After Xie Yu left, Jiang Ran crossed her arms and stared at Beijiao. Finally, she spoke, “When will you finally change your impulsive habit of flying off the handle repeatedly?”
Good grief!
They had only known each other for a few days?
Online sources said to stay away from people who, right after getting to know you, start pointing out your flaws and demanding you change—such people surely had ulterior motives.
Beijiao fiercely ranted inwardly, but outwardly remained expressionless and dismissive: “I wouldn’t keep doing it if you hadn’t stopped me every time.”
“If I didn’t stop you, wouldn’t you just get into trouble? There are many ways to handle situations without resorting to fists.”
“But that’s the only thing I know how to do.” He retorted confidently, “And it’s the fastest way.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“Why are you cursing again? Did your apology the other day mean nothing?”
Before Jiang Ran could respond, the boy pointed an accusing finger at the nearby bar owner, clearly indignant: “I thought after last time you’d understand how adults are supposed to interact… Go ahead and ask him! He hired me as a security staff!”
The bar owner had grievances he couldn’t voice. Heaven was witness—was a security staff member really supposed to be someone who, upon seeing a customer order a drink, not only refused to serve it but flipped the table onto the customer’s face and then fought him?
Jiang Ran watched Beijiao defiantly argue with her, clearly sulking and even slightly aggrieved, sporting that “I’ve already refrained from hitting anyone, so I deserve praise” expression—
Suddenly, she felt like letting it go?
…Well, wasn’t that right? At least he actually listened when she called him out—he hadn’t hit anyone, so why demand so much from him?
Staring blankly for a moment, Jiang Ran felt a sense of reflection. It was as if she had been pulled into his realm by him and then defeated by his extensive experience.
What a wretched situation.
Deciding not to hold Beijiao accountable for nearly causing another scene, Jiang Ran grabbed the drinks menu and smacked it onto him, circling back to the original topic: “Are you going to work or not? Or are you planning to stand here opposing me all night?”
Actually, what Beijiao wanted to say was, “Fine, I’ve got all the time in the world.”
But the bar owner’s gaze was practically bleeding. He had a premonition that if he dared to open his mouth to argue, he would definitely be fired tonight.
So he reluctantly restrained himself, shifting his gaze to the booth behind Jiang Ran: “You’re splitting the bill with them. I’ll start working now.”
“…I invited them here.”
“They could have declined.”
“…”
Fine.
Impossible to reason with.
Give up, give up.
“Tomorrow I’ll have to take you robbing someone,” Jiang Ran said expressionlessly, “If you’re broke and don’t want to earn money, either rob or pray for a snowboard to fall from the sky.”
“Okay, I’ll choose to rob. I run fast anyway.”
“…”
For a moment, Jiang Ran felt that the reason Jiang Huaimin had chosen Beijiao’s mother as his girlfriend wasn’t simply because he was middle-aged and lonely and needed someone to talk to—it was simply because he had his eyes on this kid she raised, who could open his mouth and infuriate people to death, sending him over specifically to kill her with frustration.
When she suggested splitting the bill, seeing Xie Yu clearly hesitate for a moment, Jiang Ran felt like she had never been so embarrassed in her life—
But it turned out okay. After experiencing the earlier commotion, Xie Yu, now somewhat of a veteran who understood the situation, quickly empathized with Jiang Ran’s helplessness and said he didn’t care at all whether they split the bill or who paid.
+1 for being such a nice, easygoing younger brother.
Jiang Ran was so moved she almost wanted to cry, and she deeply couldn’t understand why, among people all in their late teens or early twenties, Song Die and Xie Yu could be like angels, while a certain someone was like a little devil?
She painfully turned her head to look. The little devil himself was seriously mixing drinks for another table of customers—
Feeling her gaze, he lifted his head and looked over from a distance.
His hand paused mid-shake of the cocktail tin, then raised it high above his head at an angle, revealing a pair of pitch-black, sparkling eyes and a complete mouth. Then, he mouthed something at her: Split or not?
Jiang Ran: “…”
No eye contact.
Too painful to look at, and burns the heart.
…
The next day, Beijiao went to work, and Jiang Ran happily stayed in bed all day like a brooding hen.
Then the next morning at 8:30 a.m.
When Beijiao woke her up by patting through the blanket, Jiang Ran groggily remembered she had forgotten to lock the door again before sleeping.
This time, Beijiao didn’t sneak in timidly like the first time. He entered boldly, and his logic for being bold was also very complete: the other day she had said that to prevent him from entering, she would definitely lock the door before sleeping… but today she hadn’t locked it again, which meant she didn’t care whether he came in or not. Not caring = welcome, so he came in.
His hand patted her with the gentle yet potentially deadly rhythm of someone patting a baby, and the thick summer quilt in the air-conditioned room made soft “puffing” sounds.
Jiang Ran was about to be driven mad.
In her dying struggle, she fiercely pushed his hand away and, with an uncompromising aura, burrowed back into the quilt for another half-hour nap before getting up.
Under the watchful eye of the snowboarding-obsessed teenager, she quickly ate breakfast and prepared to head to Sunac Snow World.
The July sun shone brightly.
The moment the car exited the underground garage, Jiang Ran frantically put on her sunglasses: “I’m going to die by your hands someday.”
“Don’t say that,” the person in the front passenger seat said unusually amicably, “No Chinese person has ever died from waking up at 8:30 a.m.—… Well, 9 a.m., you did sleep another half-hour.”
As he spoke, he somehow pulled out a baseball cap, put it on, and lowered the brim.
The shadow from the brim covered most of his face, leaving only the slightly pointed and slender chin.
The only likable part of him, his face, was now hidden in darkness…
Now he had no likable qualities left.
So Jiang Ran couldn’t help wanting to attack him: “…Why are you wearing a hat? Did you finally realize you might get sunburned?”
“With such a bright sun,” he said, seemingly completely missing her sarcasm, “I’m not blind. If it’s glaring my eyes, of course I know it’s hot.”
“…”
Ten minutes later, Jiang Ran once again experienced the morning rush hour in Guangzhou.
Twenty minutes later, stuck on a busy road, she swore that next time Beijiao sneaked into her room, she would twist his head off.
After passing through several congested sections, she didn’t drive directly to Sunac but instead turned onto a different side road. Eventually, they parked on a street that looked like a commercial area for snowboarding gear.
As soon as they got out, Beijiao curiously looked around. Each shop had just opened, there weren’t many customers, and the surroundings were quiet. He saw many famous snowboarding brands—
Actually, just a few days ago, he didn’t recognize a single brand. But after getting into it these past few days, he had accidentally searched online for related knowledge quite a bit… so suddenly, all his media apps were flooded with this stuff.
For example:
Burton = the best choice for beginners, the original pioneer of snowboards, a European and American old brand that’s reliable. But if you don’t play in the park, there’s no need to spend a lot on a brand new board and bindings. Only seasoned riders can get sponsored by them.
Nitro = the second choice for beginners, many park boards. They sponsor many park-style riders. Their shoes are surprisingly comfortable across all fields (his are the flagship model for riding).
SPREAD = specializes in flatland tricks, soft and bouncy boards.
BC = specializes in carving.
OGASAKA = specializes in carving.
GRAY = striving to develop all-around board shapes while specializing in carving.
These were all brands that sold snowboards. There were also brands specializing in snowsuits, bindings, and various snow boots.
The shops and products were dazzling. Beijiao looked at them one by one, happily enjoying himself, when suddenly his sleeve was tugged.
He used to dislike being pulled around, but now he naturally followed her force, leaning in and allowing himself to be dragged by Jiang Ran into the BC store without any resistance.
The full name of the BC brand was BC Stream, a brand established in 1989 that specialized in carving snowboards.
Nowadays, BC, along with GRAY and OGASAKA, were the most commonly used brands among carving enthusiasts at ski resorts. Compared to OGASAKA, which had only recently gained some popularity, and GRAY, which produced some all-around boards with broader appeal, BC seemed to attract skiers who were more dedicated and singular in their pursuit of carving—
For example, someone might use a GRAY all-around board to learn edge transitions or pushing down the slope.
But those using BC generally had already completed the basics of carving.
Not absolute, but generally the case.
The boards of this brand were plain, without complex patterned engravings, making those who chose this brand pursue its practicality more purely.
Therefore, compared to the nearby Burton flagship store, which already had some popularity, when Jiang Ran pulled Beijiao to the entrance of the BC snowboard specialty store, there wasn’t a soul inside—only a drowsy shop assistant.
At that moment, Beijiao grabbed her at the store entrance—like a large dog refusing to go inside the pet store to take a bath, stubbornly pulling against the owner on the leash—his feet firmly refusing to step even half a step into the air-conditioned, cool, and quiet ski shop.
“I don’t have money,” he said, “I’m not going in.”
Jiang Ran couldn’t help but laugh: “Just looking doesn’t cost anything.”
“Go back and look at Ah Huang’s place.”
“Ah Huang doesn’t sell carving boards… and since he doesn’t sell them, we can’t even look at them.” Jiang Ran used the best patience she had ever mustered in her life, “Come on, aren’t you hot standing outside?”
The teenager, longing to return to Ah Huang’s place, reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged inside.
“Ah Huang would never imagine his name could come out of your mouth so affectionately and lovingly.”
And he was being mocked.
Beijiao clicked his tongue, wanting to argue, but the store was too quiet, making him instinctively hesitant to speak loudly—
Besides, at this moment, the dozens of various models and sizes of snowboards displayed on the wooden racks caught his attention.
He only knew of BC, but didn’t recognize the snowboard models or understand their differences. He touched and examined them, unable to tear his eyes away from these snowboards despite not understanding them.
He wandered through the rows of snowboards, long forgetting he had been dragged in.
At this time, the one who dragged him in leaned against the counter, discussing with the shop assistant about what board would suit a novice kid who was 183cm tall, normally built but a bit muscular and thus not light in weight.
“For carving beginners, a 163-length board is fine for someone 183cm tall. The ‘Little Tree’ (*GRAY’s nickname, named after a tree on the board bottom) works, or a Hammerhead board.”
“No more ‘Little Trees’. I bounced around all summer on a Mach (*GRAY, MACH), ” Jiang Ran lowered her voice, glancing back at the teenager nearby who was randomly picking up a board and examining it back and forth, “My home is almost becoming a forest. Get a BC, get a BC.”
“Then how about our BC RX? The RX model with a 169-length? VC CAMBER board shape. The RX nose is soft, the body is stiff. Compared to the ‘Little Tree’, it can be a bit longer… The nose is soft, so even if the board is longer, the turning radius while riding is basically the same as the ‘Little Tree’ 163.”
“Turning radius again—speak even more professionally. He hasn’t even mastered edge transitions yet, tsk tsk, turning radius!”
“…If he hasn’t even mastered edge transitions, why use a carving board!”
“He can’t afford an entry-level board to transition with,” Jiang Ran patted the shop assistant with a sigh of emotion, “Show me the RX.”
…
Beijiao was studying why two boards that looked exactly the same had different colors for the “BC—Stream” logo, wondering if the same model used color to distinguish different lengths, when suddenly his name was called.
He instinctively turned around and saw Jiang Ran standing not far away, holding a hammerhead-shaped snowboard with a yellow “BC—Stream” logo on the bottom, several centimeters taller than her, waving at him.
He walked over.
She pushed the brand-new snowboard, still sealed in plastic, toward him—
He caught it somewhat clumsily.
“Looks good, right?” Jiang Ran asked.
Beijiao couldn’t pinpoint anything wrong with the board—it was pitch black from top to bottom, almost no engravings, the only color being the yellow logo on the base, extremely simple and low-key.
It was definitely good-looking—
It looked like the kind of board used by skilled riders.
Jiang Ran slightly narrowed her eyes, looking up and down at how well the board’s length matched her little protégé’s height, quite satisfied. Then she asked again: “Do you like it?”
“I don’t like it,” he said, “Don’t buy it for me.”
He tried to put the board back.
He had actually been glancing back at her the entire time, planning to run off the moment she took out her phone—fortunately, she had just stood there chatting with someone and didn’t take out her phone.
Beijiao glanced at the price tag hanging on the snowboard. The number “9800” made him want to die—
Each digit and decimal point seemed to remind him that snowboarding was a noble sport.
What was he thinking touching this?
His expression hardened as he shoved the board back to Jiang Ran, who didn’t resist but obediently took it.
At this time, the shop assistant confidently handed the board over to them and went to organize the goods nearby.
Jiang Ran looked at him, then turned her gaze to Beijiao: “Then this one it is. I’ll count to three, and we run together, okay?”
Beijiao: “What?”
Jiang Ran tucked the snowboard, which was longer than her, under her arm and said expressionlessly: “Three.”
Then, as Beijiao stared in shock, she ran out the door with the board in one hand and pulling his sleeve with the other—
Throughout the entire process, the poor shop assistant only had time to straighten up and let out a short, confused, and shocked: “Huh?”
At this moment.
Dragged along at a sprint by the woman, hearing her unrestrained laughter right in front of him, Beijiao’s mind went completely blank, consumed by a single thought: Holy shit, she actually meant it when she said yesterday they’d grab the board?!
…
They sprinted all the way to the parking lot. Jiang Ran took out her car key, unlocked it, and threw the snowboard onto the back seat like a victorious bandit.
Beijiao was too shocked to speak—
He might have had no manners.
But he hadn’t even considered committing a crime.
Robbery leaves a criminal record. Although nothing was even written in ink yet, what if it affected his kid’s future civil service exam?
Throughout the entire process, his mind was blank, unable to believe he had just participated in a daylight robbery.
He opened the passenger door, hesitating to speak, staring at the woman in the driver’s seat laughing like crazy, feeling a bit confused—
Not knowing whether he should urge her to drive off quickly or urge her to turn herself in to the police.
Jiang Ran finally stopped laughing, turned her head, and seeing his stunned and shocked face, burst into laughter again.
She slapped the passenger seat with her hand, gasping for breath as she leaned on the steering wheel: “Get in the car! Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Get in the car to go where?” He asked expressionlessly, “The police station?”
Jiang Ran: “Hahahahahahahahahaha!”
Beijiao: “Are you crazy?”
Jiang Ran hugged the steering wheel, laughing until her eyes nearly closed: “Didn’t you notice the shop assistant didn’t even chase us?”
Beijiao: “…”
Beijiao: “Did you secretly pay him?”
Jiang Ran: “No.”
Beijiao: “Is he mentally challenged?”
Jiang Ran: “Why are you randomly insulting people? He even personally picked out the board for you?”
Her voice was whiny as she scolded him, while pulling out her phone. She scrolled through, opened a WeChat unread message, and a “ding” sound played—the shop assistant’s message appeared—
[“Sis, what play are you acting in this time? Life needs drama and color… I’ve already registered that RX board under your sponsorship selection quota for this year. You get two boards a year. You still have one more you can take this year. If you want another one in a few days, come take a look?”]
Beijiao: “…”
Jiang Ran threw her phone aside and shrugged at him: Look, I really didn’t pay.
“…Jiang Ran.”
Holding onto the car door, Beijiao’s fragile heart was shaken once again by a new level of understanding of the complexity of the human species.
He was about to break apart.
“Be honest with me, I won’t discriminate against patients—but be honest and tell me, is there something pathologically wrong with your brain?”
Author’s note:
Brother Bei: QAQ I almost thought my kid wouldn’t be able to take the civil service exam anymore!!
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