Wang Xin waited in the hotel lobby. When they arrived, he handed Wei Zhi a room key card without needing her to check-in.
Cleverly, her room was on the 28th floor, while Shan Chong’s was on the 17th. The elevator required a key card, so unless they climbed the stairs, they couldn’t go up or down.
Shan Chong asked, “What’s the meaning of this?”
Wang Xin replied, “To maintain cosmic order, protect world peace, respect social harmony, and prevent weak legs tomorrow… physical separation.”
“Separate what? I’m not going to do anything… Wait, are you sick? Why are you forcing me to explain this to you?” Shan Chong questioned. “If we can’t sleep in the same bed, why did my wife come?”
“To ski, of course,” Wang Xin turned to Wei Zhi, “Right?”
Wei Zhi remained silent, smiling as she held the key card, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Shan Chong, naturally assuming his wife wouldn’t side with the middle-aged man, scoffed, “You’ve thought this through, but can you stop her if she wants to come with me?”
Without waiting for Wang Xin’s response, he turned to the young woman, “Are you coming?”
Wei Zhi shook her head.
Wang Xin laughed loudly.
Shan Chong pulled up his mask, his face darkening. He grabbed Wei Zhi’s snowboard bag and entered the elevator without looking back. Inside, he glanced at the two people outside, frantically pressing the close button with an attitude that seemed to say, “I’m taking the board bag, and no one’s getting a free ride on the flight tickets I bought for skiing.”
Wei Zhi watched the elevator doors close in front of her, her smile unchanged throughout.
After the elevator had ascended a few floors, she calmly pressed the up button again.
Wang Xin stirred the pot: “He took your board bag.”
Wei Zhi didn’t even flinch: “That’s Jiang Nanfeng’s bag. Mine is white.”
Wang Xin: “He didn’t recognize it?”
Wei Zhi: “It’s this year’s new color. He probably thought I was wasting money.”
Wang Xin: “Where’s your board?”
Wei Zhi: “Didn’t bring it.”
Wang Xin: “Not skiing?”
Wei Zhi replied flatly, staring at the elevator doors: “Ski what? I’m pregnant.”
Wang Xin nodded: “Oh, I see, you’re preg—”
His voice cut off abruptly.
Through the elevator doors, she saw the middle-aged man’s face freeze, then slowly morph into an expression of shock. She patted her belly, slowly revealing a satisfied smile.
She wasn’t sure exactly what she was proud of, but seeing these people’s family-wide shock was quite satisfying. It felt like when she was a child, bringing home a perfect test score and waiting to see her parents’ wide-eyed reactions. It was as if she was thinking:
How about that!
Impressive, right?
Scared you, didn’t I?
Wang Xin lived on the 31st floor, so they rode the elevator together.
The entire way, Wang Xin kept as far from Wei Zhi as the elevator allowed, as if she were a priceless, fragile artifact from the Warring States period in a museum—one touch and it would shatter, resulting in immediate execution.
When the elevator reached the 28th floor, Wei Zhi pushed her suitcase out slowly. Wang Xin quickly stepped forward to hold the elevator door, afraid it might close and hit her. He muttered, “Take it easy, no rush…”
“It’s fine,” Wei Zhi said, “I’m tough as nails.”
“Tough what? You’re… ah, it’s still early, right?” Wang Xin glanced at her belly, shuddered, and quickly averted his gaze, clearly uncomfortable. “Don’t you know to be careful in the early stages? You even carried your board bag off the plane. That bag was so heavy, and the flight was several hours long. It’s too reckless. If I were you, I definitely wouldn’t have come. What’s so great about a championship? You’re guaranteed the top three. Even if you fall, it’s not like you’d die… And Shan Chong, he’s also—”
Wang Xin paused, finally realizing the source of the earlier inconsistencies.
“He doesn’t know either, does he?”
“If he knew, would he think taking my board bag was a form of protest?”
“Why haven’t you told him?”
“He’s abroad,” Wei Zhi explained. “I wanted to tell him in person. It didn’t feel right over the phone. Besides, he’d still have to quarantine when he returns. If I told him, how could he possibly stay put?”
“Oh, so I found out before him,” Wang Xin seemed somewhat pleased. “Don’t tell him yet. I want to see him try to get angry but not dare to.”
Wei Zhi walked out of the elevator, smiled at him, and waved goodbye.
Wang Xin looked at the suitcase in her hand and decided to come out, pushing it to her room door…
The suitcase wasn’t heavy.
At the room door, he gave her a couple more reminders, then asked when Jiang Nanfeng would arrive, expressing concern about leaving her alone in the room. He suggested she should tell Shan Chong and stay in his room instead…
He rambled on and on.
It wasn’t a big deal. Not many people knew about this, right? Just Jiang Nanfeng, Wei Zhi’s parents, Shan Chong’s parents, that’s it… Wang Xin, as a stepfather, wasn’t out of place in this order. His slightly fearful yet expectant expression wasn’t much different from the reactions of actual parents.
Just like Ms. Yang, whose first reaction was “I’m only forty-five, I’m not babysitting a granddaughter,” which was utterly genuine.
Wei Zhi finally saw Wang Xin off and had just sat down in her room when her phone rang.
A man’s deep voice, tinged with an “I’m not happy but I have to give in” frustration, asked: “Room number?”
“Your floor’s key card won’t work in the elevator.”
“I know,” Shan Chong said, “Don’t worry about it.”
So Wei Zhi told him the room number.
Then there was silence on the other end.
She had thought he might be smart enough to go down to the front desk and simply say he was so-and-so’s lawful husband from the such-and-such room and get a key card. Isn’t that what marriage certificates are for in times like these?
But he wouldn’t.
After about ten minutes, there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, the man who had thrown a tantrum half an hour ago was leaning against the doorframe with a backpack, still dutifully wearing his black mask…
His chest was heaving, indicating he had just exercised.
Seeing the door open, as if afraid it might close again, he first threw his bag into the room, then used one hand to block the door while the other grabbed her arm—
As he squeezed in, he pulled her into his embrace.
Fortunately, she cooperated, following his lead and hanging onto his neck. Her soft body pressed against him, not using much force, just a light push that pinned him against the entryway wall.
“Don’t tell me you climbed eleven floors up the fire escape stairs.”
“Mm.” Shan Chong, back against the wall, supported her waist with his large hands, holding her tight as he lowered his head to peck her lips. “We train for endurance every day, climbing some stairs is nothing… I’m getting older though. A few years ago, I could have made it five minutes earlier.”
His words made Wei Zhi laugh.
After not seeing each other for so long, being held tightly in his arms, smelling his familiar scent, she could finally feel that a real, living person was in front of her…
When apart, she hadn’t felt like she couldn’t sleep without him, but now, embracing in a room with no one else around, the longing that had been suppressed beneath her organs surged forth like a tidal wave—
Her heart raced so fast that her toes curled.
Her heart and eyes were filled with nothing but the person before her.
She raised her hand, gently pinching the man’s earlobe, and took the initiative to kiss his chin. The young woman’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled… Her eyeballs, visible beneath her thick lashes, sparkled like stars in the Milky Way.
Faced with her smile, staring at the tips of her pointed canine teeth, his anger completely dissipated. He felt that climbing those eleven floors had been worth it.
What ill intentions could a young girl have?
It was just Wang Xin not letting her stay with him.
She was simply being obedient.
“I’m sleeping here tonight,” he said, implying that now that he was here, she’d better be sensible.
The person sitting on his lap nodded, hugging his waist tightly, and after a moment’s thought said, “I’ll tell you something after your competition tomorrow.”
Shan Chong felt she was being mysterious today as if she had something to tell him. He pinched her face, pulling the soft flesh outward, turning her fair cheeks into buns. The man’s expression remained neutral: “If you have something to say, just say it. Why the suspense?”
“After the competition,” Wei Zhi said. “Otherwise, if your mindset collapses, you won’t be able to compete, and Wang Xin will chase me with a knife.”
“Are we getting divorced?”
She shook her head.
“Then what could make my mindset collapse,” he scoffed, laying her on the bed. “You’re overthinking it.”
Wei Zhi felt that there were things in this world equally earth-shattering as divorce that could shake the foundations of a marriage.
Unfortunately, the man hadn’t thought in that direction at all, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.
…
This composure dissolved the next day when they arrived at the competition venue and were waiting in the rest area.
Originally, nothing was amiss. Wei Zhi had tagged along with Wang Xin, borrowing a logistics staff pass for the training team to sneak into the rest area—
Shan Chong was a bit surprised by this, wondering when Wang Xin had become so accommodating.
Faced with the man’s hesitant gaze, Wang Xin pretended not to see, ignoring him completely. Instead, he handed Wei Zhi a pink thermos filled with warm water.
Wei Zhi thanked him, took her thermos, and had a sip. Wang Xin pointed to the only sofa in the rest area and said, “Go sit down. The competition won’t start for a while.”
She responded with an “Oh,” and obediently went to sit down, cradling her thermos.
Shan Chong: “?”
Shan Chong: “Who’s competing today, exactly?”
Wang Xin turned around, looking puzzled: “What, do I need to take care of you too? Get you some hot water? Did you even bring a thermos?”
Shan Chong: “…”
Finding communication difficult, Shan Chong gave up. As Wang Xin shouted at Dai Duo to warm up instead of sitting around playing games, he tossed aside the protective gear he was putting on, turned around, and squeezed onto the sofa next to his wife.
Once settled, he felt the person next to him tilt her head and obediently glance at him.
Shan Chong asked, “What’s going on?”
Wei Zhi blinked but didn’t speak.
Shan Chong frowned, his expression becoming more serious, not angry, but authoritative—
It was the kind of atmosphere where, if he showed it, Wei Zhi would honestly confess even what she had dreamed about last night.
“If you have something to tell me, tell me now,” the man said expressionlessly. “Do you think hiding it will help me compete with peace of mind? Also, I’ve been holding back all morning from asking you about yesterday’s board bag. This morning when I went back to the room to set up your board, what was that size 38 Burton Quick Lace? Don’t tell me that the 154 freestyle board is yours. Do you even know freestyle to buy a board as long as you are?”
“…”
Wei Zhi had never imagined he’d climb eleven flights of stairs down in the morning, return to the room to freshen up, and still have time to go through her board… Who are you calling as long as a 154 board?
The atmosphere suddenly became very tense.
It created an air as if she was going to divorce him.
… Honestly, that was quite unnecessary, wasn’t it?
“The board is Jiang Nanfeng’s,” she said.
The man looked at her without a word, implying “I’m listening, continue,” then suddenly shook the protective gear in his hand and began to put it on. The “slap” sound was very emotional.
Wei Zhi: “…”
She scooted her bottom a bit further away from him. As she was trying to organize her thoughts, she suddenly heard him say, “And then? Continue.”
Here it comes.
He’s getting upset.
On the verge of revealing everything, Wei Zhi suddenly didn’t know how to say it. Her fair face turned red with the effort… Just then, the rest area door was pushed open from outside. It was a staff member from the event organizers. The person adjusted the baseball cap on their head, eyes scanning the room before settling on the man: “Brother Chong? Ah, Brother Chong, it’s almost your turn!”
Shan Chong didn’t move.
He had an attitude of “If you don’t tell me, I’m just going to sit here all day.”
This time, it was Wei Zhi who became anxious.
She grabbed the man’s hand as he was adjusting his wristguard and, under his puzzled gaze, placed it on her belly.
Shan Chong: “What are you doing?”
Wei Zhi: “I’m pregnant.”
Shan Chong: “…”
The hand on her belly didn’t move. He turned to look at her as if hearing her words for the first time in a language not from Earth…
Wei Zhi: “Someone did go downstairs to buy you cigarettes when you were thirty.”
Shan Chong: “…”
After about ten seconds, the man withdrew his hand—
He forcibly pulled it away from her grasp and her belly.
There was no cheering, no shock, no surprise or joy. Wei Zhi just felt a dark shadow beside her stand up abruptly. The man who had been leisurely putting on his protective gear next to her now stood like a terracotta warrior from a museum, his face expressionless, looking down at her.
His eyes were pitch black, staring at her hollowly.
Wei Zhi: “?”
Wei Zhi: “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you want to ask any strange questions, then: it’s yours, I’m quite sure.”
He remained unmoved.
Her attempt at humor didn’t even make him smile. He looked like he was possessed by the King of Hell, his face completely devoid of expression. Wei Zhi wondered if he had gone stupid.
Wei Zhi: “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” he said. “I got it.”
After saying this, he calmly patted her head, dropped an “I’m going out,” and turned to leave.
Leaving Wei Zhi sitting on the sofa holding her thermos, lost in thought.
…
At the 2021-2022 National Snowboarding Championship, Big Air event venue.
The on-site commentators sat on a high platform, watching the real-time giant screen behind the competition platform. As the camera swept across the athletes’ entrance, a man in a white snowsuit slowly emerged from the darkness—
[We can now see entering from the athletes’ entrance… oh, it’s athlete Shan Chong.]
The voice of the first commentator rang out.
[Shan Chong can be considered a veteran in the snowboarding Big Air event. He became a formal rider at ten, joined the national team at sixteen, and represented the country at the PyeongChang Olympics two years ago… He then retired due to injury, until making a high-profile comeback at the X Games open competition early this year. In just six short months, he has won numerous domestic and international medals in the Big Air event, including gold at the X Games and silver at the Burton U.S. Open, climbing into the top 50 FIS rankings for snowboarding Big Air.]
The second commentator chimed in: [Quite remarkable achievements in just half a year.]
[Indeed, under the current special circumstances, Shan Chong has already demonstrated the sportsmanship expected of a professional athlete. Now, both domestic and international attention on him has been rising… He has become one of the most watched athletes in our country besides Dai Duo.]
[Shan Chong’s return undoubtedly adds another strong chip for next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics snow events.]
The cheers from the audience were a bit louder than for the previous athletes’ entrances.
Perhaps the spectators recognized the man’s perpetually emotionless cool face on the big screen—
Athlete Shan Chong looks very cool today too.
Commentator 1: [Now we can see Shan Chong walking towards the competition platform. This athlete has always been known for his composure and calmness. On the big screen, we can see that even after experiencing several international competitions and achieving good results in each one over the past few months, today he still…]
Commentator 2: [Uh.]
In the sudden silence that fell between the two commentators.
On the big screen, under everyone’s gaze, the athletes’ entrance door that had closed after the man appeared earlier reopened.
A small girl, only reaching his shoulder, hurriedly chased out from the door. She was wearing a long down jacket with an oversized black helmet and goggles hanging from her elbow.
She caught up in a few steps. By now, the man walking in front had heard the footsteps and turned around, immediately seeing her jumping and running towards him with the helmet and goggles—
Shan Chong was stunned for a few seconds.
“Why are you running? Slow down.”
Before he could move, the young girl had already rushed in front of him. She tugged at the sleeve of his snowsuit. He paused, then bent down to her level—
She didn’t say anything, just stood on her tiptoes, somewhat fiercely and a bit irritably, and forcefully jammed the helmet onto his already messy head.
The helmet slipped.
He reached out to catch it.
At the same time, she frowned and tugged at his ear.
“What’s the rush? Is a ghost chasing you?”
His ear hurt from being pulled.
He tilted his head following her force, not minding the embarrassment.
Her voice was soft, unable to sound truly fierce no matter how hard she tried, but it was clear she was making an effort to scold him, her face stern, “You forgot your helmet! And you’re not taking your goggles! Are you only wearing one wristguard?”
Shan Chong stared at the pile of things he had forgotten in the young girl’s hands.
After a few seconds of silence, not caring about the setting or how many cameras were pointed at them, the man who had always been known for his expressionless face in people’s impressions, his eyes flickered for a few seconds before he smiled.
As if his legs had given out, in front of everyone, he crouched down beside the young girl’s legs. With one hand supporting his head, he messed up his already disheveled hair even more.
“I’m…”
Looking down at the ground, as embarrassed as a balding lion without its mane, he let out a helpless laugh—
“I really can’t compete now, my legs are weak.”
He crouched on the ground, looking up at her standing beside him, with an innocent expression.
“Come on, tell me, what should I do?”