Wei Zhi bent down to pick up the ski boots, feeling perplexed—
These were quite different from the shoes she usually wore.
Snowboarding is a leg-intensive sport, that requires specialized snowboard boots. The quality of the boots can affect one’s riding technique and progress. Different boots have varying degrees of stiffness, which correspond to different riding styles…
Wei Zhi was a beginner and didn’t understand these nuances.
She just knew she didn’t know how to put these boots on.
Traditional snowboard boots come in three types—
One type has a pull-string system, like the pair Shan Chong was wearing.
Another type uses the BOA system. These boots are easy to put on and take off, with a wire lace system on the front tongue. You pull, twist, and push a dial, making them very user-friendly for women with less hand strength.
The third type is the traditional lace-up boot. These are usually the cheapest and are commonly rented out at ski resorts. Putting them on and tightening them can work up a sweat, requiring all your strength, and you might still not get them on properly…
Wei Zhi was holding the third type.
She lifted her head to look at Shan Chong, holding the boots.
He was also looking down at the top of her head, wondering how long she was going to stand there pondering over the boots.
“It’ll be dark outside soon,” his slightly raspy voice came from behind the face mask. “What are you thinking about?”
“Thinking about how to put these boots on,” Wei Zhi said. “Why are there so many laces?”
She was just asking casually, expecting her instructor to give her some condescending pointers before she put the boots on—that should have been the process. But to her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, the person in front of her knelt on one knee.
Wei Zhi: “…”
She was so startled she scooted back a bit.
But the person in front of her didn’t pay attention to her reaction. Without lifting his head, he took the snowboard boots from her hands, grabbed one, and started to put it on her foot.
First, he opened the boot tongue, slipped her foot in, and then pulled out a lace from between the tongue and the boot upper. As he tightened the lace, Wei Zhi felt like her foot could no longer breathe… He flipped down the lace lock, then casually rolled up the excess lace and tucked it into the space between the tongue and the boot upper.
“Is it tight?” he asked without looking up.
“It’s so tight my blood can’t circulate. Is this normal?” Wei Zhi asked sincerely. “Will I need an amputation later?”
To her surprise, he chuckled lightly: “You’re delicate.”
As he said this, his actions were ruthless. He pulled the outer laces tight with one hand, causing Wei Zhi to inhale sharply. Now, not only her foot but also the front half of her lower leg was bound in the boot like a zongzi…
She wiggled her calf, feeling like she might not even be able to walk.
As she was fidgeting, someone lightly patted her calf: “Don’t move.”
She immediately stopped.
Shan Chong picked up the other boot, but Wei Zhi quickly snatched it away: “I know how to put it on now, you can get up.”
Shan Chong looked up at her.
His dark eyes were calm, and they were quite close. Wei Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. She steadied herself before saying, “You’re making me feel pressured like this.”
“Like what?”
“Kneeling.”
“…”
“…”
Wei Zhi wanted to slap her uncontrollable mouth.
Unexpectedly, after a long while, Shan Chong’s expression didn’t change at all. He was extremely calm as if someone had just invited him to dinner. He slowly stood up and said lightly, “You’d better get used to it.”
“Get used to what?”
“There will be plenty more times I’ll be kneeling for you.”
“…400 yuan for an afternoon of kneeling service from a young, handsome guy?”
“Interesting interpretation. Remind me later to suggest to the ski resort owner to rename this place ‘Snow State Male Host Club’.”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
“No,” Shan Chong stood up straight, leaned lazily against the locker, and yawned. “I’m not even trying to hide it, where’s the ‘sarcasm’?”
“…”
This guy spoke slowly, his tone unhurried, but every sentence was perfectly cut.
Wei Zhi didn’t dare to speak anymore. She mimicked what he had done to put on the other boot, stood up, and hopped forward a couple of steps. She indeed felt like a clumsy bear, unable to even bend her knees.
Shan Chong stood patiently to the side, arms crossed, watching the young girl hop around for a while. Once she seemed familiar with the constricting feel of the boots, he casually picked up both of their boards and said, “Let’s go.”
Wei Zhi looked back at him carrying a board in each arm, suddenly remembering that he had carried both boards all the way here to change boots.
Snowboards are quite heavy.
Wei Zhi suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. She opened her arms to take her snowboard.
Unexpectedly, Shan Chong shifted to one side, avoiding her, and said calmly, “I’ll give it to you after you get your gloves. The board edges are sharp.”
Wei Zhi stared at the veins slightly protruding on the back of his hands: “But you’re not wearing gloves either.”
“My skin is tough,” Shan Chong clicked his tongue lightly. “Are you comparing yourself to me?”
“Oh.”
Are all the ski instructors here trained to be this considerate?
At this moment, Wei Zhi thought all the ski instructors at the resort were conscientious.
But after getting her helmet, goggles, and gloves, as they walked out of the equipment hall, she observed. Most of the instructors in their uniforms were carrying their boards in front, followed by beginners probably like her…
The beginners were all carrying their boards, struggling to walk, panting heavily.
She looked back at the person walking in front of her, firmly holding both boards, even though Wei Zhi was now wearing the resort-provided gloves.
“…” Wei Zhi asked, “Is it heavy?”
“Yes.”
“Should I carry it myself?”
“No need.”
“Teacher, you’re nice,” Wei Zhi said, her pronunciation a bit unclear, her voice sweet, efficiently handing out a “nice guy” card. “Shouldn’t such a considerate instructor like you be in high demand at the ski resort? How did I manage to snag you in the restroom?”
The person walking in front suddenly stopped.
He turned back.
Tilting his head, he repeated the word she used: “Considerate?”
“Ah,” Wei Zhi nodded, “What’s wrong?”
Looking down at the young girl in front of him, chin raised innocently, eyes bright and sparkling… Shan Chong found it quite novel.
“Nothing, just making sure you weren’t being sarcastic.”
“…Sarcastic? No, no, ying ying ying, don’t maliciously misinterpret a pure and innocent girl’s words, you are a good person.”
“What’s ‘ying ying ying’?”
“Huh? It’s like… feeling wronged?”
“Oh.”
Shan Chong waved his hand, completely unfazed.
He looked as if he was already quite used to being praised as a “good person.”
…
Outside at the ski slope, it was quite crowded.
The country’s promotion of winter sports had been very effective, and there were particularly many beginners this year.
The beginners were all clustered at the beginner slope. The beginner slope doesn’t require taking a ski lift to the mountain; it’s just in the beginner area, using a conveyor belt-like device to take people up a small hill. The small hill was packed with instructors and beginners… The conveyor belt is called a “magic carpet,” and Shan Chong couldn’t remember ever seeing such a crowd queuing for the magic carpet.
Not rushing to join the crowd on the slope, he put the board down on flat ground and explained to the young girl how to strap in.
He bent down and with two quick movements, opened the bindings on Wei Zhi’s board.
“After opening the back binding, put your foot on it, with your back leg against the board… Is it against it? Insert the strap into the buckle, see this small lever? Push the lever down until you feel it’s tight.”
“Instructor,” Wei Zhi said, bending over and following Shan Chong’s instructions, trying to insert the strap and forcefully push the lever, “I can’t move it. Is there something wrong with this boot?”
She was still trying hard as she spoke, with a slight nasal tone, whining a bit, as if she was acting coy.
Unfortunately, it was like playing the lute to a cow.
Hearing this, Shan Chong glanced at her foot from the corner of his eye.
“There’s nothing wrong with the boot. The problem is with your foot,” he bent down and patted her shoe tip. “Where’s your toe pointing? Can you put on shoes backward?”
This pat straightened her foot, and Wei Zhi immediately heard two “click” sounds as the binding locked onto the snowboard boot. She pushed the small lever a few more times until she couldn’t move it anymore.
That meant it was properly fastened.
Feeling like she had taken the first correct step in learning to snowboard, Wei Zhi was quite happy. She had just straightened up and called out “Instructor” again, with “I’ve got it on” about to slip from her lips when she saw the person standing beside her reach out and grab the small lever she had just struggled with—
“To take off the boot, just pull this lever up… See, it’s open. Got it?”
“…??????”
The boot she had worked so hard to put on was undone again.
“Put it on again.”
Dropping these words, completely ignoring the person beside him who had turned into a “subway grandpa looking at phone.jpg” meme, he stood to the side. Instead of rushing to strap on his board, he took out his phone and found a group among his many active WeChat groups—
The group was named “Doggy Disciples.”
[ck, Chong: Today I’m teaching a beginner girl.]
Originally, everyone in the group was chatting casually, but as soon as Shan Chong spoke up, they all became like flying fish in a pond hit by a bomb, a flurry of lively jumping.
[Wangjing: Did you scold her into quitting? Standard ending.]
[Ashen: Did you scold her into quitting? Standard ending.]
[sakura Yan: Did you scold her into quitting? Standard ending.]
…
[Horizon of Marrakech: Did you scold her into quitting? Standard ending.]
The queue was quite long, with at least dozens of people eagerly lining up to flood the screen.
Shan Chong couldn’t be bothered to respond to these people, he just lazily typed.
[ck, Chong: She said I’m considerate.]
The group suddenly went quiet for three seconds.
[Lao Yan: ?]
[Horizon of Marrakech: ?]
[Ashen: ?]
[Yan Yan: ?]
[sakura Yan: ?]
…
[ck, Chong: Just letting you know, from now on, don’t wail and curse me for not being human every time I ask you to do something.]
[ck, Chong: I almost believed I was that harsh.]
[ck, Chong: Turns out you were all gaslighting me.]
Shan Chong thought for a moment, suddenly remembering something.
So, in the brief silence of shock in the group chat, while everyone was seriously considering whether “gaslighting” had another meaning they didn’t know about, his fingertips moved across the phone screen, and he expressionlessly typed three characters—
[ck, Chong: Ying ying ying.]