The bar owner was obviously talking nonsense.
Jiang Ran had never had the habit of reporting her schedule to anyone the next day.
She did get up early the next morning, but not to catch someone at Beijiao’s school. Instead, she traveled a long way to the Sunac Snow World to give Song Die a snowboarding lesson.
She usually never took on morning lessons, after all, she couldn’t get up that early.
Originally, Jiang Ran’s schedule was packed for the afternoon, but Song Die had persistently begged her. He suggested adding an extra two hundred yuan per hour as an “early-bird fee,” wanting to take advantage of the momentum from his practice yesterday to finally master the technique of edge transitions.
—Edge transitions are the real technique for basic snowboarding carving. It involves transitioning from a backside leaf slide to a frontside leaf slide, connecting the two movements with a brief straight board slide, making the entire carving path a closed S-shaped curve. This is the foundation of edge transitions.
People say that once you master edge transitions, you’ve officially entered the world of snowboarding.
Given how determined and motivated he was, and how rare it was to find such an enthusiastic student, Jiang Ran didn’t accept his proposed “early-bird fee.” She kept the original rate and made an exception to wake up early just for him.
Song Die was considerate—he even brought her breakfast from McDonald’s.
As Jiang Ran sat on a bench biting into her burger, Song Die crouched down tying his snowboard boots. She noticed he was wearing yet another new pair—
This time, he switched to Burton, a much more well-known brand. Their snowboard boots usually cost at least two or three thousand yuan. The model he was wearing featured BOA dial laces with steel cables, making them even more expensive.
Generally, snowboard boots on the market are categorized into three types based on their fastening systems—
The first is traditional laces. The downside is that they’re time-consuming to tie up tightly, requiring quite a bit of strength. The upside is that they’re affordable and, once properly tied, won’t loosen throughout the day.
The second is the pull-cord system, where tightening the shoes is as simple as pulling a cord on either side. The downside is that many people don’t know how to use the buckles correctly, and the cords might loosen while riding. The upside is that they’re easy to put on and take off.
The third is the BOA dial lace system, which uses a dial and steel cables to tighten the boots with just a twist. This system is especially user-friendly for beginners, particularly women who might lack strength or snowboot experience. The downside is that they’re more expensive, and they tend to loosen during use, requiring frequent readjustment.
Burton boots with BOA systems are usually favored by beginners, as they are softer and more suitable for basic riding.
“Why did you change boots?” Jiang Ran asked casually.
“The last pair was a bit tight,” Song Die said, still focused on twisting the dials. “I asked around and decided to switch to this one.”
“It’s like having a Porsche 911 and not driving it, then hearing that a Volkswagen Beetle looks similar and buying one because it’s supposedly more comfortable.”
Jiang Ran commented, “New boots are always tight at first. They’ll loosen up with use… You won’t be able to wear these new ones for long. The Nitro boots from yesterday were better. You could’ve worn those for a while.”
Song Die didn’t know much about boots. He straightened up and tilted his head, watching her poke a straw into her chocolate milk with a “pop.”
She bit the straw, her teeth showing slightly. She must have been thirsty, drinking quickly, some of the brown liquid spilling onto her lips.
He stared for a moment.
“Next time, ask me before switching gear. Don’t waste money.”
As Jiang Ran mumbled this, she turned to look at him. Song Die’s eyes flickered slightly before returning to his usual calm expression.
She finished her chocolate milk with a few gulps, then let out a small burp. Satisfied, she tossed the empty cup into a nearby trash can from a distance.
Song Die chuckled softly.
She turned her head at him, puzzled. “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing,” he paused. “It’s just the first time I’ve bought something and still got scolded.”
Jiang Ran didn’t take it seriously. “I’m just saying, don’t waste money. It’s not easy to earn.”
As she said, “It’s not easy to earn,” something about it felt off—
It was as absurd as an American waking up one day and suddenly speaking fluent Chinese.
She abruptly stopped her train of thought, feeling confused. She looked down and realized she still had half a burger in her hand. She wasn’t hungry anymore. She placed it back into the paper bag, planning to eat it later during a break.
Just then, she caught sight of the delivery slip attached to the bag. It listed the breakfast set menu, plus some extra items. What she had already eaten probably cost twenty to thirty yuan.
Twenty or thirty yuan—for breakfast.
Jiang Ran: “Is McDonald’s breakfast that expensive?”
Song Die: “Huh?”
When Song Die gave her a confused look, Jiang Ran immediately shut her mouth tightly, her expression turning serious. She began to suspect she might have been poisoned.
After tidying everything up, they entered the snow park. It was early, and the park wasn’t very crowded. After boarding the chairlift and settling in, she took off her gloves and pulled out her phone. The indoor temperature was freezing. She waved her numb fingers on the screen, sending a message to her “cheap little brother” via WeChat—
【To My Little Darling: What did you have for breakfast?】
A strange greeting.
Naturally, it vanished into silence.
Jiang Ran didn’t know why she was being so cold and distant—
Look at her.
First thing in the morning, people’s minds really weren’t clear.
…
After the lesson ended that day, for some reason, Jiang Ran felt the urge to check out Beijiao’s school again—
Not for any particular reason.
She just wanted to see what kind of posture that little brat would use to sleep on the street so effortlessly.
Don’t call her cruel—he was the one who didn’t reply to her messages first.
So when class ended, she changed out of her snowboarding gear and came out, patting Song Die on the shoulder as he stood waiting for her.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride back to school.”
Song Die hadn’t expected much. At most, they’d walk to the parking lot together and exchange a quick “Bye” before going their separate ways. He knew she was just walking him to the parking lot to squeeze in a few more sentences of conversation—
It was a bit pathetic.
But it was true.
So now, suddenly being offered a ride back, he felt somewhat flattered.
He climbed into Jiang Ran’s car, fastened his seatbelt, and watched the woman calmly start the engine. He thought for a moment and smiled, asking, “Does your car take 95 or 98 octane? The gas cost from Sunac to our school must be pretty high.”
Jiang Ran kept one hand on the steering wheel and replied casually, “Never calculated.”
Song Die’s gaze swept across her side profile and sat up straighter. “Do you usually give students rides home?”
“No,” she denied. “You’re just a bit special to me.”
Hearing that, Song Die let out a quiet “Oh.” Jiang Ran kept her eyes on the road ahead, expressionless. She didn’t catch the subtle probing in his question, nor did she notice the slight excitement in his voice. She simply said, “I don’t usually start teaching people from edge transitions. You’re one of the few.”
Song Die wasn’t sure how to respond.
Then he heard her say seriously—
“So to me, you’re like my son.”
“…”
…
Jiang Ran drove her 98-octane car, delivering a “son” who was only three years younger than her back to school.
The entrance of A University was unusually lively today. Several tents had been set up along the pedestrian street for reception purposes, with student union members running around busily.
Not far away, several buses were unloading students, each bus marked with the names of various well-known universities across the country.
Among the crowd were also local students who had just received their final notice to leave campus…
Song Die was from Guangzhou. He had his own car parked at school and planned to pack his suitcase and bedding before driving home.
Jiang Ran dropped him off at the school gate, but he noticed she was no longer fully focused on their conversation.
Her eyes kept scanning the stream of college students passing by in front of her car…
Her car was eye-catching, so occasionally she would lock eyes with someone through the window, unapologetically—
There were just too many people.
Trying to spot the specific, down-on-his-luck brat she was looking for felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.
As Jiang Ran was lost in thought, someone knocked on the window—tap, tap, tap.
She rolled down the window and saw a young man wearing a basketball jersey and shorts.
He had dark skin and was extremely tall—maybe around 190 cm. His arms were unusually muscular for an average college student. Leaning down with one hand braced on the roof of the car, he used his recently deepened voice to say, “Hey, can I get your WeChat?”
He was one of the many people who had locked eyes with her earlier.
Jiang Ran looked him up and down. Behind him, a group of what appeared to be his teammates were laughing and joking. Someone shouted “Captain!” and teased him for calling her “sister” so sweetly.
Surrounded by this lively, youthful energy, Jiang Ran replied to the slightly bold yet shy young man, “No, I’m just dropping someone off.”
The person outside the car asked, “Dropping off who?”
At that moment, Song Die unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward slightly, answering calmly, “Me.”
Without comparison, you wouldn’t notice the difference. But now, with one person inside the car and one outside, it was easy to see that Song Die, compared to the average college student, carried himself with more composure and less youthful exuberance.
As he leaned forward, he was right behind Jiang Ran, probably trying to make himself visible to the person outside the driver’s window. He leaned in a bit too close—
His body warmth seemed to envelop her entirely.
She subtly shifted her posture forward.
At the same time, she felt a warm breath lightly brushing against her neck.
The atmosphere suddenly turned quiet.
It felt like an eternity passed in just a few seconds.
Surprisingly, the basketball captain outside the car, after a brief moment of shock, simply smiled and said, “No worries. I’m just here for the competition too… How about I treat you to some drinks tonight? I heard there’s a good bar nearby hosting an event. It should be lively.”
Song Die was surprised by the guy’s audacity.
Jiang Ran was also momentarily stunned by his nonchalant attitude.
But soon, her attention shifted elsewhere. “What bar event?”
The basketball captain turned and waved to someone behind him.
Immediately, one of his teammates rushed over and handed her a flyer-like piece of paper. Jiang Ran glanced at it—tonight was the “Selfless Bar” draft beer night, with unlimited beer available.
Jiang Ran: “Where did you get this flyer?”
She tilted her face slightly, looking at the person outside the car.
He stared directly into her eyes. Under the sunlight, her dark pupils turned into a light amber color—very beautiful.
For a few seconds, he even had the crazy thought of regretting not applying to a university in Guangzhou.
Hearing her question, he naturally couldn’t resist answering. He shifted his tall frame aside and pointed to a spot not far away.
Jiang Ran followed his finger and saw a snow-white, fluffy polar bear bouncing around near the student union tents—
In a temperature nearing 40 degrees.
The polar bear was holding a stack of flyers, his bear paws clumsy, but his bear claws moved with such speed they left afterimages. He was carelessly and quickly scattering the flyers like flower petals falling from the sky.
Author’s Note:
The basketball captain and the rich young master
All those beautiful, youthful temptations
Were ultimately overshadowed by a hardworking polar bear.
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