle master and a spinning top.
Not bad, not bad.
She clicked on his profile and followed him as a show of respect. His bio stated “Lessons available,” which made her happy.
Scrolling down, she saw various videos of him skiing, wearing different colorful snowsuits in each. Such a trendsetter!
Scrolling further, she came across a different kind of video: the content creator horsing around with friends at a candied haw seller’s stall. His face mask was off, revealing his face—
Wei Zhi: “…”
She exited the page and unfollowed.
Candidate Number Two.
Another skiing-related content creator in Zhangjiakou, a partnered instructor at a mid-mountain resort. Estimated height: 172 cm. A bit short, but it would do. He was a carving master, his skis cutting through the snow with crisp “swish” and “swish” sounds as he executed small turns, his legs as nimble as noodles.
Not bad, not bad.
She clicked on his profile and followed him out of respect. His bio also stated “Lessons available,” which pleased her.
Scrolling down, the third row of videos showed him walking on a path outside the ski resort. As he walked, he looked back and casually performed an ollie 180, landing to reveal his full face. His face mask was in his hand, and his face—
Wei Zhi: “…”
She exited the page and unfollowed.
Candidate Number Three.
Yet another skiing-related content creator in Zhangjiakou, a partnered instructor at a peak resort. Estimated height: 178 cm. Another freestyle master, effortlessly performing drive spin 360s, 540s, and 720s. He had millions of followers, with each video garnering tens of thousands of likes.
Not bad, not bad.
She clicked into his profile, about to follow—
Oh.
The very first video was a face reveal. The young man in snow gear did a nollie 540, fell, and face-planted while holding his action camera. His laughter echoed across the entire slope, unable to contain his amusement.
Wei Zhi even found that laughter is familiar.
Wei Zhi: “…”
It was fucking Lao Yan.
Damn it.
She exited the page and didn’t follow.
This approach wasn’t working.
Wei Zhi put down her phone in despair. “Jiang Nanfeng, shall we go to the ski school at the mid-mountain resort and… try our luck?”
“Oh,” Jiang Nanfeng hugged her blanket, mercilessly teasing, “So Your Majesty’s efforts in selecting from the harem of short video concubines have all been in vain?”
“Yes,” Wei Zhi replied. “They look fine with face masks and goggles on. Why do they have to take them off?”
Her absurd statement made Jiang Nanfeng scoff, “You’re ridiculous. Only that master instructor of yours would indulge you like this.”
Wei Zhi didn’t respond, caught off guard by the sudden mention of a certain someone. A surge of emotions welled up inside her, causing her cheeks to puff up like a frog’s. She silently got up to take a shower.
…
Half an hour later, they were ready to leave.
It was cold outside, so Wei Zhi decided to wear her snow gear and ski boots directly to the resort.
She put on her light purple bib snow pants and white jacket, but when it came to the ski boots, something felt off.
Ski boots were supposed to be tight, that’s true, and after days of skiing, she had almost gotten used to it. However, the moment she shoved her foot into the new ski boot, she felt distinctly uncomfortable: This was way too tight!
Even without pulling the tongue’s drawstring, every cell from her toes to her instep to her ankle seemed to be tightly bound within the boot, pressed firmly against the shell. In no time, her foot began to lose sensation.
“That’s normal,” Jiang Nanfeng explained. “Yan Yan said wearing new ski boots for the first time is like torturing yourself. You’ll constantly feel like you need to amputate your feet, but it gets better later… Didn’t your master tell you this?”
Jiang Nanfeng had bought Burton’s current season BOA model, with steel wire dials. When putting them on, she loosened the front dial, and when ready to ski, she’d tighten it and press down, quickly securing the entire boot. It was very convenient and suitable for women.
Compared to Wei Zhi’s Deeluxe boots, Burton’s were much softer and more comfortable.
As she spoke, she slipped her feet into her ski boots and loosened the dials, then straightened up.
“Oh, I forgot, you two were practically at each other’s throats when you parted ways yesterday.”
Wei Zhi scoffed at Jiang Nanfeng’s occasional mockery.
The Deeluxe ski boots had Velcro straps and drawstrings. Two side drawstrings controlled the upper and lower parts of the tongue’s straps, with Velcro at the very top for additional support. When relaxing the boots, you could undo a small fixed strap on the front of the tongue…
After putting on the boots and loosening all the adjustable parts as much as possible, Wei Zhi stood up and took a couple of steps.
“My toes are starting to go numb from lack of blood flow.”
“Bear with it,” Jiang Nanfeng glanced at the young girl’s ski boots. “Those boots do look pretty good. Beauty comes at a price.”
Wei Zhi had to hold onto the wall even when taking the elevator, alternating between her left and right foot.
Jiang Nanfeng, affected by her restlessness, commented, “You know, you look like a red-crowned crane on a hot wok right now.”
Wei Zhi expressionlessly lowered her raised right foot.
As they exited the elevator and headed towards the hotel entrance, Wei Zhi limped ahead to push open the door. She turned back to ask Jiang Nanfeng, “Did Lao Yan tell you how many days this pain usually lasts? Also, could you ask him if it’s normal to feel like I’m being squeezed like Dongpo pork—”
Before she could finish her sentence, just as she pushed open the hotel door, she caught sight of a familiar SUV driving past her.
The car hit a recently thawed pothole without slowing down, making a loud “clang” as mud splattered across its door.
… There was probably only one car that was dirty in all of Zhangjiakou.
Wei Zhi closed her mouth, her gaze involuntarily following the SUV as it circled the parking lot, found a spot, and smoothly reversed into it.
Then the passenger door opened first.
A girl wearing a knit hat jumped out.
She wore light green snowboard boots, had long hair dyed a shade of pink that could only be achieved through bleaching, a pink plaid snowsuit, and was about 165 cm tall. Her skin was very fair, and she wore light-colored lip gloss…
Her makeup was distinctly Korean-style.
She had already put on her face mask, but it was pulled down to her chin, forming a V-shape that made her face look tiny.
It wasn’t Hua Yan.
It was another pretty girl.
She jumped out of the car and steadied herself, then opened the back door to retrieve her snowboard. At the same time, the driver’s door opened—
A man in an all-black sweatshirt and sweatpants, wearing a black baseball cap and Dr. Martens boots, stepped out of the driver’s seat with his long legs.
The shadow cast by his black mask and cap brim made it difficult to see his face…
But Wei Zhi would recognize him even if he turned to ashes.
He also went to the back seat and, after a moment of consideration, took out a black snowboard. Just as he steadied the board, the pink-haired girl who had been standing by the passenger side approached him…
She said something to him, laughing. She took off her gloves, pulled out an action camera from her jacket pocket, and handed it to the man.
He didn’t refuse, naturally taking it and fiddling with it, probably dealing with some settings issue. He turned his head, leaning down slightly towards the girl beside him, and said a few more words…
Wei Zhi couldn’t hear what he said.
The girl let out a hearty laugh and, with her hand on the man’s hand holding the camera, she reached out to adjust the action camera stick… From a distance, they looked very close, with her holding the front half of the camera stick, probably teaching him how to angle it to make people look good—
At this point, Wei Zhi stopped watching.
So she missed the moment when the girl’s hand had barely touched Shan Chong’s before he inconspicuously moved his hand away.
Jiang Nanfeng, however, watched the whole thing and was about to sigh, wondering if this guy had some kind of skin allergy that prevented him from being touched. When she turned around, Wei Zhi was already ten meters away.
Jiang Nanfeng: “…”
Jiang Nanfeng: “Hey! Hey?!”
Jiang Nanfeng: “Jiji?”
Jiang Nanfeng: “Wei Zhi!!!!”
Jiang Nanfeng: “You crazy woman! Now you’re walking like the wind? Don’t your feet hurt anymore?! Hey! Wait for me!”
Jiang Nanfeng shouted as she ran after the person walking ahead without looking back.
…
In this case, Jiang Nanfeng didn’t realize how loud her voice was. So when she bellowed “Wei Zhi” while pursuing her, the man standing by the SUV, who had been lowering his head to study how to use the GoPro action camera, paused. He lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced in the direction of the distant shout.
“The wide-angle lens setting is here— Hm? Chong-shen? What’s wrong?”
A woman’s voice, close by, rang in his ears.
Shan Chong blinked. The figure in purple bib pants reflected in his dark pupils became increasingly distant and blurry.
“Ah, it’s nothing,” the man replied, averting his gaze downward. His tone was polite but distant. “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that?”
…
It was peak ski season, and the mid-mountain resort was packed.
Chongli had many ski resorts, and the distribution of ski enthusiasts created an interesting situation:
The peak resort was a large, comprehensive ski area with wide slopes, high altitudes, low temperatures, and good snow quality. It had good food, well-equipped hotels, and was suitable for family trips… so it attracted more beginners, those who enjoyed basic skiing or carving.
The foot of the mountain, with its relatively higher temperatures and narrower slopes, was close to Chongli’s commercial center, making it convenient for daily life… More beautiful young women and trendy men gathered here, with fewer advanced skiers. People preferred to practice freestyle techniques on beginner and intermediate slopes.
The mid-mountain resort was the playground of park masters. Experts gathered here to hit rails and pipes, honing their skills…
Because the mid-mountain resort had a commercial area, there were also many foreigners here—in the current environment of closed international flight routes, it felt like all the foreigners in China had gathered at this resort.
There were no instructors available. Unlike the peak resort’s team of over a hundred instructors, the mid-mountain resort had fewer, only about twenty, and they were all teaching.
Wei Zhi’s attempt to find an instructor at random had failed.
While queuing for coffee, she persistently opened the short video app again, checked nearby users, and started searching for any reliable experts who might be free—
But everyone she found at this resort was either hitting pipes or rails.
These were completely beyond her skill level.
Looking around—
Apart from foreigners, there were quite a few domestic snowboarders with boards beside them. Some boards had stickers from ski clubs and brand sponsors, making them look impressive.
Even more impressive was one guy holding coffee in one hand, with his other arm in a sling. Despite this, there was unmelted snow on his snowsuit, indicating he had just come back for a break.
He was chatting with a friend.
Bandaged Rider A: “I don’t think I’ll ever get that rail slide. I’ve watched hundreds of tutorial videos, but I just can’t learn it.”
Rider B: “Practice on flat ground first, then move to the rails.”
Rider B wore a baggy hoodie, his gloves off, and placed them nearby. His hands were adorned with various vintage-style metal rings, and his hair was dyed white.
Very trendy.
Bandaged Rider A: “Fat lot of good that does. I tried that the day before yesterday, panicked when I got on the rail, caught my front edge, and bam—my elbow hit the rail. I don’t even remember how I got to the hospital or how I left.”
Rider B: “Then there’s no hope. Find someone to teach you.”
Bandaged Rider A: “Who?”
Rider B: “That guy up on the mountain… or isn’t Dai Duo also in Chongli now? He probably hasn’t left yet.”
Bandaged Rider A: “… Bro, are you crazy? First of all, that guy is from the CK Club. We’ve been at odds for years. If I’m caught, I’d be kicked out of the Wantong Hall Club.”
Rider B: “Just ask him secretly. As long as our club manager doesn’t find out, it’ll be fine. If you don’t say anything, I don’t think he’d tell anyone either.”
Bandaged Rider A: “6000 yuan is enough for two trips to the orthopedics… Besides, I heard that unless you’re a close disciple or introduced by a friend, he doesn’t take temporary students. You have to queue, and there are basic skill requirements—what if he says my foundation isn’t good enough to teach me? That’d be more embarrassing than failing to get into Tsinghua or Peking University.”
Rider B: “Not necessarily. I heard he’s been teaching basic slopes recently too.”
Bandaged Rider A: “Who? Who’d pay 6000 yuan just to learn how to slide down a slope?”
Rider B: “… That’s true. So, can you sleep at night knowing you won’t be able to do anything this ski season?”
Bandaged Rider A: “I can’t sleep, but I’ll force myself to.”
They both burst into laughter.
Wei Zhi, who had overheard everything: “…”
She didn’t understand a single word.
Wei Zhi began to question if she had come to the wrong ski resort.
No instructors, and the people around her either didn’t speak her language, or those who did weren’t down-to-earth… Her feet were also very painful, and even these ski boots couldn’t escape the curse of new shoes—her heels were starting to chafe.
From head to toe, soul body, there wasn’t a single pleasant sensation. She felt a bit dejected.
Just as she was sighing for the eight hundredth time, someone tapped her shoulder, and Jiang Nanfeng’s voice came from behind: “Wei Zhi, let’s talk.”
Wei Zhi turned around, looking blankly at Jiang Nanfeng.
“Let’s cut to the chase. What’s going on with you now?”
“My feet hurt.”
“Who’s talking about that?”
“Well, right now my feet hurt,” she emphasized. “They hurt like hell. Don’t your ski boots chafe?”
“Mine don’t. I think it’s not your feet that hurt, it’s your heart that’s aching.”
“… Is that supposed to be a joke?”
Jiang Nanfeng ignored her attempt at humor and looked serious: “I’m asking you, what was with that mopey, dejected look this morning? I’ve told you before, that precious instructor of yours is a big shot, but you didn’t believe me… Do you know what being a big shot means? They’re as elusive as dragons, with disciples and followers everywhere, people queuing up just to get a lesson—”
“What tongue twister are you reciting? It even rhymes. But he clearly said no one wanted to take his lessons,” Wei Zhi remembered what Shan Chong had said. “What you’re saying doesn’t add up.”
“Fine, even if he only has an occasional lesson, doesn’t he still have to teach it? Besides, apart from you, doesn’t he have to look after his other disciples?” Jiang Nanfeng said, “You need to balance this. Don’t get all gloomy over it.”
Wei Zhi blinked, not admitting it.
“I’m not gloomy.”
“I’ve heard you sigh eight hundred times just this morning.”
” I haven’t. I’m sighing because my feet hurt.”
Wei Zhi got her coffee and walked to the side, silently beginning to put on her loosened ski boots—
Tightening the drawstrings.
The Velcro straps required all her strength to fasten.
Then, successfully, the moment the Velcro was fastened, her feet hurt even more.
As the young girl focused on putting on her ski boots, Jiang Nanfeng wasn’t about to let her off the hook. She followed closely, determined to spell things out clearly: “You’re not? Then why did you run away this morning when you saw him driving here with a new student?”
“…”
Her chin was forcibly lifted, and Wei Zhi slightly narrowed her eyes.
With her chin in Jiang Nanfeng’s hand, forced to look directly at her serious-faced friend, whose tone was also very stern: “Remember how I never let you casually take on masters when we used to play games? Imprinting is dangerous. You’d better put him in the right place, and put yourself in the right place too. I’m starting to think you’re going off track… Don’t think I’m nagging, I’m just giving you a friendly reminder. Tell me honestly, did your mom call you yesterday about something else?”
Wei Zhi put on a perfunctory expression, her lips moving as if about to say something.
“Han Yiming?”
As soon as this name entered her ears, the young girl’s face tensed up, noticeably paling a shade. Her eyes flickered, clearly not wanting to mention this person.
After a while, the paleness that had appeared for a moment was replaced by a hint of color. She averted her gaze, refusing eye contact, and swatted away Jiang Nanfeng’s hand, saying, “What are you talking about? You weren’t even this worried when I was crushing on Glasses Cloth!”
“That’s because I knew you were just joking around then, but this isn’t the same.”
Moreover, they were the same person, which was alarming.
Jiang Nanfeng felt like she had gotten too invested in watching this drama unfold.
And the little girl was still being stubborn.
“This is the same too.”
As she spoke, she had finished putting on her ski boots and stood up to take a few steps. Apart from the more noticeable friction on her heels, her toes had also completely lost sensation, going numb.
Every step hurt.
This wasn’t skiing, it was torture.
“Have you said enough? If you have, let’s go up the mountain,” she said expressionlessly. “I’ve already found tutorial videos for front and back edge C-turns. If no one teaches me, I’ll practice on my own.”
“…”
Seeing her like this, Jiang Nanfeng didn’t feel right continuing to lecture her like a parent—
She had known Wei Zhi for so many years. The young girl’s romantic history was blanker than a white sheet of paper. In middle school, she would receive a note and be too scared to even look at it, tearing it up immediately. Then she’d tug at Jiang Nanfeng’s sleeve saying, “Someone wrote a note to scold me.” That was the kind of thing she’d do.
Dating was out of the question for her. She was all talk, but when it came to the real thing, she’d wilt…
Like an emotionally challenged simpleton.
Now that she had made herself clear enough, if Wei Zhi still insisted on being stubborn and unclear, blindly rushing into the fire like a moth, then the only thing left to do would be to shove her face into the snow to wake her up…
She would tell her that Chongli was just a stop on their journey. Here, they only needed to be happy.
After leaving, they shouldn’t even look back once.
On the way to rent snowboards with Wei Zhi, Jiang Nanfeng had even thought about how to knock some sense into her.
The two found the cable car to go up the mountain. On the cable car, she asked Wei Zhi for her phone to watch C-turn tutorial videos—
She was also practicing this technique.
As she was watching, a WeChat message popped up at the top of the phone screen.
Jiang Nanfeng glanced at it casually at first, but when she saw who the sender was, she paused.
She looked at Wei Zhi over the edge of the phone.
Wei Zhi: “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Nanfeng, expressionless: “Your big shot instructor sent a message, emphasizing that you shouldn’t go to unfamiliar advanced slopes alone.”
Wei Zhi, currently sitting in the cable car heading to the advanced slope: “…”
Jiang Nanfeng looked again and read directly from the phone: “There’s another message, ‘New ski boots will always be very tight and chafe. If you feel pain, go to the medical station immediately to get some band-aids.'”
Wei Zhi, whose feet were not only very tight but whose heels were also burning and likely already blistered: “…”
After reading, Jiang Nanfeng muttered, “So he’s not completely indifferent to your well-being,” and looked up to see Wei Zhi’s expression at that moment. “So, did you bring any band-aids?”
Wei Zhi confidently patted her snow suit pocket, which was empty except for a ski pass.
“Great, looks like you’ve treated the big shot’s daily advice as hot air, not following a single instruction.”
“…”
Wei Zhi said nothing, silently stuffing the phone Jiang Nanfeng had returned into her pocket like a sulking goose.
Jiang Nanfeng crossed her arms and looked at her sideways: “Out of politeness, shouldn’t you at least say ‘Understood, thank you’?”
Wei Zhi, expressionless, let out an “Oh,” took out her phone, and said in a voice message: “Understood, thank you.”
Jiang Nanfeng silently gave her a thumbs up.