Many years later.
Shan Xunyue drove to the school gate of Beiji in a sports car that Bei had gifted her for her birthday, showing off arrogantly. She chased away a freshman girl who had confessed to Bei, causing a huge scene and becoming the talk of the school.
At that time, a video was widely circulating online—
A young girl wearing the freshman navy-blue short skirt uniform tearfully pointed toward the woman sitting lazily in the car, leaning on the steering wheel and glancing over, and asked who she was.
After a long pause, the boy, regarded by everyone as a lofty flower, aloof and rarely smiling, softly chuckled. His pitch-black eyes, like a starry night, seemed to hold a clear, bright moon. He said, “Ah, that’s the ancestor.”
The car door opened not far away, and the woman jumped out, striding over impatiently. She grabbed the aloof boy’s tie and shouted his name, “Bei Ao’ao.”
The boy raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah.”
“Why are you still talking nonsense with others?”
“I wasn’t.”
“Are you done talking yet?”
“Yeah.”
Then, in front of everyone’s stunned gazes, the female bully from above descended without hesitation, stuffing him into the passenger seat of the sports car.
…And thoughtfully fastened his seatbelt for him.
This video spread widely, eventually reaching the female bully’s biological mother, who sighed while talking to her husband, “I wonder who Xiao Man got this from,” and carefully saved the video.
From then on, Shan Xiao Man finally managed to completely erase the image of being a hopeless romantic in her mother’s eyes—a reputation she had genuinely carried for over a decade since she was eight.
But right now,
She was still a gentle girl reading picture books in Mandarin for her younger brother.
Jiang Ran remembered Bei Ao’ao used to whine about having a stomachache when carsick or airsick when he was two, but today he seemed completely unaffected. He listened to Shan Xunyue read an entire picture book without showing the slightest discomfort.
After finishing the book, Bei Ao’ao yawned. Shan Xunyue put the book away and tilted her head, asking, “Bei Ao’ao, sleepy already?”
“Don’t call me that name,” Bei Chi nodded. “I want to sleep.”
Shan Xunyue somehow pulled out a blanket, shook it open, and covered her younger brother with it, adjusting his seat settings for him.
Once Bei Chi was lying flat, he clutched the blanket and stared persistently at Shan Xunyue. “Bei Chi.”
Shan Xunyue rolled her eyes playfully, finding it hard to believe that her three-year-old younger brother could be more persuasive than the overzealous class monitor in her class. Her eyes curved into crescents as she repeated cheerfully, “Bei Chi.”
Bei Chi smiled sweetly at her.
Shan Xunyue sniffled, “But I think Bei Ao’ao is such a cute name!”
“Not cute.”
“It’s cute.”
“Call me Bei Chi.”
“Okay, Bei Chi.”
“Xiao Man Jiejie, good person.”
Shan Xunyue’s eyes sparkled like fireworks. She turned her head with starry-eyed excitement toward her mother, as if saying: Look look look look look, I did it! He said I’m a good person!!!
Wei Zhi: “…”
Alright, alright.
Sure, sure.
Never seen such a joyfully awarded “good person” card.
Jiang Ran: “…”
Jiang Ran was also a bit taken aback. Watching her son’s smile, she couldn’t help but drift off, wondering when the little flirt last smiled at his mother…
Ugh, couldn’t remember.
Shan Xunyue kept glancing back at the two kids’ affectionate interaction and sighed, “It’s really nice. A girl her age actually willing to take care of her younger brother… Is it because of Yangyang?”
“You can think that if you want,” Wei Zhi massaged her forehead in frustration, “Although I’d rather believe it’s because the Xinjiang environment improved our genes.”
Jiang Ran: “…”
“So it’s because after Ao’ao was born, Xiao Man held him once?”
Wei Zhi: “Just say you think it’s ridiculous, because I do too.”
At that moment, Dan Chong, who had been looking back at the kids the whole time, chuckled lightly.
He turned his gaze forward and thought for a moment before asking the person sitting next to him, “For the doctor’s family, do you not have to get up at six in the morning to queue up at the hospital when you need treatment?”
Bei Jiao, sitting next to him, was playing a handheld game and had no idea what was going on.
Upon hearing Dan Chong’s casual remark, she didn’t even lift her head and simply “Mm”ed, “For minor illnesses or aches, you don’t even need to go to the hospital, right? Why waste money? Just get checked on the spot.”
Bei Ao’ao had barely been to the hospital since birth, aside from checkups, and his health indicators were all excellent—even slightly overweight.
And as a vanguard of the “cheapskate squad,” Bei Jiao’s words struck a chord with Dan Chong.
He couldn’t help but express his appreciation with a “Tsk,” then turned his head to look at Jiang Ran again.
“What are you doing, Ah Chong?” Jiang Ran, legs crossed, lazily flicked her fingers, “Don’t smirk at me like that, it’s kind of scary.”
“My family tradition says the bride price has to be three hundred million yuan,” the man said lazily. “Not a penny less, dear in-laws.”
Jiang Ran’s eye twitched.
Qiu Nian exclaimed, “Oh my god,” and pulled on Li Xingnan, “Tell your son not to bully Yangyang anymore, we can’t afford three hundred million!”
Li Xingnan was playing an online game with Bei Jiao and was being shaken back and forth, “We can afford it, stop pulling me! Jeez—I was just getting through this level!”
…
The sun shone brightly in Xinjiang, and this vast land offered uniquely beautiful scenery in every season.
They checked into a familiar log cabin in a village at the foot of the Altai Mountains, with a thick layer of snow already covering the roof.
Bei Chi kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the thick fur blanket, rolling around on it. Having already reconciled with his mother, he hugged his rabbit tightly in his arms and placed it on the windowsill, proudly declaring, “Welcome to, Xinjiang (Golden General)!”
As Bei Chi ceremoniously introduced Xinjiang to his rabbit, Bei Jiao behind him took out a Burton children’s snowboard from her ski bag. The tiny board looked like a toy in her hands, with its brand new, unpeeled plastic wrap still on it, placed beside her.
Bei Chi threw the rabbit aside, slid off the bed, and ran pattering on his little slippers to squat beside the snowboard.
He stared at the snowboard for a long time, as if reaching a conclusion, and pointed at it, saying, “It’s mine!”
“It’s yours.”
Jiang Ran, heart melting from her son’s cuteness, casually pulled him over and kissed his cheek. But he wriggled like an eel, desperately squirming in her arms, stretching his arms toward Bei Jiao, shouting, “Mommy no kiss! Ah ah ah! Daddy!”
At the peak of his language explosion phase, once away from other kids and without his “idol image” to maintain, Bei Chi became very talkative. “Mommy no kiss! Bei Chi not baby! Daddy not install snowboard! Daddy save me!”
Bei Chi desperately tried to attract his father’s attention, but his father was busy installing the snowboard bindings, completely ignoring his increasingly loud cries of “save me.” Finally, after finishing one binding, Bei Jiao turned around, only to find Bei Chi already tired from struggling and resignedly lying in his mother’s arms.
Jiang Ran supported his bottom with one arm and warned ominously, “Your sister Xiao Man skis really well. If you keep being stubborn with me, you won’t get to ski tomorrow, and then you’ll never catch up with your little friends—”
She rambled on, but Bei Chi might not have understood much of it. Suddenly hearing “won’t catch up with friends,” he became very serious.
“What is skiing?”
“An extreme sport.”
“Mommy can ski?”
Jiang Ran scoffed, pinched her son’s cheek, and lazily explained, “Mommy is the best skier in the world.”
Bei Chi didn’t believe her, hugging his mother’s wrist. The room echoed with Bei Chi’s soft, high-pitched voice, “Mommy not world number one. Bei Chi world number one! Bei Chi skis, skis better than Mommy!”
Jiang Ran patted her son’s bottom, lowered her head, and kicked the man crouched on the floor installing the other binding with her toe, “Look at your son’s motivation. Then look at yourself. How many national amateur championships have you won after learning from me for years?”
Actually, not too few.
In fact, Bei Jiao usually placed in the top three whenever he participated in competitions.
Later, as his wife increasingly dominated more World Cup events, people almost took it for granted that she would win the gold medal in the 2026 Parallel Giant Slalom—and indeed, she eventually took the gold.
From then on, Bei Jiao felt awkward participating in amateur skiing competitions. If he won, people thought it was natural—”His wife is an Olympic champion.” If he lost, the reaction was still the same—”His wife is an Olympic champion!” Grateful for the richness of the Chinese language, a single sentence could be twisted with tone to make someone furious.
Bei Jiao accepted that he would forever live in his wife’s dazzling shadow in the skiing world and decided to embrace a peaceful, laid-back life.
At this moment, provoked by Jiang Ran’s words, he remained completely unfazed.
But Jiang Ran wouldn’t let it go, “When are you going to land that 1080? Can I still hope to record a Twin Tip video with you this year… You should check your short video app sometime. I heard the ‘God Jiao’s’ son can already fetch soy sauce, but he still hasn’t landed a 1080.”
Bei Jiao casually put down the screwdriver in his hand, “You’re dissing me.”
Jiang Ran said expressionlessly, “No, it’s encouragement.”
Bei Jiao pushed the snowboard in front of him aside, “Anyway, now that you have a son, you can teach him. My senior apprentice can just play around casually. What 1080? No way.”
Jiang Ran held her son, lowering her head to meet his gaze.
The man squatted on the floor, slightly tilting his face up to look at her. They held the stare for a few seconds before Jiang Ran gave in first, “Once the board’s ready, you take Ao’ao outside to find a small slope to practice pushing. No need to go to the ski resort for that. We’ll learn edge changes at the resort tomorrow.”
Bei Jiao didn’t respond. Jiang Ran paused after speaking, but still got no reply from him after a while. She put her son down and adjusted her coat, “Have you ever heard of ‘when stairs are available, don’t refuse them and act like you don’t deserve them’?”
Bei Ao’ao was already used to his parents’ standoff.
He kicked off his slippers and climbed onto the bed to continue playing with his rabbit.
Beside the bed, the man crouched on the floor glanced at his son’s back briefly, lifting his sharply defined jawline and puckering his lips toward Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran: “…”
Jiang Ran: “How come you have no shame?”
Bei Jiao: “Then you teach him tomorrow. I’m not teaching.”
Jiang Ran: “What? No way! I already promised Qiu Nian we’d go to the Wolf Valley—”
Bei Jiao: “Go play by yourself. Give me the kid. How come everything works out so well for you? Am I just a free babysitter?”
Jiang Ran pressed her lips together. After a long moment, she bent down unwillingly and leaned in to kiss him quickly.
Before she could pull away quickly, a steel-hard arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her down. She swayed and fell into his arms in the next second, both of them landing on the wooden floor with a creaking sound. He held her chin and deepened the kiss that was supposed to be a light peck, nibbling on her lips.
“The first time we kissed was right here,” he murmured against her lips, “Never thought back then that my master’s son would already be running around.”
Jiang Ran couldn’t catch her breath, raising her hand to warn him with a slap on his chest, signaling him to stop with the flirty talk.
But the warning was ineffective.
The arm around her waist tightened, “Taking care of a kid is tiring. Shouldn’t I get some tuition fee?”
His long fingers, with faint calluses, brushed aside the strands of hair from her cheek, gently caressing her earlobe, “Open your mouth… Shh, don’t bite.”
…
Ten minutes later.
Bei Jiao emotionlessly held up a pair of children’s ski boots and pointed at the chair, “Bei Chi, come put them on.”
Bei Chi looked at his dad’s stern face, then glanced back at his mom, who was blushing and touching up her lipstick in front of the mirror. He hesitated for a moment, then smartly threw himself to hug his mom’s leg, “Want Mommy!”
Before he could get a good grip, Bei Jiao grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him like a kitten.
“Now you want Mommy? Too late. Your mom doesn’t want you either… Well, she doesn’t want me either. Come on, put your boots on. Do it yourself! Don’t look at me, do it yourself. I’ll count to three, three—”
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