Jiang Ran took a full week off and didn’t return to the large snow dome at Sunac.
When she finally gathered the courage to step inside again, she had already purchased a plane ticket to Harbin, and her suitcase at home was half-packed and left open.
“You’re a deserter,” Qiu Nian pointed out bluntly.
“Avoidance might be shameful, but it works,” Jiang Ran replied emotionlessly, tossing a piece of clothing into the suitcase.
Today, Jiang Ran mainly came to the snow dome to say goodbye to her ordinary friends and relatives, since there were many friends here whom she was about to leave behind to go to Harbin for some self-cultivation and peace of mind.
The reason was simple—the unresolved mystery from her birthday had become the final straw. Now, she was incredibly annoyed.
Just thinking about that night—the solid chest pressing heavily on her, the rough hands messing with her hair painfully—made her feel hot all over, to the point where even walking felt floaty.
…As if she had developed Stockholm syndrome.
Had this illness come to her as a kind of retribution after Beijiao was driven away?
Even in her worst nightmares, she hadn’t dared admit how much she missed that kiss, as if he had been starving for eight lifetimes and wanted to devour her whole.
It was so shameful she wanted to die.
With a tired motion, she pulled the rope to open the door leading to the snow area. Today, the Guangzhou Sunac, now known as Guangzhou Hot Snow Wonder, was still bustling with people coming and going.
Hanging on Jiang Ran’s arm was the Gray brand DESPERADO carving board, a popular snowboard among carving skiers on the slopes. Depending on the length of the board, the base colors behind the small tree pattern included blue, pink, orange, yellow, and green. Usually, experienced skiers could tell the board length just by looking at the base color.
She hadn’t used this board much before. Like the BC RX, it was also a new sponsored board she had recently received.
So today, she was still in disguise, wrapped up tightly.
Originally, she had planned to briefly say goodbye to her friends and then leave. However, as the saying goes, you can avoid it on the first day, but not on the fifteenth. Just as she had gotten off the chairlift and steadied herself on flat ground, she heard the sound of a snowboard scraping through the snow nearby.
A green little dinosaur-like figure suddenly came charging toward her on one foot, like a small cannonball. Before she could move, the soft little paw had already firmly grabbed her hand, along with a pair of sparkling eyes: “Sister!”
Jiang Ran: “…”
Before Jiang Ran could even voice her confusion and ask Atuan, “I’m so well-disguised even my own father wouldn’t recognize me—how did you know it was me?”
The little chubby kid’s loud, powerful voice had already drawn the attention of nearly everyone on the slope.
Jiang Ran’s heart sank: “Ah, I’m not…”
“Who is it!”
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve heard you call anyone besides your master so sweetly. Who is this… Oh, this can’t be RAN JIE!”
“It’s Jiang Ran? My god, it’s actually Jiang Ran! Atuan, you’re something else, there are only a few big shots here at Guangrong, and you’ve definitely latched onto the biggest one.”
“Ran Ran, how come it’s you? You’ve been so quiet! When did you start using the green tree board? You didn’t even put on the sponsor sticker, I almost didn’t recognize you!”
“Jiang Ran, how long has it been since you came here? What have you been hiding at home for? I thought your legs were broken!”
…You’re so right.
Jiang Ran silently swallowed the three unspoken words.
The little dinosaur tugging at her glove (which was just about the right height to reach) bounced up and down: “Sister! Where did you go? Why didn’t you come for so many days I waited for you!”
But when did we ever agree to meet every day?!
Jiang Ran couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Now she really did seem like a heartless person who couldn’t even spare elementary schoolers.
She lowered her head and met Atuan’s gaze as he looked up at her. After a long moment, she finally smiled, gently saying in a low voice: “Because sister had other things to do! Did I make you wait long?”
Atuan nodded vigorously: “Long! Long! In the week you were gone, I can now do a 360° spin from the top of the advanced slope with both edges! They all say I’m super…uh, I mean extremely good! I’ve also been waiting for you to check my progress!”
“Really? Then I must watch you later!”
“Exactly! I’ve even started learning the nollie 540° by watching your tutorial videos! Although I’m a bit slow and keep falling, I’m not afraid of falling like my master, so I’ve basically got it!”
“Your master?”
Atuan puffed out his chest proudly when his master was mentioned—
Although he didn’t know what his master was up to, sneaking around behind his sister like a shadow, obviously involved in some shady business, when compared to that unfamiliar guy that day, of course he had to support his master!
He had to help polish up his glorious image!
“That’s right!” Atuan said. “How amazing is my sister? So amazing that my master also learned nollie from your videos!”
Jiang Ran was about to say something like, so your master isn’t that great either, needing to learn from my videos.
But then she thought, Atuan was only learning the basics of carving, so it wasn’t necessary to demand too much from his master.
She reached out and patted Atuan’s dinosaur head, about to speak.
At that moment, a girl with long curly hair suddenly turned around from passing by, grabbed the chubby kid who was still tugging at Jiang Ran’s sleeve, and pulled him over. He let out a startled “Oh!” and fell backward, looking up into a pair of cute big eyes.
“Atuan, why are you always ruining your master’s image again!”
When Atuan saw Liang He’s face, he “Huh?”ed, broke free from her embrace, stood steady, and put his hands on his hips: “How did I ruin his image? I was just bragging that he can already do a 540°! How many people at Sunac can do that? You can’t even do a 360°!”
People who came later might not know, but those who had known Beijiao long ago, like Liang He, clearly understood who Beijiao’s mysterious master was.
And not only did they know about her, they also knew that the two had already broken up.
So right now, Liang He’s thoughts were simple—if Jiang Ran found out that Beijiao was still watching her videos to learn, where would Beijiao’s face go?
She didn’t know that Jiang Ran actually had no idea who Atuan’s master was, so she became somewhat anxious: “It’s not like he’s pitifully watching videos all by himself—it’s just that you’re making him look so desperate.”
“What’s pitiful about watching videos? No one charges him for it,” Atuan said with disdain. “He’d only be pitiful if someone charged him!”
His master loved money so much!
Seeing that she couldn’t reason with him, Liang He stopped responding to him and instead politely nodded at Jiang Ran, still wearing the same cute smile: “Kids say stupid things sometimes, don’t pay any attention to him.”
Jiang Ran: “Oh.”
Atuan: “Hey! How did I say stupid things!”
Liang He widened her eyes slightly and looked at Jiang Ran: “I’ve also watched your tutorial videos, they’re really good! So Atuan admires you a lot, watching you all the time, so he naturally imagines others are watching you all the time too.”
Faced with her extremely friendly compliment, Jiang Ran showed no reaction, and even felt a vague discomfort inside.
She just thought, what’s this person’s deal? Acting like she’s close with everyone—
That dog was one thing, but now she was speaking intimately with Atuan, and even defending another person Jiang Ran didn’t even know…
Atuan’s master.
She didn’t even know who that person was. Why did she need to emphasize and whitewash this?
You’re really busy.
Outwardly showing no emotion, Jiang Ran lifted her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear into her windproof hood, saying indifferently: “It’s fine. I post my videos for everyone to learn and watch anyway. The more people who can do a 540° on the slopes, the better. Who watches or learns from them really doesn’t matter, does it?”
Liang He’s smile paused slightly at the corner of her lips.
Atuan, hearing this, immediately perked up, quickly broke free from Liang He and rushed toward Jiang Ran, hugging her waist and sticking his tongue out at Liang He: “Exactly! Sister is already preparing for a 720°! You, who haven’t even mastered the nollie 360°, shouldn’t just assume you understand the world of masters!”
If Liang He took Atuan seriously, she would probably be driven mad—
There were so many people on the slopes, and he was shouting so loudly about her not being able to do a nollie 360°, over and over again, making her lose face.
Her face instantly turned red, and when she looked up, Jiang Ran was smiling at her.
There was no mockery or other emotion in those deep brown eyes—just a simple, calm smile.
Liang He hesitated for a moment, then completely dropped her smile, showing a timid expression: “That’s not what I meant. I know you’re really good—”
“Oh.”
Jiang Ran stood up her snowboard, tapping off the snow stuck to it. Snow rained down, revealing a clean board surface. Unlike others who slapped on piles of brand stickers whether they had sponsorships or not, hers was simply adorned with a single sticker: “Gray & BC Team”—
A nationally unique custom sticker.
Why was it unique?
Because in China, currently, the only snowboarder, male or female, who could hold sponsorships from two carving snowboard brands in the carving field was Jiang Ran.
“That’s fine. I know you understand,”
She smiled the same smile all along, speaking calmly to the cute-looking girl.
…
Atuan personally chased Liang He away.
Then, he snuggled affectionately against Jiang Ran, blinking his sparkling eyes: “I don’t like her, she talks way too much.”
Jiang Ran thought emotionlessly, this look was so familiar—exactly like who?
She didn’t ask how Atuan knew Liang He, since the carving snowboarders at Guangrong were always the same group of people and organizations. She temporarily pushed this person to the back of her mind.
Jiang Ran skied with Atuan a few times, and sure enough, as he had said, his nollie 360° was now properly executed. Back when he learned it with Song Die, he could maybe pop up three or four out of ten attempts, but now he could do ten out of ten.
It was time to advance.
Jiang Ran gave him some tips on eye guidance for the 540°. The 360° didn’t require much eye movement, but although the 540° was theoretically just an extra 180°, it was actually quite different when actually performed.
“Why does a 540° suddenly have so—much—more stuff than a 360°!” At the edge of the slope, the chubby kid in the dinosaur suit spread his arms wide, wailing, “I feel like I’ll never learn it in my entire life!”
Jiang Ran laughed: “Because we’re doing high-speed carving flatland tricks. At high speeds, even the slightest change in movement can lead to a huge difference… Have you ever watched your parents drive?”
“Of course!”
“Did you notice that when they’re driving slowly, they have to turn the steering wheel a lot to make a turn, but if they’re on the highway and want to change lanes or turn, they only need to move the wheel just a tiny bit, so small you can barely notice it?”
Atuan thought for a moment and said, “Oh, that’s true.”
“That’s why carving flatland tricks are difficult, and advancing even more so. You have to make safe and steady progress,” Jiang Ran said. “You need to calm down and study carefully if you want to see results.”
This was also why Jiang Ran wanted to go to Harbin—to focus and retreat to practice her 720°. Half the summer had already passed. If she couldn’t properly land a 720° before this year’s snow season, she would even start to despise herself.
She needed to calm down.
She said this to Atuan, but also to herself.
Atuan didn’t know what she was thinking, but he nodded again: “My master is really good. It only took him about a month of rolling and tumbling to get from 360° to 540°.”
“Your master is pretty strong. Practicing those moves must have been so painful. Not many people can endure a whole month,” Jiang Ran said casually, in a light tone. “Maybe you can introduce him to me someday. I like hardworking kids. I can personally teach him.”
After saying this, she stood up, ready to continue, completely unaware that Atuan, who was usually very enthusiastic about her teaching plans, didn’t respond this time.
While practicing with Atuan, Jiang Ran also practiced herself. Before leaving, she rolled around the Guangzhou slopes thoroughly, as if trying to fall in every corner.
…
Time passed minute by minute.
After another run down the slope, the chubby kid plopped down on the ground, rubbing his butt and shouting, “No more! My butt is swollen!” She checked her phone and realized it had already been two hours—
Kids really had great stamina. He had been rolling and tumbling for two hours before finally complaining of tiredness.
She bent down and took his chubby little hand, saying she would treat him to some hot chocolate.
Hearing sweet food and hot drinks, the chubby kid jumped three feet high. Seeing how happy he was, Jiang Ran’s mood also improved a little.
The big and small hands held each other, walking toward the cafe.
Looking at the bustling crowd in the snow equipment hall, she suddenly thought without reason about the quietness of the Sunac in Harbin. Sighing, she remembered that today, while rolling around the slopes, she had met people she knew and told them she was leaving. But she had completely forgotten to tell Atuan—
Although he was young, he still deserved to be treated seriously!
“Atuan.”
“Here! What is it, sister!”
“There’s something I forgot to tell you. Today might be the last time I treat you to a drink this summer, because I’m going to Harbin next.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the chubby kid beside her suddenly pulled her hand to a stop, blinking his eyes in confusion at her: “Harbin? Why are you going to Harbin? You’re not staying in Guangzhou anymore?”
Then what should I do?
What about my master?
The rest of the words were swallowed back.
Tuantuan blinked furiously, watching the pretty older sister smile slightly at him and say, “Because——”
Before she could finish, an unexpected interruption occurred.
Lianghe had somehow appeared again from who-knows-where. She was holding her helmet, bending slightly, and approaching Tuantuan with a cheerful expression, seemingly having completely forgotten their earlier unpleasantness on the snowy slope. She asked, “What are you doing!”
Tuantuan frowned, clearly growing impatient now. “Nothing. Can’t you see we’re talking? Could you stop randomly popping out of nowhere and interrupting?”
Lianghe didn’t take his irritation seriously. She remained cheerful, pointing toward a spot not far away. “Don’t pretend to be so busy here! Look, your master is over there. Why are you still hanging around? I’m going to tell him about your nonsense today!”
She stretched out the sentence, using a soft, playful tone usually reserved for speaking to little kids.
She was pointing toward a black-haired young man leaning casually against a locker, engaged in conversation with someone else.
It was an unexpected turn.
Tuantuan had initially just been annoyed, but now his expression changed—into something slightly panicked.
Sister Skyrocket was still here.
He remembered how his master always secretly handed candies to Sister Skyrocket and sent him as a spy to follow her, never daring to appear in front of her openly.
And now, with Lianghe’s innocent pointing finger, everything was ruined.
But Lianghe had no idea about all that.
Her original intention was to let Beijiao know what nonsense Tuantuan had been spouting that afternoon, right in front of the person involved. But now, she seemed to sense something was off.
Jiang Ran had been bending down to speak to Tuantuan, but now she froze, following Lianghe’s finger toward the group of people not far away, where Beijiao stood among them.
Beijiao, who seemed to sense something, stopped talking to his friend, tilted his head, and looked over past someone’s shoulder, meeting their gaze directly and unguardedly.
Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Jiang Ran’s mind went blank for a moment. Her hand, which had been holding Tuantuan’s, loosened. Slowly, she straightened up and looked from Tuantuan to Lianghe.
She had been uncertain before, but now, seeing their expressions, everything clicked into place in an instant.
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
After a long silence, she forced a faint smile and reached out to pat Tuantuan’s head. “Ah, so your master is him?”
Though her face smiled, her voice was hoarse.
There was no trace of amusement in it.
It sounded like she was forcing the words out from her throat.
Tuantuan, who didn’t understand anything, still felt a sharp pang of discomfort. He didn’t even know what had happened, but he felt like something had been ruined—completely.
She continued to look at him with gentle eyes.
But the bitter curve of her lips made Tuantuan wish he could drag her over and beat her up!
He gasped heavily a few times, unable to utter a word. He wanted to say “I’m sorry,” but it felt utterly inexplicable.
Finally, overwhelmed, he turned and shouted furiously at Lianghe, who was also stunned by the strange atmosphere: “Who asked you to meddle!”
By then, Jiang Ran had already let go of his hand.
He reached helplessly into the empty air with his small hand, and then, suddenly overcome with emotion, he cried out “Sister!” and ran toward Beijiao in tears.
Beijiao crouched down, and the chubby boy quickly climbed onto him with surprising agility for his size.
The black-haired young man effortlessly lifted him, settling him on his arm. The boy buried his face into his shoulder and burst into tears.
Beside him, the sound of a primary school student’s wailing filled the air.
Yet Beijiao’s handsome face remained expressionless, as if he had long expected this. He simply turned his head and murmured something comforting into his apprentice’s ear, gently patting his back.
But his dark eyes never left Jiang Ran’s face.
His gaze was calm and unfathomable.
Standing there, Jiang Ran couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking now—
Was he embarrassed, angry, furious, happy… or was he truly as calm as he appeared?
…Ah.
Forget it.
It didn’t matter anymore.
She sighed softly and slightly bent down, patting the now visibly startled Lianghe, who stood slightly shorter than her.
What should she say?
She said, “Thanks.”
…
Jiang Ran went to the café and bought two hot chocolates. She handed one to a familiar person on the slopes to give to Tuantuan, and took the other to a quiet corner at the back of the locker room.
The warm, sweet drink warmed her cold fingers slightly. She set the cup down and exhaled deeply before beginning to take off her ski boots.
She thought to herself that she shouldn’t have come to Sunac indeed today.
As she was unlacing her boots, she suddenly sensed two figures approaching the end of the bench—large and small, hand in hand. The small one fidgeted but didn’t pull away.
They stood there, silently watching her.
She paused mid-motion, eyes lowered, not lifting her head. In a slightly hoarse voice, she said flatly, “Don’t come over.”
It was the first time anyone had heard Jiang Ran speak in such a tone. Tuantuan looked up at his master, confused, while the latter simply gazed at the woman in the distance, unmoving, as if he had no idea what to do.
Beijiao was still wearing his snowsuit, though it was unzipped, revealing a thin white hoodie underneath. The hoodie had a loose round collar, and above it was his long neck and prominent Adam’s apple.
They always said the Adam’s apple was a symbol of a man’s maturity.
It was strange—after a year apart, he really did seem more mature and reserved.
Now, his Adam’s apple moved slightly, but he said nothing.
After changing shoes, Jiang Ran, determined not to spare him a single glance, slung her ski bag over her shoulder and attempted to pass them—
The heavy ski bag slammed into his shoulder with force, almost knocking him off balance.
He staggered back a step. As Jiang Ran’s eyes flickered with hesitation, she suddenly caught a faint scent of tobacco in the air.
Her entire body froze.
She stopped, eyes widening slowly, then turned her head in disbelief toward the black-haired young man beside her—
The latter continued to look at her with a blank expression.
“You smoke?”
She asked in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly.
Beijiao didn’t answer for a long time, but suddenly smiled at her.
That smile sent a rush of cold sweat down her spine. Jiang Ran felt as if she had awoken from a nightmare, her eyes panicking as she grabbed her slipping ski bag and tried to leave—
But it was clearly too late now.
A large hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her elbow. The next second, her ski bag dropped to the ground, and she was forcefully shoved against the lockers with a loud bang!
Unfortunately, they were in a corner, and no one noticed.
Her back went numb from the impact, but the ski armor protected her from pain. What made her skin crawl was the rough, tobacco-scented hand that gripped her chin, tilting it up as he leaned down and kissed her.
And just like that, a week ago, in the dark of midnight, her memories flooded back completely.
Every cell in her body exploded with sensation. She focused all her attention on him, feeling the invasion of his lips and tongue. The kiss started rough, gradually turning deep and lingering, stealing every breath from her lungs…
She let out soft protesting sounds, but it was useless.
In the empty back row of lockers, the only sound was the intimate exchange of their lips and tongues.
Beside them stood a wide-eyed, stunned elementary student.
The kiss lasted who knows how long. Jiang Ran’s legs weakened, relying entirely on the strong arm around her waist to support her.
Her lips were swollen and sore from his sucking, her eyes red-rimmed, and she gasped for breath as she finally managed to say four clear words: “It was you that night—”
He tilted his face slightly, temporarily releasing her. His sharp, defined lips hovered just millimeters from hers, his voice calm: “I told you, don’t let me catch you.”
A chill ran down her spine.
As he leaned in again, she somehow found the strength, shoved both hands hard against his chest, and raised her hand high—
“Slap!”
Unlike the light, weak slap before, this time she struck so hard her palm stung. His face turned sideways, a red mark quickly appearing.
Bending down, she grabbed her fallen ski bag, wiped her swollen, red lips with her sleeve, glared at him fiercely one last time, and ran off.
…
When silence returned to the back of the locker room.
Beijiao used his tongue to gently prod the aching side of his face, letting out a soft hiss. He didn’t even need a mirror to know it was swollen.
Slowly, he reached into his pocket for a mask, but suddenly remembered there was still a living witness present…
He paused, then looked down, meeting his apprentice’s wide, emotionless eyes. He was about to say, Sorry you had to see that.
But to his surprise, the chubby-faced little dinosaur shook his tail, raised both arms high, and gave him two sincere thumbs-up.
“Even though you got slapped, you were totally manly… awesome, Master!”
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