Teacher Nian’s WeChat profile picture showed Crayon Shin-chan in red swim trunks floating in a pool.
To be honest, it was quite cute.
Except that it completely mismatched his actual personality.
His WeChat name, however, was cool—just the single character “Chong.”
The same “Chong” as in Hakubara Takashi.
What a coincidence (doge.jpg).
[Little Girl Chirp: Heart.jpg]
She casually sent an emoji.
The other side showed “typing,” and after a moment, a line of text appeared.
[Chong: You’re not coming this afternoon? Are you sure?]
[Little Girl Chirp: Sure!]
[Chong: Then I’m going to the park this afternoon. Don’t come peering through the ski school windows looking for me everywhere later. It’s embarrassing.]
[Little Girl Chirp: Okay, I promise I won’t look for you!!!]
After a while, he replied.
[Chong: …]
[Chong: Fine.]
…
Shan Chong returned to the coaches’ lounge to warm up by the stove while waiting for Lao Yan, Bei Ci, and others to have lunch together.
The coaches’ lounge was quite lively. Everyone was gathered around someone who was showing off protective gear on their bottom—
It was the turtle-shaped butt pad that novice skiers always wore, visible everywhere on the slopes.
There were matching knee pads too.
“I’m telling you, this thing is really warm. When you fall, it doesn’t hurt at all!” the person said loudly. “No wonder push-off specialists love using it!”
Shan Chong glanced over. The young man with spiky hair, wearing a black hoodie with “Rampage” written on the back instead of proper ski wear, was none other than his beloved disciple (backup), Bei Ci.
He walked over and bent down to feel the little turtle. It was soft and quite thick.
“Master Dad, you’re back!” Bei Ci turned around.
“Where did you get the little turtle?”
“A student I taught graduated and went home, leaving this as a thank-you gift.”
“…”
“I’m telling you, this little turtle butt and knee protector is useful. When you kneel on the ground, it’s not cold at all. Mom doesn’t have to worry about me getting rheumatism while teaching newbies to push off anymore…” Bei Ci lovingly stroked the turtle, his mouth unstoppable. “Oh, right, do you still have classes this afternoon? Are we finally going to the park today? A bunch of people are waiting for you, but you insist on teaching push-offs. Are you crazy? I can’t keep being the backup anymore!”
“I’m free this afternoon,” Shan Chong said, pinching the turtle’s tail and shaking it lazily as he lowered his eyes.
“Let’s go then.”
…
Wei Zhi put down her phone and looked around. It was lunchtime, and the equipment hall was very busy with people coming and going.
There was an interesting detail here—
At this time, everyone had taken off their boards to go eat. Whether it was a snowboard or skis, people just casually placed them on the racks outside the equipment hall and walked away.
Except for newbies renting resort equipment to try out, seasoned snow enthusiasts usually owned their gear. Good brand snowboards generally cost between three to ten thousand yuan, with skis being even more expensive… Yet everyone just left them there, not worrying about losing their equipment. It was as if there was an unspoken agreement that at the ski resort, no one would take or steal someone else’s gear.
Leaving something worth thousands or tens of thousands of yuan unattended in a public place for hours, without any locks—this was unthinkable outside the context of this community.
Why was this sport, with its remarkably high average integrity, still considered niche?
It truly shouldn’t be.
Wei Zhi sat in a chair, observing people with great interest, and casually sent her thoughts to Jiang Nanfeng.
Jiang Nanfeng’s reply was equally unsympathetic.
[Ginger: Are you so bored you’re doing the police’s job?]
[Ginger: You must have some serious issues.]
[Little Girl Chirp: …]
[Little Girl Chirp: How do you still have the energy to scold me when you’re working hard on the mountain?!]
[Ginger: Because I’m taking a break! The view up here is great. Can’t I sit and enjoy the scenery with my puppy coach?]
Wei Zhi smiled and was about to type more when two girls carrying snowboards floated past her—
“I just caught Lao Yan on the advanced A trail.”
“Oh? Wasn’t Bei Ci supposed to be in the park today, imparting wisdom? Why is he on the advanced trail instead of burying his head in practice?”
“He was teaching a newbie girl how to push off, holding hands and everything.”
“Heh.” One of the girls laughed sarcastically. “No wonder he said he couldn’t drink too late when I invited him out last night, claiming he had lessons booked for the next few days… How disappointing.”
“Hmm, consecutive bookings? With that rich newbie girl from today?”
“Probably. Looks like Lao Yan has a new target… Poor A Qin.”
“Poor what? Speaking of A Qin, it’s really funny. Last year Qixi Festival, she was bragging to us about going official with Lao Yan, even posted an announcement on her Moments—but did you see it?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Me neither.”
“Huh?”
“…Hahahahaha, it was an announcement only visible to her!”
“…Hahahahaha!”
Wei Zhi watched the two laughing girls leave.
Hmm.
Snowboard, newbie.
Hand-in-hand push-off lessons on the advanced trail.
[Little Girl Chirp: No offense, but what’s the name of the puppy coach enjoying the snow scenery with you right now?]
[Ginger: Lao Yan.]
[Ginger: Why?]
[Little Girl Chirp: …]
[Little Girl Chirp: Hello, rich newbie.]
[Ginger: ?]
[Little Girl Chirp: I just sat here and overheard some gossip about your coach.]
[Little Girl Chirp: It had that “I can’t even go buy cigarettes without running into three women you’ve slept with” vibe if you know what I mean.]
[Ginger: What did they say about him?]
[Little Girl Chirp: Quite a lot, but it boils down to two words: player.]
[Ginger: That’s fine.]
[Little Girl Chirp: ?]
[Ginger: I’m a player too.]
[Ginger: A male player and a female player, aren’t we a perfect match?]
[Little Girl Chirp: …]
Fine, I have nothing more to say about that.
…
About twenty minutes later, Wei Zhi finally saw the female player Jiang Nanfeng arrive.
Her player-coach came with her.
This was Wei Zhi’s first time seeing Lao Yan in person. As he entered the equipment hall, he took off his snow gear and face protection, revealing a baby face, fair and delicate. When he smiled, dimples appeared, giving him the look of an innocent college student.
Indeed, a little puppy.
He waved at Jiang Nanfeng, smiling and saying see you tomorrow.
He waved at Wei Zhi, smiling and calling her “sister.”
Jiang Nanfeng also wore an unprecedentedly kind smile, bidding him goodbye.
That harmonious and familiar atmosphere—truly befitting a relationship forged while admiring snow scenery together—was perhaps a level that Wei Zhi and Teacher Nian could never achieve in this lifetime.
Jiang Nanfeng linked arms with Wei Zhi as they went to return the helmets and snowboards. As they walked, Wei Zhi kept looking back, prompting Jiang Nanfeng to tug at her: “Stop looking, what’s there to see?”
“Just seeing what a player looks like… Mom was right, bad men in this world never wear their badness on their faces.”
Jiang Nanfeng rolled her eyes and pulled Wei Zhi upstairs to eat.
After choosing their meals and sitting down at a table in the cafeteria, the problem arose—
Standing was fine, but within five minutes of sitting down, everything hurt.
Most bizarrely, although skiing was primarily a leg exercise, Wei Zhi’s neck hurt terribly. Just slightly lowering her head or turning to one side felt like it might kill her with soreness.
Wei Zhi held her spoon with a serious face: “Comrade Jiang Nanfeng, let me ask you a question.”
Jiang Nanfeng: “Don’t ask. The answer is yes, it hurts. I’m human too, how could I not be in pain?”
Wei Zhi: “But even my neck hurts.”
Jiang Nanfeng: “Did you roll down the mountain? Twist your neck?”
Wei Zhi: “Rolling down the mountain, not yet. Want me to demonstrate next time I have the chance?”
Jiang Nanfeng: “Sure, I want to sit at the head table when the whole village has a feast.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
As the two were engrossed in their lively discussion, Wei Zhi’s phone vibrated beside her hand.
She pulled it over to look—
[Chong: Your neck hurts because you were too tense when following visual cues. You looked around too much, twisting your neck at extreme angles. I told you to relax, but you argued that you couldn’t.]
Wei Zhi instantly sat up straight.
She startled Jiang Nanfeng so much that she dropped her chopsticks. Looking up, she saw Wei Zhi clutching her phone and peering around like a meerkat that had just emerged from its burrow.
Jiang Nanfeng: “What’s wrong? Did someone steal something?”
Wei Zhi nodded, then shook her head—
With so many people in the cafeteria, everyone eating without masks or face coverings, and outer ski jackets removed, she had no idea which one was her coach.
[Little Girl Chirp: ???????? Are you in the cafeteria???]
[Chong: No.]
[Little Girl Chirp: Then how could you possibly hear what I was saying!!]
[Chong: Magic.]
[Little Girl Chirp: …]
…
In a corner of the cafeteria.
Shan Chong put his tray on the table.
From across the table, Lao Yan’s chopsticks silently reached over, helping himself to a skewer from Shan Chong’s tray.
This table in the corner was quite lively, crowded with all the big shots from the ski resort whose names were worth mentioning. Bei Ci sat next to Lao Yan, leaning back against the latter’s shoulder, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he lazily exhaled smoke with half-closed eyes.
Shan Chong kicked him under the table.
Bei Ci lazily raised his head, looking at him through the milky white smoke, and asked, “What’s up, Master Dad?”
Unfazed by his nauseating way of addressing him, the man said, “Let me use your little turtle tomorrow.”
Bei Ci grunted an “Mm” and asked, confused: “You want to use it?”
Shan Chong didn’t say anything, just looked at him with a “Are you stupid” expression.
Bei Ci was stunned for a moment, then laughed a few seconds later, elbowing Lao Yan beside him: “Well, well, Lao Yan! My Master Dad, that cold-blooded skiing machine, jumped off a few platforms with you, a player, and now he’s learned to care for people…”
Lao Yan, holding a skewer: “Huh?”
Bei Ci: “He’s asking me for the little turtle to give to a push-off newbie!”
Lao Yan: “Oh?”
Bei Ci: “I think he should be the one paying your tuition instead.”
Lao Yan: “Wow!”
Shan Chong: “… Are you two doing a comedy routine here?”
Everyone put down their chopsticks and joined in the laughter without hesitation.
…
Once again, the table was filled with a jovial atmosphere.