It was undeniable that when he heard Bei Ci say, “She said she doesn’t like the master,” Shan Chong experienced three seconds of blankness.
First, he was confused about what this had to do with him.
Second, his mind flashed back to the moment he opened the door of the medical room on the snowfield and saw a little girl squatting on the wooden steps, talking on the phone in the cold. Her nose was red from the cold, and with a hoarse voice that hinted at tears, she said, “Then I think the palm and the back of the hand are both flesh…”
But that confusion lasted only a moment.
At this point, the man felt he was overthinking. With a calm expression devoid of any ripples, he quickly stopped this baseless train of thought.
“You’re working so hard; even I’m being used to pull you down. Didn’t she kindly tell you her standards for a partner?” he casually remarked.
“She didn’t say anything, just told me her mom likes doctors and asked if I wanted to take the exam,” Bei Ci replied. “It’s strange; why is being a doctor so appealing? Isn’t being a national athlete good enough?”
Upon hearing the word “doctor,” the person sitting on the bed seemed to recall something. His eyelashes fluttered but fell back down before fully lifting, casting a shadow over his emotions. After a pause, he said, “With such detailed requirements, she must have someone suitable in mind.”
Bei Ci, sensitive to this, turned his head and asked, “Who?”
Shan Chong replied, “? You’re asking me?”
“……”
Right.
Bei Ci twisted his head back.
“If she doesn’t like me, that’s fine, but how can she tell me to leave? Damn, that hurts my pride. I’m not bad-looking, am I? I’m quite impressed, too. In terms of popularity and recognition in the snow sports circle, I may not compare to you, but I’m better than Lao Yan…” The man in his sports gear leaned in front of the mirror, examining his face while speaking. Then he added with a smirk, “Oh, I forgot, she doesn’t like you either.”
Shan Chong: “……”
She doesn’t like good-looking guys, doesn’t like skilled skiers, and certainly doesn’t like those who are well-known in the snow sports community…
If all the quality men are around her and she still doesn’t like them, then what does she like?
Could it be Jiang Nanfeng?
Amused by his humor, Bei Ci chuckled softly at the mirror. When he turned back to discuss the little junior sister’s preferences with his master, he found the latter had already withdrawn his gaze, seriously wrapping something in cling film.
After tearing open a piece of cling film with his teeth and rewrapping it, Shan Chong’s white teeth left Bei Ci stunned for three seconds, causing him to shut his mouth.
Shan Chong’s long legs swung down from the bed, and he stood up. “I’m going to take a shower.”
He took two steps toward the bathroom, paused, and turned back to look at Bei Ci, who was still frozen in place, with his dark eyes. He pressed his thin lips together and said, “Come help me.”
With one hand not being able to undress, Bei Ci stood outside the bathroom and helped him take off his T-shirt. The quick-drying shirt underneath was a bit tight, making it a struggle to pull off. After they both ended up sweaty, Bei Ci tossed the shirt into the laundry basket, revealing the man’s muscular back.
They say skiing is a lower-body sport, but to ski well, whether in freestyle or park, one must engage the core and upper body strength. So, for these athletes, it’s not just about skiing in the winter; very few don’t hit the gym in the summer.
The man’s back muscles were evenly distributed, long, and not overly bulging. Following the spine down, only a jagged scar at the tailbone marred the perfection.
Yet, that scar exuded a strong masculine aura.
Thinking of this, Bei Ci sighed, “Brother Chong, you haven’t been to the gym since the snow season started, but your muscles haven’t lost any mass?”
Shan Chong had just lifted the edge of his underwear when he heard this and let go, turning back to look at him expressionlessly. Just as he was about to ask if Bei Ci was sick, he heard him add, “Let’s not even mention your face that attracts attention and your hardcore skiing skills… The little junior sister probably hasn’t seen your muscles; otherwise, she wouldn’t dare to say she’s not interested. If she had seen them, I think she would have fallen head over heels.”
Shan Chong: “……”
She has seen them.
Yet, she didn’t fall.
Bei Ci continued, “No doctor can compete with you—”
Is this topic ever going to end?
Shan Chong felt a bit annoyed.
Furrowing his brows, he threw his underwear at Bei Ci’s face. “Have you said enough? Get lost.”
Being hit in the face with underwear, Bei Ci was enveloped in an unfamiliar masculine scent and let out a frustrated “ugh” as he angrily tossed the underwear into the laundry basket. With his hands on his hips, he protested, “What’s wrong with saying the little junior sister doesn’t like you? Not every woman in the world has to like you. What’s the big deal if one or two don’t?”
The response to him was the sound of a door slamming, almost hitting his face with emotion.
…
Twenty minutes later.
After finishing his shower, Shan Chong came out to find Bei Ci sprawled on the bed, engrossed in a comic on his iPad. The burly man didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment as he browsed through a pink comic app.
After roughly drying his messy hair with a towel, Shan Chong stood behind him for a moment, then realized the current scene in the comic depicted a guard practicing swordplay in a bamboo forest early in the morning.
In the comic, the guard stood up and twirled, and the sword in his hand was showcased in a close-up shot, and then it ended.
Bei Ci let out a “hiss” and pointed at the sword close-up. “Brother Chong, don’t you think it would be better if this was a close-up of the hand holding the sword?”
Shan Chong replied flatly, “Why are you nitpicking the framing of this comic? Just watch what others draw.”
Bei Ci said, “I went downstairs today and saw the little junior sister draw a close-up of a hand holding a sword… Ah, that would fit perfectly here instead of this monotonous sword tip close-up.”
“Then you should recommend her to the artist, let Wei Zhi be the assistant to this artist, specifically to draw the frames,” Shan Chong said irresponsibly. “The New Year is coming; let’s give the kid who can’t make money a chance to earn some, that’s a good deed.”
Bei Ci pouted and flipped a page of the comic.
On the new page, the artist gave a close-up of the guard’s back, covered in old and new scars, with one particularly noticeable scar on the spine styled like a tattoo…
Shan Chong noticed that the scar’s position matched the one left by his surgery.
At that moment, Bei Ci crossed his legs and flipped another page. This time, the close-up shifted from the guard’s back to his groin. After practicing swordplay, the guard wore some bizarrely constructed pants, and as he moved, the belt loosened, threatening to reveal his black underwear beneath.
Due to sweat, a certain outline was imprinted, and the size was considerable.
Shan Chong: “……”
His eyes were stung: “It’s one thing to read comics on a pink app, but can’t you look at something normal? What kind of nonsense are you watching every day?”
He recalled the last time he went to Wei Zhi’s place to find a cable car video and accidentally opened a page that was clearly from this app, titled “Gym Diary”…
Is this it?
What’s so interesting about it?
As if tonight’s “Daddy” call in the hospital had struck a chord, Shan Chong felt a genuine sense of paternal concern. He tossed the towel aside, bent down, and grabbed his phone to send a message to the little girl: “Stop watching those ridiculous comics.” He typed, sent, and tossed the phone away—all in one go.
Bei Ci felt wronged by the scolding.
Today’s comic had just been updated with a 3-page release, and it was in black and white. After waiting three days for the update, he was furious to see something he already had. Turning to glance at his master, he wanted to share his anger with him—
So he pointed at the well-endowed guard in the comic and said, “It’s not that ridiculous; this guard has a mole on his nose just like you. Remember the comic I mentioned earlier?”
He casually found a front view of the guard from the previous update, pulled it up, and held the iPad in front of Shan Chong.
Shan Chong glanced at it.
“……” After a moment of silence, he thought it did look a bit like him. “What are you trying to say?”
Bei Ci replied, “Today I confessed to the little junior sister and got rejected. I came back hoping to find comfort in the second dimension, but unexpectedly, I spent the price of a green bean popsicle to see someone who looks like you with the size of something I also have…”
Shan Chong: “……”
Bei Ci continued, “I’m really sad. Wouldn’t it be better to just look at you? I think you’re bigger than him.”
Shan Chong reflexively tightened the waistband of his sweatpants with one hand. “Can you shut up?”
“I can’t,” Bei Ci said in despair. “All the comments below are those women going ‘ah ah ah ah ah.’ Damn it, what’s with all the ‘ah ah ah ah’? My negative comments are drowned out! So frustrating! When will men be able to stand up—”
Shan Chong: “Shut up.”
Bei Ci: “Wuwuwu, I’m in such a bad mood.”
Shan Chong: “……”
Shan Chong: “Do I look like I’m in a good mood?”
Shan Chong: “Be quiet, Lei.”
Bei Ci looked confused. “Why are you in a bad mood?”
Shan Chong expressionlessly raised his hand, which had been stitched up with eight stitches, his face clearly showing: Are we supposed to celebrate going to the hospital?
Bei Ci: “Oh.”
He almost misunderstood.
He thought it was because Shan Chong was in a bad mood since the little junior sister didn’t like him. He chuckled.
…
Wei Zhi climbed into bed, yawning, as it approached one-thirty in the morning.
Leaning against the pillow, she casually glanced at the comments from night owl readers. Some criticized her for being lazy and using black-and-white drafts, while more were praising the male supporting character’s size with “ah ah ah.”
At first, she found it amusing, but as she grew sleepier, her head drooped, and her phone nearly fell on her face.
The screen lit up with a new message on WeChat. Wei Zhi opened it to take a look—
It was a comic screenshot sent by Bei Ci, with the caption: “I think this part would fit well with the hand-holding sword drawing you did earlier.”
Wei Zhi glanced at the screenshot and saw the familiar pink interface, causing her scalp to tingle. She instantly woke up, not for any other reason, but because the update Bei Ci sent was her own “Eighteen Poses of Cultivating in Another World.”
The so-called suggestion for the hand-holding sword image had originally existed, but to prevent any slip-ups, she deleted that page before uploading and replaced it with a close-up of the sword tip—
……………………… Thank goodness she deleted it.
Wei Zhi sighed deeply, scrolling down to find the long-ignored Crayon Shin-chan avatar lit up. The message was sent about ten minutes ago, simply saying, “Stop watching those ridiculous comics.”
Wei Zhi: “……”
Completely baffled, but that didn’t stop her from sincerely copying her master’s advice and pasting it directly to her big senior brother next door.
Wei Zhi kicked Jiang Nanfeng’s bed next door. “Something’s wrong; Bei Ci is following my serialization. What should I do?”
Jiang Nanfeng, already too sleepy, turned over and pulled the blanket over his head. “Don’t panic. When Shan Chong discovers that A Mo is his, I’ll accompany you to offer incense to Buddha, praying for a comet large enough to hit the Earth immediately.”
At first, Wei Zhi was puzzled, thinking, “Why am I panicking over just a comic?”
Then she accidentally recalled the content of tonight’s update…
She began to panic.
…
The next morning.
In the snow gear hall, a standoff was unfolding.
Shan Chong stood expressionlessly, holding his board in his left hand. “Don’t say you’re limping with one hand; even if you’re limping with one leg, I can still watch you from behind.”
Wei Zhi remained silent, glaring at him without a word.
Jiang Nanfeng nudged Wei Zhi with his elbow, intrigued. “I heard the same thing yesterday.”
Her legs and arms still ached, and since she wasn’t skiing today, she had come to the café for coffee and breakfast. Standing and talking didn’t hurt her back.
“Why don’t you go back? Didn’t you say before that once you learn how to edge and switch, the next step is just to get familiar with it? You can be here or not,” Wei Zhi said to Shan Chong. “Today, I’ll practice on the intermediate slope, not the advanced one.”
Shan Chong forced a smile that lacked any real humor. “Are you using my words against me?”
Wei Zhi felt her heart tighten at his smile, suppressing the urge to run away. She forced herself to stay calm. “No one is holding a knife to your neck, making you say that.”
Shan Chong replied, “Is the master already dissatisfied with just one hand?”
Wei Zhi’s gaze fell on the sign of the shop behind Shan Chong, staring at a certain worn spot, afraid to meet his eyes, fearing she might waver. “Just speak properly; don’t act spoiled.”
Shan Chong fell silent for three seconds, pressed his thin lips together, and then, with a surge of emotion, shoved the board he was holding into Bei Ci’s hands, turning to leave.
Once he was far enough away, she finally pulled her gaze back, watching his retreating figure. After a moment of silence, she couldn’t help but ask her senior brother, “What’s wrong with him today?”
Bei Ci casually replied, “I don’t know. Maybe he suddenly heard the rumor last night that the little disciple doesn’t have a crush on him, and then this morning, he was openly rejected, which confirmed that the little disciple doesn’t like him. So, he’s embarrassed and angry?”
Wei Zhi: “……”
Wei Zhi: “?”
She looked at Bei Ci in confusion, who shrugged innocently while holding two boards.
Wei Zhi: “Where did that rumor come from?”
Bei Ci: “Me.”
Wei Zhi: “……”
…
Today, she practiced alone.
Wei Zhi stood on the magic carpet conveyor belt, holding her board, feeling completely spaced out, as if her soul was not at home.
Her phone was clutched in her hand, staring at the Crayon Shin-chan avatar on WeChat, contemplating for a long time. She wanted to say something, but at that moment, besides “He’s just talking nonsense; I like you,” everything else seemed a bit excessive.
But she didn’t dare to send even that one line.
Her hands were frozen, and she didn’t manage to send a single punctuation mark. As the magic carpet conveyor belt approached its end, she sighed and silently stuffed her phone back into her pocket, feeling a sense of loss.
When she reached the starting point of the intermediate slope, she hopped off the magic carpet, running down with her board.
It was early in the morning, and the pros had all gone to the advanced slope to warm up. There were hardly any eager newcomers willing to rise early, so the intermediate slope was empty…
She didn’t have to worry about colliding with others or being bumped into, making it a perfect opportunity for Wei Zhi to practice her edge switching.
After tossing her board down and putting it on, just then, a person in a purple hoodie appeared beside her, becoming the second intermediate slope participant.
The two exchanged friendly glances from two meters apart for three seconds. The person in the purple hoodie was much quicker at putting on his board and soon glided down. Wei Zhi watched him slide a few meters before he began practicing spins—
Oh, he’s here to practice freestyle.
What’s that move called again? She seemed to remember Lao Yan mentioning it—drive spin?
It was a basic freestyle move where you jump in the snow, spin 360 degrees in the air, and land.
Wei Zhi saw the person wobble and spin less than 270 degrees, landing on his back edge and falling awkwardly, kicking up a cloud of snow.
Wei Zhi: “……”
Knowing everyone was still learning made her feel at ease.
Once she was ready, she and the person in the purple hoodie became the only two occupying the intermediate slope. The long slope stretched out before them, and Wei Zhi glided slowly as if she were not in extreme sports gear but rather on a stroll…
She could switch from the back edge to the front edge without much trouble, with a low chance of falling.
However, switching from the front edge to the back edge was quite difficult. Yesterday, Shan Chong pointed out that her gaze often lagged. Today, she paid extra attention to her sight, but because she couldn’t see behind her, she often panicked. When her gaze shifted, her upper body would pre-rotate, and her lower body would follow awkwardly—
This method worked, but it resulted in a messy snow sweep, and if the angle was off, it was easy to catch the back edge and fall, giving it a very casual feel.
Wei Zhi casually switched edges a couple of times.
By now, it was nearing noon.
There were a few people scattered on the intermediate slope.
Another front edge to back edge switch, and as Wei Zhi “clicked” into the switch, her feet didn’t follow her gaze, and her heart sank. Sure enough, the next moment, her board flew up, and she caught the back edge, falling to the ground and sliding a meter down in a flurry of snow.
She stopped.
This time, because she was switching edges, the timing of her fall was when she switched from front to back and didn’t rotate properly. She fell upright, landing on her side, and her little turtle couldn’t protect her. Sitting on the slope, she held her waist, gritting her teeth, and didn’t get up for a while. At that moment, she missed her master a bit.
When Shan Chong was around, at least she wouldn’t fall so badly.
Thinking of Shan Chong, she sighed inwardly and cursed her senior brother a hundred times.
Just then, she suddenly heard the sound of a snowboard cutting through the snow behind her. Supporting her waist, she reflexively turned to look and saw the person in the purple hoodie sliding down from a distance. He jumped three to five meters behind her, spun in the air, and flew far—
Then with a “bang,” he landed in a “big” position right next to her.
Wei Zhi: “……”
Just watching it made her feel pain.
Wei Zhi silently observed the person, preparing to call for help if he didn’t get up after a minute… After about ten seconds, the person in the purple hoodie lifted his face from the snow.
Wei Zhi couldn’t help but ask, “Does it hurt?”
In the morning, she had probably fallen the second most on the slope.
The person in the purple hoodie got up, and took off his snow goggles, revealing a single eyelid with a very Korean look. He blinked and said, “Did you fall again?”
That one “again” solidified the revolutionary friendship between Wei Zhi and the person in the purple hoodie.
The person in the purple hoodie got up and scooted over to her, kneeling while holding her board. “I watched you from behind; your shoulder sweep is quite serious. I’ll tell you, the main issue is that when you switch from front edge to back edge, you’re looking back too quickly and too much, anxious to see what’s behind you… The big turn switch should be in three stages: front edge, straight board, and back edge. Your gaze should always turn before your upper body and legs. You’re skipping the straight board stage, which makes it easy to twist and sweep snow with your shoulders.”
Wei Zhi listened to him, feeling a sense of enlightenment—she had wondered why Shan Chong hadn’t mentioned her shoulder sweep when she practiced yesterday, but today, when she paid attention to her gaze, it felt so awkward!
She tried raising her hand to look, thinking this method might be useful.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely, raising her hand in a new direction toward her new friend. “I’m Wei Zhi.”
“Lu Xin.”
They shook hands through their gloves.
Then they both stood up and rolled down the mountain together.
They took off their boards together and hopped onto the magic carpet, chatting casually. They didn’t discuss anything profound, just exchanged thoughts on falling—
“The little turtle is useful during the push phase, but once you learn to switch edges, it’s best to switch to professional inner wear because you’re very prone to catching edges. If you fall sideways, the little turtle won’t protect you.”
Wei Zhi touched her hip, where the little turtle’s strap was, realizing it did not protect her at all. After this morning, her hip circumference felt like it had increased by a size.
“Do you practice alone?” Lu Xin asked. “Didn’t you hire someone?”
“…… He didn’t come today,” Wei Zhi replied. “Do you want to teach me?”
“Do I look like someone who can teach?” Lu Xin said, resting his chin on his hand, smiling to reveal a big, white smile. “I can just ski; don’t go asking anyone you meet on the slope if they can teach you. At your current stage, anyone can give you pointers, and you might get tricked.”
He looked about the same age as Wei Zhi, with a clean and approachable appearance. He didn’t stand out like Shan Chong or Lao Yan, who made one question if all good-looking people were skiing, but he had a friendly demeanor that made people feel at ease.
Like a neighbor you see every morning, carrying a trash bag and saying, “Good morning.”
“Oh, last time on the slope, someone gave me pointers, and they took me to the park… That day, I was pushed out of the snowfield in a wheelchair by my master, and he was so mad he almost twisted my head off.”
“Really! Hahahaha!”
The two chatted happily.
At lunchtime, they tossed their boards into the gear hall, not forgetting to add each other on WeChat for their newfound friendship.
…
Wei Zhi was holding her phone, discussing with Lu Xin whether “you sweep me or I sweep you” on WeChat when she didn’t notice her master, who had disappeared all morning, walking in with Bei Ci, Lao Yan, and a group of others.
They had come for lunch.
Bei Ci spotted her immediately, along with the person in the purple hoodie. At that moment, the little girl was on her tiptoes, using her phone to scan the QR code on the business card being shown by the guy.
From a distance, he exclaimed, “Oh! Look what I found! Our little Wei Zhi has made a new friend on the slopes!”
His words caught the attention of the man next to him, who had been expressionlessly looking at the new helmets in the nearby shop.
Following Bei Ci’s gaze, he looked over and immediately saw the bright smile on the little girl’s face. She was waving goodbye to the guy in the purple hoodie, her light-colored lips moving as she said something…
His gaze shifted down.
Shan Chong’s eyes landed on the helmet the person in the purple hoodie was holding, noticing the sticker belonging to a certain ski club. He pondered for three seconds and coldly reminded, “People from Wantong Hall.”
The smile on Bei Ci’s face vanished instantly. “……”
Shan Chong asked in a slightly annoyed tone, voicing everyone’s thoughts, “Are they expanding their recruitment this year? Are there a lot of them? Why are they haunting my disciple?”
It was like a wolf sniffing out its prey, prowling around his disciple.
Is this toxic?