Shan Chong’s phone call had a simple reason: alcohol and a spur-of-the-moment decision.
#### Rewind to Half an Hour Ago
After a day of practice, the group didn’t go out to eat. Instead, each person grabbed a case of beer, ordered a bunch of skewers for delivery, and brought a couple of side dishes to the mountain, all in high spirits.
Seven or eight people sat around a small, shabby coffee table, playing a lively movie in the background. They chatted about life and gossip, mostly about the skiing community.
Someone suddenly mentioned a recent celebrity in the skiing world. As skiing became more popular, the community saw more and more eccentric characters.
This year, a female internet celebrity named Xue Li emerged. She was quite beautiful, and her social media was filled with photos of her posing with a snowboard. While others bundled up in layers to stay warm in the snow, she wore only sports bras, using the snowboard as a prop for her photos.
The term “Skiing Socialite,” abbreviated as “Ski Socialite,” likely originated from her.
Once, she got into an argument with someone who questioned whether she was there to ski or just to take photos, accusing her of not even knowing how to switch edges. She claimed she could hold a cup of coffee and ski down the Aven Avenue at the Xinjiang Silk Road Ski Resort without spilling a drop.
This quickly spread throughout the skiing community, and now everyone jokes, “Can you hold a cup of coffee without spilling a drop?”
It’s no wonder everyone made a joke out of it; she mentioned a few key terms:
First, Carving.
Everyone knows that carving is a technique that combines edge control and flatland tricks.
Being able to carve doesn’t necessarily make you an expert.
Being able to do flatland tricks doesn’t necessarily make you an expert.
But being able to combine carving and flatland tricks makes you an expert.
Carving is essentially extreme edge control. Although there’s no rule that your hand must touch the snow while carving, extreme edge control and body folding rely on the board’s inertia and elasticity, using the board’s reaction force to complete each edge switch.
Flatland tricks include various balance moves on the board, such as spins, jumps, and even flips.
Combining carving and flatland tricks is like a gymnast on a balance beam, influenced by inertia, centrifugal force, and jumps. Even an Olympic champion wouldn’t claim they could hold a cup of coffee without spilling a drop.
Shan Chong chuckled and commented, “Well, with a sealed Starbucks cup, I could carry ten.”
Second, Aven Avenue.
Aven Avenue, known as “Aven” in the skiing community, is famous. You might not know where the Winter Olympics venue is in Zhangjiakou Chongli, but you can’t know Aven Avenue in Xinjiang.
Aven Avenue was built in October 2010 when the Xinjiang Silk Road Ski Resort was just starting. They invited the famous Italian skier and Olympic champion, Aven Stick, as a project collaborator. Unfortunately, Aven was diagnosed with cancer and passed away during the project’s construction. To commemorate him, the ski resort named the most challenging and steepest slope “Aven” to honor his dedication to skiing until his last breath.
This is a high mountain slope with a 400-meter drop and a maximum 36-degree steep slope, certified for international alpine skiing events.
It’s said to be one of the top three most challenging slopes in China.
The slope starts with a gentle 25-degree incline, but at the steepest part, you can always see people sitting by the slope, contemplating how to get down.
This spot is also known as the “Life Reflection Point” of Aven Avenue.
Aven Avenue is a pilgrimage site for skiers.
People say that to prove your basic skiing skills, don’t just talk; ski down Aven in one go, and you’re considered graduated.
This joke about Aven was initially just a casual mention, but someone got excited and boasted, “I heard Aven’s steepness is similar to our mountain’s advanced H slope. It’s nothing special. If I go, I might not hold a cup of coffee, but I can at least carve down.”
Lao Yan, hearing this, couldn’t resist. He changed his posture, tilted his head, and said, “Really? If you blow this out of proportion, it won’t be good.”
“Yeah, how so?” the person boasted, “Let’s go? I’ll carve down Aven for you to see.”
Lao Yan and the person started arguing, and Bei Ci, listening, got interested and searched for Aven Avenue online.
He had been skiing for years, and every year, when the snow in the north wasn’t good at the end of the season, he would fly to Xinjiang to ski off-piste. He usually went to Altay General Mountain Ski Resort, passing by the Silk Road Ski Resort in Urumqi.
He had never been to Aven Avenue.
Mainly because he wasn’t focused on skiing techniques and had no particular desire to go.
But now, watching countless videos of people confidently starting down Aven, only to reach the Life Reflection Point and slide down on their butts, he couldn’t stop laughing.
“Let’s go to Xinjiang,” Bei Ci said, “Team building!”
Shan Chong took his phone, glanced at the video of someone tumbling down Aven, and tossed the phone back. “You won’t see this scene if you go.”
Bei Ci: “Why not?”
Shan Chong: “Aven might be steep, but if everyone here skis properly, at least we can stand and ski down.”
Bei Ci: “Are you complimenting us? Why does it sound sarcastic?”
Shan Chong: “Just reminding you not to mess around. Plane tickets aren’t free.”
Bei Ci: “I just want to see someone sliding down. Isn’t my junior sister still around?”
Listen to this senior brother. He didn’t think of Wei Zhi for anything good but immediately thought of her for this.
Imagine a little girl sliding down Aven on a sled. How cute!
Like elementary school kids in the snow park!
“Can’t you think of something good?”
Shan Chong didn’t even lift his eyelids at Bei Ci’s suggestion. “A few days ago, you were yelling about causing trouble for Wantong Hall because they took someone who couldn’t switch edges to the park. Now you want to take the same person to Aven. She’s unlucky to have met you guys.”
“Isn’t that why you’re here?” Bei Ci said without hesitation. “If you were watching, I’d dare take her to the park too.”
“……”
“A mere Aven, you can’t protect her?”
“The Silk Road Ski Resort has a professional rescue team.”
“If you’re there, they won’t be needed.”
Shan Chong didn’t respond. He didn’t need to look; he could smell Bei Ci’s bad intentions and knew he wanted to drag him into being an accomplice.
After all, this wasn’t a good thing. Seeing his master not responding, Bei Ci didn’t dare keep pushing, and the matter was temporarily dropped.
Later, after a few rounds of drinks, someone mentioned Xinjiang again. Checking the weather, they saw that the next week in Chongli would be sunny with temperatures above freezing, turning the ski resort into an ice rink. In a burst of excitement, they bought plane tickets to Xinjiang.
Shan Chong didn’t care where he skied. He usually went to Xinjiang at the end of the season, so going a bit earlier this year didn’t matter. He let them buy the tickets together.
At this point, Bei Ci asked, “Invite my junior sister!”
Shan Chong glanced at him.
Bei Ci: “Oh, not to Aven, but at least she should learn to switch edges this season, right? She’s afraid of steep slopes, so take her to the Buddha Light Avenue next to Aven. I heard that slope is less crowded and has a good incline, perfect for practicing.”
Even then, Shan Chong didn’t agree.
Until he had downed two bottles of liquor, leaning on the sofa, not wanting to talk, and was forced to play Truth or Dare. He lost the first round, and everyone excitedly made him call the “current holder of the turtle pad,” “current owner of the Dai Duo goggles,” “the disciple personally taught by the master,” “Shan Chong’s only slope-pushing disciple”…
A bunch of ridiculous titles.
Only then did Shan Chong, under the eager and gossipy eyes of the group, make the call to invite Wei Zhi to Xinjiang.
It wasn’t a big deal. At the mountain ski resort, she had managed to tumble down the 25-degree advanced slope.
No reason she couldn’t do it in a different place.
Besides, with him watching, nothing major would go wrong.
…
So, he made the call.
Which led to the current awkward situation—
The young girl was with her boyfriend, and another man called her in the middle of the night. What kind of situation was this?
Shan Chong hung up and seriously pondered. Wei Zhi hadn’t shown any signs of having a boyfriend during her ten days in Chongli. Did she rush into a marriage before the New Year for the festive atmosphere?
He hadn’t figured it out when Bei Ci, with a stroke of genius, asked, “Are you trying to steal her away?”
Shan Chong glanced at him with a “Are you crazy” look and said expressionlessly, “Can you have some decency?”
Bei Ci clapped his hands, “Oh, you didn’t refuse, so you want to.”
Shan Chong didn’t even bother to roll his eyes.
At this moment, his phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw a message from the person who had just hung up on him.
[Girl Ji: Ordered to deliver car keys and a late-night snack to a neighbor.]
[Girl Ji: Just a neighbor, not a weirdo.]
Ten seconds later, the second message was retracted.
Shan Chong raised an eyebrow.
These days, for a girl in her twenties to call someone “big brother,” the person must be at least forty, right?
That would be quite old for a boyfriend.
He casually guessed, without any psychological burden, unaware that the girl on the other end of WeChat was in a panic, torn between “I need to explain this to him” and “Why do I need to explain this to him, just retract it” and “Why is the retraction feature on WeChat so poorly designed.”
The man, displaying gentlemanly patience, waited for two minutes, drank half a can of beer, and then leisurely picked up his phone to reply.
[Chong: What did you retract?]
[Girl Ji: Just a typo from a slip of the hand.]
She quickly changed the subject.
[Girl Ji: Why the sudden trip to Xinjiang? Where in Xinjiang?]
[Chong: First to Urumqi’s Silk Road Ski Resort. They want to check out Aven Avenue…]
[Chong: Do you know Aven Avenue?]
[Girl Ji: No.]
[Chong: Google it yourself.]
[Girl Ji: …You didn’t need to ask then.]
[Chong: The Silk Road should be the first stop. After that, we’ll probably go to Altay General Mountain Ski Resort and stay there for the rest of the season.]
[Girl Ji: Oh! Spending the New Year there?]
[Chong: Yeah, round-trip tickets aren’t free. Why run back and forth?]
[Girl Ji: …]
Shan Chong thought for a moment.
[Chong: Is your foot better?]
[Girl Ji: It’s been fine for a while.]
The man, holding his phone and looking at the lively tone of the girl on the screen, yawned. The alcohol was kicking in, and he slowly typed out two words—
[Chong: Coming?]
Shan Chong didn’t realize how much weight those two simple words carried for someone else. The phone coldly displayed “typing,” but he couldn’t see that on the other end, the girl was frantically typing—
Coming coming coming coming coming…
And she was still typing repetitively.
After a while, she remembered her mess of responsibilities and the need for a girl to be reserved. She deleted the frantic, repetitive text.
So, after a long while, Shan Chong saw a few words pop up in the chat, particularly hesitant and reserved, “I’ll think about it.”
…
Wei Zhi’s “thinking about it” lasted several days.
During these days, she disappeared without a trace. Han Yiming’s texts went unanswered, and his calls were unreturned. Whenever something came up, she was nowhere to be found, and it took her half a day to return his calls, apologizing sincerely: “Sorry, I was busy and didn’t see my phone.”
Wei Zhi had never resisted before, so she never lied about such things, and naturally, no one suspected her at this time.
But this situation went on for several days, and Dr. Han wasn’t stupid. He realized the girl was avoiding him—previously, when he had time off, they would at least go see a movie. Now, when he had time off, Wei Zhi vanished.
That night, the late-night snack she brought felt like a last meal.
Once this thought took root, he couldn’t sit still. He shed his usual lazy, indifferent attitude, even when he was in a bad mood and didn’t want to attend family gatherings. He actively sought out the parents and suggested meeting at a restaurant over the weekend to talk.
The parents were initially stunned but then overjoyed. Mrs. Yang personally went to fetch her daughter, patting her on the shoulder, saying, “See, I told you it would work out! I knew you had concerns about his ambiguous attitude, but I told you to trust me, and you didn’t believe me—Dr. Han does have feelings for you. He’s the one who suggested talking. Isn’t that clear enough?”
Wei Zhi rubbed her sore shoulder, wondering if they thought she was playing hard to get.
Thinking about it made her not only her shoulder hurt but also her head.
At the restaurant, the Han family was already waiting. After some familiar greetings, they sat down. Wei Zhi sat next to Han Yiming, who poured her a glass of lemon water and pushed it in front of her.
Wei Zhi glanced at him. Today, he was dressed casually in a dark blue Thom Browne tracksuit, which cost over ten thousand yuan. Although the brand’s design was simple and outrageously expensive, the cut was excellent, highlighting the good figure of a man and giving him the air of a successful person.
Han Yiming lived a disciplined life and maintained his figure well.
After a few instinctive glances, Wei Zhi lost interest and looked away, sipping her lemon water.
Mrs. Yang was good at conversation, starting the topic like it was an awards ceremony. The parents chatted easily about Wei Zhi and Han Yiming’s childhoods. When Mrs. Juan mentioned, “After Han Yiming left, my daughter cried herself sick. No one could console her; she was so clingy,” Wei Zhi felt a wave of nausea.
She put down her lemon water.
“Mom, let’s not talk about childhood stories.”
Wei Zhi’s soft protest was taken as a sign of shyness.
“Oh, adults are talking; children shouldn’t interrupt,” Mrs. Yang laughed, covering her mouth. “When you were little, you wouldn’t let Nan Feng sit on Han Yiming’s bike. You pulled her off, saying his back seat was only for you and that you wanted to be his bride—”
The word “bride” struck a nerve.
“Haha, now Han Yiming’s car’s passenger seat isn’t for just anyone either. You know, not to say anything bad, but some of his colleagues at the hospital act like they’ve never been in a car before…”
“Speaking of cars, if the kids live together in the future, one car won’t be enough,” Mr. Han finally had something to say. “I noticed Wei Zhi doesn’t go out much and doesn’t have her car. It’s fine, but it’s inconvenient without a car for occasional outings. We’re all family, so I’ll get her a car. It doesn’t have to be too fancy; I think a 911 would be perfect—”
“Oh, Mr. Han, that’s too generous.”
“You’re being too polite.”
Mrs. Yang was overjoyed—before even discussing the dowry, they were offering a car worth over a million yuan. What was there to discuss?
She wasn’t stingy either: “Since you’re so generous, I should also make a gesture. I can’t bear to have my daughter live too far away, and it would be inconvenient for Dr. Han to commute. We have a house at Lakeview Villa. The kids can live there after some renovations. It’s closer to the airport highway, so Dr. Han’s commute will be even shorter.”
“Oh, Mrs. Yang, you shouldn’t provide the house!”
“What’s the big deal? Mr. Han said we’re all family—”
The atmosphere at the table suddenly became very warm due to the parents’ generosity.
Wei Zhi was amazed at how they could entertain themselves, ignoring the opinions of those involved, and started daydreaming. She took out her phone and started scrolling.
She scrolled to her Moments.
In her Moments, Bei Ci had posted a short video, tagged in Xinjiang, at the Silk Road Ski Resort.
Wei Zhi turned the volume down and opened the video—
The video had a vintage filter with snowflakes.
The first scene showed a group of young people in colorful clothes, dragging longboard bags, and walking away from the camera at the airport…
Then the screen went black.
The next second, they reappeared in the same formation, with the same colorful clothes and board bags, but at a different airport. In the distance, a sign read: “Welcome to Urumqi.”
The girl with colorful braids, who had been at the edge, turned around first, smiling brightly and running towards the camera, waving…
Then she squatted by the camera, saying something to the people in the distance.
Meanwhile, the handsome man in the middle of the group turned around impatiently, showing his face.
Then the scene cut to the front of a snow-covered wooden hotel.
A group of people stood by the roadside. Bei Ci lay in the snow, flailing and unable to get up, while everyone laughed.
A group of people rode horses up the mountain with their snowboards. Yan Yan, a girl, made a peace sign and took a selfie with her laughing face and the horse.
A group of people appeared in a park buried in snow, pushing Shan Chong and Bei Ci on swings, laughing as they swung.
Yan Yan posed for a photo by the slope, and as she did, Lao Yan, Bei Ci, and others passed by, spraying her with snow. Shan Chong’s snow wall was at least four meters high.
A group of experts raced down the slope, pushing the snow with their back edges.
A group of experts went off-piste and crashed, with Bei Ci falling into a pit. Everyone threw their boards into the pit, laughing and digging him out…
The camera gave Shan Chong a close-up. Even with his face covered by a mask and goggles, you could sense his exasperation. He pulled a shovel from his backpack.
—It was a long video, but Wei Zhi watched it frame by frame.
“I mean, after the New Year, the kids should get their marriage certificate first.”
Mr. Han’s voice suddenly reached Wei Zhi’s ears.
“Xiao Zhi,” Han Yiming’s gentle voice sounded patient and kind, “stop looking at your phone. If you have any thoughts, you can share them now.”
…The video on her phone started replaying because she hadn’t paused or exited.
The snowy landscape was a white romance, making her brain feel slow as if everything had a filter. The scenery, the people, the stories…
For her, it was like the protagonist of a story passing through a magical wardrobe to Narnia. She had once been to a fairy tale world—
The protagonist meets Aslan the Lion in Narnia.
In another snowy place, there was also a king in her eyes.
Now, leaving that icy city and returning to a place with a blazing sun, it felt like everything was back to its original form.
Everyone around her was telling her, Wei Zhi, you need to be an ordinary person with a nine-to-five job and live a conventional life.
It turned out that even the intense sunlight had no warmth.
—But she didn’t want that.
She looked at the five people at the table, filled with false kindness and enthusiasm, looking at her expectantly.
—She didn’t want that.
Something that had been tightly wound in her mind for a long time suddenly snapped with a “pop.”
The screeching sound of a chair scraping the restaurant floor interrupted the rhythm around them. The adults’ cheerful conversation stopped abruptly; other diners looked over in surprise.
The waiter hesitated, wondering if he should remind the lady that her behavior was inappropriate for the restaurant…
But none of that mattered.
“I won’t get married. I don’t like Han Yiming. I can’t hold his hand, take wedding photos with him, smile and get a marriage certificate with him, or sleep in the same bed with him… Sorry to disappoint you. I’m not playing with you; I just thought I could do it before, but now I realize I can’t.”
Wei Zhi heard her voice, slow and firm—
“I’m leaving. I bought a ticket to Xinjiang for tonight. I need to go home and pack… Enjoy your meal.”
She threw the napkin from her lap onto the table and turned to leave—
Starting with a brisk walk, she ended up running, leaving everything behind in a hurry, catching everyone off guard.
It was irresponsible.
But it was liberation.