Jiang Ran successfully won the gold medal at the Milan Winter Olympics, crashing servers of various media platforms. The last time such chaos occurred was when some top-tier celebrities suddenly entered the “prison” of marriage or, worse, real prison.
With trending topics such as “First Gold in Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom,” “A New Era in Snowboarding,” “Carving,” “Jiang Ran,” “BC&GRAY Big Ran,” “Carving Jiang Ran,” “Jiang Ran’s Engagement Ring,” “Parallel Giant Slalom Award Ceremony,” and “Jiang Ran’s Husband” flooding the hot search lists, Jiang Ran’s short-video account gained a million followers overnight, instantly becoming the top star in the snowboarding community.
Inside the snowboarding community, there was even more excitement. Carving, commonly known as mass technique carving, had truly risen.
To be precise, mass technique carving isn’t exactly the same as the parallel giant slalom event. If someone else had won the championship, the carving community might have been accused of “fishing for attention.” But the joy came from the fact that the gold medalist was Jiang Ran herself—
She practically grew up doing carving. Anyone in China involved in snowboard carving knows who Jiang Ran is, so in a way, everyone in the community felt like her family.
As a result, countless official and unofficial media outlets clipped and shared Jiang Ran’s competition videos, and under these videos, comments like “So cool, I want to try too!” instantly flooded in, with many people deciding on the spot that this would be their new skiing direction…
The most direct impact was that snowboard carving manufacturers received a constant stream of inquiries, their back-end messages pinging nonstop.
Even carving snowboards listed by individual sellers on Xianyu, which had sat unsold for years, were snapped up immediately.
The entire community seemed to come alive.
As for Jiang Ran herself, the number of people trying to add her via WeChat through her short-video app profile skyrocketed exponentially. One day, after stepping off the podium, she took out her phone and saw so many unread message notifications that she thought the world might end tomorrow—
She opened the app and saw: +999 friend requests.
Jiang Ran almost scrambled to log into her short-video account, intending to remove the WeChat ID she had previously listed in her profile for job inquiries…
She casually checked her personal profile and found that the platform had already quickly verified her, with the certification: “Champion of the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom Event.”
Sitting in the lounge, Jiang Ran stared at that line for a long time. It truly felt like a dream. She didn’t even want to take off her snow boots, fearing that if she did so forcefully, she might wake herself up from this beautiful dream.
“I feel like this isn’t real,” said Jiang Ran.
“Same here,” Wang Jiaming sat beside her. “Tonight, Wang Xin is giving me a foot massage.”
Wang Xin is Shan Chong’s coach, specializing in snowboard big air. Four years ago, he gained immense pride after winning China’s first snowboarding gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics. This senior has been walking tall for four years…
Of course, his pride should be renewable this year.
But since the parallel giant slalom event was held before the big air competition, Wang Jiaming was now fully basking in the glory.
The coach-athlete duo were so elated that when Shan Chong walked in and asked Jiang Ran, “My wife insisted I come see what your ring looks like,” she lazily lifted her eyelids and said like an empress dowager, “Chong, you’re here.”
Shan Chong: “?”
Shan Chong: “…”
His name had instantly shifted from “Shan Chong” and the affectionate “Chong” to “A Chong” and “Chongzi.” Jiang Ran, with little regard for etiquette, now addressed this veteran champion as if calling her own henchman.
…………………… This morning, before dawn, the two were roughly on equal footing in the snowboarding circle, with Shan Chong slightly ahead.
Jiang Ran, playing along, stretched out her left hand, now adorned with two rings and slightly glittering, placing it under Shan Chong’s nose—the man who had bravely entered the lounge just to satisfy his wife’s curiosity about the ring. “Nah, it’s from Chaumet, the ‘Journey of Light’ collection.”
Jiang Ran naturally recognized the brand and model of the engagement ring at a glance.
Shan Chong had no idea what brand it was. He took a photo with his phone and said, “Journey of Light? That name sounds meaningful. Fitting. Bei Jiao really knows how to make an impression… And the main diamond is pretty big. Isn’t he still a student?”
Jiang Ran pulled her hand back and examined it carefully, only now realizing how large the diamond actually was.
She had been overwhelmed by the peak of her life just now, so happy she hadn’t even thought to check whether the ring was over a carat. At that moment, even if Bei Jiao had pulled out a cubic zirconia, she would have hugged him and declared her eternal love for the next life—
As Jiang Ran was pondering whether the ring was 1.5 carats or not, she suddenly remembered that the person who gave it to her had disappeared somewhere. She blinked and asked Shan Chong, “Did you come from outside? Where’s my dog?”
“He’s being intercepted by the Chinese media outside,” Shan Chong replied. “There are more people wanting to interview him than you.”
Proposing with a ring on the Olympic podium wasn’t something Bei Jiao was the first to do.
But honestly, not many people dared to do it. After all, such a public gesture might even trend on social media if they ever divorced. Unless someone was determined to commit forever, most men wouldn’t dare pull off such a bold move—
So Bei Jiao’s action was just as attention-grabbing as Jiang Ran’s championship.
Jiang Ran simply said, “Oh.”
At this moment, the lounge door opened again. The black-clad man in black finally escaped the swarm of reporters, shaking off the snow from his shoulders as he walked in. Closing the door, he found the lounge quite lively.
He greeted Wang Jiaming and Shan Chong, then turned and saw Jiang Ran sitting on the bench, opening her arms toward him.
He walked over, and she hugged his waist tightly, pressing her rosy face against his cold-weathered softshell jacket, rubbing affectionately.
“You’re here!”
“Mm,” Bei Jiao preferred to act composed in front of others, now lowering his gaze to gently pinch her cheek. “Like the ring?”
“Love it,” Jiang Ran had no shame, so she could be as sweet as possible. “I thought you’d forgotten.”
They didn’t have a wedding banquet. They had registered their marriage, had a small dinner with friends and family, and taken wedding photos before going their separate ways. There hadn’t been any occasion for the ring to make an appearance.
Over time, Jiang Ran had almost forgotten about it, assuming Bei Jiao had too.
“Didn’t forget,” Bei Jiao said. “I remember everything about you.”
Sometimes Jiang Ran got annoyed by his overly formal way of speaking in front of others, but sometimes she found it incredibly charming—like now, with a ring on her finger worth a Porsche entry-level sports car.
She tightened her arms around the young man’s waist, feeling as if she were submerged in honey.
Wang Jiaming and Shan Chong both looked slightly overwhelmed. Shan Chong took a photo of the ring and sent it to his wife, then considerately asked if she wanted one, since there was still time for tax refunds here.
Needless to say, this man had no intention of arguing—he could have just typed a response.
Jiang Ran didn’t feel awkward at all. Only stingy people would feel that way. She had a broad mindset and even patted her man’s chin, gently advising him, “In the future, hang out more with your brother Chong. While you’re free-riding his big air techniques, you might as well learn from him how to want to buy anything expensive for your wife the moment you see it.”
Shan Chong laughed beside them.
Jiang Ran patted Bei Jiao’s face and turned to ask him, “Chongzi, why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?”
“You didn’t,” Shan Chong said, shifting into a more relaxed sitting position. “But guess why my wife didn’t come with me to Italy this time?”
Jiang Ran instinctively felt that the next sentence would be something unpleasant.
Sure enough, the real bomb was yet to drop.
“Because it’s inconvenient,” Shan Chong said. “My daughter, who will start elementary school next summer, is going to have a little brother or sister.”
Jiang Ran: “…”
Shan Chong was only slightly older than her, and technically, they were peers.
His daughter was already in elementary school, and now he was adding a second child.
Jiang Ran reasonably suspected that if it weren’t for her teasing him with “Chongzi,” he wouldn’t have added this extra drama.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dog in her arms raise an eyebrow, and his expression, upon hearing words like “daughter,” “little brother,” and “little sister,” carried a hint of well-hidden envy…
Jiang Ran suddenly felt nervous. “Shan Chong, you’re not young anymore. Why are you still so competitive?”
The latter chuckled and flicked his fingers. “Sorry, it’s just a man’s weakness.”
Jiang Ran: “…”
…
Shan Chong, the immoral man, dropped a time bomb and left.
Watching the lounge door close behind him, Jiang Ran had the illusion that all major life events must be settled today.
She was still hugging her man’s waist. She was sitting, and Bei Jiao was standing. She rested her chin on his stomach and looked up at him. “Are you a little jealous?”
Bei Jiao gently rubbed her face and vaguely said, “I can handle it.”
Although he had a face that looked like a fairy from another world, Jiang Ran knew that Bei Jiao actually liked children. This was evident from how he treated his only student, Tuan, back in Guangzhou Sunac—
Back then, he was unusually patient and caring with Tuan. Even if he was strict, the moment Tuan cried and wanted a hug, he would immediately bend down without hesitation.
Now Tuan was in middle school and had completely lost his teacher’s favor. If he cried now while practicing, he might only get a cold response: “Are you okay? Are you sick?”
But regarding the issue of not having a child after marriage, truthfully, he wasn’t in a hurry.
Mainly because Jiang Ran was determined to chase gold medals, and no one dared to stop her.
Bei Jiao, on the other hand, was busy with lab projects, endless papers, and internships. Although not as busy as Jiang Ran, he also couldn’t say something like “I’m free, let’s have a baby,” because carrying and giving birth for ten months wasn’t something he had to do personally.
As for their parents, no one was pushing for it either.
Jiang Ran’s mother had health issues after giving birth to her, which couldn’t be fixed with money, and that’s why she passed away early. Jiang Huaimin had lingering fears, feeling both anticipation and instinctive concern when thinking about having a grandchild.
As for Zhang Lingling, well, no need for her to frown—just thinking about her made everyone frown in advance.
So the decision to have children had to be Jiang Ran’s—
Bei Jiao hadn’t thought much about it. Although she was fierce and temperamental, she was also very spoiled, and her personality hadn’t matured at all over the years. Occasionally, she still acted like a child.
So that night, when the “Three Great Blessings of Life” evolved from “success in the imperial exam” to “the wedding night,” Bei Jiao instinctively reached under the pillow for protection and tried to put it on.
But before he could even tear open the package, it was snatched away.
He was momentarily stunned, not quite understanding what was happening, and looked up to see Jiang Ran with a serious expression, looking like she was about to eat him.
Did she get tired of the strawberry flavor or something?
…If she was tired of it, why didn’t she say so? He had placed the order during the Double 11 sale last year right under her nose.
“You want to?” he asked tentatively.
He was about to continue in a gentler tone, saying something along the lines of, “If you’re tired of it, just bear with it for tonight. There’s a limit to how willful you can be. I can’t simply get up and go buy another one for you.”
But before he could finish speaking, he saw Jiang Ran throw the item into the trash can.
Bei Jiao’s mind went blank for a few seconds, his first thought being: “Impulse is the devil.”
Then he remembered how, after Shan Chong left the lounge earlier that morning, Jiang Ran had looked absent-minded and deep in thought. At the time, he thought she was just mentally cursing Shan Chong…
He hadn’t expected she was actually planning something big for herself.
“Ranran,” Bei Jiao gently advised, “This is a decision that can’t be undone. Don’t rush. Think carefully.”
Jiang Ran hesitated. “Don’t you want it?”
Bei Jiao smiled. “Why wouldn’t I want it?”
Jiang Ran shrank her shoulders slightly. “Then are you not able? Should we go home and take some Chinese herbs to try again?”
This time, Bei Jiao didn’t speak, but his smile became even clearer.
Jiang Ran felt a chill run down her spine. She was actually quite nervous, which is why she spoke without thinking—
Come on, breaking old patterns requires a bold leap, a decisive move. If you ask too many questions, you’ll lose your nerve!
At this moment, she was already regretting it a little. She curled into the covers and pulled out a brand-new “human offspring lottery bag” from under the pillow, slapping it into his hand. “Exactly. Once you start, there’s no turning back…”
Bei Jiao held the brand-new strawberry-flavored “human offspring lottery bag” in his hand, thought for a moment, then tilted his head. “It’s not like it’s a guaranteed win…”
“From what I’ve heard, it’s easier to win when the parents are in a good mood,” Jiang Ran blinked. “Well then, I guess I’m in a really good mood today.”
“…”
…
In the end, it didn’t happen.
Later, Bei Jiao thought that maybe he had been too polite all these years, so it was only now, after ten years, that he realized what it felt like to be physically intimate without any barriers.
For a moment, he felt like he had gone from twenty-six back to sixteen. Three seconds—well, maybe a bit exaggerated—but at most three minutes, and he had already surrendered.
Not just him, even Jiang Ran was stunned. The bewildered look in those deep brown eyes, especially bright in his arms, deeply wounded him.
If she had just stayed silent, it would have been fine. But she had to mutter, “What’s going on? Is God fair? So the price for a gold medal is that my dog is no good anymore?”
Bei Jiao: “…”
Bei Jiao: “Even if ‘God is fair’ really exists, why would your gold medal come at the cost of my inability?”
Jiang Ran: “…”
Because it’s my happiness!
Jiang Ran reached out from under the covers and gently touched his face, full of affection. “Should we go home and take some Chinese herbs?… My dad is old enough, maybe he can share some experience with you and give you some guidance—”
Her voice was cut off by her own sharp intake of breath.
Outside the window, the snow that had stopped for several hours began to fall again.
The long night enveloped the Olympic Village in the quiet after a day of competition. Under the streetlights, only a few scattered people walked on the paths.
The moon in the sky was once again hidden behind thick clouds. In that moment when the moonlight disappeared from the room, Jiang Ran absentmindedly looked out the window, recalling an animated short she once saw. It said that the young of all creatures in the world are made from clouds and then delivered to mothers’ wombs by stork-like birds carrying bundles—
The snowflakes gently hit the window with a soft “pap” sound, as if a mysterious and invisible bird was gently pecking at the glass with its long beak, soft and continuous.
“Hmm, what’s that?”
“…”
“Not because I can’t?”
“………………”
“Jiang Ran, if you’re taking herbs, I’m taking them too. Losing bladder control in middle age isn’t a good sign. Early detection, early treatment.”
“……………… Shut up, quack doctor.”
“Hehe.”
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