Upon reaching the mountaintop, the staff thoughtfully removed the board attached to the cable car’s exterior. As the doors opened, the man effortlessly stepped out, one hand carrying the toddler who barely reached his thigh, and the other holding a small child’s snowboard.
After steadying himself, he set Xun Yue down. The child, having just been awakened, was in a foul mood. She crouched near the ski rack, demanding to be carried by her father.
The man pulled down his face guard and goggles, concealing his familiar face behind the protective gear.
Standing nearby, Wei Zhi sensed Xun Yue’s tantrum momentarily falter for about three seconds. The little girl tilted her small head upwards, staring somewhat blankly at the man clad entirely in black before her.
It was as if she no longer recognized him.
“No whining, Xiao Man. You’re a big girl now,” Shan Chong said. “Hold your mother’s hand and walk by yourself.”
Wei Zhi: “…”
As Wei Zhi was seriously contemplating the logic of telling a three-year-old who hadn’t even started preschool that she was “a big girl now,” she heard the man continue in a steady tone from nearby. He explained that he needed to carry the snowboards, including her mother’s, so he didn’t have a free hand to hold her.
Having said this, he reached out to take the two boards that had been temporarily placed on the rack next to the cable car.
He didn’t rush off but stood there holding the two boards, watching Wei Zhi and Xun Yue with a patient yet authoritative expression.
Xun Yue still looked up at him blankly, seemingly uncertain about the creature before her—
It had her father’s voice but looked quite different from how he appeared at home, and not at all easy to manipulate.
As she pondered in confusion, someone tugged at the rabbit ears on her hat from behind. Turning around, she saw her mother standing beside her, looking composed. “It might sound a bit inappropriate to say this to you, but right now, what I want to say most is ‘I told you so.'”
Xun Yue: “Huh?”
Wei Zhi crouched down and pinched her daughter’s fair cheek, which had turned slightly red from the cold mountain air.
“Once your dad puts on his ski gear, he becomes quite formidable. You’d better behave, and I’ll do the same—let’s just keep our heads down and get through these four months quickly,” Wei Zhi advised.
Xun Yue: “Huh?”
Wei Zhi: “That’s how it is.”
Shan Chong: “What nonsense are you spouting now? Didn’t I free my hands to carry your board?”
As soon as Shan Chong finished speaking, he realized how absurd it sounded. Ever since Wei Zhi started learning to ski—
Except for putting on her board to get on and off the cable car, when the board was fixed to her feet…
Or when Shan Chong’s hand was injured and he temporarily couldn’t manage it.
At all other times, she had rarely carried her board.
He had spoiled her.
Shan Chong: “Fine, I’ll carry her, and you can take your board.”
Before he could finish speaking, Wei Zhi had already bent down to take her daughter’s hand.
Carrying Xun Yue’s lightweight children’s snowboard in one hand and holding the little girl’s hand with the other, she strode towards the intermediate slope, head held high.
Shan Chong stared at their retreating figures for a long while. His dark eyes flickered, and he let out an indulgent chuckle before following his wife and daughter, carrying both boards.
On the way, they encountered some fellow skiers who recognized him and greeted him. “Hey, Chong-ge, you’re here! Going for some top-to-bottom runs today? Heading to the park?”
Shan Chong barely reacted. He nodded towards the mother and daughter walking ahead, his expression impassive behind his face guard, and calmly said, “Lessons.”
Just two concise words, delivered lazily.
At the start of the ski season, few snow enthusiasts who had been cooped up all summer were willing to give lessons, preferring to enjoy a couple of days of skiing themselves first.
Those who started giving lessons right away were either ancestors or treated like ancestors.
The crowd who received his answer looked bewildered at first. They glanced at the two figures slowly walking ahead, paused for a moment, and then suddenly understood…
Slapping their foreheads, they chuckled and said, “Better start training early. Who knows, she might make it to one of the next three Olympics and take over your legacy.”
Hearing this, Shan Chong waved his hand dismissively—
He didn’t have particularly high expectations for Xun Yue’s skiing abilities. She was just a child, after all. As long as she was happy, that was enough. It’s not like he could tie her to the snowboard if she didn’t want to ski.
After exchanging greetings along the way, they soon arrived at the intermediate slope. Wei Zhi, who was walking ahead, had already tossed the child’s snowboard onto the flat ground in front of the slope.
Unlike other ski resorts, the mountaintop slopes in Zhangjiakou were accessible via a single cable car ride—
Everyone gathered at the same mountaintop after taking the cable car, then dispersed along various slopes and trails branching out in different directions.
Since Xun Yue couldn’t even put on her board yet, they could only take the most gentle slope with the fewest people—the intermediate run…
The path leading to the intermediate run was the slope closest to the mountain. There was a long flat stretch from the starting point to where it connected with the intermediate run. Although it was labeled as a beginner’s slope, its flat terrain meant that snowboarders with poor technique would likely get stuck there.
Shan Chong put on his board at the start of this slope and looked back at Wei Zhi, who was crouched down teaching their daughter how to put on her board—
“Put your foot in…”
“It won’t go in!”
“It will.”
“It won’t!”
“Remember how I taught you to put on your favorite little leather boots? Put your foot in, then tuck the left strap into the right side… There you go, that’s it.”
Wei Zhi watched her daughter slowly put on the board, tilting her head without offering to help. At most, she quietly used one foot to hold down the edge of the snowboard, preventing it from twisting as the child on top fidgeted and explored how to put it on.
“See? You put it on just fine.”
Once Xun Yue had her board on, Wei Zhi reached out to adjust the bindings, making sure they were secure—
Teaching their daughter to ski was a first for both of them. Before coming, Wei Zhi had searched for videos online to learn from, but her husband’s pride was too high to even glance at someone else’s teaching videos. Even when she held the video right under his nose, he waved it away, saying, “No need.”
As if he were some kind of teaching god.
In reality, how many beginners had Shan Chong taught?—
Wei Zhi.
That’s it.
…
That should be about it.
Now, seeing that Xun Yue had her board on, the man bent down and lifted the little girl, board and all. After a glance, he set her back down and used his other hand to open the backpack Wei Zhi was carrying. He was about to take something out but paused when he saw the chaotic mess inside…
“Are you planning to dig a hole in the mountain and spend the night here?”
“…” Wei Zhi twisted away, swatting his hand. “What do you know! What if Xiao Man gets cold halfway through? She’ll need to put on her down vest. What if she gets thirsty? Or hungry?”
“For hunger, bring a chocolate bar,” he said, rummaging through the backpack again. “Don’t tell me these puffed snacks are for Xiao Man. I’ve never seen you let her touch these at home.”
Wei Zhi clicked her tongue.
The man heard it and raised an eyebrow, giving her a look.
That glance was full of silent intimidation.
Wei Zhi backed away slightly. “Are you being fierce with me?”
Shan Chong let go of her bag and said lazily, “I didn’t say a word.”
Wei Zhi: “Your eyes were fierce towards me.”
He snorted.
“Are you two fighting?” A crisp child’s voice piped up from below. “Can someone pay attention to me now?”
They both looked down to see the child, now wearing her board, standing there with her hands on her hips. Unable to move freely due to the board, she looked like a statue… her short legs straddling the bindings, hands on hips, appearing quite stable.
Wei Zhi found it adorable and reached out to tug at her Bing Dwen Dwen tail.
The girl wiggled her bottom to dodge her mother’s hand.
While mother and daughter were playing, the man bent down and took out a small children’s learning backpack from Wei Zhi’s open bag. He shook it out and put it on Xun Yue. The backpack had a long strap at the back, resembling a dog leash, with the other end held in his hand.
Shan Chong bent down to put on his board.
Seeing the long flat stretch at the beginning of the slope, he thought for a moment, then took off Xun Yue’s board. He carried his daughter in one arm and her board in the other, then looked back at Wei Zhi through his goggles.
Wei Zhi didn’t say anything, but the little girl clinging to her father’s neck asked, “Mom, Dad wants to know if you can ski well by yourself?”
Wei Zhi blinked.
Wei Zhi: “What if I say I can’t?”
Xun Yue turned to her father: “She says she can’t.”
Shan Chong chuckled lightly: “Then tell her to do her best.”
Xun Yue blinked: “So you mean you’re not going to look after her?”
Xun Yue turned back to Wei Zhi: “He’s not going to look after you. What do you want to do?”
Shan Chong bounced Xun Yue slightly and asked expressionlessly: “Trying to sow discord, are we?”
Wei Zhi raised her hand and patted her daughter’s bottom. The girl turned, grinning, and snuggled into Shan Chong’s arms to hide. The man held her tight and started walking straight on his board.
At first, when they weren’t moving fast, she could still cling to his neck and ask, “Are you not going to look after Mom?”
The wind whistled in their ears as the man, wearing his goggles, looked straight ahead. His voice was almost carried away by the wind—
“She could handle this slope with her eyes closed.”
…
At the beginner-intermediate slope of the mountaintop ski area.
On the slope jokingly called the “Happy Ski Trail” by fellow skiers, full of stranded snowboard beginners, they saw a black figure zoom past, carrying a purple fluffy bunny—
Leaving behind only the echoes of a little girl’s shrieks of laughter ringing through the misty mountaintop.
…
After passing the gentlest beginner slope, Chong put Xun Yue down. Holding the leash attached to her learning backpack with one hand, he explained the basics of heel-edge sliding.
“Curl your toes, imagine there’s a chair behind your bottom, and you’re leaning against the edge of it.”
The child’s legs were so short that there was no need to talk about maintaining balance. She flailed about energetically, managing to slide down a meter or two at a time.
Shan Chong followed slowly behind, holding the leash. When he saw her leaning too far and about to fall, knowing she was well-padded and wouldn’t hurt herself, he still promptly tugged on the leash, suspending her in mid-air just before she hit the ground—
Xun Yue was having the time of her life with these little adventures. She spread her arms parallel to the board, looking around excitedly. In just three seconds, she had taught herself to do heel-edge falling leaf turns, and the little purple bunny was zipping down the slope!
“Daddy! Look at me! I can do this!”
She couldn’t quite explain what “this” was, but she was swinging her board left and right, picking up speed so quickly that Shan Chong almost couldn’t hold on, like a little wild horse that had broken free.
After descending another slope, the man used his strength to lift his daughter. Xun Yue let out a “Ya!” and giggled. After laughing, she hugged her father’s leg to steady herself. Her soft face pressed against his cold snow pants as she asked in a sweet voice, “What’s wrong?”
“Didn’t you notice we lost your mom?” The man looked down. “Let’s wait for her.”
Father and daughter waited by the side of the slope.
They didn’t have to wait long before they saw a familiar figure coming down the slope. She was wearing a rabbit-eared hood that matched Bing Dwen Dwen’s color, black carved skis on her feet, and purple overalls—
As she came down the slope, she picked up speed and executed a perfect high-speed carve, pressing her hips low. She moved incredibly fast, leaving deep tracks in the snow!
With each turn of her ski edges cutting into the snow surface, a high wall of snow flew up!
Halfway down the slope, she looked back up the mountain. Seeing no one behind her, she suddenly jumped from her heel edge while at high speed. Following a perfect parabolic arc, she rotated 540° in mid-air, her rabbit ears flying up as her body spun—
With a “thud,” she landed on her toe edge, her body folded forward slightly, back foot slightly bent, immediately resuming the basic carving stance and gliding forward!
After a few more turns, she smoothly stopped next to the father and daughter by the side of the slope. She pushed aside the rabbit ears that had flopped in front of her eyes during the spin, revealing her face slightly flushed from the cold. Wei Zhi blinked and said, “I ran into Lao Yan up there and chatted for a bit, that’s what held me up.”
Shan Chong let out a slow “Oh,” but before he could say anything else.
Unexpectedly, Xun Yue, who had been quietly hanging onto her father’s leg, exploded with excitement—
She let go of Shan Chong’s leg and plopped down onto the snow. Her small hands, covered in white gloves, clapped furiously, making muffled “pap pap” sounds that echoed across the entire slope. Her childish voice cheered, “Mommy skied so well! Mommy skis better than Daddy! Mommy looked so cool!”
Wei Zhi let out an “Eh,” slowly widening her eyes as she turned to look at her daughter.
Shan Chong: “…”
His memory fully awakened.
It was as if he was back to that day, standing at the park entrance, when the little girl had stretched her neck, looking longingly at others carving, and said, “Master, I want to learn to carve.”
………………………
Oops, we’ve gone off track again.jpg.