The sweetness of the white sugar from his morning milk still lingered on his tongue.
It seemed that a man’s fondness for sugar wasn’t entirely without merit. At the very least, this sweetness perfectly balanced his otherwise overpowering masculine pheromones. He had woven a sweet bird-catching net with his own hands, its meshes dripping with fragrant honey.
She willingly crashed into it, offering only token resistance in her heart before contentedly surrendering to this saccharine trap.
Unlike her brief taste, Shan Chong didn’t stop there. Having longed for this for so long, suddenly devouring it whole made it even more enticing than he had imagined—
He suddenly recalled a moment long ago when she stood beneath the dim hotel lights, biting her lip as she spoke to him. Her pale lips had blossomed into a rose under the gentle pressure of her small teeth.
At that time, he had blanked out for two seconds, captivated by that hue.
Perhaps he hadn’t given it much thought then, but now he finally had an epiphany…
Maybe, from long ago, he had harbored ulterior motives.
Towards her.
Holding the young woman’s soft, moist lips between his own, he gently nibbled. When she let out a low whimper of pain, he took advantage of her relaxed guard and entwined his tongue with hers.
Wet and soft.
Wei Zhi had drawn countless intertwining tongues in her artwork, but only now did she realize that the tongue might be humanity’s last line of communication—
Her waist turned to jelly.
Her hands clung to his shoulders like a lifeline, her sole support.
Her palm still tightly gripped that badge, its irregular edges digging deep into her soft skin, yet she felt no pain—
Until he released her…
In the moment their lips parted, he planted another, decidedly chaste kiss on the tip of her cold-reddened nose.
The onlookers, who had been cheering at first, fell silent at this moment—
There was no helping it.
If Shan Chong’s decisive and deep kiss, his impulsive “actions speak louder than words” style had conquered the men present, then this final, pure peck had won over the remaining ladies who had been struggling to maintain their composure.
[My feelings are complicated. When I saw that young woman grab Chong-god’s hand, I thought she was so brave. When I saw her pull him in for a kiss and even dare to smile at him, I thought, “Holy crap!” When I saw Chong-god grab her back and kiss her again, I was completely calm, thinking, “Oh, they kissed. Twice.”]
[So Shan Chong doesn’t like men after all.]
[Dai Duo is finished.]
[Who’s this woman?]
[That girl is my classmate! Ahhhhh! That’s Chong-god’s disciple! Ahhhhh! The one who posts on short video platforms as Ka Ren Xiao Ke’ai! Ahhhhh!]
[Tsk, some men spend over a decade in the snow circle with zero rumors, then go straight from dating to official announcement. Others spend seven or eight years in the snow circle, eating rumors for breakfast, and when they do make it official, it’s only visible to their partner and close friends. @Lao Yan]
[I knew it. Teacher-student romance for the win. My mistake was randomly picking up some random coach by the roadside when I needed someone to hold my hand and push me up the slope…]
The Altay snow friends group hadn’t been this lively in a long time.
[So, is the award ceremony still going on?]
[…It should be. What’s the panic? There have been people proposing at the Olympics, and the Olympic Committee didn’t fall into chaos.]
[…]
[So it is true that “They carry a bag of dog food in their arms, ready to trick and kill dogs at any time?”]
[I feel sorry for the third-place winner.]
At that time, not everyone had dispersed, and there was indeed a third-place winner standing bewildered nearby, waiting for his small badge—
But that wasn’t the main focus anymore.
The third-place winner was a guy in his late twenties. He wasn’t expecting Chong-god to bend down and condescend to kiss him like he had kissed the second-place winner (…), but somehow the badge in his hand and the free snow goggles suddenly lost their appeal.
When Shan Chong patted the second-place girl’s head and turned towards him, he even felt a sense of guilt, as if thinking, “I’m sorry for being inconsiderate and taking third place, disturbing you two.”
The atmosphere was so…
Wei Zhi lowered her head, too embarrassed to speak.
It wasn’t until the man had finished distributing all the awards and circled back to her side, naturally taking her hand, that he said in a voice as calm as if nothing had happened, “Let’s go back and eat.”
He held her hand in his palm.
Dazed, she only then realized it was nearly noon, indeed lunchtime.
She bounced along behind him, followed by Bei Ci and Hua Yan. These close friends who already knew about Shan Chong and her were much calmer than the average bystander, now discussing the recent competition.
Hua Yan said, “Little junior sister went all out for those goggles… When I first learned, it took me about five days to go from box 5050 to backside 5050, right?”
Bei Ci replied, “Wasn’t it for Master Father’s kiss? I thought from that plot development just now, the main reward for second place was this…”
Lao Yan chimed in, “If she hadn’t won a prize—”
Bei Ci said seriously, “Then that would have been the consolation prize.”
The two burst into laughter.
The young woman walking in front, her hand held by the man, stopped in her tracks, bent down to scoop up some snow, and threw it at their faces.
Yan Yan picked up where Hua Yan left off, scratching her chin, “I think it took me about a week.”
Bei Ci said, “Top in, top out, two days is about enough.”
Hua Yan looked at him with disdain, “You think everyone’s like you, practically eating meals sitting on props.”
As they were discussing happily, someone approached from behind… not exactly a stranger, but someone from Old Lu’s group at Wan Tong Tang. Overhearing their discussion, he casually interjected, “So this competition was prepared for Chong-god’s girlfriend?”
Yes.
But also not entirely.
It was true in the sense that the prizes were exactly what Wei Zhi needed most, but it wasn’t entirely true because… this was Shan Chong’s first time teaching a group class. In a few days, he had introduced over a hundred people to snowboard park riding. It wasn’t unreasonable to have a small event after the course ended.
“Anyway, it’s not what you’re implying,” Hua Yan glanced at the person. “Did anyone ask for your opinion? Can you leave?”
Standing at around 170 cm, Hua Yan was not considered short among women, or even among most male snow enthusiasts. When she put on a cold face, she was particularly imposing.
The person stammered, “I’m not saying you’re rigging it. I’m just wondering, if the second-place winner is Shan Chong’s girlfriend, and he’s been giving her one-on-one training these past few days, isn’t that unfair to the other participants?”
His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough to reach the ears of the two walking in front.
Shan Chong didn’t react much, just turned his head and gave him a lazy glance, his dark pupils showing no particular emotion, his face naturally contemptuous.
The person instinctively shut his mouth.
Bei Ci laughed, revealing a snow-white canine tooth, “Just to prevent gossip from people like you, anyone with eyes who entered the park these days knows that the second-place winner was painstakingly taught by Grandpa over four days— You’d better report this to everyone who has such thoughts when you go back, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what!” The person stared at him. “Are you going to sue me for spreading rumors and defamation?”
“No, hiring a lawyer isn’t free. You’re not worth it,” Bei Ci said expressionlessly. “I’ll knock your teeth out one by one.”
At this point, they had left the park. Shan Chong picked up his Mach board that he had casually tossed aside earlier. Hearing this, he let out a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping over with a chilling light—
The person truly cowered then, lowering his head and muttering, “I was just asking,” before quickly putting on his board and running off.
Wei Zhi was completely out of the loop. She tilted her head, watching him put on his board in two seconds, very envious, “He puts on his board so fast.”
“Step-on, it’s Burton’s quick-entry system, commonly known as ‘one-step in’,” Shan Chong withdrew his gaze, his tone sounding very normal. “When you learn to… fly off small jumps, I’ll buy you one as a reward.”
Wei Zhi was lowering her head, using her gloves to brush off the accumulated snow on her board’s bindings. Hearing this, she looked up and met the man’s gaze for a few seconds. She mumbled, “Why do I feel like I’m being led on now, like a donkey with a carrot tied in front of it, with these little progress goals set one after another.”
Shan Chong laughed and said, “Isn’t that how everyone progresses?”
Wei Zhi asked, “You too?”
Shan Chong replied, “Me too.”
Wei Zhi: “…How did you end up on this path of no return?”
Shan Chong thought for a moment, lowering his eyes, his expression gentle: “I think I was just over eight or nine years old, had just learned to carve turns, and was figuring out how to feel the snow every day. Then my gloves wore out, and my family wouldn’t buy me new ones. Those gloves cost over a hundred yuan, and my daily allowance was just two yuan. I diligently saved for over a month, relying on mooching snacks off my deskmate… One day after finishing riding and coming down the mountain, there happened to be a competition sign-up at the snow gear shop at the base. I glanced at the prizes—third or fourth place included goggles and gloves—so I signed up.”
Wei Zhi was captivated listening to his story of self-reliance and his tragic childhood.
Seeing her not moving, Shan Chong nudged closer, lifted the young woman onto her board, and habitually knelt on the ground, patting her foot, “Foot, put it in the binding.”
Wei Zhi stepped into the binding, looking down at the man as he secured her
They each put on their boards, and she asked, “…Have you ever thought that your current frugality, insisting on saving to become a billionaire, might be a habit formed from childhood?”
Shan Chong didn’t look up, finishing her left foot and moving to the right: “Isn’t it a fine tradition?”
“…Well, I can’t say it’s not.”
By now, the man had finished securing her bindings. He grabbed her arm and stood up in one smooth motion. She stumbled forward, instinctively hugging his waist to steady herself.
He stood there, neither pushing her away nor supporting her, just curling his lips into a smile: “So clingy. We’re going down the mountain now. You can hug me again when we get down.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
Nearby, Bei Ci made a loud retching sound, hopped forward, casually pulled off an ollie, and quickly rushed out of the park back onto the ski run.
They left the park and headed down the mountain.
The group adjusted their speed to accommodate Wei Zhi, practicing some flat tricks on the steep slopes. Fortunately, she had practically graduated from beginner skiing by now, so she didn’t keep them waiting too long.
In about fifteen minutes, they reached the bottom of the mountain.
Sitting down at the restaurant, Wei Zhi had the privilege of witnessing videos of her kiss with Shan Chong spread across various media platforms in dozens of versions, from all angles, with various filters and popular background music.
For Shan Chong’s sake, these people were even praising her with their eyes closed—
[This just goes to show that birds of a feather flock together. The wife of a big shot must be a big shot herself. How else could she have taken second place among so many people? I heard this is only her first snow season, and she learned to push up the slope just two months ago in Zhangjiakou. That’s truly impressive.]
“…The way they’re talking makes me feel like I might be able to aim for the 2026 Winter Olympics,” Wei Zhi said, looking at her phone.
“You could even aim for 2022,” Jiang Nanfeng was scrolling through the third version of Wei Zhi and Shan Chong’s video. This one had Korean drama dubbing, which captured the essence. She casually forwarded it to Wei Zhi, “I saw an ad recruiting volunteers a few days ago. Why not go and hand out bottles of mineral water to the big shots?”
Wei Zhi opened it to take a look. It was indeed possible. The person who posted the video seemed to be a young woman who had even thoughtfully applied a beauty filter to her. She directly shared it to her Moments with the caption: “Ooh, hehe.”
Then she put down her phone expressionlessly.
Continuing the conversation.
“You’re just jealous that I’ve taken away your title of genius.”
“Who said I was a genius?”
“…” Wei Zhi glanced at the man approaching with a food tray not far away. “He did.”
Jiang Nanfeng looked at Shan Chong, who had missed the first half of the conversation and now looked puzzled. She snorted and lowered her head to eat her food: “You can happily be the park genius. I’ll just stick to flat tricks from now on. Watching you hang on various props these past few days made me wince… Your ribs are fine as they are. Wouldn’t it be better to save that money for a nose job instead of trying so hard to break them?”
“I’ve been set on this development path,” Wei Zhi said. “That rainbow board is so stiff it’s impossible to do flat tricks on… I told you, with so many Nitro boards, why did you have to choose a men’s board for me!”
She turned to the man sitting beside her and kicked him under the table.
Shan Chong, holding his chopsticks, didn’t even look up. He grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth, completely calm despite his scheme being exposed.
Hearing this, Jiang Nanfeng smiled and said, “I want to buy my board too.”
Hua Yan: “Ask Lao Yan.”
Yan Yan: “Ask Lao Yan.”
Bei Ci: “Ask Lao Yan.”
Jiang Nanfeng looked at Lao Yan.
Wei Zhi was stunned: “Are you all beasts? Even if he’s a notorious scumbag, Lao Yan is only nineteen… Jiang Nanfeng!”
Lao Yan’s baby face wore a smile, not at all reluctant. He replied cheerfully without hesitation: “Sure, let’s go to the snow gear shop after we eat. It’s not New Year’s yet, so they should have all sizes in stock.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
…
Compared to the friendly and harmonious atmosphere on the country’s border, the newly arrived winter in Nancheng seemed less pleasant.
The orthopedics department of Nancheng Third Hospital had been in low spirits for the past few days.
The main reason seemed to be that Dr. Han was in a bad mood. This morning during his routine ward rounds, he had even scolded an intern for not being able to answer detailed questions about a patient… The whole morning had been gloomy, and everyone was afraid to speak too loudly.
Finally, during the lunch break, the nurses at the nursing station were eating, some looking at their phones, others chatting idly.
“What’s wrong with Dr. Han? Did he break up with someone?”
“What? Dr. Han has a girlfriend?” The nurse holding a lunchbox widened her eyes. “Wasn’t he single?”
“Are you dreaming? Still single? How many men with promising futures, handsome looks, and strong family backgrounds do you see still single in their thirties?” The nurse leaning against the microwave, waiting to heat her meal, pushed up her glasses on her nose. “Dr. Han has a girlfriend. I’ve seen her.”
The nurses at the rest station collectively let out an “Ooh.”
Even those looking at their phones raised their heads to glance in her direction.
“You’ve seen her?!”
“When?”
“How come we didn’t know about this?”
“I was on the night shift that evening, and a young lady about our age came to bring him a late-night snack. She spoke very softly,” the nurse with glasses recalled. “She was quite pretty, but not in that plastic surgery way. Round face, the kind of girl-next-door type that all men fall for.”
“What if she was just the girl next door?” The one looking at her phone said lazily. “People need to learn how to comfort themselves properly.”
“It doesn’t matter whether she is or not. Even if he were single, he wouldn’t be interested in someone like me,” the nurse with the lunchbox sighed. “Based on the usual pattern, those doctors don’t think much of us anyway.”
“That old pattern is outdated. We all have proper bachelor’s degrees now, don’t we?”
“But to be together, you need to have common topics. If the professional gap is too wide, it’s not possible… It’s like, would you date a street thug with only an elementary school education now?”
The nurse who had been looking at her phone put it down. “That’s not necessarily true.”
Everyone silently looked at her.
She smiled, “Remember how I would go to Guangzhou Sunac to ski when I had nothing to do during my summer vacation?”
The others in the break room nodded, with one saying, “How did we get to talking about skiing?”
The nurse who had been looking at her phone turned it around to show them what she had been watching: “Facts prove that when destiny arrives, even a pro can willingly bow down before a newbie—”
Everyone gathered to look.
The video was geotagged at Jiangjunshan Ski Resort in Altay, Xinjiang.
In the video, a man with a perfect side profile was embracing a young woman who only reached his shoulder, kissing her. He had his eyes lowered, and snow was falling from the sky, landing on his eyelashes.
In his arms, a young woman about their age was standing on tiptoes, her fair face tilted up, eyes slightly open in surprise.
With a typical Korean drama background music, it was perfect.
“You probably don’t know this guy. He used to be a god in snowboard park riding.”
The nurse put away her phone. “From the comments, this young lady isn’t an athlete preparing for next year’s Winter Olympics either. Just an ordinary person.”
“…Do men in your skiing circle determine whether someone is a god based on their looks?”
“Wow, I want to go skiing too… With 300 million people taking to ice and snow, it’s time to respond to the country’s call!”
“No, the point is that this guy is handsome and good at skiing. Does he have any flaws?”
“Yes, does being poor count?”
Everyone was discussing animatedly.
Suddenly, one of them realized something and nudged the silent nurse with glasses beside her: “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
The latter was silent for a moment.
Then she spoke softly.
“…Am I hallucinating, or does that young lady in the video look a lot like Dr. Han’s—”
Before she could finish, the door to the break room was pushed open.
“Someone come here, the family of the patient in bed five is asking for a sputum aspirator.”
A deep voice sounded from outside the door. A man in a white coat stood at the doorway. As everyone in the room turned to look at him in unison, he paused.
His fingers, accustomed to holding surgical instruments, were always neatly trimmed. At this moment, he lifted his gold-rimmed glasses slightly and said calmly, “I just heard you talking about me… What’s going on?”
The nurses were caught off guard, realizing their gossip had been overheard by the subject himself.
They looked at each other, at a loss for words.
Finally, the one holding the phone, being the bravest, turned her screen around: “It’s nothing. Xiao Yan just said the girl in this video looks a bit like Dr. Han’s girlfriend.”
The door was pushed open a bit more.
Han Yiming walked in, resting one hand on the edge of the table, and leaned down to look at the phone screen. After a few seconds of silence, a cloud of gloom finally settled in his deep, unfathomable eyes.