November 7, 2021.
Zhangjiakou, Chongli.
Chongli, dormant throughout the summer, sprang back to life with the arrival of winter. The small airport was packed with people attending the opening ceremonies of various ski resorts—
As one of China’s skiing meccas, boasting five top-ranked ski resorts, Chongli’s opening symbolized the official start of the domestic ski season.
An old Beijing Auto vehicle is parked in the airport lot. As the engine cut off, a man in a white hoodie and light-colored Air Jordans jumped out of the driver’s seat. He kicked the door shut, hands in his pockets, and glanced back at the airport exit. No one had emerged yet.
He sighed in relief and checked his phone. Three minutes ago, someone saved as “Argument Champion” had sent him a message—
[Argument Champion: Landed, landed!]
Somehow, he could almost hear her excited squealing through the screen.
His lips curled into a slight smile as he chuckled, sending a voice message in reply: “I’m here, waiting for you at the exit.”
After locking the car, he obediently waited at the airport’s main entrance.
The man was tall and slender, one of the rare male specimens who could pull off a light-colored hoodie cleanly. As he stood there amidst the bustling crowd, most people couldn’t help but glance back at him—
Even with a mask on, he transformed from strikingly handsome to an aura-exuding heartthrob that everyone wanted to look at twice.
Then came half an hour of enduring the cold.
As the first person carrying a ski bag emerged from the hall, brushing past Shan Chong, the previously languid man leaning against the doorframe slightly raised his eyelids, straightened up, and changed his stance.
His gaze shifted from staring at his feet to the airport exit.
After the first person came out, he waited for quite a while before finally spotting a young woman dragging an orange ski bag almost as tall as her—
This year’s new orange DB ski bag was eye-catching but heavy. The young woman took four or five steps before dropping the bag with a “thud” on the ground. She flexed her left hand, then switched to her right to continue dragging it.
Step by step, she moved towards the exit.
Shan Chong watched for a while. When she finally turtle-crawled to the doorway with her ski bag, he stepped forward. As she was still huffing and puffing, dragging the bag longer than her out the door with her back turned, he reached over her shoulder and grabbed the bag handle—
Startled by the sudden arm extending from behind, Wei Zhi turned around. She realized she had been enveloped in the shadow cast by the person standing behind her. Then, a familiar scent entered her nostrils…
Her heart raced for three seconds.
Then, as her blood flow accelerated, her entire being seemed to bask in an atmosphere of peace and relaxation.
“You scared me,” she said, releasing the bag and handing it over to him. “Why didn’t you say anything before suddenly appearing?”
The man didn’t speak, lifting her ski bag and weighing it: “Did you pack gold bricks? It’s so heavy…”
“Two boards, two pairs of boots, and several ski outfits are all stuffed in there.”
Wei Zhi counted seriously on her fingers. As she counted, she felt the gaze beside her lowering in temperature and sweeping across her face. She turned to look…
She found Shan Chong staring at her intently, his head slightly tilted towards her, eyes lowered. That usually cold and emotionless face was now tinged with a rare hint of warmth and patience.
Her voice, detailing the contents of the ski bag, suddenly stopped.
Her bright eyes darted around in their sockets as she asked, “What are you looking at?”
The man had indeed given the person in front of him a thorough once-over—
She wore a thick, white, long down jacket on top, paired with straight-leg mustard-colored wool trousers, and snow boots… She was bundled up from head to toe, not even her ankles showing.
A year had passed, and her hair was longer than when they first met. It seemed she hadn’t dyed it in a while, resulting in a natural pure black that looked soft and glossy. Combined with her rosy cheeks, she appeared very healthy.
Being stared at for so long made her a bit self-conscious. She raised her hand to rub her face and looked away: “St-stop staring! What are you doing?”
Hearing this, the man reached out, using two fingers to tilt her chin back towards him. His index finger then gently scratched under her chin: “Gained weight?”
She swatted his hand away.
He chuckled softly, naturally taking her soft hand in his. While dragging her ski bag, he led her towards the parking lot, squeezing her palm: “What’s up? Has something remarkable happened recently?”
He asked casually, not noticing that the person whose hand he was holding had momentarily stopped breathing, her breaths becoming shallow. The hand in his palm stiffened slightly—her face, originally pale from the cold air, began to flush from the tip of her nose, the blush spreading unnaturally…
She knew he couldn’t possibly know.
Yet she was still nervous.
It was easier over the internet, but facing him in person, that inexplicable pressure enveloped her involuntarily, like wanting to stand at attention and be a good student in front of the disciplinary teacher—
Damn.
This is killing me. “Where did you get the idea to ask that?” She almost tripped over her tongue.
“You’re all bundled up, looking like you’ve aged years,” Shan Chong said. “Last January in Chongli, it was minus ten-something degrees, and what did you wear? Tall boots and a short skirt, and you wouldn’t let me say a word—I’d get an earful if I said anything more—”
“…”
“How come you’re suddenly behaving yourself this year?”
He just asked casually with a tone of approval.
From the corner of his eye, he saw her hand rise, somewhat absentmindedly touching her stomach. He noticed but didn’t pay much attention, assuming it was just a small gesture to smooth her clothes…
He waited a while but got no answer from her.
After a moment, they reached the car. He tossed the ski bag in the back and opened the passenger door for her. Perhaps because they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, the young woman was being particularly coquettish, insisting that he help her into the car—
Shan Chong naturally had no objections, though he quipped, “In two more years, you’ll have me kneeling on the ground so you can step on my back to get in.” Nevertheless, he obediently extended his hand to half-support, half-carry her into the car.
As she sat in the passenger seat, he went the extra mile and reached over to secure her seatbelt.
As the man pulled the seatbelt to find the buckle, he felt the person trapped between his chest, and the seatback reach out and wrap her arms around his neck.
His eyelashes fluttered as he looked up at her—
She giggled and leaned in, her peach-like face, white with a hint of pink, adorned with a soft smile: “Shan Chong.”
She called his full name.
“Hmm?”
He responded with a nasal sound.
“Will you always be good to me?”
She moved closer to him.
Met with the man’s momentary bewildered silence, after a few seconds that felt long to her, a large hand reached out, covering her small face, and pressed her head back against the seat—
“You’re quite talkative today.”
She struggled to grab his wrist, scratching it lightly: “Will you or won’t you?”
“I will.”
“Say it again.”
“I will.”
She smiled contentedly. Shan Chong gave her a puzzled look, not quite understanding how his wife had seemingly turned into an insecure little fool after just a month or so apart…
He didn’t dare ask, just looked at her suspiciously for a while, then pulled her over by her shoulders, using one hand to lift her mask—
He leaned in and kissed the corner of her lips. Amidst her protests of “We’re in public,” he finally let her go, expressionlessly watching her lower her head with a beet-red face to adjust her mask.
“If you ask this question to ten men, eleven out of ten will give you an affirmative answer.”
His voice was cool.
As she turned her head in confusion, staring at him with wide doe eyes, he maintained his serious expression and raised his hand to flick her smooth forehead—
“Fortunately, I never lie.”
His flat voice was cut off by the passenger door slamming shut. The person looking out the door hadn’t even processed what nice things he had said before the conversation abruptly ended.
She blinked, taking a while to react.
By then, the man had already gotten into the driver’s seat and started the car.
As the car slowly headed towards the mountain-top ski resort, Shan Chong turned to ask if she wanted to stop by the supermarket for snacks before going up the mountain. However, she suddenly interrupted him, asking, “Don’t you have a competition tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” he paused, “Why do you ask?”
“Do your best, okay?” She blinked, saying seriously, “I have a gift for you.”
“What good thing could you possibly give me? I’d be grateful if you just talked back less.”
The man snorted, unimpressed.
At this moment, he was unimpressed.
…